Training at Crete

Well...the week went almost as planned. Ran around the Lincoln/Omaha region for a few days. Got to meet the head of training and get a free lunch at the Lincoln terminal. Then, instead of the west coast, we got a load going east. Had to t-call that one. That's a story, but the basics are: talking with the head of training, he said we could go super-solo. We start running the load (which required a super-solo timeframe), and some lady at a desk sent us a message saying they couldn't approve us for super-solo until week four. This was mid-week three. So there goes the t-call.
For those who don't know, super-solo is basically halfway between solo and team. In training, the trainer and student work the same 14-hr day with a 10-hr break. On teams, the truck only stops for 2 hrs a day. On super-solo, the truck stops for 5 hrs a day. Make sense?
So we t-called at our Indy terminal. Grabbed an empty and picked up a load today headed for Orlando, FL. We got a few pre-plans from dispatch that will have us run through TN and AR on our way back to OK. Looks like I should be home on time, if everything goes according to plan.
I wanted to give examples in this thread of actual learning experiences I am having on the road, but as I write these posts at the end of a long week it is difficult to think of them. I am learning how to read the road and traffic better everyday. I am learning to take everything I'm told with a grain of salt. I think the only exception to this is my trainer. He tells it to me straight with no B.S. Really great guy!
Again, thank you to everyone following along. Feel free to ask questions, make comments, and give advice.
Stay safe out there, drivers!

 

No...I was not told about it from recruiting. However, I don't think it would be much of a problem at this point. Honestly, I am due home at the end of this week for four days. I will go out again for only a few more days before my trainer gets his home time, and that will be mid-week six. So it sounds like he will be dropping me off at Lincoln for my second round of orientation before he goes home. Who knows, but that seems to be the way things are headed.
We were on our way from Indy to Orlando. Started having some slight brake issues the last couple of days, and it became apparent that we needed to stop at the Marietta shop after crossing Mont Eagle. Good thing we did too...had a broken seal. Could have been a big problem further down the line.
Our load got t-called, truck is fixed, and we are currently waiting for a new plan.
Stay safe out there, drivers!

 

Sorry guys and gals...this is a long one. Hang with me here...
After the truck was fixed, we sat at the Marietta terminal for a few hours waiting for a load. Noticed there were some loaded reefers on the lot. Of course, you can't point out the obvious to your dispatch...the loads have to be their idea. Anyway, four hours later we hookup to the trailer sitting right next to us and took it about 50 miles to the Atlanta area for a drop the next morning. Then across town for another load headed to North Carolina.
That load was interesting. First off, the previous load was a drop. The receiver didn't have any empties and couldn't give us a PTA for one. Dispatch tells us to wait. Maybe it's just me, but you would think that the easy thing to do would be to call the shipper and see if they have any. No no no. Too easy. Just wait they said.
Something like two and a half hours later dispatch changes from the night shift to the day shift. Now we are told to go check at the shipper. Not call, go check. On the way across town, I called them anyway. Got the lady in the shipping office. Instead of checking her logs or looking out the window, when I asked if they had an empty we can use, she said "I don't know." When we get there and find one, the same lady says "you could have called ahead and we would have turned the reefer on for you." Ha!
We finally get loaded. Then we find the monkey wrench, if it wasn't bad enough already. The tandems were shot. The lock release assembly was broken. Took half an hour at the shipper to get them set. Note to self: thoroughly check the trailer before hooking up. We gave it a good look over, but apparently not good enough. Then we get it scaled. Comes up 140 pounds over on the drives. Screw it, he says. By the time we hit a scale we'll lose more than that in fuel.
We call in about the tandems. After unloading in NC, breakdown had us take it to a local shop they have used before. Quick temporary fix, but the company doesn't want to do a major fix. It's an older trailer and on it's way out the door anyway. Thankfully, the next load was a drop and hook. Newer trailer, and we are now on our way to Romeoville, south of Chicago. Haven't got the next preplan yet, but it should be the load taking me home.
The same sort of screwyness happened the week my trainer was supposed to be headed home. Moral of the story: beware of loads when you are headed home.
Stay safe out there, drivers!