Wannabe to Watkins Shepard Driver

What's the most surprising thing you've learned so far? Had to be something you didn't expect.

 

UPDATE

I had no idea trucking involved so much paperwork. We have been in the class room for the past two days learning all the forms and company stuff you have to do. One more day of that and I should be getting a truck on Thursday or Friday. The only exception to that would be if the truck were located in another state. Then I will have to ride with another driver who is going that way and get dropped off. We'll see should know by the end of tomorrow.

 

I was supposed to get my truck yesterday but that didn't work out. The truck is still in route from Chicago. Good thing is I don't have to chase it down, it's coming back to the terminal in Conover, NC. Hopefully I'll be able to meet her tonight. She's an '06 Freightliner Columbia, hot chocolate in color with side skirts, aluminum wheels, and a Detroit under the bonnet. It's a Penske lease truck near the end of it's contract so probably has some where around 600K on the clock.
In all honesty I really don't care what color or anything else the truck is or isn't. I just want to get a truck and haul my first load. I'm nearly three months into this adventure and fruition is just around the corner, can't wait.
The other two guys who were in orientation with me got their trucks yesterday and will be heading out to their home terminals today. One is going to Dalton, GA and the other to NJ. Hopefully I'll get my load assignment today and have time to plan the trip out a bit. Also want to meet up with hot chocolate and give her a good scrubbing before we get too intimate. This is also the best way to find discrepancies with a vehicle. It's the drivers responsibility make sure everything is in working order and if it's not DOT will gladly give you an expensive lesson in truck inspection.

 

How quickly things change. Hot Chocolate will not make it back to Conover until Sunday sometime. I just got my 1st load assignment going to Fishers IN on Sunday. So I will be driving a loner truck next week and then move into Hot Chocolate when I get back to the terminal next. Should be a good run it's one load one stop. And then dispatch will try to get me back to Conover, that's where things will get interesting.

 

Just got a chance to update here. Sunday ran from Conover NC to Indy. Monday delivered 240 some pieces of furniture, then down to Cinn. OH and picked up a load of beer. This morning I had to stop at another warehouse to complete my load then headed out for Atlanta. Got a message from dispatch to drop the load at the Dalton, GA terminal so here I sit until tomorrow.

 

Well I made it through my first week with out damaging anything! Put on 2,245 miles in 6 states and most of them more than once. I can see that it would be easy to get more miles as I wasn't very efficient being my first week so you really can make a buck doing this. Rookie pay at W/S is .25 / mile (real miles), this is low for the industry but they also pay higher for drops, some up to $20. So when you look at my first rookie week I made $561 on miles $100 on unloads and drop and hook pay for a grand total of $661. After a month you are eligible for the bonus program that will add up to .4 / mile and with in 6 months you'll get a few more Pennies on the mile. So same week in a few months would be over $800. Additionally I made it home one night from about 6pm till 9am. So there you go, the "real" numbers from a rookie trucker.