Yet another Swift recruit

Thanks. I have too many more folks to annoy. Not quite time to close out yet. I'm here to stay.

 

i hope it works out for you for the march 4th class. You're not missing anything by not going to Middleton.

Just curious- what kind of work do you do now and what made you want to drive trucks?

 

Good to hear you are making things better for yourself Shamrock.

I can relate about the temp agencies thing since that's what I was doing right before going into trucking. Nothing will beat you down quicker than temp agency labor. I hope to never have to do that again. Glad that you are out of it.

 

You are singing a familiar song friend. Minus the kids, I was there myself.
I know all about cotton.i grew up in and around cotton farms (and everything else) and have lived within the same 2 square mile area my entire life. The first time I ever got behind the wheel of a truck was pulling a cotton wagon when I was 14. I was also with my uncle, who was drunk on moonshine he got from one of the field hands. If I didn't figure it out, I was going to miss supper. It was an old Mack and I figured it out somehow, with a drunk redneck uncle screaming at me.

Since then, every job I've had involved driving a truck for whatever reason. Drove a beer truck right after I graduated high school, and lasted about 7 years. Outside of all the free beer I could steal, it got old. Got married and went to work for my father in law, who owned a logging company. Drove log trucks, hauled equipment, ran the equipment, and got just about "logged out" by the time I was 30. One company owns all the John Deere dealers in north Mississippi and I went to work for them as a salesman all over the top half of the state. I would drive trucks when we were picking up or dropping off farm equipment. I got divorced along the way, and then sick, which you read above. I spent about a year trying to recuperate and finally got to a point where I wanted to work again. The one thing I could do is drive trucks, but I couldn't do he physical part of loading and unloading farm equipment, and I especially couldn't do anything remotely near logging. That surgery did me in physically.

i had a friend that drove OTR and after talking to him, I decided I would at least talk to someone at a company about it. I talked to three different companies with terminals in Jackson, Mississippi. Each said i had to have a refresher course since I had been laid up for a year. So I went to the local Community College, coughed-up the tuition, and was on my way. There were two great dudes who were instructors at the school. I spent the first day going back and forth working the clutch and shifting without using he accelerator for one instructor. Went out he next day with the other instructor on the road, where I took to it like a hog takes to slop. I stayed two weeks before they signed off and gave me a certificate. I didn't have to take a road test because I already have had a class A CDL for many years. The only tests I took was for Haz-Mat, tanker, and doubles and triple trailers. Why I took the last two I don't know. I figured while I was in a groove i would just keep going.

They made me ride with a trainer for about three weeks and hey turned me loose after that. Been at it with the same company ever since, which is now just shy of 3 years as OTR. I could go local with this company, yanking trailers between Jackson and Memphis, but I've gotten to where I like the lifestyle. Everything I own is paid for, I don't have a wife or any kids, I live on the same piece of property as my parents, so they look out for the house. I don't have any other expenses other than what I spend on he road, which isn't much.

It sounds like you have he right attitude about this work. Just make sure you can get used to the lifestyle. Get through our school, then your time with a trainer (or Mentor per Swifty) and you will really know if its for you. Decide early on how you are going to do this job. There are some real pieces of work that you are going to run into out here. Don't let the bad ones discourage you. You will start to see the little decisions you have to make daily that add up and define what kind of driver you want to be. If you make the right ones, along with being able to live this lifestyle, then you will do just fine.

good luck with it!

 

Good for you! Keep us updated on your progress. Enjoy learning new things.

Lesson one of the official Jakaby Commercial Driver Technical School begins now...........

As I write this, I'm at a Pilot waiting in line to get to a pump. I can't pull up to the pump because a Swift driver has decided to do his pre-trip, go inside and shop for breakfast, chew the fat with the Werner driver who's also holding up a Maverick truck from fueling, brush his teeth, clean out the truck, and for whatever reason, just sit in his cab for he past 10 minutes doing nothing. He apparently doesn't have his CB on, because I've called for him (politely I might add) and maverick has called for Werner (not so politely). Werner better look out. The Maverick driver is getting out and walking towards he pump to see if he can expedite Werner's progress.

Todays lesson: Please, Please, PLEASE pull up if you are not fueling. I'm not trying to single out Swift or Werner, but spending more than 30 minutes at a pump and conducting all kinds of business EXCEPT getting fuel is just wrong. Help make the world spin a little faster and always remember fuel etiquette.
CR England's employee of he month would be a pump blocker. Don't be a CR England employee of the month.