I'm a Truck Driver

I cannot believe it. We have already been in school for 17 days. It is going so fast and I feel we all still have so much to learn. Whew! I told you I would post some pictures and I have done that. Go back to the previous posts and you will see some pictures of the trucks we are using.

May 12: This week has been very exciting and I have had a blast. Is it really fair to have so much fun at school? Would be really great if our public schools were this much fun for our kids.

Well, the driving roster came out on Monday and of course my name was listed first to learn how to shift. We went over to the yard and we did a pre-trip inspection on our truck. Like I have said previously, we are using the Pete to learn how to shift the gears and it is also going to be used when we are out driving on the highways. Right now we are bobtailing, which means we are driving without a trailer attached.

When the pre-trip was finished I got up into the truck and started it up. A safe start up is with parking brake on, transmission in neutral, and clutch depressed. The tractor was still coupled to a trailer and we needed to uncouple from that. So we got a quick class on that and I drove the tractor out from under the trailer. It is not difficult to uncouple a trailer, but it has to be done in a certain way to be safe and to make sure the trailer does not fall. Uncoupled from the trailer, it was time to drive. We drove on the truck campus and pretty much stayed in 1st-4th gears. The Pete is a 10 speed. Learning how to double was not too difficult. However, I am pushing the clutch down too far, which makes me slow. We have a real slow incline and once when we were on that I was to slow shifting to second and missed the gear. We were now going to fast to go into 2nd. So if I had been thinking I could have shifted into 3rd or 4th and been just fine. But, I was nervous and my brain was short circuiting. I WILL GET THIS.

It seems all my thinking right now is aimed at trucking. There is so much to learn. I absolutely cannot understand how some schools graduate students after only 16 days of school.

After my driving turn was over I headed over to the backing range to continue working on that phase of driving. I could not back a truck up for anything. I guess I used so much energy when in the Pete (from being nervous) that I had nothing left for the backing. I went home drained.

May 13: I forgot to say that we are filling out logbooks now. That began yesterday. This book keeps track of a drivers time driving the truck, on duty not driving, off duty time, and sleeper birth time.
Today we worked on our logbooks and took a small test on the pre-trip inspection and then headed out to the yard. Two more people were in the Pete, the rest of us were on the backing range. My backing was much better today. It was getting too easy for a few of us, so our instructor gave us a more difficult challenge. I enjoy the new challenges.

May 14: This morning it rained so we were stuck in the classroom. (ugh) However, at lunchtime the rain had stopped, so we were able to go out to the yard. YES!!! There were still 2 students who needed to get their turn in the road truck. The rest of us headed for the backing range, checked the oil and coolant in the Internationals, and fired those babies up. Not long after that Mr. Bennett, one of our instructors, waved us all up to take a look at the Volvo's. We had been told once we stopped having problems with working the clutch on the Internationals we would get to start using the Volvo's. Today was the day. We all got a class on how to uncouple and couple a trailer. We moved the Internationals off the range and put the Volvo's in their place. The Volvo's are almost new, with both having less than 1000 miles on them. What a difference in handling. The Volvo's make it so much easier to maneuver the trailers. The Internationals are so old that the mirrors cannot be adjusted. The Volvo's have electric mirrors. Makes a big difference being able to adjust the mirrors so a body can see where the heck they are going. So, getting a try at one of the new rigs was a real treat for all of us.

May 15: It is raining again today. We will be in the classroom all day. Oh well! Need to get caught up on our book work. We had a lecture today, talking about speed management, vision problems in the truck, and the different kind of road signs we need to recognize. Did you know that there is a 200 ft blind spot in back of a truck. If you come up behind a truck and you cannot see the trucks mirrors then the trucker cannot see you. And the trucker has a big blind spot on the right side of the vehicle. That is one reason they say not to pass a truck on the right side. The person driving the truck cannot see you and if is very easy to get run over. Just something for you to think about. Also, the trucks have such large fronts that the driver may not be able to see someone in front of him unless the vehicle is 50 feet in front. So, the driver of a truck has a lot to contend with and when a 4 wheeler darts in front of the truck with only a margin of 10 - 20 feet clearance that person is putting their life in peril. So, just be careful out there around those big rigs.

May 16: Today was test day. We took 4 tests. I was very glad when the day ended.

May 19: Had a very nice weekend and am ready to go again. Need those weekends. We had recruiters come in today to talk to us about their companies. We learned about Falcon. They have dry vans and flatbeds and their area of operation is mostly east of the Mississippi. Then we heard from Colonial Transport. They haul dry van and reefers. They want their new drivers to rent a truck from them. They say we can make a lot more money, but I am skeptical. With the cost of fuel I do not know how that would work. The last trucking company is called "Huff and Puff." Isn't that an interesting name? They are out of the McMinnville area and they are a flatbed company. They have 35 trucks and haul mostly commercial building materials. They sounded pretty interesting, except you need to live close to their facility and Dover is too far away. I did send in an application to Falcon and Colonial.

May 20: We finally made it back out to the truck yard today. None of us have been in a truck for 5 days and our backing shows it. Very rusty. And when you are really new at this it is tough to miss so many days in a row. We started driving the road truck again today. I have not done any shifting work in a truck for 7 days. Hard to remember how to drive when you are out of the truck for so long. And, I am not going to get into the road truck today. Me and 2 others get our turns tomorrow. Anyway, I was back at the backing range. I did not spend much time in the truck doing that either. Spent most of my day being a spotter, making sure the other students didn't run over cones.

May 21: What a GREAT day this ended up being. When it began I did not know if it would be good or not. I was very nervous about getting back into the road truck. I knew we were going to be working on a lot of up shifting and down shifting and we had not worked at all on the down shifting part. I was having problems getting my feet coordinated while doing the exercises they gave us to do. I did not have to drive first, though. I got to sit in the jump seat and watch the first student go through the motions and listen to the instructor. I learned a lot from observing what was going on. When it came my turn I was able to all the shifting pretty well, even the down shifting. I still have a lot to work on, but I was so pleased with the outcome, considering how I had no confidence when the day began. I came out of this drive believing "I CAN DO THIS." YAHOO!!!!

Well, after I was finished driving I headed back to the backing range. A new challenge awaited. It is time to start working on parallel parking. Can you imagine having to parallel park a 70 ft vehicle? The cone box that was put together is 12' wide by 78' long. Mr. Bennett walked along the side of the truck giving me instructions on how to do this the first time through. Then I was required to complete the task on my own. The first time I got the truck into the box, but it was not very pretty. The next time I NAILED it. It was beautiful. I sure hope I can do that again tomorrow. So this was an excellent day.

Beginning of parallel parking. We have to get the all of the tractor and trailer into the box. Can you see Mr. Bentley hanging on the truck?











Truck lining up to enter the box. Mr. Bentley is now walking beside the truck giving instructions.











Parallel parking cont.











Tomorrow we will start driving the road truck with a trailer attached. Here come the jitters again.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that we did not stay on the campus with the road truck today. We got out on the highway and drove. That was nice, too.

May 22: Here we go. We are pulling a trailer today. This is great. I don't get my turn until this afternoon. In the mean time we are working on straight line backing, offset backing and parallel parking. I had a tough day with this. Mr. Bentley said I am thinking too much. I will turn my brain off tomorrow. LOL!!!





OK, time to rock and roll. Time to drive the truck
towing a trailer.






Each of us only were allow to get a little taste of driving with a trailer attached today. We each probably got to drive 3 miles. But, when it came my turn I was ready. I made very few mistakes, and those mostly with grinding the gears a bit. But, I was able to shift much better than earlier in the week. And I had no problems keeping the trailer in the lane. See the trailer likes to off track. That means that when you turn the tractor the rear end of the trailer wants to take the shortest path around that corner. That means when turning we have to be extra careful and make large turns to keep from hitting anything with the trailer. I did real well with that. Anyway, as I was driving back to the campus in the truck another semi was heading toward us. I was doing great, not getting even close to the center line. But, I guess the driver of the other semi must have seen that sign on the side of the trailer because he went way over to the other side of his lane as if he needed to avoid me like the plague. I just laughed. It was funny.



Can you see what it says in the yellow box? (Caution - Student Driver)













May 23: Whew! It is Friday and I am ready for the weekend. And it is a long one at that. Today we were back at the backing range. Three of us were given a new challenge. Parallel park to the blind side. That means parking toward the passenger side of the vehicle. Very poor visibility. Lots of reasons to get out and look several times during the maneuver. I was able to get the rig into the box, but it wasn't very pretty. Doesn't have to be pretty though.

Three of the students went out in the road truck and got to experience real traffic while pulling the trailer. Everyone of them had problems with people pulling out in front of them without giving them much time to react. They all got cut off, even by another trucker. I probably will get my turn on Tuesday. Oh boy!!

Well, that is about it for this version of "As the trucker turns." I will up date this again as soon as I can. As all truckers like to say; "Be safe."