I'm a Truck Driver

7/5/2008: The next step in the process to become a truck driver began today. I picked up my rental car at about 9:00am. The trip from Clarksville, Tn to Joplin, MO was about 450 miles. It was a beautiful day and traffic was very light. I took I-24 west to Paducha, KY. Took exit 4 and got on US 60 all the way to Branson, MO. Now I know how to get to Branson. Got on I-44 and arrived in Joplin at about 6:00pm. There are a lot of places to go camping. I found where Laura Engles Wilder's home is. It is in Mansfield, MO. I wanted to stop and see it, but did not have time.
I learned prior to starting out today that my finisher is going to be in Joplin this weekend. I called her and we are going to have breakfast together tomorrow. She sounds like a great lady and it will be nice to meet her.

7/6/2008: Did not sleep great last night. Woke up several times. Strange place. Had trouble figuring out how to start the shower. Had to go ask at the front desk. Went to breakfast with Vicki. What a nice lady. She has been driving a truck for 13 years, 11 of those with CFI. I am going to enjoy learning from her. She is easy going. After breakfast I followed her over to the Conway Terminal. WOW! What a nice place. It is so clean. I am impressed.
After that I headed over to the airport to turn in the rental car. Called a taxi company to get a ride back to the motel. Conway paid for the cab. While I was waiting a guy came in with a rental car. I asked him if he was going to work at Conway. He is, and he is from Knoxville. Small world. He rode with me in the cab.
We got back to the motel and I learned I was going to be changing rooms. I am going to have a roommate. While waiting to get the new room assignment I met 3 more people who will be in orientation with me. There is a guy from Florida and a couple from Ohio. The lady is a nurse. She is tired of doing that, so she will be going to school and then team drive with her husband. He has been driving for 15 years, but is hiring on with Conway this week. Well, it isn't quite noon yet, but has already been busy. Going to be very interesting and fun.
I met my roommate. Her name is Karen and she is from South Carolina. Her husband is a truck driver and they are going to team as soon as she is done with orientation. She did not bring much with her, so I am guessing her husband will train her.

7/7/08: Got up a little before 5am. We were anxious to get going. So we dressed, washed our teeth, picked up our gear, and went down to the lobby to wait for the bus. Boarded the bus at 6:15 and headed for the Conway terminal. Arrived, went inside, and the paper work began. Got our medical forms done and got back on the bus to get our DOT physicals and drug tests. Finished up at around 10:30 and went back to headquarters. Had some people come in and talk to us about workmans comp and health/life insurance. Filled out more paper work and then finally we got lunch. Most of us did not eat breakfast. It was just a hamburger, ships, a couple cookies and a soda. But, it filled our bellies.
After lunch we listened to more speakers and filled out more paper work. We had to go get interviewed by safety and then by our recruiters. Then more paper work. It was worse than joining the Marine Corps. At about 5:30pm we received $100 each, boarded the bus and headed toward Neosho, MO. That is where we will get somemore training and testing in the trucks. We arrived at about 6:30. The motel is really nice. Karen is still my roommate. I really like her.
We got settled in our room and then went to Shoney's for dinner. We had ribs and steak. That was GOOD! Well that's all for today. Tomorrow we drive. YES!!!

7/8/08: We were picked up this morning at 6:45. We are riding in a school bus. The school is on an old military base and our classroom is located in an old army building. The first half of the day we were in the classroom learning more about weight distribution of cargo, pre-trip inspections, and how Conway wants us to do things. We went to lunch over at the school cafeteria. Food is free. Was OK. We did not have much breakfast, so we were hungry.
In the afternoon we went to meet the trucks and our instructor. our instructor is a woman. Her name is Kelli and she is really good. She is teaching us a new way to shift and how to save fuel. So that is good. We separated into groups and got into the trucks and began to drive on some back roads on the base. And we upshifted and downshifed. We did that until almost 5:00 and then headed for dinner at the cafeteria. We made it back to the motel at about 6:00, got a shower, did a little studying and then went to sleep. It was a long day.

7/9/08: What a good day we had. Once again we were on our way at 6:45. Got into the classroom and had a class on cargo and then took a test. As soon as that was over we were turned over to the range instructors, Kelli, Garrett and John. We got into the trucks and headed over to the obstacle course. We had a blast doing that, maneuvering a 53' trailer around barrels, tires, inbetween fences. Was fun. We will be tested on this probably on Saturday.
After lunch we went on the road. We were being evaluated on how well we could drive the truck. We were told this was cut day. I guess they were going to see who was not going to make it. As far as I know everyone made the cut. There are 13 people in our class.
I think I did pretty well. I have a long way to go, though. When the drive was done we went back to the obstacle course and worked on that again.
Went to dinner at the cafeteria, got back to the motel, showered, studied and hit the rack. We have to be up tomorrow morning and ready to rock and roll at 3:30am. Time to do night driving.

7/10/08: Well, it is 2:45am. My roommate and I have been up for about an hour. It is hard to sleep when you know you have to be up so early. The trucks are suppose to arrive here at 3:30am so we can go on our night drive.
The trucks arrive right on time and I was first in the drivers seat. We loaded up 4 other students and the instructor and off we went. We traveled down narrow, winding roads, and through beautiful downtown Neosho. There were 3 turns that were so tight that we had to do button hook turns. That is when you steer the truck way over into the left lane, then move into the intersection and make a sharp right turn. You stay in the left lane of the street you are turning onto until the trailer has safely missed the corner. Then you steer the truck back over into the right lane. Now you hope that no one comes driving up into the left lane toward you. But, if they do you just keep going and make them stop. I was very pleased with my shifting today. Much better. Still have a ways to go, but it gets better everyday.
After everyone finished their drive we went to breakfast. I was hungry. Then we went to the backing range and practiced alley dock backing for a while. Then we had a class on putting chains on the tires. Finally, we had classes until 3:oopm and then got to go home. I am pooped. See ya later.

7/11/08: I forgot to tell you two of our group were sent home yesterday. After their two road trips I guess the instructors decided they couldn't cut it. Better to not let them continue than to put dangerous drivers in trucks.
Today we went to the skid pad. WHAT A BLAST!! We paired up and got into these old trucks. Some of the trucks had trailers attached, some were bobtails. Water was pumped through these great big sprinklers onto a cement pad. We drove through the wet pavement for a few rounds to get used to the trucks and then the fun began. My partner and I started out with a tractor/trailer. We had a runway type road to get our speed up, then entered the wet pavement. The order was to step on the clutch and then the passenger in the truck would pull a trolly valve, which activates the brakes. Putting the brakes on causes the truck to skid and slide and the driver was required to regain control of the truck. The tractor/trailers would skid pretty bad, but the trailers were fixed up so they could not jackknife. However, the bobtails were more difficult to control and 3 or 4 times they did complete 360's. All of us got to drive a bobtail and all of us got to drive a tractor/trailer. It really was a lot of fun. But, we did learn a lot about how to get control of a tractor if it skids. That is important.

Check out these videos of the skid pad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvLb7P0Wip0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvLb7P0Wip0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvLb7P0Wip0

7/12/08: Today is raod trip testing, written test, backing test. Busy day. We started first doing our written test. I got 96%. Then we went to the backing range to take the backing test. I was not real happy with my results. I only got an 80. But, I could have done a lot better. I passed, though, and I am happy about that. We got a class on coupling/uncoupling a trailer and also sliding th tandems. Those are the tires at the end of the trailer. You slide tandems in order to balance the weight on the axels. We had pizza for lunch and then went out for our road test. I was nervous at first and made a couple mistakes, but took a big breath and settled down and finished with a good run. Four tests down, one more to go. Our truck had only 3 people in it to test. The other 2 trucks had 4 each. So, when we were finished we went to the obstacle course and got in some practice. Then the other trucks arrived and 4 people decided to go ahead and take their tests. The rest of us decided we had had enough and will wait until tomorrow. We finished up early and got to go back to the motel. It was really nice to get some time off. I got some laundry done.
We all gathered at 6:30 at KFC for dinner. Conway paid for our meals. One of our ladies birthday was today and her husband brought her a birthday cake. So we had a party over at KFC. It was really nice to relax and have some fun.
Tomorrow is the obstacle course.

7/13/08: We got over to the obstacle course this morning and I was first up. We have to maneuver this 74 foot tractor trailer around barrels, through tight fence barriers, around barrels, between cones. We got through the course very slowly. If we hit anything we fail. All of us passed and what a relief we all felt. Then Kelli said we were now Conway drivers. WOW!!!! She took us back to the motel. We thanked her, she gave us all a hug, and then we said our goodbyes. we were finished today at about 10:00am and the rest of the day is ours. I finished doing my laundry, repacked my bag, and I am now just relaxing and enjoying my day. Karen is napping. The pressure is off and we are all tired.
Tomorrow we head out of here at 5:45am and go back to Joplin. We are suppose to meet our finishers and probably will go out with a load on Tuesday.

7/18/08: Well, it has been awhile since I have had time to write. A lot has happened. On Monday, the 14th we were picked up and wisked away to Joplin at 5:45. We arrived at Joplin and began more classes. We signed more paper work. In the afternoon we did a defensive driving course called the "Smith System." I believe every teenager should be required too take this course before getting a drivers license. Could save their lives.
At the end of the day I met my finisher, Vicki. We went out to dinner and then I went to the motel for the night.
I arrived at the terminal at 7:00am the next day, the 15th, and went to Vicki's truck. She was there and told me we had a load going to Calexico, California. Boy, was I excited to hear that. We had to wait for the load to get their from St. Louis. We st around until about 2:30pm and then we were able to hook up, fuel up, give the truck and trailer a bath, check out of the guard shack and head out. Vicki did the driving this day. We made it all the way to Elk City, OK before calling it quits. Found a nice small truck stop that no one knew about. So parking was easy.

July 16 - I drove 600 miles today. I am really proud of myself. I was concerned about my stamina for driving a truck that far. I did fine. A lot of our drive was on secondary roads today. We decided to go south on US 60 in New Mexico. Had a terrential rain storm, with lightening while driving in the mountains of New Mexico. I had to slow down quite a bit until we got out of the wet. The trailer could have skidded at a faster speed. We got through that with no problems. Also, went through scales for the first time. That was easy. We have what is called a pre-pass. It is a sensor device that lets us know if we are required to enter a weigh station. However, on secondary roads there is not always the electronics available for the pre-pass. So this time we had to stop. We finished the day up in Deming, New Mexico. It was hot out, so we needed to idle the engine to stay cool. The truck has 2 bunks. I get to sleep in the top bunk. Fun to get into. All bags are up there with me. So there is not a lot of room for me. There are two air conditioner vents up there, so I don't get too hot. I was really tired after all that driving and slept much better than I did the first night out.

July 17 - Got up somewhat early and went into get a shower. Cost $5.00. It sure felt good. After showering and getting our logs squared away we were off again. I was again at the controls. Today would be delivery day. We stopped at a Pilot in Lordsburg, NM for fuel. Vicki earned a shower for getting the fuel. That was easy to do. Our next stop was in Gila Bend, Arizona for lunch. We ate turkey sandwhiches. I bought some bread and turkey before heading out last Tuesday. The sandwiches tasted great. Then we were off again. Arrived at our delivery location in Calexico, CA at about 5:30. Dropped our trailer, picked up another, did a pre-trip inspection and we were out of there heading for Wenatchee, WA. The temp in Calexico was around 100. Vicki took over driving at this point. i was done for the day, having driven 506 miles. Our next run was going to take us close to where Vicki's sons live. So we went about 100 more miles, heading north and stopped in Indio, CA. It was 110 degrees. California has a no idle law. We found a truck stop that has a device called Idle Air. You plug this big device with a hose attached to the passenger side window. The you slide a card and a credit card into the device to buy air conditioning. We started it up and went to bed. it felt real nice for a while. But, then the thing stopped because the money ran out. We both woke up hot as can be. I gave Vicki my credit card to buy some more time and got the thing started again. Felt good again and we both went back to sleep.

July 18 - Got up, got dressed, and off again. Vicki drove today. We stayed on secondary roads most of the way. I was able to observe how Vicki used the gears for going down the Grapevine. That is a steep hill. She drove like the pro she is. We finished our driving day in Tulare, CA. Only drove a little over 300 miles today. I got to meet Vicki's son Paul, his girlfriend and her 3 year old daughter. We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. That was good. Went back to the rig and the temp was still in the 90's. Asked an employee at the truckstop about idling. He said the idling law was not enforced there. We were very glad to hear that. it is really hard to get a good nights rest when you feel like you are in a furnance.

July 19 - Off again, heading for Washington. Oh boy, I get to see OREGON. We decided to take US 99 instead of I-5. I am glad because there was a lot more interesting things to see as we moved down the road. I was in the drivers seat again. The speed limit for trucks is 55 in California and Oregon. The miles went by very slowly. In Sacramento we had to take a detour and then headed for Yuba City. There was suppose to be a truck stop there, but we couldn't find it. We kind of got off course at this point, but were still heading north, so we were OK. Then we missed a turn and that was a problem for a while. We wee not sure where we were going. And no place large enough to turn around. I said a little prayer and not long after that we found our way back to US 99 north. THANK YOU LORD!!! Finally we stopped in Red Bluff for dinner. Had a pizza. Vicki took over the controls again and we ended our day in Klamath Falls, OR. it was a lot cooler there, so we opened our vents to let the cool air in and slept without the need to idle. That was nice.

7/20/08: got up early this morning, before it was light. Vicki was at the controls. Guess she is not ready for me to drive in the dark yet. We were now on US 97, which goes through the center of Oregon. The truck has a thermometer on the outside drivers mirror. At one point we saw a reading of 45 degrees. We were close to Crater Lake at that time. We stopped in Chemult, OR at a Pilot Truck Stop. Took a shower, got fuel, and headed out again, with me at the controls. I just loved this drive. Saw mountains, deer, cattle, horses, llamas, and BEAUTIFUL scenary. What a great day. We arrived at our drop off point in Wenatchee at about 8:30pm and was able to park for the night right next to the customer. I got a lot of hill experience today. that is something I really wanted to get. Happy trucker here.

7/21/08: We were up at 6:00 this morning. I moved the truck and backed it into the lot where the trailer would be unloaded. Got the truck stopped and it was about 9:00 when they started to unload. At 11:30 we were out of there. Now we are sitting in a truck stop waiting for a load. Looks like we may not get one until tomorrow. Vicki is trying to lock on a motel for us for tonight. We are allowed to get a motel once a week while in training.

Our first load, to Calexico, was 174 aluminum wheels, destined for Mexico. Then we delivered hot water heaters to Wenatchee.

7/24/08: Where was I? Oh yes! When last we met I was sitting at a Shell Truck Stop in Wenatchee, WA. We had been told we probably would not get a load until the next day. So, we decided to go get a couple motel rooms. As we were driving to the motel the QUALCOMM went off. Scares the crap out of me everytime it goes off because it is so loud. Anyway, there went the motel idea. We had a load. We went to Yakima, WA about 100 miles away and picked up about 40,000 lbs of poly tubes. Next drop zone is Indianapolis. I got my first chance to drive in the dark. We went through some mountains and it rained. And we found out the headlights were not adjusted properly, so it was really difficult to see. At around 12:30am we came to a halt at a Walmart in smelterville, ID. We had been up since 6:00am, so we were tired and went straight to bed.
Tuesday morning we were off again at about 8:00. Vicki drove until we got to Missoula, MT and then I took over again. I got some real mountain work this day. Just past Billings we got on Hwy 212, thinking it would be faster going that way. Never again. It was very mountainous, and there was one place where it was just gravel. By now it was dark again and again hard to see. And the lines were faded. Also, there must have been a fight going on in heaven because there was lightening flashes all over the place. Then it started to rain and made it even more difficult to see. I used the reflector posts along the side of the road to find my way to our next truck stop. Had to drive like this for a very long way. Finally, we arrive in Belle Fourche, SD. I was really pooped. That was a frightening drive. But, we made it. THANK YOU LORD!!! We stopped at about 1:00am. Wednesday Vicki began driving again. I could not drive yet because my 10 hour break was not over yet. She drove about 5 hours and then I took over. We drove all the way through South Dakota and stopped in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
We started early today, Thursday, July 24, and I drove most of the 570 miles. We were making great time until we got to Illinois. Speed limit is only 55 for trucks. But, finally, we are here in Indianapolis, sitting at our drop point, eating a pizza for dinner. We had it delivered to the truck. Pretty neat.

7/25/08: Got up at about 6am. People were already coming in at the business we were delivering to. We were told at about 8am to back the trailer into this real tight space, and we did not have a lot of room to maneuver. But, with a lot of patience and pull-ups, I got the trailer in place to be unloaded. About 30 minutes later the trailer was empty and we were on our way to Franklin, Indiana to load the trailer for our next run. We picked up about 10,000 lbs of shelving from Best Buy. Our destination? Enfield, Conneticut. I was finally going to get some experience in the northeast. We get paid extra when we drive there.
We departed Franklin at about 10:15, but weren't able to go very far because it was time to get the trailer inspected. The tractors and trailers require yearly inspections. We stopped at a truck stop in Richmond, IN to get the inspection done. They couldn't do it right away, so we parked and took a nap. Boy did that feel good.
Finally the inspection was done and we left at 2:30pm. Five and quarter hours later we had driven 390 miles and we were almost all the way through Ohio, stopping in Youngstown. I must have really been tired because Vicki said sometime during the night a "lot lizard" knocked on the door. Vicki opened the curtain and looked out. The "lot lizard" got one look at a woman and left. I did not hear a thing.

7/26/08: We were up at early again and on the road. Vicki decided she wanted to stay in a motel this night. As I drofe she searched for places we could stay that had truck parking. Not many of those around.
It was a great day of driving. Weekends seem to be great for driving a truck. Weigh Stations are closed, most road construction stopped, and not many vehicles on the road. Still, there are plenty of vehicles to contend with.
We traveled through all of Pennsylvania. it is really a beautiful state and the portion I drove through was mostly mountainous. I had to use the jake brake several times while rolling through the state.
We came to a stop early today; 2 in the afternoon in Maybrook, NY. I drove 387 miles today. This run only covers about 875 miles, so we are not having to push it. Only have 120 more miles to go and we cannot deliver this load until 6:00pm tomorrow. So here we are in a Super 8 Motel. We walked over to the T/A Truck Stop and had steak, baked potato and broccoli for dinner. BOY DID THAT TASTE GOOD. We have not eaten much since starting this adventure and this dinner was really a treat.
While at the motel I did my laundry, watched TV, and just chilled in the nice air conditioning. It was a real treat to stay in the motel.
Of course, I call Rich everyday and we both look forward to seeing each other again. I have been gone 3 full weeks now.
Tomorrow we will drop our load in Enfield and then travel to pick up another load in Conneticut, destined for Chicago, IL. We have to be there by Wednesday. We pick up the load on Monda;y. Then it is possible we will go back to Joplin. I will be about 800 miles short of my required 7500 miles. So, we shall see.

7/30/08: We are now in Rockford, IL. We arrived at our drop point in West Chicago last night. They were not suppose to unload the trailer until today, but went ahead and unloaded the trailer right then. So, we were free to move on to the next load, which is in Rockford. We spent the night last night at a Shell Truck Stop. We ate some yummy chicken tenders that were not deep fried. More healthy.
We sat at the truck stop this morning until a little after 10. We were trying to contact the shipper to see if we could pick up the load early. No one would answer the phone. So we pulled out and drove to the shipper. Very tight quarters for maneuvering a big rig. Nice to know. We were told we cannot pick up the load until tomorrow at 3 pm. So, we are now enjoying another motel for the rest of today and tonight. The truck becomes crowded when not moving, and it is too hot to not have to idle the truck to stay comfortable. So, I am enjoying some quiet time.
Tomorrow after we pick up our load we will head out to Calexico, CA again. However, I am not going to get to go all the way there. We will be rolling through Joplin and I will be assigned my own truck. It is going to seem strange not having someone sitting next to me when I drive.
By the way, the last load we picked up was 40,000 lbs of chewing gum. It is going down to Mexico. Good load. LOL!!!

7/31/08: Today is graduation day. We are in Joplin. I have been assigned a truck, a Kenworth T600 red. I need to get out to Walmart to get a microwave and refrigerator. The truck will be in the shop today to have an inverter installed. I am finally a REAL TRUCK DRIVER. WOOHOO!!!

8/3/08: The truck is ready to roll and I have my first load. I am going all of 114 miles to Tulsa, OK. Good way to start. I short load to see how it goes.
I arrived in Tulsa early this afternoon. It is HOT out. I am parked at a truck stop near my customer and will deliver the load tomorrow at 7am.

8/4/08: Slept good last night. Got up early, drove over to the customer, backed the truck to the dock and was unloaded. I sent a qualcomm out to let them know my trailer was empty and they sent me an assignment to pick up some metal frames used for making glass sheets. I have to deliver this load to Nashville tomorrow.

8/5/08: Made is safely and on time to Nashville. Getting the truck into the dock was a challenge, but I did it. Was unloaded and immediately got another load. I have to drive up to Portland for a load to be delivered to Byhalia, Mississippi.

8/6/08: Picked up the load in Portland yesterday and drove to Byhalia today. It was not a fun stop, though. I was required to unhook from the trailer I was pulling. Hook up to another trailer that was loaded, and move it out of the dock. Then I had to unhook from that trailer and hook back up to the first trailer to put it into the dock. Finally, I had to unhook again and hook up to the loaded trailer. Then, another Conway driver arrived and said I hooked up to the wrong trailer. So, one more time I had to unhook and hook up another trailer. I was pooped after that. I stayed at a truck stop in Portland last night. Was a quiet place. I slept good. Got to Byhalia early. Delivered with no problems.

8/9/08: I have been ordered to drive my empty trailer to Kansas City, MO. That is called deadheading. I am getting over 500 miles to deliver an empty trailer. I got to Kansas City late in the evening and the directions I received were wrong. So, I sat on the side of the road, talking to dispatch to get the correct directions. Arrived at the drop yard at about 11:00pm. Was glad to get there and settle down for the night. Now I get to wait for a load.

8/10/08: Did not take long to get a load. I have a 2 stop deliver to Linens and Things in the Dallas, Texas area. Don't have to deliver for a couple days, so can take my time. I like that.

8/18/08: Well, I have been on my own for about 3 weeks now. I am sitting in Laredo, TX. I have a load to deliver tomorrow. There is a terminal here and so I can park here for the night. Then I wait for my number to come up to get a load. May be Tuesday before I get one.
I will be putting in for time off in September. I want to build up my days off so I can take a week off with Rich. It will be nice to get home. I miss everyone. Life as a truck driver has been pretty good so far. The only states I have not been in yet are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Mass, Delaware, Road Island, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nebraska, Utah and Nevada. Otherwise I have been in everyother state. It is a whirlwind.
I got my computer about a week ago, but cannot upload pictures yet because I need the CD to load the cameral program. So sorry for no pictures. I do hope you all enjoy the skid pad videos.