December 2000

Charles' School Journal

Introduction

Hello, my name is Charles and I was referred into learning truck driving after taking various aptitude tests through the Texas Rehabilitation Commission.  This was due to a repetitive work related injury.  I have been around the transportation industry in one way or another since I was 19.  My injury occurred while an automotive technician with more than 10 years experience.  After my surgery I tried to return to working on cars again and just couldn't take the constant contortionist maneuvering that is required with the way they build them now.  I went to the driving school and verified I could get in and out of the trucks and trailers.  I have always had a secret desire to drive one of these anyway.  The state was advised I could handle the climbing and was even taken on a short trip around their training facility and found this tractor and trailer ride smoother than my four wheeler.  I think I'm gonna like this!

Thanks and I'll keep ya'll posted (as we say in Texas!)

January 11, 2001

Well since I first found this site, I have finished my school. The school I went through was Weatherford College Truck Driving Academy. The classroom work wasn't very hard at all. Within the first week we had gone down to take our CDL tests at our DPS office. Passed all 'em on the first shot. They had us take tankers, doubles-triples even. Basically took everything but passengers for busses. Couldn't take that one (no big loss-have you ever ridden a southbound bus at first freeze?) since the school didn't have a bus to test in. My in class average was an 88 but that was with taking all tests cold. Our yard exercises were a whole lot better. How about a combined 96 for cumulative straight line backing (no pull-ups needed-what a breeze; was actually easier than backing the small trailer with my car that my dad made me do when I first got license at 16). The 45 degree alley dock I only had to do 1 pull up on & it was harder even than the parallel parking. They even had us do one called a serpentine which is supposed to simulate going around parked vehicles or poles in a parking lot. It was the most challenging & interesting but I did better than the alley dock with it. I was even able to get a sharp right (90degree) trailer wheels about 6 inches from curb & scored a 95. On the CDL test with our friendly Texas DPS license lady I scored an 87. Missed most of it in parallel with sun in my eyes in mirror during parking (but oh well-sun will be in my eyes at some point out there in difficult maneuvers anyway). She did catch me floating gears (by habit from my little truck) once though. But unlike all but one other in my class I passed it on first attempt. The last two days of class I get put with a different group into a different freightliner that has a nine speed instead of the super 10 I got used to. The instructor after just 20 minutes in it says I am good enough for my final driving exam which lasted an hour leaving me a score of 96 (which I thought was pretty good). I like this truck better than the first one too. Then on the last day we just had to drive wherever instructor points us. I got lucky and got to do the steep curvy downgrade (even got to use the Jake brake). And then later in the day he had me in rush hour driving. This about sums up my school experience, which ended on January 5. Now it is time for the real deal & find me a new job with all this paper I got to prove what I now have. I already feel like a trucker putting in 10 hours a day putting in applications. I have this hope of finding something local. The best nibble I have so far is from a flatbed outfit in Iowa. But I am trying to be selective with location, benefits, & most of all the PEOPLE I will work for. One local company supervisor is trying to get approval from his boss to hire me as exception. Turns out he drove for 17 years & seems to want to help get me started. He wants to have me be able to retire from his company (his pay scale is best I have seen yet for a newbie). I should find out from him tomorrow & let everyone know. Till then keep the greasy side down & we'll see ya on the flip side!

January 13, 2001

Well we are still trying to find all the leads we can. Well if nothing else comes off it will be off to Iowa for final training-including skid pad. If ya want check out my page to get a little better idea about me. Web address is http://geocities.com/snoopyscruisin We shall see everyone on the flip side - come visit -ya here!

January 15, 2001

Well everyone, I am still here. We still hunting for hopefully local gig, which by now I am doubting will happen. After discussions with that flatbed operation out of Iowa I find there next graduate training class starts Jan 22. Unfortunately I have to request the class afterwards due to prior engagements that have already been scheduled & cannot be changed. So since we are behind the 8 ball until at least Jan 29 (date of second prescheduled engagement), we shall continue hunting for that dream local job. I am kinda partial to all the time I can have with my youngest boy, especially knowing that soon I may be gone for a couple of weeks at a time. We have been getting nibbles but having to wait for everyone to check DAC & employment records. We'll see ya out there one of these days. We'll go touch base with my school again tomorrow.

January 22, 2001

Well, the search continues. We are just now getting good nibbles on the applications. The latest of which was from a company recruiter who had earlier turned me down (not enough experience), but did want to recommend me to a competitor . This competitor turns out to be needing recruits who can run doubles. Meanwhile as the plot thickens we have other companies that were applied to that are calling back. I am inviting them to go on and check me out prior to spending any money bringing me there. And last but not least the train of drug tests has commenced. I shall attempt to keep in contact but am looking to probably be working very soon. From what I am hearing I am kind of fortunate to live in a high volume trucking lane. Most companies that I have spoken to have around 60% of their loads coming through here. A few are even no touch freight (pays a little less but no groceries-with mainly yard to yard). So just wish me luck & we'll try to see ya on the flip side!

January 25, 2001

Well we got bunches of good news today. Have been approved for hire by 5 companies. Basically told them all they were in competition against each other. Two from Arkansas, one from Utah, one from Missouri, & one from Dallas Texas. They all pay the same for two days of orientation & all but one says I'll be on the road 2-3 weeks minimum at a time. Fortunately for me the one in Dallas (closest) says I'll be home every weekend (GREAT). The choice is all of a sudden becoming real clear. I just think I am going to have to pull no touch freight doubles and be home every weekend. I start with them 2-5-2001. I'll touch base back with ya after my first trip. Till then we'll see ya on the flip side.

February 5, 2001

Well the real deal is about to begin. As of 4:30 a.m. today I am departing for Dallas from my home out in Weatherford to start orientation day one. Gotta be there by 7;00 & I know how big D's traffic can be. We will probably have more input tonight though. Till then keep the greasy side down. We gone.

February 8, 2001

We are now done with orientation and about to hit the road. Advised by owner-operator that the truck I am to be in will be back on "the board" after he returns from vacation. He did advise he should be back this Sunday, and to call then for when to meet truck at yard. Once again the waiting game applies. From some of the stories I have heard this is the norm in this industry. But on some good news the only unloading they expect me to do is with forklifts. Though most of the time no unloading will be required. For the time being we will just sit back, enjoy a little extra time with my family, have an early valentine's day with the wife. But come Sunday, I should be ready to roll. See ya on the flip side!

February 24, 2001

Well back from the first week of runs.

Met with my co-driver in Fort Worth on 02-20-01. We tried to get a little sleep since we were waiting, but then he called dispatch as he wanted to get us rolling. We were advised to pick up empties & go to Dallas so maybe we could get a load quicker. My co-driver advised me to not be considered since freight always slow this time of year until March when it gets hoppin'. We got to Dallas, waited an hour, then given a pager for when we got a load (3rd team in line). We tried to get some sleep but after two false accidental pages, we finally get paged for a Houston run at 1:00 a.m. 02-21-01. We get to Houston about 5:30, & immediately get another run to Phoenix Arizona. He gets us out of Houston TX and has me take over in Columbus TX. He knew I am a rookie so he wanted to see my first driving on open road in daytime so he could find out my weaknesses & strengths since it is HIS truck. We stopped for fueling & lunch in San Antonio. I then take us on to Kent TX. I advise him I'm a little tired so he takes over after I had 8 straight hours. He did give me compliments on my driving and tells me to let him know any time I'm tired. I try to get some sleep with only about a 3-4 hours success by the time we get to Phoenix Az at 2:30 a.m. on 02-22-01. We find there is no open loads in Phoenix from our dispatcher, but were asked to grab some empties & go to Fontana Ca. We search the yard & finally find good legal enough trailers & get bound for Cali. He has me take over as he is exhausted. I get us to Fontana about 9:00 a.m. CDT (it was about 6:00 there). I got to pre-pass scales in Arizona, realize our top clearance lights went out on rear trailer. I was getting worried about going into Cali port of entry. Happen to get waved right on through. Got to experience my first long downgrade Indio hill (10 miles long steady on Jakes in ninth). I don't see how he slept. Get to stop at the next set of scales to & get waved right on through there also. After off duty for an hour get our next load going back to Houston TX. Right back up Indio hill we go and after I hit 8.5 hours of driving let him no I am tired. He takes over in Chairico Summit CA. I then have no problem going to sleep and wake up at 10:45 in El Paso TX right before we fuel. We get fuel & I move truck up so we can get showers & food. I try to park it so we can get out with our doubles. We finally get showered & eat & get back to the truck to find I gotta back up doubles about 20 feet. Had been told it was impossible to back these things up. He asks if I think I can get out cause the dolly has turned on us & I have no problem getting us outta there. I take us through construction zones. We hearing they doing logbook checks in Van Horn. I get waved right through with the truck behind me getting flagged over and one of the trucks in front of me having it's driver taken into the building in handcuffs for a strip search. My co-driver still sleeping, I see bad storm developing. 2 hours later, I am in fog,, slow down a little until I got a spotter to follow (as I call 'em cause I can just see taillights). I then hit real hard rain, then severe side winds (my second trailer snakin due to winds makes me slow down for safety), then more fog all the way into San Antonio TX. My co-driver wakes up about 8:00 as we getting into San Antone. I make it through , though I missed my exit for I-10 (recovery was good though & only took a couple of minutes). We then going out of San Antone when I observe another truck not holding his lane good. I am accelerating to get around him as the freeway goes into a turn, he starts coming into my lane (Thank God I try to keep a way out), I quick check mirrors, still on throttle, take the left lane as I double check to see just inches between our trailers, while warning co-driver ( just starting to come out of sleeper after putting up his sleeping gear) what is happening. I successfully avoided contact & my co-driver saying no problem (not thinking it was close call really ) & then my co-driver realizes how close it was when the other driver apologizes over the cb. I tell him apology accepted and let him know I was just trying to keep us BOTH safe. Shortly we pull in for fuel & food again. The co-driver takes over as I was at about 9 hours straight driving, takes us on into Houston TX. In Houston we encounter the typical Houston drivers (Mario Andretti wannabees) and he has get hard on the brakes cause a tanker pulled in front of us & then I can't sleep. Well we drop our trailers in Houston, then get advised to carry empties back to Dallas. We get back to Dallas & find no loads & my co-driver decides it is time to go home. So home I go & get there about 8:00 p.m. I get to bed about 10:30 after a good bath, sleep until the wife gets up to go to work, and then go right back to sleep until 10:30 am. Basically it was a good trip, mainly uneventful, except for the car we saw roll , my avoidance of trailer kissing, & his avoidance of the tanker. Combined miles was about 4100 in 3 days with me doing about 600-650 a day. Well it is time to have fun with the family till we go back out 02-27-01. Till I'm back let's ALL KEEP IT SAFE!

March 3, 2001

Well we got back in Friday after leaving Wednesday at 1:00 am. went to Houston with some doubles. Dropped them & hooked up some more. One went to Phoenix where we dropped it & picked up another to continue our trek with doubles to Fontana California. There we got a 53' van to go back to Dallas. We left Fontana at 9:15 Thursday morning & got back to Dallas at 8:00 Friday morning. Did get to see air force playing in the desert in Arizona though. Was a basically uneventful safe trip. Why did I wait so long to do THIS for a living (EASIEST MONEY I EVER MADE!) & boy so I like the PRE-PASS for the scales. But we go back out again Sunday! Rush hour is rush hour anywhere but Cali!

March 11, 2001

Well, I got back yesterday from a good reasonable 5 day week. Got called by co-driver at 4 am to meet him at Dallas terminal instead of Tuesday evening, since he already had a load bound for Chicago. By the time I got packed and there (rush hour traffic involved) it was 8 am. Off to Chicago we were. I took over right outside Dallas & ran out of time at near Branson Mo. He took us on in to Chicago, where we arrived at 1 am Wednesday. & yes it was cold (15 degrees). We got our next dispatch for Sacramento CA. Then we had to fight a dolly fifth wheel that was rusty & unable to disengage after we found air lines on it frozen. Two hours later we are Sacramento bound. I take over right outside of Chicago after he runs out of time. We take I-80 through Iowa, Nebraska (where he takes over), part of Wyoming, Utah (I wake up AFTER he descends mountains)<I take over right before Nevada>, Nevada (yes I play a dollars worth of slot machines so I can say I did), and up to the bug station in California (where I run out of time). I was advised to bring in manifest for inspection ( he takes in in after he & I log changes of duty in log books) and is advised to have receiving terminal call county health inspector to inspect quarantined load. He then takes us on into Sacramento. In the Sierra's he gets stopped for heeding a "STEEP GRADE / TRUCKERS / CRANK IT UP" sign. In CRANKING IT UP word to the wise DO NOT GO OVER 55 (he said he woulda let us go at 63. After explaining his actions and me letting officer know I was observing how mountains are driven (to explain why I wasn't in sleeper) we get let go with NO ticket. We sit 12 hours in Sacramento & then get advised to take empties to Stockton Ca & pick up set of doubles to go to Fort Worth TX. I take us out of California (see jackknifed J B Hunt truck (from skid marks appeared emergency reaction) through Mojave mountains & desert (see an unlabeled O/O truck & trailer mess being cleaned up-he appeared to have fallen asleep, drifted over left side tried to correct & rolled 3 times, lost trailer & load & probably his life from the looks of the rig) After I pass back through Nevada & cross into Arizona I get him to take over (tired , still thinking about that last wrecked rig I saw, & out of hours). I wake up in New Mexico after he hits the pot hole from hell. He tells me about the truck car wreck he passed that the cb is ablaze about cars suicide by truck mission (both the car & truck are totaled & only the trucker lived & walked away). That would be a hard one to forget much less keep driving after. I take back over just inside of Amarillo & bring us on in to Fort Worth & a severe traffic jam due to part of a freeway interchange closed for them to put up new bridge framing. We unhook there & get doubles to go to Dallas so we can go home & get to go right back through that SAME traffic delay a second time. Was a good acceptable week with 4700 miles in 4 1/2 days with 12 hours of layovers. I am still wishing I would have done this sooner in my life. With clear roads Donner Pass in Cali was beautiful with breath taking views. Nevada mountains were nice to with no snow. Did find out per the OWNER of truck that we DO NOT DRIVE IF CHAINS REQUIRED (nice---&good to know). And Saturday evening after I am home & gone shopping with the wife, I find out the truck owner called & returned his call. He likes what he is hearing of my abilities & how quick I am learning things. He then goes on to tell me that I can expect a raise VERY soon. Well we shall sign off again to see you again on the flip side. But to everyone let us ALL do our part to KEEP EVERYONE SAFE out there!

SEE YA!

March 18, 2001

Well, just got rested from the latest trip. Got called by co-driver to meet his in Big D at 3:30 in morning on Tuesday, March 13 for this trip. Got there, dispatcher gave him crap on the load we were SUPPOSED to take, instead we get coerced into taking a load to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with a promise we would have our California run when we got back to Big D. We got back conveniently right after problem dispatcher had gone home, made a report to our driver manager (though we were to later found out personally lies religiously-she never sent the report via e-mail to superiors as stated she would). We then proceeded to gripe & moan (found out is necessary when lied to for this company we are contracted to). After enough of it they give us another California load bound for Sacramento. This one was just a 53' van (not our usual doubles). I was the one lucky enough to be driving into California when I get the wonderful inbound weigh station on I-40. They tell me my tandems are too far back (kingpin/bridge law) and advise me to set them per California requirements & re-scale. While resetting them another driver seeing me do it advises that I better be ready to be overweight as well (as he got the kingpin ticket, an overweight ticket, & now was getting a full DOT inspection). I got them set right, rescaled, was given a kingpin ticket, and advised my logbook was in order. I was relieved they did not find other problems. I found out after the fact from other experienced drivers to flag on log books when you cross state lines (especially California's) as that the only logbook violations you can be ticketed on are those that occur within that state's boundaries if flagging of state lines occurs.  (Webmaster note:  say WHAAATTT?  I gotta know more about this -- I don't believe it.  Did this come from a California DOT or a driver?)

Well, we finally get to Sacramento & get doubles going back to Dallas. We get back to Dallas and find proof of driver manager's lies. We now know where we stand and are prepared accordingly to weigh every load just to cost her money & protect ourselves. We get asked if we can do an El Paso run, which we do. We get there about 11:00 our time, get a load (48' van) about 12:00 am Saturday March 16, get hooked, fueled (1:30 am by now), and I drive us back to Big D (where we arrive at 11:15 am Saturday March 16).

We then call it a week and I'm ready to spend some quality time with the wife & kids. My co-driver tells me to be prepared to go out at the same time as we did this week. I will try to get a little extra sleep if possible Monday, as a 3 am wakeup was no fun. But I still have NO regrets doing this, in fact, I enjoy what I do now, which does make a difference. There are problem people in every walk of life & trucking, I've found, is no different. But in trucking you can just shrug them off, close the door, & get on down the road AWAY from them.

Till the next time SEE YA!