July 2001

First some background...  I just retired from the US Air Force after 20 years of honorable service. (Thank You) I now find that I don't need to have someone looking over my shoulder all day long while I work, so it looks like truck driving is for me (Qualcomm doesn't count as looking over your shoulder does it?) I have some stick time in a tractor trailer and have had a CDL class A since 94, but it is all military related and (you guessed it) no one cares two cents for that experience. Too bad I say, but I understand that it is not "verifiable".

I called a couple of companies and gave them my particulars and they all asked the same thing: Have you been to school?  I kept saying no and they said call us after you have. Finally I asked a company which school they accept and they said Shippers Choice was one they recruited through, so I called Shippers Choice.  I found out that they have a school about 4 miles away, but I've never seen one of their trucks on the road. I started the school on the 28th of May, weekends only.

(Here is some FYI for active duty military:  The school uses Thomas Nelson Community College and they in turn accept tuition assistance from the Air Force Education Centers (Navy, Army etc) so I'm taking the course for less than $700, though it costs almost $3000.)

On the first day we all meet and introduce ourselves and yadda yadda, and the instructors pass out course materials, give us a course introduction and watch some videos on safety.

On the second day we go to the range and get introduced to the tractor and  48" van trailer. This equipment is not too bad really for students. I'm surprised that it’s this nice.  They give us a quick intro into trailer hook ups. Anyway the course is predictable with Saturday mornings involved in the classroom, log books, hazmat, air brakes, general procedures etc. 

Afternoons and Sundays are spent on the range getting our hands dirty on Pre-Trip (GEEEZZZ Pretrip, Pretrip) just kidding but they do hammer it home. Then we do in-cab Pretrip and air brake checks. Our first maneuver is straight-line backing, no problem. Not for me anyway, but the other guys, well, they have some problems.  Me and one other guy in the class have been in a truck before, the other guy has more Air Force driving experience than I do, but he does not have a CDL. Then we move on to curved line backing (Virginia test requirement) and it takes about 3 weekends for all of them to get the hang of it.  They all do better on the 45 degree drivers side docking. I do well too, I have no experience docking a truck, but it is interesting and fun. On our third weekend we go on the road and I am amazed to see one of the instructors and a student almost come to blows over the fact that the student did not agree that he had as much time at the wheel as the other students. Unbelievable, on a public road with traffic all around us.  It made us all very nervous but the instructor handled it very well. I suppose that’s what he gets paid for.  After the fact we all took this student to the side and made him understand that it would not happen again!

The other interesting event was another student tried to drive off the right side of an on ramp when he spent too much time looking down at the shifter.  The instructor took the wheel and asked the student to apply the brakes.  Of course he stalls the truck and then stalled it two more times attempting to get rolling again.  Boy don't think that won't make you sweat!! NO it wasn't me, but I was sweating in the sleeper anyway.

Well same old routine now, log books, pre trips and maneuvers, and road time, week after week. They let us do some parallel parking this week.  (not required for Virginia test)  That was kind of cool, seeing who could get it into the curb (simulated) the best. We are all trying to be the best, and giving each other a jeers when we screw up.  The other guy and myself who have the experience have an advantage, but a couple of other guys are very good. We are also quick to praise when someone does well.  We all have a military back ground so that might have something to do with it. 2 Air Force, 1 Navy, and 8 Army.

Just a note here about instructors with experience, we have 3 instructors who have lots of time behind the wheel. We let them tell as many “war stories” as possible. I think we learn just as much from those stories as we do with the classroom curriculum. Both will be needed on the road. Even at lunchtime we “allow” them to get something to eat and come back and chat. We never seem to actually take a break, we just move from one place to another while they keep talking, very informal. Don’t misunderstand, they know when to get back on task.

Fourteen different OTR companies have contacted me. This is great! Now all I have to decide is which one.  They all pay about the same for inexperienced drivers less than six months. So its just the minor company benefits that will make the difference. I have chosen Arrow trucking out of Tulsa Ok. I will be leaving on the 14th of July. They supply the bus ticket and hotel. I don’t really look forward to a day and half on a bus and haven’t actually been on one since 1975, hummm.

July 7, 2001

I went to the Petro truck stop out side of Ashland Virginia this weekend, and spoke to a couple of drivers. One with 5 years experience (one with Arrow) and he drove a flatbed. He got a brand new truck. The other driver had six months of experience and he drove vans.  His truck is a 98, but he says it is in fine shape. Neither one was jumping up and down about how good the company was but I would be very speculative if they did.  They both were happy and said positive things.

July 23, 2001

Well so much for Arrow, I found a company that will use my military driving for their pay scale so I will start at 4 years.  I know, money isn’t everything. Truthfully their benefits are similar.  First day in training, first thing in the morning, we went out on the road for pre-hire road evaluation. The instructor had us make a run up and down the highway getting on and off at every exit. I was first up behind the wheel with 2 other students, and after I take the first exit and pull to a stop at the top of the ramp I see a car pull up behind me and then try to pull to the left of me…no room.... so she goes to the right and pulls up along side.  I’m about to go straight across and back onto the highway, so what does she do…you guessed it, she pulls out and turns left right in front of me. WHEW!! Anyway everyone took a turn till we got back to the terminal, then we did some 45 degree backing. I think one of the guys has been out of school too long!! Then lots of paper work, lunch and more paper work.

August 27, 2001

After a week of orientation I get my trainer.  I will be going out for a two week evaluation. As luck would have it, my trainer lives about 35 miles from my home and he is going home for four days so I get a quick trip home before I go for my Eval and get paid to sit there!

I had a couple of good days off. My trainer picked me up and we are headed for Richmond, VA to pick up a relay to, of all places, my home town of Kansas City, MO. This is too funny; we are hauling scrap aluminum foil. We actually delivered it to Henrietta, MO, just outside of KC, about 18 miles from my sister's house and an hour or so from my Mom's house. I spent the night at my sister's house and got a nice hot shower and a home cooked meal.

After we were unloaded in Henrietta, MO we headed for General Mills in KC for a load of flour that is headed for Ft Worth, TX. We got as far as Wichita, KS with the flour and got a Qualcomm call about a JIT (just in time) load that was broke down.  We met the broke down truck on the turnpike, switched loads and headed north for I-70 to go west to Denver, CO. We delivered it to Commerce City, CO.

We actually got hosed on this load, though.  We took the load as a favor.  We already had a load out of Arlington, TX for North Carolina. We got to Denver and nothing is going out until Monday!! The owner-operator is pissed off and it is a waste of time talking to Extended Service. We are stuck for the weekend in Commerce City, CO at the TA. I make the most of it, talking to other drivers, doing laundry, although there is not much dirty. Sure glad they have a TV room although you can only watch so many movies in row! 

I walked around the parking lot looking at all the trucks and there are some damn fine vehicles out here! The funniest load I saw was a flatbed trailer and the only thing he had on it was a yellow Tonka truck all strapped down with the correct chains, you know the one in the advertisements the elephant used to stand on! :) I sat and listened to all the truck stop lawyers tell their versions of DOT regulations and war stories. I just sat there and listened, filing important info away and disregarding the BS.

Sunday night we got a load and we decided to sit at the truck stop until Monday morning. We left early Monday and switched trailers at a refurbish yard and then on to Budweiser in Ft. Collins, CO, heading for Riverside, CA. We spent half a day at the Budweiser plant waiting for the load.  When we finally got it we scaled out at the plant exit and found that we were 80,200 lbs, so we had to go back to unload a couple of pallets.

We made the run north to Wyoming on I-25 and turned west on I-80 towards the three sisters. We watched the sun go down over the Rockies -- what an amazing sight.  I get the feeling this is the reason you do this job, to see things like this!!  WOW!!

You may be asking yourself "What are the three sisters?"  They are a set of peaks in Wyoming and Utah that take you through the Rockies to Salt Lake City. Interesting in the summer, must be a real adventure in the winter!!!

We stopped in Sinclair, WY for a meal and a shower and spent the night. I’m getting the hang of this Qualcomm.  The only trouble I’m having is putting in the right times.  I keep screwing it up between the time zone we are in and the terminal time!! It also helps to make notes of arrival times and departure times. If you wait till you are all ready to send the Qualcomm you may forget all the details for your load.

No surprise, this company does their logs a little different from how I was taught in school.  Not that that is a surprise but it is aggravating when the trainer is telling you one thing and that is not the way you know it.

Speaking of the trainer, he is a real good guy, very patient, not that he has needed to be with me!! Well OK, maybe a little.  We have these log planning work sheets we have to do as training exercises and in my opinion, they are poorly organized and need to be scrapped or at the very least, modified. They drive me crazy and I think they are a waste of time. I’m putting up with them, and of course after you get used to them they don’t seem so bad. He just laughs at my aggravation! We seem to get along well, and have some of the same interests to discuss. We have kids about the same age and that keet us talking for hours! He has been driving about seventeen years, six with this company. He owns his 97 Freightliner classic. Dual chrome pipes without baffles, you can’t hear much with the windows down unless you’re going down hill. He calls it music; I just think it’s just very loud. We are planning on stopping in Las Vegas on the way and I’ll let you know how much money it cost me to stop there!

Another amazing sight to see for me was the canyons on I-15 towards Mesquite, NV (I think) Very nice!

Well OK it cost me about $30 plus dinner, not too bad for 4 hours of one-armed bandits. My trainer walked out on the plus side. We got some sleep in the casino parking lot and then headed for Riverside, CA.  Actually I'm still asleep when we are coming down I-15 into San Bernardino. The Jake brakes wake me up!  LA smog in the distance. Its been a few years since I've been in the LA area, but it hasn't changed!

We unloaded at Budweiser and got a short load from the BMW warehouse to the LA drop yard.  WOW this drop yard is incredible.  We were lucky enough to get the trailer into a slot, but had to move a trailer to get ours out. The local guy helped us out. So we now had a load of Sam's Club freight weighing 2500 lbs (yes that's right) headed for Ft Worth, TX.  We are going to relay it there and pick up a load for Chicago, IL.  The trailer we pick up in LA has no trailer lights unless you turn on the four ways or turn signals. Great. 

We decided to go as far as we could and then get the lights fixed before dark. We got to the Arizona / New Mexico border and stopped to fix the lights but ended up spending the night.  We did a temp fix on the trailer, but it held up. One hell of a thunderstorm in New Mexico but didn't actually run through it, just a great light show. I lived near El Paso for 4 years and liked it, but now!! OH NO!! I don't think so. NAFTA has been great for the economy here, but the border openings have made the traffic crazy!

We stopped for fuel at the Petro on the east side of town and played hell getting out.  Finally had to piss off a bunch of people by blocking each lane as I crossed and waited for the traffic to clear for the next lane. This is where the "bigger/smaller rule" comes into play.

We dropped the load in South Ft Worth, TX and continued on to Chicago, IL with a load of brochures. I hit a storm in Oklahoma, oh that was bad, but the truck handled it fine. Chicago is fine, tolls, well what you gonna do! We unloaded in North Chicago, IL and deadheaded to St Louis, MO, Proctor and Gamble. We got to St. Louis, MO and found out that the load will not be ready until the morning. It is going to Connecticut.

The next morning we got the load and headed out. We are going to make a stop at the company main terminal in Daleville, IN.  Half way across New York, we notice the alternator is discharging so we pull into a rest stop and call for road side assistance.  It took about an hour for the repair guy to come, luckily we have told him what we need. The alternator has lost a nut that adjusts the tension on the belt. He brought a nut that will work and we are on the road again.

The fog is something else in Connecticut.  We somehow found the place and waited to be unloaded. About 4 hours later we were on our way to Boston deadhead. 

Well here we come to the part were I explain that I have not had a decent meal since Arizona and a shower since Wyoming. The trainer is a good trainer, but after hours and hours of conversation I know he needs every mile he can get, and he gets mine also. He is broke and is way behind in his truck maintenance. I am pissed and let him know it. He doesn't seem to care about being clean.

We pick up a load in North Boston at a chemical plant, paint related materials non hazmat. It is ...are you ready...  450 lbs. It needs to be in Durham, NC in 36 hours. I am somewhat happier knowing I will be passing by close to home, so I start to make plans for my wife to meet me at a truck stop north of Ashland, VA.  It is about 3 hours from home. We are within 1 hour of the truck stop and we both run out of hours so we spend another hour trying to figure out how that happened.  No matter how creative we are we can't go any further. So now I know my wife is an hour away from me and I can't get to her and she doesn't know where I am. She doesn't have a cell phone with her. I called the truck stop and they were nice enough to look for her for me. I got a ride from another trucker who was nice enough to believe my story.  I'm not sure if I would have!! Thanks again driver!!!

I got to the truck stop and found her.  It it is so good to see her.  She was waiting in line for a drink at the counter and all we see is each other. I know I am tired and hungry and dirty and not thinking straight, but we both decided to drive to the truck and pick up my stuff -- I'm going home!! The trainer didn't seem surprised at all. I said no hard feelings and thanks for everything (as a trainer he is very good) Now that I look back, of course, when I talked to his previous trainee, I see what he meant and why he raised his eye brows. LOL!! Thanks Tom!!  Yes, his names was Tom, also.

Well I've been off for several weeks now and have started looking for work.  I loved the experience and know that this is not the way that most drivers run, well, company drivers anyway. I guess it depends on how in debt owner operators are. I don't think owner/operators should be trainers, or at least their finances should be looked at. I like driving a truck but will look for something other than OTR.  We decided after my last TDY, (temp duty) in Saudi Arabia that it was too hard being away from home...