F--- you, winter!

So here we sit at a truckstop, no point in continuing on because the highway ahead is closed until tomorrow morning (we hope). Granted, the point of closure is still several hundred miles away, but fog is bad in this area and we're still dealing with a bit of a winter storm. We stopped while we could still find parking at this here truckstop.

So, our hopes for a stellar earnings week are pretty much shot. We're not going broke by any means, but we were planning on running our asses off and sending home even better coin than we'd been making.

Such is the life of the truck driver. We've got to take the good with the bad. The good is that we found a nice place to park and that we get to sit on our asses and watch movies in our "Ghetto-piece Theatre". We slapped a tape adapter onto my laptop and plugged it into the truck's sound system. Works pretty good as a quasi-surround sound system. It won't be putting Bose out of business, but it sure beats the crap out of my laptop's speakers.

The great part of this - it will be my second 34 hour restart in three days!!

On the road again...

I'm back on the road. We're taking this weekend kind of slow so that we can ease into things. See, we're still on guaranteed pay ($500/wk minimum) and the way our load turned out to be structured makes it next to impossible to grab enough miles this weekend to top it. So, we can either run our asses off and make minimum, or we can take it easy (lots of time on this load) and make... minimum.

Besides, I'm trying to fight off a nasty head cold.

For those who are curious, I will not divulge my location, route, destination, or load info while I am actually under the load. This is for the safety of my cargo, my teammate and (most importantly) me. I'll talk about this load later, though it's really nothing special.

I will talk about food, however. We have figured out a few good recipes for good eating. In fact, once we bought our two lunchbox ovens, a whole new world of possibilities opened up to us. And after spending the first run eating cold sandwiches, it was very welcome.

Excellent food choices that we found:

• canned soup. The chunky kind. Don't skimp here.
• Hot sub sandwiches. Wrap in foil, cook for 30 minutes. Yum.
• Baked potatoes. Hell yeah!
• Chicken breasts. Wrap in foil, season, add a little butter.
• Hot Pockets. Believe it or not, the lunchbox cooker actually does these well.

Here's a picture of last night's dinner (chicken breast and baked potato):

Where the heck have you been hiding?!

Ok, I've been catching hell because I haven't updated this blog for a while. I'm sorry, but internet access has been almost nonexistent on the road and I've been busy, busy, busy while at home. I promise to be more diligent with this in future.

I'm not going to go into the first run because I really don't remember much about it since I didn't record any details. Believe me, you'll be amazed at how much these runs start mashing together into a blur.

I purchased a laptop during my first time at home period, so I was able to keep records. In fact, I keep a spreadsheet tracking paid miles, out of route, and a guesstimation as to what pay for the week will be. It's actually been pretty accurate, with Schneider's mileage calculation always being slightly higher than mine (no complaints!!).

I'm not going into my actual pay for privacy reasons, but you can approximate it knowing that new teams get 31 cents per mile.

First week:

• Denver, CO to Macon, GA: 1497 paid
• McDonough, GA to Mount Vernon, TX: 777 paid
• Coppell, TX to Ogden, UT: 1353 paid

My half of the miles came to 1814. It was a short week due to TAH, after all.

Second week:

• Carson, CA to Macon, GA: 2229 paid
• Atlanta, GA to Paris, TX: 793 paid
• Paris, TX to Hazleton, PA: 1352 paid

My half came to 2187. I also missed the miles between Ogden, UT and Fontana, CA. Monday was wasted due to Safetrack. It was yet another Schneider test to determine whether or not I had picked up any bad habits. My teammate couldn't knock his Safetrack out because he was out of hours. We're going to have to sacrifice another day to that sometime in the near future.

Third week:

• Aborted run from Wilmerding, PA to Alpha, IL: 243 paid (more on this later)
• McCoole, MD to Sauk Village, IL: 658 paid
• Chicago, IL to Roanoke, TX: 971 paid
• Haslett, TX to Statesville, NC: 1115 paid
• Charlotte, NC to San Bernardino, CA: 2382 paid

Monday was a waste again. We had to drive almost all the way across Pennsylvania to pick up a load in Wilmerding - NOT easy to get to. We finally get there only to find out that it's a Haz Mat load. We don't have Haz Mat endorsements yet. The shipper neglected to tell SNI that it's a Haz Mat load, so I can't really fault Schneider for that. But it still sucks. We get the replacement load and have to go down to Maryland. That region SUCKS for truck traffic. After we get that delivered and pick up the new load in Chicago, it's a race to Texas to beat the ice storm. I made it to Joplin, MO just as the rain starts pouring down. My poor teammate is left to brave the deteriorating conditions in Oklahoma. By the way, it's HARD to sleep when you know that you're being driven through an ice storm.

The next load is expedited - less than 24 hours to make it 1115 miles from Texas to North Carolina. During an ice storm. We manage to make the pickup about 30 minutes late because we were assigned to pick up a trailer from a place that didn't open until 15 minutes before our pickup deadline. We make the drop in NC - only 15 minutes late. Talk about pulling some miles out of your rear. By the way, safety was NOT compromised and we never drove too fast for conditions.

My half of the miles was 2684.

Fourth week:

• South Gate, CA to Winchester, VA: 2640 paid
• Colonial Heights, VA to Charlotte, NC: 419 paid
• Huntsville, NC to Indianapolis, IN: 621 paid
• Indianapolis, IN to Henderson, CO (HOME TIME!!): 1065

My split was 2372. Again, another Monday lost because they couldn't relay our delivery in San Bernardino. And the consignee took a LONG time getting around to unloading, and over an hour to get the paperwork done once the truck was empty.

The miles have not been great yet, but that's because we still tend to stop too much. It's not Schneider's fault because the loads always come in either immediately after showing available or we get loads assigned ahead of time.



This is my truck after hooking up to my first trailer:



This is a very nice sunset that we saw at the Seville, OH operating center:

Have truck, will travel...

Ok, life's been moving pretty quickly lately. I got my CDL last Tuesday and took my last qualification test today. We were finally given the keys to our truck and were pleased to find that it only needs 3 or 4 new tires. Here are some pictures:This is me in the driver's seat

Heres a view of the dashboard

This is the truck in the express bay waiting on the tire changes.

Graduation and meeting the Training Engineer

Sorry for not updating everyone. I haven't had internet access since we checked out of the hotel on Friday. Here's what happened:

We took the written test. Everyone passed. One person had to stay for backing remedial. We had the graduation ceremony, took pictures, etc. I managed to get the honors student award. I guess a certain "incident" that I had to call in to safety on Wednesday didn't affect my driving score that much. No, I didn't hit anything, but it was mighty close. Basically, some guy ran a red light and forced me out of my lane while I was trying to make a right turn, and I came within about 1 or 2 inches of a light pole.

So, we all graduated and got our assignments. My teammate and I were assigned to the same TE who is on a Sears dedicated account in Delano, CA. We were supposed to ride a van to Delano on Friday, but the hotel was sold out, so we had to hang out in Ontario, CA for a couple of days and pick up a rental car on Sunday. The great news is that we get to keep the rental car for the week so that we won't be trapped at the hotel.

Anyway, my teammate and I are out with our TE. He is home every night, so we're staying in a hotel instead of sleeping in the truck every night. Pretty sweet, except that we're based in Delano, CA. If you've never been to Delano.. well.. don't hurry.

At about 2300 on Sunday night, the TE calls us and tells us to meet him in the hotel lobby at 0200 on Monday. That's right. We had 3 hours notice. I had the fun task of driving from Delano to Modesto on less than 3 hours of sleep. The TE drove from Modesto to Stockton, and I drove the rest of the way from Stockton to Sacramento. My teammate drove back to Delano while I slept.

Our TE told us that he is pleased with our driving. He's also great about giving us some pointers. So far, he's not seeing any reason not to release us from his custody on Friday, which means that we'll be back in Colorado on Sunday. Woohoo!!

Day 13... Test day

I know, I know.. but I just haven't had the time or energy to update the blog, especially when not much new has happened.

Today was the driving test. Pre-Trip, pump down (aka "air brake tests"), four-point inspection, trailer integrity verification ("terror check", newly implemented), drive around, and 45-degree alley dock.

It really went well. I took a right turn a little too wide and my mirror scans weren't quite quick enough, but everything else was fine. I'm pissed that I had to take a pull up on my backing test. I had the perfect angle to get the hole-in-one, but then I overcorrected and ran out of room to fix it. Damn. Oh well. One pull up isn't bad.

Everyone in the class passed except one who failed backing. He gets to try it again tomorrow.

We have one more obstacle: the written test. Piece of cake. After that, we discover our fates and where we will be going for further training. All that I know now is that we're checking out of the hotel tomorrow morning.

Time to pack.

Days 8, 9, and 10...

Wow, I've been slacking on this blog lately. It's been busy around here, and I've been fighting this evil head cold that our class seems to be passing back and forth to each other.

Anyway, Saturday was slow maneuvers and backing practice, which was great fun. The second half was Haz Mat class, which was not fun. Sunday was excruciatingly dull. Permits, Qualcomm, and Map Reading. Map Reading was by far the most interesting. As a kind of techno geek, I thought that the Qualcomms would be fun and entertaining, but no. They're terribly, terribly dull. By far the least fun day thus far.

Today we were back in the trucks. Since my instructor ditched me in order to accomodate the huge class that's in Week 1 now, I've been shunted to another instructor. And there are three of us on that truck. Which meant an 0600 to 1900 day. The first guy drove us out to Huntington Beach. I drove us to San Diego. The last guy drove us back home. We each got roughly 4 hours of wheel time. I even got to drive through my first weigh station. Joy.

And now, it's back to homework. Whee. And Jill, if you're reading this, I love you!

The Halfway Point!!

Been doing this one week now, and one more week until graduation. I can't believe how tired I was last night. I went to bed with a splitting headache about 2000 and stayed asleep until just past 0400. I was miserable. Woke up feeling much refreshed, though.

Today was productive behind the wheel. My instructor had me practice identifying and making buttonhook turns and I'm getting the hang of it. I'm also getting a handle on 45-degree backing. For some weird reason, the State of Colorado demands that I perform an offset backing maneuver in order to get a CDL. Dunno why. It's the same as a straight-line back except that you're shooting for the next parking space over, not the one directly behind you. I really can't see where I would set myself up for such a maneuver in that fashion, but I have to learn it anyway. Actually, I aced it on both tries. If only I could perform the 45-degree as well. Now I just have to learn to parallel park (both blind [passenger] side and sight [driver] side). Since it's basically the same as an offset back, it shouldn't be any problem.

The simulator was fun today. We got to learn us some skid control. Drive fast over the simulated skid pad and try to keep control. If you're not turning, it's actually pretty easy to regain control. If you're turning, then you've got a big problem. I didn't do so well recovering from the turning skid at 20mph. Jacknifed it, actually.

Next, we got to drive down snowy, foggy, and icy roads. The problem is that when we're doing too well at recovering from the stuff, the instructors start throwing some messed up stuff at you. Just to amuse themselves. Like the steer tire that blew out on me after I started hydroplaning. Either one is easy to recover from alone, but both of them slid me off the road. Brandon, you're a bastard for doing that to me!! And for the black ice that magically appeared when I was trying to maneuver around the wrecked truck at 40mph. And for making me drive through that fog at 40mph so that I had to make such a quick decision and slide on that magic ice. You suck, dude.

We also got to learn about scaling the trucks and sliding the tandems and fifth wheel.

Now it's time to try to do some homework.

Day 6...

I know that I didn't post yesterday, but I was TIRED. Still am. This has definitely been an exhausting adventure.

Yesterday and today were split between driving the truck and lab/simulator time. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of driving the thing and my turns are getting MUCH better. Backing is also coming along now that I'm starting to get the idea of where the trailer goes when I turn the wheel.

We lost another student in our class today- don't know why. That brings the total body count up to five. Two never showed up, one got drunk the first day and was dismissed with a hangover. We lost one yesterday to a bad back and now this one. There's only 13 left in the class now.

I'm learning that I don't like the simulators too well. There is no perspective and the controls just don't feel right. Yes, it does give you a rough idea as to how things go, but the actual truck feels much, much different and is easier to see what the hell you're doing in.

Time to hit the sack again. I'm hurting.

First day in the truck...

I survived. The truck survived. Nobody around me was hurt or killed or wrecked despite the best efforts of some idiotic drivers who have to gun it around the slow truck so that they can get to the red light quicker. Ugh.

So, I thought that we were going to bobtail today (drive without a trailer) through some non-traffic area to get a feel for things for a while before we started doing anything serious.

Guess again.

Chris (my trainer) took us, trailer and all, to an industrial park so that we could get a couple of practice turns in. Then we were thrown to the wolves. The wolves being Southern California traffic.

Now, I've driven manual transmissions for as long as I've driven. I should be able to shift, right?

Guess again.

Never mind that I had to keep reminding myself that the shift pattern is different and the clutch is different and that there are TEN gears, five of which must be gone through almost before you clear a decent-sized intersection...

After a while, I settled down and was able to shift up through the gears without much problem. Downshifting is another story. Double-clutching is strange enough without having to add throttle between clutches in order to shift down. Never mind that I'm trying to shift into 4th gear when trying to go into 5th because it's positioned where 5th is on most cars. And I kept forgetting to set the selector switch so that I could go into 5th instead of trying to go into 10th. Yikes.

And what happens when you try to get it into gear and it just grinds and bounces back out? You can't keep coasting because once you go 100 yards, the Gods of CDL testing consider you out of control and will fail you. You've got to find a gear somewhere. Anywhere.

All in all, I did much better than I expected to. I have a lot to work on and think about, of course, but it could have been much worse. Two instructors have told me that I have the double-clutching footwork down pretty good, so I guess I have to believe them on that point.

Tomorrow is half a day driving the truck and half a day driving a simulator. Now it is bedtime.

Another day gone...

Man, it's hard to be getting up at 0400. School went well today - it was just long. Half the day was lab and simulator, and half was classroom.

The lab consisted of us learning the proper way to climb in, on, and under the truck. We also got the basics of the four-point inspection and a demonstration of how to uncouple and couple the tractor and trailer.

Next, we went into the simulators for shifting practice. No scenery or anything - just a basic view of a basic dashboard that showed a speedometer, tachometer, and little else. It was nice way to get the idea of how to shift the thing without the distraction of things to hit, where the truck is going, etc. I got double-clutching down ok now and was starting to get the hang of "bump and run" downshifting (what? you have to hit the GAS to slow down?!). My biggest problems are that I'm trying to wrestle the shifter into place and I kind of panic when the shifter bounces back out and misses the gear. I just have to get it through my thick skull to get those RPMs back up before losing any speed. And which gear I need to aim for when I *DO* lose speed. And to not press the clutch all the way to the floor, which engages the evil, awful clutch brake.

It's been really nice having the kitchenette. My roommate/co-driver and I pooled our money and bought a bunch of groceries so that we don't have to eat out every night. Tonight was Tuna Helper night, while we had chicken and potatoes last night. It really does save on money and calories.

I'm both excited and nervous about tomorrow. It's going to be our first day actually on the trucks. I've really been looking forward to this, but there is a LOT to remember when you're trying to keep that big thing under control. I know, it'll become like second nature later, but for now, it's pretty intimidating.

Two days down, only twelve to go...

Today was all classroom again. We learned how to fill out the logbooks and now must log all of our time throughout training. This is probably a good idea so that we get into the routine. Especially considering that a screwed-up logbook subjects the driver to a $1500 fine.

We spent the other half of the day going over the theory of driving the truck. How to start it, shift it, maneuver it, etc. All in the classroom. It's good stuff to know, but it just won't come together until we actually start getting behind the wheel.

Time to finish my homework, I guess.

Day 1 of School

Finally got here, but the bus ride seemed like it would never end. The taxi ride was even worse - I'm not even going to talk about it.

I crashed at about 1930 last night and was woken up by the alarm at 0400. We were bussed to Schneider's Fontana Operating Center and proceeded with the first day of class. It was just paperwork and videos. We were done at 1030.

The hotel is really nice. Kitchenette and everything. I was hoping for merely a small fridge and a microwave, but the full on stove, dishwasher, dishes, and microwave/oven is much better. My roommate (and co-driver once we're done here) and I are going grocery shopping later so we don't have to eat out so much.

...and the packing continues!

Remember how I posted that my wife had a ton of bricks moment yesterday? I had one today. I was doing the laundry so that I'd have clean clothes to take to Fontana tomorrow. As I was folding one of my wife's shirts, a horrible feeling of distance came over me. I really wasn't expecting it. I actually had to go sit down and pull myself together. I'm going to miss her. Terribly.

I'm not doubting my decision by any means. It's just that we've never been apart for this length of time in.. what?...six years? We started out as a long distance relationship and went for almost three years that way, but once we actually moved in together, we really haven't been apart for more than a week.

In the end, I fully expect the rewards to outstrip the sacrifices, but it's a whopping upfront emotional investment. But nothing worthwhile is easy. I'm just glad that she's behind me 100% on this. There's no way I could do this without her.

Time to go pack some more...

Have Greyhound tickets, will travel...

I dutifully called up my Schneider recruiter today and was rewarded with my bus travel information. My bus leaves Fort Collins, Colorado at 1605 on Thursday, and I transfer in Denver to another bus that leaves at 1810. I will arrive at San Bernardino, California at 1440 Pacific time on Friday.

Oh boy!! I get to spend most of my 30th birthday on a $%^#ing bus! Just as I've always wanted!! Ah well. It's really not that big of a deal. I'll probably get a minor bout of depression, but I'll get over it. I really don't dwell on that crap too long. I'd go nuts.

The fact that I'm leaving for 3 to 6 weeks the day after tomorrow hit my wife like a ton of bricks tonight. It's kind of strange because I've never left her home alone for any real length of time. She's gone on lots of trips without me, but I've never been the one doing the leaving. That struck me as really weird, too, because I'm actually a far more experienced traveller than she is.

Anyway, she got a little teary. The thought of leaving her alone to run the household breaks my heart. It's not that she's not capable. It's just that I feel bad leaving everything on HER like that. I'm thankful that she has many wonderful friends here in this town that will help her out. She's much more prone to loneliness than I am, and having those friends will really help make this more tolerable for her. That and daily phone calls and stuff from me.

So... not much to do right now except pack and cherish the time left with the wife before I have to head out!

Last day at the old job!

FINALLY! Leaving my old job at the call center was an emotional experience for me. That is to say, I was thrilled to finally get out of there at the end of the day. I will miss some of the people there, but it wasn't worth sticking around for them.

Now, my employer wasn't a horrible employer - they just have the problems that make any call center a crappy place to work. And in the particular line of business that my employer was in, dealing with crying customers was especially infuriating due to the frivolous nature of the business. The product is a luxury, and customers cry and scream about it as if it were a necessity. Damn that got old. And it also got old that the people who were in charge of providing the product couldn't be forced to take deadlines seriously. It's crap from both ends.

Anyway, that's behind me now. Now I have to get ready for the fun stuff. Here is the packing list that Schneider provided to me:

• 7 days of comfortable clothing (no shorts and nonessential jewelry)
• Soft-sided luggage (what? whadaya mean I can't fit my largest plastic suitcase into the sidebox of a truck?)
• Sunglasses
• Flashlight (a Maglite can double as a weapon! heh heh heh!)
• A watch
• Pen, pencils, calculator, ruler, highlighter, 3-ring binder, book bag
• CDL permit
• Identity/employment eligibility documents
• Birth certificate
• Voided check for direct deposit
• DOT medical card
• Toiletries
• Bedding (for the truck)

I still need the flashlight and the sunglasses. I'm going to get a cheap flashlight to start with, and try to score a pair of sunglasses that fit over my prescription glasses. I'm told that the simulator experience sucks without sunglasses to help with the vertigo.

Getting Ready To Go....

First off, a little about me...

My name is Rodger. I spent a few years doing IT work in Henderson, Nevada. In 2003, my wife got a job in Fort Collins, Colorado, so we moved. Unfortunately, my skills just aren't marketable here. I spent months trying to find a job, but finally had to settle for a job working in a restaurant just so we could have more money coming in. This past February, I went back to my roots, sucked up my pride, and went to work for a call center. Call centers suck, but I have much more talent for that work than I do for the food service stuff.

So... Being tired of working my ass off at a job with no real future for peanuts wore me down. Hard. Looking through the classified ads and networking with people in town haven't shown me that there's really anything better for a person like me. I'm in a rut. So I decided it was time to do something drastic. Driving a truck has not exactly been my lifelong ambition, but it's something that I have not done and it promises to have much more potential than anything I could do around here. Fortunately, my wife supports my decision 100%. Neither of us are thrilled about spending weeks apart at a time, but our relationship is strong enough to handle that.

I applied with Schneider, CR England, and Stevens Transport. All three have offered me jobs. I initially had my heart set on Schneider because they have a great reputation for training, but the recruiter told me that they only hired teams in my area of the country. Since I had my heart set on solo driving, this was a problem.

CR England offered me solo driving, but the whole process felt a little oily. They were just in too much of a hurry to get me in the door, if you can relate to me there. It just didn't feel right, and I really don't like the way they push the lease on you. Nor do I like them taking the tuition from your paychecks.

Stevens Transport also offered me solo driving. I even got a tour of the school that they contract with here in Colorado. It's a little father and son operation out in Keenesburg (itty bitty farming town a little northeast of Denver), but I was very impressed with the way that they run the place.

Stevens is now the leader. Until I get a call from a potential Schneider teammate. We got on the phone and spent probably 45 minutes to an hour interviewing each other. We then met in person and spent another hour interviewing each other and laying down some VERY tentative ground rules.

He seems like a good guy and we have the same goals. Since Schneider found a teammate for me who seems compatible and since teams are paid quite a bit more than solo drivers, I decided to go with Schneider.

I went and got my DOT physical and drug screen and passed my Colorado CDL permit test (thanks, Pumpkindriver.com!!). Got everything faxed in and got word that my teammate got his stuff squared away, too. So we're set to go out to Fontana, California for school. It begins on September 23rd.

Now I just have to wait for the call on Tuesday to find out when my bus is leaving...