Question:
It has been about 6 months since my adventure with Taxibob. Since then I have been through a very good driving school, graduated at the top of my class, and was turned down by every major OTR company I applied to because I have been out for almost two years with my injury.
Rather than get denied by the few companies that I hadn't yet tried I decided to get a local job to re-establish a work history. I landed a job starting out driving a straight truck and then moving into the tractor trailers.
Well the job sucked. Lots of warehouse work and a little bit of driving.
I stopped by the driving school one afternoon to say hi to my instructor. To make a long story short he hooked me up with a local owner operator running basically mid west/southeast, but I will be going all over. I was hired within about 3 minutes of meeting this guy. as long as he was able to put me on his insurance, which he was.
My instructor said this was a god move for me, and I trust him a lot. The money should be excellent for someone fresh out of school, so I am scheduled to road test, and be assigned my first load on Tuesday Sept 16.
Tuesday, Sept. 16 2003
The road test went well, and I am now an employed truck driver. I'll be leaving out sometime today for who knows where. The truck I will be driving is an older Volvo Mid-roof. While it won't win any beauty contests is is reportedly a comfortable and reliable truck.

Answer:
Congratulations Cessna! Glad to hear that you're finally on the road. Don't sweat the truck though, it could be worse. You could be stuck in the 89 'Star that I have been tooling around in this week. I didn't know they made trucks that small... I am 6'5 and my knees are against the dash; I could rub a hole through my jeans just clutching.

Answer:
to pick up in Evans, Georgia. It is a little later than I would have liked to get started, but I think I'll be ok.
I was noticing while we were talking that this truck only has one bunk. After further review I find out I will be flying this one solo. Hmmmm.....ok.
I get everything together and head out, grinding every single gear in the process. Oh yeah...this is a fine way to start! Going to the middle of BFE by myself, and apparently I have forgotten how to shift!
I make good time through West Palm, but need to stop off in Ft, Pierce and wait for the other driver to catch me so he can get something out of the truck. An hour lost on an already tight run. Just what I need!!!
I get to my destination a few minutes late, but they still load me. I sign my papers, drive around the back and just collapse. What the hell have I gotten myself into?? I don't get much sleep. I wonder if this is really what I want. Right now, like the 7 yr old little boy I once was......I wanna go home!
Sept. 17, 2003
I am up early and roling toward Charlotte, NC. I am nervous as hell, and still wondering what the hell I am doing. I arrive in Pineville, NC for a few more pallets of inserts, then off to Roanoke, VA. I remember being told how to drive mountains in class, but we don't have anything bigger than overpasses in S. Florida. As I am heading north on I77 through NC, I see big mountains looming in the distance.
This'll be interesting....I'll either do exactly what I was taught...or die in a fireball as I plummet off a cliff.
Sept. 18, 2003
The mountains weren't that big a deal. I did exactly what I was taught, and remembered coming down Mont Eagle with Bob. I am now in Roanoke, unloaded and going to sleep. A word of advice for all newbies. Call the receiver!!!! The directions I got were a bit off, and it is a huge pain in the bottom to turn this big azzed truck around. If possible get a landmark. It is easier to say "turn right at 84 Lumber" rather than looking for a road sign that may be covered, missing or what not. You can see the signs for 84 lumber from blocks away, too. This gives you plenty of time to get slowed down.
I get back to Pineville without a hitch. Actually things went very well. It is a beautiful day. Nice and cool, not a single cloud in the sky. Although I was thrown into the fire, I think I have done well. A good school is worth its weight in gold. Another plus is the people I work for and with are just awesome. Everyone is friendly, and my dispatcher knows I am as green as the lawn, so he is being super understanding. So far everything has gone well.
But it's only been a few days......

Answer:
But it's only been a few days......
As those days increase it'll get easier
with lessening tension. Looks like you're doing OK,hang in there.
Mike
Answer:
Congrats Cessna on the new job. Wish you luck in your travels, and be careful.

Answer:
Congrats C172!!
You mean to tell me that none of the OTR companies that take newbies would touch you because you were unemployed for two years? - wow! Did your place of residence have anything to do with it? Glad you found a way to get started anyway- stay safe out there!
PP
Keep electing the same kinds of politicians and you will keep getting the same kind of government.
Answer:
Its gets better very quickly...after your first trip into the Big Apple everything else is cake!
As the past becomes the future unfolds
Answer:
cessna......sounds like you will be just fine, sometimes just getting out there and doing it makes you learn that much quicker.
i remember when i first learned to drive a "stick" (car).....i was at work and wanted to go get some lunch and my bud threw me the keys to his old ford escort with a 5-speed and said give it a shot....well it wasn't fun at first and i made it back before dark and with the transmission still in there i think
best of luck to ya.....remember it will only get easier and better.
"Hakuna Matata".....Greg
All for the love of a good woman.


Answer:
A word of advice for all newbies. Call the receiver!!!! The directions I got were a bit off, and it is a huge pain in the bottom to turn this big azzed truck around. If possible get a landmark.
If possible, have your boss hook you up with a hands free cell phone setup with speaker. Buy a "Dispatch Buster" micro cassette recorder. Tape all directions!! Beats the heck outta trying to read your chicken scratching while driving.
Since I started using a tape recorder, my "missed turns and getting lost" has gone down to ZERO!
BTW, your experiences on the road will get better, the more acclimated you get to life on the road.
*******************************
"Got the bird dog on...
Dodgin' the scales...
80 miles an hour and a step outta jail..." From "Rollin' Home, Pirates of the Mississippi)
*******************************
"I've always been different with one foot over the line.
Winding up somewhere, one step ahead or behind.
It ain't been so easy, but I guess I shouldn't complain.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane." (from Waylon Jennings)

Answer:
A truer statement has yet to be made here on Trucknet. I was thinking how easy a mini recorder would make my life. I have to keep track of my miles at state borders...etc. I'll have a recorder before I leave out again.
Thank you all for your encouraging words. At first I was scared as heck. It has gotten easier, and I am backing that truck into places I didn't think I could.
Sept. 18/19 2003
I am sitting here in sunny North Carolina with Hurricane Isabel closing in. I want to get the hell out of Dodge in a big way. I am dispatched to St Petersburg, Fl. To get there I must take I77 south and pick up I26 through the bottom end of SC.
Uhhhhh.....isn't this where the hurricane is ???
Lickily all I get is a lot of wind. It is actually pretty cool. Coming down I77/I26 I can see the outer edges of the storm. I am pretty heavy with 42K in the box, but still getting pushed around. I'll be glad to get out of this crap. Note to boss....don't send the new guy through a hurricane in your truck! Once I drop in St. Pete I will be running back up to Pineville to re-load and then to Miami for some home time.
Things overall are getting easier. This particular company keeps me moving, and reportedly pays pretty good. We shall see. One of the best parts is I am allowed to sleep at a lot of the places I go to if need be. Heck, the office in Pineville is becoming my second home. I need to convince them to get a shower installed, maybe even a hot tub, although I'd settle for the shower. It is funny to me just how nice everyone is. I am so acustomed to living in South Florida and not saying boo to most people. Here they are usually cheerful, always say hello, are super helpful, and just a lot of fun to work with.
My dispatcher is the best. He knows I am new, and goes out of his way to work with me. I have been told that if I am tired to just shut down and sleep. Period. I really like that. They give me plenty of time to get where I need to be, but if I am late all I do is make a phone call and it is handled. I don't touch anything but the doors. Everything is unloaded, and so far lumpers haven't been needed. Most of the places I deliver to are newspapers. The buildings are big, and docks are easy.....well most of them. That one place in Canton sucked.....but I got it in there!

Answer:
Somewhere in Georgia.....
St Pete went without a hitch. I did get a real hard lesson in paying attention to what you are reading.
I stopped for the night in a rest area off I75 in GA. I needed to use the bathroom, but it was kinda nasty, and there was some weird looking guy there, so I decided to hit a truckstop up the road.
Off at the 201, and I could have sworn the sign said Flyin J .6 miles left!
Guess what...it didn't!
After about 3/4 of a mile I knew I was screwed. Once you are off the exit here it is all residential. I was lost...well not really lost. I knew where I needed to be I just couldn't get turned around. It was Oh Dark Thirty in the morning, foggy as heck, and all I had were dirt driveways with drainage canals between them. I finall found someone to flag down and got situated once again, and got back to where I needed to be. The moral of that story is by being in a hurry, not paying attention cost me a good hour of my time.
They say trucking has the biggest learning curve of any industry. So far I will have to agree 100%. I was thrown into this with a set of keys, a map, and directions to where I needed to go. I was scared senseless, but have done very well. My boss told me today that my dispatcher is very impressed with me. That makes me feel good about what I am doing.
Now if I could just get the damn CB to work right......

Answer:
I was home for a day, then back out. It doesn't really bother me to much. There isn't a lot to do when I am home. There are a few people I miss an awful lot, but they understand that this is what I want to do. well....they understand for now, anyway.
I had the ponies galloping to get back to Pineville by noon as requested. It is now close to 6 pm and I am nowhere near getting loaded. That is fine, because I am tired, but it would have been nice to not push so hard. Oh well.....it just puts me behind schedule. This load has me doing multi drops in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Sitting and waiting is the part I hate the most. All kinds of free time, and nothing to do but sleep, or sit and think. I like my job and the people I work for/with. I wonder sometimes if I am making the right decision.
Right now I could be home watching something half way decent on tv, or hanging out with my freinds. Then I realize that I have done all that over the past 20 months since getting hurt, and while I enjoyed it, not making any money sucked. The job I left I was busting my butt for a whopping 9 bucks an hour. It is hard to live on 280.00 a week. Especially when I know I am capable of doing so much more. This current job will allow me to cover all of my bills with one paycheck. Granted my bills are small right now, but I am not going to have to squeeze every penny. Most of the time my friends were either too tired or broke to go out anywhere...or a combination of the two.

Answer:
Cessna, It sounds like you found yourself a great gig. Many dream of having working conditions that are as good as you seem to have. It seems that the big training companies did you a favor by NOT hiring you. BOL to you in your new career. Congrats!!!

Answer:
I realized after working for a large company for 2.5 years was not the way to go and switched to nice small company and have never been happier.
Having pulled end dump all summer and greatly enjoyed it plan on, perhaps becoming a tanker Yanker for a even smaller company for more money. The large companies not wishing to hire you was probly a blessing trust me, there is nothing like having everybody in the company know you by your name and not truck number.
How do they pay you my miles or %? I found working for these smaller ma and pa companies often pay on % and was not so up for that but have found it works out pretty good when all is said and done.

Answer:
Troy said:
The large companies not wishing to hire you was probly a blessing trust me, there is nothing like having everybody in the company know you by your name and not truck number.
How do they pay you my miles or %? I found working for these smaller ma and pa companies often pay on % and was not so up for that but have found it works out pretty good when all is said and done.
Troy's definately got a good point there! I work for a smaller company (about 60 trucks), everybody knows me by my name! The pay is there. I love it!
*******************************
"Got the bird dog on...
Dodgin' the scales...
80 miles an hour and a step outta jail..." From "Rollin' Home, Pirates of the Mississippi)
*******************************
"I've always been different with one foot over the line.
Winding up somewhere, one step ahead or behind.
It ain't been so easy, but I guess I shouldn't complain.
I've always been crazy, but it's kept me from going insane." (from Waylon Jennings)