Profile For Grandpa Clark

You still out there, driver?

Greetings George! Definitely time for a quick update! I believe I stated somewhere in my long-term goals, that I hoped to get a job driving a fuel tanker for a local company, and be home every night. I had applied at my "target" company and was told I needed 1-year OTR experience, as well as Hazmat and TWIC before I could be considered. That led to me joining Maverick, hauling steel out of Charleston, SC.

I guess the 1-year rule is rather flexible, as I was recently contacted by my chosen company and asked if I would consider joining their propane fuel division. I advised Maverick that I was taking a day off to attend a job interview with another company. I must say that Maverick treated me very well and I did feel some guilt pangs as I had only been with them for 4 months. However, this opportunity was my goal from the beginning, so I went to the job interview and the next day was offered the position.

I joined the company at the beginning of Nov. and have just recently finished my training. I have been on my own for a whole two weeks and I really have enjoyed learning this area of trucking. I'm starting in the "Bobtail" delivering to local homes and businesses in Central VA. I have the option of moving up to the tractor-trailer division if I want, but for now, I'm fine learning in the smaller trucks with smaller tanks.

Let me close this update by saying that Maverick was 100% class the entire way. They were honest from the recruitment, through the hiring and training process, and they didn't give me any grief when I said I was leaving for another opportunity. They said I would be welcome to come back anytime and I appreciate them giving me that option.

Merry Christmas to you George, and to all the excellent people here on TT! I really appreciated all the help and encouragement! Sincerely, Steve

I don’t know how you really old guys do it.

Can't BELIEVE you went there, BK !!! He's a 'young' old guy, compared to US! Steve,

That 2 hours will be cut in half, and then half again, before long. Sounds like you're doing awesome ~!!!

If and when you get time; share a tarp load or two; both here AND in the flatbed pix thread; be nice to see, and get some feedback from the "old" guys, haha!!

Keep on, good sir.

~ Anne ~

Ha! For us "really old guys" it might take a bit longer, but we have learned to enjoy the journey and savor the experiences.

Anne, I hope I'll get quicker as I get more experienced, but until then, we will continue to plug along at a "really old guy" pace.

Steve, first of all, congratulations on going solo. And sorry about your slip and fall. That was a close one.

Your description of the weather conditions instantly brought up the image Old School has for his profile photo. Makes me so glad I drive a reefer van, lol. I don’t know how you really old guys do it.

Thanks BK! Today was load #2...steel beams...again. And, for two loads in a row, the customer insists that they be tarped. Now, forgive me for being naive, (and a rookie), but these beams have been sitting exposed to the weather for weeks/months already. The first load that I had that the customer insisted be tarped, was immediately unloaded and placed in an unprotected area, exposed to the weather. Do you (or anyone else) have any idea why customers would insist on loads of beams being tarped, when they have been stored outside, and once delivered, will also be stored outside?

Today's tarp job took me about 2 hrs, in the hot SC sun. At least it was a bit quicker than the first load (2.5 hrs in pouring rain/electrical storm). So, I'm getting a bit quicker...and I think this load looks a bit better too. It was definitely a good workout! Exactly what I need after decades of sitting at a desk looking at a computer screen.

I appreciate all your support! Sincerely, Steve

My First Load (please excuse the tarp job...my first attempt at steel beams!

(Photos in above posts)

Looks AWESOME, to me ! Then again, what do I know?

So happy for you, man. What a journey; you knocked it out, like a champ. It's not easy these days. Loved following you.

Congrats from us also, Steve !!! Super nice looking truck, too .. that COLOR is so You! Just kidding, but I sure DO love the burgundy. Even in fine wines. (How IS the facial healing going, by the way? That's what I eluded to, haha!)

Hope you'll do a continuum here for awhile, or like some of the others; a 'first month or three' solo follow up. It sure pays homage to the intentions of this site, as your diary certainly has; albeit, you're awesome!

Best forward, (and reverse as needed!)

~ Anne & Tom ~

Thanks Anne and Tom, for all the great tips, links, and suggestions along the way. The eye injury is pretty much completely healed, with just the last bit of bruising still there. I like the maroon color on the truck, but not so much on my eye. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to deliver my first load which has sat on the trailer over the weekend. I plan to check in periodically and let everyone know how I'm doing and what I'm learning. It has been a very interesting journey thus far, and it's hard to believe that it was only about 10 weeks ago that I took the first step on this journey. So much has transpired over those weeks, and yet, when I look back it seems like it all went by very quickly. I'm thankful for this site and I hope this small diary will be helpful to others who need some encouragement and information as they progress on their journey.

Congrats! Way to go man!

Thanks, George! I appreciate all your encouragement and advice.

Congratulations!

Now the real fun (learning) begins. Hang in there!

Thanks, Old School! I appreciate all the advice and encouragement along the way. There is definitely a steep learning curve in this industry.

Congratulations!

Thanks PackRat! I've appreciated your comments and advice throughout this journey. All the best to you.

My First Load (please excuse the tarp job...my first attempt at steel beams)

Graduation! With my 2-day final evaluation behind me, I guess this will bring my training diary to an end. Our evaluations were completed at North Little Rock over Tue/Wed. Wed was a full=day and we completed all the tests, including the driving test. Wednesday was spent working through the last of the video content and we had a presentation from a Fleet Manager to explain the workflow process.

On Thu. morning we officially graduated and were given our silver Maverick keychain and the keys to our trucks. The instructors shook our hands, gave us our certificates. We were given our fleet manager's phone number and told to call them for information on the next step. And just like that, I became a company driver for Maverick Transportation.

I phoned Tina, my fleet manager, and she told me my truck was at the Laurinburg, NC terminal. I got a rental car and was getting ready to leave for the 13-hr drive back east, when another Maverick driver flagged me down. Chuck was headed to Charlotte, NC to recover an abandoned truck and had been advised to jump in with me for the ride east. At about 2 p.m, we departed the North Little Rock Campus and made our way east, arriving in Charlotte around 2 a.m. The truck had been left behind a shopping center. Chuck jumped in, examined the truck and found it in decent shape, started it up, and he was gone, headed back to Arkansas to turn in the truck. I continued on to Laurinburg, arriving at 4 am.

The shop manager directed me to Truck 208036 which is a 2020 Freightliner Cascadia with about 260K miles on her. She is an ex-trainer truck which is interesting. Maverick trucks have mid-roof sleepers, except for the trainer trucks which are condos. The truck was covered in a thick layer of dust, as the lot in Laurinburg is gravel and it had been parked for a while. I jumped in, turned the key and...it was dead. Not the greatest start to my career, but a quick jump-start, and she fired right up. I got inside, and saw that the interior was in very good condition and clean. I was so exhausted, I just laid down and had a quick 2-hr power nap.

When I awoke, I found my assigned trailer and found it did not have any equipment on it. The next couple of hours were spent getting my dunnage and tarps. After that I completed my inventory, I picked up a few remaining items and called my Fleet Manager for further instructions. She advised that I could deadhead home for the weekend, or, drive down to Charleston to Nucor Steel and take a load home with me for delivery on Tuesday morning. I told her I would take the load. (might as well jump right in!)

I left Laurinburg at about noon, and my expected ETA showed on my workflow as 3:30 p.m. My first stop was for fuel and truck wash. Unfortunately, the wash bays were very busy, but I was so disgusted with my filthy truck, I decided to wait it out. It took about an hour to get my wash, but after that, I was gleaming in the South Carolina sunshine, headed to Nucor Steel.

Ever notice that as soon as you wash your car, the rain clouds start to form? By the time I got to Charleston, the sky was threatening rain. I arrived in the midst of rush hour, worked my way through construction and found myself lost in the woods/neighborhoods just north of Charleston. Not a great way to start my first trip. I called Chris, who is another Maverick driver who has been on the Nucor account for 5-years. He lives about an hour from the plant and had told me to call him when I got close. Well, I was close, I just couldn't see how I get the 5 miles to plant with all the truck-restricted roads blocking my path. My navigation was primarily the Trucker Path App, and my tablet GPS, and both of them seemed to disagree on my next move. Thankfully, Chris was at home, getting ready to have dinner when I called. He laughed and said he got lost his first time too, and not to worry about it. He instructed me on the proper/legal way to get into the Nucor plant, and within about 20-mins, I was pulling onto the scale at Nucor for the first time.

I was assigned a load of steel beams and my work instructions from Maverick said "no tarp". I breathed a sigh of relief as it was just starting to rain. Unfortunately, when I got the shipper work instructions, it said the load had to be tarped. That seemed strange since Nucor has the steel beams sitting outside, exposed to the weather. I called Chris again to ask what I should do. He said, "sucks to be you", looks like your tarping beams. I got loaded by 7:30 p.m. and then began the adventure of tarping steel beams, in the midst of a downpour that seemed to go on forever. The load required both of my steel tarps and when it was done, I figure I added about 200 lbs to the load in bungees. The tarp job was exhausting and since the steel was wet, I was very slow and cautious when climbing on it. It was also very sharp on the edges. I finally finished the tarping at 11:00 p.m. Yes, it took me about 3-hrs to tarp the load.

Thanks to the rain, I didn't really need a shower, which is good, because there wasn't a shower available. Unfortunately, I also had no water on the truck and I was out of hours. I wondered how I was going to sleep when I was so thirsty, but my exhaustion made my thirst a non-issue. I slept until 5 am and headed for home, arriving at 1 pm. with my very first load. This concludes my training diary. Thanks for all your helpful advice and encouragement along the way! Sincerely, Steve

Maverick has a big presence and does a lot of recruiting in my area. Trucks always look real nice. I've certainly considered them but I want to start out either dry Van or reefer to start.

Nothing wrong with that plan. If you ever get the itch to try flatbed, feel free to hit me up with any questions you might have about Maverick. I'll be happy to share my experiences. All the best to you on your journey.