Profile For Joe S.

I am still in training but today was my first day in the snow. Going through Nebraska towards Oregon I encountered so far about three different rollovers and at least four jack knifed trucks and it barely started snowing last night. I have also seen a few four wheelers rolled over or skidded out on the side of the road. I made a short video that I will post to youtube and put the link here if interested. I have a feeling it is just the beginning since the weather will get worse as we head east. Just wanted to say be careful out there and drive slow in the snow please. It is really sad seeing all of these wrecks that most likely could have been prevented. I even got out of my truck to check one jackknife that did not look tagged to make sure no one was in there hurt or anything. Very scary weather for my first time in the snow, Be careful everybody.

I think I have found a good team driver that lives very close to my home. The only thing I am really worried about is he is a sleepwalker. Does this sound like a recipe for disaster? I have heard it is very hard to wake up a person that is sleep walking. I think it might be scary if he does this while we are driving. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Does Werner offer a holiday bonus on your paycheck? It seems like you should have made a lot more with all of your experience maybe I am believing to many recruiters. Were you running hard the entire year?

Hi I am in training right now, and I have only driven for about 9 hours each day for the last three days. One thing I have noticed is that all the Prime trucks go pretty slow. I was just curious as to if they are governed at 60mph? I usually only drive 65mph and many times find myself having to go around them. On my first day I was going up some big hills or mountains and staying behind a Prime truck kinda messed up my momentum for getting up the hill and I ended up needing to downshift to eighth just to get up the hill.

When I was talking to him on the phone about what I was planning on doing solo or teams, he mentioned that teams were where the big money was at. He did say that team drivers pull drivers could make 70 to 80 thousand a year. I knew not to believe what a recruiter was telling me because that is their job, so I just took it with a grain of salt. I am pretty sure if they are honest with you the offer would not sound so enticing to be a team driver.

Sorry the more I think about it, it seems normal.

Also I was wondering why your federal withholding is so high? Usually federal withholding is about 15% of your gross pay.

Thought i would do a quick update. This is YTD as of 11/28/14. The most important things are the Gross and Net YTD.

Ok, so you made about 38k for one year net doing teams. When the recruiter talked to me on the phone he made it sound like teams would be pulling in around 70k each year. You made decent money but I think they would have a better rep if the recruiter were more straight forward. I am also assuming with all of your experience you are getting paid much more than a greenhorn. I was hoping my first year would net me close to 40k but if you are getting that much with all of your experience I am a little worried about what a greenhorn would get paid for his first year.

General Tso's Chicken I hope?

Honey Sesame chicken from Panda Express, very delicious.

I got this fortune cookie a couple days ago, I thought it was a strange coincidence since I start training/orientation on Monday. I am not superstitious but I think this is a sign. Never in my life have I had a fortune cookie tell me about driving safely.

Not to long ago I had a 34 in Baltimore. Never have seen DC. So I made a deal with a cabbie and headed to DC. Walked the entire national monument park. It was one of those perfect days. The whole day, cab fare, food, gifts, cost me less than $100! Best hundred bucks I have ever spent. You could prolly do it cheaper with better planning.

Nice, I would think there is something interesting to do in every state/city, Has anyone gone home for a day in their 34 hour reset period?

It seems like 34 hours would be enough time to explore new places and visit tourist attractions.

Absolutely!

Like Ernie said it really depends on a lot of factors. But I used to love finding stuff to do on my free time. I've gone to NASCAR and NHRA races, local dirt and asphalt circle tracks, NFL and NCAA football games, high school football games, fairs, festivals - about anything I could find.

So there's lots to do out there and every so often you'll have an opportunity do have some fun like that.

If I didn't have the time or energy for those type of things I did the traditional stuff - watch tv, surf the Net, read books.

Nice this is exactly what I was thinking. This brings up another question. Do you just park the Rig at a WalMart or somewhere safe and catch a cab to wherever you want to go? Is it safe just leaving your truck while you are off having a good time? I really hope I get to go to Vegas a lot I love playing Poker Tourneys and Vegas is an amazing place to visit. Thanks for the replies.

I know this will probably seem like a ridiculous question (I have a lot of them). I was wondering what Truck drivers usually do on their 34 hour reset time. Say you are in Florida could you go see disneyworld for a day? Are you confined to your truck for 34 hours? It seems like 34 hours would be enough time to explore new places and visit tourist attractions. Is this just a hassle and most truckers hang out in the truck? I am leaving for training/orientation in 3 days so I am really very curious. I wanted to wish everyone a happy turkey day also. And give thanks to this awesome forum for all of the truckin advice.

Yeah Chumlee is a crack up. When I saw him he was talking about juggling two girls and he did not have time that day. He seems a lot bigger in real life, where as Rick seems a lot shorter in person. Also Rick googles the items before the show so he looks smarter than he really is. He kept making mistakes on my item and when I corrected him he would play it off like he knew it.

Yeah I think that sounds right, It was probably a small hill that I did not even notice since I was in a car. Thanks for letting me know, I am really excited about this trucking journey I will embark on. I think this is going to be a great career ahead of me. Fingers crossed. :)

Ok thanks, maybe they were all going under 40mph not sure though. It just seemed strange to me that there was a long line of trucks all with their hazards on.

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I am a newb greenhorn and I have yet to start training. So try not to laugh too loud after I ask this. Last week I drove (rental car) to Las Vegas on my way to be filmed on the tv show Pawn Stars. On my way there driving on the I-15 North the weather was fine and it was late at night. I was watching all of the Trucks and observing what they were doing. I noticed that a lot of trucks had their hazard lights on. I was curious why so many trucks had their lights flashing if they did not have any trouble with their trucks. I noticed about seven trucks in a row all had their flashers on. Is this normal, I have a feeling this is a dumb question but I am really curious to find out. Was it because it was late at night? It just seemed strange to me. I am going to training very soon, and I am sure I will find out then, I was just wondering if someone here could let me know what the deal was with all of the hazard lights?

I know, :( it's not the first time people have told me she is just a gold digger :( That is a big part of me committing to becoming a truck driver so I can get away from her. We both work at the same type of desk job, and she works in the unit next to mine. I have been friends with her for over 8 years and we started dating a couple years ago. Even co-workers tell me she is not good for me, we have broken up a couple times already and she somehow gets me to keep going back to her. This last break up was because I started truck school and I just want to quit my old job and start over, I also love the big rigs and think it would be a great career for me. I just need the will power not to keep being with her. It is really hard after we have been close friends for 8 years, it is almost like losing a best friend. Hopefully my new truck driving career will be a good way to escape this bad situation. It is just not as easily said as it is done.

Thanks for replying to my questions. I am really looking forward to driving for Werner. I am a little apprehensive after making the mistake of reading the truckers report. But I am still going to stick with Werner despite what I have read. It seems like a lot of the posts were from disgruntled employees, so hopefully I will have a better experience than they did. Thanks again for your advice.

best regards-Joe S.

Oh yeah, my girlfriend said she was breaking up with me about my decision also. Now that I have my cdl and I told her about the decent jobs I could get out there. She is now talking about getting back together and going out with me again. It was really sad how little support I had when I started school. Now it seems people are forgetting everything they had said before.