Comments By Mr. Smith

5 years ago My license (Not CDL) was suspended for 2 years. In 2014 I got my license back 6 months later Swift Brought me on board.

I liked my time at Central Refrigerated (Swift) I have no complaints. You have a good oppurtunity with a good company. You will get good miles and you will have a descent paycheck.

Try to save a couple dollars to make up for the check following your home time.

Your DM is a good person believe in them. They really do want good things for you. Don't be picky and a complainer.

Good Luck and congratulations on getting rid of the habit.

Small company less than ten trucks. Not paying your check. Who is paying for the fuel? The fuel card still works? Who is dispatching you? Drive to the Yard and see them in person. Be respectful. Dont say things you might regret.

Sounds like you’re enjoying what you do and getting experience driving a tanker.

Stay busy. Stay there for a while. Wages dont go up in Milk. Thats what the old guys are telling me. Theyve been making the same 90-120 per load for the last 20 years.

Hourly drivers for other companies I talked to at the plant are only getting $14 an hour. overtime after 40. its close to the same for the paid by the load guys...

just build yourself a good reputation bubba. Stay for a coupke years and when you decide to make a change dont make it in haste. Maybe research now. Then youll have a couple years of research before you eventually make your local change if you do.

stay safe and wait for it to hit the back then give it to her. Its a funny feeling :) but its not as bad as I thought. Except the low end feels like your getting rear ended when it hits the front of the tank. (or maybe i was getting rear ended for driving so slow)

When Inwas running a transfer truck its not technically a double but its very similar. I found counting while changing lanes to be very helpful. count 1,2,3... each time your signal “blinks”

practice when noone is around you.

signal, count to 5, then start to merge, take about 5 to 7 seconds to complete the change. being completely in your new lane and turning the signal off between 11-14 seconds.

try to focus on keeping that back trailer off the lines after the change.

practice when noone is around so you dont have to focus on your mirrors in a nervous way.

focusing on that back trailer youre probably trying to correct every tiny twitch you make and its like the domino effect.

when coming up on a long highway turn practice making it as smooth as possible and turning the wheel slowly into that turn if the truck amd turn allows. most turns are supposed to be surveyed as a spiral curve like a trains tracks... starting at 0 degrees. Virginia has good surveyors california... not so good. so it becomes more gradual and then its steady and then it goes back to 0. of course thats not always available but you may have enough room to attempt it within the lines.

practice dofferent things when noone is around you. just do not practice being a snake. it looks really cool but its dangerous.

Watch the trailer and see what it does if you refuse to correct what appears to be a problem. And of course the speed, the lines in the road, and nature play a part as well. Super Singles tend to follow lines or dips for some reason more than duals. If you have duals on the truck and first trailer and super singles on the second trailer...

Theres a lot but really just focus on not correcting what you thinknis a problem. it might be the little trying to be perfect twitch. Feeling like your too close. then your check your other mirrow and you feel too close and then you go back and forth trying to stay away from the line. focus more ahead of you and what the truck is doing... glance the mirrors but dont give that line in your mirror the most attention.

1900 Start Time Head to a local farm. Temp, Measure, Sample, Load, Clean. Take that load to the local Plant. (Alta Dena...) We run for Land O Lakes and DFA.

Turn around and do it again. Turn around and do it again.

(3 Loads from the farm to the plant)

Grade A Raw Milk.

Tanks get cleaned 1 time every 24 Hours... or... The tank is good for 24 hours after its cleaned.

Are you going to be hauling locally or OTR? ALLOT but not all milk hauling is local. my company has farm pickup drivers AND transport drivers. myself, im a farm pickup driver. my day consists of picking up an empty, loading two farms. i then take that loaded trailer back to the yard, do a drop and hook grab another empty. take the empty to 2 or 3 farms depending upon the day and taking that back to the yard loaded...... sometimes my load has to go to o-at-ka (local plant). in that case i do the delivery. i leave the yard at 6:30AM and usually done by 4 pm and go home. NO ELD

Nice to see a couple other Milk Haulers here. Thanks for the Advice.

I have 4 hours till my start time so Ima take a nap. Ill let you guys know what the program is like.

Have no fear Brett. I won't get in any hurry even though its per load pay. When I was running with the Sand and Gravel guys they really liked the idea of safety and introduced us to the Smith System. So Ill take those keys with me to this new career.

My Health is good. I was drinking protein drinks and eating a lot of animal protein. My fruits and vegetables were few and I really like Cantaloupe.

I didn't know I was one of those people that had a system that disliked potassium and animal protein.

Almost all the margarine I used and orange juice I was drinking and other things were fortified with calcium.

I can have food that naturally has calcium but I need to stay away from foods that are calcium fortifeid.

I can eat animals but I was “overloading” myself with the proteins from animals when I was drinking those protein drinks.

Thinking I was eating healthy...

Then Jogging at ever truck stop and using floor exercises and not drinking enough water which also dehydrated me a little.

So I weigh 200 Pounds I need to drink 100 ounces of water a day. Stay away from the protein drinks and foods fortified with calcium. I have been ok so far no more gigantic kidney stones.

I do have ONE gallstone that does not seem to cause a problem.

I had some biopsies during the colonoscopy that turned out to be “normal”

For me it is the CB! Being judgmental of others drivers. People make mistakes.

What was the last mistake you made? Now before that, when did you make that same exact little tiny mistake?

Was it a long time ago?

People have good days and bad days. Trying not to jusdge people for their mistakes is hard for me. Trying to smile and keep a good attitude.

Being to hard on yourself is tough for me too. Judging ones own self. Trying to be perfect. Trying to be the best that you can possibly be every moment of every day is very hard on you mentally, and it eventually makes you tired.

If you end up in a bind and pinch an air line...

If you have a pen and duct tape. Youll make it to the next stop to get the parts to repair it safely.

Tale the pen apart stick the tube in one side then stick the other side on the pen. but it up as close as you can, the pen being equal length inside both sides of the pinch. Tape the crap out of it. But try to do a nice job. Being hasteful may not get you to a safe place, or out of the way...

I hope that makes sense.

It depends on the air lines too. Id hate to see you pinch an airline and block the world if you have tape and a pen.

Hey Brett,

All I know is its going to be for C. Vermeer out of San Jacinto. They pay by the load and Ill be running 2-3 Loads a day. Lots of nights and weekends.

I couldn’t tell you if its cream or milk. Im assuming its milk because he talked about how much the cows produce on rainy days and cold weather vs the hot summer days.

They said its hauling milk and it takes patience because sometimes you sit and they have to test the milk.

They work on their own trucks looks like a small family thing and they like show trucks. So Ill try to get involved in that too (time permitting)

Did a little research on the internet and they have a cool story about how they got started in 10-4 Magazine...

Ill keep you posted.