Comments By Greenhorn Trucker

I dunno about smells funny but, to me, tea tastes like dirt, however given the option between that or an energy drink I would drink tea too LOL. I get lots of strange looks when I tell people that at 37 years old I still do not drink coffee or tea at all, and even though I love the smell of coffee I cannot drink the stuff. I drink mostly water with flavor packets, the occasional soda, and milk. Maybe that is what I can do when I go OTR is make free coffee for other drivers so I can have that nice smell without wasting it

Just saw this news stroy here this morning, and while I kind of chuckled it made think a bit that this could have been avoided had he had spotters. They could have told him that the load was too high to go down the street and would have saved people/business losing power. Also anytime you have never done a load like that before it might be wise to ask for help with it especially if you are uncomfortable hauling, or if possible ask that someone with more experience handle the load while you observe and learn how to do it properly.

I would think that would be a pain since you would be having to remount every time you swapped trailers. To me getting out and looking as well as using your mirrors will help you learn more than a camera would, especially if the field of view on the camera doesn't show the sides where your mirrors would. But that is just my personal opinion on cameras and it holds especially true on passenger vehicles, most look only at the screen and not at their mirrors and hit a lot of things on the sides.

Thanks everyone, the flames give her 10 extra horse power but prime derated them

No flame stickers give it 100 more hp and 50 extra torque LOL.

Most definitely tell the doc that you are taking them, you will get a one year card max, but better than being disqualified for not disclosing the information either. I can say though that my BP was extremely high (240/140) but now I am down to a more normal range (120's-130's/80ish) and I still qualified for a one year card, however if it is high when they take the first reading ask them to let you relax a bit and get it down (white coat syndrome sometimes makes for false readings). I did make some dietary changes though too to help lower my numbers a lot as well such as; not using salt on food, drink 1-2 sodas max a day (though I hardly touch the stuff now), drink lots of water (8-12 16oz a day), I don't drink coffee so that was easy to not worry about, yoga breathing (it is very relaxing and easy to do), limit candy and other junk food, and the big one not letting my temper get out of control. I would also suggest making one change at a time rather than doing many all at once, because doing too much will actually stress you out causing your blood pressure to become elevated until it has fully adjusted. Oh for the water I use flavor packets from walmart, some have caffeine in them, and they have no sodium or sugar, this is a great thing if you also have diabetes but cannot stand the taste of plain water (my blood sugar is always on the low end of normal so I am good there thankfully LOL).

Someone who flat beds from another forum suggested these Kong Gloves. They look pretty vicious, maybe they'd last a while longer?

I would just get some welders gloves myself, if they can handle fire it can handle diesel and grease without issue. Nothing against the Kong Gloves but to me those would be better for chaining, maybe, but for fueling I wouldn't like to ruin something that nice, plus I am cheap so that plays a lot into it LOL.

That thing has to be a nightmare turning and backing up. Don't get me wrong it would be nice to have a full bathroom in the truck. But wouldn't something like this make your loads really small due to weight? I am basing this on the difference between LW trucks and full size sleepers so I could be wrong.

And I suggest bringing a poncho ;)

I completely forgot about a poncho, guess late night posting is not a good idea LOL. Worse case situation you can modify a garbage bag for a make shift one. I did this when I worked in retail and it worked out fine.

Get cloths you do not mind having grease and dirt on, while some loads might be clean you might get the odd load that is very nasty as well. Get a couple pairs of heavy duty gloves and have them set aside for different things: IE fueling gloves, strapping/tarping gloves, winter gloves, and truck maintenance gloves. Steel toed boots!!! I use to get mad when I would see drivers with flip flops doing things on the trailer I was helping load, I have seen a crushed foot it is not pretty or something you want. An Arctic lined Carhartt coat for winter as these things are just the best for winter and are great for holding up, I got one on Amazon a few years ago that should have cost me $150 for $80 (and that was in January). You will most likely get a hard hat from the company you work for but I would get some safety glasses as well, and if you really good you can find sunglasses that are actually safety glasses as well. For cleaning up get a big thing of Gojo hand cleaner this does not need water to use, just scrub it on you dirty hands and paper towel it off and your hands will be clean (I used this a lot when I spun wrenches it works). These are things I think of when looking at what I should consider bringing, but everyone is different.

I would stay in touch with Knight and see if the door can stay open for you to come back if you left on good terms with them. Also check with you local unemployment off, especially their facebook site, as they might post local jobs willing to train, I found one here that does flatbedding that I am planning on calling in the morning. Hopefully everything works out for you and your family, but do not say you failed you were only delayed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond your control.