Comments By Logan M.

One word about high and low gears on landing gear don't be stubborn lol I like the feeling of using my muscles and avoid low like it didn't exist until... I broke the mechanism cranking a loaded trailer down always gotta be careful of that stuff that and I may have pulled something important during that ordeal lol

It's a stressful time hope it helped some. Don't let nay sayers bother you and all will be well. :) everyone here is happy to help from those like me who are still fresh out of training, to the ones like brett, Daniel b, and old school who have a ton of knowledge they love to pass on. Best of luck

I wonder if I'm the weird one when downshifting i tend to clutch out then float in when up shifting I don't clutch at all and there are times when I don't clutch out to downshift either

Hopefully I posted this in the right spot , I admit I didn't really consider where to post this when I was typing.

I'm a rookie solo driver who went through a company sponsored program for my cdl, I would like to give a few pointers if I may on a topic that comes up a lot. That is choosing your first company. This is not going to be perfect and others will add to it if it stays up, but in the spirit of helping others who are heading into the same journey I started I feel as though I have a few things to share. I apologize in advance for any typos I'm typing from my phone and for a smart phone it does weird things sometimes lol.

Now the first obstacle after you decide this is what you want to do is choosing where to start, who to listen to, where to research, and for the love of gI'd how do you tell if a company is good or bad!?

As daunting as that may be finding a good company is pretty easy, it's the one that fits your needs the best. You see very few companies are as terrible as they sound on the internet. You and them have a common goal to move freight and get paid. Don't let anyone bad mouth a company to you, you decide what's good.

The things to consider are:

1. Hometime- how often do you want/need to be home. Can you do otr for long periods or do you need something regional that will run you through your house every couple weeks?

2. Policies- do you have a pet? How about a passenger? Do they require uniforms? Etc.

3. Training- do you learn better when thrown into it, and learning on the fly? Or do you prefer a structured learning environment? How long do you think you will need? How long of a commitment are you willing to sign for?

4. Pay- what can you live on? Now this is the least important because you can make a living on what almost all companies are paying, what you earn is dependant on you, more than your cpm.

5. Equipment- how important are things like apus, inverters and the like? Do you consider them necessary or could you do without?

Now those are a few basic things for you to consider, no company is perfect and will meet all your wants but if you can meet 3/5 I'd say you are a decent match for that company.

Another piece of advice I picked up is your first year is a out survive in and not hitting anything. Making money comes, but you need to focus on driving, safely, and building a good reputation for yourself so keep that in mind as well.

Now a lot of people will say a lot of negative things about large companies, prime, swift, cr england, werner etc. Don't listen to it. As a newbie who may need training they can be your best friend. They have the freight to keep you moving, the freight to need you to move it, and the trucks for you to move it with. They also often have they're own training programs and they will not only get you your license but also a job as well ( pretty nifty huh?) They will also give you a chance which is the important one. In a country where everyone wants experience it sometimes can be hard to get into anything new. With trucking not so much. Right now there's more freight than drivers so that's good for you.

Now a common attitude I see is people thinking that because a company needs drivers so bad they need to impress you for you to be willing to work for them. WRONG, first they have impressed you with their size, freight lines, something to get you looking at them. But they also are staking a good amount of money and a giving you a lot of responsibility. New drivers are a dime a dozen right now you still need to be professional and present yourself accordingly to set yourself up for success.

A bit about training. When in training most of it isn't fun. You share a small space with a stranger, you're stressed and nervous and just wanting wverything to work out. Stick it out. Don't let training influence how you feel about the industry. In the end you will have a lot to show for it. Also understand even when training is done seizes you aren't going to have a clue what you're doing. You're going to guess a lot right and wrong. It's ok that's how you learn. You're going to be uncomfortable a lot, that's OK too it can keep you safe. Just don't let it hold you back eventually it will work out and you will be a stronger better person for it. This career builds character is what my trainer used to say everything I was in a tough spot.

And choosing a company is a lot like training in the sense that there's so many unknowns, and a lot of pressure. But you will make it. You may pick a company that you aren't satisfied with just make the best of it everything is tenporary. Time flies out here and before you know it you will have the experience to set yourself up for a great future.

And that I believe concludes my longest post on here, just one rookies ramblings and hopefully a helpful tip or 2 for those whours are starting out. Please feel free to add, or correct anything you guys feel like I missed.

Best of luck to everyone I'll be seeing you on the road.

Logan

46920 in the box now gotta love general mills and the lightweight trucks, lightest I've had in 3 weeks was 42400, it def. Feels different when you aren't used to it.

Best advice is pay attention I tend to worry about working the brakes too much so I tend to use the snub braking method almost all the time when I'm really heavy the Jake is your friend. Just remember when coming to an off ramp or curve the extra weight behind you will push/pull you and you have to compensate for that some slow earlier and remember to let the truck work for you not you working the truck

There's people running a lot faster than my 58 mph getting less miles stressed to the max. So I reckon it's more how you drive than how fast, and if 58 ticks you off I wish you were on i65 the week I decided to run 55 and make 51cpm lol

For a rookie a dedicated gig is pretty sweet, a lot less stressful. Boring at times yes. Repetitive? You bet. But the regularity of it makes it easier to dig yourself out of the rookie mistakes you are going to make.

I'm a rookie and I ran a couple weeks and kinda fell into a dedicated account. You'll learn where to park, know exactly what you need to do with your hours, where your going next, any possible delays etc.

Those things make starting out a very good transition because there's that many things that you don't need to puzzle over, you're still going to make mistakes but it's easier to fix them when you don't have a plethora of other things taking up brain juice.

Just my opinion

Umm what is the pope doing in phily? Boy I sure miss a lot out here lol

Ok I gotcha I got 11 back last night I only ran 8 today so I'm saving those 3. Tomorrow will be a full day but it'll be the last 10-11 hour day on my clock I'll be all 8-9 after that, that's a big if but we'll see how it all works out