Profile For Tractor Man

Thanks Danielsahn! Good to be back.

After a bit of brief research, I concluded that "Abused Trucker Syndrome" may be caused by spending too much time reading posts on "thetruckersreport".

.where the hell is Tuscon...I've never been there either!

I think it is that place near Fort Huachuca where retirees migrate to during the winter.

LDRSHIP, Only a former military guy would know that! I was actually teasing Rainy about her misspelling. It is spelled TuCSon, not tuSCon. I have lived here all of my life and many people misspell and pronounce the name. BTW, my Son works on "The Fort". DOD civilian employee, former Army Satcom.

Old School, Brett and Grumpy. Thanks for the welcome back. Looking forward to knocking off some rust over the next few weeks and getting back into full blown OTR mode.

Yours wasn't the only mysterious disappearance surrounding Rainy. There have been rumors...

That does not surprise me at all!

Thanks Guyz!

For Rainy, and everyone else......"hey guyz, im alibe and miss you".

Rob, G Town and LDRSHP, thanks for the welcome back. Also, Rainy....where the hell is Tuscon...I've never been there either!

Greetings TT Family old and new,

Just a brief background for the folks that have shown up here in the last 2 years. I attended the Swift Academy in Phoenix in April of 2016, received my CDL in May, was with a Mentor in May and June, went Solo at the end of June 2016. Drove until the end of February of 2017 when I had to come off of the road due to my Mom's failing health. ( Ok, everyone is caught up!)

As many of you know, I got a local job delivering for the local Coca Cola distributor in March of 17. Unfortunately, it was short lived as I herniated a disc in my neck on May 1st. Without going into all of unnecessary details, the last 1 1/2+ years have been quite trying. May thru November lots of Physical Therapy, Steroid injections, Dr. appointments and taking care of my Mom. Was released to return to work in November. Mom Passed away on November 20th 2017. Spent the next couple of months taking care of Mom's affairs and estate, including selling Her house. House was scheduled to close on March 1st of 2018. Planned to go back to OTR in March 2018. Neck injury recurred in February and have been dealing with Workers Comp, Doctors, Lawyers all over again. Finally cleared to return to work again at the end of November.

I contacted my original Recruiter at the end of December ( I was surprised She still worked there to be honest ). I have been approved for rehire, done all of my paperwork online, and did my pre employment drug screen locally in Tucson last week. Urine and Hair. Swift is going to pay me a $100 orientation bonus for doing it ahead of time. I would have done it ahead of time for nothing as it would be one less thing to deal with at Orientation. I start Orientation this Monday. Two days of orientation, Road Test, followed by 50-100 hours "Refresher" with a Mentor. I will update as things move along.

I just want to note a couple of IMPORTANT details 1) I gave Swift a 2 week notice when I left. 2) I thoroughly cleaned my Tractor before returning it to the Terminal. 3) I paid my Student loan in full within 6 months of resigning. 4) I had 100% on time delivery, no tickets, no accidents.

In other words, I did not burn any bridges and the rehire process has been flawless up til now.

It's good to be back on the TT Forum and I am excited, and a bit nervous, to get back on the road.

Tractor Man

P.S. Brett, would you please assign me a new avitar to replace the Coca Cola truck? Anything you use will be fine. Thanks

Good job Chickie......Congrats!

Susan D, could you please post the model of Dometic you have. I've been through every kind of cooler and fed up.

Also, if you shut down for a 34, do you empty it? I'm now running regional and get home every week, but usually just for a day, sometimes the weekend.

Thanks!

Susans picture appears to be the Dometic CF18. I used the same one when I was driving OTR. I used mine as a refrigerator as opposed to a freezer. I paid around $350.00 on Amazon. Definitely worth the investment. Btw... it is Dometic, not Domestic.

Legal or not, I would prefer to have one. Just an invitation to get pulled over and waste time on your clock. Not to mention a bored DOT Officer that may just want to go over your Rig with a fine toothed comb!

Go ahead and open both barrels, Ryan. You have piqued my curiosity. After spending the vast majority of my adult life in the military it takes a LOT to truly insult me.

He's not worth it Patrick. If we simply quit enabling him, do not reply to his posts, the Troll will go away.

Gladhand. We met at the Jurupa Terminal several months ago. You are a great guy. You have been through lots of ups and downs, but never gave up! Props to you my friend. I really appreciate your honesty and openness on this forum. Best of luck in your 2nd year. This year you can stick a chunk of cash in the bank instead of loan payments. "Live like nobody else, so you can live like nobody else". Some folks will know where that quote came from. I wish I would have learned it at your age. God bless!

Turtle, That is great news. I am really happy you chose Prime. I never saw miles like that with "your other choice" in over 9 months. My best week ever was just over 3100. Keep up the good work!!!!

I thought Rainy might have run him off. LOL

Not a chance. Rainy is one of my favorite people that I have NEVER MET!

I'm here. Training has been pretty intense. On my 3rd day Solo. I posted an update several days ago. It may be on pg 2 or 3 by now.

Thanks for all the responses! I like the steering wheel mount idea! I'd prefer to not use duck tape though!- humm

Not just ANY duct tape. The gorilla works the best. Give it a try. Worst comes to worst, you still have $5.00 worth of duct tape to use for 1000 other things!

I drove Solo for swift for just over 9 months. Just landed a local job last month. I could have written your post. I wish I had a solid answer for you. I had a 100% driver ranking, my DM told me the same things yours is telling you. In my 9 months I averaged about 1800 miles per week. Probably had 3 total weeks in the 3000 mile range, Many in the 18-22, and more than I liked in the 13-16 range. I am convinced that they are content giving many drivers 1800-2000 per week. They have so much freight spread out all over the Country, and spread very thin in many places, that it needs to be moved somehow. They can obviously make a profit with many Drivers in that mileage range. It seems that Dedicated is the way to go with Swift. OTR seems to be Feast or Famine for many Drivers. I came to believe that it is just the nature of the beast with them. There are many other Rookie Drivers on this forum with Prime (and others) that are getting much better miles.; Good luck to you. I know EXACTLY how you are feeling right now!

Well done!

mean isnt that what insurance is for?

All insurance has a DEDUCTIBLE. I'm sure it is much higher on a Tractor Trailer Rig than your car.

I'd suggest to watch your wagon,...but it's barely there. LOL.