Comments By RedGator

Hopefully so Charles K. We shall see how things turn out.

Good Luck Scott. You will be an old Pro in no time

Wow RG that was a good read. Sometimes you got to stck to your guns- like you did in order to get the miles- and move on. GOOD LUCK. I just got my first Cdl permit and am getting ready for Prime orientation/training. Love to read OTR experiences from old timers 😉 like you.

One of our women drivers Jole has been with them about 5 months now. PM her to get a womans take on things.

Hello Everyone:-) I know Ive been MIA for a bit. Those of you who have been around long enough know thats normal for me but hey I always find my way back. Things have been alittle up in the air for me lately. Ill get into that but I do want to put a disclaimer on what Im about to say for all of the newbies: I might not have been totally in the right on a few things..........

Anywho last I left off I was a lean mean training machine and had been invited to our annual banquet for the 2nd year in a row. After 4 girls in 2 months I burned out on training and decided to take possibly a permanent break from training. After one girl followed me around for 4 weeks (literally she was never more than 2ft from me the whole time), the next one threatening me and the third one who didn't think she had to drive at night, in the mountains, when she was on her period, when she was a little tired etc I just had enough. They asked me to give it a 6 month thought so we shall see. 8 girls under my belt in 9 months though isnt bad. We shall see.

Now after 2 1/2 yrs with the same company I almost quit...........Lately things had been slow and I was sitting entirely too much. So I had a conversation with my DM. When I came back from hometime I needed to start rolling harder........Welp when I came back I got a whooping 1468 miles in 7 days. I was pretty ****ed to say the least soooooo I started exploring my options. I did a one and done app to see what else was out there. Never do one of these apps unless you have about a week to talk to recruiters lol. Being as though this was the first time since CDL school that I put in apps I was overwhelmed by how "in demand" I was! Im the kind that needs all the facts before i make a decision. The grass always seems greener but its really not. Changing companies usually is just changing one set of problems for a new set. Some people need or want different things and everything isnt always for everybody.

When they found out I was looking retention called me to find out what was up and made me promise to give it a few so they could fix it. I promised not to make a decision for 3 weeks but that I was going to continue to explore. 50 recruiters later I feel pretty informed lol A few days later I had a 3 hr convo with our owner. I had plenty of time to talk as I was being laid over for 2 days with no load.......

So lets recap. I come out of the house on Monday on a 203 mile 2 stop load for 2 days, followed by a 479 mile load for 1 day and a 736 miles load that got held up for 2 1/2 days because of a 3,000 lbs overage on my tandems that were set at bridge law and a broken trailer only to have the load tcalled on Friday at our Joliet yard with no load til Sunday at 1pm that was only 753 miles for 3 days........To say the least I was frustrated but being promised that my next load would be a money run.

Welp at 4pm on Tuesday night (closing time) i get my "money run" 579 miles for 2 days. So I did what i never do and commited a NO to it. When my DM called to ask me why I explained my frustration as to the past weeks events.......that was greated with the following response "Take the load or I can route you to the yard to clean out your truck".......So I requested to be routed to the yard. 20 min later I was given a 975 mile run with 130 mile dead for 2 days to clean out my truck. Funny how that load wasn't available before hand right?

Now here is where my level head prevailed. I was 10 miles from a terminal when this conversation took place. Said terminal is 3 miles from my house. Said terminal also has my car parked at it........But I didn't do what so many drivers would do. I did not abandon the truck. Instead I made arrangements with a company 8 miles from our WI yard to start orientation. Woke up bright and early and picked up my load and headed towards WI. When I arrived I was meet with a whole bunch of folks that refused to let me leave. I have a new DM now after 2 1/2 yrs with the same one. I'm giving them one more shot to make it right. Not sure how things will go but ill make sure to keep yall posted. Welp enough about me. How are yall doing?

Awesome Joe. Hope to see you soon! Yep ive been with WEL from day one. I do truly like my company. It has in "moments" but I like it here. Thank yall for the support. I was super excited for the second year acknowledgement. I pride myself in being great at what i do and Im glad that the "higher ups" appreciate it.

Thanks ya'll:-) Larry we roughly have between 400-500 company drivers during the course of the year so yup pretty much.

So as many of yall know last year I was invited to my companys Allstar Banquet. Its for the top 50 drivers in the company. Well guess who was invited again for the second year in a row Yep you guessed it ME!

Im sorry to here about this Jopa. Hopefully everything works out and that there is nothing more to worry about. Get Well Soon.

I used to own a pair of pink steel toe boots until diesel ruined them:/ Honestly every girl that gets in my truck drives better in a more comfortable shoe. I used my boots for winter or when required. As a reefer driver i dont do much but open the doors. Its just easier to feel the clutch without steel toe. Now in OS situation being a flatbedder boots is surely a must. See what works best for you.

Your right mirror will always look angled because it is turned in so that you can see. Look in the small mirrors and you will be able to tell if your straight or not

I used to drive an 07 automatica Freightshaker but it had a clutch and a manual paddle on the steering wheel. Your might be different .

Old School is truly awesome! Its funny at one time when I was a weeee wittle ol rookie and struggling tremendously to the point where I didnt know if I could do this OS's words kept me going. He always believed I had the ability to be great even when I did not. You ROCK OS

I guess its sooooo lucky for me that Im in Rhode Island now and pick in NH tomorrow morning down to PA (Not)

No Logan, I got one after her and a new one now.

Red was this the same student I met when we had lunch in Indy?

Lol, I was due home and they tried to send me on a Northeast regional LtL 5 stopper with appts scheduled so nuts and 4 place that take 6 hours each that I knew there was no way I was making it home on time and would have gotten hung up on 189 miles for 3 days. So that was a hell no not happening. One and only time Ive selected N instead of Y when it asks if you want to commit to preplan.

If you can help it you do not want a forced dispatch that mean whether you want to or not they can make you do the load.. Ive only had to turn down 2 loads in the whole time Ive worked here. And only 1 of which was a hard no. But I want the option.

OK, now I"m curious. What warranted the 'hard no?'

Thanks ya'll:-) I really appreciate the support. In the end I know that I made the right call even if It didnt feel good. Unfortunately with my job these things happen and hopefully its a long while before i have another like this.

If you can help it you do not want a forced dispatch that mean whether you want to or not they can make you do the load.. Ive only had to turn down 2 loads in the whole time Ive worked here. And only 1 of which was a hard no. But I want the option.

So as yall all know Ive been a trainer at my company for awhile. As of late I have had quite a few girl come into the truck. Yesterday I had to make a tough decision and it has been sitting heavy with me. I had to tell my company that After 4 weeks with me and 2 weeks local before me that I didnt feel like my student was ready to be by herself. They gave her the boot . I asked them to test her out to see what they thought but they didnt think it was necessary. The 3 local trainers she had before me evidently felt the same way. Hard part was she actually got much better under my teaching but when it came to surviving out here on her own I just didn't feel like she was ready. Do you know how hard it is to tell someone that they just arent cut out for this? Its a horrible feeling. Those out here know that when we all first come out here we have a "car mentality" but that quickly fades off and you focus on the bigger picture you need to drive a truck. She however never got past the car mentality phase. She could sit in the drivers seat and drive her 9/10 hrs staring straight ahead. Mirror usage was minimal at best. Pulling through a space at a service plaza in PA she almost took out the last 8ft of a new trailer because she wasnt paying attention to her mirrors. Or a few days before when we were pulling into the TA in London, OH x70 mm79 and she just dead stopped in the middle of the road at the truck entrance because she couldnt find a gear. I could go on and on but those kind of mistakes usually happen in the first 2 weeks of training. By week 4 out here all of my trainees have been able to manage the truck with minimal issues and minimal questions. She was glued to my hip because she was afraid to be by herself. Life out here is new and alittle scary at first but you quickly become used to the hustle and bustle of the trucker life. Some folks adapt while others dont. Hardest part was having to explain this stuff to her and her not get it. My company gave me the option of taking a car and leaving until they had her on a bus but Im just not that way. I stayed and tried to explain how i felt. I encouraged her to get more training. Possibly a team company and told her if she ever needed anything to please call. I didnt enjoy thid in the least and hope i never have to go through it again. I tried my best even gave her extra time on the truck but it didn't work. I just had to share. Maybe get some words of encouragemen.

We have had many a trainee literally tear some equipment up and they have kept them. Its part of being a rookie. I do not think they will fire you but perhaps make you watch safety videos.

Travis listen what he did was not right however sometimes things need to be worked out in the truck.......I personally give my trainees full say so in what they will and wont do. I do not .force them to do anything and would never put them in jeapordy. Sometimes because there are 2 clocks dispatch puts the pressure on the trainer and if they feel like you cant do something they will do it themselves. He would have had to be mad but not a reason to hop off his truck. Next time you need help on how to handle a situation please come here first. We will guide you.