Profile For Susan D.

What did you get pulled over for? Were you actually caught driving a vehicle with no tag/plate at all? If so, that was your first clue.

If you are employed as a driver, you must inform your company asap.

My other half is from Georgia.. they don't play and it probably wont go well. You may need to get a lawyer.

Yep.. definitely find out if your company allows them, their you still want one and they do allow them, look to the pickiest states you run in for advice.

Food for thought. In the event of a steer tire blowout, they could break your hand just when you need every ounce of control you can muster. My company sees them as unsafe.

Welcome Greg and Sara! There's a lot of good information here to help you get started.

Many people aren't cutout for teaming, but personally I enjoyed it although my backing skills did suffer a bit during that time that my other half and I teamed.

The biggie is, let's say you both go through a company sponsored school and are each under contract, then one doesn't pass. Just something to consider in not getting started at the same place/same time. There was at least one couple on here that happened to.

There's so much to consider in your situation. Would a company train you together or separately. What would your plan be if one didn't pass, or if later one of you got injured or suffered a serious illness and couldn't drive temporarily or even permanently and you were contracted to a team only company. Those are things that you really need to discuss with each other before you actually get started. Hopefully none of those things ever happens, but you never know what the next day has in store.

I really don't know. My company doesn't want them in their trucks.

My suggestion would be to contact the pickiest states DOT you typically travel through and ask. They'll either give you a yay or a nay.

I've had this problem in my 2019 Cascadia several different times. Your collision avoidance sensors need to be recalibrated. Fun stuff lol and a complete PITA when it malfunctions. Quick and easy fix though.

I've also had my air alarm sensor go bad where the low alarm would sound constantly even though the air was perfectly fine. Stop and set the brakes and the alarm noise would stop. It was like mental torture when it did that. A freightliner dealer replaced it as it's a warranty issue. Several trucks at my company have had both of these sensor problems.

Old School said this: "He didn't respond when several of us tried to get him on the radio."

But regardless, I think CBs are a must have for all sorts of "heads up/safety" reasons.

Mine is on the fritz for some reason and I suppose I need to have it looked at or replaced.

So 5 weeks ago you were asking who would hire you... so my guess is you've been there 1 month or less.

What kinds of difficulty are you having? Let us know and we could offer specific advice to help you get it worked out.

Hopper, does Hobby Lobby actually have 57' trailers? I didn't realize that. My other half and I have considered teaming for them. How are they about shutting down in inclement weather? And how are they in regards to unmarried couples?

Thanks, Susan

Honestly, I cringe when a trainee shows up with lots of heavy baggage and says they were told by recruiting to pack for 3 (or 4) weeks.

7 days is sufficient. Plenty of places to do laundry, and tide pods travel well. Choose clothes you can layer for cooler weather. Bring a SLEEPING BAG... they're so much easier to lug around. A lighter (rain?) Jacket can be handy and a heavier one for colder climates. I do recommend extra socks and underwear as they take up such a small amount of space and 2 pairs of shoes (in case one pair gets real muddy or soaking wet). Flashlight and good quality work gloves. Charger cords, dry non refrigerated snacks.. and a towel.

When my gps is annoying and irritating, trying to reroute me on roads I don't wish to take, I simply turn off the sound. But I ignore it at least 90% of the time anyway. I do like the "map in my face" however, because that's pretty handy on unfamiliar routes.

You never tested your braking system??? I'd say that wasn't a thorough pre-trip. But honestly, I don't see hardly anyone checking for leaks, alarms, brakes. With these newer freightliners that have brakes that squall like a dying cat, I find they don't sound as bad if I've bled down the system to make sure the brakes will set when air is low because doing that adjusts your automatic slack adjusters.

Yep.. that one is clearly on the dispatcher. Glad you were able to get your new load.

They are the proposed changes. There will be a 45 day comment period, then will take a couple more months before they go into effect.

Exactly, Grumpy. I really believe this will be a huge step forward for drivers regardless of whether they are hourly or paid cpm.

The toughest thing for me was backing and being able to find legal parking, especially near metropolitan areas where truck stops tend to fill very rapidly.

Oh and Rick.. my company, West Side Transport.. their main focus IS short haul regional, so this is a very big deal for us. When I'm running short hauls, I'll sometimes do up to 3 pickups and 3 deliveries (all drop and hook) in a single drive shift. I don't often do lots of days of those, but I certainly have at times to fill a need. Those things are excellent money at my company, but a lot of work lol, so we have drivers who refuse to do the shorter hauls claiming they can't get good miles or make money doing them. You sure can't waste time and they're more work than a longer single run, but the fact is, for us, shorter runs pay a much higher rate.

I don't want to do them every single day, but I'm not complaining at all when I'm in an area that has shorter haul needs. I can still turn 500+ miles in a shift doing those, providing I waste no time and It's a quick in and out and almost every stop.

Grumpy, I'm paid by the mile. I was discussing the new rules with my safety director the other day. You would indeed be able to count that set hookup as part of your break, if your company is going to allow that. And I love the idea I can stop my 14 hour clock for UP TO 3 HOURS. So that is extremely flexible. It's not a set mandated period of time for that. I believe we will also still have a split break (sleeper berth) component.

So yes, I'm excited and thinking this is a huge step forward to work around that crazy 14 hour clock, and my safety director agreed that this would be a big deal for our drivers. We just have to wait until FMCSA gives the official OK to use these new rules.

My advice is to slow down on your shifting.. in other words, dont try to shift to quickly (speed shift). Nice and easy. And they don't expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to be able to recover safely if you mess up a bit. Just remember.. out of gear = out of control.

Relax, try to stay calm and just do your best.

Wishing you the best and a successful cdl test.

Many brokers wont deal with a new entity and that new O/O is going to find their insurance quite unaffordable. Besides that, if they leased to a company, they'd still have to meet that company's requirements.

Are there sketchy little mom and pops? You bet there is, so its extremely risky for these and many other reasons.

I hope that makes sense and answers your curiosity about a farm boy buying a truck.

I believe the rule changes will help as it will allow the flexibility to use my fueling, scaling, drop and hook time as part of my 30 minute break instead of sitting an extra 30 minutes. It will also be helpful, in my opinion, to be able to pause your 14 hour clock for up to 3 hours, to nap, avoid rush hour, or whatever, where as the 8/2 split... that 2 hour segment didn't pause anything.

I honestly believe it's a step forward in allowing more flexibility and will be good for drivers who are savvy enough to use it to their advantage.