Comments By Charlie Mac

Memorize which macro is "Directions to shipper". It's the only one not listed on the test & its asked.

As a rule of thumb, I never change the station LOL (unless nobody else is there)...which is never. 😋

Welcome aboard mate! Tons of resources right here @ your fingertips. Errol is spot on about the High Road Training Program. I was miles ahead of my classmates & would recommend it to anyone interested in getting their CDL.

Thanks for the well wishes 😀

I don't mind boring. I like flipping on the cruise control, listening to NPR & trading jabs with Super Truckers on the CB. What I won't miss is scrambling to find a last minute parking spot after sunset.

On a positive note, that very thing has honed my parallel parking technique tremedously! Pulling into a rest area with 1 spot left (of course it's not in the lanes but 1 of the 4 curbside spots).

Here I thought I'd never have to bust that maneuver after school again! Boy was I wrong. It's a whole different ballgame when the litle orange cones are now two 73' trucks with drivers asleep inside. 😋

Thanks Brett! I think my communication may have played a role in the outcome. I was always sending my macro's with more information then essential & updating my ETA's/PTA's to maximize efficiency with load planning. I'm also very polite.

Of course...I could just have gotten lucky. 😁

So, I (like a lot of folks) got into the OTR game to get experience & pay for school in hopes of landing a local/regional gig after I got some time under my belt.

I was on my first dispatch (home) a couple weeks ago and got a call from a company rep. They were calling Indy based drivers to gauge interest in a "shuttle run". Running trailers from an Indy drop yard to southern Illinois, meeting with a "swap partner" to exchange trailers and bringing that trailer back to Indy.

4 days on, 2 days off. Home every night & hourly pay. I (of course) was excited about the prospect, but this was only in the staging phase & didn't wanna get my hopes up as I'm still a rookie. I expressed intrest & they told me they would be in touch.

Saturday I got a message on my Qualcomm that they had T-called my load (PA to IA) to Columbus OH & to give them a call. I didn't know why...but thought I was in hot water!

They routed me to pick up my new(ish) 2015 day cab and take it to Indy! I'm home now & start my new route tommorow. I'm over the moon. 🌙

I was being held hostage in Pennsylvania while the customer (an Amazon sorting facility) was having a fire drill. They wouldn't check me out until the drill was concluded. Me (being the good driver I am) promptly notified dispatch.

This was their (epic) reply.

Running my 3rd solo dispatch as we speak! It's cool being the "Captain of the Ship" but also very anxiety heavy. I'm by myself in a rest area hundreds of miles from home in Pennsylvania & as I kept passing rest stop after rest stop I knew I was pressing my luck with capacity but I knew I could get just a little further tonight LOL.

The day after tommorow has me really anxious as my preplan has a 10pm firm (live unload) delivery...I just know finding a place with a vacant spot to shut down around 11pm is gonna be next to impossible. I prefer rest areas because I detest doing 90 degree backs in the black of night & feeling all of those invisible eyes on me. (i like shutting down before dark if at all possible).

You see that sign that says "next rest stop 70 miles" and THEN you see all those trucks parked along the offramp to the entrace & exit cause it's bursting with trucks. Ugh...

That's actually a Central trailer in my avatar LOL 😁