Comments By Don

Safety is paramount (the cost of crashes and/or losing loads is enormous) so companies don't want you driving if you aren't up to it. Dispatchers want to move loads, so it's tempting for them to push, but the big bosses and safety departments want you to park it (and get a repower if necessary for on-time delivery). But if it happens too often then that's bad for business.

But dealing with health problems is a problem with OTR trucking. Can't hop in a car and drive to the doc at the first sign of trouble. Can try to get routed back home (which might take weeks to do) or take a taxi or call an ambulance to take you to a local physician (which is even more of a problem if you need to return to that physician for follow-up appointments, as I had to for a root canal).

Of the places I've been to, Chicago and the Bronx in NY have been the worst. The problem is all of the small, one-way streets, truck restrictions, low bridges, etc, that makes it a maze / mine-field.

The LA metropolis is bad because it's enormous and the traffic terrible much of the time.

Qualcomm GPS is only a tool, as with everything else. At least for ours at Swift, it seems to be outdated by about 5 years, based on highways that are that old but GPS doesn't recognize them. What's more, the Qualcomm can lose connection with the satellites, it can crash, it can go through an "update" at any moment (thus taking your GPS offline for several minutes -- not good if you're navigating a big city when it happens), it can lose a fix on your position, etc. And often it will route you through some goofy little roads to save a few miles -- not worth it; it will take you down roads that are legal for trucks, but not for the weight you're carrying, etc. But it's still a useful tool. Just gotta know its limitations and problems.

An invaluable tool is Google Maps, as you suggested, especially if you have a computer to use for the web version. Can try different routes and see the miles, use Satellite View to get a look at the customer's facility and where to enter and park, and even Street View to read signs and virtually drive difficult routes before going there. I wouldn't be without it.

The written text directions provided by the company sometimes can provide further assistance, but they too are often outdated, confusing, or flat-out wrong.

Bottom line: for a difficult route, I look at every bit of information available and then try to make sense of it. And even then, keep your eyes open to watch for something unexpected along the way and be ready to adapt, fast (often there is no opportunity to stop and make new plans).

G-Town wrote:

Welcome Don. Looking forward to reading your posts and replies.

Thanks G-Town. Glad I found this website and forum. Am impressed.

With my current job I drive an hour to and fro....I do what I need to :)

But your current job is probably 8hrs/day, right? A local driver is probably about 12hrs/day.

What clothes to bring along is a challenging question. I continue to modify what I carry. The challenge is that even in Winter you can come across everything from +65F and torrents of rain, to -18F (my record so far) with ice and snow. That's a lot to prepare for. And since you don't want to do laundry every other day, you want to carry enough to get you through at least a week. But space in a sleeper is very limited, so you're limited in what you can bring along.

For most cold weather, thermal pants are all I need. I don't like thermal shirts because most of our time is spent in the truck, and sometimes you need to crank up the defroster to keep the ice from freezing your windshield. That, of course, makes it hot in the cab. Then I have two different jackets for the top half, one light duty one heavy duty. For feet, I've found that a good pair of boots provides enough warmth when it's cold, but when it's super-cold, also do have some wool socks.

For protection from the neck up, I carry several options. For just plain cold, there is a knit cap and a knit tube to pull over the neck. Great combo. Can pull up the tube and pull down the cap so that only eyes are showing. For heavy rain, a wide-brimmed hat is great. Also my heavy jacket is waterproof and has a built-in hood. Then for super-cold weather, the cap, neck tube, and jacket hood make a good combo.

I'm actually developing some software for mobile and web to help study HOS, including the 8+2 split break, along with two other applications. ETA in a couple weeks, after a year in development. 8+2 or 2+8 is tricky, but very useful when time is tight. Gets even trickier when you do several in a row, like 8+2+8+2. If you're going to make use of it, need to know it inside and out, or you can find yourself with an expired clock, while still needing to put on miles.

Tough points on both of those, Adam. The life of an OTR trucker offers little time or opportunity for exercise. And truck stops are usually located away from retail and entertainment parts of town. Even bobtails are too big for most parking lots, presuming you can disconnect from your trailer. A nephew of mine carries a bicycle inside his cab, and I've seen others strap them to the back of the cab. I think the only reasonable option is to rent a car. If there's a car rental place nearby, they often will come and pick you up, take you back to their store, where you then rent the car. Just costs money.

I started with Central Refrigerated and then Swift bought out Central so I'm with Swift too. Experience was similar as others have stated: No money up-front; went through 3 weeks of classroom and basic training of how to drive a truck, do inspection, etc; then 4 weeks on the road with a trainer. Owed them 50% the total fee if 1 year completed, 100% if you bailed out, but don't recall any extra money coming back if you stayed in longer than that. But after 3 months I went Owner-Operator, leasing my own truck from the company. Had to commit to several years to do that (the length of the lease) but then the schooling fee was waived completely.

Will Swift set up a new driver in a local driving position, or do they require over the road to get experience? I don't know, but if daily home time is a requirement to care for children, better research that first...