Comments By Dan67

Everybody likes to eat. a gift card to a local restaurant that he/she likes is perfect.

Never ever rely on the QC/Omnitrac. That will shave miles and send you down roads not designed for a truck. Never blindly follow any electronic device. Look up the route and see where it is taking you, Use a Rand CMV Atlas and look up the route. When I was at werner their qualcom was notorious for routing you down the shortest narrowest road including residential neighborhoods and over bridges with restrictive weight limits.

I have a Garmin Dezl 770. It did great until the latest software update, as it as crashed a few times. And it will send you on some goofy directions every now and then. But remember it is only 1 tool of many. I still have my Road atlas and use it every day.

Like Yesterday returning from Tuscaloosa, AL to Anderson, SC. I-20 east to Atlanta, I-285 north on inner loop to I-85 north. GPS said to take I-20 and turn left onto I-285.. It is an right turn, there is no left. And from I-285 to I-85 south and loop around back north when the north ramp is a straight shot.

I never call a customer unless it is some hole-in-the-wall place and I call for directions or hours of operation. I am sure to use google earth on my laptop while talking to them so I know exactly how to get in and edit/paint to draw out the directions. I also write down the directions. I let my dispatcher and the office staff to deal with any other customer issues.

I still have some contacts with Werner and they are completely baffled on the Jury's decision to blame Werner for the accident. Highway patrol did fault and cite the pickup driver for the accident as "driving to fast for conditions". The Werner driver was not cited and was doing way under the speed limit and was in the right lane at the time of accident. It was a tragic accident and could have been easily prevented had the idiot in the pickup decided not to speed in a winter storm.

The dreaded "Swamp A$$".. The Anti-Monkey Butt is good but I prefer the good old Gold Bond Medicated Powder. Its like AC for you junk. used to use it in the Army on those long road marches, aka 12+ mile hikes with full kit.

Last load was from Toledo, OH to Anderson, SC. 52 Plastic skids filled with foam dashboards for BMW.. 10,080 lbs.. loved that 10.2 mpg

I drive a 2016 and they all do it.. Keep an eye on the transmission temp gauge. If its getting above 150 F, it loves to jump into gear when you go into reverse from drive or even neutral. When it is cooler its not an issue. Just try to keep it as straight as possible.

Autos also like to slam kingpins when coupling. The best advise is to take as much weight off by raising the nose of the trailer so that it just barely touches the 5th wheel. Gently feather the throttle and let it roll back under the trailer until you hear the kingpin click into the 5th wheel. Give 2 sold pulls on it then get out and do a visual inspection from underneath the trailer.. need a flashlight.

Don't overlook adult education grants and education lottery funds. There are many government programs out there, just have to do some work applying. I went thru a local technical college and I was able to use grants and lottery funds plus VA funding to cover all but about $400.

I run a dedicated route between Michelin Plants, Pendleton, SC to Woodburn, IN and back. Two trips this week plus an extra run from Pendleton, SC to Tuscaloosa, AL and back. Good run for the week 38,500 lbs with a 15,000lbs backhaul. Total was 3300 miles.

I just left Werner last Friday. I was on dedicated home depot account in SC. Worked out of the Home depot distribution center. I was delivering hard loaded truckload freight to the stores int he region. Home weekends. Low miles but at a higher pay rate. Left because the miles are just too low to make any money. It was allot of tight backing and drop and hooking trailers. About 30% backing is blindside 90s. Either you get good at backing or you get fired for hitting stuff.

I am a fan of local technical colleges that offer CDL training. That is the path I took. Yes the cost can be higher up front but there are programs out there to help offset the costs. IE.. lottery funds, grants, even the VA can help. Apply for every thing you can. My school was longer and I learned more then the new drivers that went to my employers trucking school. First two weeks was learning about rules and regulations, bridge law, paper and elogs, and trip planning. Learned how to back and do slow maneuvers on the range. We did allot of driving including night driving. Did allot of skills practicing for the state test. We got the pretrip drilled into us every day and we had to pass that. You can compare the time in the schools vs each other too. Company training 3 to 4 weeks max vs 8+ weeks. Mine was 11 and 1/2 weeks long.

Glad you found it and got it reported to be repaired. So many drivers just get lazy and don't look. I find bad stuff all the time and report it for repair or tag it OOS. On a dedicated retail account where there is allot of drop and hook you really have to be through. I am on anywhere from 3 to 5 trailers per day.

As for the GI Bill expiring that is not a big deal depending on if you go private (technical college) vs company sponsored schools. My GI Bill expired way back in 08' and I was able to get the VA to pay a portion of the tuition. I was laid off unemployed and was able to get state lottery funds, VA, and state workforce funding to cover the majority of costs. I just had to come up with a small bit. There are programs out there. Do some research comparing company vs private schools.

Ever have a completely bonehead moment in you trucker career? I had mine the other day. Got to the shipper running on time. Was a drop and hook, new load not ready yet so I went to drop my trailer. Wife called and was chatting her up a bit and completely forgot to go by the steps for unhooking. Did everything but unplug my air and electric lines. Pulled forward and pop.. busted all 3. Man what a dumbass move.. Had to call my dispatcher, he had a good laugh.. Contacted roadside breakdown, They had a good laugh.. Contacted the vendor to let them know all the parts I needed and waited for them to come to me as I was out of hours. Petrol guy came out 5 hours later.. Got it fixed and back to terminal this morning. Think I will just get a spare set to keep in my truck and change it out myself if it ever happens again..

You have to plan every trip, relying on just the qualcomm gps is dangerous. Just wait until it tries to send you down a goat road. I use a 2017 Rand laminated large print version, garmin dezl 770, the qualcomm, and my phone to bring up satellite map of the customer if I've never been there before.

Backing will become more natural once you start doing it on your own without a trainer watching you. I'm in my second month solo on a dedicated home depot account. 90% drop and hook and I swear 70% of my backs are blind side 90s. Like others have said take your time, get out and look..

I just left Schneider and I did not have a good experience with them. I was out of Charlotte, NC. The recruiter told me I'd start at .34cpm, At orientation i was told .32cpm, and when I actually started driving I was forced to take perdiem at .30cpm.. I was only getting 1500 miles a week as SE regional.. I cannot live off $450/wk gross. Not only was my pay low, but the truck was a piece of junk. It only pulled fuel from one side, fuel gauge did not work, air leak from under the cab. (shut down for the night on 125psi and after 10 hour break air was down to 60psi). I complained and complained to my DBL and was constantly calling maintenance and was told next time you get routed back we will look at it.. never happened. So I parked it and took all my stuff out and demanded another tractor as mine was unsafe. They told me I would have to wait a week or two before they could get me another tractor... SO I left them.

You did fine if you only hit a cone or 2.. some classes, all they do is kill cones. That course teaches you to get a first hand feel for the size of the truck. Just what ever you do.. NEVER dump the clutch.. Never hit a light pole.. And all is good on the range. Perimeter Road is not bad, you will run it after rush hour. First time getting out of the yard can be a bit tough. Idle shifting from 1-2-3, and getting straight onto the road without running off the pavement and getting up the first small hill and gaining speed. Good thing is the max speed is 35mph. You will get it quickly and then the real fun begins. Keep at it.. You got this..

You need to schedule an appointment at IdentoGO. You can call or go online to schedule your appoitment. (855) 347-8371 They are at 30 Orchard Park Drive Suite 21, Haywood Plaza, Greenville SC 29615. Its in a small shopping center the otherside of I-385 from Haywood Mall. Usually takes 4 to 6 weeks but can come back faster depending on the TSA. Get it done before you graduate.