Profile For Papa Pig

Well, put myself in the unfortunate position that I had to straightline back a set of doubles last night. I don’t recommend it lol

I had to drop a set at a different shuttle depot than my home yard. It was later than usual and a hellacious lightning storm and I was unfamiliar with the road. What looked like the road I was going to take ended up being a dirt road. Almost got my whole set in it before I could stop.

Well my blood ran cold . I have practiced trying to straightine back a set and have averaged 15 foot before the dolly got all wonky and I gave up. Last night I had about 50 foot or more. Backing uphill before it would be safe enough to make the turn.

To those who haven’t ran a set the 2 trailers isn’t the issue with backing, it’s the pintle hook to the dolly between trailers which will make it very unpredictable. Pretty much the darned thing goes wherever it wants to go. It was slow going a foot or 2 at a time back. A foot foreword to get the dolly out of a twist. After 45 minutes or so and a severely warm automatic clutch I barely got it back on the road enough just to make a turn. Once I got straightened out I got out and checked my truck and my set. Everything was good and the only damage was my pride. I NEVER want to do that again!!!

I have gotten a lot better on the yard backing the dolly up with it being behind the lead trailer. This has a lot of benefits and I recommend practicing it when you have time. Can save some time and energy.

From what I have learned so far. You CANNOT be in a rush when building , breaking down or driving doubles. Goes the same with all truck driving but even more so to me with a double setup.

Still happy with the company and everyone I work with and work for. Genuinely nice people that will help out with anything. Only met a few disgruntled drivers.

Quick note they are hiring for shuttle drivers out of Pensacola fl and our jemison Al drop yards. If you are interested in shuttling check it out.

I think that a lot of companies have the policy that if you are gone more than a week that you have to empty out your truck. I understand it because well that’s just trucking. Now 3 days… nah I think that is just a dispatcher not wanting a driver to take vacation

If you really want the 2 weeks then I think it would be worth it. In the end a truck is just a truck. If you really don’t want to turn it in then maybe take a week , come back for a few then take another week.

Been here for about a week now and starting to get my routine down.

Something that I have found cool is that all of the shuttle drivers on my shift all work as a team. It’s not dog eat dog and every driver for himself. They have all offered me lots of advice , lessons learned, and given me the tools needed to be successful. Of of the trailers that we return to the warehouse always has pallets from the routes and return product that has to be offloaded with a pallet Jack. Most places would just let the driver who took that trailer unload it all. But everyone goes to the door and pitches in. No big rush to get a load and roll back to the drop yard.

Yard dogs are helpful and efficient but will let you know REAL Quick if you put a trailer in the wrong spot on the yard! Lol!

So far so good!

I just recently ended a job as a cdl instructor. There have been rumors of updated skills on the test for around a year now but they haven’t taken effect yet. Probably won’t for a little while.

Quit stressing. I promise it’s not rocket science. If you need a confidence booster go to any truck stop and hang out by the fuel pumps and fuel desk. You will realize that if those dudes can do it so can you. Kind of the same effect as going to Walmart at 3 am depressed and seeing all the other shoppers and realizing you don’t have it so bad lol

There is food service which is a lot of night unloading using a ramp and hand cart. Depending on the area of the country you live in it may pay better. I live in the south and when I was pulling dollar general i was making more than most of the guys i know that did food service. It depends on what company you work for and what area of the country you are in. And to be honest believe it or not dg is way easier than most of those jobs

How long have you been pulling and unloading at dollar general? Which company are you with? After you are established , get your technique down you should be able to pull around 2000 a week.

I can’t answer anything about owner op. Not my forte

How you liking them doubles?

So far so good. Once I figured the right way to hook them so far they seem way easier to drive than a 53. I just try to it notice the extra “wiggle” lol.

Do you like the swap of a bed for a window in the back?

Most of those day cab drivers work pretty long hours but you seem to have a nice schedule but I imagine you selected them partly because your pay is still pretty good.

Best wishes for a successful career there!

Thanks Harvey. As long as I sleep in my own bed I don’t mind the back window.

The only issue is that the pup trailers do not cover up enough of the tandem axle and from what I have been told it can cause rocks to fly up and hit the window causing it to break. Tonight I only did 248 miles total. So not a bad gig at all.

Started my new job as a shuttle driver on Monday with Ben E Keith food division. My initial impression so far is very positive.

From application to offer it took about a week and a half. The background checks seem to be more thorough than most companies . A friend of mine told me it’s because you are dealing with food but I don’t know. It could just be the agency they use.

There was only 4 of us in our 2 days of orientation/ onboarding. Most of the information was not transportation related but ALOT to do with proper food handling, OSHA type training. Then your basic jj Keller trucking videos that everyone knows about

The facility was new and top of the line and everyone was VERY friendly and accommodating. The people that work here definitely believe in the company and try to represent it the best they can. Very professional and polite all the way through. The HR rep and the transportation manager asked us where we wanted to eat and took us to a local bbq place and ate lunch with us. When I got to my yard I was assigned a mentor who walked me through hooking doubles and the elogs system. The elogs and pretrip procedures here are very different than what I am used to but I’m picking it up. I’m trying to feel my way around the procedures and how things are done so I am taking my time.

The warehouse pickup procedure is very organized. We fuel up on the yard and they have a fuel station that allows you to hit both tractor tanks, def, and both reefer trailers at one time. It’s a very smooth process. And the people dealing with getting the loads out and the yard drivers are great and very helpful

Every driver at the yard and every employee I have met has nothing but great things to say and so far it seems like this is going to be a very good fit. Only about 7-8 hours on duty a day. 5 days a week.

So far I’m very impressed and glad I made the move. I have been missing driving since I left Werner. I enjoyed my time teaching but I think this is going to be a much better fit.

I thought you liked touching freight, you got great exercise on that DG account and stuck it out for quite a long time, relatively speaking. Good luck in your new job!

I didn’t mind pushing rolltainers onto a liftgate. But stacking boxes on a dolly and pushing them down a ramp. Sometimes having to go up and down stairs…nah no interst for me. Plus the new schedule leaves time for the gym. Also I’m a bit older now and got fat while I was a cdl trainer 😂.. In all seriousness I would do dg again if the hometime fit my needs. I went straight from 24 years in the military into a regional driving job. So being home more is nice. Once my sons are out of the house I will get back regional

Looks like I’m in stores for some new adventures!

I left the Werner DG account at the end of 2021 and started a training as a cdl instructor. Overall instructing was a very rewarding experience. Like any job it had it’s ups and downs with more ups than downs. I really enjoyed helping people to build the confidence and provide training and feedback to take the test and get their CDL. But the whole time I really missed actually driving a truck. I think once driving gets in your blood it’s kinda hard to let it go. So after awhile I decided to start looking around and if I found the perfect setup I would get back on the road! It took a few months and I was doing it casually at first and then I found it!I won’t say the name as yet because I’m not sure of their policies but it’s a food service company that is not Sysco, us foods, or pfg. Did a working interview and background and now have an orientation date scheduled next week.

Shuttle driver! I made sure to verify that I was in no way interested in touching freight or being a delivery driver lol! Essentially it’s running empties double from a drop yard to the dc. Picking up full ones and bringing them back so the young and strong guys can deliver. The schedule seems nice. 2pm till about 9-11pm Depending on the warehouse. I’m really excited to get back into the swing of things and will do an update after I’m on the job for a few weeks!

Forgot to mention that one day I was dropping an empty and got distracted. I unhooked my lines , talked to another driver. I had been running hard and was tired. So I absentmindedly got in the truck and hit my kingpin release. Luckily I always only pull until the trailer is off of the skid plate. And boom ! Trailer apron landed on the frame. Very lucky. Also no one else seemed to see so I sheepishly got out and started cranking .