Profile For Banks

We got ours last month, we used to be able to start hooking a set before going "on duty" can not do that any more as soon as you move at all it records it. We have "yard move" when we are in one of our yards so it doesn't waste drive time. We can not use yard move at a meet point since it isn't fenced in with a guard shack or gate.

Interesting. I use Yard Move at Meet Points and it seems to work just fine. I'm swapping trailers so what else can DOT call it?

How do you do that? My yard time drained a lot of my clock

I got my first runs this week. Approximately 6 weeks after officially becoming a city driver. Some guys say it normally takes longer at my hub, but it seems that everybody got sick this week. I hope I don't get sick.

I got the call about an hour before my shift start asking if I wanted to take a 100 mile run. I jumped on it.

I got to the hub and realized I don't know what I'm supposed to do, so I went to dispatch. Dispatch broke everything down for me. Where the trailers are and where the tractor is. I received my paperwork and I went out to the yard.

I did a thorough pretrip on my tractor and dolly and I was off to find my tail. I found it and in my head, knowing my current skill level I felt it was too tight for me to line up a trailer in front of it. I decided to pull my tail trailer and drop it an open area. I went back to get my dolly and I had no issues lining up tire to rail (Thanks Bob). Now I had to grab my lead trailer. It took me a little while to find it and by the time I got back the yard dogs flooded my open area with trailers. It looked like the spot I was trying to avoid earlier. I decided to just try and hook there. I wasn't as rusty as I thought and I was able to line it up after a handful of pullups.

Once I was hooked it was time for a complete pretrip. I was taught to open the valves in the rear trailer to make sure air is traveling all the way to the back. I go to the back and no air. I spent about 15 minutes checking all of my connections before I realize that I never turned the valve to supply air to the dolly. Now we have air in the back.

Once I was done another driver came over and says "hey, dispatch told me it's your first run. How you making out?". I told him I was good. All hooked up and ready to roll. He offered to look everything over and I accepted. He offered tips like counting the connections, this way you don't do something silly like forget to supply air to your dolly. He told me not to feel discouraged and that everybody struggles to start. "Soon you'll be hooking a set in 15 minutes and you won't believe it used to take you an hour".

It took me about an hour and a half from grabbing my tractor to ready to go. I got paid for 30 minutes of it.

I got to the terminal and realized I don't know what to do now. So, I went to the first supervisor I could find. He told me the handheld should tell me where to drop the trailers. I forgot to take a handheld. He looked it up and told me to drop them in a lane because they're there for pick up, not sorting. He also told me that I had to call Central to let them know I arrived because I didn't have a handheld. I went outside and I realized I don't know where the lane is. I stopped a yard dog and asked him. I told him it's my first time there and he told me to drop the rear trailer so he can pick it up and to follow him. Once I dropped the trailers I clocked in for dock duty.

About 3 hours later, it was time to leave. I went to dispatch and he told me I was taking back 2 empties and the set was already hooked. All I had to do was hook my tractor and do a pretrip. I got back to domicile, dropped my trailers and that was my night.

I got the same run the next night and it went a lot smoother. Both of my trailers went to doors. I knew that because I remembered to grab a handheld. No issues bumping the door and the yard jockey took my tail to drop it at it's assigned door. I worked the dock for 4 hours.

On the return trip I had a loaded trailer and an empty. I had to hook these up. It's an assigned trailer and any empty trailer. I went to the empties and backed my dolly up. I dropped it at whatever's trailer it landed at. I went to grab my lead and I hooked my set. As I'm pulling out, I realize the trailer next to my tail isn't straight and I'm getting pretty close to it. Another driver pulled up next to be and said "you're new". I asked what gave it away and he says "you picked a middle trailer. You always pick a trailer on the end or with a clear spot next to it." He told me not to attempt it. He went and got a yard jockey to move to the other trailer. I was able to pull out without issue and head home.

It wasn't bad and I learned a lot of lessons. People we're very helpful with these new experiences and I'm better than I was last week.

I know we once had someone from McElroy, but for the life of me I can't remember who it was.

Parrothead66

Also pack rat my wife seems to be ok with it as long as it’s going to be 5-6 days out and a day or two home every week. I’m looking into flatbed as a driver.

I had the same battle. And at the same time, things kept coming up at home that required my attention. I just opted to put OTR on hold and I went LTL. It works better for my family right now.

You have to include it in your applications. The police were called so I'm guessing there's an accident report. It's likely to come up in a background check.

When you're applying for jobs you have to lay it out and be upfront about everything. They don't take your word for it, they look into it. They're going to dig up everything they can from everywhere to make sure they're hiring a qualified individual.

The impact it has on your application depends on the company's policy on handling it. They're not all the same. One company might say no and another might say it's ok. Won't know until you put in the applications.

When discussing the accident with your recruiter, take responsibility for it. Saying you were 3/4 out and it's the other person's fault won't get you far. It's your fault. Cars in the travel lane always have the right of way. You did a bad job of backing up. It happens, but 100% your fault.

And Brett, I understand what you are saying in your comment, but it comes across as kicking a man when he's down. Sometimes you are too harsh. I think criticism has it's value, but not the right timing. I know I'm going to catch hell for what I just said.

Bruce, when a man is down would it serve him best to pity him, or to offer help?

Our job here at Trucking Truth is to coach people, and we do what we do because we care.

You're offering your condolences because it makes you feel good, it makes you look good, and because you don't know enough about trucking to actually help Marc with his career. I offer my help because I care about Marc becoming successful and I have the knowledge and experience that can help him accomplish his goals.

I'm not here to look good or to feel good or to make friends, though all of those things would be nice. The reason I'm here is to help people get better and find success in their trucking career. Someone who truly cares about helping another human being will do so any way they can, especially when it's hard or requires them to do something that isn't popular.

I was listening to a coaching session earlier today. The coach said to the client, "Listen, I care about you, but I'm not here to be your friend. You already have friends. I'm here to help you get better any way I can, and sometimes that means making you face uncomfortable truths about yourself."

If you listen to speeches given by successful people, they always thank the people who demanded the most of them, who didn't let them settle for less than they were capable of, and made them face the truth especially when they didn't want to. No one ever thanks anyone for their pity. We give people what they need to be successful, and pity isn't on that list.

You sound like my trainer lol.

"I'm not here to be your friend, we can be friends later but right now we have to do this".

And that approach helped me a lot. Good enough didn't exist. He demanded perfection. He'd say

"State requirement is down here and mine is all the way up here. If you can get through mine you'll get to the state and that'll be the easiest test you've ever taken."

The other one I would hear all the time

" You wanna be a city driver or a part-time dock worker. It's up to you, I already have my job".

I was talking to a TMC driver about a year ago. He told me he lives in his truck and his parents house is his mailing address. He works non-stop because he lives in his truck.

The cool part was when he told me that when wants to take a break, he'll take home time somewhere he wants to visit. He would rent a car and an air bnb and that was his home time.

Makes me want to kick the kids out today and get to it.

Don't worry too much about the money right now. In the end the pay balances out after CPM, Per Diem, Bonuses, Detention pay and everything else is thrown out there. People tend to get into a locked stare with CPM.

Instead, I would focus on run time. McElroy may not be a good fit for you. They don't run on weekends for religious reasons. It seems like everybody else does, though.

There are other questions to consider

1) what kind of loads are you interested in? (Flatbed, dry van, reefer)

2) would you like to have a rider at some point? What's the procedure?

3) would you like to have a pet at some point?

You'll be fine anywhere you go. These companies didn't become the huge successes they are in this saturated market by treating customers like crap and always being late. They will make sure you're a professional and help you along the way.

As for recruiters lying, that's not par for the course and while it's a poor representation of the company, it's not the whole picture. You've landed in a great spot because there's representation here from almost all of the major companies and they can paint an honest picture for you. Just ask what you want to know.

Welcome aboard.

Good luck Stevo, keep us posted

Drug tests seem to get failed a lot in states with legal marijuana.

the first thing i noticed is that the passenger side hub was leaking oil and the trailer e brake was disabled the red knob did not work and that the trailer e brake would not work.. the instructor said when performing the trailer brake e brake test just pretend to do it and explain to the examiner the test procedure and everything would be fine. Just asking for your thoughts on this matter. thanks in advance Dave.

That's insane. I've spoken to people that got told to kick rocks by a state examiner because of faulty equipment. And with all the things going against you because you have no experience to fall back on, you have equipment you can't rely on. Check out Stevo Reno experience with the California state test.

...But Officer...this basketball just happened to bounce into the open window of my car as I was driving by...

Todd V 7.0

70 dollars for a basketball? Must've been in NYC.

I'm assuming a charge is similar to a moving violation in that it won't show up until a conviction. I may be wrong about that.

As for jobs, they're going to ask about it and it's best to be honest because there are no guarantees in when/how this is going to play out. I would just call trucking companies, explain the situation and see what they say.

What G-Town says is correct. Trucking companies aren't desperate to fill seats because of a driver shortage. They're very selective and do their research. What your school did and what a company will do are very different.

For example when I applied for TMC they reached out to all of my previous employers. The ones that didn't respond, I had to submit copies of my W-2. They turned me down and they wouldn't tell me why.

They emailed me my entire background report. It had 10 year old addresses on it. It was a dull biography of my life. That's the kind of researching they're doing.

Congratulations Old School. I've learned a lot from your attitude and it has benefited me in a way that I can't explain. Not just in trucking, but at my previous job as well. My supervisor gave me a hug on my last day and told me the door is always open.

Now on to the important question

What kind of truck and what color?

Why do you all get so upset and defensive about any new technology?

The world is changing get on board or get left behind. And I just find instead of having and open discussion it gets so defensive all the time now.

Nobody is upset or defensive about technology. The conversation was about cameras. They're a distraction and ineffective, that's my opinion. Nothing about that says I'm upset or being defensive. Back up cameras have been around for at least a decade. If they were worth the investment in a tractor trailer, don't you think a company would be all over that already? Think about all of the technology in tractors already. Adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings, they beep when you signal and something is next to you, they tell you how many seconds ahead the car in front of you is. I'm all for all of that, but I'm against cameras.

Considering the other aspects of smart technology that could be implemented in trailers besides cameras, we may see some of them soon. Would shippers like Amazon, Walmart, FedEx, or UPS install 3G cellular devices on the trailers? They already scan every package going into a trailer allowing the customer to see where the package is at a given time. Amazon already has this kind of tracking on the blue vans used for Amazon Now deliveries.

Two of my personal vehicles have a device called Automatic Pro (old version 3G no contract), that allows me to see where the vehicle is, where it has been. I also get notifications if the vehicle is in an accident, jack rabbit starts, or hard brakes. I installed them for different reasons, one was to track a 16-year-old and the other was to turn on automatic lights, adjust temperature at home before I arrive.

DaveW's post references gateways, devices, security, and analytics near the end. If the trailer had a small 3G box on the rooftop that connected to a door sensor, temperature sensor, and position sensor, it would feed a lot of information back to the shipper. I see something like that happening in the near future. Customers love to track their packages. I use Informed Delivery from the Post Office to see what is coming to my mailbox. If only I could see how far away my mail lady is with that package.

Individuals love to track their packages. Freight costumers usually only check if you're late and they do it by calling dispatch. If you have freight going from California to NJ, It's not going from hub to hub like FedEx does it's just going straight there. And being able to track that freight in real time online is a safety hazard.

All of these things cost money. At a time when freight rates are low and companies are competing with each other, it's an unnecessary expense.

Trucks already have the safety features you mentioned. Companies are made aware if you're speeding, have a hard stop or if you're tailgating. That has a ROI.

I believe there might be the rear-vision advantage to cameras on trailers. Such cameras have been brought up on this forum before - and instantly dismissed. S. Dad, I think I see two holes in your idea. First, those cameras (even at $25 each) will be "no one's" responsibility and will quickly get damaged. Second, there needs to be a way to connect the camera on your new trailer to your tractor (cab). Wires? Bluetooth over 90 feet (distance back of trailer to the driver seat))?

Finally, "money talks": the cost of getting cameras into your fleet (upwards of 2000 trailers - Prime Inc owns 10,000) and the (managerial term warning) cost/benefit and/or insurance savings will not improve the company bottom line.

In the five years I've been in this business, I have seen issues of drivers resisting onboard cameras, anti-tailgating warning/conrol, cruise control, even auto-shift transmissions. Of course, driverless trucks! You probably could add the trailer cameras to this list.

One more issue, "Dad"*, is you are just now coming in to this industry, and you should know that any "bright ideas" suggested by a newbie coming into any new business won't be appreciated. Been there/done that.

*I'm 68 years old and it's weird to call a young man like you "Dad".

I don't think it's an issue of him being a newbie... I'm a newbie. In my little experience, I've learned it's easy to get into a fixed stare. You see your sights on where you want your trailer to go and that's where your focus is. I have to snap myself out of it and remind myself to be aware of my surroundings.

The difference is that an RV is a straight vehicle and a tractor trailer is not. Straight trucks are equipped with cameras because the electrical source isn't constantly connected and disconnected. Also, the box is always aligned with the vehicle. Aside from the cost of updating every trailer, it's also dangerous.

When you're driving a tractor trailer your head has to be on the swivel. You have to pay attention to every mirror and you have to always be aware of your surroundings. It's easy to get into a locked stare with a screen. That's dangerous when your tractor is hanging out on a public road and there are people around.

What happens when they camera fails and you can't back up without it? That's extremely dangerous.

When I'm down shifting I focus on my speed.

I drop to to 9 at 40 To 8 at 30 To 7 at 20 And 6 at 15

It sounds as though you would like the one that pays less but better hours. In truth you will get used to hours if they are steady pretty quickly. As for the stay away from local and smaller companies and go with a big company I disagree. If you have found what you like I would never go to one of those big companies. Not that there is anything wrong with them but in reality small and locally owned companies are what the trucking industry is built on and if you find a good one they will stick with you better than the big ones where you are just a number.

I also have to disagree with this. A small company has 1 person worrying about their bottom line. That's their main concern, as it should be. This isn't beneficial to you. If you get hurt or have an accident, you're hurting their bottom line and it's an annoyance.

If I were to get hurt now, the president of FedEx would be indifferent. It's not a huge hit on their bottom line. HR and management at my hub would make sure bills got paid and my healing would be a be priority because now we have a personal relationship. We know each other and look out for each other. My medical bills have no effect on them. If I get into an accident, I'll get retrained and they'll take the steps necessary to make sure it doesn't happen again. The only time termination would be considered is if I try to cover it up because now it's an integrity issue.

My personal experience tells me to always go with the big corporation because the people you deal with will do right by you if you do right by them. Money is never a factor in their decisions.

Congratulations on the new truck!

I've dealt with my fair share of dirty trucks, but I don't have my own lol. I've had weeks where I'm throwing out somebody else's trash every day of the week.

FedEx doesnt make people keep them clean? We can get written up of we keep leaving them dirty, one guy even got fired for constantly leaving trucks dirty even after being warned numerous times.

They do, but it's one of those rules that doesn't get enforced, at least at my hub. You know the LTL game. Different rules for different buildings. I wish they would enforce it, but I guess it's low on the list of priorities.