Comments By Deb R.

Winter, indeed! Let this be a reminder to everyone to load up the winter gear and supplies if you have not already done so!

I got several rejection emails very quickly for the same reason so gave up.

Good that you got in with a company for training!

Now, just a helpful comment - there will be plenty of bumps in the road ahead, both literal and figurative. Sometimes you will just have to be stubborn and determined, and DON'T GIVE UP. You will get tired and frustrated and scared, but stick with it.

I90 WB in Minnesota - car coming EB lost control and into the median coming straight for me. I was passing at the time, another vehicle was on my right side, so I had no options but to brace for impact. At the very last moment, the car snapped back and got back onto the EB side.

Weirdly enough, this happened a second time a few weeks later, in basically the same location.

What surprised me afterward, is how I took it in stride. Freakishly calm. No adrenaline rush. Nothing. I just said "well, that was close", thanked my angels for always doing a great job, and kept going.

Fresh outta school, I might have panicked over a nail. After 9 years out in the real world, I would shrug it off, go get loaded, and deal with it later.

Hiya, Deb: It's no big deal, but it was not me who said this. I do agree with Pianoman though...touching someone else's equipment without their permission is a no-no.

Oops. My apologies!

My bottom line, as RealDiehl said:

If nothing else I hope people reading this at least gather that from this thread—don’t assume things and don’t touch another driver’s equipment without their express knowledge and/or consent.

I'm going to second what Steve L. said about staying ahead of the pain & doing the PT. My BIL tried to "tough it out" by not taking the pain meds as prescribed, then it hurt too much to do the PT work, and as a result, he had a much harder time recovering. Follow the Drs. orders!

Some things will vary depending on your situation - for instance, I never need 5th wheel grease because I hook to a trailer at the yard, out for 7 days, then drop trailer at the yard, and the shop does the grease.

I second BK's suggestion for binos, in addition to reading signs at customers, they are great for animal watching.

In the pocket on my drivers door, I keep an old dish soap squeeze bottle that I fill with clean water, along with a bottle of foaming pump hand soap. Along with an old hand towel through the door handle - it's my hand wash station - washing my hands before getting in the truck goes a long way to keeping things clean inside the truck.

Some basic first aid things, bandaids, aspirin, peroxide.

Water. I have saved gallon size vinegar jugs, and fill them up with water when I'm home. I typically take along a gallon per day + 1, so 8 gallons for a week.

A few random pieces of 2x4 wood, I just scavenge those when I see 'em, 6" pieces or such have come in handy along the way, good if I need to add vertical height to a load lock.

A bottle of rubbing alcohol. Useful if the trailer air line gets some moisture in the winter.

A basic set of clothes for all conditions you may encounter; rain, snow, hot, cold. Depends on where you run, but it's crazy how much the weather varies for OTR drivers.

Some amount of food with shelf life; protein bars, protein powder, peanut butter, crackers, canned soup/vegetables - you may get stuck somewhere for a while, and it's best to be prepared.

I sometimes hand wash a few items. The safety net for the top bunk sticks up against the back wall, I just fling things over that and everything dries overnight.

I went to Technical College at age 57 to learn how to drive a semi and get my CDL. I've been driving OTR now for just shy of 9 years. There is no age barrier, no gender barrier.