Comments By Solo

Going a bit further, the road atlas shows the road legal from Oregon to Washington with no restrictions.

If you go by state, there are no restrictions listed under Oregon, but if you go under Washington, they restrict the route south to the OR border.

So that would explain why the GPS unit put me on this route, but the atlas needs updating as there has LONG been a 60' length restriction heading north from OR to WA.

Rand McNally...because after all, it's BASED UPON THE ATLAS!

This is a comment that makes no sense. ALL MAPS, ATLASES, GPS UNITS, have all of the same streets, Interstates, etc. in the EXACT SAME PLACE. A map or atlas will not pick a route for you. It shows you where all of the streets are. It is UP TO YOU to pick the route. It has been said here over and over. Do not trust the routing on any gps unit. ALWAYS double check the GPS routing against a map/atlas. Study the route on the map, pull up google satellite view, compare. Then, WRITE OUT step by step turn by turn directions and follow them. This will work 100% of the time. I guarantee it.

It would make sense to you if I had added a bit more context, while also making sure to have added some tongue and cheek.

The GPS I use is a Rand McNally GPS unit that is advertised as being their road atlas in a GPS form...meaning, the GPS unit functions the same as the physical road atlas.

Clearly they've not got that coding figured out and why we should be even less concerned about self-driving semi trucks.

I thought about combing some various sub-reddits and find somebody via interview process and background check that wants to do some traveling, and I'll cover their food costs....but, they'll have to help me throw straps and bungee tarps.

Solo, what's the "dump valve" & how does that help?

It's what allows me to shorten the flatbed trailer from 48' to 43', by dumping the air out of the rear axle allowing the trailer to turn from the front spread axle, instead of turning/dragging rear spread axle.

Right there w/ you as well.

My qualcomm had me 26 miles longer from Baker City, OR to Lewiston, ID than my Rand McNally GPS. My gut immediately told me that's for good reason, but yet I still chose to make the rookie choice of following the Rand McNally...because after all, it's BASED UPON THE ATLAS!

Nope, sent me over rattlesnake pass to Wallowa, WA w/ a 60' length restriction, of which I'm much longer.

I left the dump valve on for 38'ish miles and somehow managed to not hit any rocks, guardrails, or cars coming in the opposite direction. The bad part is, the rand wants to route me back through there tomorrow, so I'm sitting w/ my atlas now to find an alt route south to Las Vegas.

Sitting here at my shipper in Lewiston, ID and was looking over my numbers.

While on 26% pay my first month (now 32% for month 2), I noticed that I was avg $.64 cpm (not including any bounce or tarp pay).

Not sure how that compares to other new drivers, but so people can see this post and get an idea of what they are being told they'll start at and what I started at.

Chuck wrote:

Asked an older driver sitting outside a Flying J in Utah... How did you manage to do this job for 47 years... Quote "I learned to stay in the right lane and stay out of everybody's way"

This is really good Chuck.

I had the exact same conversation with a WMPF 4-million mile, no accidents driver. He said the exact same thing to me five years ago in reference to “how did you achieve that milestone?”

Then, by accident, I MAY be on my way in accomplishing the same thing...but because my truck can't get out of its own way.

I can't leave the right lane since I can't pass anyone but a rogue Prime or Schneider truck.

So I just take solace in knowing that I'm much slower than most and don't even try to get out of the right lane, and I'll get there when I get there.

Our trucks come w/ flat screen smart TV's, so I bought a mobile hotspot off ebay and an unlimited (no throttling) data plan via ATT so that I can watch hulu, netflix, amazon, etc via it.

I also have my macbook for all things PC related.

I went a step further and purchased an ipad that sits in the middle of my dash next to a cluster of gauges that displays trucker path app w/ my pre-trip route w/ all pilots/flying J's, approved truck washes, and rest stops.

All have made living out of this truck very easy.

Thanks guys.

I'm looking forward to attending what TMC calls "Total Quality Mgmt" so I can find out where I'm leaving money on the table, and collect those dollars too!

That will also give me 5 more points towards my next snapshot. Then I'll wait for 30-days before taking Advanced TQM, and along w/ the benefits of gained knowledge, I'll receive another 3 points towards my next snap, which should have me knocking or entering 34% pay.

They'll be in contact Monday...maybe even Tuesday.

I use a bucket of warm water with dawn dish soap. It takes everything off.

If it's safe enough for a duck, then it's safe enough for a truck.

As most may know, TMC has very strict truck cleaning policies. It's part of our pay structure.

I have two large towels that run the middle section between the 2 seats, and another that covers the carpeted area in my berth.

Under the front floor mats are 2 cut to size no slip pieces of material typically used in cabinets to keep my floor mats from sliding but to also allow them to get air under them and not leave moisture/mold on the floor after truck washes.

For the plastic/gauges/etc, I use a handheld swifter. I use Q-tips (but w/ pointed end to get my air vents, etc)

Use freebreeze for vehicle interiors for all the leather, then a non-corroshive cleaner (doesn't leave a messy residue) to finish off the entire cab, leather, plastic and all.

I lived in my car prior to moving into my truck and slept in a dicy part of town w/ a lot of foot traffic and I was CERTAIN 1000% that me/my car would be messed with since it stuck out like a sore thumb. It's brand new, and I had an unlimited car wash across the street from where I parked, so I washed it every day. I figured if my car was clean, security, wreckers, law enforcement wouldn't bother me since I was parked under a No Parking sign for 6 months.

The only thing I ever heard anyone say was "That's a hybrid? That's nice". No tugging on my doors or anything. Would wake up w/ people asleep around the car, but the car was never messed with.

Point is, I hadn't even thought about taking precautions in this truck since my time in my little hybrid was so uneventful given the neighborhood.

I do like the 2" ratchet from door to door idea along w/ the line to the horn. That's a really good one!

Got my first snapshot:

33% pay

1st out of 40 drivers under my Fleet Manager 2nd out of 328 drivers under my Safety Mgr 13th out of 1398 drivers in my Divison (presumably that means linehaul) 19th out of 2189 drivers in the Fleet

Someone may have stated this already, but I usually compare it to aircraft. Besides takeoff and landing, they are basically computer-driven, yet they still have two pilots.

Even if trucks do get automation, drivers are still going to be there for the "oh crap" moments, and for redundancy. Truck driving isn't going anywhere.

I think it's the same with trains.

They are on tracks. How could they possibly need anyone in 2019?

That I immediately no longer had to incur the cost of $1725.33 + utilities/month for rent.

That the money I may be losing in salary, will be surpassed in savings because of the above point, and even more once I'm able to turn my vehicle lease in and be free of a lease pmt + ins. leaving me w/ just my storage unit to address. It's only $100/month...but that's still spending money to store things I must not need, because if I needed the stuff, then it's in my truck already.

Secondly, I now have a skill that I can fall back onto should I decide to move on from it in a year or 2 (actually part of my long-term-plan), and that is what excites me the most. That I can now go try new ventures, and should they not pan out, I'll still have my CDL. Whereas before I was being paid 90k/yr and scared to death that one day that could all go away and then what...go do the same work for 30-40k/yr and try and maintain a 90k lifestyle. That wasn't going to happen, and that's my fault for not having a valuable skillset.

But now I have an in-demand skill and that gets my creative juices flowing for things outside the truck.

What happens when Celadon doesn’t work out , either?

Exactly what every new driver should be thinking about.

What are your personal reasons? The promise of more CPM and more miles? More home time?

My self-driving car tries to kill me every chance it gets.

I've had to evolve so as to predict when those moments will arise, so I can take over, and live.

Self-driving trucks aren't happening in this lifetime.

Nobody will want to take on the liability of who is going to pay out from when a coder has to build the line of whether to run the truck off a cliff or run over a child in the street when stopping distance is less than x and collision avoidance is imminent. They want that liability left to the driver.

I was on 20 when this happened in front of us. We were routed to BUS 20 where we had to route around another officers funeral precession.

All a crazy scene.

You're excited about taking on a new car.

I can't wait to turn my new car in (lease) and be free of the associated costs.

Grats either way.