Comments By Uncle Rake

I have read the negative reasons in the forum why new drivers should not become lease operators. I am sure there is wisdom in being cautious when starting out. I am not in any hurry but I do like to research things in advance. I wonder if some of you who are lease operators would be willing to dialogue with me directly through email (raif.turner@gmail.com) or text messaging (806-789-8877).

If not, I would also welcome your input here in the forum.

Thank you for your information.

Thanks, Rob.
I'm still taking notes of my days, but never seem to have enough time to edit them enough for another post. Every time we finish a load a day (or two) early, they find us another load. The nerve of some people!

Hope to get it all updated as soon as possible.

Thank you, PackRat! I appreciate all the encouragement you have given me through the process.

I remember when I saw you in Lubbock that you told me your pseudonym is related to the amount of tools you carry. What would you say are the most important tools that you use most frequently? I am beginning to think about what I will need when I eventually have my own truck. I have a lot of tools of my own and a lot that I inherited from my father. I am sure there will be some specialized tools I will need to purchase as well.

Next we got into the truck to begin the road test. We pulled out onto the street beside the practice pad and he told me I needed to increase my speed. I tried to keep my speed slightly below the posted limit. We drove down to an intersection and turned left. Just after crossing the first overpass he asked me what the weight limit on it was. I did not see any indication of the weight limit for that overpass. We drove over it later in a personal vehicle and could not see a sign then either. I don’t know if he was testing my honesty or if we just missed what we should have seen. We drove out a major section of highway and then turned off onto a two lane road. We eventually ended up on a street that looked like it could have been for a residential area but the buildings in that area were large commercial buildings. In that section he asked me to demonstrate an emergency stop. I had tried to find information online for an emergency stop in a commercial vehicle. The only instruction I found said to turn on your right turn signal, move to the side of the road, turn on four-way flashers, and set the emergency brakes. I did that and then told the examiner that if I was going to be there longer than 10 minutes I would set out my triangles. The only part I got wrong was not being completely parallel with the curb. In total, I had four points deducted on my driving test. The other two deductions were related to failure to stop behind the white line at intersections. In both cases, I remember pulling up to where I could see approaching traffic. Apparently I should have stopped behind the white line and then pulled up to check traffic. In all, I passed all three sections of my test and I am thankful that section of my training has ended.

Friday—Tuesday

Just before I began my test I met another student who was about to test. Afterwards, I spoke to him and found that he lives in Amarillo Texas, about 100 miles from my home. He said he had his own vehicle in Springfield and he was going home. He said I could ride with him. I checked with my trainer to see if that was an option for me. He checked with dispatch and they said that was a possibility. So I got to to come home and spend a few days with my family. I will be here until my trainer gets a load and comes to pick me up. It was great to be home. On Monday I was able to get my license transferred to Texas, and on Tuesday I was able to take care of some labs my doctor wanted me to do. But the greatest part of being home was to spend time with my family.

Friday, October 9

Test day finally arrived. We had to be at the plaza by 830. I wanted to be there by 800 and thankfully my trainer was in agreement. We had practiced backing maneuvers Thursday night from 1900-2200. That’s a good thing, because I was going to need it. We checked in at the desk when we arrived at the plaza. I have learned that checking in is always a good idea when you are scheduled to be at the plaza. Shortly after 900 I met my examiner. He came across as a thorough, seriously minded individual who was not unfriendly. He told us to get a trailer and meet him at pad 8–easier said than done. We went to the location where the trailers are kept but all of them were taken. We saw one parked perpendicular to the others and went back to the plaza and asked someone about using it. After getting approval, we hooked up to that one and went to the prescribed location. The examiner started to look at the trailer and found that the rear doors were wired shut. He said that one would not work. He saw another trainer who was waiting for her student to be tested. He told us that he had called her and we could get her trailer. After finally acquiring a trailer we went back to our prescribed testing location.

For the pre-trip portion, he had me go through the engine compartment and then the other three required sections: the coupling area, the lights test, and the in cab inspection. When we had finished he said that I received 46 of 47 possible points. I learned then that the steering gearbox has more than one hose. I had identified the gearbox and “hose.” He said I should have said “hoses.” So don’t forget the importance of that plural word.

Next we moved to the backing tests. I completed the straight line without any issues. On performing the offset back, I heard the whistle indicating that I had backed too far to the right, incurring a two point penalty. I pulled up and backed it in without additional penalties. Then he asked me to do the right side parallel park, an exercise that had given me no difficulties during practice, once we had the correct movements. I started in the right place but got my initial angle wrong. Several times during practice I had made slight adjustments to the angle as I was backing and corrected it, ending with the trailer in the right place. This time, however, my angle was too much to overcome. First I went over the boundary to my right, incurring another two point penalty. Then I ended up on top of the pylons on the front of the box, incurring another two point penalty. I had used my first GOAL to insure my trailer tires were located correctly. When I ended up on top of the pylons, I decided I needed another look. I couldn’t see how I was going to avoid running over the pylons. The examiner told me I could not back up again until I was within the boundaries. I started to get back in the truck but then went and asked him if I could pull up and start over. He said that I could. When I got back into the truck I stopped worrying about the pylons and just pulled forward directly over them. I saw the examiner pick one up and put it back into place. By this time I was beginning to wonder if I was nearing the end of my fifteen minute time limit. I told myself there was nothing I could do about that and just to do my best. I pulled up past the starting point and backed up into the correct beginning position. This time I got my initial angle correct, backed until I saw my trailer tires on the line in my mirror, made the correct turns, and put the truck and trailer in the box. Normally, I would have used my second GOAL to verify I was completely within the boundaries. But I had no more options for getting out of the truck, and my time limit was still looming in the back of my mind. I checked the mirrors quickly, and sounded the horn. Thankfully I completed the requirements within the time limit, and ended within the boundaries. In all, I lost eight points on my parallel parking attempt. That brought my total deductions to 10, just within the 12 points allowed. My advice to others who might find themselves beginning the parallel maneuver with a bad starting angle is to use a pull-up and get your angle correct. The maneuver allows two pull-ups without penalty. Once the initial angle is correct, pull-ups are rarely needed at all for parallel parking. Thankfully, I passed, and that is the most important thing.

Continued below . . .

Really enjoying your stories as I prepare for school on the 19th

Thank you for the response, Edson. I wish you the best of success!

Back to Springfield

Note: I remember reading through other people’s diaries and wondering why the detailed information that was included in the beginning seemed to decline at some point through the process. Now that I am the one doing the writing of my own experiences, I realize why the information declines. Along the way events begin to run together. It is also more difficult to find determination and clarity to write at the available odd hours throughout the night.

We got back to Springfield Monday afternoon (October 5) around 1400. We scheduled a time on the practice pad for 1700 and spent at least two hours working on backing maneuvers. On this day everything went well except for parallel parking. I had a chance to text someone I went through orientation with and she said parallel parking was the easiest part for her. So I spent some time looking at YouTube videos. We were making a couple of mistakes which were corrected during our practice session Tuesday evening. These maneuvers really are pretty easy to accomplish if you follow the correct instructions. Although my alley dock on Monday seemed to go well, it was much more difficult on Tuesday. Thankfully the difficulties we encountered led us to realize the advantages of a pull-up while still angled toward the parking spot. Even if we end up with one extra pull-up on this particular maneuver, one point would be well used if it gets us into the spot successfully. My trainer also messaged his fleet manager to see about scheduling my test for me. On Wednesday morning he received a response asking if we want to test on Friday. I told my trainer to respond and tell him we want to test today (Wednesday), but I’m afraid it’s probably going to be Friday. At least that should give us another couple days to refine my backing skills.

Sunday—Wednesday, September 27-29

Delivered load to Tyson plant. My trainer allowed me to back the trailer into its position, between two other trailers. The lines between the trailers were not single but more like a very narrow zero so I had a little extra space in this endeavor. My trainer has tried to give me instructions throughout the process in the past but now he is beginning to allow me to experience it for myself and gain an understanding of how the trailer responds. I think this will help me more than anything. Today we are traveling to Pittston Pennsylvania to get a new truck. We will actually find out later that it is a “newer” truck rather than a “new” one. We ended up being in Pittston from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon to take care of everything related to the truck. It needed some repairs and a thorough cleaning. My trainer did a very thorough cleaning to eliminate the odors associated with the previous driver’s smoking.

Once we started driving again on Wednesday, our fleet manager began routing us back towards Springfield where I can take my driving tests. I still believe I could’ve passed the pre-trip inspection when I first got to Springfield from my prior studies. I also believe I will have the backing maneuvers down well with another practice session.

Thursday—Saturday

We drove across Pennsylvania and then to Ohio on Wednesday night. We have made some shorter deliveries in the Indiana area. Our route to the truck wash carried us through Amish territory. I actually followed an Amish horse drawn cart through a small town until it turned off. We are currently waiting to be unloaded at a Walmart DC in Auburn, IN. Our next load picks up in Canton, OH and delivers in California. We will only carry it as far as Springfield. We will drop the trailer there so I can finish preparation and take my CDL exams.

White Line

From the beginning of training, my trainer has taught me to stay close to the white line on the outside of the right lane. He said one of his former students never really tried to follow his instructions on that, so I took the challenge. I have wondered though if my driving exam might go better if I am able to maintain a position in the center of the lane. But to work well with my trainer, I have continued to refine my skills of driving right alongside the white line with the right hand tires, sometimes slightly over the line. I have also noted many other drivers who stay very close to the outside line. It does seem reasonable to give extra room to drivers closest to you, especially when some of them seem to prefer driving all over their own lane. The rumble strip is usually outside the white line and it lets me know when I have gone a little bit too far. The truck we were using the first two weeks did not have any kind of warning for driving too close to the side of the lane.

We got a newer truck! Guess what it has! Yes, it has the warnings which activate when the truck goes over the white line. The warning makes a sound in the dash on the side where the infraction takes place. The sound resembles the sound of tires on the rumble strips found on many highways these days, but at a faster speed. So now I have two challenges: Drive near the white line according to my trainer’s instructions, and avoid getting too close to the white line and activating the lane departure warning. I had the opportunity to drive quite a bit one day, and practiced my new method. Apparently, I was not activating the warning often enough. As my trainer was driving the next day, he explained how we should be activating the warning fairly often. Nearly every time another truck passed us on the left (which is often if you drive for Prime), he was moving to the right far enough to activate the warning. I’m still trying to find the right balance.

Welcome, Dennis. I am about two weeks into my training. Truck driving is also something I have considered since I was 21 and I am a few years older than you. So far, it has been quite an experience. If you want to see the country, I can tell you that in those two weeks I have been from Missouri to Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Now that I have gotten the smaller states out-of-the-way, perhaps I can see some of the bigger ones.

Good luck!

Friday , September 25

Last night we slept in Belvedere, IL at a shipper’s location for the first time. We were nearing the end of our 14 around 2200 last night, and not sure where we would find available parking in this area. I awoke before my trainer this morning and completed The Ten Lists, Day 87.

Today I had the “privilege” of being routed through Chicago on a Friday afternoon between 2 and 4 PM. It wasn’t too bad until traffic came to a stop because of a wreck that was a mile or two ahead. We sat mostly still for probably at least a half hour. It was not until that evening that I realized I had received a message on the QC during that time. The message said, “You are in driving status and truck is showing stopped. Please change your duty status if you have not already done so.” When I saw the message Friday evening, I asked my trainer if I should respond and ask if there is a duty status for “stopped in Chicago traffic jam.” He said that would not be necessary.

Saturday , September 26

Last night we slept in Borculo, MI at another shipper’s location. We arrived at 0200 with about 30 minutes remaining on our clock. I awoke before my trainer this morning and completed The Ten Lists, Day 88. In this list is Romans 10:13 “For Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This morning I finally had the chance to do a number of things that I had observed, but had not done. First of all I had the opportunity to back the tractor under a trailer and connect. I practiced sliding the tandems to find the best weight balance. The rear tandem axles on the trailer may be slid forward and backwards to shift weight between the trailer and the tractor. The tandems have two locking pins on each side which lock into holes on the trailer frame. The trailer has about 12 available holes for the pins but some states have limitations on which holes may be used in their state. My beginning weights were unbalanced by about 2500 pounds. On the recommendation of my trainer, I moved the tandems to the center position available in the states where we will be traveling. After that it was still off by about 1000 pounds and so we moved it one more pin. That change balanced the two weights almost exactly. I also had the opportunity to send the macro message to Prime related to the trailer we picked up and the message related to leaving the shipper. Then I called in the live load where they verify information in the macro messages. I could tell the person I spoke with must do this dozens of times per day because it was difficult to understand exactly what he was saying. That is probably not a problem for drivers who have been through the process so many times they know the questions before they are asked.

I pulled the trailer out of the yard and handled the paperwork at the guard shack. Since our load only had to travel about 700 miles, I had the opportunity to do most of the driving. Driving to the location the previous night, I had wondered why we were routed through several small towns from the south, rather than on Lake Michigan Drive which was only a few miles north of our delivery. I may have learned why on our way out when it did route us to that road. I experienced what I have read multiple times here on TT about the “adventures” of detours. Lake Michigan Drive would have been a great path to reach the interstate we needed if the ramp to the interstate had not been closed. Since it was closed, we continued down that route which led us onto Fulton, Street, directly toward the center of downtown Grand Rapids. We had just gotten into an area where the speed limit was 25, and the looming buildings of downtown were only a few blocks away, when the QC led us to turn right. I stayed as far left as I could without hitting cars in the left lane, turned as widely as I could to the right, and still the rear trailer tires went over the curb. However, we did not hit any signs and so it was considered a successful turn. We still had some smaller city streets to navigate but did manage to get to the freeway before long. That did not get us completely out of the woods. My trainer was looking at the GPS and the QC, trying to understand the best way to get to where we needed to go. He looked up just as we were facing a fork in the road and he told me which way to go. Unfortunately, we needed to go the other way. Thankfully, in this case we only had to take the next exit and come back to the interchange to acquire the right direction. I had prepared for such changes last week when a similar maneuver was required to avoid downtown Los Angeles.