Feels Good To Be Home!

Man with all those challenges on the road it feels great to be home for a few days. This job takes a toll on me mentally. Some days I'm about to lose my S***! The some days I'm loving it. Man one thing I absolutely hate is getting a load that is already late & having to deliver it. Or getting a load that has to go 8 hours away but have an appt time 3 hours later...like HOW am I supposed to do that? (Takes deep breath). Ok I'm good now. But anyways glad I can get away from it for a few days & gather my nerves together. As some of you know I'm from & live in Baton Rouge & man must I say it is CRAZY down here. So much going on right now, but I won't go into details with that since it's not trucking related. But other than that I've been great! Also one thing I have noticed as well when the miles are good I need to save my $$ for those weeks where the miles or not so good or even worse a breakdown!(which I've had). I had an $1100 gross week last week but this week looks like I'll only gross about $400. I know I know it's trucking. I just have to learn to manage my money better. Thanks for listening guys!

T, it's that first week. If your only problems have to do with appointment times & being late like you said, you live a charmed life.

You're doing good!

Once you message dispatch with a "you realize I'm 8 hours away and the Appt is in 3 hours?" It is their problem. Get it there... but they can change the Appt time

YES IT IS GOOD TO GET HOME! Between Orientation, waiting for a Mentor, and waiting 4 days for my Tractor assignment, I was away from home for almost 7 weeks. Was home for 4 days getting my new"House" outfitted. Didn't have much time for anything else. I plan on running 3-4 weeks and home for 3-4 days. At this point in my "rookie season", I don't want to push myself any harder than that. Glad you made it home safely T. Enjoy the time with family and friends!

John the Tractor Man

Man with all those challenges on the road it feels great to be home for a few days. This job takes a toll on me mentally. Some days I'm about to lose my S***! The some days I'm loving it. Man one thing I absolutely hate is getting a load that is already late & having to deliver it. Or getting a load that has to go 8 hours away but have an appt time 3 hours later...like HOW am I supposed to do that? (Takes deep breath). Ok I'm good now. But anyways glad I can get away from it for a few days & gather my nerves together. As some of you know I'm from & live in Baton Rouge & man must I say it is CRAZY down here. So much going on right now, but I won't go into details with that since it's not trucking related. But other than that I've been great! Also one thing I have noticed as well when the miles are good I need to save my $$ for those weeks where the miles or not so good or even worse a breakdown!(which I've had). I had an $1100 gross week last week but this week looks like I'll only gross about $400. I know I know it's trucking. I just have to learn to manage my money better. Thanks for listening guys!

Don't rush yourself, even if the load is going to be late. I didn't understand this until AFTER I had an accident. Swift is really good about helping you cover your butt if you aren't late through any fault of your own. The Mac 22 is your friend. Send it even if the load is already late and put a reasonable ETA; then document everything on the Qualcomm through freeforms. Ask your DM how he/she prefers you deal with it. Either way, if in doubt send a message--"stopping to sweep out trailer," "load not ready yet," "scale doesn't work here, going somewhere else," "too tired to drive, taking a nap."

I hear ya on the varying paychecks. It sucks.

Oddly enough, out of the hundreds of things I could complain about, you know what I hate the most? ...Dog-tracking trailers. I'm weird.

T, it's that first week. If your only problems have to do with appointment times & being late like you said, you live a charmed life.

You're doing good!

I suppose so! Thanks! Just be stressing myself out lol

Once you message dispatch with a "you realize I'm 8 hours away and the Appt is in 3 hours?" It is their problem. Get it there... but they can change the Appt time

I'm starting to learn this now. Was stressing me out

YES IT IS GOOD TO GET HOME! Between Orientation, waiting for a Mentor, and waiting 4 days for my Tractor assignment, I was away from home for almost 7 weeks. Was home for 4 days getting my new"House" outfitted. Didn't have much time for anything else. I plan on running 3-4 weeks and home for 3-4 days. At this point in my "rookie season", I don't want to push myself any harder than that. Glad you made it home safely T. Enjoy the time with family and friends!

John the Tractor Man

Thanks a lot man! I will definitely use this time to relax & get my head back in the game. I can't wait to read some of your stories once you get out there!

Man with all those challenges on the road it feels great to be home for a few days. This job takes a toll on me mentally. Some days I'm about to lose my S***! The some days I'm loving it. Man one thing I absolutely hate is getting a load that is already late & having to deliver it. Or getting a load that has to go 8 hours away but have an appt time 3 hours later...like HOW am I supposed to do that? (Takes deep breath). Ok I'm good now. But anyways glad I can get away from it for a few days & gather my nerves together. As some of you know I'm from & live in Baton Rouge & man must I say it is CRAZY down here. So much going on right now, but I won't go into details with that since it's not trucking related. But other than that I've been great! Also one thing I have noticed as well when the miles are good I need to save my $$ for those weeks where the miles or not so good or even worse a breakdown!(which I've had). I had an $1100 gross week last week but this week looks like I'll only gross about $400. I know I know it's trucking. I just have to learn to manage my money better. Thanks for listening guys!

Don't rush yourself, even if the load is going to be late. I didn't understand this until AFTER I had an accident. Swift is really good about helping you cover your butt if you aren't late through any fault of your own. The Mac 22 is your friend. Send it even if the load is already late and put a reasonable ETA; then document everything on the Qualcomm through freeforms. Ask your DM how he/she prefers you deal with it. Either way, if in doubt send a message--"stopping to sweep out trailer," "load not ready yet," "scale doesn't work here, going somewhere else," "too tired to drive, taking a nap."

I hear ya on the varying paychecks. It sucks.

Oddly enough, out of the hundreds of things I could complain about, you know what I hate the most? ...Dog-tracking trailers. I'm weird.

Lol oh wow dog tracking trailers. But yea I notice the sooner I know i will be late the better is is to let them know something.

As time goes on things will become less stressful. In the beginning you're facing a lot of new situations and you're having to think about every little detail of everything you're doing. Soon enough a lot of these situations will be commonplace and a lot of the details will become second nature. It will reduce the stress level significantly.

When you're driving, try to think about conserving your mental energy. For instance, if you have three hours to get somewhere but the load was already late, don't waste your energy worrying about what will happen when you get there. Relax, clear your mind, and enjoy your driving time as often as possible. And when you get time away from the truck or you're off duty, try to take your mind completely off trucking. Read a good book, watch a good movie, go do some jogging and enjoy the scenery - think about anything except trucking, even if it's only for 20 - 30 minutes. It helps.

Finally, when you're going down the road try to limit the amount of time you spend cranking the tunes. Many experienced drivers just keep the CB on low and keep their radio off much of the time. They just try to relax and enjoy the scenery. Turn on the tunes or a talk show sometimes to liven things up a bit but overall try to keep your mind clear and relaxed.