Saying Goodbye...

Well, I guess it's time to make my announcement finally.

Today, we are at the terminal for the last time. We spent the day cleaning Teddy up and packing up our stuff. Tomorrow morning, I will be finishing up paperwork and then turning in the keys. It's a little bittersweet as we have called this truck home for 6 months and have run over 70k miles together.

I have been with TransAm for 6 months now. Aside from the series of unfortunate events in May/June, I have nothing bad to say. I was blessed with a wonderful dispatcher who kept me rolling and got me great miles.

We are heading home on the Greydog tomorrow (oh joy!). I will be home until Sunday night when I will be BACK on the Greydog heading to orientation in Little Rock.

I decided to go to CalArk. It's a good pay raise, going from 30 cpm to 36 cpm. It's also moving into dry van , with 85% drop/hook. They have a rider policy and a pet policy which is exciting as we have been missing having a dog in our life. They run primarily Midwest, some Northeast, and some Western. A good friend of mine says he sees them quite a bit in Texas. Their trucks are governed at 68 on the pedal and 70 on cruise. No more slug racing for me! :-p They are also all automatic trucks, with Kenworths and ProStars making up their fleet. They don't have APUs , which is a bummer, but I am going to have the optional 1000w inverter installed for $360.

It wasn't an easy choice to make. I love my dispatcher here, I know a lot of the customers very well, I know the system and the routine. But we believe that it was time for a change and I believe that we have found a company that we can stay with for a good long while.

I do have to go out with a trainer, but only for 40 hours, so no big deal. I will update y'all as much as possible along the way!

I do ask that any of you guys who follow me on Twitter not to mention this there. I haven't made this announcement public yet. Thanks.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

Dispatcher:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

You scared me....thought you were leaving US!!! Hahah

I'm glad you found someplace you can be happy. Finding a good fit is difficult. But having fur babies on boars can be a real treat ;). Glad to hear of the raise too.

Good luck

You scared me....thought you were leaving US!!! Hahah

I'm glad you found someplace you can be happy. Finding a good fit is difficult. But having fur babies on boars can be a real treat ;). Glad to hear of the raise too.

Good luck

Hahaha! No, I'd never leave you guys! Y'all keep me sane a lot of the time!

I'm a bundle of emotions right now. Sad, excited, nervous and a bunch of others, but I'm looking forward to the new challenge.

Congratulations! That decision process is never easy, but it sounds like a move you can live with. AND you made sure to have a place to go before leaving the old job. It amazes me the number of people who get that backwards.

Good luck!

Good luck on your transition, I'm sure you'll do well.

Oh yeah, I covered myself before I did anything. Plus my DM finished up my paperwork and put me down as eligible for rehire.

Which reminds me, I got this final message from him this afternoon.

"In case I don't get to talk to you again, wanted to thank you for being such and understanding, positive and just plain out great driver! You did a great job while you were in my fleet and I really appreciate all the hard work you accomplished in the short time we worked together. I wish you the best of luck going forward in your new job."

It really made my day.

Best of luck to you! Been following you on Twitter so I knew about this earlier (your email from your dispatcher was awesome!). I know you are happy to be able to bring your dog along - it must have been hard to be away from him.

I will continue following and keeping up with you. I should be getting started on my first trucking job within the next 3.5 weeks. (Nervous but excited!) Looking forward to hearing about your new company!

Best of luck to you! Been following you on Twitter so I knew about this earlier (your email from your dispatcher was awesome!). I know you are happy to be able to bring your dog along - it must have been hard to be away from him.

I will continue following and keeping up with you. I should be getting started on my first trucking job within the next 3.5 weeks. (Nervous but excited!) Looking forward to hearing about your new company!

Unfortunately we won't be able to get our rescue back. CalArk has a 25 pound weight limit and our Bugsy weighs over 40. Plus he wouldn't make a very good trucking dog. He gets too nervous in a moving vehicle. But he's got a new home now and other dogs to hang out with so he's doing ok.

But I've been looking around on Facebook for a new rescue pup to take with us. I want to wait until I get the inverter paid off first as the pet deposit is an additional $300 in payroll deductions.

"In case I don't get to talk to you again, wanted to thank you for being such and understanding, positive and just plain out great driver! You did a great job while you were in my fleet and I really appreciate all the hard work you accomplished in the short time we worked together. I wish you the best of luck going forward in your new job."

Chickie Monster, that is an awesome comment from your dispatcher!

I wish you would have stayed longer. It seems to me you had one foot out the door the whole time you were there. I think that affected your performance more than you realize.

I know you realize you're kind of starting over now, but my advice is to dig a little deeper this time around and find the kind of commitment in yourself that will help establish yourself to an even greater extent at this company.

You had so much going for you at Trans Am that your decision puzzles me. I just hope for you and your husband's sake you can get a dispatcher who takes a genuine interest in your success. You can't put a monetary measurement on that. An increase in your CPM is nice, but having someone whom you can work with succesfully is really worth an awful lot.

I'm not even wanting to know why you felt this way...

But we believe that it was time for a change

But, what will you do now if you start "feeling" this way again? Chickie, I'm not raising this question to pick on you. I'm actually hoping some of the other newbies in here will consider what I'm asking. For me, commitment has nothing to do with my feelings. It is more of a mind set, or perhaps a determination.

I wish you the best, and I do hope you'll keep us posted on this grand adventure.

Best of luck to You and Hubby. I honestly don't know how Reefer drivers do it. Sounds like to much sitting and waiting for my taste. I really think you'll enjoy Dry Van. Probably shorter runs than you are used to, but Drop n' Hooks are nice! (Usually😬). Keep us posted Chickie!