1st 7 Days Officially Solo... What A Week!
Topic 22486 | Page 1
Nice job there - really nice! Don't expect that to happen every week. You handled it well, and it's obvious your dispatcher knows how to play the game. You really set the bar high. That dispatcher is going to be expecting great things from you.
Oh man, that's a beautiful rig you got there!
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.
Nice! Love the truck, did you go company or lease? And what year is the truck?
It's awesome that you got good miles!
How are you liking solo compared to team?
AWESOME!!! so proud of you!!! get that done!
fueled and washed like a pro!
Trial by fire, I love it! They started me out in much the same way, throwing tons of miles at me. Keep it up and show them you can handle it.
Most importantly though, be safe. One mistake can end it all. Good job!
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
It can be beneficial to scope out the parking lot and find the best parking spot. I'm going to be here until tomorrow afternoon, so I found a spot with a view.
Congrats, brother! New wheels look very sharp! Making a newbie like me jealous... Can't wait to get out there and get after it. Enjoy your 34 and that great view!
Great work PlanB! Have fun out there!
I started my CDL training with Prime back in late September. After I finished my team phase of training I decided to team with my trainer for a while longer as a full driver. He was paying me well and I wanted to get through winter with someone more experienced with me.
Recently I finally went back to Springfield to get my own truck and officially go solo. Last Wednesday afternoon I left the yard with my first load in a shiny new truck!
Before I left the yard with the load I reset the trip odometer to zero so I could see how I did my first 7 days out.
It was a crazy week. I didn't spend much time at all at truck stops. Spent a couple nights sleeping at shippers/recievers.
And a night at a Walmart supercenter.
(side note... that intermodal trailer was a damn nightmare. Couldn't wait to drop that thing...)
Dispatcher was giving me loads with extremely tight pickup and delivery times, but I was getting them done. Usually pulling into the customer with minutes left on my clock after running the whole trip up against the trucks governor. On one occasion my 14 hour clock was showing 00:00 and I managed to stop in the driveway to switch from the drive line to on duty just seconds before I went into violation. Then slowly rolled into lot and parked.
It is now Wednesday afternoon exactly one week after I left with that first load. I pulled up my trip odometer and my jaw dropped!
I went through the 5 loads I completed and added up the dispatched miles. It added up to 3612 dispatched miles!
Now I'm sitting at a Pilot for my 34 hour reset since I have only minutes left on my 70. Trailer is fueled up and washed out ready for my next load. I'm preplanned to pick up 8 miles away right after my 34hr reset is complete.
Ready to do it again!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
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.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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I started my CDL training with Prime back in late September. After I finished my team phase of training I decided to team with my trainer for a while longer as a full driver. He was paying me well and I wanted to get through winter with someone more experienced with me.
Recently I finally went back to Springfield to get my own truck and officially go solo. Last Wednesday afternoon I left the yard with my first load in a shiny new truck!
Before I left the yard with the load I reset the trip odometer to zero so I could see how I did my first 7 days out.
It was a crazy week. I didn't spend much time at all at truck stops. Spent a couple nights sleeping at shippers/recievers.
And a night at a Walmart supercenter.
Dispatcher was giving me loads with extremely tight pickup and delivery times, but I was getting them done. Usually pulling into the customer with minutes left on my clock after running the whole trip up against the trucks governor. On one occasion my 14 hour clock was showing 00:00 and I managed to stop in the driveway to switch from the drive line to on duty just seconds before I went into violation. Then slowly rolled into lot and parked.
It is now Wednesday afternoon exactly one week after I left with that first load. I pulled up my trip odometer and my jaw dropped!
I went through the 5 loads I completed and added up the dispatched miles. It added up to 3612 dispatched miles!
Now I'm sitting at a Pilot for my 34 hour reset since I have only minutes left on my 70. Trailer is fueled up and washed out ready for my next load. I'm preplanned to pick up 8 miles away right after my 34hr reset is complete.
Ready to do it again!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
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.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated