My Progress So Far Week Six Solo

G-Town beat me to it, but carry extra gladhand seals. Also, I hope you are carrying some tools, lubes, bungee or rubber tie down cords, etc.. I have the possibility of slipseating everyday when assigned a tractor, so I carry a large duffle bag of "goodies" that have saved me a few times when needing to make small or little aggravating repairs. Also my road atlas, gps, and my gladhands air pressure hose. It's a pain in the butt to haul in and and out everyday, but I would feel "vulnerable" not having it.

Allot of good suggestions I'm heading in later this afternoon for an assignment / load my Tractor is having it's quarterly service done so when I pick it up I'll ask the mechanic for some spare glad hand seals. As for pulling over on the highway as they say lesson learned I was more focused on possibly getting another HOS violation so I took the chance on the side of the road. I'm still in my 90 day probation period so I'm leary of not staying within the regulations. I talked with my trainer about the situation and he recommended that the next time I get into a situation like that is to continue to drive till I can get to a safe haven which I will do next time.

Sounds to me ( a non-driver) like a successful first 2 months. Congrats.

That’s good advice from your trainer. Get this GH seals from the shop, then ask for some spare light bulbs, too. Most lightbulbs are an easy swap, which will save you a bunch of time.

Most lightbulbs are an easy swap, which will save you a bunch of time.

My go kit includes a spool each of black and white wire, a stripping tool, tape, butt connectors, at least one each of all the lamp assemblies, a couple of spare pigtails (led style and incandescent) and a spare headlamp. I've saved myself lots of time by doing quick repairs, putting in a new pigtail, changing bulbs, etc. As for HOS - my rule of thumb is 15or so minutes ONDTY Not Driving, and then I go into OFFDTY status. If your log people don't beef it, you're giving the feds 15 min for the load or unload, and then you are taking a break. Just be sure to go ONDTY Not Driving before you relocate to avoid flagging a lat / long change indicating movement of the tractor. Our log folks lose their minds when I forget... they don't beef the OFFDTY.