Veriha VIP Academy Training

Thanks Anne. I wondered what happened there. 😆

Trainer said he had a 36" X 36" X 18" storage area for trainee personal items. Ny gear will fit in a 24" X 27" X 13". Most of it is necessities. But believe me, there's a lot in there. I'm used to traveling with the military. Lol The item on the top right is my sleeping bag which is not included in the measurements because it will be on the bunk.

Remember, when posting photos ... you have to hit the 'GO!' .. and then wait for it to say 'Success!' and then you'll see a thumbnail, right to the right in that upper box, as well as in your actual post!

I'm excited for you; following as well!

Try again?!?

~ Anne ~

I wondered what happened there. 😆

It's all good, Bill !! I'm kinda the 'Momma Anne' (trucker's wife) of the site, haha! I'll get my OWN wings sometime soon, tho!

That's a great stack'o'pack sir! I'll be following this diary, for sure!!! Great choice with Veriha, man. Awesome VIP program they have for vets; I love that stuff.

Be safe, stay focused, best wishes!

~ Anne ~

OK. My training started a couple days late because of some routing issues. But, my trainer and I were able to link up last Wednesday.

He picked me up in Hubbard, Ohio at 1900 on Wednesday. From there, we drove through Pennsylvania all the way to the Mechanicsburg area. Not real far, about 260 miles. We dropped the load and picked up an empty trailer. We drove the empty trailer by an hour North where we dropped it and picked up our next load.At that point, he drove for about another hour, and shut down for the night.

We awoke the next morning at 0 7 30. I ate breakfast and then then completed PTI.

He told me to get behind the wheel and head west. I drove until my 11 hour clock was almost expired. Throughout those 11 hours we stopped twice, once to fuel, and once to wash the truck.

When I started driving I was a little bit intimidated because we were within 1000 pounds of being maxed out and we were in the mountains of PA. But I felt comfortable with it after about 30 minutes of driving.

Here's what I learned: i pack light, but i can pack lighter (my trainer said i pack lighter than any Trainee he's had in his truck); be confident but cautious; magnify the risk factor x100 when dealing with the risky drivers, commercial or otherwise; trucks pick up speed downhill way faster when fully loaded (I already knew that but it was quicker than I thought); trust your instincts and your trainer; don't take chances; enjoy the view but stay focused; never become complacent.

We shutdown for the night and finished our deliver early the next day. Picked up another load and delivered it before shutting down on Friday for our 33 hour (really my trainer's 33) reset.

He dropped me off at the hotel paid for by Veriha, and went home.

Yesterday, I got in a 5 mile run. Then, my trainer picked me up in the afternoon and took me to his house where we grilled some steaks and then went sight seeing in the city.

Today, I'm running another 5 - 7 miles. Also, I'm taking some time today to mentally reset and review the basics, and to refocus in preparation for a full week of driving this week.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to drive trucks. So far, I absolutely love it.

Until next time...

Great Bill. Glad that you are loving it.

I get back on my trainer’s truck on Wednesday to start 30k miles of team driving.

Thanks Dennis. That's awesome. Keep it between the lines our there.

Great Bill. Glad that you are loving it.

I get back on my trainer’s truck on Wednesday to start 30k miles of team driving.

So, I have another week of driving under my belt. The mileage was a bit light. We only drove about 2000 loaded miles this week. I'm happy about finishing 2nd in the fleet with safety score this week, and got to drive in snow for the first time for 2 hours. My trainer has been extremely helpful with everything.

The week went pretty much as planned except for one breakdown. Well, it wasn't really a breakdown. I was hooking to a trailer and found 2 bad tires during my PTI. As luck would have it, we were less than 5 minutes drive from a shop that could replace the tires. They had us in-and-out, in less than one hour.

I got to visit the famous II80 truck stop in Iowa. That is a pretty cool place! I took a moment to pose for a picture with this beauty.

I'm staying the weekend in a hotel again. Then I head back East to Pennsylvania to drive with another trainer for one week to get to know the area. Then hopefully from there, I'll be on to my Co-drive and my own truck in a week or two.

Today, I took the opportunity to go running again. Running again. The temperature was 21ﾟ, but in the single digits with the 20 to 30 mile an hour winds. Still, oh, felt good to go running again.

We'll see what this week brings us. But I'm looking forward to another week of trucking!

Bill M wrote a while back...

On Wednesday of week two, we were mock tested for PTI; two students failed and had to retake the test Friday of the same week. My roommate was one of those having to retest. It was no surprise to me. Every night I would review my pre-trip inspection notes. Every night he would ask me, "are you reading those notes again?" I would just look over at him and ask, "aren't you?" His response was no, I'll study the night before we're tested, I'll be fine. I said, well, I'm 55, you're 28, maybe you can do that, but I can't. After failing his PTI test, he told me he didn't take it seriously enough. He should have done what I did. Hmm, ya don't say, I said, followed by "don't be so hard on yourself, they told us not to put it off until the last minute, or we'll be sorry we did." We both laughed at that. It was a good wake-up call that I think he learned from.

This is spot-on. Priceless. If everyone approached school like this, far fewer people would wash-out before ever getting into the driving part. Good stuff.

Best wishes for success on your road training. Safe travels.

I agre with that.

Thanks, G-Town.

Bill M wrote a while back...

On Wednesday of week two, we were mock tested for PTI; two students failed and had to retake the test Friday of the same week. My roommate was one of those having to retest. It was no surprise to me. Every night I would review my pre-trip inspection notes. Every night he would ask me, "are you reading those notes again?" I would just look over at him and ask, "aren't you?" His response was no, I'll study the night before we're tested, I'll be fine. I said, well, I'm 55, you're 28, maybe you can do that, but I can't. After failing his PTI test, he told me he didn't take it seriously enough. He should have done what I did. Hmm, ya don't say, I said, followed by "don't be so hard on yourself, they told us not to put it off until the last minute, or we'll be sorry we did." We both laughed at that. It was a good wake-up call that I think he learned from.

This is spot-on. Priceless. If everyone approached school like this, far fewer people would wash-out before ever getting into the driving part. Good stuff.

Best wishes for success on your road training. Safe travels.

I totally forgot about this. Has anyone ever seen this happen? Talk about having a bad day. I pulled into the pumps to fuel and had to roll back around. Whoever the driver was that did this probably had a rude awakening down the road. I don't even know them and I feel bad for whoever it was.

I've seen this many times, and you will too, unfortunately. I saw a video recently where a knucklehead sheared off BOTH tank nozzles! Situational Awareness anyone???