Drove With A Loaded Trailer For The First Time

I finally got a mentor with Swift Transportation and did my first run. He threw me right in. I did about 300 miles in the rain in the mountains of West Virginia. I had never driven a loaded trailer or done mountains or even driven an 18 wheeler at night. However I learned a lot and took it slowly.

Just happy I ended up with a good mentor so waiting was worth it.

I get to learn in a 2014 kenworth t680 for about the next month.

Hey that's great!

Yeah it didn't take long to see what we mean when we say you'll be thrown into a lot of situations where you're definitely out of your comfort zone and sometimes you might feel like you're in over your head. Just stay relaxed and focus on one thing above all else - don't hit anything. That's it - the golden rule of trucking - don't hit anything. If you can park it at the end of the day without a scratch on it then you've certainly accomplished something. Hopefully you'll rack up a bunch of miles and make your appointments on time along the way, but those pale in comparison to not hitting anything.

And most of the accidents that new drivers have are backing accidents caused by either being in a hurry or making assumptions about being clear of everything. So when you get to the truck stops or customers and he makes you back into a tight spot while everyone is waiting on you just relax and take your time. Get out and look as many times as you like. There are only two possible outcomes to backing a trailer into a parking spot or dock - you hit something or you don't. That's it. If you make it in without hitting anything you win. You hit anything, you lose.

Glad you like your mentor too! That's make learning so much nicer!

Great news! You've got 200-240 hours and 50 backs ahead of you. The 50 hours of you "solo" driving with the trainer in the right seat will be an experience! Eyes and ears open!

I had a fairly easy back this morning. Almost a straight back so i dd not hit anything

Mountains are not as bad as i was expecting i just took it fairly slow. Took about 7.5 hours to do everything from when i started until i shut down. I do see why you guys like the jake brake though

Great news! You've got 200-240 hours and 50 backs ahead of you. The 50 hours of you "solo" driving with the trainer in the right seat will be an experience! Eyes and ears open!

Lol he fell asleep for some of it, so either h was just really tired or i was doing a good enough job he relaxed some.

I had a fairly easy back this morning. Almost a straight back so i dd not hit anything

Mountains are not as bad as i was expecting i just took it fairly slow. Took about 7.5 hours to do everything from when i started until i shut down. I do see why you guys like the jake brake though

You will definitely find yourself in some crazy backing situations, but, like Brett said, stay relaxed and don`t hit anything. You are well on your way now...

Congrats. I'd say welcome to the road, but I'm still waiting for my truck to get out of the shop. But I will try and pass down a little advice I've already learned from my time in training. Normally you will hear, "turn wide" and that is good advice in general. But during my testing out with Swift I had a proctor that was trained by guys that competed in the Big Rig Rodeos and they have turns down to a science that looks like art.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29657476@N06/15042868864/in/photostream/lightbox/

This is a quick drawing to help you visualize this. It can work for either direction...but left hand turns seemed easier to explain.

As you know from school, when making a turn you have to end up in the same lane you started in. This tip will help you keep your trailer walking the line...instead of just going extra wide, or cutting people off by going too short.

Head straight out into the lane. Once your shoulder is half-way through the opposing direction,in this case, the middle lane (Point A) if it was a two lane you would be looking for the split between the two, ect, turn your tractor enough to be pointing towards the corner you are turning towards (Point B). Keep it there for a 2 count, the old one one-thousand, two one-thousand. Then immediately complete your turn into your lane and you will see your rear tandems just following the line like it's magic.

First time I watched my tires follow that line so perfectly it made me laugh.

I get to learn in a 2014 kenworth t680 for about the next month.

Lucky you!

And, congratulations!

That's a great first time experience - rain, and mountains! I remember my first trip with a loaded trailer. I was going through some grades in Virginia near Roanoke. I couldn't believe how different it felt with a load. You did the most important thing - taking it nice and easy. I'm still a rookie driver, but even with a few months solo under my belt, I still take it extra cautious when going down grades. Gotta love that jake. Congrats to you buddy, you've already begun!

Learning how to shift with our jakes on is the real kicker when your first starting out. Your rpms drop a whole lot faster up shifting and down shifting when you got your jakes on. It takes getting use to, to say the least.