RoadMaster Rookie @ Covenant

=Roadmaster=

I'm an IT professional whose wife left him and whose nervous breakdown left him unemployed. I just wanted to drive away from everything, and just keep going until I couldn't go any further. That's how the idea of becoming a trucker started, with the epiphany that I could get paid by the mile to have a nervous breakdown.

Within only three days, I was in a hotel room, paid with some random dude, sorting through all my paperwork to ensure that I was prepared for my first day at RoadMaster the following morning. The industry obviously needs drivers, and is doing everything short of chasing unemployed guys around with butterfly nets to get warm bodies in the driver seats. After ten years in an industry where I was constantly reminded that there's a billion foreigners itching to do my job for next to free, the feeling of being wanted and valued (even if for purely economic reasons) has been pleasant.

Pretty much the first week of RoadMaster is paperwork and computerized knowledge drills. A lot of people drop out in this first week, before even setting foot in a semi. Some aren't smart enough. Some don't know English well enough. Some aren't healthy enough. Some have a DUI on their record. Some are on drugs. For a job with such notoriously low social status, it sure does require a lot of thinking, learning, and behaving well.

The second week is when the driving starts. I was comically awful at the beginning. The first time I tried to shift gears, it grinded a bit and I nearly jumped out of my seat, jerking my hand away from the gearshift. I was terrified about ruining the transmission. I was terrified about all the mirrors. I was terrified about staying in my lane. Above all, I was terrified about downshifting. I don't really consider myself a coward, but I was vividly aware that I was one false move away from being accountable for millions of dollars in property damage, dead bodies strewn all over the place, news helicopters, you get the idea...

By the third week, I was still terrible at shifting, and was indisputably the worst driver in my cohort. It was a running gag how awful I was, among both the students and the instructors. I was pretty sure I was going to fail the final CDL test and end up back at home. In fact, when I "graduated", one of the instructors consoled me, "We knew you were going to make it!", after which another exclaimed, "Speak for yourself! I can't believe he passed on the first go!"

==Lessons Learned==

===Find Your Happy Place=== http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMUVKuSJHco

This is the single most important lesson I've learned in all of trucking, and I learned it from one of the instructors. No matter what the schedule is like; no matter how far they're backed up; no matter how many big burly dudes are glaring at you; no matter how bad you're being roasted on the CB; do not panic or rush yourself when you're in a tight situation. Find your happy place, and go there. Chances are you'll never see any of the people you're ****ing off ever again.

Nobody gets fired for being a few minutes late. Nobody gets fired for holding people up in the parking lot. Nobody gets fired for getting out and looking. You get fired for destroying stuff, and you destroy stuff when you're panicking and in a hurry.

===Study for HazMat===

If you're not completely overwhelmed with the baseline work during training, study for your Tanker and HazMat endorsements while you're there. It's easier to study in class than it is on the road. If you've got time during your training to hang out or go drinking or text your girlfriend for hours on end, then you're not doing it right and will later regret misappropriating your time.

===Don't Sweat the Placement===

Everybody will disagree with me on this, but I'm sticking to my guns. The hiring companies are, from everything I've seen, pretty much interchangeable. It's a competitive industry and an efficient economy, and if one were paying its new-hires a bunch more than the competitive market rate, or treating them dramatically worse, that company would fail to compete with the others. If one company is paying more per mile, they're probably not paying out as much in bonuses, or the miles are harder with more down-time. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.

And even if there are real differences, you're a rookie and you can't figure out what they are before immersing yourself in the industry for several months. And at that point, you'll be an experienced driver with a whole different set of options depending on your abilities, your personal situation, and your driving record.

Spend your time in "school" studying trucking, not studying companies.

===Guard the Glad-Hand Seals===

Hold one hand up between the seal and your face when decoupling them, just in case your instructor, trainer*, partner, or self has forgotten to pull the trailer brake. Nobody warned me about this or suggested this, and it resulted in a serious headache. Literally.

Even though I'm driving solo now and haven't had it happen again, I habitually guard the seal as if it's going to punch me in the face again.

===Everything Gets Easier===

Your mileage may vary. Literally. But for me, the first week of driving at RoadMaster was the most difficult and stressful. Everybody hypes it up like it's the easy part and the "real world" is going to be much more difficult. Just about each week of pursuing this career has been easier than the previous one.

=Training / OTR=

I was fortunate enough to have a very experienced trainer who took training seriously and with whom I got along relatively well. I don't know how it is at the other companies, but at Covenant, training essentially amounts to team driving where one of the team members doesn't happen to know how to drive. Supposedly, other companies out there don't do that, but everybody else I've kept in touch with from RoadMaster confirmed similar experiences with a variety of different companies.

I was still phenomenally bad at driving when I started, with my trainer doing pretty much all the pick-ups and deliveries at first. I was mainly entrusted with holding the steering wheel while the truck barreled along for hour after hour going cross-country. Aside from the harrowing task of pulling into and out of fuel stops, I had it pretty easy. Gradually, over the course of weeks, I started to get the hang of shifting and steering and backing and was trusted with more and more of the job. It wasn't until probably the third week that my trainer actually remained in the sleeper throughout the entire process of arriving at and picking up or delivering a load.

Like I said, I took a lot longer than most to get the hang of things.

A big revelation that sunk in during the first month or so is that the driving isn't actually the work. Sure, driving's work and it's well and good that we get paid for it. But succeeding at this job is all about avoiding distractions while driving, managing your sleeping patterns, working out a sensible diet, limiting your fluid intake, intelligently planning your stops, and managing your stress. The actual driving becomes a habit and muscle memory within the first month or so. The trick is to just hang on until it does.

Trainers really despise know-it-alls, so just shut up and listen when they're attempting to train you, even if you're already a big expert. This wasn't a problem for me, given that I started out totally clueless. But a recurring theme with trainers is that the trainees often come in with big egos and won't humble themselves to patiently taking instructions. Ask questions, even stupid questions.

==Diet==

Forget all that nonsense about making fresh salads and sandwiches in your truck. Go paleo with the fast food restaurants and never store food in your truck, save for your unappetizing emergency rations. A lot of truckers gain weight, but it's actually really easy to lose weight. Just have no food within arm's reach when you take off, and you're immune to the snacking temptation. I've lost over twenty pounds doing the opposite of what the fitness guru at corporate told me to do, chowing down on cheeseburgers and fried chicken. Your mileage may vary, but for me, it's the carbs, not the meats, that cause my weight gain.

And ignore that nonsense about hydrating. You're trucking, not jogging. The thing about drinking eight 8oz glasses of water a day is an urban legend with no scientific credibility. You know when you need to hydrate? When you feel *thirst*. The body's incredible like that, automatically informing you of when you need to ingest more fluid. You'll have a far more comfortable day if you just keep a bottle of water or a sports drink that you take light sips of throughout the day.

==Sleep==

If you can sleep, sleep. Gobble up every moment of sleep possible, so you're as rested as possible when you're behind the wheel. This is perhaps the most obvious tip to relay and perhaps the most difficult one to abide. In fact, I should be sleeping right now instead of posting in this forum.

==Vape Sticks==

If you smoke, consider switching to an e-cigarette. You'll save hundreds of dollars within weeks and you'll remedy the shortness of breath. The problem with trucking is that it's a chainsmoker's dream/nightmare. All kinds of time for smoking. The great thing about the big vape sticks (don't piddle with those wimpy cigarette-sized Blu contraptions) is that you can smoke the equivalent of an infinite cigarette without paying (fiscally or physically) for a three pack per day smoking habit. I'm not saying they're healthy. They're not. But they're less unhealthy than smoking.

==Love's Restrooms==

Always check for toilet paper before getting comfortable. For whatever reason, Love's doesn't keep up on its bathrooms the way TA, Petro, Pilot, and Flying J keep up on their restrooms.

==Mobile Apps==

You need Google Maps for its live traffic reports. You'll need the TA/Petro, Pilot/FJ, and Love's apps. MyDAT is an app which covers independent fuel stops, rest parks, and even WalMart locations. I also recommend the iHeartRadio app for streaming music. It doesn't use as much data as I assumed it would. You'll need data. I get along quite well with AT&T--save for a big dead zone in New Mexico and Wyoming--but everybody insists that Verizon is superior.

==Bluetooth Headset==

I blew over $100 on one of those stupid over-priced BlueParrott headsets It only went in one ear (a legal thing in some states, I know), had crappy battery life, muffled outside noise in that one ear, and was rather uncomfortable to wear. The LG headset that wraps around the collar and has the little magnetic earbuds is hands-down the best way to go. http://amzn.com/B009A5204K

And you can even pop only the right earbud in if you're especially paranoid about getting busted by an officer with very impressive eyesight.

Looks like you're catching on very well.

==Love's Restrooms==

Always check for toilet paper before getting comfortable. For whatever reason, Love's doesn't keep up on its bathrooms the way TA, Petro, Pilot, and Flying J keep up on their restrooms.

^^^Best advice,EVER^^^

Robo, I have thoroughly enjoyed your detailed diary and all the honesty & humor contained within! I am also training for my CDL at Roadmaster in your neighboring state, Ohio. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences so far, and look forward to additional entries.