My First Week Adventure As A Swift Driver

.... you've made a great start at knocking them out at a rapid pace!

Welcome to the "real world" of trucking. It only gets better from here.

Thanks for the boost. I figure like you said, take care of all the rookie problems right at the start. I guess in about 10 months it'll be all drive, drop, hook, drive, drop, hook, and so on.

BTW, I'm in the truck stop lot now with another set of non-moving tandem lock pins. (Vice-Grips, WD-40 and a pipe wrench have already been mentioned and/or applied.)

Rather than WD40, get a can of PB Blaster and hose down the pins. PB works much better than WD.

If it was going to be your normal trailer, I'd say soak the pins in PB and the sliders in white lithium.

Actually the "pin puller shaft" that rotates to pull the rod that pulls the pins that hold the .... You know the shaft I'm talking about, just wiggles & doesn't pull all the pins any more. Also I neglected to add the 2lb sledge that couldn't whack the pins in.

I enjoy following your posts Errol. You sound like you'll do just fine as a driver, what with your persistence and patience you've been displaying. Kudos to you. It takes a lot of discipline to let it roll off your shoulder. I wish I could say the same for my initial baptism. I thought of quitting multiple times, especially after getting lost in Jersey City and just generally being home sick. I was only out 3-4 days a week, but I came from being a stay at home dad and working out of the house with my home business online. That was a huge culture shock at first. I forgot how big the world was! You're doing great buddy.

... It takes a lot of discipline to let it roll off your shoulder. ... I thought of quitting multiple times, ... You're doing great buddy.

Thanks for the pat on the back, 6 string. It's been a long week, with not much to add to the checking account. I booked 1300 miles for the week, 2 trips. I did that with about 25 hours driving, 5-1/2 hr on duty, and by my guess, 17 hours WAITING for something to happen. (There's no log line for waiting, so this number is mixed with duty and sleeper time.)

OK, now we're at

11. The 70 Hour Limit

There is an upper limit of what you can do - it sort of makes you take time off for a rest. In the last 8 days I have driven almost but not quite 70 hours. Today I had enough time (about 2-1/2 hours) to get the shipment delivered & unloaded before I turn into a pumpkin. (No, I don't mean become a Schneider driver!) When that time is up, I can't drive again until tomorrow. The better explanation on how this works is here: Hours Of Service Limitations, in TT's High Road Training Program.

Anyway, my load was off the truck by 9am. I had to get back to a truck stop before my time was up. Got back to my favorite Jackson, TN, Love's, parked and signed in to Sleeper with 3 minutes to spare.

Now the though part: I get nine hours back at midnight. Well, hey! That's only 14 hours away from 10 in the morning! (Go read the article if this last is confusing) That nine hours I "get back" is the nine hours I drove 8 days ago. At midnight that day #8 becomes day #9 and doesn't count any more.

Think of it this way. You go to a Chick-filler type restaurant, they say save the receipt, bring it back next week and you can have the exact same meal free! Sorta like that.

OK back to keeping myself from going stir crazy wAiTInG SoMemoRE.

I haven't posted for a few days - didn't want to cause a jinx.

Tuesday did a trip from Nashville to Corinth, MS. No a problem at all! From hook to drop.

Even got a pre-plan that started the next day close by. I was close to home but i didn't have enough extra time to drive all the way back to Memphis for a "secret" home visit.

The next morning started with a pickup where I had to adjust sticky tandems in a sleet storm. No fun -dark, cold, and sleet getting in my hair & down my neck.

This run became another run for the money. I had to go from NW Mississippi to near Macon, GA, in one day. But the sleet storm made me drive less that 40 MPH most of the morning.

I was able to get to my destination by 2 pm, but with an hour on my clock. The delivery had an appointment time of 6pm, and I could not wait. I called the receiver. The lady I spoke with was firm: 6 and not earlier. I asked about an early morning delivery (my 10 hour break would be over at 3:30am). "No, we're closed at night and we don't do receiving on Friday. The next available is Monday at 6pm." Uh-hunh, I'm going to sit in my truck for four days babysitting this trailer. Sure I am!.

Well, with my time ticking away, I contacted my DM. She said to go there and post an arrival at final destination on the QC. So I pulled up to the guard house. The guard checked his schedule. "This delivery has been rescheduled!"

"No", I said, "I had asked about it but didn't agree to the change. And I'm here early, too! " I could almost hear my minutes ticking away. Evidentially the receiving scheduler and the guard shack have little communication. The schedule change had come through, but the guard saw no reason not to allow an early delivery. Plus, the dock office simply told me to back in at door 27. What was the big deal? I thought. Just let me get out of here with time on my clock so I can make it to a truck stop!

Since the warehouse closed at night, I could not stay there. My dispatcher had told me if I had to leave after my time has gone, to send her a message (to document the situation) that I had to drive overtime to get to a "safe haven", which is exactly what I had to do.

So I guess that would be #13(?) on my list: Out Of Drive Time But Not Safely Parked.

I sure hope I've run out of glitches!

Being out of time and dueling with that clock can be a bugger. I also remember a stint where I was going to the shop almost every day during one week - air line leaks, nails in tires, rivets in tires, a 5th wheel that wouldn't release .... Funny how it piles up at times. Then you have some runs where you don't have any issues, and you forget that trucking can be hassle free sometimes! ..... probably just jinxed us both......

Im enjoying your updates and STILL starting school soon!! Take it easy out there!!

I'm glad I found and read this, Errol. I think it deserves a bump. Great posts.