Fun With P And D!

Yanno? I am just having so much fun. I think the hardest part of city driving is not knowing the area very well and being terrified that I'll get stuck in an alley or tiny street somewhere but other than that, what a great profession this has turned out to be! I have so many adventures to tell, I don't even know where to start. Every day, I work outdoors. Every day, instead of working in an office or cubicle or building without windows, I'm outside, battling the weather (or traffic, ugh) and seeing the mountains in the background, breathing fresh air and driving these way-cool trucks with their Eaton-Fuller transmissions. I mean, come ON! They're PAYing me to drive these things? This is so totally fun. Vroom-vroom!

-mountain girl

You doing like just local stuff or mixing it up?

I agree about the trucks, alot of fun to drive :-P

You doing like just local stuff or mixing it up?

-Attila

Mixing it up. I'm what's known in my company as a "combo driver." I might drive and deliver in the city most days and then some days, linehaul will send me on 1 or 2 short linehaul runs. Those are great. I'll hook a set of doubles in Denver, drive to Fountain (20 miles South of Colorado Springs), swap my 2 trailers for 2 empties, bring 'em back to Denver, and then turn around and do it again. It's simple. It's fun. Stay safe. Go home.

-mountain girl

If I want to make a little extra money, I sign up for linehaul over the weekend and linehaul dispatch matches us up with linehaulers from the other end, driving our way. Hook your doubles , drive 4.5 hours to Wamsutter, WY, swap with your "meet guy" and bring doubles back.

I paid for my daughter's pricey-but-gorgeous Prom dress this way. I ran a linehaul day to Wamsutter and back ...got to splurge on my baby-girl and she looked amazing. The whole day I drove that run, I was smiling and inspired, knowing I was able to say, "Yeah, Baby. You can have the dress you reeeally want for your Prom." It was awesome driving that day. The prom was last night and ...wow. Proud Mamma.

When I'm in the city, I get paid by the hour. When I drive linehaul, I get paid by the mile. Each breaks up the monotony of the other.

-mountain girl

IDK, I really like OTR. If I were a family man I would defiantly be interested though. Right now I squirm out of every city run they offer me ;-) ... Maybe down the road though, you never know.

Note: When I say I'm hooking a "set of doubles" that means I'm hooking my tractor to a 28' "pup", a dolly in the middle, and another 28' "pup." The more experienced drivers might take a rocky mountain doubles set (a 48' "van" with a 28" pup in the back) or a set of triples (3 pups, 2 dollies), neither of which, I'm qualified to (by my company's standards) or interested in pulling, at this point. Two pups are enough of a challenge for a new guy.

-mountain girl

IDK, I really like OTR. If I were a family man I would defiantly be interested though. Right now I squirm out of every city run they offer me ;-) ... Maybe down the road though, you never know.

-Attila

I would stick with what you're enjoying doing. This profession is diverse and flexible enough that you can find your own niche.

My "board of directors," (my kids) would never approve of me leaving for weeks at a time on OTR , so my choices are confined to driving locally. It works for me and I love driving in The Rockies anyway.

I like the city driving with pups (and sometimes 48s) because it requires a lot of skill and pushes me to perfect my backing and alley-docking. It's finally starting to click and I'm finally able to start adding some swiftness to my moves. It's a challenge.

-mountain girl

Note: When I say I'm hooking a "set of doubles" that means I'm hooking my tractor to a 28' "pup", a dolly in the middle, and another 28' "pup." The more experienced drivers might take a rocky mountain doubles set (a 48' "van" with a 28" pup in the back) or a set of triples (3 pups, 2 dollies), neither of which, I'm qualified to (by my company's standards) or interested in pulling, at this point. Two pups are enough of a challenge for a new guy.

-mountain girl

Hey Mountain Girl, I'm curious - how log did it take you to get the "hang" of doubles ("Pups" may be shorter than other doubles but are still one more trailer than I've ever pulled at a time) and did I understand you to say you got the "hang" of backing doubles? Both feats impress the heck out of me (or either one on its own) ... I can tell you have been busy because you are much less frequently on the board here at TT - when you're working hard it's not so easy to find the time to "chat" if you know what I mean ... it seems to me you landed just the kind of gig you were hoping for, yes? Congrats ...

Jopa

Hey Jopa!

No, I don't back doubles unless it's just for a few feet if I'm in a real bind and I have absolutely no other choice to get out. I guess I changed the subject without clarifying but I'm finally getting the hang of backing my pup into docks, etc. Pups are so short that they're more difficult than 48s and 53s to back, in my opinion. Some days, depending on availability, I drive a single-screw tractor and other days' I drive a twin-screw. These are all day-cabs but the turning axes are completely different, I've had to learn and adjust to both.

I think hooking the sets of doubles can be a little tough for the new guy. The trick is to get your dolly perfectly lined up with and almost under your rear trailer first. Then you go grab your front trailer, back it to the dolly, hook to the dolly without moving it too far away from your rear trailer and then back both as straight as you can, into the rear trailer.

I do like the combination-driver job, although I think city driving is pretty stressful. I don't ever get assigned a trailer with a lift-gate so if there's no dock to pull up to, I have to climb into the back of the trailer and hoist myself up there. It's been great, 'cause I've dropped 20lbs and I'm really getting into good shape. I climb in and out of my tractor dozens of times a day, so I'm digging the physical part of this whole thing.

And yeah, I love this company. They have been so good to me. Over and over, I've made so many mistakes (never the same one twice) and they've kept on reminding me that they want to set me up for success. They want me to get good. Truly, my heart belongs to this company.

-mountain girl