I'm only 2 weeks into my training and I'm convinced that there are many things of interest that I have yet to experience. However, there seem to be some reoccurring themes in the trucking life that I am sure I wil l have to deal with for the duration of my career on the highway.
Allow me to walk you through an oft repeated scenario, consider yourself behind the wheel for the following event.
You're chugging down the 4 lane trying to be mindful of safety and legal speed limits as well productivity and deadlines. While maintaining a safe and sane rate of speed, you find yourself gaining on a small car in the distance. As you approach the car you can see that the driver is driving with one hand on the wheel and is constantly looking down and to the right. A check of your speedometer indicates that this road bozo is traveling at about 52mph in a 55 zone. Once again, mindful of what you must accomplish in an allotted time frame, you move over to the left hand lane to pass the bozo.Once you get alongside this distracted driver, he suddenly decides to speed up slightly and match your speed. Now, bearing in mind that it is illegal for a commercial vehicle to travel in the left hand lane (except when passing), you decide to push legal boundaries and bump it up to 58mph in order to safely make it past your new nemesis. Yes, of course, bozo speeds up too. On the side of your truck is a large sign at eye level to bozo's car that reads "YOU ARE DRIVING IN MY BLIND SPOT". Bozo must not have graduated 1st grade because he takes the next 5 miles to study this sign in very close proximity. About this time, he gets another call/text on his phone and goes back to being distracted and slows down to 52mph. Finally, you get past him and are able to move into the right hand lane. As soon as you reach the right hand lane, you also reach the base of a hill. As you succumb to the forces of gravity that place an undo and unfair burden on 80K lbs, the bozo in the little car passes you. Being a small hill, you quickly negotiate the ascent and descent and find level ground on the other side. About this time, you once again find yourself quickly approaching the same bozo that you just took 5 miles to pass on the other side of the hill. Now, go back to the beginning of this paragraph and read it again, 5 times!
So, I guess I'm learning patience. But, I've always said "patience is for people that don't have something important to do".
-Red-
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The biggest hurdle to becoming a trucker has been overcome
There are many steps that one must take to become a long haul truck driver. Some are easy, some are down right scary. To me, the scariest step, the one that almost turned me away from trucking, has now become the best part of my journey into trucking so far.
After completing trucking school and passing the necessary State tests, you must then select a company that you deem worthy of your highly qualified services. Once this company is chosen, you attend an orientation that lasts anywhere from 3 to 5 days. During this orientation, you are not yet an employee, it's more like a job interview. If you pass their interview process, they then pair you with a trainer who will take you over the road and show you the ropes. This was the hurdle that I wasn't sure I could get over.
The training period that the different companies offered varied greatly. One company wanted me to train for 8 weeks, one for 6 weeks and 2 others told me that their training would last about 3 weeks. Now, bear in mind, the sleeper berths on modern trucks are quite roomy. At the same time, you must also consider what exactly you would call "roomy" when sharing quarters with a complete stranger. For this reason, I selected the company that had the shortest training period. I knew that if there was one thing that would prevent me from making it through training, bunking with another trucker would be it. However, I knew I had to cross this hurdle, as difficult as it was.
On Monday I received a call from a Driver Manager informing me that they had located a trainer for me. She said the trainer would give me call and tell me when and where to meet him. I started packing my bags to prepare for my dreaded and disgusting road trip when the call from my trainer came in. Much to my surprise, and elation, he told me that he only ran local routes and was home every night. I can't even begin to tell you excited I was to hear that!!!!
The local gig is awesome! We are running mostly shipping containers back and forth from a mill in St Helens to a Rail yard in Portland. The trainer I got is a good guy, close to my age and he rides a motorcycle. The thing that I like best about him, I have no idea if he snores or not, and I'm OK with keeping it that way.
Sooo thankful for this!!!
-Red-
After completing trucking school and passing the necessary State tests, you must then select a company that you deem worthy of your highly qualified services. Once this company is chosen, you attend an orientation that lasts anywhere from 3 to 5 days. During this orientation, you are not yet an employee, it's more like a job interview. If you pass their interview process, they then pair you with a trainer who will take you over the road and show you the ropes. This was the hurdle that I wasn't sure I could get over.
The training period that the different companies offered varied greatly. One company wanted me to train for 8 weeks, one for 6 weeks and 2 others told me that their training would last about 3 weeks. Now, bear in mind, the sleeper berths on modern trucks are quite roomy. At the same time, you must also consider what exactly you would call "roomy" when sharing quarters with a complete stranger. For this reason, I selected the company that had the shortest training period. I knew that if there was one thing that would prevent me from making it through training, bunking with another trucker would be it. However, I knew I had to cross this hurdle, as difficult as it was.
On Monday I received a call from a Driver Manager informing me that they had located a trainer for me. She said the trainer would give me call and tell me when and where to meet him. I started packing my bags to prepare for my dreaded and disgusting road trip when the call from my trainer came in. Much to my surprise, and elation, he told me that he only ran local routes and was home every night. I can't even begin to tell you excited I was to hear that!!!!
The local gig is awesome! We are running mostly shipping containers back and forth from a mill in St Helens to a Rail yard in Portland. The trainer I got is a good guy, close to my age and he rides a motorcycle. The thing that I like best about him, I have no idea if he snores or not, and I'm OK with keeping it that way.
Sooo thankful for this!!!
-Red-
Monday, February 7, 2011
I May be orientated
It's been over a week since I updated my blog. If there was anything exciting about the last week, I must have slept through it. I finished the truck driving school on January 27th and didn't really have a lot to do in the week off. I did go back to the DMV and take a few more tests for endorsements. As of now, I am qualified to haul HazMat, tankers and doubles/triples. I've decided that I don't want a passenger endorsement because I have NO desire to drive a school bus full of kids. Nothing against the kido's, I just don't want to deal with ya.
This morning I started orientation with May Trucking Co. I'm not officially an employee of May until I complete their 3 day process of being orientated. The day started off with me having to fork over all paper work they required. I had to prove to them that I did in fact graduate from a trucking school and that I was an American citizen. Then, they took me out on a road test in a tractor. Bearing in mind that all tractors are a little different and all transmissions feel a little different, I was put in trucks that I was completely unfamiliar with and told my future with company depends on my performance. I'm happy to report that the road test went well.
After the road test, they treated all the new guys to a free lunch at Hometown Buffet. This was an unexpected benefit. Tomorrow, I'm wearing pants with large pockets. When you're unemployed, free groceries are like manna from heaven.
After lunch, I was taken to the back of the yard were lots of cones were placed way to close to each other. I was then tasked with trying to navigate a tractor with 53 foot of trailer behind it through the cones in both forward and reverse. The object of the exercise was to negotiate your way through tight spaces without killing any of the cones.
Since I was not the cause of an untimely demise of any traffic cones, I was invited back to join them for a second day of orientation. We shall see what tomorrow brings.
-Red-
This morning I started orientation with May Trucking Co. I'm not officially an employee of May until I complete their 3 day process of being orientated. The day started off with me having to fork over all paper work they required. I had to prove to them that I did in fact graduate from a trucking school and that I was an American citizen. Then, they took me out on a road test in a tractor. Bearing in mind that all tractors are a little different and all transmissions feel a little different, I was put in trucks that I was completely unfamiliar with and told my future with company depends on my performance. I'm happy to report that the road test went well.
After the road test, they treated all the new guys to a free lunch at Hometown Buffet. This was an unexpected benefit. Tomorrow, I'm wearing pants with large pockets. When you're unemployed, free groceries are like manna from heaven.
After lunch, I was taken to the back of the yard were lots of cones were placed way to close to each other. I was then tasked with trying to navigate a tractor with 53 foot of trailer behind it through the cones in both forward and reverse. The object of the exercise was to negotiate your way through tight spaces without killing any of the cones.
Since I was not the cause of an untimely demise of any traffic cones, I was invited back to join them for a second day of orientation. We shall see what tomorrow brings.
-Red-
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Phase one; complete, Phase two......recruiters
Four weeks of books, backing, grinding and inspecting has finally paid off, The State of Oregon now trusts me to operate rather large vehicles on the same roadways that you currently use. Out of a class of 5, 2 people asked to reschedule their test for next week and get in an extra week of practice. I was scheduled to go 3rd today but ended up testing first since others thought that would be the hardest slot. I was happy to go first as I was sure that it would be easier to get it out of the way rather than sweating it out watching my classmates embarrass themselves.
And now, onto looking for a job. I feel very lucky to have a skill (or, perceived skill) that is in high demand. It might be worthy of concern why this is such a high demand job, the retention problems of this profession should be seen as "red flags" rather than "opportunity's". When recruiters show up at your school in the first week that might serve as a good indicator that nobody really wants to do this job. All the same, it feels good to be wanted. I have applied to 4 different trucking companies and all 4 said they would be more than happy to have me operate their trucks. After looking at a sea of information, I think I have decided to grant my services to May Trucking.
Since I have been surviving on unemployment since June, I am very excited that I finally have a path to a paycheck. The job market out there is very tough and I know many people that have been without a job for over a year or two. So, with that in mind, 8 months doesn't seem so bad.
Onward and upward, we'll see what happens with May!
-Red-
And now, onto looking for a job. I feel very lucky to have a skill (or, perceived skill) that is in high demand. It might be worthy of concern why this is such a high demand job, the retention problems of this profession should be seen as "red flags" rather than "opportunity's". When recruiters show up at your school in the first week that might serve as a good indicator that nobody really wants to do this job. All the same, it feels good to be wanted. I have applied to 4 different trucking companies and all 4 said they would be more than happy to have me operate their trucks. After looking at a sea of information, I think I have decided to grant my services to May Trucking.
Since I have been surviving on unemployment since June, I am very excited that I finally have a path to a paycheck. The job market out there is very tough and I know many people that have been without a job for over a year or two. So, with that in mind, 8 months doesn't seem so bad.
Onward and upward, we'll see what happens with May!
-Red-
Saturday, January 22, 2011
My hat came off and a light bulb went on.....
One of the more difficult parts of learning to drive a tractor trailer is learning to shift the truck. It's not at all like shifting a car. When changing gears in a big rig, you need to match the speed of the truck with the speed of the motor and make sure your selecting the correct gear. If these elements do not match perfectly, you will only hear loud grinding sounds as you attempt to force the truck into gear. Some may even suggest that the transmissions in truck schools are filled with whole coffee beans. After a month or so of training the newbies, the fresh ground coffee is sold to truck stops and served to the same folks that ground it.
Some learn the coordination of shifting rather quickly while others take much longer and spend lots of time grinding coffee. One of my fellow classmates seemed destined to provide his skills to truck stop barista's. No matter what the instructor him, he just could not seem to master the art of getting the truck from one gear to the next. To protect his dignity, I'll just refer to him as Billy.
A dark knit cap always graced Billy's head and he spoke with a thick accent that paid homage to the African country he came from. I sometimes wondered if there was a language barrier that seemed to hinder the sharing of information. We would go out on the driving range 4 to a truck, 1 instructor and 3 students. 2 students would sit on a bench seat in the sleeper while another student drove the truck. I was out with Billy every day. The instructor would explain in complete detail to Billy what he needed to do to shift the truck. When Billy gave it try, he would start doing about 8 different things all at once, none of those 8 things were in any way related to the directions that he was just given by the instructor. He always seemed very tense and probably even scared of the truck. Whenever I had a chance, I would pull Billy aside and try to give him a pep talk. I would tell him to first off, just relax. Second, listen to the instructor and do what he tells you, not the 8 other things you were doing. After several pep talks and no progression in his skills, I was starting to think that Billy had chosen the wrong career.
On Thursday, I stayed in the yard to practice backing and Billy went out on the road with another group of students. When the tractor came back to the yard, I was surprised to see that Billy was driving. As the tractor came to a stop I could see Billy through the drivers side window and he was smiling from ear to ear. I also noticed that he was not wearing his signature dark knit cap. When he got out of the cab, the first thing he told me was; "My hat came off and a light bulb went on." He went on to tell me that he could now up shift and down shift with ease. He also let me know that my constant pep talks had paid off and were one of reasons he finally came through.
If there must be a moral to the story, I suppose that it would have to be something like this; Always believe in people and offer encouragement. If you think somebody is incapable of something, don't tell them that, tell them they CAN do it. And, most importantly, the next time you enjoy a cup of coffee at a truck stop, thank Billy!
-Red-
Some learn the coordination of shifting rather quickly while others take much longer and spend lots of time grinding coffee. One of my fellow classmates seemed destined to provide his skills to truck stop barista's. No matter what the instructor him, he just could not seem to master the art of getting the truck from one gear to the next. To protect his dignity, I'll just refer to him as Billy.
A dark knit cap always graced Billy's head and he spoke with a thick accent that paid homage to the African country he came from. I sometimes wondered if there was a language barrier that seemed to hinder the sharing of information. We would go out on the driving range 4 to a truck, 1 instructor and 3 students. 2 students would sit on a bench seat in the sleeper while another student drove the truck. I was out with Billy every day. The instructor would explain in complete detail to Billy what he needed to do to shift the truck. When Billy gave it try, he would start doing about 8 different things all at once, none of those 8 things were in any way related to the directions that he was just given by the instructor. He always seemed very tense and probably even scared of the truck. Whenever I had a chance, I would pull Billy aside and try to give him a pep talk. I would tell him to first off, just relax. Second, listen to the instructor and do what he tells you, not the 8 other things you were doing. After several pep talks and no progression in his skills, I was starting to think that Billy had chosen the wrong career.
On Thursday, I stayed in the yard to practice backing and Billy went out on the road with another group of students. When the tractor came back to the yard, I was surprised to see that Billy was driving. As the tractor came to a stop I could see Billy through the drivers side window and he was smiling from ear to ear. I also noticed that he was not wearing his signature dark knit cap. When he got out of the cab, the first thing he told me was; "My hat came off and a light bulb went on." He went on to tell me that he could now up shift and down shift with ease. He also let me know that my constant pep talks had paid off and were one of reasons he finally came through.
If there must be a moral to the story, I suppose that it would have to be something like this; Always believe in people and offer encouragement. If you think somebody is incapable of something, don't tell them that, tell them they CAN do it. And, most importantly, the next time you enjoy a cup of coffee at a truck stop, thank Billy!
-Red-
Friday, January 14, 2011
my big secret....
It's happened to all of us, you're sitting in a classroom trying to learn something and without fail there is always one person in the class that thinks they already know everything. Usually, these people think they are teaching the class from the students seat. They will talk over the teacher and go into long explanations about their experiences. It's a major annoyance and only serves slows down the progression of the class. When I started truck driving school, I decided that I would NOT be one of those people.
When I was in the Air Force from 1990 to 1994, I drove tractor trailers. I learned how to double clutch and shift through a 13 speed pattern with ease. However, beyond the basics, I my training in the military was nothing close to what it takes to drive a commercial truck. Military owned vehicles are exempt from Federal regulations. When I was driving on public highways, I would drive right past weigh stations. Military training usually consists of somebody handing you the keys to a truck and telling you to drive it until you get it right. For these reasons, I decided to keep it a secret that I had previous experience. I wanted to walk into the class to learn as much as I could, not brag about my expertise.
However, I must say I am very thankful for my past experience! The first day that we went out and drove the trucks was a bit a nail biter. 3 students in the truck with one instructor and we were taken to a less traveled road to learn about double clutching. I opted to go last and watched my fellow students make vain attempts at shifting gears. The crunching and grinding that I heard was similar to what you would hear if you dropped a spoon in a garbage disposal and turned it on. I was just happy that my kidneys survived the constant truck bucking. Honestly, I had no idea that you could even make a truck buck that hard.
Finally, it was my turn in the hot seat. Bearing in mind that it has been 17 long years since I've double clutched anything, I was slightly apprehensive that my past experience would pay off today. Once I got the truck rolling and was told to change gears, my first truck shift in almost 2 decades went smooth as silk. Within the first hour, I was practicing up sifting and down shifting as well as gear recovery, a technique used to get the truck back into gear if you miss a gear. On my second day of driving, I was already driving on the freeway. I started to feel a little guilty when one of the instructors told me that I was above average and almost 'fessed up to my secret.
I'm learning a lot every day and having fun doing it. Maybe in the last week I will reveal my secret, but not yet. I'm wanting to be instructed as though I have never even seen a truck and not have any information omitted because they assumed I already new it.
-Red-
When I was in the Air Force from 1990 to 1994, I drove tractor trailers. I learned how to double clutch and shift through a 13 speed pattern with ease. However, beyond the basics, I my training in the military was nothing close to what it takes to drive a commercial truck. Military owned vehicles are exempt from Federal regulations. When I was driving on public highways, I would drive right past weigh stations. Military training usually consists of somebody handing you the keys to a truck and telling you to drive it until you get it right. For these reasons, I decided to keep it a secret that I had previous experience. I wanted to walk into the class to learn as much as I could, not brag about my expertise.
However, I must say I am very thankful for my past experience! The first day that we went out and drove the trucks was a bit a nail biter. 3 students in the truck with one instructor and we were taken to a less traveled road to learn about double clutching. I opted to go last and watched my fellow students make vain attempts at shifting gears. The crunching and grinding that I heard was similar to what you would hear if you dropped a spoon in a garbage disposal and turned it on. I was just happy that my kidneys survived the constant truck bucking. Honestly, I had no idea that you could even make a truck buck that hard.
Finally, it was my turn in the hot seat. Bearing in mind that it has been 17 long years since I've double clutched anything, I was slightly apprehensive that my past experience would pay off today. Once I got the truck rolling and was told to change gears, my first truck shift in almost 2 decades went smooth as silk. Within the first hour, I was practicing up sifting and down shifting as well as gear recovery, a technique used to get the truck back into gear if you miss a gear. On my second day of driving, I was already driving on the freeway. I started to feel a little guilty when one of the instructors told me that I was above average and almost 'fessed up to my secret.
I'm learning a lot every day and having fun doing it. Maybe in the last week I will reveal my secret, but not yet. I'm wanting to be instructed as though I have never even seen a truck and not have any information omitted because they assumed I already new it.
-Red-
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Lesson #1, listen to the instructor
I made it through the first week of truck driving school without any problems. Well, other than the DMV giving me a ration over my birth certificate. But, thanks to a wonderful grandma that lives within a convenient proximity to my birthplace, that has since been ironed out.
As we we're wrapping up last week, the instructor told us that come Monday, we would not be in the classroom but we wouldn't start driving the trucks until Tuesday. Knowing that driving commercial vehicles involves constant inspection of your equipment, I knew we were going to spend all day Monday outside, in the yard looking at what could go wrong on a truck. With this knowledge, I developed a simple mathematical equation; We're in Oregon + it's January + 10 hour training days / my tolerance for the cold (my desire to be comfortable) = I'm coming prepared. This equation resulted in my showing up on Monday with the following items; insulated coveralls / work gloves with cotton inserts / boots / a real cool "cousin eddie" style hat that covers my ears.
I assure you, the weather did not disappoint on Monday. We start class at 6am, long before sunrise and it was COLD. I bundled up prior to heading outside and was quite shocked to see my peers simply put on their coats and zip them up. Within the first of hour of inspecting vehicles, I was starting to see the teeth of all my fellow students start to chatter. Myself, I was warm and cozy and felt like I could spend all day outside. With the knowledge of how to treat hypothermia running through my head, I was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Sorry guys, but if comes down to watching you die a slow, painful death or me climbing into a sleeping bag with ya....well, it's been nice knowin' ya buddy!
So, the most valuable lesson to date, lesson to the instructor!!!
And, I must say; THANK GOD FOR COVERALLS!!!
-Red-
As we we're wrapping up last week, the instructor told us that come Monday, we would not be in the classroom but we wouldn't start driving the trucks until Tuesday. Knowing that driving commercial vehicles involves constant inspection of your equipment, I knew we were going to spend all day Monday outside, in the yard looking at what could go wrong on a truck. With this knowledge, I developed a simple mathematical equation; We're in Oregon + it's January + 10 hour training days / my tolerance for the cold (my desire to be comfortable) = I'm coming prepared. This equation resulted in my showing up on Monday with the following items; insulated coveralls / work gloves with cotton inserts / boots / a real cool "cousin eddie" style hat that covers my ears.
I assure you, the weather did not disappoint on Monday. We start class at 6am, long before sunrise and it was COLD. I bundled up prior to heading outside and was quite shocked to see my peers simply put on their coats and zip them up. Within the first of hour of inspecting vehicles, I was starting to see the teeth of all my fellow students start to chatter. Myself, I was warm and cozy and felt like I could spend all day outside. With the knowledge of how to treat hypothermia running through my head, I was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Sorry guys, but if comes down to watching you die a slow, painful death or me climbing into a sleeping bag with ya....well, it's been nice knowin' ya buddy!
So, the most valuable lesson to date, lesson to the instructor!!!
And, I must say; THANK GOD FOR COVERALLS!!!
-Red-
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