Profile For Josh E.

I tore the fairing and the panel (cab extender is what the mechanic called it...) off my truck the other day. They told me they wouldn't be able to fix it until Wednesday but it is DOT legal, so I'm running with it as is.

I've rerun the mistake through my mind a hundred times...there were so many things I could and should have done differently. . . Grr, I'd love to have that one back...

I use smarttruck route. Its $20/month. I look at the route it gives me and then double check for low clearances and restricted routes with the atlas.

You can't always rely on gps, especially if it's not designed for trucks. Even the truck gps app i use had me going through a low clearance route around norfolk va the other day. Always double check your atlas

So it was my second load on the Dollar Tree account and these places can be a royal pain getting in and out of...

Well, I had just arrived at the DT and was going to shut down for the night and thought I would go ahead and back up to the door.

I guess I was just tired and my judgement was off, but I thought I had enough room to turn around...Nope...I ended up with a jacknife, then panicked, and made it worse and ended up ripping the fairing and panel off...so stupid of me, wish I could take that one back. I should have known better and took the extra time to drive down farther and find a better spot to turn around in. Just goes to show the stupid stuff you can end up doing when tired...so to the other rookies on here, when you're starting to feel tired, don't push yourself. Park and get some rest.

I'm sure this isn't going to look good when it comes time to get a local job once I got a year in, which will be September of this month...

It sounds like someone isn't doing their job. Idf if it's your dispatcher failing to put you in for layover and detention or someone in payroll. I doubt it would be the company as a whole because that company would quickly go out of business due to a lack of drivers willing to drive for them.

I would hate to have to be CEO of a trucking company. You have to not only keep your customers happy but you have to keep drivers happy too.

Well you guys are spouting the typical "truckers against trucking management" and "business owners versus employers" stuff which, as usual, holds very little water.

I have noticed that any such comments along these lines hold close to NO water with a sizeable contingent here, almost regardless of the details. It's all just whining to some.

But there are rather common business practices in the trucking industry that would be almost unheard of and unanimously condemned anywhere else. For example. I would say 60 to 80 percent of my paychecks are in error, and that error is ALWAYS in favor of the company. I'm talking about expenses for which proper forms have been sent not being reimbursed, empty miles for a run simply not paid, dispatcher approved layover time not paid, 4 days spent filling in on a dedicated run, paperwork scanned immediately and three paychecks later I have yet to see a penny from it, trailer spots and pickups not paid, sent to a shipper on a Saturday, a shipper that is closed all weekend, and paid nothing for the time spent waiting to find a drop location nor for the miles to take it there, miles sent to a Hazmat pickup despite not having Hazmat not paid. Detention pay...forget about it. I know drivers with 7 years in the company who have never received it. I have sent in mac14s as one of the steps in qualifying for detention pay...almost invariably the company simply denied receiving them. Layover pay....50 bucks ? For being on call and available for dispatch, while securing/guarding a few hundred grand in company equipment and customer freight for 24 hours ? Breakdown pay....fifty bucks for twenty four hours spent at a company location at least nominally overseeing necessary work done to company equipment, and maintaining availability for dispatch ?

And on and on. I am told that these and other variations on the theme are very likely to be found at my next company too. And the one after. Most of these issues are eventually resolved but only after sometimes lengthy calls to dispatch and payroll, pleading my case for money that I rightfully earned, and that after getting through the almost always lengthy hold times. And usually on the first call to each, action is simply avoided by payroll saying talk to your fleet manager @ that, and the fleet manager saying get with payroll on that.

This is not accidental, these are for by far the most part not 'mistakes'...if they were I'd have had at least one in my favor in 100 weeks. They are deliberately shorting drivers on pay and hoping they don't have the intelligence to decipher their paycheck and spot the 'errors' , the assertiveness to speak up about them, the tenacity to stick with the tedious process of having them corrected, and the composure to clearly, politely and succinctly state ones' case while doing so. ( I actually prep for these phone calls...write a little script of sorts...because I (a truck driver) have to be every bit as on top of these numbers and policies as the (accountant or bookkeeper) in payroll is, or I'm gonna get snarkily dismissed.

A driver is lacking in any of the above, and the petty theft is successful. If that's not business owners against employees, I don't know what is.

Can you teach me? :-D

The top performers are the ones bringing home the bacon. The biggest problem is that very few want to work that hard. My dispatcher sent me a message the other day telling me how wonderful it was to have a savvy veteran on his board. He said he wished I could teach a class to his other drivers on how to manage their time. You'll find very little wasted on duty time on my logs.

I got the Rand McNally deluxe motor carriers road atlas with the laminated pages. My advice to you is definitely get the laminated pages to protect from spills and rips, etc. This is my first truckers atlas I've ever used and I love it, it has everything I need.

It's the 2014 edition I got last year for $40. I saw some atlases at Love's that were on sale.

Also, get you a pocket truck stop guide or use an app like truckerspath so you can plan your day/breaks/stops...

I would also suggest using google maps as well so you can get an idea of towns and shipper layouts so you won't be completely guessing upon arriving there.

I run teams and I run nights, all the time. Not easy for some people to sleep during the day and in a moving truck, but I do fine most of the time. I'll nap whenever I can and we usually get a reset at home once a week and that helps. Also, you can get some over the counter sleeping pills and that will help you fall asleep and stay asleep, just don't get anything habit forming and take it right at the start of your 10 hour so you're not groggy when you get up. But I like nights because there's less traffic and less things to deal with, it does suck missing the scenery, though, especially if it's somewhere you haven't been. I also like the peacefulness of running at night, I don't really get that during the day.

Hi Josh....I tested out nearly two years ago with Swift after my six weeks training with a mentor. I did go on the highway for a few miles then turned around and came back to the terminal.....had to back the trailer between two other trailers....both driver side and blind side. I failed the blind side. With that I got sent back out with another mentor for a further two weeks to practice my blind side backing. Came back and passed. Then I got my own truck. Swift need drivers Josh......they won't let you go unless your a danger to others on the road......a few problems on gear changing can be sorted out over time. Hope it all goes well. I'm happy at Swift.

Mick

OK OK, thanks Mick. I'll probably be headed over to swift the end of this month. Hopefully they won't send me out with a mentor. I'm not a bad driver, just wondering how much they scrutinize lol because I'm far from a seasoned vet lol.

Both companies have 'part time' driving jobs. Have you visited their websites to check what was available in your area? Sometimes they'll let you run 1 wk on 1 wk off; 2/2; 3/1 etc...so that'd be great for you I'd think, but you might want to check and see if they'd let you run part-time if you used their company-sponsored training. Do you have any way you could go to a technical school or community college? There's a lot of flatbed companies that will get you home on weekends (at least in the southeast), so you might could go that route if you could get your CDL and then apply at companies... good luck to you.

I have a smartphone and Verizon is my service provider. I just use the mobile hotspot and connect to that. I have 10 GB and that seems to be enough for the whole month, you might need more or less. For me and my wife it was $160 for 10GB shared and unlimited talk/text. Since she went to Sprint and me still being with Verizon my last bill was $145. I basically just use it for FB, online courses, browsing the web, downloading podcasts etc. . . I don't watch videos. I just have a regular HP laptop, it was only around $300 from Best Buy, I would imagine any laptop would be okay. I store it in a laptop sleeve, and then put it in a laptop bag. I then put it in the overhead bin in the SB and tuck clothing around it to keep it from bouncing around too much. I haven't had any issues as of yet, can't promise you anything, though!! With Verizon, the only place I seem to have trouble with it is on I-40 in some parts of OK, other than that I might lose service for a minute or two and then it's back up and running. So far, I'm happy with it...I wish my wife hadn't have gone to Sprint because it's cheaper, of course and haven't had too many issues with Verizon. Hope this helps...good luck!