Profile For malek

I'll be 28 next month and will be starting my first trucking job really soon.

I'm only 50, have 3 grandchildren, and started driving last spring!

Hey Greg,

I'm also a Savannah native. I got my CDL a few months ago but wasn't the right time for me to just jump right in. My circumstances has changed and now I'm ready to get my first trucking job. I just assumed with Savannah having such a huge trucking industry including the Georgia ports that finding a local or even a southeast regional job with no experience wouldn't be such a big deal but I've searched careerbuilder and craigslist and they all want atleast 1 to 3 years experience so it looks like I'll be going OTR soon.

What does SLOW manuevering mean?

Your updates are great. Even after being in trucking for 15 years I'm still curious how they run these training programs, especially a bulk tanker program. So I know people who are considering a career in trucking must be loving the updates!

backing (even straight backing) is a lot harder in a tanker than a dry van! No nice big box in my mirrors to judge distance and angle lol.

If you adjust your mirrors so that you can see the same amount of trailer in the mirror on both sides when the truck is straight, it shouldn't be any different than a dry van. Once you see more trailer in one mirror than the other, you know you're not straight anymore. I realize in training you may not have the time (or it may not be practical) to adjust the mirrors all the time if you're switching trucks and trailers all the time, but once you get your own truck it will be easier.

Also, here's a tip about something that can throw you off. Not all trailers track straight. The alignment can be off and the trailer will be skewed to one side or the other instead of being straight behind you. That can drive you nuts if you have your mirrors adjusted properly and suddenly you're pulling a trailer that doesn't ride straight behind you. You go to do a setup for a straight back and you think the trailer should be straight behind you, but it isn't. It's skewed a bit so when you begin backing it's going to push off to one side right away.

That's a good thing to know. I thought I was "crazy" thinking that there was something off about a few trailers that I learned my backing techniques with. It seems like no matter what I did to straighten up, it always kicked to one side immediately while backing up.

Congrats on your new job GA Rookie and I'm glad that it is all going well for you. I can't wait to read more of your updates.