Profile For TailGunner (Ken M)

Probably the most helpful thing I can tell you, is if you are loading anything high off the trailer deck, like lumber, osb, drywall, styrofoam especially, If the person loading doesn't offer to, ask them to put your tarps on top of the load for you. One tarp at the front, and one at the back. This will save your butt from having to try to figure out how to get them up there. The rest of it comes with experience and practice. Your trainer I'm sure will be showing you the rest. It's also a timesaver to connect your bungees to the D-Rings on your tarps and bend the hooks so they don't come off. That way the bungees you need nearly everytime are already there, hanging down waiting for you to secure them.

I could fill a couple pages about tarping probably.

Lockout kit = big rock.

There are loads that don't require tarping, but it depends on what company you drive for. A flatbed Co. that hauls mostly building materials and steel will have you tarping almost everything. Except maybe rebar and *some* building materials.

From their website: "We are now offering sponsored CDL training with a partner driving school in Arkansas, more details to come soon!! Call to inquire, limited availability!"

1- yes I have APU. And I love it. Having the APU allows for a refrigerator instead of an electric cooler. All trucks also have the 1500w inverter. So I can cook and stuff without running the engine. Not sure that I would go with a company OTR and not have APU.

2- Melton really pushes for us to idle as little as possible. Also the trucks shut down after a bit. I think it may be 5 minutes of idle before it shuts down. Which only applies if you are in neutral and brakes are set. But if your APU is broke down you can idle if needed. I believe as long as you don't set the truck brake it will run longer. Not to sure about that though.

3- Our MPG is calculated on a 90-day average. So you have to do pretty bad before you are penalized. I'm not sure exactly what the penalty is though. Apparently I left the paper at home. I do know we are supposed to keep mileage above 6.0mpg average. So you'd have to do pretty bad to be lower this that over 90 days. For keeping it at 6.8 and higher we do get a mileage bonus. Starting at 6.8 you get $0.01 with another cent for each tenth.

I can't remember how much fuel the APU saves but it is a significant amount. I'll give an example. When I took my home time for Christmas I parked the truck Thursday night. It stayed parked until Sunday morning the following week. So 10 day with the APU cycling on and off. When I parked the fuel gauge showed just barely touching the 1/2 mark. When I left it was sitting pretty much on the mark.

Probably would have used less if I had turned the climate control off, then it only turns on to keep the batteries charges. But my kids wanted to camp out in the truck every night.

I let my truck run all weekend before, and the gauge didn't even move. The average fuel mileage did go down, but when I went to leave Sunday night, it was warm and ice-free.

Drive an Eaton Super 10, you only need to clutch (or float) every other gear, i.e. between the evens and odds. It's a sweet transmission.

I forgot, you don't need to move the stick in between them, either.

Drive an Eaton Super 10, you only need to clutch (or float) every other gear, i.e. between the evens and odds. It's a sweet transmission.

If your Company doesn't pay for a truck wash, don't pay for it yourself, unless they will reimburse you for it. Keep the inside clean where you live, but the outside is their responsibility. And if they won't pay for it to be washed, I would look for a different employer.

If you look around, you can find any number of companies that are home weekends.

There is no need to put the trailer brakes on when you are parked, unless maybe you're on the side of a cliff. And the brakes can/will freeze up in cold weather, and you'll wish you hadn't had them on. The air dryer/alcohol injection keeps the air pretty dry, but not 100%. Even getting loaded, unless they require it, the 6 brakes on the tractor are enough to hold, along with the tire chocks.