Profile For James925

Congratulations Daniel! Glad to hear you got out of OTR on your own terms. My uncle drives tankers (in Sacramento coincidentally) and he loves it, he's been doing it for the last 6 months. His shift is long though, he works 6pm to 6am, he's brave! I've driven at night and after 2 am I'm not worth anything. He "mixes" the gas as well and says he's pulled into some tight gas stations. Good luck to you sir, definitely keep us posted on your new adventure and savor the short commute! It's amazing how much better your quality of life is when you don't have to drive an hour or more to get to work. Stay safe out there!

Pittsburgh is a brutal city to navigate. There are three rivers that converge there, 1,000 railroads that go through there, and it's in a mountainous region. It's really tough getting a big rig around there.

Pittsburgh (shudders) I still break out in a cold sweat thinking about navigating around Pittsburgh on that cold April morning, delivering to Chris' Candies...I was definitely initiated into the world of old man trucking

Didn't bother me in the least when people tailgated me. I'd just slow down a little bit or maintain my speed. Eventually people would go around me. I'd get the one finger salute, had people curse at me as they drove past, even throw a bottle at me once, and I'd always give them a big smile and a wave. The looks I got were hilarious.

*mic drop*

Old School that was a great post. Everyone new should read it.

Just glad to see our resident bada$$ back here aka Redgator, I was going to file a missing persons report on her! Good read, hope things are better for you now.

Sounds like you're the perfect fit for the lifestyle if you have no children or anything else. Just remember, we can tell you all about living on the road, and you can mentally prepare yourself for it, but it won't actually sink in until you're actually out there on your own. But as long as you have a positive attitude about the situation, which it seems you do, you should be fine. And remember, trucking is a lifestyle, not a job. A job you can go home and sit on the couch after a stressful day. A stressful day of trucking normally happens when you're two time zones away from your home and have been up since 3 am that morning.

I don't think you'll have a problem getting routed to another city for hometime. You'll have to work out the logistics of parking your truck at a truck stop or store if you want to explore the city cause I doubt the company will let you bring the rig all over the place on non company driving. Plus as high profile as these vehicles are, driving on surface streets gets old real quick, especially if you happen to have a trailer.

Living on the road is an exhausting, stressful and FUN time all at once. You'll have days where you'll wish you had never taken this job, and you'll have others where you stop at a truck stop and hang out all night with the people you parked next to eating bbq and playing dominos! Trust me the good days FAR OUTWEIGH the bad. Couple of recommendations, bring your own food with you and stay out of the truck stop eating greasy food if possible, and when you get out on your own, make it your first priority to get some quality bedding in your rig! I slept with two thick sleeping bags and memory foam under my mattress (hint hint) and I slept like a rock from the moment I got my first truck. Get a quality (truck) gps, load up an ipod or mp3 with your favorite tunes and hit the road! And remember to keep a good attitude out there, you're getting in during a good time when it's not winter or really cold. Better to make a mistake downshifting on a clear day than on a winter day with slippery roads. Good luck out there!

I was with Central in 2011; I didn't have any problems. They're a good company to start with, as is any other company. Just stay out of that Fontana and Denver yards backing up if you're a rookie, it's a bit tight! ( <-------this guy had more than a few problems backing up there) Had a little problem the first month and a half on my own getting loads that were less than desirable, but I sucked it up and proved to my dm I could and would do anything he asked, and never had any problems with bad loads after that. If I decide to become a steering wheel holder again, I'm going to bring my pitbull with me. The problem is finding companies that accept pets. So far Henderson and Shaffer are the only ones I know of.

Patience is definitely something you need to have when things fall apart quickly. A LOT easier said than done, but it does work. Piloting a 75,000+ pound high profile vehicle will definitely lead to bad decisions. One thing that may work for you is to tell yourself that every driver (no matter what they say) has been right where you are. Things can go bad in the blink of any eye on the road, and keeping a level head in times of crisis only helps you. Getting angry only wastes energy and will wear you down over time.

My gps and the "directions" I was given from dispatch or the receiver often told me to go down roads I knew I had no business going down. If you can (provided your not in a bad area, we don't go to the best places sometimes), stop somewhere, put the flashers on and walk around to get your bearings. I've literally walked a half mile down a street sometimes just to make sure I could safely take the truck down there.

It will get better once you're safely parked at the receiver and relaxing (again, chocolate always works as a good stress reliever for me) and tomorrow you'll be laughing at the hair raising situation you were in less than 24 hours ago.

It's also basketball playoff time. GO WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOHOOO Another Warriors fan! We got a tough matchup against Memphis, but I think we can pull it out.

Regarding the fight, this match is about 5 years too late for me to have any vested interest in it. I'm pulling for Pacquiao, but I could honestly care less who wins. I just want to see a good fight.

Company Training, or otherwise known as the most emotional, blood pressure rising, stressful two and a half weeks of my life. But taking the driving test and being told I passed was one of the happiest moments in my life. Lots of people come and go from trucking school. I don't think people realize how unforgiving the coursework is, or how hard it is to learn how to shift a rig after driving a manual in a car for over 10 years.

No one can prepare you for what happens when you're actually out in the world on your own for the first time without a trainer. You will get lost, you will take 10 minutes to back up on what seems like a "simple" back, you will get routed out of your way to the receiver because of a construction detour, and anything else that can go wrong, will.

As was mentioned, you definitely have to be humble out here, and if you don't have humility, trust me the trucking Gods will mix in some humility for you. Treat every day like a new adventure, and if something goes wrong, stay in the moment. After you're done, you can do whatever it takes for you to relieve stress (mine is a King size bar of peanut butter twix) and put the situation behind you. Tomorrow is always a new day, and a new adventure.