Profile For Miah

You've gotten some great replies and I'll just add my two cents.

Onramps/offramps: I only did this once. I think it was against my company's policy, but I'm not sure The legalities depend on the state of course. The once I did was when I had a drop and hook in Waco, Tx that took six hours. 5.5 hours waiting in line and then 30 minutes to drop the trailer and pick up another. The truck stop was full and I had ten minutes on my clock so parked on an onramp. I was really nervous because I didn't know what the law was in TX, if some brownnoser would report me to my company, or I'd get hit. I don't recommend it, but sometimes you don't have any other options.

Hardest thing about living in a truck: Like you, I thought the worst thing would be the bathroom situation, but it was actually never a problem for me. The hardest thing is the lifestyle issue; away from home, no friends or family, etc. However, there are certain times that I just LOVED it. After an especially grueling day, there is nothing like pulling the curtains closed, cranking up the AC and watching a movie. You can be in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of miles away from anyone you know, and yet you feel more relaxed and at ease than you ever have before.

Night driving: As mentioned above, it ultimately all depends on your pick-up/delivery schedule and your logs. Whenever possible, though, I preferred to start really early in the morning. I'd wake up around 2:30 and try to be on the road by 3:00. That way, you get to the truckstop before it fills up. It's incredibly stressful to try to back into a crowded truckstop at night after you've been driving for 11 hours and are already completely exhausted. Sometimes you just have to do it, but whenever possible, I'd start driving as early as I could to avoid it.

Congrats! I look forward to reading about your experience. I got my training at Prime and had no complaints. They're a very good company.