Profile For Doug K.

Well its been two years now an it is still a blast. Crossed the 250,000 safe miles mark just recently and did a little jig at the truck stop. Feeling kind of proud of myself for not having run over somebody or caused any traffic issues.

Be safe on the road and keep rollin'!

While trucking offers you the chance to gain an incredible amount of life experiences, making a lot of unique friends and see a lot of sites you would never have the chance to see otherwise it can also be the most frustrating, lonely, unforgiving, thankless job in the world.

So why have I chosen to do it for 16 years? Because......

While trucking offers you the chance to gain an incredible amount of life experiences, making a lot of unique friends and see a lot of sites you would never have the chance to see otherwise it can also be the most frustrating, lonely, unforgiving, thankless job in the world.

Amen!

Screw up and you might as well be a rookie fresh out of school because you again have to prove yourself all over again on the next run.

Boy. Aint that the truth.

I just read a GREAT article by Becky P. about how some days are just to be forgotten. Good writing Becky. I enjoyed it and I have one of my own days to add to that.

I was in Tulare Ca getting and "A" service done on my truck. Normally you need an appointment but they got me in and out in 50 mins. Guess it pays to be nice to people. That was the only part that was good.

I got an assignment to pick up an Ikea load out of Lebec CA. Ok. 88 miles empty. Pick it up. Fuel and deliver to Lancaster Ca at 7:30am. The other half was to Oxnard CA at 2pm the same day. No problem. Left at 3am. Picked up the load, fueled in Bakersfield CA and headed for Lancaster. Got there with plenty of time and they unloaded me right away. So far so good. Ahead of schedule.

Took off to Oxnard CA. On the way dispatch calls me with a load that will take me home for a much needed rest. Send me the info and I will get on it. Turns out it is a drop and hook at Georgia Pacific in Chino Ca.. Whoo hoo. Easy peasy lemon squeezie. Another 100 miles empty and then on the way home. Asked if they would have it ready by 2pm and was told yes. It will me ready.

Got unloaded in Oxnard as soon as I got there with no waiting. So far things are looking great. Still way ahead and lots of time to get the load going home and would still have some time to get at least the 46 miles to Hesperia CA pilot to shut down with an easy drive to Reno the next day.

Head to Chino. Got to the shipper and here is where things go south real fast. I have 4:45 on my clock. Cool. Well maybe. Go the shipping office and let them know that I am there. They say your appointment is not until 2pm. I say I know but I am here and will wait for the pre-load. Bombshell time. NOT a pre-load. Live load at 2pm. I was told pre-load and ready between 2pm and 7pm. Nope. Get into the dock and we will load you.

It is 1:30pm and I am in the dock. They didn't start loading until 2:45pm and did not finish until 5:15pm. Bad news. Clock ran out at 4:45. Called dispatch and raised the roof. The only reaction I got is we have a yard 15 miles away just get there asap even though you are in violation.

I did get there without incident and left the next morning and went home. Needless to say I was fit to be tied that EVERYONE from marketing to dispatch and also the receiver KNEW this was a live load but LIED about it all along. I really get irritated when I am lied to. I am home for a few days now and that is probably the best place for me.

After eighteen months I am right at 200k miles with no tickets and no incidents. Yikes. Still having fun though even though there are some really weird and inexcusable things that happen.

Be safe and have fun! Life is too short to let all of the nonsense get to you.

I tend to be a picky eater and I do love the junk food but junk food is just that. JUNK! Bad for you. I have a small 12v cooler in my truck. Not really expensive and doesn't kill my battery. There are bigger ones but space is a consideration for me and I don't like the clutter. When I go home I cook up some stew (chicken, beef and pork), home made chili and any thing else that I like to eat. Put it in freezer containers (reusable) that are big enough for one meal and pop them in the freezer. They take about two days to thaw in the cooler.

When I am ready to have one of my "home cooked" meals I break out my 12v "oven" that I bought for about $30 bucks. Drop my meal in it and have a good eat in about 30 minutes. I can pack in about 6 meals in my cooler along with my milk and a couple of cans of fruit juice and they will keep for as long as I am out. Sometimes I am out for a five week run and have had no problem with spoiling. Don't use zip lock bags. They will leak and make a mess.

I also keep plenty of soups, cracker, and peanut butter(the kind with the honey already mixed in) on hand for those days when you just don't feel like waiting. Sleep is calling faster than the oven can get something hot. A half gallon of milk will make it for about three days (I love milk) and the dry cereal will last about a week. Wal Mart is everywhere so a quick stop there will save some money rather than buying is truck stop.

I keep five one gallon containers of water and I have a small hot water heater the I bought for I think $20. It will heat about 2.5 cups of water pretty fast and if used right I can clean my pans with that. I refill my water when I get to a terminal but I have taken them in the shower with me and filled that that way.

I take one bowl with me from home and that serves me well for all of my eating and is quick to clean up. Oh yeah. LOTS of paper towels. four to six rolls. Light and easy to store.

I had trouble in school also. Got through it an thought I was good to go until..... I got in a good truck and was with a trainer. The first day he was so on edge because I was having so much trouble shifting he asked if I could float the gears. I said sure. Been doing that since I started driving farm equipment as a young boy. I have not used the clutch since except of course when stopping and on the occasion it is needed to downshift. Get through the school and the test as best you can and then float, float, float. Once you get the hang of it you won't go back to the clutch.

This is a GREAT idea and would work in all but Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, California*, Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona. Theses states require the chains on the OUTSIDE drives. Also, California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada require drag chains in some configuration on at least one trailer tandem. Most are two OUTSIDE trailer tandems.

This would be a great system to have installed in the rest of the country. I would use it. I love new technology.

One last comment. Drivers CHOSE to be overweight. It is NOT a job requirement even though there are some that believe so.(please don't flame me for saying this. Just my opinion and observation.)

*California can require all front drives in a MAXIMUM configuration.

Just a quick note. I had the opportunity to ferry a fellow company driver to another terminal to pick up a loaner truck. Some idiot from our company had totally misjudged a turn and took out the front of his 2012 Volvo. Yikes! Any way, I picked him up at our home terminal and we took off. I asked him if he knew that he was riding with a driver with just a years experience. He looked at me totally shocked and said it didn't show. Wow!

As we were tooling down the road we had good conversation and I enjoyed his company(no team thoughts. I am a SOLO driver and that is all) All of a sudden he got real quiet. I paid little attention as I was driving in the mountains at night and it takes all of you attention to do that safely. A while later he stirred and said that he had taken a nap. Oh my. Another driver napping while riding. He told me that he was completely comfortable doing that as he felt I was a good and safe driver and trusted me.

Well my ego just got a real boost. I found out he had been on the road for ten years and didn't go to sleep with just any driver. I guess I must be doing something right to have deserved the ultimate compliment from another driver.

Be safe and enjoy the drive

Thanks for the encouragement. The one thing that I have always done is to find the positive in any negative. I guess that comes from having had so many years working with technology. Positive and negatives abound everywhere and it is our job(s) to find a way around or through the negatives. If you don't you will just end up a basket case with a plethora of physical and mental problems to deal with. There is ALWAYS a way through or around the negatives.

Be safe and happy

Getting hooked up with the right mentor makes all the difference. Mine was the same way. No yelling or screaming. Just good coaching. The two biggest lessons I learned from him were 1)watch your signs and 2)go slow. Both have been instrumental in keeping me safe and getting lost only once my first year on the road. Got into a residential area by mistake. Good thing the cop that stopped and talked to me had a good sense of humor. He got me in the right direction and made sure traffice got out of the way Whew!!