Profile For SouthernJourneyman

No they will not fit. Not even supposed to use chains on singles. It's more of a cable system. The chains will shred them up pretty bad, though I've heard the cables aren't to great either.

Snow is getting pretty thick here in Ohio. Decided to get on off the road for the night. Don't really care to go through Indianapolis in this weather.

I drive for Werner and it's true. If you get caught doing a U-turn you're done. They are pretty strict with safety. You also can't park on the side of the road or anywhere besides a truck stop, rest area, or terminal. Makes it a pain when you're running out of time on the clock and you can't find a spot to park..

"You can't park on the side of the road...". Is this a typical policy of all large carriers? I get that this means you have to route-plan well, but it seems this could be pretty hard if you're sleepy and there are no places (truck stop, rest area, terminal) nearby.

I'm sure it's against any decent companies policy. Fairly sure it's illegal to just pull on the side of the road to sleep in most places anyway. Only places I know that it is ok is in certain industrial/business parks that are set up that way. Definitely a no go on the interstate or other highways.

May also want to look into Melton. They're great folks to work for.

Welcome to the team! I've been solo since the last week of November.

Your trainer sounds kinda like the guy I had. Real big on that fuel mileage.

Having stuff you can layer is best. So far I haven't needed thermal under wear, just a heavy coat. But the coldest I've tapped in was around 20*. Couple times it was colder we were allowed to tarp inside. I do have insulated coveralls though. Also insulated gloves help when handling ice cold chains. If you go for long underwear get the newer synthetic stuff. Works so much better than the old cotton long johns.

My advice is to wait till you find out what the requirements are for the company you are going to end up working for. Some you may get away with tennis shoes and cloth gloves. Others not. The company I drive for is strictly flatbed and we haul a lot of steel. When in steel mills and many other shippers we have to wear steel toe leather boots and leather gloves. I really like my Redwing Irish Setter boots. And I get the split leather gloves at Tractor Supply. Cost more than the ones my company sells but they last a lot longer. Keep in mind, you can wear whatever when driving.

As for the two people on the bunk my wife just spent three weeks riding with me. We have a California king size bed at home. Me, I'm 6'1", 275lbs. My wife is nearly a foot shorter and much smaller. I can sleep on a tree branch as far as room. She somehow manages to take up the entire bed at home. Having said that she was ok with us sharing the bottom bunk for the most part. But by the end she was ready to have her big bed back.

Yep. Good ole two stick. Used to drive one in an old Mack logging truck years ago. They can be lots of fun or a royal pain.

Well I got a hard lesson today. I'm up here in Kentucky and ha a load to deliver at 8am. So last night I got up here and found a mom and pop 16 miles from the consignee. Doesn't get much better than that unless you can o/n park on site, which I couldn't. So I set my phone for 6:45am. More than enough time to get up, fix coffee and to a pre-trip. So I hit the road about 7:20. On the way my phone rang. I don't have a headset so didn't answer but I did glance down to see who was calling. Saw the phone number and wasn't worth stopping for. But somethings else caught my eye. My phone now said 8:30. Wait. What? Turns out I was parked on the central side and my delivery was on the eastern side of the line.

Normally I am real careful to plan for time zones but this was the first load I've had that was right on the line like that. Fortunately it wasn't a big deal since it was a first come first serve type of place, but still a lesson learned. I'll be checking that map a little closer next time.