Profile For Houkie

Starcar, for this curious newbie (who is also very nervous about backing and wants to be as prepared as possible with the right tricks), would you mind sharing this "hands on the bottom of the wheel" trick you mentioned? :)

SWEET!! When you get some time, I would love to hear about your experience in orientation..you can PM me if you like..

If you wouldn't mind posting it here, I'd sure love to read about it. That's awesome that your instructor will also be your trainer! :)

Can't wait to read them when they're posted!

Best of luck to you! Definitely let us know how it goes for you.

When your parking your truck late at night at a crowded truck stop, make sure that one and only spot left is not next to one of those cow hauling trucks, because if you back in there for a good nights sleep you're going to realize real quick why no one else had taken that spot yet.

Oh boy, did this crack me up. Too funny! You have a humorous way of describing things.

Loved the update though. Lots of great advice in there! Keep in touch and stay safe (and sane!) out there on the road.

We've had a few 21-year-olds pop in here recently, so you're not alone. :) I'm not driving professionally yet, but I start training with my chosen company next month. I'll be 28 in two weeks.

Congratulations! That's awesome! Bet it feels amazing to finally have all that hard work pay off!

Do you still have your CDL? I'm sure a more experienced person will be able to give you better advice, but it occurs to me that if you're really rusty and you've been out of practice for so long (and your driving experience was limited to only 3 months anyway), you should probably consider just going to school and starting over from scratch. It won't take long to get through training and you'll refresh all of your skills. That's what I would do anyway!

Why do you feel your company is "not so good"? What problems are you encountering with them?

3 months isn't very long. You're still a rookie. You still haven't proven yourself. It sounds like you've gotten off to a great start in showing this company that you can be safe and productive, but you're still very much a newbie. They're still learning what you're made of. I would venture to say that whoever told you doors would start opening and people would forget your past at 3 months didn't know what he or she was talking about. Generally, a rookie should stay at his or her first company for at least a year before expecting more from the company or leaving to look for work elsewhere.

If you have a checkered past, you should probably just be grateful that you have a driving job at all. While everyone else out there has told you no, the company you're with right now said yes and gave you a chance. Don't be angry with them because they haven't measured up to your expectations. If it weren't for them, you'd likely be unemployed right now. No company ever starts a rookie off with all the best loads and the most miles. The "good stuff" goes to the more experienced, proven drivers. You need to give your company more time and keep doing the best you can to prove to them that you're reliable and safe, and I bet as time goes on you'll start to see things slowly but surely improving. Expecting so much right out of the gate is only going to lead you to disappointment though.

Also, I feel I should comment that companies don't hire unsafe drivers. The examples you've mentioned in your post are simply examples of young drivers making rookie mistakes. I'm sure it's annoying to more experienced drivers, but it happens. That doesn't make them unsafe drivers, though. As a trainer, you should know that.

Yeeeahhh, I'm not lookin' forward to learning the shifting stuff either. We're REALLY gonna find out just how much endurance these transmissions have.