Profile For Truckin’Steve

Also I’ve found if you don’t feel the kingpin touch the trailer you may want to double check it.

I was taught to do the fist trick where you lay your fist on top of the rear wheel as it’s under the trailer as your GOAL’in at the coupling and if the fist fits perfectly in between with not too big of a gap at the top of the fist you’re golden.

Hasn’t failed me yet so far.

I think it’s time for me to realize trucking isn’t for me.

Steve have you been understanding any of the core principles we teach here? Do you understand about performance based pay? Do you realize how easy it is to make yourself stand out in this business. I mean if a person just does their job halfway efficiently they ought to be able to get a grip on how this stuff works.

Look, we completely understand the difficulties of starting this career. We've all experienced those rookie frustrations. That's why we teach people to make a commitment to staying at their first driving job for a minimum of one year. Personally I like to see people give it two years. You're already fed up after only two weeks at Swift!

You're complaining that the companies have made statements that enticed you in, but then they aren't keeping their word. Do you realize how many times we've heard that? Typically those kind of comments come from new drivers who aren't cutting the mustard. They're frustrated because they're going broke yet working hard. They simply don't understand how to make a go of it, and it's no wonder when they think jumping ship is the solution.

Why haven't you been asking us how to manage your clock and your hours so you can be effective? Why haven't you asked us for some advice on how to build a relationship with your dispatcher that benefits the both of you? Why haven't you just said, "Help me out guys - I apparently don't know what I'm doing - I need some advice!" We would have been all over that, and you might have learned something helpful.

No, here's where you decided to go. You wanted to tell us the two companies you've worked with lied to you so you're gonna quit. You see, we all know better than that. You are working for companies that are well represented by drivers in here. We know they treat people great. They especially treat people well who show some inclination and drive to succeed at this.

There's a big hole missing in this story. Of course I know what it is. You chose to tell us all about the dishonesty from the trucking companies but you never got around to telling us about your paychecks or your clock management. You see a drivers paycheck tells him how he's doing. If he's doing a great job then he's making money and he's happy. When a greenhorn is going broke then he's convinced he's getting cheated and lied to. It's an age old story repeated for generations.

I know you had a specific question about "ghosting," but it was pretty bold of you to ask it. No professional conducts himself like that. Even your needing to ask the question speaks volumes about your approach to this career. Go find something you can do that doesn't require you to be good at it. Don't waste your time trying to compete in this environment. It's kind of obvious you don't have the inspiration to improve your game so you can compete. You'll fit in better where you can blend into an office environment and not really be counted on for much.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Your insight is helpful.

I highly suggest you stick it out with Swift and look into switching divisions if needed. I thought Costco was very efficient in their loading and unloading? Kearsey did an article Are drop and hooks better than live loads?. Some places I go to are drop and hook and it actually takes me longer to get going than if I was live loaded. You need to do inspections on both trailers, track down loaded trailer and you may pick up a trailer that is unsafe because the previous driver was too negligent or lazy to inspect and report defects. Now you're sitting there waiting on roadside assist for several hours. Ask Packrat how that goes, i cant remember if it was with Knight or CFI but he had 3 out of 4 trailers I believe in ONE WEEK that he needed to get fixed before he could get rolling. There's no guarantee your load will be ready on time either. Looking at your post history you have roughly 8 months of experience and you're looking at leaving your 2nd job in that time. You haven't proven yourself in this industry YET and definitely not at swift. You're becoming a job hopper and it will affect you negatively even if you go back to an office.

Another member, Harvest, had decided to go back to Prime to finish the training after deciding trucking wasnt for him. He recently decided to give it another shot and Prime sent him home. His previous employer said he isnt eligible for re-hire due to how he quit and that's a red flag for most companies. I highly doubt that Schneider or Swift would re-hire you if you handle things this way.

Funny thing is Schneider still sends me emails asking for me to come back. I’ve tried to take them up on their offer. However, now they say the Target dedicated account I was on requires one year of experience now rather than six months.

How do u handle turning the truck in if you don't communicate with them? If you're under a load or dispatched to pick a load up when you do this you're seriously hurting your career. I was always taught to give notice and continue to do the best of your ability while working out your notice. You never know what happens and you may need to go back at some point.

How long have you been at Swift?

About two weeks at Swift. I left the truck at the Target store for Schneider. I offered to drive it to the OC but they came and got it with no notice anyway. The truck for Swift is at the DC right now which will be fine.

What do you all think about ghosting a company? It would seem in this day and age with companies abruptly shutting down makes ghosting a more tenable thing. Ghosting is where you just up and leave the company with no communication etc.

I left Schneider with a text message to my DBL after raising concerns about raises that I was told I’d get but never did. Didn’t mind that job on the Target dedicated account the pay just wasn’t there.

Now I’m at Swift and considering ghosting them. Was told it was 90% drop and hook but it’s been 100% live unloads/loads on the Costco account.

I think it’s time for me to realize trucking isn’t for me. Guess I’m stuck going back to the office :(

Hey guys! Glad the diary has been helpful! Things are going much better now. The Target account is great. And yes Target still wants you to put the trailer at the same door where the current trailer sits :( They do pay an extra $15.00 each load which I guess helps with all the extra unhooking and hooking.

Target has also bought 50-100+ new trailers as they are sitting at the DC. This will be nice as the current trailers have seen better days. Landing gear is always a pain to lower/raise.

Luckily all their stores have been a breeze in regards to backing. Have all been straight line backing thus far.

Pulling in around $1,100 a week now working six days and home nightly. I’ve even completed the whole run in eight hours. As long as I-81 is clear it’s a breeze through.

Yeah, don’t give up already, before you even get started. The first month of your very first year will definitely be the most difficult and stressful. If you truly want to make this work you must put in your time, get the needed experience, and log miles.

Thanks guys for the advice. I have used the resources available on this site and they’ve been very helpful. Schneider is working with me and moving me to a retail store account where I’ll just drop and hook and get to be home nightly and it pays more!

First week out by myself is down. Didn’t go very well though as I already had a preventable accident. Cut a turn too sharp setting for a straight line back and wasn’t watching the tandems and my trailer brushed up against another trailer that caused it to move into another trailer because the trailers were so close. A little bit of damage to the front frame of a Swift trailer that looks like it has already been patched multiple times already. Schneider was very understanding and of course didn’t fire me. I have to do a day of safety training though due to it.

Its been a very stressful week. Going to give it another week before deciding to pull the plug and go back to an office job.

The account I was trained on is totally opposite the account I have been assigned to. I went from a retail store account to a paper roll manufacturer account. Have had to move tandems multiple times this week and also worry about having too heavy a load whereas with the retail account that was never a problem.

The receivers aren’t at all friendly and seem like their annoyed you're bothering them. Parking safely and off the side of the road (Schneider’s strict policy) is a real pain. Sleeping hasn’t been a problem.

Got issued a 2016 Cascadia. The truck was supposed to be ready for pickup yesterday and they sent me 500 miles away to get it today and it’s still out of service due to the a/c compressor AND hasn’t even been detailed yet although I was told it was in cleaning yesterday.

They are sending me and others from my class all around the eastern seaboard to get our tractors. We feel like they are probably giving us ones from people who have quit and turned their tractor in.

Now I’m stranded with no extra clothes and hoping it is resolved tomorrow so I can go home for the weekend. Schneider is putting me up in a hotel tonight so I guess that’s nice of them.

Not a great way to start my first few days out of training and being on my own.