Ta-Da!
Topic 19182 | Page 1
Congratulations! 
Congrats Chickie!! For some reason I had it in my head you started before me...lol. One thing that's cool about being on this forum is getting to watch the others in our "class" as they complete their first year and achieve other milestones. A few that come to mind are Gladhand, Jim J, Rainy D, Tractor Man, Rob S, The Shiva, Miss Myoshi and you of course. I'm sure I'm leaving several out--that's just all I could think of at the moment.
It's also neat to see where we ended up. You started with TransAm and switched to CalArk doing otr/regional and just love it. I stayed with Swift and tried several otr and regional divisions, finally settling at the moment for yard hostler/local driver position on Swift's Target dedicated account. Rob S also ended up on a Swift Target account doing the same as thing as me but at a different DC. Now he works for a local company and enjoys that. Gladhand is currently running surge for a Swift Walmart account and enjoying that, still trying to find his niche. Rainy is a Prime girl all the way and loves otr. Tractor Man started with Swift pulling dry van otr for nearly a year and is now a local Coke dealer. The Shiva had to leave otr before a full year but found a sweet local intermodal gig with JB Hunt and is enjoying that. Jim J seems to be sticking with Swift otr at the moment, although he got a glimse of life at G Town's Walmart DC when he ran surge there for a week or so. Miss Myoshi, as far as I know, is still working on a Northeast regional account with Prime making good money and enjoying herself there.
Sorry if that was a bit long-winded. It's just very cool to see each other progess and find our own little niches. It also goes to show how much you can accomplish when you choose to listen to solid advice, give it your best shot, and take responsibility for the mistakes you make along the way. We all started at well known, large "evil" otr companies and somehow managed to make it through our first year without being fired or getting in any major accidents. Some of us still work for our first companies and don't intend to leave any time soon because we just enjoy working there! Regardless of whether we stayed at our first company or moved on to other opportunities, we all got a very solid start to our careers.
So anyways, congrats again Chickie.
And thanks Brett for building and maintaining this site, which is a wealth of true and practical information to help anyone get started and be successful in this industry. It's no coincidence that most of the regulars on this forum are getting good miles and enjoying their various trucking gigs. It's not that trucking doesn't have its issues, but you and the other moderators have taught us how to make the most of the situations we're in so we can still make a good living at this.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
How is anyone supposed to follow that post Pianoman?
Congratulations on no longer being a rookie Chickie! Im heading out to National Training inc. on the 7th for my heavy equipment operators course, and as soon as that finishes, Im getting my CDL at their trucking portion, God willing Ill be with a company and starting my slog as a rookie in july. Everyone on the forums has been so very helpful, and quick to support anyone who needed help, or even someone to vent to. Im glad to see everyone doing so well!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Congrats !!!!
Your "first love" did you name him Brad ?
Congratulations. You da bomb diggity.
Guess I'm in the same "class" as my solo year will be may 5th. It's crazy to think a year has passed and I'm considered experienced lol definitely don't feel like it at times. Anyway congrats Chickie
Me and OS were in the same "class". Literally started a week apart from eachother.
Still truckin we are!
Congratulations. I start my journey tomorrow. I'm so happy you made it through all those bumps in the road you had in the beginning. Stay safe.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Good job Chickie......Congrats!
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Well today is one year solo anniversary for me! I passed training and evaluation one year ago and got my first love, uh, truck!
In a sort of celebration, I've gotten my first California solo run. A year later, I'm headed back to CA. Can't say I'm overly excited, but hubby is filling up my phone with pictures!
Some days, it feels like just a few months and others it feels like 10 years. But I will say this. We've been some amazing places, overcome some major challenges, connected with truckers from all over the world, and made some lifelong friends.
So to all those struggling with training or in the early, frustrating days of solo driving, hang in there! My first 6 months were pretty rough but here I am a year later, very, VERY glad I stuck it out!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.