Solo Week!

Well I'm finally on my solo week. My first load is dailys meats. One stop in clackama, OR. Which is tomorrow at 9am, I'm about 25 miles away. Then four stops tomorrow. Two in Seattle wa, one at 3am the other 4:45 am. Sumner, at Costco for a 6:15am delivery, then the final in Tacoma at 9am... hopefully it goes smoothly. Super nervous since I'm finally out here by myself but I guess the next couple days will be the test on how I can do things out here. I'm hoping Tuesday goes well, sometimes places take forever to unload since they have to count everything so, I could potentially be late which would suck, because I'd like to finish early! So I can find parking. I'm sure it's a pain finding a place the later it gets out this way!! But oh well. I'll roll with whatever happens. Just happy to be making progress in my final step of the training program. Anyways, be safe and have a great Sunday and Monday everyone.

That first time in trucking is like most "first times". Memorable to say the least.

As for parking, many stops often start filling up as the sun goes down. Here's a tip: use Trucker Path to locate the address you expect to shut down. There should be a few "main" truck stops like Flying J or Loves. But look nearby for "no-name" facilities. Check the reviews and skip over the super negative ones - you'll get a general impression. I have been past "big" truck stops that are full up, and literally across the street is a fine stop with many empty places.

Enjoy your rookie week!!

That first time in trucking is like most "first times". Memorable to say the least.

As for parking, many stops often start filling up as the sun goes down. Here's a tip: use Trucker Path to locate the address you expect to shut down. There should be a few "main" truck stops like Flying J or Loves. But look nearby for "no-name" facilities. Check the reviews and skip over the super negative ones - you'll get a general impression. I have been past "big" truck stops that are full up, and literally across the street is a fine stop with many empty places.

Enjoy your rookie week!!

I added emphasis on this one.

Congrats. Take it easy, take a deep breath, relax, concentrate and go slow.

My only other advice is if delivering to Costco stores, be on time and preferably a bit early. They run a tight ship slick operation and dont like late deliveries and may refuse a delivery depending on floor space. I just had them refuse a delivery a few days ago after showing up 3 hours late because of a dispatch error. I had 28 pallets of potting soil but they had no more room on floor to receive it at that point. The upside is when I show up a bit early or on time i'm usually in/out in under an hour for a full truck load. Nice...

Also, if they are anything like they are up here in Canada, the loading dock setup seems like an afterthought and designed by someone clueless to trucking. Each one is different often have the setup area shared with customer parking spots. Not a problem at 5:30am, but show up after 8am or so and customers start taking up those parking spots and it can make for some messed up maneuvers to bump that dock...

Congratulations. Stay safe. Have fun. I'm heading out tomorrow afternoon, with my trainer, for a two stop load.