With Navajo.

As some of you may know, I was with Decker, until I scuffed some tires, and then my training, and thus my employment with Decker, was TERMINATED.

I then spent five hours with Knight, before they "changed their minds."

I have been with Navajo since 11 FEB. I have been through the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Oregon. Let me tell you driving on a state "highway" in Oregon (headed to White City) is NOT for the faint at heart. I have been to the "International" Truck Stop/Rest Area off of I-87 (I think), near Jersey City, NJ/NYC, NY. I was diverted of I-80 near Morris, IL, do to a traffic accident.

I also thought I saw a UFO and was starting to suffer from microsleep when I was in Wyoming. It was around 6:00 a.m and I was trying to find an exit, which I did about 10 minutes later.

I also received a copy of my DAC , just to find out why so many companies did NOT hire me. There was nothing "too horrible" in it.

Dave

Getting that trucking career underway can be a brutal experience, no doubt about it! It takes a ton of patience and determination to see it through but once you get to about the 6 month mark running solo things start falling into place a lot more quickly.

Your beginnings are nothing unusual at all. A lot of people wind up running into issues like that. The best thing to do is just stick it out where you're at for a minimum of one year. Once you can get a year of safe driving under your belt it will put you in a whole different category and a lot more opportunities will open up to you, if you'd even want them. If you can do an awesome job for Navajo and get along well with dispatch you'll have it just as good there as you will anywhere.

Are you teaming up with a trainer right now or are you running solo?

Getting that trucking career underway can be a brutal experience, no doubt about it! It takes a ton of patience and determination to see it through but once you get to about the 6 month mark running solo things start falling into place a lot more quickly.

Your beginnings are nothing unusual at all. A lot of people wind up running into issues like that. The best thing to do is just stick it out where you're at for a minimum of one year. Once you can get a year of safe driving under your belt it will put you in a whole different category and a lot more opportunities will open up to you, if you'd even want them. If you can do an awesome job for Navajo and get along well with dispatch you'll have it just as good there as you will anywhere.

Are you teaming up with a trainer right now or are you running solo?

I am with a trainer right now. We are running somewhat as a team.

Dave

Cool. Ya know, it's pretty rare I've ever spoken with anyone who drove for Navajo. I'm quite familiar with the company, but don't know much about em.

How much time do you have left in training and how do they determine when your training is complete? Some companies base it on the amount of time you spend on the road, some go by the number of miles you've driven, and some just let the trainer decide when they feel you're ready.

Cool. Ya know, it's pretty rare I've ever spoken with anyone who drove for Navajo. I'm quite familiar with the company, but don't know much about em.

How much time do you have left in training and how do they determine when your training is complete? Some companies base it on the amount of time you spend on the road, some go by the number of miles you've driven, and some just let the trainer decide when they feel you're ready.

It is a seven week training program ( divided into three phases) that culminates in a final road test. But, it is based on trainer evaluations. Performance is key. I am at Phase II right now.

Dave

Trying to find a place to park is difficult between 1:30 to 2:00 a.m. I got lucky. I found three right next to each other. Pulling into the middle lane correctly without having to back up and pull forward three or four times so the truck and trailer are in one lane, is something I need to work on.

Dave

Finding even one open spot at that time of the night is nothing short of a miracle in most truck stops. Finding three open spots next to each other should make national news!

Finding even one open spot at that time of the night is nothing short of a miracle in most truck stops. Finding three open spots next to each other should make national news!

And if I had done it correctly the first time, I wouldn't have had to back up and pull forward about three or four times. It was three lanes where you pull right in. The lot was just a little tight for a correct and perfect pull in for this rookie.

Dave

Ya know, it's funny you mention being able to pull through into a spot accurately the first time. It takes me back to the very first day I was ever in a truck - Sept 1993.

I left the company terminal in Atlanta, GA with my trainer. He was doing the driving. He drove for a little while to get us away from the city and then pulled into a rest area so I could do some driving. When he pulled in I watched closely as he swung wide past the spot he was targeting, brought it back across, and then straightened out to wind up dead center between the yellow lines.

I remember saying "Wow, you nailed that dead on! That's gonna take some practice for me."

And it did.

Those first few months on the road are the steepest learning curve most of us will ever go through with anything in our lives. I mean, you hardly go 10 minutes those first few months without learning or discovering something that you were unaware of or hadn't yet considered! It's really exciting but really stressful at times, and I remember hoping I could learn as many lessons as possible the easy way and not the hard way.

Just take your time out there. Enjoy yourself and stay as relaxed as possible. Don't get in a hurry, and remember that the only thing that truly matters in the end is that you don't hit anything. Whatever happens, it's always just a temporary thing - as long as you don't hit anything.

Anytime you can parked at the end of the day without a scratch on the truck it's a good enough day in trucking. Some days will be better than others, but a safe day is always good enough - especially in the beginning.

One thing that gets mentioned is Hours Of Service and the 70 Hour/8 Day rule. For example. Today, I was on duty for 9 hours, of which I drove 8.5 hours. I have 2 hours available right now, tonight. I have 10.25 of my 70 available. After midnight, I pick up 7 hours. This is according to the E-Log on the Qualcomm.

Dave