Driving Mr. Banks

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting TT forum member "Banks" as a passenger.

Once we were able to escape the clutches of an unexpected snow storm and it's associated chaos at the D.C., our trip through Philadelphia's western suburbia was rather uneventful and pleasant. He got to observe a little bit of everything.

Banks and I had some rather good exchanges, from trucking to family. He's a decent dude, great attitude, a quiet thinker who I believe will do well as a trucker.

What impressed me the most was his ability to sense situations that are best left to quiet concentration. He knew when we exited the relative control of the interstate , thrust into midday traffic congestion, that it was best to just observe and not to talk while I had to anticipate each and every driver's moves on tight local roads. Was it my comment; "let the fun begin?" A bit exaggerated (levity) , but I appreciated his acute awareness of the situation, proving he was paying close attention and mentally putting himself in the 1st seat. Something that cannot be taught.

It was a really good day, knowing I shed a positive light on what Mr. Banks can expect and that he invested 12 hours of his day observing and experiencing first-hand what we do out here.

Happy to have him aboard again!

G-Town, when I first heard about you guys setting that up I thought it was a really cool idea!

It has got to be pretty rewarding for a newbie, who is interested in the career, to get to ride along with an experienced driver like that. I've had several passengers along, but they've always been my immediate family (each of my three daughters and my wife) They, of course, weren't riding along because they were interested in the career. They really enjoyed getting to see what it is that I do, and of course they enjoyed moving across the country like I do on this account.

Thanks for doing that, I know it is something that Mr. Banks will never forget.

G that is very cool, and extremely kind of you to do. I wish I could have had that type experience before I actually started. I’m thrilled to hear it went so well. Well done to both of you!!!

Thanks Guys.

It was definitely a great experience and I'm grateful. Going from the the road back into the warehouse had definitely put a battery in my back to get things off the ground.

I almost didn't make it out yesterday. In got slammed with snow and whenever I'm the car I have "protect your license" playing on a loop in my head. The car slid out a few times and I had an idiot tailgating me so I was really nervous, but I stuck it out and made it to the DC. I knew G-town shortened his day for me and I would've felt really bad standing him up. We already had one postponement (we were originally supposed to meet up last Friday, but nor'easter happened) and I didn't want another one.

The first thing I learned was APUs are awesome and when slip seating carry Lysol because those trucks can be grossly dirty lol. After going around the parking lot to find his trailer G-Town took me into the Swift office to meet all the Swifties. Great bunch of people. It put Swift in a whole new light for me because I don't look it as a huge trucking company anymore. I look it as if it's solely composed of the people in that office. People that will help you when you need it and keep you company while you're waiting on a load. It made such an impact that I plan on contacting Swift in the near future.

G-Town walked me through his pretrip and showed me everything he was looking at. A big difference from books and watching videos. Once we were ready to go the guard shack lady turned us around because we had to go through the scraper to get the snow off of the roof. I was definitely seeing it all lol. Once we really hit the road I was surprised because it didn't feel like we were in a truck. It felt like we were in a really high car. I get "watch your wagon" now.

Wife is calling.... To be continued

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

While driving to his first stop I paid attention to how he maneuvered the truck. How far out the went when he turned and the directions of the steering wheel while backing up. Once we arrived the receiver was pretty quick to get us unloaded, but ran into some trouble with a double stacked pallet. G-town jumped in to break down the top pallet so that it could be pulled out. Once we left I asked if I could drive. He said no lol. He explained that since the dock workers get paid hourly they don't care to stand there all day trying to pull out one pallet. He doesn't get paid hourly so his goal is get out as quickly as possible. If that means helping them unload, so be it.

Our second stop was a drop and hook at a Walmart that had multiple bays. This time I stood outside and watched the truck movements as he hooked up to his empty. Another thing G-Town does before backing up is he jumps out of the truck to check the bay for nails or other debris that can cause a damaged tire. Something I've never seen anyone else do, but I'll definitely carry that with me. We pulled out of there and headed to a WaWa for his 30. Then it was back to the DC to end the day.

Throughout the day we discussed family and a lot of his experiences. What companies he would consider working for if he wasn't with Swift and what he likes/dislikes about being OTR and being on a dedicated account. It put a lot of things into perspective and I learned a lot throughout the day. Maybe I'll be able to jump on a full reefer day in the future.

Hey, that's a great experience for Banks and a big shout out to G-Town for making it happen. Banks, that is a very rare experience indeed. Almost no one gets an opportunity like that and to have that experience with a guy like G-Town is a real blessing.

Banks, keep one thing in mind. A guy like G-Town is going to make that job look 1,000 times easier than it is. He handles a ton of little details without having to think about them anymore. He knows the job inside and out. He's been out there doing this at a high level for years. He's a real pro. In the beginning when you're a rookie things won't go nearly that well!

A great experience for Banks and a tremendous gesture by G-Town by making that happen. Very cool!

It was definitely a great experience and I'm grateful. Going from the the road back into the warehouse had definitely put a battery in my back to get things off the ground.

I almost didn't make it out yesterday. In got slammed with snow and whenever I'm the car I have "protect your license" playing on a loop in my head. The car slid out a few times and I had an idiot tailgating me so I was really nervous, but I stuck it out and made it to the DC. I knew G-town shortened his day for me and I would've felt really bad standing him up. We already had one postponement (we were originally supposed to meet up last Friday, but nor'easter happened) and I didn't want another one.

The first thing I learned was APUs are awesome and when slip seating carry Lysol because those trucks can be grossly dirty lol. After going around the parking lot to find his trailer G-Town took me into the Swift office to meet all the Swifties. Great bunch of people. It put Swift in a whole new light for me because I don't look it as a huge trucking company anymore. I look it as if it's solely composed of the people in that office. People that will help you when you need it and keep you company while you're waiting on a load. It made such an impact that I plan on contacting Swift in the near future.

G-Town walked me through his pretrip and showed me everything he was looking at. A big difference from books and watching videos. Once we were ready to go the guard shack lady turned us around because we had to go through the scraper to get the snow off of the roof. I was definitely seeing it all lol. Once we really hit the road I was surprised because it didn't feel like we were in a truck. It felt like we were in a really high car. I get "watch your wagon" now.

Wife is calling.... To be continued

Right there is why I love this forum so much. G-Town, Thanks so much for allowing Banks to ride with ya so he can learn from one of the best this industry has to offer. Banks, I hope you realize what a lucky guy you are to get to do this. G-Town is a honest to God living legend in this industry. Pay attention to everything he has to offer you in terms of teaching you about driving a truck. Also remember: Watch your wagon at all times. 😁

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

MillionMiler wrote:

Right there is why I love this forum so much. G-Town, Thanks so much for allowing Banks to ride with ya so he can learn from one of the best this industry has to offer. Banks, I hope you realize what a lucky guy you are to get to do this. G-Town is a honest to God living legend in this industry. Pay attention to everything he has to offer you in terms of teaching you about driving a truck. Also remember: Watch your wagon at all times

I appreciate that... Legend? Probably not, just someone paying it forward, trying to help a guy out. I enjoyed the day, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

took me into the Swift office to meet all the Swifties. Great bunch of people. It put Swift in a whole new light for me because I don't look it as a huge trucking company anymore. I look it as if it's solely composed of the people in that office. People that will help you when you need it and keep you company while you're waiting on a load. It made such an impact that I plan on contacting Swift in the near future.

See... and it's the same at Prime. I am not just a truck number. They know me very well and we laugh and joke. Another thread just discussed this and i feel the need to do more writing about it lol

great to see you guys had fun!

good luck Banks