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Topic 27864 | Page 3
Well almost done training. Doing pretty much everything on my own the past several days. It’s working out nicely as there seems to always be some type of challenge that I don’t exactly know how to overcome but most of that is with the Qualcomm. I did have a stubborn set of tandems that wouldn’t budge the other night because 1 of the pins keep engaging so I got a lesson on a few ways to solve that alone.
The set ups for my backing seems to have finally clicked and while I’m still using my pull ups to get it in the dock perfect I’m getting it in the slot fairly consistently on the first try now. Doing this dedicated account I’m sure to continue to get plenty of practice moving in reverse so I know that will continue to improve.
My trainer got a brand new truck this week so I have been able to ride around in a that this week. I have to say my favorite part is the brand new memory foam mattress....I’ve actually been able to sleep on the go for a change.
So I have 30 more hours of BTW training Before my road test and my own truck. Have a run up to Atlanta and back down to Florida tonight so I’ll easily knock out 10 hours there. It’s getting easier and easier to make those 8-10 hours runs as my body adjusts. I know it will get easier once I’m solo as I will definitely get much better sleep. Hoping to road test Friday or go home for weekend and do it Sunday/Monday. I spoke to the manager for this dedicated account and he confirmed adding me to the team. Seems there are plenty of miles if you’re willing to run them and only stop for the breaks required by DOT. I’m still quite happy with Swift and my treatment by everyone so far. I’ve said before, but I definitely made a good choice for my situation in life.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Qualcomm:
Omnitracs (a.k.a. Qualcomm) is a satellite-based messaging system with built-in GPS capabilities built by Qualcomm. It has a small computer screen and keyboard and is tied into the truck’s computer. It allows trucking companies to track where the driver is at, monitor the truck, and send and receive messages with the driver – similar to email.DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Great update! Glad everything is going well for you, BJess.
I too took a ten year break from driving and ended up with SWIFT. I first called two or three other companies and they wanted me to go back to truck driving school. Like you I still had my CDL and picked up a new medical card so I'd hoped someone would send me off with a trainer for a while plus orientation then OTR for a while. Then I called SWIFT and was in orientation the following week. Got a great trainer, all went well, got my truck, then hometime, then they sent me my first solo load with them. At first my driver manager tried to get me into a SEARS DC but the DC manager didn't want a guy who hadn't run for ten years. So my first pu is at a Walmart DC 50 miles away. And my next and my next and my next... I start leaning the routine and rethinking the whole OTR thing, maybe this would be better, oh wait, this pays much better and that's kind of the point. So I start making a list of questions in my notebook if they decide to ask me to stay on the account full time instead of being a surge driver. They asked, they answered, I accepted. A lot of good people and they run things pretty well. Can't say anything bad really. Seems the majority working in the offices are ex drivers and know the drill. Didn't take too long to get used to things again either. Learned what DEF was and how to elog. Oh, and SEARS shuttered its doors, oh 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.
Elog:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
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.
Driver Manager:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Can't say anything bad really. Seems the majority working in the offices are ex drivers and know the drill. Didn't take too long to get used to things again either. Learned what DEF was and how to elog. Oh, and SEARS shuttered its doors, oh well.
Most of our office people have driven as well. Some of them still do the casual driver thing I’m told which. It definitely helps to have people in there that understand how things really are.
BJess
Elog:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
I’m All done with training as yesterday morning and am home for a couple days. I’m waiting to hear from them as to when they want me back up to do paperwork for the upgrade to solo driver and get my truck. I talked to a new driver on the account Friday and she was initially issued a 2017 freight liner. Within a month she was told to drive up to Greer, SC and pick up her brand new International. It seems most all the 2020-2021 models I’ve seen are Freightliners or Internationals. I haven’t seen any KW’s newer than 2019. My trainer said to hope for a 2017 this week so I can get a new truck very soon. My only real hope is that it has a fridge to help reduce my food expenses.
BJess
Well things have started off well and not so well all at the Same time. First day on the job was dispatched nearly 500 miles on 2 separate loads. Had some wasted time at shipper but made the final destination with time to spare and 8 hours ahead of my appt time. Got up and delivered then finished my 10 to get a fresh start on the day. Pre trip revealed a flat drive tire so being only 30 miles from my terminal and an empty ultra lite trailer I ran back there. Shop had it changed before I got back from the shower so not a huge loss of time. Went up to grab my next load and 50 miles in blew a trailer tire. Loves here fairly quickly all things considered and getting me fixed up now. I should be able to finish off this load and start heading back for the next one. Already been committed/dispatched over 1000 miles in 2 days. Better luck and some practice on my time management and I just might have a good thing going....
Bjess
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Haha! Two flat tires on your first week - that's trucking for ya! Congratulations - it sounds like you are doing great!
Week one was a success in my opinion. Ran just over 2400 miles paid and was on time or early for everything. The 2400 miles turned into just under $1100 so again I feel it was a successful week. Got home Monday morning and will be heading back out Wednesday evening.
I already have 2 loads on me that will be nearly 600 paid miles. Both are drop and hooks at Walmart and Target DC’s so should be able to finish them both before shutting it down for a sleep break. Hopefully the rest of this week keeps getting dispatched this way.
The sliding pay scale at Swift is very beneficial for me. Starting out all my empty miles are .37 cents but I’ve had a couple trips pay .51 cents on the loaded and most of them fall between .44-.47 cents per mile. As somebody getting back in the industry after all these years the pay is really good.
For all the negative things you hear about Swift I’m not seeing them. I kinda think that The people that bash the company created their own problems. To me it seems like any job where you have a boss. If you keep your mouth shut and perform at a high level you will be successful. If you do the opposite you wont be successful. Pretty simple....I just want to make a good living.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
For all the negative things you hear about Swift I’m not seeing them. I kinda think that The people that bash the company created their own problems. To me it seems like any job where you have a boss. If you keep your mouth shut and perform at a high level you will be successful. If you do the opposite you wont be successful. Pretty simple....I just want to make a good living.
100% correct Sir!
Glad to read about your renewed success.
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Ah, missed that part.
Enjoy!
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.