Update. Retirement And Werner

Flat tires, mud flaps, brakes, busted leaf springs, lights, missing registration papers, air lines, broken door hinges, missing license plates, holes in the sides, roof, or floors.....The list is large and I've encountered all of these problems just this year alone.

Report problems or get them fixed.

So started week 3 on the trainers truck. Been real busy . Either driving, unloading , or sleeping.

My first night driving was going through wv on the interstates. I thought that was interesting till we delivered to some mountain towns in wv. Nothing like 3-4 miles of 8%grade on a windy 2 lane road. Have had a good mix of city, town, country , and complete sticks driving. Been averaging about 5-6 backs a day and 3-400 mile ranges per average . Which is pretty good for the DG account.

My one complaint is the lack of accountability of other drivers dropping off broken trailers. Have had issues with almost every trailer we have picked up. Today was airbags, busted and the center trailer flasher on one side was torn off. Friday night it was 3 tired. Last wed it was trailer brakes, etc the list goes on.

My trainer has been patient thank God. I’m not used to being a rookie, and I don’t like when I fail at something. I have definitely had some humbling moments.

Just wanted to shoot a quick update. Things are well

Notice anything missing?

Good to hear from you. You are experiencing a very common thing in our business. It drives me nuts. That is why you must always check things out by the numbers. Some drivers are lazy, and others really don’t care. They leave stuff like that. Once you hook to it you have accepted the responsibility. It takes time out of your day to get it fixed.

The photo you posted looks like the mid point turn signal is missing completely. You know that had to have been noticed.

I spent 2 months getting trailers with at least 2 bad tires on every single one I was assigned. I even arrived to get one trailer that had a flat and the tire was partially off the rim. It is aggravating for sure. Always take photo’s of this stuff before you hook up the trailer. I always back up to a new trailer and stop short of getting under it and do my inspection. Then once I’m done I back underneath it.

You picked a rough way to start for sure. Keep up the great work sir..

Its unfortunate you're having such bad luck with getting trailers the previous driver or drivers were too lazy to get fixed. That is one thing that really bothers me. The only things I've noticed on pretrip at my current job that the previous driver didn't write up has been marker lights out.

Pj made a great point about taking pictures of any issues. This will help avoid you being blamed for something you didn't do. If you're constantly writing up that tires are bad or theres damage it may look a little suspicious so its always important to CYA

DG sounds like it's going good for you, I look forward to hearing how your first couple weeks go solo.

Thank goodness for a thorough pretrip. 2 severely leaking hubs and top front corner marker out. Would have been nice if the Last driver would have taken the time to red tag it. Would have only taken him 5 additional minutes. Instead we got to wait on it to get fixed.

Papa - pool trailers are the Devil. You learned on your second day the lesson that some drivers never learn, I could show you some doozies. I took photo's of ALL items that I wrote-up a trailer for, to document in the event that I got accused of lying about a needed repair (yeah - it happened, and the management type shut up quick when I showed him the photo). I am surprised Werner doesn't have a DVIR system through the ELD applications.... Good on you and your trainer for doing it right!

Well guys, finally tested out and am now an official rookie solo driver. Now having some much needed hometime. Signed for my truck today which is a white 2017 freight liner. She’s kinda beat up which I don’t mind, but smelled of dog pee which I’m not as cool with. But thems the breaks. I’m thankful for the job. At least there weren’t any urine bottles Gonna clean her tomorrow and whenever the next driver gets her she’s gonna be a 💯 cleaner I can assure you of that.

New to me truck. She’s a dirty girl but gonna fix that. I call her “Large Marge”