May Trucking Rookie Pilot Training Program

Heard. Gotcha. Some prayers are better left unanswered. Have a great night.

I'm enjoying reading about your journey. I look forward to seeing how the rest of it goes.

Thanks Mark...I hope I have something more for you to read as that will mean I'm still employed. I was supposed to leave with my mentor today but I got a call that he's delayed for 3 more days. Wow. So I'm just camping out in a semi at their main terminal in Brooks, OR. Did laundry and got in a shower. I'm trying to familiarize myself with the Atlas so I can help some with trip planning I'm trying to learn the life of a load and when to send which macro messsgeand where to send it. I've been told that a lot of companies use a system called NAVI-GO and that everything is made simple. The system asks if you've arrived at the shipper , you push yes, it asks if you arrived at the cosignee, you push yes etc... We use Qualcom which puts a little bit more on the driver to be accountable. We have to send quite a few messages throughout the life of the loadI'll get it down eventually and it sure beats having to find a pay phone to communicate, if you remember what that is. Lots for me to remember but it will all become routine, so I'm told. I have all day tomorrow to practice some backing, they told me they'd leave the keys in the truck so that's cool. I should head out Tuesday with my mentor and I'll be sure to keep you posted. This is going to be interesting and for sure, humbling. JoJack

My mentor has been delayed again. I've been living in a truck at the Brooks, Oregon terminal since last Thursday. Found out that out of my 5 man class a second guy has already quit. So that's one that quit in the middle of class on the last day and one that quit as soon as or shortly after he returned from his mentorship. Packed up and left without telling a soul. I can't understand but it does make me wonder, "do I have what it takes? I always had confidence before but I must admit, with these guys dropping like flies, doubt had crept in a little. Evil little ******* that doubt. I really want this, I don't care how much of a fool I have to be until I become a pro. I'd rather bypass the foolishness but at worst I can be that dumb rookie that never crashes until I piece it all together. I'm nervous, I'm thinking will my pre trip planning come together. Will I remember all the steps? Will I send all the appropriate macros? Or will I run out of time while searching for parking and a place to sleep? It suddenly feels like there's way more to this than I ever imagined but then again I've been sitting at a terminal with wayyyy too much time on my hands to overthink things. I will look at some more study materials. I will practice some more backing in a few hours. Then hopefully things will begin to fall into place when my mentor picks me up. I haven't even left yet but it's already been an adventure. Regards, Jojack

I've finally hit the road with my mentor as of 7/1, so a couple days ago. We left the Brooks, OR terminal after receiving a pre plan, accepting the preplan, receiving dispatch and routing, then requesting turn by turn instructions, requesting fuel.... Wait a second, don't we just go pick stuff up and drop it off? Haahaaaa, oh man. I've been lost in the Bahamas a few times in the last couple days. My mentor took an empty trailer to come to pick up some smart water. He showed me the routine, at least at this particular distribution center, on how to pick up a load. We dropped it at a drop lot near Portland and picked up a different trailer at the drop lot that was already loaded with smart water, this is called a repower, we hauled that load to a coca cola DC in Fruitland, ID. I drove up the famous "Cabbage Hill" and what a difference between an empty trailer in trucking school and a 75,000lb load. Controlling speed downhill, and the company doesn't want you using breaks, that wastes gas with having to go back to the gas peddle. It's all about focus on traffic and speed and using the auto cruise control and jakes. Auto cruise isn't necessarily auto and the truck will pick up speed so fast. My mentor doesn't stop talking and drinks monsters non stop staring at about 2am after his 2 to 3 hour sleep. He smokes non stop at night right below me on the bunk. I'm lacking sleep and I'm concerned. Seriously. My mentor is a good guy and really wants to help but he's a bit too intense and excitable. I wish he'd relax on the monsters and non stop chatter. He just doesn't ever calm down. I drove the load to the receiver or consignee which was a little different than the last place but I get the point. My first backing attempt into a dock was terrible. My driving was fine but like I've heard, driving is the easy part. I think that once I get the over communication with dispatch down I should feel better. A lot of filling out forms and double checking and phone calls and macro messages just to ship some water. I will say though that once I get that down I can see that it's just routine. But I really need to know how to trip plan so I can let dispatch know my ETA and how many hours I'll legally have available after I deliver so I can get another load and do it again. Pulling in and out of truck stops, hopping on scales, pulling into weigh stations and cruising into towns I've never been to before... It's all pretty big and amazing for this rookie. Will I persevere? I want really bad to put this all together but the truth is that at times I feel a bit overwhelmed. I think I need to give myself a break maybe? It's only been two days and I've heard it here on Truckingtruth that the first year is about survival. I want to survive. This might come easy for some but I know it will be one of the hardest things I'll ever do or accomplish. I'll keep you posted. Jojack

You don't need a break. It is overwhelming because you've never done anything like this before. It seems like a lot to take in because it is.

Next week at this time, you'll be thinking to yourself, "I've done this task before." So, you will have absorbed much by then. It will be like that with each passing day, week, month, etc.

Once you go solo in your own truck, the intensity will pick up again. It will be very dramatic, all of a sudden, because you won't have a backup there with you.

Everyone has been where you are now, so don't worry about it. Learn as much as you can, do the best you can, as safely as you can. When you make mistakes, learn from these by analyzing what you could have done better.

Never give up and keep pushing to get through training. The prize at the finish line is worth the effort.

PackRat...you bet. I'll keep on. Thank you. I have a chance to shower so I'm taking it and then on the road.

PackRat...you bet. I'll keep on. Thank you. I have a chance to shower so I'm taking it and then on the road.

Good thinking. Never pass up an opportunity for a bathroom break, to eat, rest, or shower.

Started the day at our Payette, Idaho terminal and received a pre plan on Qualcom and my mentor had me fill out the paperwork. The bill # order # shipper and receiver (consignee) addresses with pickup and delivery dates and the PO #'s oh yeah and the seal# plus the weight of the load and piece count...aaaand trailer # that we picked up and trailer # we were going to drop. This particular run is a repower, meaning that another driver already picked up the load from the shipper and dropped it at the yard, now we pick it up at the yard to take it to another yard in Denver, so we never went to the shipper and we aren't going to the receiver (consignee). We're just the middle man on this run but we still fill out the paperwork as of we were so everybody knows where it is. We accepted the pre plan and they dispatched us. This is a reefer load and we weighed at 79,600lb so we can't run on a full tank or we'll be over weight. Our reefer is being a bit fussy so now that we've stopped for the night we are letting our over the road support know what's up. It's supposed to be at a continuous -1 degrees but it has quit on us a couple times only to start back up. Right now it's not a major issue but it's probably going to become one. The drive was nice. I always love the drive but it's summer and the weather is great and our country is beautiful so you can't beat it. I still need to do a better job of trip planning but doing that while accounting for the HOS is a decent challenge. Ya know, I also need to remember to change my status when I start to do paperwork, when I hop out of the truck, when I get to a shipper etc. Crazy. As soon as I think I have a grasp on something I am once again humbled. I have a feeling this job will keep me right there, humbled. I recommit daily to persevering. It also helps to remember to be grateful. I'm surprised at my fear, I mean sometimes the job leaves me nervous and wondering...you want me backing that where?? Backing in and out of orange cones, man I miss those days lol. I've been trying not to consider blowing money on a navigator but I'm slowly changing my mind. Anything that can help me remember weigh stations, rest stops, weather etc is probably gonna be a big help for me to start. I remember someone telling me about a navigator that will speak to you for such reminders and upcoming inclement weather. Did I use the word "inclement" properly? And if somebody knows the best nav for a beginner I'll take any suggestions. I have the atlas... So I'm doing my best to learn about it... Honestly, I think I've found a job I'll love and be proud of and so I'll persevere. I'll be in touch. Thanks, Jojack

Me and my mentor have been in our Denver terminal since last night about 19:00 after dropping our trailer for a repower. The next driver was here waiting for us so he hooked up and took it to Alabama. That driver wanted some home time and he lives in Pensacola so they gave it to him to finish off the trip to the receiver in Alabama. It's close to Pensacola for home time. We watched some great fireworks last night from the yard but we are still here and it's 1:25 pm on Sunday. Figured they would've already dispatched us to pick up some beer in Golden Colorado but?? Holiday weekend might leave us here until Monday without a dispatch but they won't let us know. We don't see any traffic in or out. It's slow. We sent a message inquiring a couple hours ago but nothing. It's hot in this top bunk. I practiced chaining because you go in the snow when you work for May. Actually, super singles use cables instead of chains so that's what I did. I can cable up... Not sure about chains. I went over the life of the load in more detail with my mentor as I see that being an issue for me. I'll go over it some more. I understand, now, the loneliness involved even with a mentor. I'm used to living alone but lonely still just grabbed ahold of me just a bit ago. I think becoming better at my job will actually help me cure that spell along with some prayers, confidence and keeping my eye on the prize. The prize being saving up for a house down payment 2 or 3 years down the road. Then getting a local gig for a little more home time 😁 My mentor is napping so I'm dreaming. Have a great Sunday. JoJack