Well It Was Fun While It Lasted.

Update:

Yesterday, after an almost 8 month hiatus, I started a new part time job driving grain semis. Still haven't passed a DOT physical but with Ag exemption as long as I stay within the state and don't travel more than 150 miles away from base I am good.

Can not tell you all how good it felt to be behind the wheel again. It is a totally different world however. My new truck is a 2007 Pete day cab with a CAT C13 and a 10 speed. No DEF, no ELD, no HOS rules at all for that matter. Told my boss that the trailer is 13 feet shorter but the truck's nose is 5 feet longer than what I was used to.

Since Ryder put me on LT disability I am limited to how much I can make without having my benefit reduced. For now I am just going to work MWF. With harvest starting though those can easily be 12-14 hour days. Location is about an hour from home so only working every other day won't be so bad. We are both willing to be very flexible so if I need to work more or less from one week to the next that won't be a problem.

Other then tiny little county roads the driving seems pretty easy. Hard part is learning all the farming stuff. Had to watch some training videos and was impressed about how many different ways there are to be dismembered on a farm. Guy showing me the ropes was impressed when I pulled under the loading chute dead center my first time.

New ride.

In line to unload first load after a through "probing". Not nearly as interesting as it sounds.

Glad you were able to find something to help cure that itch to get back behind the wheel. I bet that will get real fun when everything is all wet

Greg that is good news indeed. That oke Pete is a good model for sure. Ood workhorse!!!

Thanks PJ. Truck definately has more of an old school feel than the Cascadias and T680s I have driven since rejoining the trucking world. Reminds me very much of the late 70s era Autocar dump trucks I drove back in the 80s.

Truck has been a spare for a while so it was pretty much a mess inside. I had about 3 hours to work on it before they were ready for me to start driving. It cleaned up very well. Mechanically it seems in good shape but I still came up with a pretty long list of things I thought needed addressed. Being a farming outfit that owns some trucks I half expected them to say: "Sorry that's how we run them." Instead they fixed several items right away and I got a text today saying that everything else was done.

Yesterday we just hauled a few remaining loads of last years corn to the mill but they were supposed to start harvesting today so tomorrow could be a lot busier.

Greg that is good news indeed. That oke Pete is a good model for sure. Ood workhorse!!!

Update #2:

I am almost a "real" truck driver again. Last week I was issued a 1 year Ohio Medical Examiner's Provisional Certificate. This will allow me to do any Class A CDL driving intrastate in Ohio with the exception of placard HAZMAT.

This document is issued by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and is more lenient than the FMCSA requirements. I qualified because I had the old Ohio commercial DL prior to Dec 7, 1988, when the national CDL went into effect. I had never heard of it until a driver I met while farm driving told me about it. Took some digging to even find the info, no mention of it on the OHIO BMV website.

Hardest part was finding a medical examiner willing to take the time to understand the program. My regular Urgent Care place had to clue how to proceed. Luckily I found a guy who specializes in working with drivers and companies on medical compliance. He had contacts at the PUCO and made the phone calls to understand the program. Basically the way the program works is first they try to pass you on a regular DOT physical. If that fails they then can sign off on the Provisional Certificate unless they determine you propose a medical risk.

Granted the opportunities are somewhat limited with the intrastate restriction but there are still jobs out there. I have already spoken with a couple of US Post Office contractors who have multiple routes from Cincinnati to other points in Ohio. I have committed to the farming gig until the week after Thanksgiving when we should have harvest just about wrapped up.

It feels good to have options again.

Update #2:

I am almost a "real" truck driver again. Last week I was issued a 1 year Ohio Medical Examiner's Provisional Certificate. This will allow me to do any Class A CDL driving intrastate in Ohio with the exception of placard HAZMAT.

This document is issued by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and is more lenient than the FMCSA requirements. I qualified because I had the old Ohio commercial DL prior to Dec 7, 1988, when the national CDL went into effect. I had never heard of it until a driver I met while farm driving told me about it. Took some digging to even find the info, no mention of it on the OHIO BMV website.

Hardest part was finding a medical examiner willing to take the time to understand the program. My regular Urgent Care place had to clue how to proceed. Luckily I found a guy who specializes in working with drivers and companies on medical compliance. He had contacts at the PUCO and made the phone calls to understand the program. Basically the way the program works is first they try to pass you on a regular DOT physical. If that fails they then can sign off on the Provisional Certificate unless they determine you propose a medical risk.

Granted the opportunities are somewhat limited with the intrastate restriction but there are still jobs out there. I have already spoken with a couple of US Post Office contractors who have multiple routes from Cincinnati to other points in Ohio. I have committed to the farming gig until the week after Thanksgiving when we should have harvest just about wrapped up.

It feels good to have options again.

Congrats for getting thus far, Greg !!!! Ohio is a pretty good state, for staying 'intra..' from my findings. There are a few flatbed operations up north that have intrastate runs, ie: Transport National, comes to mind. We're not the 'open deck' kinda folk here at my house...getting too old, haha!

Have you looked into FAB Express? Don (on here) and my hubby drive for them, and they would LOVE you .... with your experience!! Tom (hubby) is 99% intrastate. Don gets an occasional NY and PA load. Tom's been to PA once. In 5 years.

Corporate is in Chicago, where they never go, but for orientation. Once. Tom is based out of Mt. Vernon, Don is out of Willard. Not sure where in Ohio you are, but there are MANY FAB yards here in Ohio.

Look it up on their website; wish you the best!

~ Anne ~