On Board With Knight Transportation, Squire School Started 03/22/21

Bush, It looks really interesting up there, The Mrs and I are planning on going up there.

Thanks OS, you have helped me beyond words throughout this journey, All of you here have. This site is such a great resource. Hopefully I can give back to this community as I gain experience.

So, coming back from home time. I have to be back in Denver on the 28th to close out my rental (where Ive lived for the past 7 years). I clear it with my DM , will just take a reset there and run hard. He approves. I dont know if Im just getting used to it or if these loads seem a bit easier this week. Perhaps a bit of both.

First two loads are from the Golden CO Coors plant to Billings MT, then turn around and bring dunnage back from the Billings distributor to Coors. He has me scheduled for a Budweiser Ft Collins to Sioux Falls SD load, but it has an impossible delivery time, so we wait to hear back from them on adjusting it. I got in the terminal at 7:00 AM, let him know that the delivery time was suspect. Sometimes you wait, is what it is. He gets me the Coors loads instead as he never heard back on the Budweiser load.

I get the Coors load on the road about 6 pm after going up to Loveland CO and snagging an empty from the Walmart DC. its pretty heavy, 43k, Hauls good though. 0700 am delivery time. I drive all night, which I like night driving anyway, at least in the summer. I do 630 miles with picking up the empty. Arrive at the receiver at 5 am. Sleep for a couple hours at their gate. I end up doing a sight side 90, it goes in perfect til I get some well meaning drivers attempting to help. I have a ton of room once I get it turned so after slightly ignoring the helpers I put it in the hole in my original path. Cant really sleep anymore, Im out of hours and cant stay on their property. I ask my DM if I can PC over to the TA even though I have a load attached. He checks and says yes, good to go. TA in Billings has a really cool antiques store there. Worth the time to go look. I bought a couple interesting things for the Mrs. I get some sleep and I can drive again at 3 pm or so.

Back down to Coors. Im light, only 21K but the winds are not too bad. Its really smokey from all the fires. Stop at a cool vista point on 25. My window at Coors is up at midnight, but my DM knows that he says good to drop whenever (I ask him if Im ok on it about 3 times). I get into Coors at 2 am. Im still mentally struggling quite badly with missing a delivery time even though its planned and communicated. The industry before, it was absolutely forbidden no matter what the reason, and they would backcharge us to no end. But, I follow directions and protocol no matter how badly my instinct is telling me to somehow make it work with the appointment time on paper. Its been the theme of the week.

My next load doesnt load until afternoon and I cant drive til 3 pm anyway. I go down to the springs, spend the night with the Mrs. and head back up. Budweiser plant to Sioux Falls SD (they finally rescheduled it lol). Heavy, they have to rework the load, its at 34.5K on both the drives and tandems. I get detention pay for it. Finally get out the shipper at 11:00 pm. Delivery is Monday 7:00 AM. 690 miles. I need to put some miles on the load, Its Saturday, almost Sunday. I drive til 6:00 AM sunday morning mostly because there is absolutely zero parking along 80 on a weekend this time of night. I finally find a spot. I can drive again at 2:30 PM, with about 6 hours left to the shipper. Would put me there at 9:00 pm, which would mean I cant drive until 7:00 am, my appointment time, and if there is no parking, Id be screwed (which I anticipate there wont be). So I hang out and try to get some more sleep, I leave at 11:00 PM Sunday night, drive all night, get to the receiver at 6:00 AM, the Flying J nearby is still over full for capacity. I get unloaded, head over to the J, which now has spots avail.

DM sends me the next load, Riverside MO to Cheyenne WY, Walmart DC, So Ill look around and see if I can find PackRat, although Ill be getting in the WallyWord DC at 1 am or so. I have 350 miles of deadhead. (I get paid full mileage for it so ok). My DM calls, I have 5.5 hours left to drive, its 6 hours to the Shipper. He says dont worry about it, Go ahead and shut down, and get to the shipper when you can. The appointment was at 5:00 PM. I get there at 2:00 AM. Again, mentally struggling with it. I can tell already that unless by some miracle they do a super quick live load that Im going to miss the end of my window on delivery by about an hour or two. Sure enough, it will be an hour or two before I even get my door, then another 2 hours to load. I call dispatch and let them know, they thank me for the communication and are happy. Anyway, I have 634 miles to go, and 4 hours left on my 11 hour. I drive a couple hours, get it down to a manageable amount of miles left and shut it down for the night (morning) at 6:00 AM. Means I cant drive til 4 PM local, 3 PM delivery time zone. I have 498 miles left to go. My hunch, with breaks and pretrip, that Ill get to the receiver in about 10 to 11 hours, a bit past my original window. My DM called and the extended the window to tomorrow, so Im good. Onward and upward.

Text me whenever you are at the DC. I see a lot of Knight trucks there and at some of the Walmart stores around Colorado.

My number is on my bio page info.

Davy.... I have been a silent observer of your diary. Always a pleasure to read all that you share... thank you for making the effort to do this.

I had hoped to do the same as you with my diary... but... didn't quite make it.... lol.

By the way... I lived in Aurora for about 10 years.... many moons ago. Man, I miss Colorado.... love that state!!

Carry on, good sir!! Hope all is well with you.

Thanks Penn, Hopefully all is good. No longer in Aurora. Almost metup with Packrat, but we were just off on our times.

Lets see.

Did the load to Cheyenne, Found a nice tight spot, the only one left, got the trailer into it, got my empty and got out of there. I had very little time left on my clocks. Made it down to the terminal and shut it down. Moved and got the rest of the house delt with.

First load back was Loveland CO Sams DC to Rapid City SD Sams Club store. Fun run. I found an empty at the terminal which shocked me. I grabbed it and took off, Ive been to Loveland DC a bunch, so had no problems there, in and out quickly. The run up to Rapid City was cool in that I went up through hot springs and that area. I go to Deadwood a lot, so used to it around there. Made good time, good scenery. A lot of fun two lane roads. The drop was a 3 card monty, I had to unhook, grab the empty, move it, rehook to the loaded, place it in the dock, and then rehook to the empty. It went smooth. A little free style backing on the empty. but good.

From there, next load was Dakota Panel in Rapid City to Menards DC in Iron ridge WI. Went to the flying J on 90. Noticed that the truck stops and rest stops were largely empty on 90. Good food, slow service at the restaurant there. Grabbed the load after an easy drop and hook and headed out to WI. A lot of back roads, very tight towns. Detour on WI33 and 16 that sent me through some really cool towns, very tight, but I like that kind of driving. they are still truck routes, so most of the turns were fine, most people will stop short and give you room there too. Made it to the DC at 7:00 PM, Live unload, they dont get in till 10:00pm. She stamped the arrival time on the BOL and said come back later. I drove up through some really beautiful scenery and towns along the river to a rest stop. Noted a bridge on 33 that had 13'6 clearance. Went back to the DC at 10:30. Didnt get a dock until 4:00 AM, Got unloaded at 10:30 AM. Sent the detention macro when I first got on site at 7:00 PM. Talked to my DM and made sure that I get detention pay for the whole time.

Other item of note, Saw a bald eagle walking around and a Rhode Island Red Rooster running around in the road.

Next load is Port Washington WI to Edwardsville IL. Kleen Test Products to Proctor and Gamble DC. I headed over to port washington, Shipping clerk was a bit gruff but eventually mellowed out. LIve load. End up waiting on a trainee trying to get it backed into his hole. Good kid, he was struggling, it was noticeable, really hard on brakes and throttle. Made me realize how far Ive come. Talked to his trainer for a while and to him. One thing I noticed is that his trainer finished the back for him. It made me grateful that no matter how badly I was struggling, my trainer made me complete the backs. Anyhow, Got in and out quick, headed down to the receiver. Made it on time, took a while had to go to two different buildings, a few blocks apart. Got the drop done, then back over and pick up my next load, do my paperwork for both and got shut down at a rest stop with 15 minutes left on my 14 hour.

Next load is Edwardsville P n G IL to Fountain CO. Good miles, set out this morning, straight run out I 70. My brother is heading out from CO to his house in Crossett AR. We met up halfway through Kansas I put him up in my sleeper tonight. Cool to catch up. We timed the distance between us to half and met within 10 minutes of each other at the stop.

Made it out to fountain CO, The Mrs lives about 10 minutes from the receiver there, so I dropped the load, plucked an very old empty and headed across the street to the Tomahawk Truck stop (pretty seedy looking old stop). I parked there for the night and got to spend time with her, almost felt like being local. The next run is out of the Loveland DC headed to Rapid City Sams Club again. I head up there, I have 9 hours left on my 70 when I get to the DC and wont get recaps for another two days. It seems to me that I should just take a reset here, but I do what they tell me. The trip up is about 6 hours. When I get to the DC and get my trailer, its missing the license plate. I make the appropriate calls and am waiting for a couple hours, forgot to take my clock off Yard Moves, it drains 4 hours off my 70 and doesnt leave me enough time to do the run. So I grab the load and bring it to the terminal for a T call, then back to my old lady's place for a reset.

After the reset, I have a beer run, Miller Coors to a distributor in Wells NV. I-70 is closed due to landslides, so I take 80 out. Windy, but Im heavy at 43k on the trailer. Make it in no problems, some creative backing. I have to deadhead back to Ogden UT for my next load. Im not really looking forward to hauling an empty across the great salt lake, the wind is bad. I have to take it slow, and pulled off a couple times. The receiver and shipper are about 300 miles apart I need 5 hours of travel time as well as it was a live unload...I had 7:00 am at the receiver (who was asleep still) and 1:00 pm at the shipper ( plus I loose an hour for time zones.) I know right away it wont work, I call the shipper, let them know Ill be late, they will work me in, I then call my DM and let him know that I talked to the shipper and am good to go.

They finally get me worked it, the Salt Plant in Ogden UT. this load is going down to Perris CA, but I will drop it at our Vegas Yard for T Call and head to Lake Havasu City AZ, then back to Loveland CO. Not looking forward to hauling another empty through more high wind areas, but oh well. I make the run to Vegas, pretty country in the canyons on 15. Our yard is packed because the port guys dont have a yard right now so they use ours. I create a parking space and find a brand new empty and set off on the wind journey. I take 95 down to I40. The hills on 40 outside needles are having a wind party there. I end up doing several sections at about 40 mph with the flashers on, and pull off a couple times. Its kicking the trailer around badly and I keep checking the wind speeds in the area. Its some white knuckle driving for a while. Several of us used our trucks to draft each other and keep a channel going through the wind though which helps. Im not fond of hauling empties. I get paid all the same for it, but the wind is definitely a concern.

I have a lot of time on the load to Loveland, the crank handle for the trailer brakes with the landing gear midway up. I get them all the way up, plan to stop at the terminal and get a new handle put on, let my DM know, works out great because I get another night with the Mrs.

Next two loads are the Loveland to Rapid City Sams and the Rapid city to Iron Ridge Menards in WI again.

I have about 3000 miles left to go of my Squire training solo miles and then Im a full Knight Driver. My checks have been hit and miss because of days off and trailer breakdowns, etc, but have all been over a thousand. Good weeks Ill get right at about 3000 miles which usually leaves me with about a 1500 dollar check. Im getting far more efficient at shippers and receivers, and am able to back into most spots comfortably without too much drama.

Ive started a You Tube Channel just to Vlog my goofy backing, sense of humor and document oddities and neat places and things I see in my journeys. Trucking with Big D.

Trucking with Big D

Im not quite sure where to go next with the diary after my Squire miles are complete. This community here has my undying gratitude for helping me so much with this phase of life. I owe you guys much.

Well, Im at 31,000 miles and counting. My solo training miles (Squire) are completed, but its not official yet. Im still under the direction of the training DM and probably will be for a few more weeks until Im paired with a good match for a DM. I will write a wrap up of my training, but I think Ive documented the process as well as I could have.

Even at the end, I make mistakes and am learning. I PC'd from our terminal in Olive Branch MS to our new home in Crossett AR, 200 miles. My DM wasnt exactly happy about it, explained the company policy on it (25 miles or 25 minutes). Its not a huge mistake, I apologized, noted it and told him Ill make sure it doesnt happen again. I figured it was that way, but chose to run it PC because I wanted to get my 34 hour reset underway, as that way I can get back on the road quicker. Not the best decision but I accept responsibility for it.

On to the last few loads of my training...

Both the Rapid City and WI loads went smoothly. I have some video of the WI load up atTrucking with Big D. Ended up deciding to do a straight back there instead of the 45 after I started the setup for 45. Ended up circling around and low and behold my trainer Doc was parked next to my hole. Got a chuckle out of it.

From WI, I had a load from Waukegan IL to Minooka IL that was a whopping 76 miles long. Pretty easy run there. Then to Rockford IL to Bartlesville OK. That was a Lowes load from DC to Store. Trailer was really badly kinked to the right. So bad that I kept having to ride way to the left to keep the end of it in the lane. Did the three card Monty shuffle at the Lowes store. Really fun run on the tight roads through towns. Will post video. From there, Neosho MO to Midway GA. To a Target DC. Easy run, lots of hills, but only at 16k in the trailer, not much excitement there. The backing at the Target DC was assigned spot, very tight, tight enough that I would have had trouble getting the landing gear down if I didnt set it far left.

Last load to home time is Savanah GA to Hurricane UT, but drop for T-Call at our Olive Branch Yard and then bobtail 200 miles to Crossett AR. No empty at the DC. Afterhours dispatch sends me to the Port authority, spend a couple hours in there, get hooked up with an escort watching me. get to the out-gate, they make me put the empty back. Im nearly out of hours on my 14. Go stay at the local J. I bobtail in, in the morning, Grab my load and go. Uneventful ride up to the terminal. Dropped the load, did the paperwork and headed home to check out the new house.

Theres a Georgia Pacific plant a half mile from the house lol. I have a load going out of there tonight to North Platte NE. My 34 is almost done. I have two sets of home time coming up. One for a reset on the 27th-29th. and then Phoenix from the 3rd to the 6th. I hate to take that much home time, but I have a recovery birthday on the 28th (11 years sober) and then the wife and I have plans in Phoenix and I will get body work done on the truck. Also, my cab fridge keeps going out.

Summary

Training completed. Its official, no fan fare, no nifty picture yet with the DM or DDM, but thats ok, Im seldom at the terminal and if I am, its not usually during office business hours. My DM that I had for training called me back today when I called in needing an empty. He scored me an empty (always has) and let me know that I will be with my regular DM now. Im at about 40k for miles, so 10 over the training miles.

He said it had been great working with me and that he wished he could keep on his board. He also said he forwarded my info about my truck and where I like to run to my new DM and that I should get a call from him today. I didnt, but I dont need one yet. I dont think I have met him yet, but will be passing through the terminal on this load, so I will stop in, introduce myself and get all his numbers and contact info. I plan on continuing to perform as best as I can and carry on building my reputation of being 1) Safe, 2)On time and 3)easy to work with as I learned from OS here and others. I feel confident in my abilities and how I handle my relationships with work.

Ive had some interesting loads, one of which was bark, it was loaded via a conveyer and unloaded on a tipper. (Big hydraulic lift that lifts up the whole trailer) I also stopped back in to the main in Phoenix and chatted for a while with my instructors from school.

Its hard for me to summarize the process of school to training to solo training to solo driver. Overall from what Ive read, mostly here at TT, the concepts are similar with most company provided training. Some seem stricter and much more micromanaged, others seem to take longer but they all seem to reward people who are motivated and invest in themselves.

Knights Squire school, at least in Phoenix only teaches three backing maneuvers, they have a limited amount of time and thats all that is required to get the CDL in AZ. 45s, 90s and practical parking can either be learned during OTR training with a trainer or at least introduced during Top Gun if taken. The maneuvers were literally provided with step by step instructions on a guide sheet. Straight back, Blind side offset, Blind side parallel. The school seems softer than some others Ive read about in that sense, but it also filters students who will take charge of their own learning from those that want a more dictatorial style. Also its compartmentalized. There is no training going on, Its just simply focused school on the components of the CDL exam.

Top Gun only is 5 days. Ton of material to go over in a short time, but helpful. Its really up to the student at this point to grab the information and already your performance will determine if you will go on to become a driver or not. The instructors were very professional, courteous and knowledgeable as I have said many times before. I Dont know of other companies that necessarily have a program similar to Top Gun other than Swift of course now. Part of the unique nature is that its a week solid of nothing but backing and close quarters driving in a constantly changing environment. While not enough time to perfect maneuvers, it plants the seeds of what you will be doing in the real world very well. Again, its compartmentalized concentrating on the backing and docking as well as time management and safety in the real world. Important to remember that Top Gun candidates are chosen by their performance and overall attitude in school. Many students do not go on to Top Gun, most will go directly out with a trainer for 4 weeks OTR training.

OTR training is only 2 weeks long, or 4 weeks without TG. Its short and focused. I think pretty similar to most other companies from what Ive seen and read. Some differences are that Its never teaming at all. The trainer is always in the passenger seat while you are driving, He may drive a few hours after your shift, but usually not much and towards the end, its all you. By the end of two weeks, you should be able to complete loads start to finish by yourself and have a working knowledge of clock management, paperwork flow and communication for each run. Your backing should be suitable to at least enable you to get in and out of your appointments and stops. Its really up to the student at this point how they will do. If its a professional trainer, you will at least have been given the tools needed to develop as a solo trainee. You will have a mentor you can call at any time, but its in your hands how the rest of this will go.

Summary Continued.

In the Solo training period, you are handed your keys to your truck. Important to note that I talked to a lot of my fellow students, most of them had a road test in between OTR training and solo training. I didnt have one, but my trainer and DDM said that didnt feel it was necessary in my case as I had progressed through the daily and weekly goals of training. (The trainers have a checklist of tasks and ideas that have to be met daily, weekly and throughout training in order for us to move on)

You have a training DM and a DDM (Driver Developer Manager) in which case, she took over as the terminal manager. The training DM is your DM for the entire time. When you make mistakes, he helps you adjust and learn....If you call him and are proactive about it. Most of the learning is done by the student through trial and error, experiences and in my case, repeated questions to the office staff, my trainer and any resources I could find (a lot of it here). Im assuming that this like other companies as well, but I dont know enough to know that. I understand that some other schools are much longer training periods with a trainer, some are teaming, some intermingle training with school for a while. The underlying principle of solo training seems to me to be that self motivated and independent people will do very well with it. I have gone several loads in a row with almost no communication other than standard messaging during this time. Not because they dont care, it just simply wasnt needed.

One of the important things though, is that if you need help or have questions, Its up to you to figure out that you need help and then ask for it. If you are an individual that would prefer a more structured environment with a ton of hands on teaching, you may struggle with this approach to learning. I personally feel that this portion of training reflects the reality of trucking...our performance determines our value.

To Date, I have not had any accidents, incidents nor conflict with the office. My smartdrive score is currently at 1. the highest it has been was 31, however I have gotten a safety bonus every month. I have not turned down any loads, but have communicated when I question if I can make the load on time. I have no late appointments due to my fault. Those that have been late have been promptly communicated and adjusted. (usually due to breakdowns, shippers/receivers being late, weather etc.)

All in all, I have more than gotten my moneys worth from the school and training, I love my new career, I continue to learn every day and look forward to waking up now. I have an immense amount of gratitude to Knight, to the trainers and teachers and to the folks here at Trucking Truth. This community is amazing and part of my foundation. If you have read this far and are considering a career here. Its more than doable, but a closed mouth doesnt get fed and a mind is much like a book, the must be open to be of use.

Thanks so much for all this Davy, been a great read following you on your journey. With invaluable first hand experience well documented, you've helped me gain a perspective I would never have gotten had it not been for you contributing.

My hat's off to you Sir...be safe!

Thanks so much for all this Davy, been a great read following you on your journey. With invaluable first hand experience well documented, you've helped me gain a perspective I would never have gotten had it not been for you contributing.

My hat's off to you Sir...be safe!

Thank you. Hopefully it can help with decisions and your journey as well. Let us know how it goes.