Knight Transportation, Flatbed
Topic 31116 | Page 8
TwoSides, just a quick note to let you know I'm continuing to read your entries, and I'm glad your training has taken a turn for the better! It sounds like you're doing well, and I like what your trainer said about always being a little afraid and respecting the truck and dangers. Good advice!
TwoSides, just a quick note to let you know I'm continuing to read your entries, and I'm glad your training has taken a turn for the better! It sounds like you're doing well, and I like what your trainer said about always being a little afraid and respecting the truck and dangers. Good advice!
DITTO !!
~ anne ~
You are in and around my stomp-in grounds!
Sounds like you’ve had a turn of luck to the positive side with this new trainer. Ironically enough I too have had a couple of camera events on the expressway. Go figure... I’ve lived in that area most of my life. Anyway... glad it’s going better for you.
Safe travels.
Thanks Mountain Matt, Mama Anne as always and G-town. Yes Brad is a true trainer. Very professional and knowledgeable.
G-town so you know how these drivers in Philadelphia and South NJ are smh. I've had no problems with cars until I come back home. Shame on the mess lol
Day 23. Dec 14th I get to the terminal at 8am, Brad arrives at 9. There is a loaded trailer in the yard going to the Target DC in NJ again... Brad talks with the DM to get a time verified for delivery. We have been there twice and had to wait 6hrs to be able to drop. We get a delivery time of 9am and midnight. So I hook up to the trailer and off we go. Feeling skeptical the whole ride down Brad says we are not waiting again if the time is wrong. He says we will bring the load right back to the terminal....
We get to the Target DC at 1230. As usual we are too early. Scheduled drop is 11pm, earliest we can drop is 9pm. This is ridiculous, there is obviously missed information coming from the load planner to the DM. The security guard remembers us from yesterday and we tell him what's going on. He gives us a direct number to call for next time before we come. Says call the number give them the load number and they will tell us the time to drop. Brad calls the DM and says we are coming back. There is no way that we will wait that long. The DM says hold tight and he will try and get the time changed.
Leaving out the gate at the stop sign, I go to make a right turn and hit my first curb smh. When I was making the turn I instantly realized I didn't pull out far enough. I look in my mirror and see there is no way of avoiding running over the top of the curb. I let out a big NOOO as it was unfolding, Brad laughs and says that is the first of many I will hit in my career. All through CDL school and up till now I have never hit a curb. Didn't pay attention for a millisecond and hit a curb. I put that as a learning experience, that is all it takes for something bad to happen. Lucky for me it was only a curb and nothing serious, but lesson learned on that one. Always, always, always PAY ATTENTION!
We wait an hr for the DM to get back to us. He can't change the time and asks Brad if he can come back and deliver at 9pm. He agrees but is not happy about it. I offer to come back also and take the ride with him but he tells me it's fine. So I have an early day and this was the easiest day of training by far....
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.
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.
Dm:
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.TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
G-town so you know how these drivers in Philadelphia and South NJ are smh. I've had no problems with cars until I come back home. Shame on the mess lol
Yes. Combative.
Day 24. Dec 15th Arrived at 830am, Brad at 9. Load assignment for today was to take an empty to P&G in Shippensburg, then bobtail to a Dollar Tree RDC in Berwick PA and pick up an empty that has been there for 2 months. Brad says it's an easy day, should be back early.
We head 30 miles down the road to drop the empty. Get to P&G and I butchered backing. After many attempts and 3 G.O.A.L's I finally get it in the spot. Brad says now I look like a true rookie lol. We leave and I bobtail it to Berwick. Taking 81 to US-15 to US-11 driving along side the Susquehanna River majority of the ride which was nice. Arrived at Dollar Tree, find the empty and there is a note on the glad hands. Rear inside passenger tire flat, sure was but also the outside front on the driver side flat and the crank was missing from the landing gear. Crazy smh. Brad calls breakdown and 90mins later they show up.
After 2 1/2 hours total wait time the trailer gets fixed. We leave around 6pm Taking a different route back, 80 to 81all the way back to Carlisle. While on 80 I see and pass the very first truck stop I stayed at. Oh the memories, I start to reflect on this journey so far. Came a long way but this is just the beginning. Had to snap out of it quickly and focus on the mountain roads ahead. Did much better driving and wasn't as nervous as previous night time mountain driving. Got back to the terminal around 8pm and again backing was horrific smh. I need to shake this slump fast, I have my road test in 2 days....
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
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.
Notice a trend? There are NO simple, easy, routine, cookie-cutter days. That fact you can count on.
Incidentally, I would suggest everyone carry a spare landing gear crank handle on your truck. I've had a missing handle on a trailer I was grabbing three times. I've kept my spare strapped to the catwalk for years.
Day 25. Dec.16th Last day of training, seemed like this day would never come but arrived rather quickly. Brad said he tried to get me to test today. I jokingly say is my company that bad you have to get away from me?lol. He says I'm more than ready, no need to prolong training, it's time for me to go make money now...
Today is a drop and hook at Kimberly Clark DC in Chester, PA. Backing the empty at the DC was better than yesterday. When I was about to connect to the load I noticed the trailer was too high, good eye Brad says. Also avoided a catastrophe when the kingpin didn't lock into the jaws. Not sure why it didn't, I did a pull test like I always do before raising the landing gear. Everything was connected the legs were up and I start to drive off. I always pull off slowly and watch the trailer just in case, this time it pays off. I notice the trailer wasn't moving and stop the truck immediately. Brad says that was an excellent job of catching it, if I didn't I would have got the chance to experience what it feels like to crank up a 26k lb load from the ground. No thank you, I don't need that type of training...
On the ride back Brad tells me what to expect tomorrow for the test. Before going on the road there will be a short quiz on the computer of basic CDL knowledge. He told me to stay calm and drive like I have been and I will do fine. Get back to the terminal and backing was ok. I talk with the DM Lloyd and he tells me to be in at 830am. It's 3pm so I go back to the hotel watch some Knight training videos, eat, clear my head, relax and get ready for tomorrow
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.
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.
Dm:
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.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.
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Day 22. Dec 13th. I got to the terminal at 7am and Brad comes in at 9. While I was waiting for Brad I got the chance to talk with a driver who does flatbed their. He talked about his experience doing flatbed and told me about the famous Hydro plant and a place in Chicago on Ashland st. Says those places are rough. He has been driving for 14yrs been with 2 other companies and says Knight is by far the best.
Brad shows up, we get our load assignment and it's to take an empty to the P&G in Shippensburg, pick up a load and take it to the Target DC in Bridgeport NJ. The same place we had to wait 6hrs. Brad asks if there is a specific time for drop and they didn't know. So off we go, got to P&G did drop and hook then got to the Target around 3pm. Was told that scheduled drop was at 10pm, earliest we could drop was 8pm... Brad calls the DM and again we have to wait. Brad stays very professional throughout the conversation, expressing his disappointment in a calm respectful manner. Once he gets off the phone, well different language was spoken lol. He then explains to me in this situation to never blame the DM. Information goes through multiple ppl before it reaches him and then passes it to the driver.
We go to the Flying J again and he tells me how he hates truck stops. We get food from there and head to a rest area down the street a bit to wait. I ask Brad if there is anything I need more work on while driving or at the shipper/receiver. He tells me he is honestly surprised at how well I drive. Like I've done this before. He says I drive like someone who is taking a refresher course. My backing is surprisingly good, following distance, braking, lane changes, turns, everything is fine and my manners at the shipper/receiver is very professional. Says if it were up to him I would be going solo tomorrow. I tell him I'm still terrified about driving this truck and he says that's good. He says he still is at times also. Told me to never let my guard down out here and always respect the truck and the dangers.
Time comes and we make the drop and take an empty back to the terminal.
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.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
Dm:
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.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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated