First Year Solo. Knight Flatbed

How goes it Two Sides

Yo Davy, it's going. Been doing some, I guess, self reflection lately. My attitude/morale is going sour. Didn't realize it's been 3 weeks since my last update. Time is flying out here....

I'll start where I left off at from that heavy 2 stop run going to Sidney, OH. All went well with that and when I got back to Cressona for my next assignment I was given that 3 stop run into Salem, OH that wasn't ready before. That was on a flatbed and needed to be tarped. So for 2 stops I had to re-tarp the load. That was fun, plus it was super hot that day smh. Did a backhaul into Friendly, WV and picked up some ingots going to Cressona. Ingots are my favorite because they are the easiest and fastest load to secure. After that, I went back to Sidney for another 2 stop run. Racked up a lot of miles that week with those 640 mile runs and back. Then to finish off the week got a 4 stop run into Chicago, finishing in Dekalb Illinois.

Seeing that my next assignment was going in Chicago I was not too thrilled. Still a rookie and major cities are intimidating, not to mention the load was on a flatbed and not a Conestoga. So I will be doing some work with a few un-tarping and re-tarping at the stops. The first stop was on Ashland ave in downtown Chicago. Doing my trip plan I see a bunch of 13'2, 13', 11'4, etc, bridges around. One wrong turn and it would be disastrous. Not going to lie, I was nervous starting the trip but once I got there it wasn't bad. It was right off of 290 about 10 miles down the street and to the left. I did have to go under a 13'6 bridge which always makes me uneasy.

The 2nd stop was on 51st in Chicago, which again wasn't bad at all except the traffic. The 3rd stop was out of the city in Addison, IL. Had to drive through the town there but it was way better than Chicago city streets. The last stop was in Dekalb, Illinois. Beautiful scenery driving on 88w with open roads and no traffic. I was proud of myself that I survived Chicago lol. In reality, it wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be. Although that first right hand turn off of 290 was very very tight, there wasn't any real problems delivering to those places.

Came back to Cressona empty and did runs in Ohio and a new one in Atkins, VA that week. All simple, easy, quick runs. No backhauls, so I was able to do a little over 2500 miles that week which is the most I've done so far. Definitely worked for them though. I usually get around 22-2300 miles a week and around 83-8500 a month staying out 3 weeks at a time. Following that I went to Lafayette, IN. I haven't had that run in a looong time. Felt good going back there. Empty run back to Cressona and now on a 3 stop run to Elkhart,IN, Northlake, IL and Northbrook, IL.

This is my weekend run and I do enjoy Saturday driving. Less stress and time to really plan out my driving. I'm currently at Blue heron service plaza on 80w in Ohio and decided to stay here. I wanted to get to the Pilot in Freemont, IN but didn't want to take the chance of there not being any spots left. The app said it had 130 parking spots but I did a Google satellite view and saw a lot less lol. I'm only 1hr and 20mins away so I'll make my way there tomorrow. The Pilot is about a hr away from my first stop so I was planning on staying there till Monday morning. But I will also drive down to my first stop tomorrow and check it out to see if I can park there which would be better. Google satellite shows me there is a dirt lot in the back but cannot see if it's gated. Will definitely find that out tomorrow....

I feel your pain on the city driving. I ended up getting stuck in an intersection in Brooklyn, New York and it took me probably about 30 minutes to extract myself from said intersection. Meanwhile I had people who were both helping me and barking at me to move my truck. My response was I'm working on it just be patient.

Made it to the Pilot in Fremont, IN this afternoon. There definitely isn't 130 parking spaces like the app says, it's closer to 50. The place was half full when I got here and after taking a shower and coming back to the truck I see the number of trucks has grown significantly. My plans of going to the receiver in Elkhart are scratched due to the fear of not being able to park there overnight, then returning to the Pilot without having a spot to park. The perfect scenario would have been to park at the receiver today so I would have an early start tomorrow with no time coming off my 11. But that's my fault for not calling on Friday to confirm if they allow overnight parking. Not a big deal since it's an hr away, but that will be a hr off my 11.... I have a 10am appointment time but I'm going to show up when they open at 7am. Hopefully to be the first driver at the door and they unload me.

My other two stops don't have an appointment time even though the B/L says an appointment time is required for delivery. Let's see how that works out. My DM comes in at 7am so I will communicate with him before going to those stops.

Now I want to address my attitude so far and vent a little... I feel myself getting frustrated out here and I'm not sure what the root of it is. Could it be normal rookie frustrations? Am I home sick? Is it my DM? Could I be burning myself out? Maybe all of the above? I know for sure one of the causes is my pay check consistently being wrong..... I stay out for 3 weeks and go home for a 34. When I'm out, I end up running on recaps and only slow down for weekend driving. Which could explain why I enjoy Saturday driving as much as I do.

Got into somewhat of a heated debate with my DM two weeks ago over my pay. I was missing $300 in tarp pay and a detention pay. When I bring it to his attention he says I'm wrong. That is where the heated exchange occurred. I have been solo for 6 months now and my check has been correct a total of 4 times. 4 weeks out of 6 months, and yes this weeks check was missing tarp pay and a stop off.

I'm always missing tarp, stop off, detention, layover and breakdown pay. On 2 checks the mileage was completely off. Like only getting paid for 60 miles on a trip that was 729 miles. It's a bit annoying to always go through this. I have talked with payroll, my terminal manager, my DM and his boss. Still same thing every pay period. I remember doing a thread about it when I was 2 weeks solo and some members said I was overreacting. Hmm, wonder if I'm still overreacting. I can't say it's personal because 1) its been happening since the very first check and 2) I'm not the only driver having this issue.

Right now I have 59,210 miles solo under my belt. I would love to stay here for a yr to reach 100k but with my pay issues and some other minor issues, I can say I'm just about ready to leave and look for another company.

Say you do decide to leave, do you think your three incidents there at Knight will show on your DAC Report?

Say you do decide to leave, do you think your three incidents there at Knight will show on your DAC Report?

No no, not three. Just two and I assume you are telling me they will show on my DAC report.... I'm well aware that one of them is on there, the second one I got the citation for and would be surprised if the first one is on there. Seeing how I didn't receive a ticket or citation. But I do get what you're saying Pack....

If I have to stay a full year or more then I will do so. If there's a possibility another company will accept me, then most likely I will move on....

As I recall, you were towed once, then hit two poles. Incidents and accidents both can end up on a DAC.

I'm very fortunate in that my pay is usually correct. If not containing pay that I didn't even ask for occasionally. I seldom if ever has to ask for it in proper channels.

I'm wondering though if there's a process in writing through messaging that would help secure your pay correctly? Im guessing maybe OS would know as he's delt with the people you do? Also, is it possible for you to transfer terminals if you are having that many issues with your DM?

My attitude periodically gets poor as well. Often it's a combination of a lot of little things like the Mrs and family putting pressure on me, not getting the results that I want in a situation and just plain Ole imagination. If you're an overthinker, it's easy to tick off miles contemplating how bad the company is and completely loosing perspective of where we're at in our career.

Some days by the time I stop, I've mentally constructed the company into something way more than it is. I find that taking a few days off from the truck, completely off. Not worried about scheduling and pay and everything else helps refresh. My trainer referred to it as hitting a brick wall mentally and emotionally when you've been out too long.

Say you do decide to leave, do you think your three incidents there at Knight will show on your DAC Report?

No no, not three. Just two and I assume you are telling me they will show on my DAC report.... I'm well aware that one of them is on there, the second one I got the citation for and would be surprised if the first one is on there. Seeing how I didn't receive a ticket or citation. But I do get what you're saying Pack....

If I have to stay a full year or more then I will do so. If there's a possibility another company will accept me, then most likely I will move on....

If you're thinking about applying elsewhere, I would call your safety to department and get a complete accounting of all your incidents accidents so that you know what Knight will report to your DAC.

I'm very fortunate in that my pay is usually correct. If not containing pay that I didn't even ask for occasionally. I seldom if ever has to ask for it in proper channels.

I'm wondering though if there's a process in writing through messaging that would help secure your pay correctly? Im guessing maybe OS would know as he's delt with the people you do? Also, is it possible for you to transfer terminals if you are having that many issues with your DM?

My attitude periodically gets poor as well. Often it's a combination of a lot of little things like the Mrs and family putting pressure on me, not getting the results that I want in a situation and just plain Ole imagination. If you're an overthinker, it's easy to tick off miles contemplating how bad the company is and completely loosing perspective of where we're at in our career.

Some days by the time I stop, I've mentally constructed the company into something way more than it is. I find that taking a few days off from the truck, completely off. Not worried about scheduling and pay and everything else helps refresh. My trainer referred to it as hitting a brick wall mentally and emotionally when you've been out too long.

Nice post.