Zen Joker's Training Diary At Veriha Trucking

WEEK 1 - DAY 3 OF TRAINING ON THE JOB

Monday I was an observer for a home daily driver who does primarily routes for the local paper companies in Marinette, Peshtigo, and Green Bay. Veriha's approach to training so far makes great sense. My first two weeks of OJT are focused on LTL and short routes to get reps in on coupling/uncoupling, moving tandems , and backing (where it is remotely beginner friendly and we don't have trucks lined up to unload). My in cab coach is a very nice guy. Very patient, easy going, and easy to learn from.

Tuesday was a day to really confirm I am cut out for this. 12 hour day and I logged almost 175 miles. Longest time I had ever been on the Interstate was like 15 minutes. Had to run down to Green Bay which was a good hour drive at 65 mph. For a moment I felt a sharp bite of anxiety and my vision locked for about 2 seconds but I quickly shrugged it off. The idea of driving 74,000 lbs at 65 mph in cross winds was something to experience. Anyways, I just focused on why I am here and why (not if) I will be successful in this new career. The ride back was much more relaxing even though I got a good taste of round abouts and got back on I-41 at the beginning of rush hour.

Today (Wednesday) things kept progressing in the right direction. After a drop and hook at Resolute Forest Products, we made another run down to Green Bay and dropped off HUGE paper rolls at a warehouse in Green Bay. On the drive back, I decided to up the ante a little and push the cruise control to 70 mph in 10-15 mph winds. I realized that as big as this vehicle is, it is well within my abilities (up to certain wind speed of course LOL!!) I just kept remembering how I would ride motorcycles back home on the Rock Freeway during windstorms, you just need a firm and calm hold on the wheel and don't overcorrect. Speaking of overcorrecting, backed 3 times today. Still drop into the bad habit of overcorrecting and making a mess as I am lining up to the dock. Repetition is the mother of all skills, and this one will take time but I am just being patient. My assessment from the in cab coach today was very positive. Just need to be little more graceful with lane changes, other than that, the truck is slowly becoming a part of me. Learning how to use ALL of my mirrors and learning to work with the truck instead of against it, and starting to learn its limitations. The funny part is, after driving the Volvo with a 53 foot trailer all day, getting into my Honda Ridgeline, I felt like a midget driving a go cart!! More to follow later. Thanks for reading, and whatever you are deciding to do in life, stay true to your commitments and work hard.

If you are concerned at this point of choppy, unexpected wind gusts, I would not be increasing the speed or using the cruise control.

Glad to hear all is going really good. Ha, once in a while I'm still over correcting the steering when backing.

Good use of all the mirrors is essential! Signal early and check those mirrors!

I've found, even with just within several weeks of being new, how much more confident I am with the feel and maneuverability of the truck and trailer. But don't take for granted, of course.

Keep posting; good stuff.

SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK (WEEK 1 of OJT)

Made a few more runs to Green Bay and back and some local work picking up trailers, shuttling loads to the terminal , etc. By the end of the week, I got a couple more backs done with minimal help from my in cab coach. Progress is slow but still moving forward and I need to be patient with myself. My in cab coach said at the end of the week that I am a fast learner and I've made huge strides. He said I've made huge progress for only driving a couple of days. I've just tried to remember what I learned in CDL school, tips from this forum and just being calm, focused, and very aware of what's going on all around the truck. Driving is feeling more natural and driving in traffic, roundabouts, tight corners doesn't have me white knuckling. I must ALWAYS fight a common enemy known as complacency. I'm learning quickly and laying good foundational driving habits BUT I will always need to remember that awareness and skills are a CONSTANT tools to be sharpened on a daily basis. Must stay humble and vigilant with every facet of the job. This week I will have another 4 days of local stuff and will get to do some more backing, etc.

Taking it in stride. I got just over 48 hours with the wife and daughter and the time came and went quickly as my daughter had a sleep over and I helped the with re-pot our 2023 garden in our basement veggie garden prep area.

Stay safe out there everyone!

Congrats on passing your CDL exam. Good posts.

Overthinking backing has been my biggest challenge. Someone shared this video with me and it has helped me a lot.

Backing Offset Rule

Yesterday I had to dust off a parallel left back to get parked between two trucks on street outside a Walmart DC.

Avoiding distractions is something that I try to be vigilant about especially in traffic, when approaching exits or turns, and of course at customers

Cool video Dennis!!

WEEK 2 of OJT (LOCAL DELIVERIES) COMPLETED - THIS COMING WEEK OTR TRAINING NEXT

Wrapped up the 2nd of 2 weeks working with a home daily (local/short haul) driver. I feel as if I have benefited from how this stage of the training was structured with multiple stops, backing, moving tandems , and many trailer swaps.

I must say that while I have much to learn and get consistent with backing (my Achilles heal) I do feel I have had enough reps to go out there and not look completely like I am trying to make love to a greased pig trying to line up with the dock. Only experience in the field will sharpen this skill and patience with myself, tuning out other people that may grow frustrated with me, and a calm focus on the task at hand will be key. Must remember the GOLDEN GOAL of my first year...DON'T HOT ANYTHING!

I know the tablet and the software about 90% and got familiar with BOL's, scaling loads, and a bit of trip planning. The next chapter of my training for the next 3 weeks will focus on trip planning and building endurance for longer hauls. The longest I drove the last 2 weeks without stopping was an hour. We did a bunch of short hauls between paper companies and a couple of machine shops within an hour of Marinette and I've got a long haul for Week 1 of stage 3 3 of Veriha's training which will take me to Virginia.

I've been blessed with little adversity so far driving/delivering in Green Bay, Peshtigo, and Marinette, but I know harder times are coming. Just need to remember my daily mental cadence under ALL conditions... S.A.C. = Steady, Aware, and Calm.

I'll miss working with Kevin my first in cab coach. He's a heck of a nice guy and I've laid a good foundation for my future with him. Here are photos of Kevin and I in the cab and a (decent) backing job I did at Badger Paper Mill in Peshtigo last week...

Sounds like you are definitely making progress! The real learning begins when you go solo, haha.

WEEK 1 of REGIONAL TRAINING COMPLETED

So after shuttling freight within a 1 hour radius my first 2 weeks on the road with a trainer, I made a run from Appleton, WI to South Boston, VA. I white knuckled it through Chicago metro at night as I have had little exposure to major traffic. We parked in central Indiana. Didn't sleep much the first night and that nominally improved through the week. Over the next 3 days however I put in almost 1500 miles in 3 days which included 579 on Friday. Towards end of the week, fatigue set in and my backing got pretty crappy. The 5th day of the run I handed over the keys after 115 miles as I was completely gassed due to exhaustion. My regional trainer is great. He is also one of the leading regional drivers and he runs very hard. Almost each day was 14 hours. He said that new drivers have to build endurance and this is normal and endurance will come with time as well speed and proficiency with backing.

First time mountain driving ever as we went through the Appalachians in West Virginia. I white knuckled the first day through. Then the next day I drove through the entire pass, and since I settled down, got out of my head, and just drove the truck, I was amazed at the views as we watched the sun go down in the mountains as we left the area.

I almost got mentally in a really bad place after a couple of really bad backing jobs. I need to keep things in perspective and not beat myself up and worry so much.

Before turning in the keys Saturday morning, I got to end my week by coming into Marinette, WI to a huge gathering on the interstate bridge as the Navy was christening a new Littoral Combat Ship. Several kids pumped there arms and I got to end my week of driving by blowing the airhorn to a patriotic crowd. My trainer is former Navy and enjoyed seeing the ship dropped into the canal and we had great seats as our drop was at a paper mill right across the river.

My trainer concluded the week by saying you pretty much have driving down just work on monitoring your tandems on turns and on highway curves as well as get smoother stopping. Other that that an excellent week and he looks forward to next week. Ironically he I back better than his last 2 students and the one I really botched (took 55 minutes and broiled the transmission) was hard even for veteran drivers.

In summary, this was one of the most challenging, exhausting, yet exhilarating and accomplished weeks of my life. Next week there is more coming. Just need to continue to develop my skills with repetition and continue to solidify mental toughness as in 2 weeks I will be solo.

Be safe out there everyone.

FINAL ENTRY - WEEK 2 of REGIONAL TRAINING & STUDENT CO-DRIVE

For these last 2 weeks I've continued running with my trainer (in cab coach) from Appleton, WI to South Boston, VA and back. My biggest struggle on the road was building stamina to drive 7-10 hours a day. In week 2 I had my breakthrough moment. I got a bit flustered at my lack of road stamina, a couple of poor backing jobs and nearly rear ending a 4 wheeler that cut in front of me when I was drained late in the day in West Virginia. The day after I couldn't drive the first half of the day as I slept very little due to the near miss and a tough day. My trainer said self-awareness is actually something they look for as they don't want drivers pushing themselves when they are so tired they can't safely operate the CMV and assured me the endurance will come with practice and sensibly pushing myself safely to drive longer each day.

Fast forwarding to week 3 (this last week). Veriha has the last week of training as a student-student partner drive where one student drive splits the duties of a 14 hour day (NOT team driving)when the other student assists with navigation and misc. tasks. My student co-driver needed to go home for a VA medical appointment so they just had me go with my in cab coach for week 3 instead. He was basically there to be a passenger and was only allowed to say anything to me if I was doing anything dangerous. I got lost in Ohio and ended up in BFE but using my GPS made a correction and we only lost about 20 minutes the whole trip. I had him drive through some of the mountain stretches as he knows the route and it gave me a chance to work on trip planning for the next day.

Half way through the week we had a trailer breakdown and lost almost 6 hours waiting for repairs. Once we got the truck back on the road we had to push to get on our return route. This night was the ultimate nerve conditioner as we went through the Appalachians at night during a 2 hour downpour!!! I just remembered the fundamentals, focused on following distance and read how the truck handled. Now even driving in greater Chicago seems less stressful after that!

We we're re-routed to Detroit to recover a truck and they pulled me out of training midweek and had me go solo taking the load from VA on the back of the truck I was recovering back on my own. The trip went well and I got the job done and even backed it in nice and straight in a moderately difficult yard.

At the end of the day my training is over and I will now become a rookie solo driver. I can't see enough good about Veriha and their training program. There were no major surprises (except them cutting my training short and trusting me enough to go Solo before my solo upgrade orientation LOL). But if you are committed to making a career in trucking, are a team player with a good attitude, Veriha is a very solid choice IMO. They support their team members!!

Hope you've enjoyed reading my diary and sharing my experience breaking into the industry. If you take the leap, NEVER quit and keep the end goal in mind. You CAN do this!!! The only thing in your way is the person in the mirror.

God Bless and Godspeed!!