My 1st Week So Far...

Hey all. Well, my actual 1st week that I was supposed to start went by without even meeting my driver trainer. He was having problems with his truck and trailer and a whole week went by and I didn't work 1 second. That really sucked because it was really no fault of mine or even his, but obviously, I don't get any money and I was already broke as a joke.

I started this past Monday. TMC set me up with a rental and I had to drive 317 miles to meet him. His name is Jon and he lives in Tennessee. He's a really nice guy. Patient and knowledgeable. He said I'm the 9th trainee that he's had so far.

He already had a load of huge paper rolls thar needed to go to Savanah, GA. I did all the driving while he was explaining all kinds of things to me. Definitely learning a lot about load securement and the Trimble system. Since the paper rolls, we picked up drywall that had to go to Mobile, Alabama then about 30 miles further picked up treated wood and we just got up a d the delivery site for that.

Well, just wanted to say HI 👋 and give a little update on how things are going. TTYL 👋

It sucks to have that small delay but you'll be rolling soon, and TMC pays well. It sounds like you hit the jackpot with a patient knowledgeable trainer. There are many horror stories out there on the flip side of that.

Every once in awhile, I still miss my flatbed days. But not that much... Good luck.

Welcome to the ups and downs of driving! Yes, breakdowns and delays are part of the life, but I’m sure it must have felt great when you finally hit the road. Make sure you pick your trainer’s brain about safety. Learn as much as you can about how he avoids accidents and citations because those two things can really hurt a career.

How long will you be driving with your trainer before you go solo?

Thanks Turtle and BK. I guess the waiting for pay could be worse. I could still be unemployed. We're in Jasper, TN now waiting for shingles. This places is really slooooow! Been here over an hour so far and Jon said he's been here a number of times and everytime they take forever. Oh well, I guess that could be worse as well. So, I'm just trying to think of any types of questions I can ask Jon while we're sitting here.

Anyways, drive safe and I'll TTYL 👋

James, have you gotten the shingles vaccine?

Lol 😆! Good one!

James, have you gotten the shingles vaccine?

Congrats getting on the move James, almost sounds like my first day/week @ CRST lol.....Me and another kid got rental car headed from Cali to OKC. My trainer was a lease op, I ended up driving us out of Calif's Friday traffic (mid day) and drove over 12 hours ! The other guy was talkin to his sis, ready to quit already! All he was doing was whining about having to go to OKC by him self after I got out in New Mexico. He wanted sister to meet him and ride with him, even if he flew her out hahaha She told him, what I was thinking, "You signed up for this, man up and do it!" (he quit 2 weeks later)

My trainer had me drive straight away from where we met @ Love's in Tucumcari NM. He was slightly impressed with my driving being a newb. I told him, I'd driven big trucks/cab overs before, just not on the highways lol (Diesel Mechanic days)

We dropped the load in Calif my trainer had, ended up in Phoenix, and spent the weekend at the Love's waiting for a new load. I thought really? hahaha a week later, here we are at the SAME love's "waiting" for another 2 days. I was starting to lose hope, but eventually things picked up and we kept rolling the 30 days I spent with him, and time flew by!......NEXXXXXT !! lol