Starting School On July 8.

I am somewhere between St Louis and Memphis. Left home around 9pm and rode up to St. Louis to sleep a few hrs at our first stop. Rode to yard and swapped trailers for a beer load at anhauser bush (my trainer was one minute from violating so I had the honor of driving from here on out). I think he thought I wld panic or something driving through traffic and having to navigate the obstacle course in order to leave with a load from the bud folks. Nope. Not my style. That doesn't mean I wasnt nervous, lol, I was, but I try to keep a cool head. Anyways, driving a trailor full of beer definately makes a difference on how the whole gettup handles.

So far my trainer is a cool dude. At least he hasn't shown any psychotic tendancies...yet... Off to Alabama after some shuteye.

Be safe

Nice! I've hauled several dozen Budweiser loads over the years. Once you get em scaled out legally you're fine. But they load the heck out of ya, right to the max most of the time. Thank God they have scales right there on the premises. I wish more places would do that.

Glad your trainer is cool so far. That makes a world of difference.

Glad your trainer is cool so far. That makes a world of difference.

I guess I got lucky after some of the horror stories I have heard and read. He is a bit anal but I understand that falls on his military background. No biggie. it is funny, as he is saying things like " ease into the break" and "fuel it" which means throttle, I have been on it before he gets the words out which made him give me a cpl secs before saying that stuff again. Forward thinking at its best for me...lol. He did give me an assessment of my driving so far which is excellent (his word) for where I am on training and went over a couple of places where I can improve. He is thorough and fair to this point.

The tandem moving for proper weight distribution makes sense now. Great lesson at the bud place and at my last pick-up today. Excellent.

Heading to the gulf coast then Texas after that.

Happy driving and be safe.

The tandem moving for proper weight distribution makes sense now. Great lesson at the bud place and at my last pick-up today. Excellent.

ooooooh....I see you didn't go through the Weight & Balance section of our High Road Training Program. Bummer man. You would have understood all of that before you ever got into the truck. But that's ok. You'll learn it one way or another.

ooooooh....I see you didn't go through the Weight & Balance section of our High Road Training Program. Bummer man. You would have understood all of that before you ever got into the truck. But that's ok. You'll learn it one way or another.

lol. Oops. I will be going through the hazmat , tanker sections soon so I can get those endorsements checked off. It is a requirement for my job at Averitt.

First week of training is done and I am home relaxing. It was a good week with a lot of various driving situations to learn from. We ended up in Dallas Thursday and I drove from there to somewhere between Memphis and Jackson TN where we ran out of time (of course) but still made it home by noon Friday. Looks like we are heading east Sunday night where I will get some mountain driving in.

Til next time, stay safe.

Awesome! The mountains are great this time of year - beautiful scenery. You'll enjoy it I'm sure.

If you're running I 40 East through Tennessee into North Carolina there's a stretch at the border that is just crazy. It's one of the more famous stretches of highway in the country. Really steep mountains, tight turns, tunnels - the whole deal. But just breathtaking scenery. I loved running through there for the scenery, but the roads are tricky and it's kinda slow going. So if you're driving that stretch, take it easy through there. It's nothing at all to lose sleep over don't get me wrong. It's not that big of a deal. It's just windy and steep and patience is key. But don't sleep through that section even if you're not driving. It's really something to see.

If you're running I 40 East through Tennessee into North Carolina there's a stretch at the border that is just crazy. It's one of the more famous stretches of highway in the country. Really steep mountains, tight turns, tunnels - the whole deal. But just breathtaking scenery. I loved running through there for the scenery, but the roads are tricky and it's kinda slow going. So if you're driving that stretch, take it easy through there. It's nothing at all to lose sleep over don't get me wrong. It's not that big of a deal. It's just windy and steep and patience is key. But don't sleep through that section even if you're not driving. It's really something to see.

I appreciate the heads up Brett. We are leaving out around 8 this evening which will give us plenty of time to get to our first stop (we have 3 for this load, all in the mountains ). It is beautiful in that area, I haven't been that way in years so it will be nice to see again.

So, mountain driving is not so bad. The only issue we had was when we ran into a detour that did not give any further direction. We pulled up to a sign that said road closed trucks take (can't remember the Hwy) to Tennessee. That was it. No more signs until we got to the other end of the detour... Which, by the was was about one and a half hours of winding narrow road for 20 or so miles. It was rough but a good experience getter. At least we were light.

A note to my fellow trainees: do not let your trainer rush you while driving through any lots, especially truck stops. Backing also. These are the only times where my knuckles have whitened so far. My trainer is guilty too. I told him when I am behind the wheel, my license and reputation is on the line, not his (politely of course).

Stay safe

Got to do some more real world backing today at actual docks. First one was pretty good, no pressure and had plenty of room to work. I did have to pull up a couple times to get it straight. Second one, not so good. My trainer wanted me to skip a dock that was next to another truck, but, I heard back in next to that truck, verbatum, So that is what I start doing. He let's me get set up and nearly in the slot and then says "WRONG DOCK!" (Just an observation here, he seems to swell up when other truckers are around, if you know what I mean). I smiled and said okay, I get more practice. I pull up, reset and nail it. Patience and a good attitude are essentiessential, I get it.

essentiessential

(Essential) wow, this phone.