Out w/ TE… The Final Days

Wednesday, 10/25:

The qualcomm had our next load when I woke up this morning, and had us headed for New Orleans, LA.  That didn’t exactly fit too well with our planned drop-off in Charlotte tomorrow, and when Val got to the truck he hit the ceiling and immediately left again to call his STL.  I’m not sure what was said when he called, but almost at the same time as he got back in the truck the qualcomm beeped again with a change of assignment.  Now we’re picking up a loaded trailer in Atlanta and dropping it off for relay in Charlotte.

We finally got going around 9am with Curtis at the wheel and made the Atlanta OC by 11:30.  We dropped off our loaded trailer (already assigned as a relay) and took a lunch break.  Around 12:45 we headed out again to pick up our next load and head home!

I took the wheel in Brasselton, Ga. and had us at the Charlotte OC by 8pm.  It only took about 30min. to drop the trailer and gather my stuff from the truck, then I was on my way home.  We’ll have to come in tomorrow to finish up a few things w/ Val, but our TE trip was over for the most part.

Thursday, 10/26:

Val and I met at the OC a few minutes before 7, our agreed meeting time.  After waiting until about 7:15 with no word from Curtis, he sent me out to do a 4 point check on the truck and bring it to the fuel island to top it off.  Curtis came dragging in while I was doing that but had forgotten to bring his paperwork, so Val sent him back home to try again.

In the mean time he had me couple a trailer and go through several backing scenarios we hadn’t experienced while on the road.  I could tell that I was starting to get the hang of this monster, guiding it into the designated slots without much problem at all.

After about an hour of that I uncoupled the trailer and we headed back to the cafeteria where Curtis was waiting.  I spent the next hour or so sitting in the back of the cab while Val put him through the same backing drills.

Once that was finished we pulled to the vacuum cleaner where Curtis and I cleaned out Val’s truck and gathered up whatever personal belongings we had missed the night before.  That was followed by about 45 min. of going through our TE packets to make sure we had covered everything in the past two weeks.

We stopped to grab lunch at the cafeteria while Val took time out to do our final evaluations.  Once he was done he took us individually to a ‘one-on-one’ room to give us our final feedback.  I was pleased with my eval, and Val had some nice things to say about my performance and improvement during the trip.

And that was that; we shook hands and said goodbye, and I was off until next Tuesday when I return for SQT.

Out w/ TE… Days 13 & 14 – The end is near…

…in more ways than one.  If I ever had thoughts of teaming they would have been destroyed by this trip.  Curtis is a very different person than I, and after two weeks it’s becoming more difficult to share this little cab with each passing day.  Fortunately we have word of the trip’s end…

Monday, 10/23:

We both survived the night, and Curtis is back to driving mornings. We left out around 9:30 this morning with the weather clear but quite a bit colder than yesterday; there’s ice in the puddles. The trip was fairly uneventful as we passed from IA through MO and into AR.  The roads were a good bit rougher than usual and I did get a good bouncing in the back until I took over in Cherokee Pass, MO. 

We stopped for fuel at the “St. Louis East” OC in Edwardsville, IL in mid-afternoon before heading on into AR.  We were going to just find a place for the night and drop the trailer at the customer in the morning, but Val couldn’t find a motel that had both a vacancy and a place to park the rig.  So we ended up dropping the trailer off at the receiver and bobtailing back to the motel w/ a room.

 

Tuesday, 10/24:

Val bobtailed us to pick up an empty trailer at last night’s drop location, then Curtis took us to nearby Conway, AR to pick up our next load.  This one’s headed for the Atlanta OC for a drop relay.

While at our lunch stop in N. Little Rock, AR Val instructed us to call Mary back at the Charlotte OC.  Mary’s our #1 contact for all administrative issues, and I suspect is the one who keeps things in order there.  Anyway she told me that Val will drop us off on Thursday (WooHoo!) and our TE trip will be over.  I’ll have a few days off before my SQT, which is scheduled for the following Tuesday.  After that I get a truck and off I go on my own.  I was very happy to hear the news; it was the kind of lift I needed right about now.  I can put up with anything for two more days! We stopped by the West Memphis OC (which is actually in AR) for another break and for me to take over driving.  I took us as far as St. Clair, AL before we stopped for the night.

Out w/ TE… Days 11 & 12

Saturday, 10/21:

What a beautiful morning!  Temp’s in the upper 40s, not a cloud in the sky, and no wind.  I got up around 5:30 and walked to the truck stop to get coffee and take care of a few personal morning duties.

Around 7:30 I pulled the truck around to the fuel islands and filled it up. Val met us there about the time I got finished and we were on the road a few minutes later. The scenery along I-80 through PA. was beautiful; lots of rivers, hills, and autumn leaves.  The Fall colors were past their prime but still quite impressive.

Early in the afternoon we stopped at a T/A truck stop in Barkeyville, PA for lunch, then I drove another hour or two to the Seville, OH OC.  Curtis wanted to do a load of laundry, so I took the opportunity to grab a shower and give Terrie a call. Curtis took the wheel from there and we ended up in a McDonald’s parking lot in Columbia City, IN for the evening.

Sunday, 10/22:

We woke up to rain and temps in the low 40s.  Had a quick cup of coffee at McD’s and hit the road around 8:30.  Val had me drive first again today;  we were late getting in last night and Curtis’ DOT break wouldn’t be up for another hour or so.  Since we need to be in Cedar Rapids, IA by mid-afternoon he didn’t want to wait. 

Anyway it was a fairly uneventful morning.  We continued west on US 30 to I-65, then north to I-80 and westward again.  Our lunch stop was in Princeton, IL, and that’s where Curtis and I swapped places. On we drove ’till we reached Mt. Pleasant, IA, where we once again spent the night in a motel parking lot.  At least there was a Super Wal-Mart across the street.

By the way, the cab of this truck is getting awfully small.  I hope we’ll be done with this training thing soon, or someone’s gonna have to kill somebody.

Out w/ TE… Days 8 – 10

Here’s a few more days of adventure…

Wednesday, 10/18:

This morning was the most relaxed I had since being out. After a shower at the OC I sat down in the driver’s lounge to fill out (and catch up on) paperwork. As trainees there are several exercises we have to complete on each load, such as scaling, route planning, and a morning report on the Qualcomm that gives a rundown of our progress and projected delivery time. These will be examined and graded as part of our SQT, the skills qualification test we take once we return from our time with our TE.

I also made a few phone calls to friends and relatives to catch up with them a little. Of special importance was my daughter Lori’s birthday; it was very nice to have a few minutes to chat with her. Just before I was ready to leave Joe and Mandy walked in. They are a married couple (who plan to run as a team) that went through class with me in Charlotte. They were just finishing up their CDL testing in Alabama and were looking forward to getting out with their TE soon.

After that short breather we hit the road around 11 with plans to spend our next DOT break at the Charlotte OC. Curtis drove us just past Atlanta, and I took us on in to Charlotte, arriving a little past 9.

Thursday, 10/19:

It sure was nice to spend a night at home; I was really missing Terrie, and there was a week’s worth of dirty laundry that was just beginning to make it’s presence known.

Of course the visit was all too short, and we were on the road again a little after 10am. Curtis took us to Brown Summit, NC where we exchanged our load for one headed to South Brunswick, NJ. We were delayed a bit making the exchange, and on top of that the delivery appointment for the new load was for Noon on Friday. Since the schedule was tight on this one, and with Val being a man who likes to stay moving and won’t miss an appointment for anything, he took the wheel for the first leg of this trip.

Around 6pm we had made it to Carson, VA and he let me take it from there. By 10:30 we had made it past Washington, DC and stopped for the night in Perryville, MD.

Friday, 10/20:

It was raining when we got started this morning. We left at 8:30 with about a 3 hour drive to make our destination. Once we got to South Brunswick, NJ we had to wait about an hour for them to get us a dock to drop the trailer. Our next load assignment came in while we were waiting; a pick up just a few miles away in Avenel, NJ to be delivered to Cedar Rapids, IA. Looks like we’re going to make another lap around the eastern half of the country.

One real treat today; I received a phone call from a good friend (and former boss/coworker at BellSouth) Dennis.  He and several other ‘old farts’ from the company are gathering for lunch in a week or so and he wanted to make sure to invite me.  We hadn’t spoken for a while, so there was a lot of catching up to do from both ends.  It was great to hear from him, and I certainly hope I can be home to make the lunch. 

We got our trailer loaded and started out sometime in mid afternoon with intentions of putting some miles behind us before stopping for the night. Great plan, until a HazMat spill on I-80 in Jersey stopped us cold before Curtis could get in high gear! Well, not quite that quick, but we had only gone a very few miles. So that was the rest of our day; Curtis driving in stop-and-go traffic and me sitting on the sleeper bunk getting yanked around with each gear shift (Curtis ain’t that smooth). We held out until around 8:30 and finally gave up at a T/A truck stop in Columbia, NJ. I didn’t get to drive ’cause there was no place to stop to switch, and we weren’t going anywhere anyway. Val left w/ instructions for me to take the truck to the fuel island to fill up tomorrow morning, and he’d meet us there.

Out w/ TE… Days 1 to 7

Well, when they said we’d be busy they weren’t kidding!  I’m typing this a little at a time whenever we’re stopped, or Curtis is driving (and the road’s smooth enough.  Here’s a brief rundown of the first half of my ‘TE’ time.

Wednesday, 10/11:

Met Val (my TE) and Curtis (my fellow trainee) at the Charlotte OC at 11am.  Once we got our stuff loaded into the tractor and somewhat settled the three of us had the usual chat about expectations, introduced ourselves to each other, etc.

Our first load; pick up a trailer at the OC and deliver it to a Sam’s Club Distribution Center in South Charlotte at 11pm.  Val hit the roof and called his STL, who was going to try to get us assigned to something else.  However the load stayed with us and we ended up doing a little backing practice, then just hung around the OC until time to leave.  When we finally did get to the delivery it turned out that there was a scheduling SNAFU and they wouldn’t accept the load, so we hauled the trailer back to the OC.

Once that load was delivered we were out of hours for the day, so Val and I just went home for the evening and Curtis stayed in the truck.

Thursday, 10/12:

Got back to the truck ~10am and we’re finally off.  We’re picking up a load in Whitsett, NC bound for Iowa City, IA.  Now THAT’S more like it!  Val drove bobtail to Whitsett, then had me couple the trailer and head out.  I drove until we got through NC, VA, WV, and into Ohio where Curtis took over*.  We ended up spending the night in Jackson, OH.  As stated earlier, Val stays in a motel room and Curtis and I share the truck’s sleeping quarters, so we stayed in a gravel lot behind the motel.

*Since I was the first to drive on Wednesday night, Val has me driving first each day.  About half way through our time with him he’ll have us switch.

Friday, 10/13:

Started out ~8:30am, drove to the Indianapolis, IN OC.  We stopped long enough to get fuel and grab a quick lunch, then Curtis drove us as far as Iowa City, IA and we were able to deliver our load before stopping for the evening.  We parked at a fancier motel in town this time, and there were a few fast food places nearby.

Saturday, 10/14:

Val drove us bobtail to neighboring West Branch, IA first thing this morning where we picked up our next load headed for New Braunfels, TX.  I coupled the trailer when we got to the shipper and drove as far as Lamoni, IA before Curtis took over for the evening.  We spent our evening in another motel’s gravel parking area in Big Cabin, OK.

Sunday, 10/15:

Up until now the weather has been quite nice, but it was raining when we got up this morning.  We left at 11am and I drove across the TX border as far as Preston, TX in on and off driving rain.  Curtis took over, and after a brief stop at the Dallas OC took us to our destination.  We dropped our load in New Brunfels and stopped for the night at (you guessed it) a motel parking lot.

Monday, 10/16:

Once again Val drove bobtail to get our next load at the Laredo OC in Laredo, TX.  This shipment was coming from across the Mexican border and headed to Browns Summit, NC.  From our route plan it looks like we’ll be able to grab one of our 10 hour DOT breaks at the Charlotte, OC (WOOHOO!). 

I coupled and pretripped the trailer while Val went into the OC for our paperwork.  I found a flat on the trailer and had to take it to maintenance for a replacement, and in the mean time Val found that the Bill of Lading for this shipment was still in Mexico.  We were told to expect about an hour delay while it was faxed to us.

About an hour and a half later Val got tired of waiting, so he filled out a local BOL form to get us started (we’ll pick up a faxed copy at another OC down the road).  It was about 3:30pm before we left, and I drive us as far as Seguin, TX before switching with Curtis.  He took us to Sealy, TX where we stopped for the evening.

Tuesday, 10/17:

This morning Val had us switch ’shifts’, so Curtis took us out.  It was raining again this morning but started clearing shortly after we got on the road.  We made one stop at the Houston OC, then around 2pm stopped again for lunch at a huge Petro Truck Stop in Beaumont, TX.  I took over from there and drove us to the Evergreen OC in Evergreen, AL.  This was a personal best, by the way, since I took us ~320 miles before stopping for the evening.

Ready for a TE…

Monday:

Terrie and I had a nice lazy weekend, and Saturday was my 54th birthday.  We went out Friday night to celebrate a bit, but other than that we mostly just vegged.  It was rainy and much cooler here all weekend too, which helped keep us in and lazy.

On Sunday evening I got a call from Val, my TE.  We’ll be headed out on Wednesday around noon and plan to be out for roughly two weeks.  As I feared, we’ll also have another student along with us.  On the plus side it’s a guy I went through class with (Curtis) and we got along just fine, so it shouldn’t be an issue.  I will have to share driving time with him, but that may turn out to be a blessing in spite of what my ego says.

OK, that leaves me with two days to get ready to go.  I’ve had my clothes packed since Friday, so nothing left to do there.  I spent a lot of today making phone calls and setting up different things like my Comdata card web access, ordering refills on my Rx, sending a few last minute image files to the lab for printing, and gathering up all the ‘toys’ I want to take with me.

I did give Val a call late in the morning to check on a few items I wanted to bring along, and also confirm that the size and number of bags I was planning to bring wasn’t excessive (I have a bad habit of wanting to take everything with me when I travel).  He also told me that since there will be three of us in the truck, we’ll be stopping at motels every night so HE can get a room.  Curtis and I get to sleep in the truck since this is part of our adjustment and learning period.  Fair enough.

That’s about all for now.  I will take my laptop along and plan to update this blog unless something unexpected prevents me from doing so.

CDL Week: Day 4… Whew!

Thursday:

What a nice change of pace today was.  This morning I was at the DMV by 7:30, they opened at 8, and I was leaving by 8:30.  Remember my rant about the crowded conditions and lack of service at our local DMV office?  Well, never mind.  Today was like I haven’t seen it in years; only ~20 folks in line when the doors opened, and by the time I left a half hour later the lobby was empty!

And I almost messed up.  While waiting for my new license to come out of the photo machine two young guys came in carrying their helmets and asking for the motorcycle skills test.  Yikes… I checked on all the endorsements I should have on my new license EXCEPT I forgot about my m/c endorsement from my class C license.  Fortunately it was no problem; the examiner who did the paperwork apologized profusely for overlooking it, and they took my picture again to produce another copy with all it should have.

I was off the rest of the morning and didn’t have to go to the OC until 1pm for a class meeting.  All they did there was give out a few essentials to us new employees (well, as of tomorrow anyway) like our driver’s numbers, fuel cards, and a new pair of boots.  Brandy had us take care of a little necessary administrative paperwork, and afterward Dan talked about what we should expect in the next few days while we wait to hear from our TE.

Once that was taken care of we were done.  So here I’ll sit (calling in daily, as per their instructions) until my TE calls.

CDL Week: Day 3… WooHoo!

Wednesday:

Day 3 was a short one.  We were bussed to the hill at 7am and testing for the NC group* began almost immediately.  The only one I had remaining was my road test, and I was second in line and waiting.

*For training on ‘the hill’ we’re divided into groups by state.  Students then practice on the specific skills that must be demonstrated to meet their particular state’s requirements.  At the end of the week they return to their home state with appointments for testing at their respective DMV offices.  North Carolina accepts examinations from third party certified examiners, which some of our instructors are, and that allows us to test on site at the time of training.

Around 9am my turn came.  Paul was my examiner (again) and took the first few minutes to explain exactly what we’d be doing and what he’d be looking for.  After I did a quick Enroute Check on the truck and trailer we were off.

The truck I was driving had 715,000 + miles on the odometer and was a little rough around the edges, but it shifted as smooth as silk (I guess the hundreds of students before me had the gears nicely rounded off).  Our route was one I had driven a few times before and didn’t really involve any particularly tough challenges.  There was one bit of road construction that held up traffic a little, and a disabled truck on a narrow industrial road that caused us to take an unexpected detour, but otherwise the ride went smoothly.

At one point well into the drive Paul asked if I had any previous experience driving a truck, and I told him that I’d driven a few different RV’s and a couple of BellSouth trucks, but nothing like a tractor trailer rig.  As we took the final turn back into the practice yard he congratulated me, saying it was the best test ride he had taken in some time.  He went on to say that I had done quite well on all three exams (he was there for each) and predicted that I’d do well on the road.  I sure appreciated his comments; a week ago I certainly didn’t expect to hear them.

My fellow students were quick to signal across the yard for a thumbs up as soon as I climbed out of the truck, and I was happy to give them one.  We have all been very supportive of each other, especially once the actual testing began, and it was a great feeling when it was my turn to give the ‘report’.  Once I walked back to the group there was the usual round of handshakes and verbal slaps on the back.  Another examiner started testing soon after, and by lunch time there were five of us NC guys who had taken (and passed) all three of our exams.

Soon it was time for the now familiar lunch routine.  When we again climbed in the bus for roll call and another afternoon ride to the hill,  Bill (the lead instructor for CDL week) called for us five to get back off the bus and sent it on it’s way. He then handed each of us a sealed envelope that was to be taken to the DMV.  The paperwork inside was proof of our successful completion of the required exams, and authorized us to be issued our Class A CDL.

And that finished our day.  We were released and told to be back at the OC at 1pm tomorrow for a class meeting, and if possible to obtain our license by then so they could get a photocopy for our records.  Knowing how backed up the DMV office usually is during the day, I decided I’d be in line first thing in the morning to get mine.

So it seems I’ve finished the first big step to becoming a driver.  From what I gather I’ll get a driver’s number along with any other ‘new guy’ paperwork and instructions tomorrow.  After that I’ll just be waiting to be assigned a Training Engineer (TE) .  Once I get his/her call I’ll be on the road for a couple of weeks to put what I’ve learned into practice, and for the next stage of instruction.

Hope it’s not a long wait; I’m on a roll…

CDL Week: Day 2… What a difference a day makes…again.

Tuesday:

Well, whatever had ‘infected’ the training staff yesterday was all gone today (or else the boss was back).  There was no sign of the disorganization or disinterest that had us students growling by the end of the day.

We were on the bus at 7am and got to ‘the hill’ a few moments later.  After a short set up period testing began, and I was able to pass the Pre-Trip Inspection test soon after (Aced that sucker!).  Afterward the trucks were rolling and we practiced straight line backing until everyone had been through it several times.

Lunch was at the usual time, and involved the usual bus ride back to the OC.  Unfortunately the food at the cafeteria was the usual as well.  Not that it’s necessarily bad, but it does fall a little shy of being good.

Anyway when we returned to the hill we began practicing for our 45* backing maneuver.  The backing tests also started shortly after lunch, and around mid-afternoon I tested and passed that portion.  Didn’t ace this one, but I was pleased with it.

All that’s left for me to do is pass a road driving test and I’ll have my Class A CDL.  Rumor has it we’ll be able to take that one tomorrow; I hope so as it’s the only thing I have left to do except sit around and watch the others practice.

A little tired this evening so forgive the short post…

CDL Week: Day 1…

Monday:

Today we were supposed to start CDL week; 5 days of practice and testing (for the NC folks) for our state Class A Commercial Driver’s License.  As we’ve been told for the past two weeks, we would have to practice until ready and then test on three tasks; Pre-Trip Inspection, Straight Line and 45* Backing, and finally a road test.  We would have to progress through the steps in that order, and could not advance until the previous test had been successfully passed.

My classmates and I were at the OC and on the bus at 7am, waiting to head to the practice lot.  We didn’t arrive until nearly 8am (it is literally a 1/4 mi. drive).  Once we arrived we were divided into groups by state and assigned to ’stations’.  And that’s where we sat, doing absolutely nothing, until lunch time.  We were supposed to practice the Pre-Trip, and did for an hour or so.  But we’ve been practicing the same routine for over a week now, and at some point the practice becomes sheer boredom.  We asked to start testing, but were told it wouldn’t start until after lunch.  At this point there were no trucks available for backing practice either.

We were back on the bus at 11:45 and dropped off at the OC for lunch.  At 1pm we were once again waiting for the bus ride back to the practice area.  The testing started around 2, and by 5pm a total of three had been tested, a process that took on average 20 min.  The instructor took anywhere from 30 - 45 min. to smoke and shoot the breeze with his buddies in between each test.  In the mean time the rest of us sat.

Around 4:30pm we were told we could practice our backing; I got one try before we were again called to the bus to return to the OC.  And that was all I accomplished today.  I had a hard time believing how totally disorganized and apathetic the staff was.

If I sound frustrated it’s because I am.  Very much so.  Up until now I had the highest respect for Schneider’s instructors, but today’s experience was like nothing I’ve seen before.  I should add that this was a whole different set of instructors than the one’s we had the first two weeks, and maybe that’s the problem.  Or perhaps they were simply having a bad day.  The rumor was that the senior instructors were absent today and the rest were taking full advantage of no supervision.

I will keep an optimistic attitude and hope that today was a fluke and tomorrow will be back on track.  I certainly hope so…