Woke up this morning, had a good cup of coffee and Kim fixed muffins! No better way to start the day!
After I got out of the shower, I heard the little pat pat pat of rain on roof. We were planning on going to school to practice the pre-trips today. Oh well, guess we'll wear jackets and hats!
Got to school and another student was there also. He is from S. Africa. A little hard to understand at first, but his stories of lions and snakes in the jungle are really entertaining!
The 3 of us go to the truck and start doing pre-trip, while trying to put our backs to the wind and rain. BRRRRRRRR. It was too damm cold to be out there, but we will have to when we're on the road, so we did it anyway! Afterwards, we went back inside and had some of the coffee and hot choc the Dan, our instructor, had made. We decided once was enough today, and came home.
We are now sitting here, watching it try to SNOW! Nearly 80 yesterday, and it's trying to piss snow today. GRRRRR, too cold too fast.
I looked up the company Dan recommended to us, and it really sounded good, until I got to the part that required 2 years experience first. I told Dan this morning I found the site, but we'll have to get some experience first. He asked why, and I told him of the requirement. He just looked at me, smiled, and said nahhh, I'll make a phone call Monday! I think he likes us! :) He has also told me to get 3 years experience, then come back here and teach. He said with my background and personality, I'd fit right in, and have a job waiting if I want it! DAMN, haven't started driving yet! We have hit it off pretty good, he is into sports cars, and knows of SCCA and Spec Racers that I used to drive, he has a pilot licence but no longer current, like me, and likes motorhomes, motorcycles, etc. Kim calls him my long lost brother!
There is more snow coming down again,,,,BRRRRRRR
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Day 8 of class
Today was kinda kick back day. Heard alot of stories, (lessons learned), did some of the classroom training on Drug Alchohol awareness, then had the recruiter from Gordon Trucking come in. Was supposed to be there at noon with pizza. Office manager called her at 12:15. She forgot, called in for the pizza and came over about 1pm. Gordon is actually alot like Interstate, family run, take care of drivers and teams a little better than average, and pay is comparable, but they have a strict no pet policy, so that eliminated them for us. Pizza was good tho! :)
More stories after lunch, untill Werner came at 3pm. That company is just a No for us. Low pay, too big, etc.
Dinner time we had to make a run to the store to take in a bike, then stop by and let Shadow out for a couple min, then back to school. We did Railroad crossing and hazard awareness tonite. By the way, after each section of classroom, we have to complete a test. So far so good!
The real fun came this afternoon. The needed to swap trailers between two units. I was first, instructor had me pull the release for first trailer, then get in and pull tractor out. After that he got in with me , and we made a little loop up and down the street. Shifted up, but kinda popped the clutch out a little hard. Everyone got a turn at this. Kim got some extra driving time cause the instructor scared the caca out of her the other day when went to start the truck for the first time, he yelled BOOOO just as she turned the key on. SOOOO FUNNY! So he felt he owed her!!
When everyone was done doing the loop, he had me back the tractor up to the other other trailer, I was off about a tire width first try, pulled up and back up right in line!!! Then he had Kim get in, and finish backing under and hooking up the trailer. The other 3 guys must've been thinking "teachers pets!" Oh well! We are really progressing faster than most there, and will start our drives next week, backing practice, shifting, etc.
The school here is really good for us. Great guys, good sence of humor, and will work with our schedule whatever that is.
We are going to meet one at the school tomorrow morning to get a little more practice on our pre trip inspections. He has to be there to do some work on a couple of the rigs.
He also recommended we look a company out of St George he used to drive for. They only have about 60 trucks so they know drivers by name instead of a number. VERY little turnover. He said they do have some teams, they run all 48 states with them, and thought it would be a good company for us. We'll take a look.
More stories after lunch, untill Werner came at 3pm. That company is just a No for us. Low pay, too big, etc.
Dinner time we had to make a run to the store to take in a bike, then stop by and let Shadow out for a couple min, then back to school. We did Railroad crossing and hazard awareness tonite. By the way, after each section of classroom, we have to complete a test. So far so good!
The real fun came this afternoon. The needed to swap trailers between two units. I was first, instructor had me pull the release for first trailer, then get in and pull tractor out. After that he got in with me , and we made a little loop up and down the street. Shifted up, but kinda popped the clutch out a little hard. Everyone got a turn at this. Kim got some extra driving time cause the instructor scared the caca out of her the other day when went to start the truck for the first time, he yelled BOOOO just as she turned the key on. SOOOO FUNNY! So he felt he owed her!!
When everyone was done doing the loop, he had me back the tractor up to the other other trailer, I was off about a tire width first try, pulled up and back up right in line!!! Then he had Kim get in, and finish backing under and hooking up the trailer. The other 3 guys must've been thinking "teachers pets!" Oh well! We are really progressing faster than most there, and will start our drives next week, backing practice, shifting, etc.
The school here is really good for us. Great guys, good sence of humor, and will work with our schedule whatever that is.
We are going to meet one at the school tomorrow morning to get a little more practice on our pre trip inspections. He has to be there to do some work on a couple of the rigs.
He also recommended we look a company out of St George he used to drive for. They only have about 60 trucks so they know drivers by name instead of a number. VERY little turnover. He said they do have some teams, they run all 48 states with them, and thought it would be a good company for us. We'll take a look.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Catch up day
Today started by sitting for an hour in the Social Security office. I somehow lost my original card I had since I was 15 or so. I had it up until just recently.
After that a nice breakfast at a diner, then off to the store. Made some calls, and Kim got the goldwing out. Its really nice today and tomorrow, but supposed to turn cold and rainey Saturday.
Went to school and had some class work on dock safety and cargo loads, documentation, etc.
We had to leave a little early for a dinner break to go put out a bike. Came back to find out we were the only ones in the nite class there. We are really ahead of schedule, so we gave the instructor a nite off! :)
Tomorrow we are going in the morning for an all day session. We are also scheduled to have a recruiter from Gordon coming at lunch bringing us Pizza. At 3 Werner recruiter is supposed to visit.
Tonite is a nite off school, so Kim gets to watch her Suvivor.
After that a nice breakfast at a diner, then off to the store. Made some calls, and Kim got the goldwing out. Its really nice today and tomorrow, but supposed to turn cold and rainey Saturday.
Went to school and had some class work on dock safety and cargo loads, documentation, etc.
We had to leave a little early for a dinner break to go put out a bike. Came back to find out we were the only ones in the nite class there. We are really ahead of schedule, so we gave the instructor a nite off! :)
Tomorrow we are going in the morning for an all day session. We are also scheduled to have a recruiter from Gordon coming at lunch bringing us Pizza. At 3 Werner recruiter is supposed to visit.
Tonite is a nite off school, so Kim gets to watch her Suvivor.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
"I Drove a Truck"
Well, it had to happen one day!!! Kim drove a truck today! Well, actually she started it, shifted into 1st, then eased out the clutch just enough to check that parking brakes (tractor then trailer)held, and then eased it forward and checked normal brakes. "I drove a truck, well a few inches anyway!"
That was part of the pre-trip inspection we did today. Afterward we in and did some more work on preventive maintenance, and took a test on it. Then after our quick dinner break, we had a session on trip planning. Kim keeps telling me I spoiled her in that department. I always looked it up planned the route, breaks, fuel, etc. Now she has to know how to do it. We will really be a good team.
That was part of the pre-trip inspection we did today. Afterward we in and did some more work on preventive maintenance, and took a test on it. Then after our quick dinner break, we had a session on trip planning. Kim keeps telling me I spoiled her in that department. I always looked it up planned the route, breaks, fuel, etc. Now she has to know how to do it. We will really be a good team.
Back to School!
Well, after a quiet weekend, we got back to it today. Kim started the day by going to DMV and retaking her Hazmat test. The studying paid off, and she passed with a 90! (shhhhh,,she did better than me on that one! :)
I am now leaving work around 12:30 so we can be at school at 1pm to put in a full school day. We started off with watching a preflight then got in the cab and watched the brake tests done. Next time, we have to do it hands on! Then it was on the videos on Brakes, Differentials, and Preventive Maintenance. After a quick dinner break, we went back out to the truck and adjusted the brakes. Most tractors have automatic adjusters now, but there are still many trailers with manual adjusters around. Kim got under there adjusted some and even got abit greasy! :)
Not sure what today will bring, other than doing the preflights. Also a recruiter from a local company that has a contract with FedEx is supposed to be in sometime.
Till next time:
Cheers
I am now leaving work around 12:30 so we can be at school at 1pm to put in a full school day. We started off with watching a preflight then got in the cab and watched the brake tests done. Next time, we have to do it hands on! Then it was on the videos on Brakes, Differentials, and Preventive Maintenance. After a quick dinner break, we went back out to the truck and adjusted the brakes. Most tractors have automatic adjusters now, but there are still many trailers with manual adjusters around. Kim got under there adjusted some and even got abit greasy! :)
Not sure what today will bring, other than doing the preflights. Also a recruiter from a local company that has a contract with FedEx is supposed to be in sometime.
Till next time:
Cheers
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Weekend off
We had a kinda quiet weekend. No bikes to put out or back till 5pm tonite. It has also cooled off alot (60's now) and been raining off and on all weekend. Sitting here now listening to the rain on the roof and watching the Cowboys and Bears play while surfing some of the trucking forms I have lived on for the past several months. I have learned sooo much and think we are so much farther ahead of the game by researching and reading these forums. People in the trucking world, all different companie, good, bad, ugly, etc. You have a question, just ask, someone has an answer. Between that and studying the CDL study guide for a couple months before school, it really gave us a jump start when we did start Wed. We seem to know sooo much more about things in general, good companies, bad ones, and about the course subjects than the other students. (ok, enuf blowing our own horn)
Kim has been studying for the retest on the Hazmat, and I have done some of the workbook we have to do.
We are actually really enjoying being in the motorhome. No claustraphobia at all! :)
Kinda nice and cozy, not a lot of area to keep clean, and we have enough room. Its about 1 mile to work, and only about 5 mi south to the store. Our school is about 4 miles to the north, so it is really convienent here.
Guess thats about it for the weekend update. I will try to update this a little more often now as things are really starting to progress. Looking forward to tell of our driving experiences.
Kim has been studying for the retest on the Hazmat, and I have done some of the workbook we have to do.
We are actually really enjoying being in the motorhome. No claustraphobia at all! :)
Kinda nice and cozy, not a lot of area to keep clean, and we have enough room. Its about 1 mile to work, and only about 5 mi south to the store. Our school is about 4 miles to the north, so it is really convienent here.
Guess thats about it for the weekend update. I will try to update this a little more often now as things are really starting to progress. Looking forward to tell of our driving experiences.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Changes
We have had several changes to our plans. With the buy out of CFI by Conway, and Conway folding its over the road division into Cfi, we decided against CFI at the moment. CFI seems abit overwhelmed at the moment with more drivers than they can efficiently handle. A lot of sitting by drivers waiting on loads, planning, etc. So we'll let the dust settle there for awhile and look at them again at a later date if we need to.
With that change, it also changed our school plans. There is SAGE Tech here in Salt Lake. They have schools all over the country and their program is very well respected. Their big advantage is when driving starts, it is one on one in the truck. Most other schools will put up to 4 or 5 in the truck and go out for 4-5 hours. You get an hour actually driving, but log the 4 or 5. With Sage when you go out for a 4 hour drive, you drive 4 hours. Seems like alot better training.
By going with SAGE here while we are still working, we will be able to complete our school by Nov when we leave here. That is a BIG plus for us, as we won't have a month and a half without any income.
We are now thinking we will be going with Interstate Dist co after school (if they hire us), based in Tacoma Washington. They are geared for team drivers, and seem to really take good care of their drivers. The trucks they have already have a fridge in them, an inverter (for 110V for coffee makers, tv, computer, etc) and an onboard APU (generator) so we won't have to always idle the truck for AC and heat and power. Many places now have anti-idling laws and more are going that way all the time.
We called SAGE Wed. morning about starting and was told to go get our DOT physicals and a medical clinic they recommended. The ed clinic bills Sage, and it is part of tuition.
Well, we made it to school Wed nite with DOT physicals in hand. We did the general knowledge in class wed nit, took 2 pretest. I aced both, Kim is running about a 95 average, so we're starting out pretty good.I took a coupe of sick days, (cough, cough) and we spent all day Thurs in school. Did classes on air brakes, tractor/trailer combinations, tankers, doubles/triples, and hazmat. 2 pretests from each section. So far I have a perfect record, and Kim is still running about a 95 average, she aced a couple also, so we're still doin good!
We went to DMV this morning and took the state written tests. We had to do General knowledge, air brakes, and combinations to get our learner permits. Both of us got it first try. Then we took some endorsement tests for doubles/triples, tankers, and hazmat, I got all 3, Kim missed the hazmat, but will take it again Monday.We were surprised to learn that regular stuff like perfume, milk, some teas, etc, are considered hazmat. More and more stuff is, and they pay extra to haul hazmat. Most companies do not require it, but it is good to have the capability.This afternoon we had a class on preflights (errr, I mean pre-trip), and hours of service. Monday we start class on trip planning.Everything is going well. We're anxious to get thru some more of the classroom stuff so we can start driving. That should be around the 1st part of Oct.
With that change, it also changed our school plans. There is SAGE Tech here in Salt Lake. They have schools all over the country and their program is very well respected. Their big advantage is when driving starts, it is one on one in the truck. Most other schools will put up to 4 or 5 in the truck and go out for 4-5 hours. You get an hour actually driving, but log the 4 or 5. With Sage when you go out for a 4 hour drive, you drive 4 hours. Seems like alot better training.
By going with SAGE here while we are still working, we will be able to complete our school by Nov when we leave here. That is a BIG plus for us, as we won't have a month and a half without any income.
We are now thinking we will be going with Interstate Dist co after school (if they hire us), based in Tacoma Washington. They are geared for team drivers, and seem to really take good care of their drivers. The trucks they have already have a fridge in them, an inverter (for 110V for coffee makers, tv, computer, etc) and an onboard APU (generator) so we won't have to always idle the truck for AC and heat and power. Many places now have anti-idling laws and more are going that way all the time.
We called SAGE Wed. morning about starting and was told to go get our DOT physicals and a medical clinic they recommended. The ed clinic bills Sage, and it is part of tuition.
Well, we made it to school Wed nite with DOT physicals in hand. We did the general knowledge in class wed nit, took 2 pretest. I aced both, Kim is running about a 95 average, so we're starting out pretty good.I took a coupe of sick days, (cough, cough) and we spent all day Thurs in school. Did classes on air brakes, tractor/trailer combinations, tankers, doubles/triples, and hazmat. 2 pretests from each section. So far I have a perfect record, and Kim is still running about a 95 average, she aced a couple also, so we're still doin good!
We went to DMV this morning and took the state written tests. We had to do General knowledge, air brakes, and combinations to get our learner permits. Both of us got it first try. Then we took some endorsement tests for doubles/triples, tankers, and hazmat, I got all 3, Kim missed the hazmat, but will take it again Monday.We were surprised to learn that regular stuff like perfume, milk, some teas, etc, are considered hazmat. More and more stuff is, and they pay extra to haul hazmat. Most companies do not require it, but it is good to have the capability.This afternoon we had a class on preflights (errr, I mean pre-trip), and hours of service. Monday we start class on trip planning.Everything is going well. We're anxious to get thru some more of the classroom stuff so we can start driving. That should be around the 1st part of Oct.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Step 3!
Well, several things have happened this week.
First, Brittany has joined the USAF! She went to MEPS for testing and physical on Wed, and went on delayed enlistment. I guess they now have a job for her, and a ship date of 2 Oct to Basic Training in San Antonio!
Greg and Lisa have taken over the house, and have a roommate to help with rent. Kim and I decided it would be less stressful for us just not to know what is going on around there, so we will be moving into the local KOA today. Besides, we will have full hook-ups there and make it a little easier. It is only a mile or two to my work and maybe 5 to the store, so makes it more convienent as well.
Step 1 was moving into the motorhome, step 2 was telling my boss I was quiting FSI. That was a little nerve wracking. But everyone is good with it. Step 3 is getting away from the house. We plan on being there until the first week in Nov.
We need to figure out what we need to do with our bikes next. Either take them to Phoenix if he wants to work with us there, or get them up for sale.
Still don't know if I am going to the Maint. Mgr Conference in Tulsa next month, but kinda doubt it. Waiting for my boss to decide if he wants someone from here to go or not.
First, Brittany has joined the USAF! She went to MEPS for testing and physical on Wed, and went on delayed enlistment. I guess they now have a job for her, and a ship date of 2 Oct to Basic Training in San Antonio!
Greg and Lisa have taken over the house, and have a roommate to help with rent. Kim and I decided it would be less stressful for us just not to know what is going on around there, so we will be moving into the local KOA today. Besides, we will have full hook-ups there and make it a little easier. It is only a mile or two to my work and maybe 5 to the store, so makes it more convienent as well.
Step 1 was moving into the motorhome, step 2 was telling my boss I was quiting FSI. That was a little nerve wracking. But everyone is good with it. Step 3 is getting away from the house. We plan on being there until the first week in Nov.
We need to figure out what we need to do with our bikes next. Either take them to Phoenix if he wants to work with us there, or get them up for sale.
Still don't know if I am going to the Maint. Mgr Conference in Tulsa next month, but kinda doubt it. Waiting for my boss to decide if he wants someone from here to go or not.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Ride day
Well, today Kim and I were supposed to go for a ride with Bryan and Nancy Fahrenback, but rain in their neck of the woods and Bryan not feeling to well put a kabosh on that idea. Kim and I decided to go anyway. We went up Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. These are just outside the southeast corner of Salt Lake, are only about 15mi up each canyon to ski resorts at the top. This is where Kim got her first riding experience in the mountains. From there we headed around the south side of town to Sandy and had a really nice lunch at Applebe's. Wierd, it started raining JUST as we stopped at the resturaunt!
Afterwards, we went on around the city with via a road near the Bingham Copper Mine. This was where Kim got her first riding out on the streets because of lack of traffic. Beautiful view of the city from there.
Took the bikes back to the shop and came home. It was a really nice and relaxing ride, and almost felt like a farewell ride to "our area".
As far as moving out of the house, its complete now. We finished getting the bedroom and our closet cleared out yesterday. I guess Greg moved their stuff in last nite.
The motorhome is abit crowed and cluttered right now. We need to spend some time out here and get things put away. This will definately be a "everything has it's place" type of living.
It is soooo nice to have 3 days off here this weekend. Will make ice cream tomorrow. Kim is going to try something different with mint chocolate chip. We'll see:)
Cheers
Steve
Afterwards, we went on around the city with via a road near the Bingham Copper Mine. This was where Kim got her first riding out on the streets because of lack of traffic. Beautiful view of the city from there.
Took the bikes back to the shop and came home. It was a really nice and relaxing ride, and almost felt like a farewell ride to "our area".
As far as moving out of the house, its complete now. We finished getting the bedroom and our closet cleared out yesterday. I guess Greg moved their stuff in last nite.
The motorhome is abit crowed and cluttered right now. We need to spend some time out here and get things put away. This will definately be a "everything has it's place" type of living.
It is soooo nice to have 3 days off here this weekend. Will make ice cream tomorrow. Kim is going to try something different with mint chocolate chip. We'll see:)
Cheers
Steve
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