ORIENTATION

I apologize for getting a little off-topic on the last post. I get caught up in a thought and just kind of follow it a little while to see where it's going. Writers sometimes call it falling down the rabbit hole. I'll try to do better, but I know me. There will be times when a thought just has to be followed.

I said I would get to Orientation at a trucking company. I have not heard of a single company who doesn't have an orientation class. They have DOT compliance issues for every student or new hire, including the drug screening, physicals, and reams of paperwork.

If a company says you need a document and you don't have it, please don't get on the bus. Get the documentation and then get on the bus. Speak with the recruiters. Part of their job is to make sure you're prepared with all the information you need to get hired. It's a waste of their time, your time and effort, and the company's resources to get you there just to make you leave and come back again. It doesn't leave a very good first impression of you.

As a student, you have your newly minted CDL permit and all your documents. You're ready to show up at the company for the orientation class. These classes usually begin on Mondays, so they'll have you on the bus to arrive on Sundays.

You'll be put into a dorm at the terminal or in a hotel. Usually, this is going to be a shared room with another student or driver with the same company. Unless you pay for your own room, that's just how it works.

You followed your directions and show up in the orientation class on time Monday morning. You'll be greeted and given a spiel welcoming you and telling you what you can expect.

A new hire and a student will go through all the hiring paperwork, fill out anything they missed on their applications, and do their physicals and drug tests. A new hire will go through a company manual. This goes into pay, policies, benefits, where things are located, contacts, etc.

A student will get to work learning how to drive a truck. This is just like any classroom. You have an instructor, materials to learn, tests to take, and practical applications (driving a truck). The orientation will lead the class and introduce the people who are going to teach you other aspects of the job.

Driving instructors will take you out to the truck and start putting people in the driver's seat. Talk about nerves? Oh yeah!

My own experiences in driving a car didn't prepare me for driving a truck. The shifting is different for one thing. The real difference though was where I needed to drive. I come from a place of less than 80,000 people. My training was done in a very large city, Salt Lake City, Utah. It scared the daylights out of me.

Many of the students I saw were serious about learning and took the whole process seriously. They worked their butts off and still failed to get their CDL because of one aspect of the training or another. For some it's the classroom stuff, but for the majority it's the driving.

In a car, or smaller vehicle you get used to driving within a certain amount of space. It handles like this. It will squeeze through here. It will fit under that.

In a truck, you're dealing with a whole different animal. The controls are similar enough to feel almost familiar. There are more controls, more complexity, and so much attention has to be paid to the ass end of the truck you feel like you're having an out-of-body experience.

Splitting your attention so you cover the whole truck and not just what's in front of you takes time, practice, and an ability to multi-process mentally and physically. When you go through your training they will cover exactly what to watch, when to watch it, and what to do when you don't calculate your moves correctly. It's intense.

Backing...It's a process that is so involved and awkward that it amazes me still when I get it right. Even 2 years as a driver and I find myself setting up wrong and not being able to back into the space I want. I have to go back to square one and really THINK about where I have to have my trailer and when to turn the wheel and how much.

When you think you know what you're doing and have done it right a couple dozen times in a row is when complacency sets in. That will cause you to rush, hit something, and get an accident on your driving record. It will happen. You will call yourself a dozen kinds of stupid and then fix what you did wrong.

The key to backing is set up correctly and take your time. Even then, you will have days when you just can't get that back right. It's a horrible feeling. When you finally get it in the space you need, you'll just feel relieved it's over.

Orientation will be finished when you are officially hired and either get assigned to your truck (for a new hire) or when you get assigned to a trainer.

Trainers are a whole 'nother story.

Thanks for being here...

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman

GETTING INTO TRUCKING

If you're looking to start a career in truck driving, I'd seriously suggest asking yourself a few questions before jumping into the deep end. I didn't. I didn't have enough time or resources to ask the questions I needed to know the answers to. I just jumped and, luckily, I landed on my feet.

There's a hundred trucking companies advertising for drivers. And believe it, they need them. However, the hiring process is pretty similar at all of them, and there are a few things you need to know.

By the way, the only thing you have to provide out of your own pocket is your DMV testing and your personal stuff like food, meds, clothes, etc. Transportation and pre-hire medical testing is paid for by the company. Some companies will even provide your training. The catch here is that you will probably be required to sign a contract of service that generally lasts 9 months to 2 years, depending on the company.

You must pass a DOT (Department of Transportation) physical. Some companies will have you take a physical before coming to school. Some will have you take one when you arrive. If there is any issue on that physical, it needs to be addressed immediately.

One issue that came up was Interstate vs Intrastate qualified. Intrastate was marked on a bunch of the forms and many of my classmates had to retake their physicals to get it changed. Intrastate means you are ONLY ALLOWED TO DRIVE INSIDE YOUR STATE. That's completely pointless for a guy or gal who wants to travel the country. Right?

You must pass a Urinalysis. Drug screening is mandatory in the industry. DOT requires it. Most companies will not hire you or they'll fire you after hiring for refusing to take the test. Random screenings are required by DOT.

Many of the OTC (Over-the-Counter) meds and prescriptions are banned. Is marijuana legal in your state? Not if you drive a truck, or want to.

When you arrive at the Orientation (I'll get to that in a second.) You'll have to do a company physical and/or drug screening ON TOP OF THE ONE YOU DID BACK HOME! I was amazed by the number of hoops I had to jump through to get this license and get hired by a company. Get used to the idea because the physical only lasts for 2 years at the most. Your Medical Card, which is the paperwork the doctor gives you, can list all kinds of restrictions and limit the amount of time it's good for.

High blood pressure? You might get a card for as long as 2 years, but more likely it's 1 year, 6 months, or even less. Diabetes? Same thing. Sleep Apnea? They're going to set you up with a sleep study or take a reading from the machine you're using to verify compliance.

The list of things they can restrict is long and frustrating for anyone with medical issues. Can you still become a driver? Absolutely, you just need to jump a few extra hoops and keep jumping them for as long as you want to continue to drive.

If you don't have a CDL, you need one. There are companies that will train you for your CDL but you need to get your permit. Study at a site or get a test study booklet from your local DMV.

Trucking Truth is an amazing resource for anyone looking into the trucking industry. There are newsletters, blogs, CDL practice tests, and a ton of drivers willing and able to help anyone who asks for it. I used the site almost exclusively, and when I arrived at the DMV for my permit tests, I missed only 1 question on each of the 3 required tests. (Yes! Thanks TT!)

Another thing you need is to be able to pass a background check. Your criminal history and your work history will come under scrutiny. If you haven't worked, what did you do for the last 3 years? 5 years? You better have documentation! Your driving record will come up. References. How old are you? Over 23? Hope so.

Age is not as important a factor as a lot of the jobs out there, but they're really going to look at your physical health.

My school actually bussed a 4'8" teeny tiny 75-year-old woman for orientation. She was bunked with me in my 8-person room. I just shook my head when she hauled out a suitcase of prescriptions. I gave her the bottom bunk and threw my top bunk mattress on the floor for the night. The next day I ran into her in the hallway trying to wrestle her luggage outside for the trip home. I felt bad for her having to leave, but man, that lady had guts. Girls ROCK!

Many training companies will give you a full list of what you need to bring with you. Pay attention to it. If you skip even one required document, reference, identification, etc; you're going to go home. Why waste their time and your own? Just bring everything you're told to bring. It's a pain in the ass, but it will keep you attending the class in the morning and not riding a bus.

The recruiting office is full of people who want you to get a job with their company. If you don't know what questions to ask, ask them what you need to know. 9 times out of 10 you'll be given the straight line as they know it. These people will ask you a million questions and run you a dozen directions to get what you need for them to get you on the bus.

Recruiters have a terrible reputation. If you talk to a dozen company recruiters researching your options, TAKE NOTES! Who said what at which company is important because you don't want to go in thinking company A told you X, company B told you Y, and you get them confused and are upset the minute you step off the bus.

Your attitude and willingness to put forth the effort will make a huge difference in your life at the company you join. But, be prepared for the complainers and whiners to jump out of the woodwork the second you arrive. These people are either students or drivers who have an issue or problem and don't think they're getting a fair shake from the company. Remember people, just because your BOSS isn't going to be hanging over your shoulder, it doesn't mean he/she won't be watching and evaluating what you do.

Sometimes, the issues have nothing to do with the company. A guy who comes to the school expecting to get hired is going home tomorrow because he failed to mention (and get cleared) on a felony he committed 9 years ago. A gal is going home because she's on a regimen of painkillers for her arthritis. (Arthritis doesn't disqualify her, but the painkillers are opiates.) These people are NOT going to be happy with the decision by the company to send them home.

Another guy might leave because his gal back home is looking for a shoulder and his is 1,000 miles and maybe 3 months away. Another gal might leave because she can't provide a valid birth certificate. Someone's father is on his deathbed. Someone has a communicable disease he didn't treat. So on and so on.

Now, these examples might happen to a student or a new hire. The guys to really watch out for are the drivers who've been there a while. If they're complaining, they might have a legitimate gripe or they might just be intolerant of the way trucking works.

The trucking industry is flawed. Every driver who lasts a few months will be able to give you example after example of "what's wrong with this industry!" A lot of these guys pull money-wasting or illegal moves and get called on the carpet. They are sitting in wait for the new kids to show up and bend their ears.

See, here's the thing, trucking is a hard, lonely, frustrating, stressful job. It is a job. It is a job. It is a job. It is not a game, sight-seeing trip, play in Vegas, take a break whenever you want. It's a job. You have work to do and you are going to work for the money you get. You are going to be tired, pissed off, told where to go and when to be there. You are going to eat bad food, not get enough exercise, and wish that you could be anywhere else but where you are at that moment.

Go into it with the attitude that you are starting fresh. Make sure your family and friends realize this is work, not a roadtrip. Distractions and problems back home kill the potential of a lot of drivers. Be firm and tell them you will come home but to start you have to be gone for weeks and months at a time.

But, where else can you make close to $30,000 your first year and go upwards from there. Where else is your office wherever you are? Where else is your view an 8-foot picture window that never shows the same thing? Where else can you see almost any area of the country at different times of the year?

You have to ultimately decide for yourself is the benefit worth the headaches this woman is warning me about? A lot of newbies show up, work for a few months, and decide this isn't for them. That's okay. No job is perfect for everyone. Expecting it is just dumb.

Talk CDL The Trucking Podcast is a great resource of information for any driver. I recommend researching the trucker and trucking forums, blogs, and videos. There's a lot of complaining out there, but there's also a lot of genuine concern for the drivers and the information they provide is really good. Varied viewpoints and lots of discussions.

There are many organizations who make their living advocating "Trucking" and "Trucker's Rights." These organizations are great at what they do. Legislation and regulation is outrageous in this industry. Pay hasn't even come close to the work truckers do day in and day out. The problem I see is that there are so many justice fighters and so many complainers but the actions they are taking just INCREASE the rules truckers have to know and follow. Sheesh people! Step back, take a breath, and ask a friggin' trucker! And oh, actually follow his advice instead of your interpretation of his advice.

Most companies work hard to get their drivers home for hometime. These visits don't last long. Your families are going to have to learn to deal with a paycheck and not you. That's hard. But, the options when you are just starting are incredibly limited. Use your phones, laptops, and make the most of the time you do get to see them.

This has gotten pretty long so I'm going to continue on another post.

Just know that if you go into a school prepared and willing to work, the reward you get in the end will worth it. Is it going to make you a millionaire? No. Will it put food on the table and money in the savings account? Yes, if you stick with it and have the right attitude.

Thank you for sticking it out to the end...

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman

LETTER TO TODD MCCANN @ TRUCKERDUMP.COM

I’m going to just jump into this because it’s been on my mind quite a bit.

I’ve been thinking about the podcast I recently heard on trucker nation. Misty Noel hosts and enjoys talking about health issues for drivers. I haven’t gotten very far into it because she also talks about tax crap all the time. I can only hear so much of that before I hit overload.

She stated that truckers, on average, live 15 years less than non-drivers. I have no idea if this is an accurate statistic, but it kind of bothers me. Why? If this is accurate, then why? Diet, exercise, rest, work conditions, stress, access to medical care?

I’ve been out here since July, 2015. Nope, that’s not very long, but I’ve noticed several things. The general public has no clue and don’t care; and the companies that COULD help us in being healthier, turn us away.

How many Walmarts have you tried to park in that says no trucks. How many grocery stores have access? How many truck stops are actually close enough to shop at a store? I parked at a truckstop recently and had access to a Walmart. After slogging through a flooded field, the thought of hauling 40 lbs of groceries back to the truck was ridiculous.

How many companies have restrictive off-duty driving policies? How many places allow you to drop a trailer for a limited amount of time so you can run a few errands bobtail? How are truckers supposed to be healthier if we don’t have the routine access that other people do?

It wasn’t just the statistic of 15 years less to live that prompted my thinking, but also an article sent to me from a long-time family friend in Colorado Springs.

The TOPS organization is a group that has been working in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area to promote trails, parks, and preserves. Admirable and, from the article, they’ve done great work over the years.

My thoughts while looking at the article were, what kind of access is provided for people like us? What do we get out of it? We bring in the products and provide the materials that keep the economies of the world running. But, it’s like we’re a forgotten minority.

Sometimes, we are the problem. Why should they care about a bunch of guys who don’t bathe, throw trash on the ground, and clog up THEIR commutes? Other than warning other drivers about hazards, most of the CB chatter is trash too. We can’t even behave well to each other? Why?

I was one of the people who didn’t give trucks a second thought until I became a trucker. I love this life. It’s the most money I’ve ever made (which I am fully aware is pathetic), but it just fits me. I’m just disappointed in the country, the industry, and people who think truckers don’t matter.

Anyway, I just thought you might have some thoughts about some of these things and could help me understand.

Thanks for listening,

Renae

Trucker Dump

TOPS article

BE THE NOODLE

 BINGO

This is Bingo. He's a Parson's Russell Terrier (Think Jack Russell Terrier) and he's an old fart.

He's a rescue dog from the Omaha, Nebraska Humane Society. He's been an amazing companion for me during my travels around the Midwest. At 9-years old, I thought being in the truck might be rough on him, but other than the usual learning curve where missteps are often made, he's been a great dog.

The first misstep came when I left the windows cracked about 8 inches when I went into Walmart for a little shopping. I'd just reached the Deli counter when my phone started ringing. The woman on the phone asked if I had a dog named Bingo. I said yes and she proceeded to tell me she found him wandering the parking lot and called the number on his collar.

OMG! Trucks are 13'6" tall! The windows were up about the 10-foot mark. What the hell?!

I ran outside and met up with the woman who had kindly rescued my rescue dog. He had a cut on his inner thigh, but otherwise seemed okay. I let out a sigh of relief and took him back to the truck. Rolling up the windows a few inches prevented a repeat. Either that or he was being cautious.

The second misstep came when the little booger jumped out the window a second time and I found out by the jingling of the tags on his collar. Ugh! The little beast was going to give me a heart attack!

The third misstep came when I was at a shipper. I went to the rear of the trailer to reset the tandems (drivers call it sliding the tandems) and just turned to walk to the front when I saw a Mighty Dog commercial in real life. Leaping from the driver's window like he was going to land in a lake off a dock, he looked beautiful. Strong and amazing.

In slow motion, I watched as he landed and kind of fell/rolled. He immediately stood back up. My heart died a little when he raised his hind leg and just stood there for a minute. I rushed to him, picked him up, and scolded him.

"You're an old man! Are you TRYING to break a hip?"

He appeared ashamed and chastened as I searched for broken bones. After a couple of hours, he was walking mostly normally, but he wasn't thrilled with me when I would move his leg around.

Needless to say, this was the last of the little guy's flying attempts. I think it hurt just a little too much to risk again.

I've had a few hard-braking events when he was in the passenger seat. Lying or sitting on a blanket doesn't prevent a fast slide to the floorboards. Poor guy. He started spending more time in the sleeper bunk after that.

I swear he's got a bladder of steel! That dog holds his pee like nothing I've ever seen. There's many days when we're running around and literally can't stop or we'll be late to the customer. He comes up and looks at me, I apologize, and he goes back to the sleeper.

Only twice has he had bathroom accidents and that was my fault. As bad as it is, a lot of times he gets the same food I get. Unfortunately, his tolerance for truckstop food is less than mine. I learned my lesson and moderated his quantities. I don't know if it's okay for dogs, but a couple episodes of diarrhea on a speed run and I broke out the anti-diarrheal meds. One pill and a trip to the grass and he's ready to go back to bed.

He did get an episode of vomiting due to some bad food he found and ate before I could stop him, but I just cleaned up the mess and cuddled him a little extra. Nobody likes being scolded for something they can't control.

From the very beginning, I knew I could trust this dog. I picked him up and he just melted. He flopped onto his back like a cooked noodle and let me love on him. No matter how I held him, he just trusted in me to keep him from falling over on his head. I thought this was pretty amazing...until I watched him sleep. Somehow he always ends up on his back, neck stretched out, little legs flopped out like a understuffed doll. At least he's fixed and I don't have to look at his balls.

He's been friendly or willing to be friendly to any person who meets him, but dogs? Not so much. He thinks he's bigger and badder than everybody else. If he wasn't trying to pick a fight, I'd think it was cute. We stay away from other people walking their dogs.

I just wanted to introduce the little guy. He keeps me company, entertained, and helps me get some walking in. Unfortunately, that's in ANY WEATHER.

Thanks for being here,

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman

ORGANIZING UPDATE

TWO HOURS!

That's how long it took me to get to the bottom of the bin and find places for what was in it!!!

I'm pathetic. 

MOUNTAIN DRIVING SUCKS IN A GUTLESS WONDER

I've been running a strange little trip the last couple of days. Well, strange for me. It's a intermodal run. Basically, that means a container that goes on ships, trains, or a chassis with wheels. We've all seen them, so I'm not going to go on a major boring description.

The problem I'm running into is a little weird. I haven't been driving mountains or major hills in this truck before. I don't really know how any truck handles certain terrain until I'm there. Then, I don't know how to get the most out of it until I experiment a bit.

It's like trying to push a gazillion tons of bricks up a mountain with a bicycle. Mixed metaphors, but it gets the point across. As soon as it looks at an incline the damn thing starts slowing down. Then, it keeps slowing down until I'm crawling. The bitch of it is that I'm not even hauling a heavy load.

I've tried everything I can think of to maintain a decent climbing speed; changing the transmission from automatic to manual, setting the cruise, not setting the cruise, praying, ...

A run that should have taken a couple days is going to run into 3 days. Fortunately, I can make the deadline for delivery, but it's frustrating the heck out of me. Mountain driving in a gutless wonder sucks!

Thanks for being here,

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman

THE CLUTTER ISSUE

I've always been a disorganized person. This isn't my desk, but it's really not that far from what it looked like when I did have one, which I don't anymore. I have cubby holes, storage cabinets, and drawers. I'm the gal who doesn't have a junk drawer, I have several. Please don't get me started on how many times a year I do "Spring Cleaning."

Throwing away things I bought is HARD! That's $5. This is $10. That's got sentimental value. That's...nope that's going to come in handy some day. Well, that day never comes and I'm stuck with a gizmo whatchamacallit I've only used once.

Being disorganized in a truck is disaster! Rather than everything having a place, its place is wherever I just threw it. I will not say I don't throw anything away. Garbage is garbage. It's gone. But, the toothpaste I bought a month ago is half full but I can't find it, so I go and buy another one. Pretty soon the first one shows up and now there's 2 I can't throw out because they're still only half used.

It's also pretty pathetic that my bathroom products grow pretty quickly. How many shampoos and conditioners can one girl use? Lotion? Several. Perfume? A couple. Medicines of all kinds end up multiplying all by themselves.

I bought a bin thinking I would just put it all in one place and that way I wouldn't have a bunch of bottles and packets stashed away everywhere. It became the junk drawer from hell. I call myself an idiot on a regular basis just because of that stupid idea.

Well, I figured out something. I'm a hoarder. I'm a binge and impulse buyer. I'm a slob. How did this happen? What can I do to fix it?

I told you I purchased the Dave Ramsey books The Money Makeover and The Complete Guide to Money. I also began my first budget. It's not the first budget I've EVER started, but it's the first budget I haven't been terrified of.

The point I'm making here is this, I'm going to have to clean up my act. From the clutter and disorganization in my environment to the clutter and disorganization in my finances, I need to change.

With the decision comes the first step, which is the budget. I won't tell you details, but it's a mess. There's room for improvement. Wiggle room to tweak it until it gives me what I need. This isn't what I want. It's what I need.

He pointed me to a free budget making app called Everydollar. It's easy to use and does the math for you. That's pretty good for me. Math is not one of my favorite things.

While the budget is something I can't expect instant success with, the clutter issue can be. A little time off, a bottle of 5-hour energy, and I am attacking the clutter in my life.

Might be a few days from now, but I'll let you know how it's going.

Thanks for being here,

Renae - The Truck Driving Woman