8/31/08
Sunday
Hello to both of you blog readers out there! I hope I'm not to optimistic in my evaluation of readership. The comments have been very few. This makes me believe that not many people are taking the time to read this blog. Even emailing the majority of my address book about new blog postings does not seem to have helped. I have developed cabin fever, being stuck in the motel since Thur. That is a big contributer to my feeling that nobody cares about what I am attempting do with this blog. Also, not having any transportation to see the sights and sample the local seafood has me in a real oyster stew. I think I need to look into getting a little motorized bike to take with me. Come on people, it is not that difficult to log in and leave a comment. Leave a comment and cheer up the old truckerman.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Coupling to a trailer
08/30/08
Saturday
Another good question has been tossed my way by Son of a trucker man. He wanted to know if I had coupled to a trailer yet. The answer to the question is yes. We did it in school and I have helped Ted do it at every place we leave and pick-up a trailer. The process takes several steps. To drop a trailer, first put the landing gear down using the high gear of the jack handle. Uncouple the electrical line to the trailer along with the glad hands (air lines). Pull the fifth wheel release and then drive out from under it.
To couple to a trailer back straight under the trailer till the kingpin is slid into the fifth wheel. As it goes in it must have enough force to engage the locking clamps around it. Hook up the electrical and air lines. Then test that you have a good coupling by engaging your trailer breaks and tugging against them. The tractor should not move.
Well, soon all you readers will also be ready to drive truck! I'll see you on the highway!
Saturday
Another good question has been tossed my way by Son of a trucker man. He wanted to know if I had coupled to a trailer yet. The answer to the question is yes. We did it in school and I have helped Ted do it at every place we leave and pick-up a trailer. The process takes several steps. To drop a trailer, first put the landing gear down using the high gear of the jack handle. Uncouple the electrical line to the trailer along with the glad hands (air lines). Pull the fifth wheel release and then drive out from under it.
To couple to a trailer back straight under the trailer till the kingpin is slid into the fifth wheel. As it goes in it must have enough force to engage the locking clamps around it. Hook up the electrical and air lines. Then test that you have a good coupling by engaging your trailer breaks and tugging against them. The tractor should not move.
Well, soon all you readers will also be ready to drive truck! I'll see you on the highway!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday
August 29, 20008
This blog is in response to “Son of a trucker man”. I must be losing my touch. I’m sure that everyone out there wants to know what it feels like to be sitting up high and looking over that entire open road with a million and one lunatics behind the wheel of a 4 wheeler (that is a car for all you non-truckers out there). Well first of all let me tell you that everyone in a car has no idea how hard it is to stop an 18 wheeler. They take every opportunity to cut in front of you. I’m sure the thought is that, I’m not going to get trapped behind this slow truck, so they zip in front of you with no regard for safety. Now this would be ok, but the safety I’m talking about is mine!
Now for the perks of trucking. Being in the big rig gives you a view that is something to behold. It’s another world up there. You can see a whole lot further down the road and take in a lot more scenery. Yes yes, I can anticipate your next question. Does that scenery include the beauties in the cars passing you? Well of course it does. Do you think all the truckers out there drive with blinders on? Not the last time I looked! Also, you must remember that some of the less inhibited people on the road like to see what response the can arouse from you. This opportunity has not been afforded me yet but I can’t deny that I would be flabbergasted if this occurred to me.
As for the actual driving of an 18 wheeler, it is very different from a car. The manual transmission of Ted’s truck has 10 forward gears and one reverse. When you start going thru them, there is a flip switch on the gear shift that must be in the down position. After going thru the first 4 gears, you flip the switch and start over in the first gear position. That is actually 5th gear. The difference is that you have to keep the engine rpms up to at least 1500 rpms while doing this. It is difficult to do if you have to be applying the breaks for some reason. The term double clutching is not understood by most people. The clutch is not depressed all the way when you do this. You go about ½ way and come out of the gear you are in. Then release the clutch and rev to 1500 rpms. Again depress the clutch ½ way and go to the desired gear. Nothing to it right? That is what I thought too. I’m sure the gears of Ted’s truck will appreciate it when I master this. I am better but still have a ways to go.
August 29, 20008
This blog is in response to “Son of a trucker man”. I must be losing my touch. I’m sure that everyone out there wants to know what it feels like to be sitting up high and looking over that entire open road with a million and one lunatics behind the wheel of a 4 wheeler (that is a car for all you non-truckers out there). Well first of all let me tell you that everyone in a car has no idea how hard it is to stop an 18 wheeler. They take every opportunity to cut in front of you. I’m sure the thought is that, I’m not going to get trapped behind this slow truck, so they zip in front of you with no regard for safety. Now this would be ok, but the safety I’m talking about is mine!
Now for the perks of trucking. Being in the big rig gives you a view that is something to behold. It’s another world up there. You can see a whole lot further down the road and take in a lot more scenery. Yes yes, I can anticipate your next question. Does that scenery include the beauties in the cars passing you? Well of course it does. Do you think all the truckers out there drive with blinders on? Not the last time I looked! Also, you must remember that some of the less inhibited people on the road like to see what response the can arouse from you. This opportunity has not been afforded me yet but I can’t deny that I would be flabbergasted if this occurred to me.
As for the actual driving of an 18 wheeler, it is very different from a car. The manual transmission of Ted’s truck has 10 forward gears and one reverse. When you start going thru them, there is a flip switch on the gear shift that must be in the down position. After going thru the first 4 gears, you flip the switch and start over in the first gear position. That is actually 5th gear. The difference is that you have to keep the engine rpms up to at least 1500 rpms while doing this. It is difficult to do if you have to be applying the breaks for some reason. The term double clutching is not understood by most people. The clutch is not depressed all the way when you do this. You go about ½ way and come out of the gear you are in. Then release the clutch and rev to 1500 rpms. Again depress the clutch ½ way and go to the desired gear. Nothing to it right? That is what I thought too. I’m sure the gears of Ted’s truck will appreciate it when I master this. I am better but still have a ways to go.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Cancel the adjournment
8/25/08
Monday
Well,well,well, The truck is ready and I am ready to go. It is Thursday now and I have had no Internet access or time to make an entry. Hopefully, I can recall all the places we have been to and what occurred.
We left Columbus and traveled to Cleveland and picked up a load to deliver in Fayetteville, NC. Our arrival in NC was about 11:30PM. We dropped that load and I spent the night on the washing machine again. From there we went to Wilson NC and picked up a load bound for Buffalo NY. This was a "Hot Load" and had to be there at a certain time so another driver could pick it up and take it somewhere else. From Buffalo we went to Lakewood NY to pick up another hot load. We took it to somewhere in Ohio. Chester, I think. My memory is very hazy now. Too much work and not enough rest for an old man. Picked up another load and took it to Pennsylvania. From there we dead headed to Chesapeake Va. That is where my driver trainer lives and he is taking a well deserved 4 days off after being on the road for 2 months.
Well, all the stops have been reported. Now that I have some down time,at a motel waiting for my driver trainer, I hope to get a camera and start putting some pictures on this site.
A comment about our trip to Chesapeake. Ted was driving and I told him how tired I was. He said to pull my sleeping bag down and put it on top of his and get some rest. Company policy is, nobody can be in the upper birth when the truck is moving. Hey this is a smart idea. OK, I laid down for a little shut eye. Trying to sleep in a moving truck makes the washing machine feel real good. At one point, we went over a bridge and I became air born at the entry and exit to it. Needless to say, that has a tendency to open your eyes very wide. More later, my battery is in need of charging.
Monday
Well,well,well, The truck is ready and I am ready to go. It is Thursday now and I have had no Internet access or time to make an entry. Hopefully, I can recall all the places we have been to and what occurred.
We left Columbus and traveled to Cleveland and picked up a load to deliver in Fayetteville, NC. Our arrival in NC was about 11:30PM. We dropped that load and I spent the night on the washing machine again. From there we went to Wilson NC and picked up a load bound for Buffalo NY. This was a "Hot Load" and had to be there at a certain time so another driver could pick it up and take it somewhere else. From Buffalo we went to Lakewood NY to pick up another hot load. We took it to somewhere in Ohio. Chester, I think. My memory is very hazy now. Too much work and not enough rest for an old man. Picked up another load and took it to Pennsylvania. From there we dead headed to Chesapeake Va. That is where my driver trainer lives and he is taking a well deserved 4 days off after being on the road for 2 months.
Well, all the stops have been reported. Now that I have some down time,at a motel waiting for my driver trainer, I hope to get a camera and start putting some pictures on this site.
A comment about our trip to Chesapeake. Ted was driving and I told him how tired I was. He said to pull my sleeping bag down and put it on top of his and get some rest. Company policy is, nobody can be in the upper birth when the truck is moving. Hey this is a smart idea. OK, I laid down for a little shut eye. Trying to sleep in a moving truck makes the washing machine feel real good. At one point, we went over a bridge and I became air born at the entry and exit to it. Needless to say, that has a tendency to open your eyes very wide. More later, my battery is in need of charging.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
August 17, 2008
I have been told that it would be a neat idea to blog my adventures driving an 18 wheeler. Well I guess this is the start of something like that. First let me say that I am not sure what I need to do to blog. So this will be a journal of sorts.
After getting my CDL license, which was no easy task, I decided to go with Werner Enterprises. I was amazed that I had pre hire letters from all 10 of the companies that I applied with. There was one company that did not give me a pre hire letter because they had no openings in this area.
Today I had to travel by bus to Atlanta. I will start my orientation tomorrow at 7:00 AM. The bus trip took 4 hours. It was not the most pleasant form of travel. But since I will be bringing a truck home, when I get a few days off, I could not take my own car down there.
Mack Amick rode his bike down to the bus station to see me off and give me a gift of a do-nut cushion. He told me that it would be very useful on those long trips. As he left, Dee hollered, I’ll see you Wed. That is the day we normally meet Patty and him at the Carriage house to enjoy some wine. I told Dee that she could at least wait till I was gone before she made a date. Hum, she was not amused.
When I arrived at Atlanta, I had to wait 1 hour for my ride to the motel. I hope that is not a sign of things to come.
Well that is my first day on what will surly be a great adventure.
8/18/08
Monday
I’m too tired to think. This will be real short. I’ve been up 17 ½ hrs. Most of it at Werner School. I can not believe the amount of paper work they want just to let you drive for them. I have got to get to bed before I fall on my face.
8/19/08
Tuesday
Well today was the last day of orientation and they must have liked what I put on all the paper work. I have a Werner ID badge now and hopefully I’ll meet a driver trainer tomorrow and start what I consider a new chapter in my life.
It was another long day but not as bad as yesterday. If they all are like this I am not sure how long my old body can keep the pace.
I sure wish Dee could be with me on the road. It would be impossible while I have to drive with a trainer but after that she could. I’m sure we will work something out.
8/20/08
Wednesday
Hum! I think this is a lot like the military. The saying you learned there of “hurry up and wait” is very appropriate for what we are doing now. I am told there are over 3000 Driver Trainers that work for Werner. A very small percentage of them have gotten in contact with a student from my class of 48, to start there driver training. I think we have to log 360 hours with a trainer before they will let us terrorize the traveling public. That could equate to 6 to 8 weeks.
Boy, will I get skinny in that length of time. I am referring of course to the feeble amount of denaro I’ll receive in this time period. The doctor wanted me to lose weight but I’m not sure starving was what he had in mind. Well, I think I’ll take a siesta while I wait for my phone call.
8/21/08
Thursday
Guess what, no phone call yesterday or today. Surprise, surprise! If you recall, I stated on the first day that I hope the wait I had at the bus station was not a sign of things to come. Well it looks like I must have had a premination. A lot of the guys in my class are on the road now or have at least heard from their driver trainer. I’ll bet you can’t guess who hasn’t. If I don’t get one by noon tomorrow I’m in a little predicament. The front office of the motel told me today that I only have tonight left. I may be entering an unexpected side rode in my adventures on the road. This journal may have entries from a park bench somewhere in Atlanta. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the head! I hope the pigeons don’t poop on my laptop. Maybe they will share some crumbs with me. Time to leave you hanging, and see what the rest of the day will bring.
8/22/08
Friday
The rest of yesterday was uneventful. So today started off with a bang. At the 7:00 AM meeting I learned that I would have a driver trainer call me today. YEA! Well at 9:00 I called to find where he was and was told that he would not be coming because there was some paper work that I had not signed. Hope went to despair. I hurried over to the terminal and had the paper faxed to me. I signed it and faxed it back. Maybe all is not lost. Within the hour I heard from another Driver Trainer. We got our wires crossed and I sat at the motel for 4 hours before I went back to the terminal to meet him. He is an owner operator and has his own tractor. We are sitting in Rome Ga. Now while we are being loaded so we can go to Columbus Oh. The journey has begun!
8/23/08
Saturday
My driver trainer is a Philippine by the name of Ted. Since I have not been trained on a straight drive truck, he drove to get our first load from Rome Ga. We were loaded and left about 7:30PM. He drove to a truck stop close to Chattanooga Tenn. There we refueled and spent the night. Let me qualify that. That is where I spent the night in the upper birth of the sleeper cab. What a lovely experience! If you have ever put a pad on the top of the washing machine and set the cycle to spin, climbed on and tried to sleep, you will know what I’m talking about. The comparison does not really do the idling truck justice, because the washing machine will eventually stop.
At 5:30AM the old bladder told me that it could take no more. We went down the hill to the store that had adequate facilities and did our business.
Well, time for me to drive. After grinding through the gears we were on the way to Columbus Ohio. With one pit stop we made it to our destination. After we were unloaded, we discovered a major problem. The air drier on the tractor was leaking badly. So what you say. Well let me explain to all you non-truckers out there. With out adequate air pressure a most annoying alarm goes off. Oh yes, there is also the problem that without enough air pressure your breaks will lock and you aren’t going anywhere. The breaks don’t care where you are either. You could be going 64, our governed speed, down an interstate, and they say STOP and you stop! This takes place through no action on your part, of course. Well, we uncoupled the trailer and left it at the unload spot. We then bobtailed to a local Freightliner center for repairs. So I am now stuck in a motel at company expense till at least Monday. All in all, a very interesting first day.
8/24/08
Sunday
Except for a couple of walking jaunts to Wal-Mart and Perkins for nourishment, I spent the day in the motel. I sure hope the truck is ready tomorrow so we can get back “on the road again.” The journey is temporarily adjourned.
I have been told that it would be a neat idea to blog my adventures driving an 18 wheeler. Well I guess this is the start of something like that. First let me say that I am not sure what I need to do to blog. So this will be a journal of sorts.
After getting my CDL license, which was no easy task, I decided to go with Werner Enterprises. I was amazed that I had pre hire letters from all 10 of the companies that I applied with. There was one company that did not give me a pre hire letter because they had no openings in this area.
Today I had to travel by bus to Atlanta. I will start my orientation tomorrow at 7:00 AM. The bus trip took 4 hours. It was not the most pleasant form of travel. But since I will be bringing a truck home, when I get a few days off, I could not take my own car down there.
Mack Amick rode his bike down to the bus station to see me off and give me a gift of a do-nut cushion. He told me that it would be very useful on those long trips. As he left, Dee hollered, I’ll see you Wed. That is the day we normally meet Patty and him at the Carriage house to enjoy some wine. I told Dee that she could at least wait till I was gone before she made a date. Hum, she was not amused.
When I arrived at Atlanta, I had to wait 1 hour for my ride to the motel. I hope that is not a sign of things to come.
Well that is my first day on what will surly be a great adventure.
8/18/08
Monday
I’m too tired to think. This will be real short. I’ve been up 17 ½ hrs. Most of it at Werner School. I can not believe the amount of paper work they want just to let you drive for them. I have got to get to bed before I fall on my face.
8/19/08
Tuesday
Well today was the last day of orientation and they must have liked what I put on all the paper work. I have a Werner ID badge now and hopefully I’ll meet a driver trainer tomorrow and start what I consider a new chapter in my life.
It was another long day but not as bad as yesterday. If they all are like this I am not sure how long my old body can keep the pace.
I sure wish Dee could be with me on the road. It would be impossible while I have to drive with a trainer but after that she could. I’m sure we will work something out.
8/20/08
Wednesday
Hum! I think this is a lot like the military. The saying you learned there of “hurry up and wait” is very appropriate for what we are doing now. I am told there are over 3000 Driver Trainers that work for Werner. A very small percentage of them have gotten in contact with a student from my class of 48, to start there driver training. I think we have to log 360 hours with a trainer before they will let us terrorize the traveling public. That could equate to 6 to 8 weeks.
Boy, will I get skinny in that length of time. I am referring of course to the feeble amount of denaro I’ll receive in this time period. The doctor wanted me to lose weight but I’m not sure starving was what he had in mind. Well, I think I’ll take a siesta while I wait for my phone call.
8/21/08
Thursday
Guess what, no phone call yesterday or today. Surprise, surprise! If you recall, I stated on the first day that I hope the wait I had at the bus station was not a sign of things to come. Well it looks like I must have had a premination. A lot of the guys in my class are on the road now or have at least heard from their driver trainer. I’ll bet you can’t guess who hasn’t. If I don’t get one by noon tomorrow I’m in a little predicament. The front office of the motel told me today that I only have tonight left. I may be entering an unexpected side rode in my adventures on the road. This journal may have entries from a park bench somewhere in Atlanta. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the head! I hope the pigeons don’t poop on my laptop. Maybe they will share some crumbs with me. Time to leave you hanging, and see what the rest of the day will bring.
8/22/08
Friday
The rest of yesterday was uneventful. So today started off with a bang. At the 7:00 AM meeting I learned that I would have a driver trainer call me today. YEA! Well at 9:00 I called to find where he was and was told that he would not be coming because there was some paper work that I had not signed. Hope went to despair. I hurried over to the terminal and had the paper faxed to me. I signed it and faxed it back. Maybe all is not lost. Within the hour I heard from another Driver Trainer. We got our wires crossed and I sat at the motel for 4 hours before I went back to the terminal to meet him. He is an owner operator and has his own tractor. We are sitting in Rome Ga. Now while we are being loaded so we can go to Columbus Oh. The journey has begun!
8/23/08
Saturday
My driver trainer is a Philippine by the name of Ted. Since I have not been trained on a straight drive truck, he drove to get our first load from Rome Ga. We were loaded and left about 7:30PM. He drove to a truck stop close to Chattanooga Tenn. There we refueled and spent the night. Let me qualify that. That is where I spent the night in the upper birth of the sleeper cab. What a lovely experience! If you have ever put a pad on the top of the washing machine and set the cycle to spin, climbed on and tried to sleep, you will know what I’m talking about. The comparison does not really do the idling truck justice, because the washing machine will eventually stop.
At 5:30AM the old bladder told me that it could take no more. We went down the hill to the store that had adequate facilities and did our business.
Well, time for me to drive. After grinding through the gears we were on the way to Columbus Ohio. With one pit stop we made it to our destination. After we were unloaded, we discovered a major problem. The air drier on the tractor was leaking badly. So what you say. Well let me explain to all you non-truckers out there. With out adequate air pressure a most annoying alarm goes off. Oh yes, there is also the problem that without enough air pressure your breaks will lock and you aren’t going anywhere. The breaks don’t care where you are either. You could be going 64, our governed speed, down an interstate, and they say STOP and you stop! This takes place through no action on your part, of course. Well, we uncoupled the trailer and left it at the unload spot. We then bobtailed to a local Freightliner center for repairs. So I am now stuck in a motel at company expense till at least Monday. All in all, a very interesting first day.
8/24/08
Sunday
Except for a couple of walking jaunts to Wal-Mart and Perkins for nourishment, I spent the day in the motel. I sure hope the truck is ready tomorrow so we can get back “on the road again.” The journey is temporarily adjourned.
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