Trucker Warren, From The Begining

First, We ended up going to Chicago, IL. instead of Maryland.

Nutley made a coment about budgeting. Thanks Nutley, I have already learned that the first day. I spent like $30.00 and was woundering what the heck happened. The next day we went to Walmart in Nebraska. I spen $30.00 there and now have enough food to last 5 days. As far as gambling goes I don't, so that shouldn't be an issue.
Ken and Karen mentioned Basslemans. I was at the one in Big Springs, NE. We did get a free shower, but anybody can with 50 gals of fuel.

I am writing to you from Chicago, IL. At an Oasis rest stop that is built over the freeway (toll way). We just delivered in Chicago and are on our way to pick up in Wisconsin, and then we are heading to Washington State. It has been an adventure thus far. We passed thru a light snow storm in Vail, Co. and lost our brakes on the way down (I wasn’t driving). Due to the wet and slippery conditions, we could not use the engine brake. We used it after that and made it down the hill safely.
We are driving like a team, 6 hours on, 6 off. My trainer says that we will be switching to a 12/12 this week. Okay, that’s it for now. Here are some pics. Sorry such short posts, but you know how life on the road is.

Vail, CO. Snowing



Our truck in Vail, CO


The view out the window of the Oasis Rest Stop on the outskirts of Chicago, IL

Category: General

This is in response to an Email I received from Rick Armstrong of Southern Califonia. Rich has been writing me for some time now and I always enjoy his letters. He has asked me some questions in his last letter that I thought I would share with you.

1) Did you feel the instructors were good at CRE?

I felt that the instructors were excellent with the exception of a couple. the exceptions were due to them yelling and not giving you a chance to try the maneuvers without instruction after they had already walked you thru it. I had 1 instructor that I really liked and gave us freedom to try things on our own once we were taught. This was very effective because you got a chance to see where and why you needed improvement. All in all I would give the CRE team of instructors and trainers an 9 out of 10.



2) Did you end up using the technique for backing that Trucker Tom mentioned, that is holding the bottom of the wheel and then turning it the way you want the trailer to go or did the instructors require a different method?

I did try Toms advice and it worked good but is only applicable to straight line backing for me. The instructors did have their own method and I was able to use those methods successfully as well.



3) How many people started in your class and how many passed? Were there any women in the class?

We started with about 35 and ended up with 21. They were dropped or left on their own for various reasons. there were 2 women in the class and 1 passed and the other is going thru some extended training. there are still 2 guys that are going thru extended training and 1 of them most likely won't finish.



4) What are the key things you would recommend to someone just starting truck driver training to help ensure their success?

Best advice I could give would be to have your affairs in order at home. The less you have to worry about the better. Try to remind yourself why you are in the program if things get a little rough for any reason, IE roommates, instructors, fellow classmates, and difficulty with the program. If you feel discouraged, just remember that most of the people before you made it and you can to. And finaly, really apply yourself to the homework and study. take any opportunity to do extracurricular activity.

Thanks Rick for the questions.

warrentrucker@yahoo.com

Category: General

Today I had to go to the DMV and finish up my paper work. They gave me an interim license and I am ready to go. I spent most of the day today driving people around in the company van. Finally my name was called to be processed out and assigned to a driver trainer. I am meeting him tomorrow (7:00am) at the Mira Loma yard in Ca. So much for sleeping in for 1 day. We have a load going to Maryland first thing. I would imagine we will get to know each other pretty well during this trip.
There is allot I want to write about but I have limited time right now so it will have to wait. I have really enjoyed myself during the last few weeks and am looking forward to the next phase. I likely won't be able to make any posts for a few days but we will see how things go.

Category: General

I passed I passed I passed. I went into this with the hope of just achieving my CDL. Today we had to take our DMV hands on tests. They consisted of a pre-trip inspection, in cab inspection, and an air brake system check. The air brake test was a pass or fail test. Then we had to do a skills test which consisted of straight line backing, Alley docking, parallel parking, right turn, and a test where you had to stop at a cone within 1’. Then, if you passed all that, you had a road test. I got 100% and no points on the pre-trips, missed 1 point on the skills, and 7 on the road test. This gives me an overall score of only 8 points. Well, they have a Top Gun program for the graduate with the lowest score. I wasn’t planning on being super trucker of the school but guess what? I am Top gun. It’s a $50.00 gift certificate and bragging rights and I think some kind of certificate stating that you are Top Gun.
The 7 points I missed on my road test were; 5 for traffic checks (I felt like a bobble head looking back and forth in the mirrors as it was). There were a few times that I would be watching my tandems on a right turn and so was the examiner; he must have missed me doing that. The other 2 points were because he asked me what I would do if parking on an up-hill and I said “turn my wheels to the left and set the brakes” then he asked about a down hill, and I said “turn my wheels to the right”. When the test was over he said that the wheel direction was right but that I needed to roll and bump the curb and then set the brakes. I’ll never get that one wrong again. He would ask me “what did that sign say”; there were 4 signs one time and three the other. He made me name each one of them. I didn’t realize how much I actually notice when I am driving but I didn’t miss one sign.
The one other thing he almost got me on was what do you do when coming to a steep down grade, I said, down shift, he said before that, slow down to the posted speed limit, before that he says, asses the situation and note the grade, before that he says. I’m thinking, “We never covered this in class, what the hell else is there to do?” My skin started getting hot, I felt sweat on my forehead, and just when I thought I couldn’t answer the question, and the words came out by them selves, “stop at the brake check”. Needless to say, that was the correct answer.
Tomorrow I have to go to the DMV and finish up some paper work and then they will likely assign me to a driver trainer. I will be out on the road for 28 days my first tour and then come back and do a second 28 day tour In the CAT program (career advancement team). Then I will be upgraded in Salt Lake City, Utah. There I will be assigned my own truck.

One last thing, if you ever go to this school and see this water truck coming, RUN!!!! You will get wet. I have some comments to make about this water truck issue but I will discuss them at a later date.

Here he is, on the prowl like a cat, stalking it's next victim.


He spies his unsuspecting pry, then he pounces.



Everybody RUN!!! the strong survive but the weak are sent home with wet underwear.


No one was hurt in the writing of this tale of the water truck.

Category: General

Ken and Karen, furniture haulers from California, and Rick Armstrong, also from California, asked me if we had any weight on the truck as we were running up and down Cajon Pass today (thanks for the question). No, the trucks were empty. The scales were closed on the way up this morning and we were stopping short of the scales today at the Silverwood exit and then we would go back up to the 395 and stop at the Outpost truck stop. We had a different trainer today. He is usually only a yard instructor. He let me drive all the way to the top of the pass from the yard. Then everyone took turns going up and down the pass (again I was biting my nails). Then he had me drive back and we took old route 66, what a blast. The scales were open on the way down before we got to Route 66, and we went thru without incident.
I felt bad that I got 3 hours seat time today while everyone else only got 30 minutes, but hey, I'll take it. I've been cheated out of seat time the whole time I've been here because the others weren't getting the backing. I would be in the truck for 5 minutes, and then the others would take 20 minutes to complete a skill. I guess the instructor liked my driving enough to trust me in the early morning traffic and then he said he was going to see how good I was and took me down Route 66.
We also practiced the Alley Doc at the truck stop. This was real live backing, not cones. I got it perfect in the hole on the first shot with no pull ups. I'm not bragging (well, maybe a little), but the whole purpose of this blog is to share my experience.

Here is a picture of our trainer today (closest to the truck). We were at the Outpost at the 393 / 15 split.


Here is another shot of the truck stop. I found this combination vehicle of interest.


Sorry I didn't get better pictures of the truck stop.
By the way, The Outpost Cafe' has excellent food. We ate lunch there today. I use to do allot of dirt bike riding in this area and the Outpost was always high on the list of where to eat on the way home. I give it a hearty two thumbs up.

Category: General

Today we did highway driving, hi-speed turns, on ramps and off ramps, and down town city driving. The shifting is getting much easier and I’m actually starting to enjoy it. I don’t feel like I am having any problems but some guys are having a hard time shifting and others seem to forget that there is a 53’ trailer behind them. They start turning as soon as they reach the intersection. The instructor quickly handles the problem but I have been biting my nails to nubs. There are four of us in a truck and we take turns behind the wheel (20", no more then 2" play or 10%). All in all it is pretty amazing to see the progress of the other students as well as my own. After the first day of shifting I was pretty discouraged, but now it is no problem.
So we ran across an interesting incident today. See there was this tanker and a 4 wheeler that kind of had a disagreement and well!!!! Here are some pictures of the accident. Now you know that they will blame the driver of the tanker for failure to yield the right of way, but you got to wonder what was going thru the 4 wheelers mind when he saw the truck. It’s not like there was no time to stop, it takes awhile to get a truck across the road and I would be willing to bet that the car had at least 5 secs to respond. This is just proof positive that people aren’t paying attention and that we should never take for granted that the other guy is going to yield. One thing I learned while desert racing was to expect the unexpected.
Anyway, here are the pics and I will let you draw your own conclusions. No mater who is at fault, it is still an unfortunate incident.

Here we are rolling up after waiting 20 mins


Rolling up on the scene


A close up of the scene


Once again, as always, email me at:
warrentrucker@yahoo.com

Oh, and only 1 day left till final testing. Tomorrow we will be running up and down Cajon Pass on the 15 Freeway in Southern California, so if you are in the area and happen to see our trucks, WATCH OUT, hahaha.

Category: General

Okay, so yesterday I was a little rough on the shifting, not today. I can't believe what a difference there was today. I was able to downshift with little trouble. City driving wasn't really all that bad. Tomorrow we are going to practice high speed turns on the freeway and freeway driving. Hard to believe that I have already been here for 2 weeks, the time is just flying by. They say we will be taking our exams on Thursday, but as I have been finding out with this company, you will get a different answer from everyone you ask and none of it is correct. The only way you will know the facts is after it happens. I've become accustomed to this and am anxious for nothing. Even the class that is one week behind our class is different then ours.
I've mentioned this before but sometimes they act like this is the first time they have done this. Oh well, what can you do? The bus this morning was packed full. A new class started again today and there are 48 people in it. The week before me has 36 and we have 22. It's hard to get seat time with 22 people in the class; I can't imagine how it's going to be for the other two classes.

Category: General

Today was the first day we drove on the road. Of all the things I thought I would have problems with I never thought it would be with shifting. I've driven all kinds of vehicles and was a mechanic. I shouldn't have any problems shifting, Right? Wrong. Up-shifting was no problem but down-shifting was another story. Grrrrrind, grrr grrr grrrind grind, gggrrrind, clunk shake shake, you get the idea. I only had a total of 1 hour in the seat today and I don't expect miracles but I thought for sure I would accel at shifting right of the bat. That's okay, I wasn't the only one. This was a problem for almost everybody.
My legs feel like Jell-O tonight and I was only driving for an hour. I have found an all new respect for truckers today. And the lanes are incredibly small in a truck. You have to really be on your game.

P.S. My latest roommate has worked out really well.

Category: General

This morning I was on a radio show with Trucker Doc, (Sheryl Youngblood) of "The Knights of the Road" Radio show. You can find the link to her website under my favorite links on the right sidebar of this webpage. Trucker Doc is committed to the education of the public on what it takes to be a trucker. She also is dedicated to truckers themselves. She has decided to do periodic interviews with me during my training and into my career. I feel honored that she chooses me. It was fun doing the show and I look forward to doing it again.

I've mentioned before that Trucker Tom is also doing periodic interviews with me on the subject of becoming a trucker. Tom does internet "Pod Casts" that are in MP3 format and available for download. You can find the links to Tom’s website on the right sidebar of this webpage also. Trucker Tom's Pod Casts are informative, interesting, and sometimes comical.

As promised, I took some photos today. We weren't scheduled to be at the yard today but about 8 of us went to get some extra time in with the trucks to do our pre-trip inspections and Air Brake System Tests. My friend Scott and me had 1 truck to ourselves and were able to get allot accomplished. I feel more confident about those tests.
These first two pictures are of the dash of a Freightliner Century Class (AKA. Freight shaker). These are the same trucks that England uses in their fleet.




This is a picture of the QualComm. This is a Satellite device used to communicate between the truck and the driver manager. They also have one on the trailer but without the keyboard, and it is used to keep track of customer freight.



I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we will be out on the road for the first time.

Okay, once again I would like to invite you to email me at:
warrentrucker@yahoo.com
Any comments and suggestions welcome

Category: General

Today was the final day of backing class. I have gotten to where I can do the alley doc without touching the clutch or the brake. Some of the guys are having a hard time with the backing. It really takes some getting use to but they will get it.
We are off tomorrow but me and some of the other guys are going to go to the yard anyway and work on our pre-trip inspections and brake system tests. You cannot miss one thing on the brake system tests, it's an automatic failure. Being a mechanic for all these years you would think that I would have no problem with the pre-trip inspection, but when you have to verbalize everything you are looking at and what you are looking for in front of an examiner, it's pretty hard. You really have to know your stuff.
Sorry I haven't had any photos lately as things have been really fast paced and I haven't had time. I will take some tomorrow and post them. Sunday we begin driving on the road, this ought to be interesting.

Category: General