dd...you still in missoula? if so ill be over in the morning , get my truck from the tire shop and be over at the yard...so lunch will be on me

frieght is gonna be ugly this week i know...was hopin to be on the road wensday but the tire shope took longer to get my rubber on

lol....i hope they didnt give a rookie my good paying load...lol ( anything that isnt outta butte)

 

Congrats DD. I got my truck with Passmore on Tuesday afternoon. Seems like a good company.You might look at them when you get some experience. You get home most weekends.52% of their freight is in Texas.

 

My first solo trip 08/08/07
I got to the yard at 8am this morning and planned on doing a load of laundry, make a few 4’ V-Boards and a couple of other miscellaneous things. Instead, at about 8:30am I was told I had a load. I would be picking up in Butte, MT and delivering in Fort Madison, IA.
I got my routing, said my goodbyes and by 9am I was rolling. I got to the shipper at 11:15am and wouldn’t you know it, the guy that does the loading is on lunch. I know what I have to do so I get all my stuff prepped as best I could while I awaited his return. About 12:45 he finally shows up and starts to load me. I do not want to disclose what my cargo is at this time, but when it is loaded, they split the load between the front and back of the trailer. Anyways, the guys starts on the front and when he has it all on there, the trailer nose is leaning seriously to the left, NOT good!! Even the loader made a statement on how he has never seen a trailer lean so much. I am on level ground, have the right amount of tire pressure, my suspension air bags are full……this should not be happening.

I go ahead and call my truck manager to tell him of the issue. He says try moving the truck about 30 or 40 feet to see if maybe the ground is not as level as it looks. I try it, and it does help a little but not much. Next I ask the guy if he could unload me and let’s see what happens. After he gets everything off, we look closely at the trailer and sure enough you can see where it is warped or twisted down in the left front and right rear. I tell him to try loading the back partially and then the front and then the rest on the back and see if it helps balance things out. If not, I would have to call my truck manager and more than likely head back to Missoula. Well it worked. The trailer is sitting nice and level with just a hair over 45,000lbs on deck and all is good to go.

I get my loaded routing and head on out. I was planning and hoping to make it to Rapid City, SD before shutting down for the night but only got as far as Laurel, MT which I am NOT happy about at all (Securing and tarping a load by yourself can be just a tiny bit exhausting) but I will make up for it tomorrow as I want to drop this load by Friday. It isn’t due until Monday, but I would prefer to get it off Friday and take a chance on a new load to carry me through the weekend. We will see.

 

Thanks....you'd be suprised what us "Squids" can do :wink:

 

Thanks!! I intend to continue the Journal for anyone that may be interested in reading about my adventures.....or if they need a sedative to help them sleep :lol:

 

Yes it sure does fly when you're having fun!!! :P

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: yep!!

 

I just left today and loaded out of Butte. You're a day late and a dollar short But "dewercs2" is there, he was testing out and should still be there in the morning.

 

Thanks....

 

Yes, Please keep the posts going , I am enjoying reading them and it is helping me learn a few things. I got some good news today. I start Driving school at Sage next Monday and found out today that my schooling will be 100% paid for by the Trade Adjustment Act. A benefit I recieved from a plant Closure a couple years ago. Congrats on heading into Phase three. Good luck!!