Gummiente's "Newbie" Blog

[Gummiente]

I'm not going to repeat the why's and how's of my decision to become a trucker, but if anyone wants to read the background it's on the Newbie's Forum in the "Greetings From Grey County" thread. What I intend to do here in this thread is keep a blog on the daily happenings of my new career, right from the first day of my AZ course - which starts tomorrow.

I don't mind saying that I am filled with a mixture of anticipation, dread, doubt and excitement as I get ready to launch the third career change of my life. Since making the decision, I've been roaming the internet and lurking on several trucking forums trying to get a rough idea of what's in store for me in this industry. It is very apparent that trucking is in a big slump just like every other facet of the economy now, but I do see more and more jobs being posted each day as the analysts start broadcasting that we're on our way out of the recession. I'm stubbornly hopeful that someone will want to hire a newly minted AZ Driver with a hell of a lot of life experiences behind him, but at the same time keenly aware that there are literally thousands of experienced drivers out there looking for work, too.

To that end, I've already spoken with the recruiter at Kriska, thanks to a friend of mine who drives for them out of their Prescott terminal. She gave me some very good advice and information, including the suggestion that I apply for my FAST card right away, so as to make myself more attractive to potential employers once I graduate. I did so a few weeks ago and received notification last week that the application was approved. Next Tuesday I have my interview booked at the Fort Erie FAST Enrolment Center for the final steps in processing and obtaining the card.

I've also been browsing through the textbook that Transport Training Centres of Canada gave me back when I registered for the course. As I had suspected, there is a heck of a lot more to trucking than just shifting gears and backing trailers up to docks. Some of it (like the logbook rules and regulations) I'm having a hard time figuring out, but the rest of the material seems to be fairly easy to grasp. I'm looking forward to actually driving a rig, too. I've never been intimidated by machinery or vehicles of any kind and can pretty much drive anything out there. Hey, I used to drive a 40 tonne tank in the military and could balance it on the knife edge of a sand dune, so a Kenworth tractor hauling a long trailer isn't all that scary to me.

Every time a truck rumbles by when I'm out riding my motorcycles, I find myself looking at the driver's door to catch the company name displayed on it. I've bookmarked several of the trucking company websites within a two hour radius of my home and regularly check them for updates on employment opportunities. I resigned myself very early in my decision that I will not be home every weekend and what little home time I will get won't be consistent, but you do what you gotta do to survive and I hope that eventually my wife and I will get used to it. There's always the chance of getting a dedicated run with a local company some day, but I figure for at least the next three years I'll be at the mercy of the dispatcher's whim as to where I go and how long I'll be there.

And so tomorrow it all begins, at 8am in a classroom. I won't be getting much sleep tonight.

[hellcat_99]

Go in with an open mind.
Pay no attention to anyone but your instructor.
Ask as many question's as you can, because once otr, there will be no one there to answer them for you.
Good luck & don't forget lunch money.
Holly

[bikerboy]

the way you talk , you make it sound like OTR carriers, are the only companies that ever hire new drivers.
thats not the case, i was hired on with a local company doing local work when i was 18, and it was three more years before i ever did any OTR, by choice.

if you want to be home wknds, you can make it happen, that was always what i looked for , was a job where i was home wknds, and so far i have only worked about 2 weekends in the last 6 years of trucking. with 5 different companies

and remember, most of the good local jobs, never advertise and alot don;t even have websites.
you just gotta go in and apply

[Gummiente]

the way you talk , you make it sound like OTR carriers, are the only companies that ever hire new drivers.

I didn't mean for it to sound like that, but you have to remember I'm new to the scene and am basing my opinions only on what I have observed so far. If I can find a local company that pays well and offers a Mon-Fri job you can bet your butt I will jump all over it, but my priority after graduating is to find a good job with a good company. Right now, though, it seems that only the OTR's have any signs of life for employment prospects but your point about walking in to apply at local companies is well taken.

[Gummiente]

Day One - Classroom
Showed up bright and early 15 minutes before the start time at the classroom and met the instructor. The four other students showed up a few minutes later and we all introduced ourselves and grabbed a chair. Three of us are doing the AZ, one is attending for the DZ portion and one is doing the whole enchilada – the 13 week AZ/Heavy Equipment Operator. As to be expected, we all come from different backgrounds with an age range of 19 to mid-50’s and pretty much no experience with 18 wheelers.

Today was all paperwork, movies, lessons from the textbook and a general outline of what will be taking place over the next few weeks. The book lessons were basic introductions to the trucking industry, explanations and regulations for pre-trip inspections and an overview of all the switches, levers, gadgets and gauges to be found in and around the typical semi-trailer rig.

At first break, I noticed a driving simulator in one of the rooms and asked about it; I was told we could jump on it anytime we wanted, as it was there specifically for our use. So during the lunch break I wandered in with one of the students and watched as he attempted to operate it by guesswork, as there were no instructions posted anywhere on how to use it. He got it started and moving in first gear, but could not master the art of double-clutching to upshift. The simulator makes very realistic gear grinding noises, so realistic and loud that the receptionist had to close the door to the room so she could hear herself talk on the phone while he was trying to drive. Eventually, he gave up and I hopped into the seat to give it a whirl. I was very confident in my skills, having driven a 5 Ton cargo truck with non-synchro transmission a few times during my Army days. Within two minutes, my confidence was lying in very small pieces all over the floor. I, too, could not get the knack of shifting at all. Part of the problem was that I kept banging the clutch pedal down to the floor, which engaged the clutch brake and resulted in really loud, long grinding sequences from the transmission. Frustrating, to say the least. I determined from the display on the screen that the toggle on the front of the Eaton-Fuller 10 speed gearlever operated the High/Low range and that I was in Low range. But I didn’t know what the toggle on the side of the lever was for and it didn’t have any effect on my gearbox destroying shifts regardless of what position it was in.

Finally, I conceded defeat and went out to ask the instructor what I was doing wrong. He came in, sat down, and in a blur of hands and feet was in 10th gear at 65mph in the blink of an eye. Dammit. Turns out I had the right idea but the wrong sequence in my attempts. Once he showed me that I have to move my clutch foot AND gearshift hand at the same time, as well as only using the first 3 or 4 inches of clutch pedal travel, it didn’t take me long to catch on. But I was still missing some shifts and having a heck of a time with downshifting. That’s when the instructor noticed the simulator was set for an 80,000lb load... no wonder I kept stalling it in 3rd gear at a standing start. He reset the program to simulate 36,000lb (i.e.: an empty semi-trailer rig) and changed the engine to a Cummins N-14 435HP unit. Big difference. I actually made it all the way to 10th and back down to 5th before seizing things up by whacking the clutch pedal all the way to the floor again. That is going to be one difficult bad habit to unlearn. I finally got out of the seat and let the other students take a crack at it, feeling a little better when they had just as much difficulty as I did with it.

A little while later we got our first setback of the course. One of the students from the course ahead of us came into the office all bent out of shape, turns out he was booked to do his AZ Test today only to find out when he showed up at the Drive Center test facility that they went on friggin’ strike this morning. Lovely. That means nobody will get their tests done – written or practical – until the strike is over. Now, I don’t want to go on a rant here, but for anyone to go on strike at a time when the economy is in a deep slump just burns my butt to a crisp. The fact that the people who are on strike just happen to be in a position to prevent me from achieving my goal as a licensed AZ driver, well, I’d better stop right here before I type something that will short circuit the word censor on this forum.

Anyway. There’s a homework assignment due tomorrow, but I’ve already completed it so I’ll just read ahead in the section we’ll be covering tomorrow – Hours Of Service. After flipping through the blank log book they gave us today and the 5lb of pages in the textbook for this chapter, I can tell this is going to be one fun filled, action packed adventure tomorrow.

[bikerboy]

that button on the side of the shifter, was probly for a 8LL,13,15, 18 speed transmisson setting.
they all have two switches on shifter. one for range and one for splitting gears
a blue switch is a 8LL or 15 speed, red switch is 13 speed and grey switch is 18 speed

[Gummiente]

a blue switch is a 8LL or 15 speed, red switch is 13 speed and grey switch is 18 speed

The instructor told me afterwards it was the gear splitter, but didn't tell me what setup. The switch was grey, though, so I guess that means 18 speed. I'll try to remember to verify that tomorrow.

[SpiritRoad]

I don't follow a lot of blogs, but seeing as I just started at Humber last Friday I'll be checking in on this one to compare notes. Sounds quite similar so far, powerpoint lectures and videos but we have no simulators that I am aware of.

Dave



P.S. don't know why I included that smiley, it just seemed too goofy to pass up.

[bikerboy]

those simulators seem harder to shift then a real truck, i tried bisons sim once at the fergus truck show and i looked like a idiot trying to shift it.

[stefan79]

Hi Mike

I hear you about the shifting. My simulator hours in Fanshawe College London were pretty frustrating, too. I always grinded some gears.
But in the first lesson in the truck (bobtailing) I improved the shifting very good. I found it easier in the truck then in the simulator. In the second lesson it was even better, cause I had the trailer hooked on that smoothend the whole thing more out for me.
Once I got to the point that I knew the shift pattern and the whole process the driving made really fun, because I could concentrate me more on driving it self then just on shifting.

Good luck and fun with your course.

Stefan