After an extensive study on trucking, my current apprentice viewed all of the YouTube videos, studied all of the Trucking Truth articles, and then came to work with me. Before passing his CDL test on the first attempt, he had spent a week in orientation & two weeks on the road with a CDL instructor.
He is from a southern state, and while he was getting used to the cold, he became ill. I nearly hit our first client for him out of sympathy, but I thought he should get accustomed to driving while feeling ill or tired. He said, “Yeah, I am learning that,” in response to my explanation of the situation. I am beginning to wonder whether everything was an error. You can not grasp what people mean when they say it is a lifestyle until you live it. I terminated my ten-year employment.
My stomach dropped.
He was dissatisfied because of the same job that had brought me so much liberty and financial success. Even before beginning the toughest trucker training phase, he had reservations. It may be challenging to leave the comfort of the familiar while beginning a new profession or relationship since many individuals dislike change.
Naturally, I did not know at the time whether his discomfort was due to his illness, his homesickness, or the first shock of adapting to life on a truck. I did not want to pursue the matter since we had only been dating for a few days, so I attempted to improve his situation.
Later, when I asked him how I could assist, he said, “I was ill, and my stomach was troubling me. I did not want to leave the warm vehicle and traverse a large parking lot in the chilly weather only to use the restroom. It was jarring to have to do it again throughout the evening.
He practiced his backing a lot at the truck stop earlier that day, and when we were through, he parked in the last row. I would have relocated us closer to the building with facilities if he had informed me that his stomach was troubling him. Regarding his requirements, he is not the only rookie driver who feels this way.
The Call of Nature
Recently, I went to supper with a brand-new female driver who had had male training. Her trainer advised her to use a garbage bag and his bucket if she did not want to trek in the snow when she was in a similar position in the bitter cold and snow. She had the option of slipping under the trailer or hiding behind the curtain, where he could not see her. She had those two options, or she could traverse a 300-space parking lot at midnight through the snow and ice.
Which one would you pick? Consider the scenario in which you may not get to the building in time for the call of nature if you are unwell.
The best advice I can provide is to acquire a plastic container, fill it with 13-gallon black Hefty “Force Flex” Febreeze garbage bags, and always have some Feline Fresh pine cat litter in the vehicle. Broken fragments of pine wood that resemble chopsticks make up the litter. The pee transforms into sawdust, which effectively masks the odors.
Additionally, some of the Assurance wipes in Walmart’s incontinence section are excellent. They are designed to be used on bedridden individuals for bathing and are larger and tougher than baby wipes. Even though it may be a taboo subject, it is best to be ready than to find yourself stranded in a parking lot or consumer area without access to restrooms.
Yes, parking at a business may have drawbacks since not all customers have toilets for drivers. My “litter box” is cleaner than some port-a-potties, although some may provide them.
And if I had a student on the vehicle and wanted to use one, I sterilized that thing with my cleaning wipes and sprays! Some trucking realities strike novice drivers quickly and hard.
Difficult Sleep Schedules
Unpredictable sleep and driving schedules are other challenges for truck drivers. Truckers can have irregular sleeping patterns. How consistent your sleeping and driving schedules are will depend on the department or business you work for.
For instance, driving a dry van rather than a reefer may allow for a more regular sleep schedule, although sleep is a huge issue for the whole sector.
While Line Haul and P&D will continue to follow their usual driving schedules, they must also make time for sleep and family time at home.
There is often no defined work schedule for truckers. If you close at 5, your hour’s resume at 3 am. Then you may close at midday and resume operations at 10 pm. You may notice that your day has a “revolving” start time. You will sometimes have to drive throughout the day, at night, on weekends, and on holidays.
It is completely okay to let Dispatch know that you need extra sleep before the next load is assigned, but keep in mind that until you let them know, they will have no clue what is happening in your truck. Since there may be 100 other vehicles to coordinate, they may not check to see whether you are parked close to a railroad track or if the shipper’s noise hindered you from getting any sleep. You are responsible for getting some rest and alerting Dispatch to any issues.
Why is taking a shower so popular among new drivers?
You should be aware that shower credits are added to truck stop fuel rewards cards first. You gain more shower credits the more gasoline you purchase. Every chain has different specifications for gasoline purchasing. For a shower credit at Sapp Bros, you simply need to purchase 25 gallons; however, at TA/Petro, you need to purchase 60 gallons.
There are sometimes campaigns when all drivers at a certain trucking firm may take advantage of a free shower every day for a whole month. A free daily shower is available if you purchase 1000 gallons of petrol monthly at Flying J and Love’s. The Ohio Turnpike Service Plazas showers are free, but you must provide your towel.
You may have to shut down at a site where you have no fuel credits since not all trucking firms let you fill up all gasoline chains. You will have to pay $10 to $15 if you shower there. The second choice is to take a shower while working on the trip.
An old discussion on the site regarding taking showers while traveling was recently revived. It spoke about how often drivers got to take showers. The novice driver still has to make adjustments in this area.
Showers are often available to those working “regular” jobs. Most individuals have access to a shower or bathtub for more hours per day than they work, whether at home or the gym. With truckers, this is untrue. Although having a bed in your vehicle is great, we sometimes spend our 10-hour breaks with customers or have to park in areas resembling convenience stores without laundry facilities or showers.
There are times when we are so happy to be able to park and sleep that it does not matter whether we do so at a casino, weigh station, or adult bookshop. We are sleep-deprived, exhausted, and short on time. Because of this, it may be hard to “start the day with a hot shower.”
I know dry van drivers who spend the night at a truck stop and take showers in the morning. They often exceed the 10-hour break while continuing to log kilometers. Other friends with reefers or flatbeds avoid parking at truck stops at all costs due to the possibility of accidents. They worry that someone could hit their vehicle while it is being parked. After taking a mid-shift shower, they park at Walmarts or other places.
It will be simpler to park and take a shower every day if you are a poor driver who does not log many kilometers. However, you are not running far enough to burn enough gasoline to qualify for those shower credits. As a result, you could have to pay cash for such showers.
Top-tier drivers often plan their showers. Because one of us always has hours to make sure we get to a truck stop, I find it much simpler to shower every day when I run a team with a student I am training. Most days, when I am jogging alone, I can easily shower during my shift, so where I park for the night, does not have to consider bathing.
Accounting for individual needs
Novice drivers need to understand that personal demands necessitate forethought. You have very little time to eat, shower, do your laundry, and sleep while you are parked at a truck stop. It may be a good idea to wash a load of clothing before taking a shower. Throw that batch into the dryer and find something to eat, as the washer is about to complete when you leave. Your clothes are just about finished drying as you leave the restaurant.
Everything you do while driving requires planning, and inexperienced drivers often have awful time management skills. Sleep will take up the time required for things like washing and laundry since new drivers are continually weary. Many evenings, I was unsure if I was hungry, exhausted, or stinky. Actually, in such instances, sleep typically came out on top.
Managing Traffic and Additional Delays
Learning which cities have the most traffic and will take more time to navigate than others requires time and expertise. There will be differences in the congestion levels and speed restrictions on different interstates. Other factors, such as hills, bends, the weather, and the weight of your load, may also slow you down.
You must take all of this into account when planning your vacation. In certain regions of the nation, traveling 450 miles may take 9 hours, but in others, it would not be a problem to fly. Additionally, some locations charge far more than others to meet your demands. The cost of food will be far higher in the Northeast than in the South. The identical McDonald’s meal that costs $6 in Missouri might cost $12 at a service station in New York State. Even Walmart pricing varies widely around the nation, so where and when you buy may impact your pocketbook.
The price of doing laundry is the same. While some AMBEST or even the Ohio Turnpike charge half of what TA/Petro does ($3 per load), some do not. Free laundry is available at a Freightliner dealer in Missouri, and some transportation terminals also provide free showers and laundry.
Planning your personal needs must be done while attempting to pick up and deliver loads across the country, which requires navigating unfamiliar roads, dodging aggressive drivers, contending with bad weather, attempting to make the load on time, maintaining the truck in top safety condition, securing your flatbed load, filling your reefer, and monitoring weather apps for potential dangers. Sounds simple, no?
It will get simpler.
I have been working with my trainee for two weeks now. He claims that traveling is becoming less difficult. His former position was offered him again today but at a larger salary. He declined it. He seemed to be missing his family the most right now.
I asked him what advice he would offer someone thinking about working in the trucking industry, and he said, “You will not know what it is like unless you do it. Sleep in a cardboard box in the furthest corner of your yard one night. You will understand when you have to get up and go a long distance to the restroom in the dark or the cold.
When I questioned him about the toughest aspect of his previous position, he said, “Dealing with people. Dealing with errors made by consumers and other persons.
What I Love About Trucking
For me, the finest aspect of trucking is having independence and not interacting with people I do not want to. Rarely will I visit a consumer more than once. There is no one to blame for my errors; I just need to fix the ones I made. I do not have to deal with individuals since nobody enters my vehicle until I permit them. The worst element of my student’s previous work, interacting with people, is not much of a problem in trucking since Dispatch barely ever phones me. Not in my reality, at least.
Attitude is important in trucking. Whether or not you succeed in this field will mostly depend on your work ethic and how you see the world. Keep moving forward because things get better. And be careful!