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It's winter, so we should all pay attention to road signs. I certainly do.
Watch for ice on bridge. West Virginia
Watch for ice on bridge. Oklahoma
Watch for ice on bridges. Indiana
Bridge ices before road. North Carolina
Bridge ices before road. South Carolina
Bridge freezes before roadway. Kentucky
Bridge may ice in cold weather. Arkansas
In West Virginia and Oklahoma, one should gaze upon the bridge, wary of ice appearing.
Indiana reminds us that all bridges are suspect, not just the one in front of us.
The Carolinas acknowledge that ice happens to roads, also, only later than to bridges.
Kentucky is not concerned so much with ice as with very cold bridges. Perhaps they fear that tires, like tongues, might stick to frozen metal (bridges).
Arkansas is somewhat tentative, allowing that it may be cold without icing bridges.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Responding to some comments/questions
A couple of you were curious about the weekly transition from trucker to "civilian", particularly the different driving experiences. The truck is, duh, heavier and we sit higher up in the air. No matter what vehicle I habitually drive, over time it gets to feel like an extension of my body, or my feeling of personal size adjusts to encompass what I am driving. With the truck, it has been really difficult to "incorporate" the trailer (see the "Physics" entry). I "wear" the tractor more comfortably. I am a really big guy who looks far ahead and looks down on the little cars. I am slow to accelerate and slow to decelerate, especially when loaded. Unloaded, tractor and trailer weigh ~ 29,000 lbs. Loaded, 70,000 to 78,000 lbs. We truckers would like you to be very aware of this when you are tempted to cut in front of us and apply your brakes. As much as I would like to avoid crushing you, slowing that mass takes more time and distance than slowing your car. I will feel really bad and you will be dead, so please choose accordingly and don't take it personally.
Talking with Ben today I was able to articulate that the view is both grossly and subtly different from truck to car. Grossly, height allows us to look around a lot, and safety demands we look far ahead. In a car, the road is closer and I am more nimble, though it is now habit to look far ahead no matter what I drive. Subtly, I have become accustomed while driving a car to perceiving my place in the lane from a certain angle, which determines my judgment as to how centered in the lane I am. It has taken me a long time, and I am still learning, how to judge my placement in the lane while driving a truck. The angle of view is different, for one thing, so that I have had to learn to keep more to the left portion of the lane, and look at the left half as "center" rather than my more customary view from a car of what center is. Additionally, all trailers cant slightly to the right, front to rear, so truck drivers need to cheat to the left a little for that reason, also. The next time you follow a truck, look along its length and you'll see what I mean.
The transition from trucker to civilian, driving aside, is evolving. In September, it was two completely separate worlds and identities. One was harsh, the other comfortable. Now, at the beginning of December, I feel more like the same person all week, and am more comfortable in general.
Folks ask me if I like driving a truck, or, in some cases, assume my life is much more difficult than it was before. There are aspects of truck driving I like, and I am liking more now that I am not anxious or terrified most of the time. I enjoy introducing myself as a truck driver, and find I can bring many aspects of myself to this work. I am learning a lot, about driving, loading, and myself.
Talking with Ben today I was able to articulate that the view is both grossly and subtly different from truck to car. Grossly, height allows us to look around a lot, and safety demands we look far ahead. In a car, the road is closer and I am more nimble, though it is now habit to look far ahead no matter what I drive. Subtly, I have become accustomed while driving a car to perceiving my place in the lane from a certain angle, which determines my judgment as to how centered in the lane I am. It has taken me a long time, and I am still learning, how to judge my placement in the lane while driving a truck. The angle of view is different, for one thing, so that I have had to learn to keep more to the left portion of the lane, and look at the left half as "center" rather than my more customary view from a car of what center is. Additionally, all trailers cant slightly to the right, front to rear, so truck drivers need to cheat to the left a little for that reason, also. The next time you follow a truck, look along its length and you'll see what I mean.
The transition from trucker to civilian, driving aside, is evolving. In September, it was two completely separate worlds and identities. One was harsh, the other comfortable. Now, at the beginning of December, I feel more like the same person all week, and am more comfortable in general.
Folks ask me if I like driving a truck, or, in some cases, assume my life is much more difficult than it was before. There are aspects of truck driving I like, and I am liking more now that I am not anxious or terrified most of the time. I enjoy introducing myself as a truck driver, and find I can bring many aspects of myself to this work. I am learning a lot, about driving, loading, and myself.
Pictures of the truck
Here's a closeup of the tractor.
This is a picture of my truck with a load of lumber, tarped, on it.
Securing and Tarping
Each load placed on a flatbed is secured by the driver with either 4” canvas straps or 25’ long 5/16” chains with dull hooks on the ends. Generally, steel, in coils or rods or angle irons or flat sheets, is secured with chains. Lumber and shingles are secured with straps. The number of chains or straps is determined by the size, placement, and weight of the load, most especially the weight. This is relatively straightforward, though attention must be paid because the negative consequences are severe. During training we were shown a picture of a steel coil that had been lost from a trailer taking a curve too quickly. Steel coils are thin (1/32”?) sheets of steel, about 4’ wide, rolled into a really big coil weighing anywhere from 8,000 to 48,000 lbs. When this pictured coil dumped, it unrolled down the slope of a field and into the far woods a quarter of a mile away. It looked like a silver road laid down by aliens. When this happens, the driver feels really bad, so all of us are very careful about securing the load.
Nearly all loads on Maverick flatbed trucks are covered with tarpaulins. We have 2 vinyl tarps for steel (26’ X 16’), 2 vinyl tarps for lumber (26’ X 24’) and 3 smaller canvas tarps. The lumber tarps are the heavy ones, weighing about 80 lbs. each. They cover particle board or plywood generally, and are initially rolled up and placed on top of the load by the forklift drivers, which is a really good thing because the load can be 8’ high by 8’ wide by 48’ long. Steel tarps weigh less, and the loads are generally smaller, so we place them ourselves. We then unroll the tarps, one or two per load depending on size of the load, and center and spread them out so the entire load is covered. Then we attach the tarp by stretching rubber bungee cords to D-rings on the tarps and a metal railing along the side of the trailer.
Securing and tarping a load can take 45 minutes to two hours, depending. If the weather is wet, we often tarp under cover, otherwise we do this part outside of the warehouse. Black vinyl tarps, 90 degree weather, or below freezing - this can be challenging work. I’ve lost weight driving a truck for this reason alone, as I load and unload the truck on average once a day. It is an important skill for us economically too, as we generally earn more money rolling than tarping, so faster is better. Maverick culture fosters pride in safety and the “tight” appearance of a load, so precise and fast is the way to go.
Some of you know that I “received the precepts” in a Soto Zen Buddhist ceremony this past March. It is a lot like taking vows to live in accordance with Buddhist views on morality and compassion. Part of the ceremony is receiving a name from our teacher, which is inscribed on the back of a garment called a Rakusu that we wear when practicing meditation at the Zendo or temple. We sew the Rakusu, which is a roughly square foot of cloth hanging from our neck that covers a portion of our midsection and is made of several sections of cloth sewn together. The sewing of the garment, sometimes called “Buddha’s Robe”, is a big part of preparing to receive the precepts. It took me more than a year. While sewing, we silently chant “Namu Kie Butsu” or, in English rather than Japanese, “I take refuge in Buddha; I take refuge in Dharma; I take refuge in Sangha”. Place the needle in the cloth on Namu, push it through on Kie and pull the thread through on Butsu.
This became more relevant for me recently because I have had a difficult time maintaining a meditation practice while being an over-the-road truck driver. I spoke recently with my teacher Taitaku and she suggested several different ways I could practice other than strictly sitting meditation. While placing the bungee cords on the tarp the other day, it came to me that this was a lot like sewing the Rakusu. So now, when I place the first hook of the bungee cord, I silently say either “Namu” or “I take refuge in Buddha”. As I place the other end through the railing, I silently say “Kie” or “I take refuge in Dharma”. As I pull the bungee cord taut and hook it to the rail, I silently say “Butsu” or “I take refuge in Sangha”. This is a wonderful practice and helps me to pay attention and to work briskly without haste.
The name I received from Taitaku is Kamon Genka. It means Fire Gate, Inconceivable Transformation. I received the precepts in March, a month before the idea of driving a truck for a living occurred to me. The experience has been like a crucible for me, transforming me in unimagined ways, so I named my truck Fire Gate.
Nearly all loads on Maverick flatbed trucks are covered with tarpaulins. We have 2 vinyl tarps for steel (26’ X 16’), 2 vinyl tarps for lumber (26’ X 24’) and 3 smaller canvas tarps. The lumber tarps are the heavy ones, weighing about 80 lbs. each. They cover particle board or plywood generally, and are initially rolled up and placed on top of the load by the forklift drivers, which is a really good thing because the load can be 8’ high by 8’ wide by 48’ long. Steel tarps weigh less, and the loads are generally smaller, so we place them ourselves. We then unroll the tarps, one or two per load depending on size of the load, and center and spread them out so the entire load is covered. Then we attach the tarp by stretching rubber bungee cords to D-rings on the tarps and a metal railing along the side of the trailer.
Securing and tarping a load can take 45 minutes to two hours, depending. If the weather is wet, we often tarp under cover, otherwise we do this part outside of the warehouse. Black vinyl tarps, 90 degree weather, or below freezing - this can be challenging work. I’ve lost weight driving a truck for this reason alone, as I load and unload the truck on average once a day. It is an important skill for us economically too, as we generally earn more money rolling than tarping, so faster is better. Maverick culture fosters pride in safety and the “tight” appearance of a load, so precise and fast is the way to go.
Some of you know that I “received the precepts” in a Soto Zen Buddhist ceremony this past March. It is a lot like taking vows to live in accordance with Buddhist views on morality and compassion. Part of the ceremony is receiving a name from our teacher, which is inscribed on the back of a garment called a Rakusu that we wear when practicing meditation at the Zendo or temple. We sew the Rakusu, which is a roughly square foot of cloth hanging from our neck that covers a portion of our midsection and is made of several sections of cloth sewn together. The sewing of the garment, sometimes called “Buddha’s Robe”, is a big part of preparing to receive the precepts. It took me more than a year. While sewing, we silently chant “Namu Kie Butsu” or, in English rather than Japanese, “I take refuge in Buddha; I take refuge in Dharma; I take refuge in Sangha”. Place the needle in the cloth on Namu, push it through on Kie and pull the thread through on Butsu.
This became more relevant for me recently because I have had a difficult time maintaining a meditation practice while being an over-the-road truck driver. I spoke recently with my teacher Taitaku and she suggested several different ways I could practice other than strictly sitting meditation. While placing the bungee cords on the tarp the other day, it came to me that this was a lot like sewing the Rakusu. So now, when I place the first hook of the bungee cord, I silently say either “Namu” or “I take refuge in Buddha”. As I place the other end through the railing, I silently say “Kie” or “I take refuge in Dharma”. As I pull the bungee cord taut and hook it to the rail, I silently say “Butsu” or “I take refuge in Sangha”. This is a wonderful practice and helps me to pay attention and to work briskly without haste.
The name I received from Taitaku is Kamon Genka. It means Fire Gate, Inconceivable Transformation. I received the precepts in March, a month before the idea of driving a truck for a living occurred to me. The experience has been like a crucible for me, transforming me in unimagined ways, so I named my truck Fire Gate.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Three Aspects
Sunday, November 5, 2006, 07:25 AM
I’m learning that trucking is its own particular world that has its own language and culture. This is no surprise, it’s certainly been celebrated. Here’s what’s striking to me about my experience so far during my first weeks with my own truck from Maverick.
We exist within our own limited world as truckers. There are three segments, the first of which is the cab of the truck. The cab is within. This is usually surrounded by the highway, and those irritating four-wheelers as well as other truckers. Truckers are subdivided into the Maverick drivers and all other drivers. One of the ways we acknowledge each other is, when passing a truck and wanting to pull back in front of them, you’ll put your signal on and they will turn their headlights on and off, whether it’s night or day, to signal “Yeah, come on into the lane.” It’s a courtesy. Then, once you come into the lane in front of the truck, you acknowledge the courtesy by flashing your marker lights. When we pass each other, we’ll often look over at the other truck and lift a hand in a casual salute. So, there’s one obvious and important aspect of the trucker’s world, how it is experienced from inside the cab. More about life inside the cab another day.
Another big aspect is the shippers and the consignees, where we deliver to. Here we interact and sometimes socialize with warehouse people and other truckers. Most often, it’s producers and distributors of raw materials who are both the shippers and the consignees. If nothing else, we’re going to interact with the people who drive the forklifts. These machines are amazing. The forklifts can pick up to 20,000 pounds, 10 tons. And place it very, very precisely on the flatbed, moving their load up and down, in and out, and even sideways, with three and four controls at a time, pedals and levers, steering wheels and such. The good ones are just poetry in motion. If a load isn’t put on our truck by a forklift, then it’s placed there by a crane. These are most often seen in steel plants. These cranes move on huge girders, and the crane operator’s often up by the warehouse ceiling, in a cab on this sort of big beam that rides between the girders along with the lifting mechanism, which often looks like chains, everything moving back and forth along this beam. They pick up huge coils of steel, and I-beams and angle iron, and again, place them very precisely on the truck. It’s an amazing thing to watch. So that’s a second aspect of our world.
The third aspect is where we stop for fuel and refreshment and rest. And this aspect is most pleasantly, at least for the rest part, interstate rest areas, or parking lots where trucks are allowed to park overnight. And most unpleasantly, for the most part, truck stops. Truck stops can be very crowded places. They’re the most difficult places to park a big truck. They’re really loud. And there are unsavory characters, some of whom are truckers and others, such as “lot lizards” or thieves. Then there are the people who are the clerks, food clerks and store clerks, in the truck stop. There are often bewildered-looking civilians who wander in from the gas side to eat in the restaurant that’s part of the truck stop. And they are not of our culture. They are quite obviously interlopers and they’re often looking uncomfortable because truckers are looking pretty tired, usually, and or wired. Sometimes, some of us don’t look very well groomed, because one of the things a truck stop offers is a shower. The myth is that the truck stops offer good down-home food. I’ve yet to encounter one. Some truck stops have buffets and menus you can order from. And many, many more have fast food franchises, no different from normal fast food franchises. So eating on the road is a challenge.
One of the reasons it’s a challenge is because the biggest deal about stopping some place is that you’ve got this vehicle that’s around 70-80 feet long, and you need to park it, or turn it, or turn it around. So you need to go places, big Wal-Mart parking lots or rest areas or truck stops that have lots of room and/or are designed for trucks to come and go and park. Parking is the first consideration. Parking and of course entry and exit of wherever it is you’re going to park. So it’s not like you can say, “Hey, I’ll think I’ll step up and go to Ruby Tuesday’s.” Unless Ruby Tuesday’s is within walking distance of Wal-Mart. Which I’ve started to look for these days.
Those are three aspects of most trucker’s worlds. I went and stepped out of that world, and ate at a Cracker Barrel on the other night. I sort of cleaned up a little bit. Although I hadn’t had a shower in a day or two, I used baby wipes (a wonderful invention!) to wipe myself down. I put deodorant on; I had some clean clothes on, relatively speaking. And I didn’t think I looked or smelled real bad. I needed a shave, but it wasn’t anything really horrendous. Whether anybody noticed or not I have no idea. But I felt like I was sort of, oh, coarser than the people around me. And I felt self-conscious that I couldn’t relax and be as coarse as I might feel, maybe in my language or my body language. I don’t know. But it was definitely an impression that I had stepped outside of my designated world, the trucker’s world. And into the civilians’ world. And I was the interloper, just like civilians are the interlopers at truck stops.
These aspects seem to me to be fairly self-contained, and limited. This is in obvious contrast to the fact that we travel thousands of miles per week, seeing many states and towns, most often from the interstate. Our little worlds, floating in this big country. We’re passing through, listening to music or books or talk radio, easily impermeable. More often than not, you’ll see a driver wearing a phone headset. This is how we reach out of the cab, most often to home. Landscapes and big skies, weather and rivers, cities and highways all flowing past the windshield of our worlds while we reach back home.
Three Comments:
Ben Deahl (deahlogburnverizon.net)
Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 03:29 PM
When you're driving your truck, you're a truck driver, but when you're driving your car you're just another "civilian." I'm just curious if driving the truck has affected how you drive your car. Do you see the road and traffic differently now that you've experienced it from the cab of truck? Tooling around in a puny 2000# 4-wheeled vehicle seems like it would be a very different experience, and yet it's physically the same road.
Holly of OND
Sunday, November 12, 2006, 04:54 PM
Very interesting that you so quickly become a part of the "truckers' world," after being a civilian for much longer.
Is it odd to come home on the weekends and sleep in a bed and eat real food? Do you still feel like an interloper? Or is it just wonderful?
Jerry Oster (oster1gmail.com)
Sunday, November 5, 2006, 04:07 PM
These are wonderful writings. I feel I'm there -- interloper or interloped. Put them all together in a book. Everyone will read it -- insiders, outsiders, in-laws, outlaws. Come back.
I’m learning that trucking is its own particular world that has its own language and culture. This is no surprise, it’s certainly been celebrated. Here’s what’s striking to me about my experience so far during my first weeks with my own truck from Maverick.
We exist within our own limited world as truckers. There are three segments, the first of which is the cab of the truck. The cab is within. This is usually surrounded by the highway, and those irritating four-wheelers as well as other truckers. Truckers are subdivided into the Maverick drivers and all other drivers. One of the ways we acknowledge each other is, when passing a truck and wanting to pull back in front of them, you’ll put your signal on and they will turn their headlights on and off, whether it’s night or day, to signal “Yeah, come on into the lane.” It’s a courtesy. Then, once you come into the lane in front of the truck, you acknowledge the courtesy by flashing your marker lights. When we pass each other, we’ll often look over at the other truck and lift a hand in a casual salute. So, there’s one obvious and important aspect of the trucker’s world, how it is experienced from inside the cab. More about life inside the cab another day.
Another big aspect is the shippers and the consignees, where we deliver to. Here we interact and sometimes socialize with warehouse people and other truckers. Most often, it’s producers and distributors of raw materials who are both the shippers and the consignees. If nothing else, we’re going to interact with the people who drive the forklifts. These machines are amazing. The forklifts can pick up to 20,000 pounds, 10 tons. And place it very, very precisely on the flatbed, moving their load up and down, in and out, and even sideways, with three and four controls at a time, pedals and levers, steering wheels and such. The good ones are just poetry in motion. If a load isn’t put on our truck by a forklift, then it’s placed there by a crane. These are most often seen in steel plants. These cranes move on huge girders, and the crane operator’s often up by the warehouse ceiling, in a cab on this sort of big beam that rides between the girders along with the lifting mechanism, which often looks like chains, everything moving back and forth along this beam. They pick up huge coils of steel, and I-beams and angle iron, and again, place them very precisely on the truck. It’s an amazing thing to watch. So that’s a second aspect of our world.
The third aspect is where we stop for fuel and refreshment and rest. And this aspect is most pleasantly, at least for the rest part, interstate rest areas, or parking lots where trucks are allowed to park overnight. And most unpleasantly, for the most part, truck stops. Truck stops can be very crowded places. They’re the most difficult places to park a big truck. They’re really loud. And there are unsavory characters, some of whom are truckers and others, such as “lot lizards” or thieves. Then there are the people who are the clerks, food clerks and store clerks, in the truck stop. There are often bewildered-looking civilians who wander in from the gas side to eat in the restaurant that’s part of the truck stop. And they are not of our culture. They are quite obviously interlopers and they’re often looking uncomfortable because truckers are looking pretty tired, usually, and or wired. Sometimes, some of us don’t look very well groomed, because one of the things a truck stop offers is a shower. The myth is that the truck stops offer good down-home food. I’ve yet to encounter one. Some truck stops have buffets and menus you can order from. And many, many more have fast food franchises, no different from normal fast food franchises. So eating on the road is a challenge.
One of the reasons it’s a challenge is because the biggest deal about stopping some place is that you’ve got this vehicle that’s around 70-80 feet long, and you need to park it, or turn it, or turn it around. So you need to go places, big Wal-Mart parking lots or rest areas or truck stops that have lots of room and/or are designed for trucks to come and go and park. Parking is the first consideration. Parking and of course entry and exit of wherever it is you’re going to park. So it’s not like you can say, “Hey, I’ll think I’ll step up and go to Ruby Tuesday’s.” Unless Ruby Tuesday’s is within walking distance of Wal-Mart. Which I’ve started to look for these days.
Those are three aspects of most trucker’s worlds. I went and stepped out of that world, and ate at a Cracker Barrel on the other night. I sort of cleaned up a little bit. Although I hadn’t had a shower in a day or two, I used baby wipes (a wonderful invention!) to wipe myself down. I put deodorant on; I had some clean clothes on, relatively speaking. And I didn’t think I looked or smelled real bad. I needed a shave, but it wasn’t anything really horrendous. Whether anybody noticed or not I have no idea. But I felt like I was sort of, oh, coarser than the people around me. And I felt self-conscious that I couldn’t relax and be as coarse as I might feel, maybe in my language or my body language. I don’t know. But it was definitely an impression that I had stepped outside of my designated world, the trucker’s world. And into the civilians’ world. And I was the interloper, just like civilians are the interlopers at truck stops.
These aspects seem to me to be fairly self-contained, and limited. This is in obvious contrast to the fact that we travel thousands of miles per week, seeing many states and towns, most often from the interstate. Our little worlds, floating in this big country. We’re passing through, listening to music or books or talk radio, easily impermeable. More often than not, you’ll see a driver wearing a phone headset. This is how we reach out of the cab, most often to home. Landscapes and big skies, weather and rivers, cities and highways all flowing past the windshield of our worlds while we reach back home.
Three Comments:
Ben Deahl (deahlogburn
Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 03:29 PM
When you're driving your truck, you're a truck driver, but when you're driving your car you're just another "civilian." I'm just curious if driving the truck has affected how you drive your car. Do you see the road and traffic differently now that you've experienced it from the cab of truck? Tooling around in a puny 2000# 4-wheeled vehicle seems like it would be a very different experience, and yet it's physically the same road.
Holly of OND
Sunday, November 12, 2006, 04:54 PM
Very interesting that you so quickly become a part of the "truckers' world," after being a civilian for much longer.
Is it odd to come home on the weekends and sleep in a bed and eat real food? Do you still feel like an interloper? Or is it just wonderful?
Jerry Oster (oster1
Sunday, November 5, 2006, 04:07 PM
These are wonderful writings. I feel I'm there -- interloper or interloped. Put them all together in a book. Everyone will read it -- insiders, outsiders, in-laws, outlaws. Come back.
Physics
Thursday, October 19, 2006, 08:53 AM
I am frequently reminded of basic Newtonian laws of physics. For instance:
A body at rest tends to stay at rest.
My tractor/trailer weighs about 30,000 lbs. when empty, up to 80,000 loaded, with a typical load falling between 30 – 45,000 lbs. Last week, I was stopped at a truck stop exit, fully loaded, preparing to go around on the street to the next entrance to get fuel. Traffic to my left had gone away and there was a long line behind a black slowpoke car about a block to my right. In a relatively light four-wheeler, getting out in front of that traffic is no problem. Since my resting, massive truck gits up and goes more slowly, I figured that slowpoke might have to put on his brakes, but it was still safe. He did put on his brakes, and then turned on the blue and red lights behind his grill. The Indiana State Police officer in the unmarked car pulled me over and gave me two tickets, one for disregarding a stop sign and one for not having my log book current. He couldn’t cite me for cutting off an unmarked car; hence the stop sign ticket, and I hadn’t touched my log book since early that morning and was missing a few entries. Aside from the lesson in physics, the only good news here was he guessed my personal weight about 20 lbs. below actual.
Something’s got to give when an immoveable object meets an irresistible force.
The next night I was looking for a place to park this 75-foot long monster and get some sleep. I had pulled off the highway and into a shopping center parking lot, but decided I was a little too conspicuous for someplace I didn’t have permission to park in, so I went out the next exit. I had 48,000 lbs. of shingles on the trailer, which in motion constitutes a pretty irresistible force. At 12:30 AM on this Friday the 13th, I powered up that little slope at the exit and turned left onto the deserted two-lane road. The box that holds my tarpaulins on the driver’s side of the trailer, and the wheel behind it, met the curb (immoveable object). The tarp box and wheel is the part that gave. Three hours later, after the service guy came out and replaced the wheel and tire, and we jury-rigged the tarp box so it was safe, I pulled away from that small town, once again an unwilling student of physics.
Imagine calling your immediate supervisor two mornings in a row, having been on the job for just less than a month on your own, with news like that above. Embarrassment and fear may come to mind. I will be going back to company headquarters in Little Rock, AR for some training, and that will help to ameliorate some of the black marks on my record. I have lots less slack than I did a week ago, so have been carefully contemplating lessons learned, and practicing them. I.e., I have adjusted my priorities and moved earning money by racking up the miles a little lower on the list and caring for the trailer and truck entrusted to my keeping much higher on the list. I’ve always been very careful with the cargo, and will continue to do so. I’m stopping for the day a little earlier, and sleeping a little longer. I never drive when I am nodding, but before I get to that point my judgment gets impaired and I am too new at this for habits to cover the gap. Some new rules for me: only pull off the road when you know you have someplace to safely park and/or turn around. Observe the following at all times: Track Turning Trailers. TTT – I’m going to share this one with the trainers of newbie drivers, because it is such a painful lesson when learned by failing to practice it.
I am better rested this week, and still learning lessons by making mistakes. They are littler, and less frequent, and the consequences are private. There is ample time for thinking while driving a truck, and I am finding this contemplation valuable. Discerning when a situation demands my full attention, applying my imagination to the situation at hand, are lessons I am honing. “Pay attention” seems such a simple dictum, and is a difficult and rewarding practice for me. More anon.
Two Comments:
Heidi in Cairo (heidi.yanulisgmail.com)
Thursday, November 2, 2006, 10:58 PM
Immovable objects, irresistable forces ... those words aptly describe aspects of MY latest struggle, too - getting our 2-year-old daughter Kate to stay in bed at night. Maybe I should consider going in for extra training as well, John. I can fully understand why sleep deprivation is an effective interrogation tactic. After 4+ months of this, I'm ready to crack and tell all. Just give me one continuous hour of sleep!!!
Lovingly,
Heidi
Ben
Friday, October 27, 2006, 11:18 AM
Ya gotta love physics, although I'm not sure that Newton's First Law of motion is the most appropriate natural law to describe the tarp box -vs- the curb. There may be an older principle of physics at work which says that 2 objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. From a strictly physics point of view the tarp box and the curb were simply both vying for the same space at the same time.
Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures.
- Ben
I am frequently reminded of basic Newtonian laws of physics. For instance:
A body at rest tends to stay at rest.
My tractor/trailer weighs about 30,000 lbs. when empty, up to 80,000 loaded, with a typical load falling between 30 – 45,000 lbs. Last week, I was stopped at a truck stop exit, fully loaded, preparing to go around on the street to the next entrance to get fuel. Traffic to my left had gone away and there was a long line behind a black slowpoke car about a block to my right. In a relatively light four-wheeler, getting out in front of that traffic is no problem. Since my resting, massive truck gits up and goes more slowly, I figured that slowpoke might have to put on his brakes, but it was still safe. He did put on his brakes, and then turned on the blue and red lights behind his grill. The Indiana State Police officer in the unmarked car pulled me over and gave me two tickets, one for disregarding a stop sign and one for not having my log book current. He couldn’t cite me for cutting off an unmarked car; hence the stop sign ticket, and I hadn’t touched my log book since early that morning and was missing a few entries. Aside from the lesson in physics, the only good news here was he guessed my personal weight about 20 lbs. below actual.
Something’s got to give when an immoveable object meets an irresistible force.
The next night I was looking for a place to park this 75-foot long monster and get some sleep. I had pulled off the highway and into a shopping center parking lot, but decided I was a little too conspicuous for someplace I didn’t have permission to park in, so I went out the next exit. I had 48,000 lbs. of shingles on the trailer, which in motion constitutes a pretty irresistible force. At 12:30 AM on this Friday the 13th, I powered up that little slope at the exit and turned left onto the deserted two-lane road. The box that holds my tarpaulins on the driver’s side of the trailer, and the wheel behind it, met the curb (immoveable object). The tarp box and wheel is the part that gave. Three hours later, after the service guy came out and replaced the wheel and tire, and we jury-rigged the tarp box so it was safe, I pulled away from that small town, once again an unwilling student of physics.
Imagine calling your immediate supervisor two mornings in a row, having been on the job for just less than a month on your own, with news like that above. Embarrassment and fear may come to mind. I will be going back to company headquarters in Little Rock, AR for some training, and that will help to ameliorate some of the black marks on my record. I have lots less slack than I did a week ago, so have been carefully contemplating lessons learned, and practicing them. I.e., I have adjusted my priorities and moved earning money by racking up the miles a little lower on the list and caring for the trailer and truck entrusted to my keeping much higher on the list. I’ve always been very careful with the cargo, and will continue to do so. I’m stopping for the day a little earlier, and sleeping a little longer. I never drive when I am nodding, but before I get to that point my judgment gets impaired and I am too new at this for habits to cover the gap. Some new rules for me: only pull off the road when you know you have someplace to safely park and/or turn around. Observe the following at all times: Track Turning Trailers. TTT – I’m going to share this one with the trainers of newbie drivers, because it is such a painful lesson when learned by failing to practice it.
I am better rested this week, and still learning lessons by making mistakes. They are littler, and less frequent, and the consequences are private. There is ample time for thinking while driving a truck, and I am finding this contemplation valuable. Discerning when a situation demands my full attention, applying my imagination to the situation at hand, are lessons I am honing. “Pay attention” seems such a simple dictum, and is a difficult and rewarding practice for me. More anon.
Two Comments:
Heidi in Cairo (heidi.yanulis
Thursday, November 2, 2006, 10:58 PM
Immovable objects, irresistable forces ... those words aptly describe aspects of MY latest struggle, too - getting our 2-year-old daughter Kate to stay in bed at night. Maybe I should consider going in for extra training as well, John. I can fully understand why sleep deprivation is an effective interrogation tactic. After 4+ months of this, I'm ready to crack and tell all. Just give me one continuous hour of sleep!!!
Lovingly,
Heidi
Ben
Friday, October 27, 2006, 11:18 AM
Ya gotta love physics, although I'm not sure that Newton's First Law of motion is the most appropriate natural law to describe the tarp box -vs- the curb. There may be an older principle of physics at work which says that 2 objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. From a strictly physics point of view the tarp box and the curb were simply both vying for the same space at the same time.
Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures.
- Ben
Two Weeks With My Truck
Friday, September 29, 2006, 02:15 PM
September 29, 2006
I’ve had my truck for two weeks now. It’s been exhausting and exciting and stressful and much more complex than you’d imagine. I’m out here to make a living, am paid mostly by the mile, so the more miles, the more $. This needs to be balanced with how much energy I have, the hours I can legally drive, and the reporting of said hours. Beyond my control are how long I wait to be dispatched to a load, how long a wait once there, the distance between shipper and consignee, and the wait at consignee. When & where I stop between shipper and consignee, for how long and what I do then are up to me. I usually have a window of time to pick up and deliver within, though I need to notify both Maverick and sometimes the customer of when I think I will make a delivery, my ETA. In order to drive the most miles, it works out best to deliver as early as possible in the morning, which means driving to as close to there as possible the night before. Here’s where the energy and legality concerns need to be factored in. Both Maverick and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have various means of checking on my logbook entries, ranging from fuel purchase to toll payments on through miles driven in a certain time period. To drive from Petersburg, VA to Chicago, IL in 5 hours is not possible.
In any case, for much of the time I was driving my first week I was figuring all this out, trying to maximize my earnings safely and legally. It’s getting easier, and I think I can ease up a little and work a little smarter and still make a decent living. I am mostly getting more comfortable driving. Being aware of the length and turning radius of the trailer behind me has been a trial. I’ve made some mistakes without serious consequences, but I know the same actions could really hurt me or someone else in other circumstances, and have inconvenienced a couple of people. I’m trying to balance being aware, paying attention in a healthy practice of vigilance, as opposed to being paranoid and constantly anticipating the worst. One lesson for me is that I need to acknowledge and fully experience the uncomfortable feelings that accompany mistakes so I can clearly hold the ensuing lessons in mind when turning the truck, for instance.
The living environment of my truck cab is evolving pretty well. I can keep it pretty clean, have the food I want (both refrigerated and not), and have enough clothes there to wear clean ones when I want. Stopping for a shower is still logistically difficult. Maverick has fuel accounts at a couple of truck stop chains, and I get a free shower coupon every time I fill up the tanks. These two tanks hold 100 gallons each, and the bill is around $350 per day. Anyway, pulling off the road, waiting for a fueling spot, entering in the necessary info on a hard-to-see keypad, fueling and getting the receipt can’t be done in less than 20 minutes. If I want a shower, I then have to move the truck to a parking spot, go in and often wait for a shower, get clean, get coffee and/or food, then go sleep or pull away. Another hour at least. The most challenging part here is parking the truck. Most available spots, especially after 6 PM, are difficult to get into for even experienced drivers. It is also inevitably done with an audience of truck drivers. It really doesn’t pay to have your CB radio on while doing this, so I always turn it off. Right at the top of the list of things not to do is bang into another truck at a truck stop. I’ve successfully avoided that. I also avoid parking at truck stops for that reason, and because they are loud, dirty and “lot lizards” work them.
Like most subcultures, trucking has its own slang. “Lot lizards” is the derogatory term for the prostitutes that work truck stops. I formed the opinion decades ago when driving a taxicab in NYC that there are hierarchies of whoredom. Truck stops are not near the top. We drive “big trucks” and when we go on smaller roads off the usual routes or interstate highways, we “go through the woods”. That one is my favorite. “Good buddy” is no longer what one calls a truck driver, or “driver”, unless you want to get smacked, one way or the other. That’s because “Where’s the good buddies?” is the question one asks to find out where homosexual activities occur.
Enough for now. I’ll try to post more often. It has been a saga getting power & internet access for my computer while on the road, but I think I finally have that worked out, or will soon. Anyway, more anon.
September 29, 2006
I’ve had my truck for two weeks now. It’s been exhausting and exciting and stressful and much more complex than you’d imagine. I’m out here to make a living, am paid mostly by the mile, so the more miles, the more $. This needs to be balanced with how much energy I have, the hours I can legally drive, and the reporting of said hours. Beyond my control are how long I wait to be dispatched to a load, how long a wait once there, the distance between shipper and consignee, and the wait at consignee. When & where I stop between shipper and consignee, for how long and what I do then are up to me. I usually have a window of time to pick up and deliver within, though I need to notify both Maverick and sometimes the customer of when I think I will make a delivery, my ETA. In order to drive the most miles, it works out best to deliver as early as possible in the morning, which means driving to as close to there as possible the night before. Here’s where the energy and legality concerns need to be factored in. Both Maverick and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have various means of checking on my logbook entries, ranging from fuel purchase to toll payments on through miles driven in a certain time period. To drive from Petersburg, VA to Chicago, IL in 5 hours is not possible.
In any case, for much of the time I was driving my first week I was figuring all this out, trying to maximize my earnings safely and legally. It’s getting easier, and I think I can ease up a little and work a little smarter and still make a decent living. I am mostly getting more comfortable driving. Being aware of the length and turning radius of the trailer behind me has been a trial. I’ve made some mistakes without serious consequences, but I know the same actions could really hurt me or someone else in other circumstances, and have inconvenienced a couple of people. I’m trying to balance being aware, paying attention in a healthy practice of vigilance, as opposed to being paranoid and constantly anticipating the worst. One lesson for me is that I need to acknowledge and fully experience the uncomfortable feelings that accompany mistakes so I can clearly hold the ensuing lessons in mind when turning the truck, for instance.
The living environment of my truck cab is evolving pretty well. I can keep it pretty clean, have the food I want (both refrigerated and not), and have enough clothes there to wear clean ones when I want. Stopping for a shower is still logistically difficult. Maverick has fuel accounts at a couple of truck stop chains, and I get a free shower coupon every time I fill up the tanks. These two tanks hold 100 gallons each, and the bill is around $350 per day. Anyway, pulling off the road, waiting for a fueling spot, entering in the necessary info on a hard-to-see keypad, fueling and getting the receipt can’t be done in less than 20 minutes. If I want a shower, I then have to move the truck to a parking spot, go in and often wait for a shower, get clean, get coffee and/or food, then go sleep or pull away. Another hour at least. The most challenging part here is parking the truck. Most available spots, especially after 6 PM, are difficult to get into for even experienced drivers. It is also inevitably done with an audience of truck drivers. It really doesn’t pay to have your CB radio on while doing this, so I always turn it off. Right at the top of the list of things not to do is bang into another truck at a truck stop. I’ve successfully avoided that. I also avoid parking at truck stops for that reason, and because they are loud, dirty and “lot lizards” work them.
Like most subcultures, trucking has its own slang. “Lot lizards” is the derogatory term for the prostitutes that work truck stops. I formed the opinion decades ago when driving a taxicab in NYC that there are hierarchies of whoredom. Truck stops are not near the top. We drive “big trucks” and when we go on smaller roads off the usual routes or interstate highways, we “go through the woods”. That one is my favorite. “Good buddy” is no longer what one calls a truck driver, or “driver”, unless you want to get smacked, one way or the other. That’s because “Where’s the good buddies?” is the question one asks to find out where homosexual activities occur.
Enough for now. I’ll try to post more often. It has been a saga getting power & internet access for my computer while on the road, but I think I finally have that worked out, or will soon. Anyway, more anon.
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