Taking my show on the road

[valarltd]

So I had my first road-drive today.

It went pretty well. I can upshift just fine. Downshifting gets me though, and the roads at 10-15-30 MPH are much different than the course all laid out at 4 MPH.

I didn't hit anything and I only ran over one curb on a turn.

I'll get better. I have some bad shifting habits, notably putting it in neutral and coasting to stop signs. It's not good in a car, but patently illegal in a semi.

Comments

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

Are you going to be able to sleep at home every night? Earlier this week I saw a headline (in either the NYT or the WSJ, I can't recall which) about the need for truck drivers, and then yesterday I heard a radio ad saying "drive for us and you'll get to go home every night! With good money!" so I guess there are a lot of jobs out there.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

It all depends on who I drive for and what kind of runs I get.
"Home every night" doesn't happen until 2-3 months into the job.

Werner offers relay jobs. Basically, I hook the freight in Memphis, haul it to Lebanon TN or over into AR, drop it, pick up a different load, haul it to Memphis and am home every day.

Some companies are strictly long haul/over the road, which means 21-28 days away from home. I haven't applied to any of them.