[jlc22]

I am new to the tucking industry, went to school for 15 days(not counting saturdays or sundays). I went with a campany right out of school for three months, during those three months, i was in training, (yes i know long time in training but had some personal issues at home and the trainers). I am at home now and i'm ready to go back, i love it out there on the raod. I dont want to sound like a wuss, But i am having fears of being on my own (not being able to back, puting my tandoms in th right place,) i'm sure its normal, but i was wonderin if i could get adivce how to over come my fears. Thanks!

[ceb]

just do it.

when I first started I worried I would mess up big. But every time I would "get in a jam" I would take a deep breath and think about how I would get out of it.

My best advice is take your time and think it out

[golfhobo]

Yes, it IS "normal." MOST of us have experienced the same thoughts or fears. This is gonna sound "corny," but.... Trust the FORCE, Luke!! :lol:

Your schooltime might have been a bit short, but that's not where you learn to drive anyway. You seem to have had adequate "training" time.

You SHOULD know by now how to perform the tasks. You just lack confidence. (That's why I say TRUST your training.)

This is where the sheet hits the fan, so to speak. It is now up to you to perform a task that you are now trained to do. I believe that you can and will DO IT, with little problem if you'll just relax and trust yourself and your training.

Never forget that almost ANY trucker out there will gladly HELP you, if you ask! But, YOU must conquer each task on your own, eventually, in order to "internalize" your training and comprehension.

Take your time. If you have a few extra minutes, take a SMALL task and work on it. EVERY task that you become familiar with, i.e. master, builds confidence for the next, bigger one.

G.O.A.L. as much as you need (at first.) But, eventually, you should be able to back up to a dock without SO MUCH "goaling." If not.... you're not LEARNING.

Sliding tandems is just a matter of MATH, and "marking" the hole you want to go to. The truck does the rest!

This is NOT "rocket science," my friend. You can DO it! I'm sure you're aware that "hindsight is 20/20." This is a case where you need to rely on "foresight."

If I could GUARANTEE you that, a month from now, you'd be laughing at yourself for being a bit nervous about the skills that by then will be second nature, would that give you more confidence NOW??

Then.... I guarantee you just THAT! Now.... "project" yourself to that point, and laugh at yourself now! It will relieve the stress of "getting over the hump."

Now... to protect myself against liability for such a guarantee, you must realize that I believe SOME people just NEVER "get it," and shouldn't be driving a truck! I've seen some 30 yr veterans who STILL haven't "got it!" But.... that won't be YOU, will it?

Do you think the first man to ride into the skies on a rocket was totally confident? Or that Columbus had no doubts? Did Lewis and Clark KNOW that they would reach the "far ocean?"

Were you sure that the girl you first kissed WANTED you to kiss her? Of course not! But, how did things turn out? This is no different!

The fear of doing anything.... leads to doing nothing!

Doing something..... leads to doing anything!

You'll do FINE! Like jumping out of an airplane... the first step is the hardest! After that.... it's all downhill!! :lol:

[inmate1577]

Keep the CB........OFF!
When trying to back into a space and you will probably have some kind of trouble as we all do, there is a ever endless supply of a**holes who are just itching to give you their opinion of your skills.
It can throw you off very easily.
A CB is no more than a source of all things stupid. Just use it at a shipper/receiver to get dock instructions or at an accident scene to get information on which lane is open.
Once you have your information, turn the thing off.

[jlc22]

thanks to the three of u so far.golfhobo- i know i can do it, i really aint had that good of trainers honestly if u ask me. and i'll admit i had three trainers, one was lazy didn't want to do much of anything, the other one was just to worried about gettin down my pants,after all the bud luck with the frist and second trainers i came home and was ready to call it quits but i knew i couldn't do that cuz i just loved being out there, and i felt like i belonged out there, the last one was a flatbeder and didn't back much, and really wouldn't let me do stuff on my own to show i could do it. And inmate1577-i think it just bothers me knowin that another trucker is wanting to get there and get parked to start their 10 hour break and i have heard some horrible stories about the a$$ holes truckers makin the comments, of women or even newbies not being able to park. but thanks guys

[silvan]

Originally Posted by jlc22

i am having fears of being on my own (not being able to back, puting my tandoms in th right place,) i'm sure its normal, but i was wonderin if i could get adivce how to over come my fears. Thanks!

Accept the fact that you're likely to screw something up, and commit yourself to learning from it when you do. I made some spectacular blunders when I first went solo. I could spend hours talking about my first year or so on the "Amusing Factual Stories" forum.

I've made a successful career out of this because I learned at every step of the way. One of the first and hardest things I had to learn was to READ ALL THE SIGNS. If you miss one, nobody will stop you before you go 40 miles past your turn or whatever. You have to develop instincts for what kind of road this route is likely to be, and how it's likely to go through where. You have to learn to look at a map and see everything all around, so that if you're going to Frumpstown, and you suddenly find yourself in the middle of Yiddlesburg, you realize you *must* have made a wrong turn somewhere.

As far as backing, I've been out here 10 years, and there are still times when I miss a setup, don't cut right, don't follow right, etc., and I have to pop the brakes right in front of all the people on either side giving me dirty looks to get the hell out of the way, and GO LOOK to see if I'm about to clip something. I go to the same places every day now, and there are some days when I have to spend 15 minutes backing into the same damn hole I backed into yesterday and the day before and the day before perfectly.

That was another hard learned lesson early on. They're not kidding about GOAL. After I had been solo for a few months, I started to get cocky. I had to blindside around a corner, and I knew how to hit this dock. Oh yeah. I don't need to get out and look. Not me buddy. Jack, jack, jack, jack, yeah, this is just about right, I just need to jack it a little more, and there, perfect.

There was a very subtle, quiet popping sound.

It sounded vaguely like glass breaking, but it didn't sound like I had actually hit glass.

So I got out to look that time, and I had my ICC bumper through the rear quarter panel of a Ford Taurus. The glass broke when it popped out from the pressure of the distorted metal.

Oooooooooops. ops: ops: ops: ops:

Most new drivers have probably busted a marker light, busted a cab extender, torn the corner off a door, punched a hole in the side of the trailer, folded the feet on the landing gear on some kind of hump, etc. I did my share of these things, and maybe more than my share. Maybe I was a worse screw-up than normal, and maybe my career would have prematurely terminated if I hadn't been with a company that valued me for my outstanding customer service skills more than for my driving ability.

In the end, I don't think it really matters. I found a successful path. I learned from my many mistakes, filled my head with amusing stories, and, most importantly, I learned how to avoid repeating these mistakes.

I think learning is what most companies are looking for. If you keep doing the same thing, you're an idiot, and you need firing, but if you fold a cab extender in too tight of a jack, and that teaches you to WATCH YOUR DAMN CAB EXTENDERS, then the price of the damage you did is all part of investing in making a useful driver out of you.

Very few people can hack this crap. If you have the right personality, the right attitude, I think that will buy you all the slack you need until you get your idiot phase over with and become a real freight relocation engineering technologist.

[Aligator]

Very few people can hack this crap. If you have the right personality, the right attitude, I think that will buy you all the slack you need until you get your idiot phase over with and become a real freight relocation engineering technologist.

I second that. It can be learned a lot easier than it can be taught. Think about that for a while....

FYI:
I heard a smart mouth kid (we're talking maybe 11 years old, here) who was using Daddy's radio to make fun of "backers" at the Flying J in Texarkana the other day.......Someone came on the radio and told the kid that unless that licensed driver had parked one of his 18 wheels on the kids foot!, the kid should watch his mouth! I thought that was pretty funny.

[golfhobo]

Oooopppssss!!!!

Sorry, jlc! I must've missed the "female" sign in your avatar! :lol:

I suppose you didn't appreciate my comment about your first kiss! :shock:

But, the good thing about this industry is... regardless of your gender, my comments still stand!!

A truck driver is a truck driver, no matter what! I stand by everything I said. (except maybe the girl kissing thingie!)

If you had lousy trainers, then you'll just have to rely MORE on your OWN innate ability to succeed!

As a matter of fact, girls are BETTER at math, spatial awareness, and SAFE driving. (Notice I didn't say DRIVING! :lol: )

Point is.... you should have NO MORE problem learning to be a good driver than any other male or female who has gone before you! You MAY, however, have to work a little harder at overcoming your OWN fears of inability because you ARE female. That's not meant to be denigrating, it's just a fact.

There are many women out there who can drive circles around many of my male counterparts! ( not ME, of course... but others! :wink: )

Backing and docking are skills that take time to learn... for (most) everyone! It's how you handle the rig going forward that counts. If YOU feel you can do this.... then, go for it!

I hear in your posts the LOVE of the open road. If you share that dream with us, you are ONE OF US!

I say again... "project" yourself to six months down "the road." Will you have conquered this and be living your dream? Or will you have given up because it was just too scary for you?

If you can SEE yourself as a "veteran" driver six months from now.... then it follows that you CAN and MUST HAVE "lived through" these early days. If you CAN'T.... then it was JUST a dream!

Do you have something to PROVE?? I sure HOPE so! Driving truck is NOT for those who are satisfied with the status quo.

Forget about your trainers! They're a waste of time anyway. Everything you need to know will be found here on this forum, or through experience. If I see you at a dock, I'll laugh at you if you can't do it right! (without even seeing whether you're male or female) UNLESS you ask for help! THEN you will have all the help you need. Next week, it may be YOU laughing at ME! That's just part of trucking! It thickens your skin..... or you go home!

You SAID you weren't a "WUSS." Okay... this is your chance to prove it! You paid your money.... you take your chances!

Now.... get out there and prove me right, girl!! :shock: :lol: 8)

Hobo

[golfhobo]

Gator said:

I second that. It can be learned a lot easier than it can be taught. Think about that for a while....

I gotta third THAT! Perhaps, the most insightful thing I've seen posted in awhile!!

Anyone expecting to be "taught" how to drive a truck, has the wrong idea! One must LEARN how to drive a truck... either by experience, aptitude, or flat out determination! YOU, and you alone, are responsible for mastering this beast! If you have trouble with your "taurus" you're not gonna BE a truck driver!

Oh, and BTW.... if your bag of "antibacterial" products is bigger than my shaving kit.... you need to stay HOME!! I don't have TIME for you to "disinfect" an entire truckstop bathroom before AND after you take a crap! :shock: :roll:

[jlc22]

its ok hobo about the kissing or deal, the part about it might be to scary for me out there, i had a few deals that about made me s**t my pants and left me shakin for a bit afterwards just being out there the little time i was, but i can't let the small stuff hold me back from chasin a dream, and one day catching it, i have paid to much money, and came this far to stop chasing my dream now. Its always been a dream of mine to drive down the open road and seeing new things. i've always had a thing for the big trucks since i was real little. And another thing i have a friend and she is havin the same damn fears i am and maybe worse, maybe she should get on this site and see that all the truckers has gone through it once in their life time. and i want to thank everyone that has gave my advice and i'm sure there is more to come. THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!