Chewing through trainers...
 

THANKS, SO MUCH, FOR THIS COLLECTED WISDOM!
:D
I've created a little "textbook" by cutting and pasting your generous answers. This has been really tough. I'm sort of embarrassed and stressed, because I really want to be a good driver.
I now can't wait to get back on the road with my new trainer! My other trainer pulled the last hair plugs out and is now doing quite well in his weekly counseling sessions! :lol:
Again, thanks to those of you who answered from a heart of understanding toward a newbie who's trying really hard!
Jewels

I tend to use the old fasioned version called a street map or street guide, eather way you'll be able to get a better idea of where you are going. It's not fool proof, an example is the other day I took I-290 to the rail yard in cicero, Il , the road map didn't tell me that the exit onto cicero ave from I-290 can only be accessed on the eastbound side. Morale is you'll make mistakes just do your best.

A dry erase marker to write directions on the windshield (out of your line of sight)....so you dont have to look down at a notebook...

JewelsnTools Good luck, and do not sweat the small stuff. Kind why I posted my little story of going to the wrong place to show it happens.

KC,

I did not worry about getting paid for the miles. With that company I could ride circles around a Truck stop and got paid. I would write my milage at the end of the week then drive home and start the next week at my ending weeks milage. So I was paid to go home even. That company got paid Hub Miles. Did not make alot per mile, but got paid every mile I drove. Only if they had given me a Truck that did not break down every week, lol...

You pretty much summed up my trip planing, It seems that 2 out of 3 trucks are using Gps. I don't use mine because I can't read a map... Think about the advantage and peace of mind knowing where you are at all times. Know how far till your next exit/ know if you've missed your exit. Be able to bitch at your dispatcher about the raping being done with the hhg miles.

Its only 130 dollars and works fine on most laptops. It screwed me when I first got it because I forgot to double check my route, but I've gone 2 months with out missing one turn or going off route. It's very easy to reroute with Microsoft Trips and Streets.

350,000 + miles and counting . .
 

. . and I owe it all (most of it, anyway) to my laptop, WIFI, my GPS receiver and Delorme Street Atlas USA.

Trip planning: I receive origination, destination, stops and fuel route via the Qualcomm. I plug all of the above into Street Atlas and, voila, my trip is planned. With my GPS, I can see at a glance, exactly where I am, the distance to my next turn and the direction that turn will take. If need be, I can set it up to show me the next two turns. I can also set it up to tell me the distance to the next rest area, restaurant, palm reader or foot doctor anywhere along the route. As others have so wisely suggested, I review every leg of the trip and use whatever resources I need to resolve any questions that come up before I hit the road. It is a great tool but it's not foolproof.

I do have and occasionally find a need to refer to my Motor Carriers Atlas and suggest everyone carry the same. My current version is the 2004 so it may be time to upgrade. BTW, everything you ever wanted to know about route/highway #'s is right in the front of it. Beyond that, I can't imagine the maps I'd have to carry to cover the places i have been that would provide the detail that I can get from my laptop and Street Atlas USA (2007).

Relying on the CB for directions? I've posted this here before but I think it's worth repeating. If you ask for directions on the CB and there are three drivers listening, you will get three different competing and opposed answewrs followed by two hours of who's wrong, who's right and who has the better radio.

As far as my laptop (or your other GPS display) being a distraction . . It just isn't true. It's no more distracting than glancing at street or route signs or even adjusing the radio. I am a lot more troubled by people talking/texting on the phone than by me glancing at my laptop.

Non trip planning: Add WIFI and I can find any variety of restaurant, shopping, entertainment, all to include user reviews, etc. I can communicate with anyone, anywhere for any reason be it business or personal. Those who use Google Earth have got it right. Let's say I want to go to a bookstore, etc. I can use GE to see if and where the truck entrance is or whether or not I should bobtail. You have the infinite resources of the internet. What more can I say?

You should absolutely do anything you can to develop good habits while you're out with your trainer. Before i bought my set-up, I did just about everything you've seen suggested here. The one thing I would add is to break up your trip into smaller pieces. If you're headed from LA to NYC, you don't need to worry about the whole route. Break it down to this day or even this leg of this day. There are a couple of things my set-up will get you that pen and paper can't. The most important is getting yourself out of trouble once you've found yourself in it. I've taken my share of "Oh sh**!" wrong turns and my mapping software has gotten me out every time. But you have to stop, look and analyze before you make a move. Secondly, my set-up gives me tremendous piece of mind. It's nice to have that companion telling me I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.

As a matter of priority, I would put a good GPS system way ahead of a TV, CB, XM/Sirius, I Pod or even a cooler, for that matter. You will have to learn to use it correctly before you can ever depend on it on the road.

Trainer eater...
 

He's had it. My trainer just committed "sideways"----left the truck! :roll:

It's finally starting to sink in, though! I was able to get from Jackson, MS to Charlotte, NC, and the whole trip made sense to me!!! 8)

If and when I get my next trainer, I'd like to try writing on the windshield. I was told by one of my "supertrainers" that he'd never allow a GPS in his truck.....right before we went an hour past the place where we were scheduled to deliver, and had to turn back around!!! I didn't say a word, just silently renewed my commitment to getting one!

This place is soooo cool! It's a relief to get on here where people actually give real answers, after having to pull answers like bad teeth out of my mercenary trainers!!! The good thing is that in spending all this time on the road, my truck is actually teaching me how to drive! I'm beginning to "get" the routing thing down. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had this difficulty...and I'm sure there are others who have benefitted from what's been written in these posts. Thanks, again!

Just outside of Atlanta, GA I had to deliver a load to a small industrial company by 8am. My trusty GPS mounted beside my steering wheel directed me to where it thought the address of the company was plotted on a long 4-lane divided highway, but as I looked around, I could not see any sign for the company. No problem, it was 7am and I could stop and ask around for help.

So, I pull into another company's lot, go inside and ask "do you know where such & such inc. is?"

Noone has a clue. Ok, no biggie. I go up the street a little further, pull into the next lot, and the place has not opened up yet but there's a big white sign that reads "Ziegler Tools." Clearly this is not the place either.

I make a right turn into a side street to the US Mail d.c. Go inside and repeat the question. Noone has a clue. I repeat this four more times! I asked on the CB, I went up to other trucks and asked if they knew. Noone knew.

Well, I found a small dirt lot with empty trailers near "Ziegler Tools" and I made a call to the dispatcher. "I can't find this place for the life of me!" 8am passes, and the dispatcher tries to find out where the place is compared to where I am. Meanwhile a yard dog who worked the trailer lot I was parked in stopped and asked if I needed anything, and I asked the same question. He didn't know either.

A half hour passes and I get a set of cryptic directions from my dispatcher, but I lean back and look over to my left, and the neighboring building with the "Ziegler Tools" sign bay doors open up and a guy begins working near the dock. I get out and go "Do you know where such & such inc. is?!" *pause* "We ARE Such & Such!" They shared the building with Ziegler but their sign was about as big as a post-it note.

d'OH! - So much for "know thy neighbor."