Thank's CD! I have said from the beginning that I didn't want heavy haul but I am very happy that I am able to get this training. I don't expect to see much snow over Snoqualmie in the next few weeks, so that training will need to come later. My instructor at lewiston always said that if we wanted him to give us some pointers on winter driving that we could look him up this winter. I imagine that Lewiston hill would be a great place to experience some winter driving! My class mate from the academy was in Phoenix and attended Swift's RoadReady course down there. They told him that they also have a winter driving course that the instructor gives in the winter.

I have also notice that the Sumner terminal has a spot next to the fuel island for "Tire Chain Training". I have never seen anyone doing anything there, but I thought it was interesting.

Just an update.....
 

I have not been posting as many updates as I had originally planned, but there is not much exciting news to post. As I previously mentioned, I have been teamed with a great mentor who is teaching me a lot! Running the Heavy Haul division is a lot of the same trips on I90, but at least we are staying fairly busy. I go into the drivers lounge in Sumner and can count anywhere from 10 to 20 drivers just sitting around every day! When we go to Lewiston I usually see between 3-5 drivers waiting for a load.

We have been very lucky! Just Thursday we pulled into Sumner without a new load and thought we would be spending the night. It turns out there was a load going to Spokane that someone moved the refer to the Sumner terminal to fuel it up and when the next driver went looking for the refer they couldn't find it. It was already 6:30pm and Oleg was talking to the night dispatcher who said if you can find the trailer, you can have the load. Of course the trailer was right there in the yard and we just had to look for it. So we came in with no load, and left about 45 minutes later with a trip to Spokane while all those other guys just sat in the lounge watching television.

OK, so on Thursday morning I was driving from Kennewic to Clarkston and we were on schedule to be about an hour early for our appointment at Costco. So Oleg said "I am going to teach you how to shift without the clutch". I have been watching him do it all along and have done it a couple of times in the low range gears. I understood that it was all about matching the speed to the rpm's and i have been trying to perfect that. So he grabs the stick and had me hold it like I normally do and said "release throttle". We were shifting from 3-4, so he did the shifting and I just paid attention to how it felt. I proceeded to shift from there through all the high end gears and I looked at him and said, "What the Hell! That's a lot easier than double clutching." I have been floating the gears ever since with only using the clutch from 4-5 a few time when I had the rpm's too high to get out of 4th.

I am getting real good at backing and I know now that it just takes practice. I pulled into the Lewiston yard and he said to park it in a spot between two trailers. I took a look and decided that an angle back was my best approach. I got the trailer in a spot with about 10 inches on the drivers side, 2 feet on the passenger side, and at one point i had about 3 inches in front. When I got out to take a look I went to the front and he followed me and said, "WOW, that's a real tight spot!" I knew I had the room, I just wanted to visualize how much space was on my blind side, and exactly how much was in front between the fender and the front of a parked trailer. Anyways, I was able to get the trailer in the spot in one shot only using a pull up to center it in the space a little bit.

I am doing most of the backing at the shippers. Being Costco stores, it is almost always a straight back with a few 45 degrees. The truck stops that we use have a good amount of space so i am having no problems getting into those spots.

Lastly, my mentor is not happy with the truck he has now. He requested an OTR truck so that he can get some better loads. He has been doing heavy haul for over 2 years, and wants to get out of his "Freight Shaker" and into a newer Volvo. He asked the fleet manager to find him a truck and we just found out there is a Volvo that will be available on Monday. It is still licensed to run heavy haul even though it is only a 3 axle truck. I am excited because now that I am getting comfortable in this truck, I get to learn a different rig. My mentor says that he likes the Volvos better because they are quieter, more comfortable and have better storage. I just want to see if we can run some OTR together so I can experience that while I am still on his truck.

Again, thank you to everyone that has been following my posts. I am by no means a journalist so I hope that I have been able to keep my posts somewhat interesting.

Tell your mentor i have a 2009 Volvo.....aaah...i like it. =) though its a mid roof.

Great week
 

We ran really hard this last week and made up a little but for the previous week with 3800 miles. I managed to get back to Sumner for the weekend and will spend a couple of days with the kids before we hit the road hard again on Monday. The bad part is that my mentor got stuck in Sumner without a load and needed to find a ride back home to Spokane.

Even with the busy week we did get out of that Freight Shaker and into a really good Volvo. Its a 2008 with 202,000 miles and is fairly clean. We had to dump our stuff in it and run another load, so we have a lot of cleaning and some organizing to do, but it's a really great tractor. Best of all, it was a chance for me to drive yet another piece of equipment.

In my limited experience with the Coulmbias, and this Volvo I would have to say that the Volvo is a much better rig. Every Columbia I have sat in has a gap around the door seal where your fingers can fit, let alone the wind and cold air. This Volvo is air tight, and it is 100% quieter in the cab. I can't hear the refer as much in the sleeper, and the controls are very well laid out. This thing is set up like a car, from the horns, to the cruise control, to the turn signals that cancel, to the power steering.

I still want to see the inside of the new International Pro tars that Swift is putting into service, but so far I really like the Volvo.

I'll be in the Sumner area for two days of local deliveries, T + F and then . . boy, do I have an eerie feeling . . I might be stuck there for the Labor Day weekend. If you expect to be around, let me know.

Hopefully, I'll get a load to Portland which, if I'm going to be stuck, I'd rather it was there. That way, I can meet Big D and he can take me to dinner at Ringside.

We usually pull into the terminal between 1300 and 1500, take a quick shower, get our loaded trailer and hit the road. Of course it is now 0730 am, we sent our Empty Call at 0630, and still no Load Assignment out of Couer D Aeleane.

As far as being stuck for the weekend, I have heard many people call the Sumner Terminal a Black Hole! Once get get stuck in there, it's hard to get out! Good Luck to ya.....

I attended the SWIFT One Week Advanced Driver's Training Program. It was the most memorable three weeks I ever spent as a driver!!

The Course Syllabus read:

DAY 1:
Morning: Fill out paperwork, undergo drug testing, catch up on lost sleep.
Afternoon Tutorial: Make The Hammer Lane Your Lane!!

DAY 2: Classroom Instruction: "Learn to run over stuff"

DAY 3: Driving & Parking Lot Range Practicum; Practice running over stuff.

Day 4: Oral, written exam, and range exam to asses driver's ability to run over stuff. Minimum Score for successful completion: 75%

DAY 5: Classroom Instruction: Truck Stop Parking: "If one space works, then two spaces work twice as well"

DAY 6: Parking Lot Range Practicum: Learn to take up at least two parking spaces in a crowded truck stop.

DAY 7 :
Morning Tutorial: Driver's Stories: Where Fantasy Meets Reality!!
Afternoon: Truck Stop Backing / Parking Exam.
Minimum Requirement For Successful Completion: Take up at least two spaces in a somewhat crowded Pilot truck stop.

NOTE: Extra Credit for three space occupancy in a crowded truck stop, combined with successful blocking of fuel pumps for one hour or more, and backing into a new KW or Peterbilt may result in student being offered immediate trainer / mentor status with SWIFT!!

Sadly, The Ringside is not what it used to be.... You could have come to the house for our annual labor day weekend BBQ..... Had to have it in the barn this year due to rain....

I was in Mount Vernon, Saturday morning, trying to motivate myself for the 4+ hour drive down, when a 2K+ preplan to IL fell into my lap. One look at the weather forecast and I was eastbound.

Too bad about Ringside. I would have preferred fish anyway. Keep me in mind after your next party . . cheers!