[cruzncoyote]

Hey BobMack

Driving into grassy fields like that can be real risky with a chance of getting stuck, however, it was dry and very firm. If a Maverick driver gets his rig stuck he gets the honor of paying a wrecker to get him out. We could of have refused to drive in there and the loader would have had to drive quite a distance to stack this pipe. It was a pretty light load and not like we were grossing 80,000 lb. I used to drive an old cab over Pete hauling sod and managed to get it stuck one time in this kind of situation. Needless to say, that was rotten day for me. 18-wheelers don’t make very good 4x4 off road vehicles in the mud when they have highway tires.

[BobMack]

Thanks for answering my question. And 1 more question cruzncoyote, what was the purpose of having a tarp on top and across the front on the sewage pipes? :? I'm looking at driving for Maverick next year and I'm just curious. Thanks again.

[cruzncoyote]

Yeah, I know. We were scratching our head trying to figure out why they wanted us to do a smoke tarp on sewer pipe also. The smoke tarp keeps smoke and exhaust residue from getting inside the pipe. It is always required on water pipe for sure (which makes since, especially if it was for drinking water), but the instructions we received said to tarp it, so we did.

I talked to one driver that hauls out of here all the time and he rerouted his exhaust stack on his truck to go down and under the frame so he would not have to tarp all the time.

Good luck in hiring on with Maverick next year. As far as my experience has gone, this is a great company.

[cruzncoyote]

The 2nd week in the truck with a trainer was as good as the 1st week. We stayed south of the Mason-Dixon line all week and hauled 4 different loads which included particle board, shiny bar, 2-6 inch sewer pipe, and rough sawn 5/4 inch lumber boards. The fall colors in the tree leaves were spectacular all through the hills of Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina (sorry no photo’s this time, I did not have time to get them reduced in size and posted).

I got a taste of rolling down hills (with run away truck ramps on the side of the road) using our Freightliners auto shift tranny. It’s a piece of cake. Just put it in manual, use the jake on high, and keep the rpm’s from getting too high.

It has only been 2 weeks with my trainer and since I had OTR 10 years ago he is cutting me loose. I am going to Little Rock today to test out and if successful, I will be issued my own truck. I can’t say enough good about my trainer. He was a very easygoing, non-excitable professional that imparted outstanding knowledge to me in the ways of flatbed trucking. Maverick rocks!

[BobMack]

Congratz making it through training. Please keep us posted on your further adventures. It helps those of us who are looking to work for Maverick an idea what to expect.

[steelhauler2007]

I drive for Maverick.You mentioned being out 2-3 weeks at a time.I am in their southwest region.I live northwest of Austin Texas.Very rarely am I out two weeks at a time.Their hometime depends on where you live.Living in Oklahoma you will be in the LNG Division and they do stay out 2-3 weeks.That still isn't bad considering alot of companies keep you out alot longer than that.I would give it some time and see how it works out.Maverick is a great company, I have been here a little over a year.

[cruzncoyote]

I got home last night after my 1st week with my own truck. It was a great week and my attitude about all this is holding strong. Here is how my week went:

November 12, 2007, Monday
I reported in for my “test out” in order for Maverick to give me a truck. There was 3 of us drivers doing this and we took 3 written tests on securement, qualcomm, and hours-of-service. We also had to do a trip planning exercise. All of us passed and we were issued trucks. Mine was in Mangum, Oklahoma and another driver on light duty has to drive me out there tomorrow. The other 2 guys have to fly out tomorrow to get their trucks in Laurinburg, North Carolina.

November 13, 2007, Tuesday

We dropped off the other two drivers at the airport and drove to Mangum, OK. My truck is a 2007 with less than 100,000 miles on it. It was fairly cleaned up and thank god, its previous driver was a nonsmoker and it was well taken care of. It was too late to get a load today so I spent the 1st night in my truck.

November 14, 2007, Wednesday

I got my 1st work assignment this morning. I dead headed to Fort Smith and picked up a load of gray bar headed for Columbus, Indiana. I drove until I was sleepy and stopped on a get on ramp on the interstate and went to sleep.

November 15, 2007, Thursday

I drove to Columbus and got there about 8:00pm. I was not unloaded until almost midnight and when I sent in my “empty” macro I got a preassigned load to drop and hook a trailer in Ghent, Kentucky. I was too tired to drive the 66 miles there so I found a truck stop and slept.

November 16, 2007, Friday

It was a good thing I did not drive to Ghent, KY last night. The road was super narrow and several of the small towns I went through had almost impossible tight turns. The bridge going over the Ohio River was also extremely narrow. This would have been a very difficult drive at night. When I arrived at the stainless steel shipper, I saw an assortment of stainless steel sheets stacked on 4x4's with 3 different height levels. I spent about an hour talking to my trainer and other Maverick drivers about securing this load. I had no previous training with this type of set up before and all told it took me hours to secure and double tarp this steel. I used every single chain and binder on my truck and a hand full of 4-inch straps to boot! It was quite the work out and I felt great about the securement of this load when I was done, not to mention all that exercise was invigorating. I drove for a while and slept on an off ramp.

November 17, 2007, Saturday

I went to the Little Rock yard and took care of paper work, got a shower, picked up some missing equipment for my truck, and washed my truck. I drove to Dallas for a few days off and parked the truck in an old closed Eckerd's parking lot near my house (local police suggested this spot). Thank god it fit in this parking lot. I was a little worried about getting it in there but had no problem all.

Well that’s all for now. If I ever get my wireless set up on my laptop I will be posting from the road. I just haven’t had time to get it taken care of. Stay safe and I will shout at you all later.

[NailGunner]

I am guessing you are talking about the bridge at madison in to milford ky and then ky 36 to ky 42 through carrollton and then on to ghent, I have run this route numerous times and I think you did a smart thing by waiting till light especially since it was an unknown to you. That bridge received a rating of 31 out of 100 on inspection so I was told by a local. The bridge to the east of ghent is a much better bridge to cross.Good luck to ya

[cruzncoyote]

Yep, that’s the one NailGunner. Who Wee! If I ever go back that way again I will take the other bridge to the east.

[wonderman]

monica was my fleet manager when i worked for maverick. I am glad she is recruiting because as a fm all she ever did was lie to me. She was one of the biggest reasons i quit....wonderman