It's Real!

Well, readers, all this talk about becoming a trucker has finally become a reality. I'm composing this post from the sleeper berth of my very own truck! (By "my very own" I mean that USA Truck assigned it to me, not that I've bought it) If you see USA Truck unit #7630 rolling down the highway somewhere, that's me!

Right now I'm in the latter stages of my sleep/rest period before I go on duty for my first load assignment with the truck. I need the sleep 'cuz my bus ride to Milwaukee (from Ann Arbor) to pick up the truck was an overnighter, from a 4:15 p.m. (EST) departure to a 2:15 a.m. (CST) arrival at the Milwaukee Greyhound station. That includes a 3-1/2 layover in Chicago, then 6+ hours in Milwaukee waiting for my dispatcher to get in to work to arrange a ride for me to the truck's location. So with only 1 or 1-1/2 hours of sleep on the bus ride, I was a bit too tired to take my new rig out on the road.

Anyway, a bit about this rig--it's a mess. The previous driver did not keep it clean (the interior, that is) and he was obviously a smoker (cough, cough). First truck stop for me, I'll be getting some cleaning supplies and Febreeze. Plus, since the truck had been sitting for a couple of weeks (it's been at an International dealership for service), its battery was dead. So I had to have them jump start it. But it runs fine now, and has warmed up the cab plenty to make it comfortable to sleep. (In case you didn't know, trucks nowadays have idling systems that start and stop the engine automatically to maintain the temperature inside the cab as well as keep the engine warm and battery charged. I set that system once I got it started so I'd have a comfy "bedroom" for my afternoon of sleep. I'm "camping out" at the dealership's lot, which they're used to since they're in the truck biz.)

So now I'm getting ready for my first load. I pick it up at 10:00 CST tonight just a few miles from here, then haul it to the Kansas City area. Imagine, after all my complaining about my overnght driving shifts with my trainer, my first one has to be an overnighter, too, because of my odyssey getting out here. Figures. Oh well, I just hope the Denver snowstorm hasn't stayed viable and reached eastern Kansas before I get there. We'll see about that in a few hours, I guess.

OK, so I need to get back to sleep a bit before heading out on the road. Keep those comments coming, and keep on truckin'.