We finally made the decision about an owner to drive for and got thru Panther orientation beginning of this week. It's been a long week but interesting.
We made ourselves available for load the evening after orientation. First load offer was a good one, 968 pd miles and .28 FSC, BUT we only had 4.5 hrs on the 14 apiece and we are a 14 hr team so NOT going to work.
So we waited until next morning and got another load offer, this one with 33 dh miles and 309 pd. We accepted it and when we got to shipper my husband found we had a steer tire going flat (50 lbs psi).:-( It was a new tire just put on the day before, called the owner they said swing back by the tire dealer and get them to look at it. They couldnt find anything wrong, just aired up the tire and so far its been OK. Of course, we got about a zillion messages on the QC about our delay. We explained the delay and ended up being a little late delivering but something was screwy with that one from the get-go (what happened to the 47 mph + 45 mins we were told about in orientation??) Nobody has been able to explain that so far either.
BTW, when we were picking up first load we got a preplan for the next load, 44 mi DH and 196 pd. We are calling the owner for advice on load acceptance for the first few weeks. They said take it and we did. We picked that one up that night and while getting loaded got another preplan for next load. We delivered load#2 next AM, then had until that night to wait for pickup about 30 DH mi away. We were ready for the rest, Hubby has to sit in passenger seat while I drive until I take the CDL driving part of the test. While we were resting we took truck to shop and got brakes adjusted, owner seems to be pretty good about keeping maintenance up even though truck is 5 yrs old.
Load #3 was 868 pd miles. En route with that one we got a preplan for load# 4. We delivered load#3 yesterday afternoon, then dh 108 mi to Wilmington NC for pickup tonight, will be 622 pd miles on load. Another nice, needed break and we are spending this one in a motel room on the beach.
So far so good, I am getting in some driving time and getting more comfortable with handling the truck, going thru weigh stations, etc. My husband has been driving OTR for 5 yrs and I have been riding with him so we are not strangers to life on the road, just the expedited way. So far, we both like it.
Sitting in the drivers seat for the first time, I have been able to apply some of the knowledge I picked up sitting there as a passenger for 5 yrs. I DID learn some things during that time. I already know logs, DOT regs, mapping and navigating, have routed us thru 48 states and Canada and am familiar with border crossing procedures. I have rode with my husband from the beginning of his driving career until now so have the advantage of witnessing his newbie learning curve firsthand but I am still a newbie driver and now get to try it for myself.
Should be much easier and we should do better with loads once I get my CDL and we can operate as a full team. So far, there has been no shortage of freight since we have been preplanned for next load usually while picking up previous load. However, I know full teams don't always want these 2 days of sitting we have enjoyed (literally) this week.
We have had to turn down one load this week, the 2nd we were offered (between the 1st one we didn't have the hrs for and the 1st one we accepted). It was for 100-200 pd miles and had almost that much DH and didnt pick until that night so of course owner said turn that one down.
Not a spectacular week, nobody got rich, owner spent some money on the truck with repairs and will have the startup cost for getting us thru orientation but its a start. Owner has been doing this several years so should understand the business and its nature so I will leave that up to THEM as long as my pay is where its supposed to be when its supposed to be.
Looking forward to getting my CDL as soon as I get a little more backing practice and then will find out what REAL teaming is about. In the meantime will share with you newbies looking to start our honest experiences, just the facts, good and bad.
We made ourselves available for load the evening after orientation. First load offer was a good one, 968 pd miles and .28 FSC, BUT we only had 4.5 hrs on the 14 apiece and we are a 14 hr team so NOT going to work.
So we waited until next morning and got another load offer, this one with 33 dh miles and 309 pd. We accepted it and when we got to shipper my husband found we had a steer tire going flat (50 lbs psi).:-( It was a new tire just put on the day before, called the owner they said swing back by the tire dealer and get them to look at it. They couldnt find anything wrong, just aired up the tire and so far its been OK. Of course, we got about a zillion messages on the QC about our delay. We explained the delay and ended up being a little late delivering but something was screwy with that one from the get-go (what happened to the 47 mph + 45 mins we were told about in orientation??) Nobody has been able to explain that so far either.
BTW, when we were picking up first load we got a preplan for the next load, 44 mi DH and 196 pd. We are calling the owner for advice on load acceptance for the first few weeks. They said take it and we did. We picked that one up that night and while getting loaded got another preplan for next load. We delivered load#2 next AM, then had until that night to wait for pickup about 30 DH mi away. We were ready for the rest, Hubby has to sit in passenger seat while I drive until I take the CDL driving part of the test. While we were resting we took truck to shop and got brakes adjusted, owner seems to be pretty good about keeping maintenance up even though truck is 5 yrs old.
Load #3 was 868 pd miles. En route with that one we got a preplan for load# 4. We delivered load#3 yesterday afternoon, then dh 108 mi to Wilmington NC for pickup tonight, will be 622 pd miles on load. Another nice, needed break and we are spending this one in a motel room on the beach.
So far so good, I am getting in some driving time and getting more comfortable with handling the truck, going thru weigh stations, etc. My husband has been driving OTR for 5 yrs and I have been riding with him so we are not strangers to life on the road, just the expedited way. So far, we both like it.
Sitting in the drivers seat for the first time, I have been able to apply some of the knowledge I picked up sitting there as a passenger for 5 yrs. I DID learn some things during that time. I already know logs, DOT regs, mapping and navigating, have routed us thru 48 states and Canada and am familiar with border crossing procedures. I have rode with my husband from the beginning of his driving career until now so have the advantage of witnessing his newbie learning curve firsthand but I am still a newbie driver and now get to try it for myself.
Should be much easier and we should do better with loads once I get my CDL and we can operate as a full team. So far, there has been no shortage of freight since we have been preplanned for next load usually while picking up previous load. However, I know full teams don't always want these 2 days of sitting we have enjoyed (literally) this week.
We have had to turn down one load this week, the 2nd we were offered (between the 1st one we didn't have the hrs for and the 1st one we accepted). It was for 100-200 pd miles and had almost that much DH and didnt pick until that night so of course owner said turn that one down.
Not a spectacular week, nobody got rich, owner spent some money on the truck with repairs and will have the startup cost for getting us thru orientation but its a start. Owner has been doing this several years so should understand the business and its nature so I will leave that up to THEM as long as my pay is where its supposed to be when its supposed to be.
Looking forward to getting my CDL as soon as I get a little more backing practice
and then will find out what REAL teaming is about. In the meantime will share with you newbies looking to start our honest experiences, just the facts, good and bad.