At Conway, we were treated like second class citizens and they really played with your head. Always letting you know that you could be sent home at any minute and that they thought their company was so good and that if we got selected to be a part of their company we should really feel special. The whole experience left us traumatized and I'm not saying that lightly. I am dead serious.
This time around, it was so much better. Our son Stephen ended up driving us here and we had a blast on the drive there and in the motel we stayed at during the orientation. We had only planned on 2 days but it turned into 4 days due to the extra class we opted for to get our DOD stuff out of the way.
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| Stephen driving us to Orientation |
As we got to the motel we passed a truck going the opposite direction and I pointed it out to John and told him that I thought it looked like our truck. We continued up to the motel and parked the car and as we got out there was a lady next to us unloading luggage from her trunk. She looked familiar so I took a chance and asked her if she was Arlene, the owner of the truck we were going to drive. Turned out that it was her so we stood and talked for a bit and she explained that her friend that drove there with her had just taken the truck over to the truckstop to leave it in the parking lot because the motel wouldn't let them park it there. So it was our truck that we passed earlier.
We made plans with her to meet up the next day and go over paperwork and get the grand tour of the truck and because it was so cold and snowy outside we all headed our separate ways. We got checked into our room and warmed up then we all headed out to eat. We ended up going over to the truckstop and eating there and our son, who used to drive for Conway, showed us around the truckstop and pointed some things out that we would need to know. We were thankful because neither of us had a clue about so many things since we had no experience whatsoever with truck driving, truck stops or anything else related to the job.
The next day was Sunday and we slept in. Arlene called and asked if we were ready to eat. We agreed to meet her at the other truckstop in the area. We found her and she bought us breakfast and went over the contract that we would have with her. The contract detailed how we would be paid as independent contractors. We would be getting 60% of the gross revenue to the truck in addition to 100% of the fuel surcharge since we would be responsible for buying fuel. She would be responsible for 100% of truck repairs and maintenance. We would get a 1099 at the end of the year and be responsible for our own taxes as nothing would be withheld from our pay. It's a pretty standard setup for expediters who are driving for owners.
After breakfast, we all drove over to the truck and she went over how to work different things, like the apu, the ceiling vent fan, which has a rain sensor to automatically close if it starts raining. She showed us where all the storage spaces were located, and how to raise the bed if we wanted to convert it into a dinette table. She gave us a lot of information and it's a lot to process but she said to feel free to call her anytime if we needed to ask questions. The truck is really very nice and well maintained and I think we are very lucky to be driving such a nice truck. Most people who start out doing this job with no experience usually start out driving a "starter truck" and then move to a nicer truck after they've proven themselves.
In addition to all that, she gave us some tips on how to handle different situations that might come up with dispatch and the loads they offer. Being new, we welcome all the help we can get.
After a couple of hours, she handed us the keys and wished us good luck and told us she was going to head back home. What an overwhelming feeling that was to suddenly be responsible for this truck that we had never driven and knew almost nothing about. And we were going to be driving it all over the country to places we have never been and dealing with shippers and freight and oh my...Panic mode set in. Thank goodness our son was there with us. He calmed us down and assured us that we could do it.
The next day was the first day of orientation. We had to be there at 7 AM. Stephen got up and drove us over there since we weren't authorized to drive the truck yet. Until we completed orientation and all paperwork was done, we couldn't legally drive the truck. We were both having flashbacks of our horror at Conway, but we tried to keep a positive attitude.
There were about 20 of us in class. Some of us would be driving straight trucks, some cargo vans, and some tractor trailers. The first day was a lot of paperwork that we had to fill out. Thanks to all the government regulations, there is a lot of information that you have to give to drive a truck. They want 10 years work history and it all has to be verified. We were prepared for it all since our boys had already been through this and we had done it all at Conway so we had our info in order. Others in class were not so prepared and had to make a lot of phone calls home to try and get all the info they needed.
We all had to pee in a cup, get our vision tested, blood pressure checked, and then a physical. They had a Dr. right there on site so that was convenient. We got photo id's made. Lunch was served and was delicious. We got several breaks throughout the day and on the classroom portion of the talks they were giving out valuable information so it was not boring like I expected it to be. We were given company policy and procedures so that we would know how to be legal out on the road and get paid properly.
The second day was more slide show presentations, question and answers, going over how to use a qualcomm, etc. Again, things we really needed to know. A lot of people there already knew all this stuff since they had driven before, but for us, it was all new. Everyone we dealt with was respectful and friendly.
We could have been done at the end of the second day but because we had elected to go for our DOD clearance to give us access to more and better paying loads, there was an additional class that we needed to do. We went back on Wednesday and it was an all day session. Then we were told we would need to come back on Thursday to fill out the application for clearance on the computer. We had no idea what we were getting into on that one. No application in my life has ever been as in depth as that one! We were there from 8 AM until a little after Noon completing that thing. No wonder so many people won't get their clearance. It really is a time consuming chore. I'm not sure how long it will take to find out if we get the clearance, the company said they will notify us when they find out.
The shop took our truck in on Wednesday and added the decals with the company logo's and dot numbers, so it's all legal for us to drive now. We drove it to class on Wednesday and Thursday. Of course it had to be snowing both days, but not too bad.
After we wrapped up on Thursday, we went back to the hotel, checked out and sent Stephen on his way to Indiana. We had such a wonderful visit with him during this time that we will always have special memories of this trip. He taught us how to get the truck scaled and how to get it washed. So many things that truck drivers take for granted but for newbies like us, we have to learn.
We drove the truck over to the local Walmart and set off on a major shopping spree. There is so much stuff you need to set your truck up for life on the road. We got everything we could think of right now, but I'm sure as time goes on we'll find more that we need to make life more enjoyable.
Now we are back at the truckstop and waiting on our first load. Oh My God!!!
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