I need a hat, a chain for my wallet & a can of snuff.

You know the more I think about it he may have been taking a driving test. He did run a few red lights and made a few illegal turns with out using his turn signals and he did hit a cone when he parked but he didn't hit anyone and he didn't spill a drop of his load so he did better then a lot of the drivers out here in California. I think he should be hired immediately.:)
 
Nitro Dude said:
You know the more I think about it he may have been taking a driving test. He did run a few red lights and made a few illegal turns with out using his turn signals and he did hit a cone when he parked but he didn't hit anyone and he didn't spill a drop of his load so he did better then a lot of the drivers out here in California. I think he should be hired immediately.:)
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ROTFL
Sounds a lot like every driver in Dallas. They will flat run over you.
And, Austin.
 
Finalized all of the paperwork this morning. Heading for Raleigh, NC this afternoon/evening for a couple days of track & field. Then, over to High Point, NC later in the afternoon Sunday. I am to report to the terminal @ 8:00am to start training. I'll try to update this thread sometime Monday evening.
 
I have not seen you drive but I can tell from your dedication and how you have handled the whole process that you will be just fine and will be a plus for the trucking industry. From what you have said and the fact that they have such a demanding hiring process tells me that this is probably a pretty good company and not a fly by night operation. I have never pulled a tanker but I have a real good friend that does so I have a good connection to any info you might need or if you have any other questions about truck driving please feel free to ask and I will be more then glad to help you anyway I can.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I have not seen you drive but I can tell from your dedication and how you have handled the whole process that you will be just fine and will be a plus for the trucking industry. From what you have said and the fact that they have such a demanding hiring process tells me that this is probably a pretty good company and not a fly by night operation. I have never pulled a tanker but I have a real good friend that does so I have a good connection to any info you might need or if you have any other questions about truck driving please feel free to ask and I will be more then glad to help you anyway I can.
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Much thanks.

I may just take you up on that.
 
Made it to High Point just in time to take in the race at the hotel.

Did a quick trip up to the terminal to scout its location. I'm to meet with the driver/trainer at 8am tomorrow morning for my first real day of driving. It'll probably be just empty tankers, if I get to drive at all tomorrow. Should be a good learning day in any event.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Made it to High Point just in time to take in the race at the hotel.

Did a quick trip up to the terminal to scout its location. I'm to meet with the driver/trainer at 8am tomorrow morning for my first real day of driving. It'll probably be just empty tankers, if I get to drive at all tomorrow. Should be a good learning day in any event.
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Show'em how It's done bud. The bestest student ever. :D
 
Day #1

Did a bunch of driving around the yard this morning backing into spots, turning, etc. Just a bunch of skills type testing. Did good at everything. Didn't need any pullups for any of my parking, so that was cool.

Waiting on some work to be done on the trailer and then it's off to get loaded with glue. Apparently they need it in Wisconsin by tomorrow later in the day. Tonight will go to Charleston, WV. Trip in all will be 900 miles.

More later when the day's over. Eating a quick lunch now.
 
Made it to Charleston. I just got to do a ride along today. Leave at 7 tomorrow morning for Oshkosh, WI. Will not be able to unload there until Wednesday morning. Then, I get to drive an unloaded tanker to Chicago. Won't know until then what the next load or destination is. Trainer says he'll have me towing a full tanker by Thursday. Should be interesting. The 'surge' is kind of crazy. It basically feels like someone just rear ended the truck..... repeatably. It smoothes out as you drive though and doesn't really return until you stop or make abrupt movements or quick changes in speed.

More tomorrow.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Made it to Charleston. I just got to do a ride along today. Leave at 7 tomorrow morning for Oshkosh, WI. Will not be able to unload there until Wednesday morning. Then, I get to drive an unloaded tanker to Chicago. Won't know until then what the next load or destination is. Trainer says he'll have me towing a full tanker by Thursday. Should be interesting. The 'surge' is kind of crazy. It basically feels like someone just rear ended the truck..... repeatably. It smoothes out as you drive though and doesn't really return until you stop or make abrupt movements or quick changes in speed.

More tomorrow.
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you running baffles, or compartments, or a baffleless trailer?
 
Really interesting to read the nuances of each occupation and especially driving tractor - trailer. Doubtful many people really understand the difference between baffles and why some trailers might not have them. I think truckers as a whole get a bad rap from people never realizing the various elements involved in transporting specific loads, thinking all a driver does is jump in the cab and away we go. Not so!!
Sure do hope you can manage to keep the reports coming DPK. They are a fun read and interesting to boot.
 
WOW DPK admire what you are doing. I wonder if all the driving for a living will make you not as keen on hauling your RV for pleasure.....
 
Day #2

385..... Three hundred eighty five.....

What is the numbers of miles that I got to drive a loaded tanker. Through Indianapolis Indiana, Chicago Illinois and Milwaukee Wisconsin finishing up in Oshkosh Wisconsin.

What a day. Got to feel the surge behind the wheel. Got to experience some heavy duty traffic. And..... All went really well.

Tomorrow morning we offload our tanker full of glue at a local factory and then haul the empty back down to Chicago. Where do we go next? I don't have a clue. Can't wait though.

More tomorrow.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Day #2

385..... Three hundred eighty five.....

What is the numbers of miles that I got to drive a loaded tanker. Through Indianapolis Indiana, Chicago Illinois and Milwaukee Wisconsin finishing up in Oshkosh Wisconsin.

What a day. Got to feel the surge behind the wheel. Got to experience some heavy duty traffic. And..... All went really well.

Tomorrow morning we offload our tanker full of glue at a local factory and then haul the empty back down to Chicago. Where do we go next? I don't have a clue. Can't wait though.

More tomorrow.
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I guess after hauling this particular load it kind of makes you want to STICK with it.:lol2:
 
Offloading now. Takes about two hours from what I understand.

867924fe9d3f8f5c5c359f1b5ab0de0b.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Day #3

Started off by offloading that tank of glue this morning. It ended up being about a four hour process just due to the thickness . There are lots of issues dealing with containment of the product after unloading that I never thought of. The hoses and all connections used have to be sealed afterwards so they can be taken along with the tanker to be cleaned. There are particular cleaning facilities that can clean specific chemicals and other liquids. After unloading, I pulled the empty tanker to a facility just south of Chicago. We left it there to be cleaned and picked up another clean tanker to deliver to our Chicago terminal. I dropped off the clean tanker for someone else to use for whatever they're going to haul.

Tomorrow afternoon we have an appointment to get a load of some kind of lubricant located somewhere near Chicago's airport. I'll then be pulling it to a Cincinnati Ohio suburb for delivery on Friday. It will be a lot thinner than the glue making it more unstable as in motion. I'm told that the surge will be much greater than this last load. The best way I can describe the surge sensation is to imagine yourself sitting in the driver's seat holding the steering wheel. Then imagine some NFL linebacker running full speed leading with his shoulder into the back of your seat making contact. It doesn't actually hurry but it is jarring. It mainly happens when you accelerate from a stationary position. The acceleration makes the motion go to the bank of the tank bouncing off and accelerating to and hitting the front of the tank. That hit tends to be the strongest impact. A very weird sensation.

Sitting in a hotel in South Chicago. Not the best of places in my eyes. Oh well, we're outta here tomorrow. More then.....
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Day #3

Started off by offloading that tank of glue this morning. It ended up being about a four hour process just due to the thickness . There are lots of issues dealing with containment of the product after unloading that I never thought of. The hoses and all connections used have to be sealed afterwards so they can be taken along with the tanker to be cleaned. There are particular cleaning facilities that can clean specific chemicals and other liquids. After unloading, I pulled the empty tanker to a facility just south of Chicago. We left it there to be cleaned and picked up another clean tanker to deliver to our Chicago terminal. I dropped off the clean tanker for someone else to use for whatever they're going to haul.

Tomorrow afternoon we have an appointment to get a load of some kind of lubricant located somewhere near Chicago's airport. I'll then be pulling it to a Cincinnati Ohio suburb for delivery on Friday. It will be a lot thinner than the glue making it more unstable as in motion. I'm told that the surge will be much greater than this last load. The best way I can describe the surge sensation is to imagine yourself sitting in the driver's seat holding the steering wheel. Then imagine some NFL linebacker running full speed leading with his shoulder into the back of your seat making contact. It doesn't actually hurry but it is jarring. It mainly happens when you accelerate from a stationary position. The acceleration makes the motion go to the bank of the tank bouncing off and accelerating to and hitting the front of the tank. That hit tends to be the strongest impact. A very weird sensation.

Sitting in a hotel in South Chicago. Not the best of places in my eyes. Oh well, we're outta here tomorrow. More then.....
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the surge.....kinda like hauling a trailer up hill and you go over a bump and the trailer has to catch up to you....
 
When learning to drive a fire truck, one of the first sessions was on the road driving a tanker loaded with water and other equipment. Coming down a long hill and the instructor told me to turn left at the bottom of the hill, a wee bit too late as it turned out. I jumped on the brakes to slow down. My initial thought was of a surge, but in a different direction, the load of water would throw all the weight to the right side while turning left, but, instead braking delivered a strong surge from back to front and as the water surged, the brakes held but not as quickly as I figured and I chose to blow past the turn. The instructor said he had waited too long to issue his directive. After a few more on the road lessons I was approved as a driver which, at that time, automatically came with a CDL license endorsement. Things were more lax in the very early 1970's.
 
Still waiting to leave Chicago area. Have to drive to Cincinnati tonight. Will be to late to update. More tomorrow.
 
Day #4

A long, long day. Spent most all the morning and early afternoon at the Chicago terminal getting some things fixed in the truck and waiting for our load time. The chemical plant we went to wasn't more than 10 minutes away but you can only load/unload at specific times. There's limited space around the buildings and tanks making navigation difficult. I can't imagine what it would be like if everyone pulled in to load when they like.

They loaded enough to put the truck/trailer/load at about 77,000lbs. Had to scale in and then scale out. As soon as I moved under load, I could tell the difference in the viscosity of the load. Much thinner making it more active. The other thing I noticed is that the trailer road much rougher than the previous load. This trailer only had a spring suspension and not air. It's an older trailer that has a rear discharge. The rear discharge is what the customer wanted.

Drove from Chicago back down through Indianapolis IN and then over to Cincinnati. Left the loaded trailer at the terminal and bobtailed to a local hotel. I'll go back and pick up the trailer this morning and then unload. Then, the empty will have to be hauled to a tank wash in the city somewhere. That'll be later today.

I've been in the driver seat since Tuesday. My trainer is going to have some kind of conference call late next week with his terminal manager and mine, along with the safety director to see if they can fast track my entry into the system. He said the way I've been handling this thing as well as all the paperwork involved, it looks like I've been doing this all my life. A very cool and welcomed compliment from someone that's actually been doing it all his life.

More later.
 
Use to be when I logged onto RacingForums, first visit was to the Podium. Now my first visit is to see if there is an update from DPK and his experiences. Thank you for the updates!! Enjoy every one of them!! :)
 
Whizzer said:
Use to be when I logged onto RacingForums, first visit was to the Podium. Now my first visit is to see if there is an update from DPK and his experiences. Thank you for the updates!! Enjoy every one of them!! :)
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My first stop also. :booya:
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Day #4

A long, long day. Spent most all the morning and early afternoon at the Chicago terminal getting some things fixed in the truck and waiting for our load time. The chemical plant we went to wasn't more than 10 minutes away but you can only load/unload at specific times. There's limited space around the buildings and tanks making navigation difficult. I can't imagine what it would be like if everyone pulled in to load when they like.

They loaded enough to put the truck/trailer/load at about 77,000lbs. Had to scale in and then scale out. As soon as I moved under load, I could tell the difference in the viscosity of the load. Much thinner making it more active. The other thing I noticed is that the trailer road much rougher than the previous load. This trailer only had a spring suspension and not air. It's an older trailer that has a rear discharge. The rear discharge is what the customer wanted.

Drove from Chicago back down through Indianapolis IN and then over to Cincinnati. Left the loaded trailer at the terminal and bobtailed to a local hotel. I'll go back and pick up the trailer this morning and then unload. Then, the empty will have to be hauled to a tank wash in the city somewhere. That'll be later today.

I've been in the driver seat since Tuesday. My trainer is going to have some kind of conference call late next week with his terminal manager and mine, along with the safety director to see if they can fast track my entry into the system. He said the way I've been handling this thing as well as all the paperwork involved, it looks like I've been doing this all my life. A very cool and welcomed compliment from someone that's actually been doing it all his life.

More later.
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Will the job keep you on the road and over night in hotels a majority of the time?
 
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