UH OH on the Backing Lane!

Friday in class was our first day in the trucks. We worked on alley dock and straight backing. I got the truck on the alley dock first. Would you beleive that I did the alley with one pull up the first time, of course I had one of the instructors giving directions. Then, I got into the truck on the straight back lane. On this lane at the end, where you pull all the way through the lane, the asphalt drops off into gravel. Everyone had been pulling the tractor all the way down till the trailor was at the edge of the asphalt. Big Mistake!!! What I didnt know when I started to do my straight back was that down where the gravel is, its at an angle to the asphalt but the way its laid out its hard to see it from cab. Anyway, I bet you can guess what happened..... You guessed it I completely messed up my straight back. Of course my instructor told me after I tried about 5 times and I asked what I was doing wrong. I only needed to pull the truck forward until just the front tires hit the gravel. Now he tells me!

Well that was how my first backing experience went. I was aggravated and my left leg was tired from holding clutch in for what seemed like forever several times. So I decided I had to go home and hit the weights and get my leg pumped up and ready to go again Monday morning.

Check in to read what my next adventure will be in driving school.

"Stubbornness is also determination. It's simply a matter of shifting from "won't power" to "will power." "
Peter McWilliams

The Beginning of my Class A Beginning

Most of you that know me, know that I have been trying to get to point of getting my CDL's for about six months. It seems that one thing after another would come up and I would have to put it off yet again. I was really getting discouraged at times. I finally got the call I had been waiting for, for many months. My financing finally came through to go to a local technical school for my training. Yet another twist came with it. I got the call on Friday May 7th and they wanted me to start classes on the following Monday, which was a problem. My client was leaving going out of town, which meant I couldnt just leave them hanging at the last minute with no one there. I asked would it be alright if I started the following Monday and everyone agreed it would be acceptable. It would mean that I would be a week behind the class I was suppose to start with.
Starting late would mean that I would have to play catch up of sorts.

I started class on May 17th. I was the only woman in the class and there were four men. My instuctor asked me to introduce myself to the class and tell them a little bit about myself. So I said, " My name is Jennifer. I have had a cleaning service for the last 7 yrs. My husband is a truck driver and he took this course here last year."

She asked me a few more questions, then we watched a few videos, and she told us to study for our exam. We studied for awhile and took a break. The guys asked me a million questions, well at least it seemed like it. I shared some of what little I know from the experiences that I have shared with my husband via phone. After the break, we went back to studying and then finally took the final exam. I did really good on it. She let us go early so we go home study some more and rest up to prepare to take the real test the next day. I went home and decided my head had all the studying it do for one day so I just relaxed for the rest of the day at home.

She told us we needed to get there early but I had a child to get off to school before I could leave. I got up, got her off to school and me ready and then I left. The facility was about an hour away. I was expecting a really long wait by the looks of the parking lot but I got there at just the right time. The machines we clearing out just as I got in there. I took each one and passed one after the other until I got to the doubles and triple. Not one that was important to me right now so I skipped the retake. The important thing was I was leaaving a bonafide Class A Learners License and this is "the beginning of my Class A beginning"!

Keep reading to find out what happens next in my big adventure.


"Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities."
William Bridges

Going from Trucker's Wife to Truckerette

My husband and I both hated being apart. We had already set our plans and some of us were being more stubborn than others of us.( the more stubborn of us was him). I suggested that instead of continuing with our current plan of me going to freight broker training that I attend CDL training and go on the road with him. We could make good money because the truck would always be rolling, he wouldn't be sharing the miles or splitting the pay with another co-driver, it would all be going into one pot. We could pay off the cars, do some work on the house,and work toward our ultimate goal of starting our own trucking company.

Well....he finally gave in to the idea. He agreed with my idea. I started trying to figure out ways to pay for the school and finding out all the information I could. First, I thought about getting the trucking company to finance it until I found out it would cost twice as much and you would have sign a contract with some of them. Then I tried to use the WIA fund but by the time I got through oreintation and completed testing the funding was gone until the middle of March. Well by this time I was really frustrated by all of this. The school I chose was gonna cost $2600 but they range up to 4500 plus. My husband got a loan to pay for the training so I could go sooner. The financing problem was solved much to our aching pocketbook.

If anyone especially if your a woman is considering a career in the trucking industry please, please, please do some checking before you jump head first into it. Yes, there is some really good money in it. This is also a male dominated industry and yes girls they are still marking their territory. Just be prepared and know what you are getting into.

So now I am all set. I am ready to start classes next week. I cant wait. I get to be on the road with my husband, make some money, meet new people and see some places I've never seen. It will truly be an adventure and another step closer to our dream....


"There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964)