My Very First Load

After some time had passed I was able to get the truck back to “road ready”. I was nervous to drive the truck myself. I've had my CDL since 2007 but that was mostly for test driving the trucks I had worked on as a diesel mechanic. I had a little experience driving trucks out on fires, and I did a short time driving vac tank trailers in North Dakota. really it didn't matter because i needed to try and save the business at this point so it was time to figure it out.

My first load was a simple one. Full truck load of plywood from Medford to Bend. I had to go over the Hayden pass that was covered in snow. We didn't get to the pass till dark and we didn't hit the snow till it was too steep to stop and put chains on. I slipped and slid all over the road with a full load on the trailer. I was afraid that if I stopped the truck and trailer were going to slide backwards uncontrollably. So I kept gearing down till I was in about 1st or 2nd gear. Finally a plow came by and laid down some gravel. After that we finally had some traction and we were able to carry on. The feeling of my duals sliding from under me is one I'll never forget.

After that everything was pretty smooth sailing. Our next load we picked up in Bend, OR. It was headed to Phoenix AZ. It was during this first trip that I realized what truckers love about the open road. On our way down we made a quick stop in a desert forest of Joshua trees. I had never seen anything like it. After that we stopped in Las Vegas. We met up with some family, then off to Arizona. The truck was pretty easy to drive, but driving through big cities definitely tested my nerves. Nothing a little exposure won't fix.