Updates: Judy gets her CDL / FedEx Approved / Orientation Scheduled

Been a while since I updated, and lots of things have been happening. ~

The last major hurdle is cleared as Judy passed the driving portion of her CDL exam with flying colors! She is now holds a Class B Commercial Drivers License with a Hazmat endorsement. She was pretty nervous about passing the tests, but she did very well. She only a very few points taken off on the road portion, and had perfect scores on the Pre-trip and Maneuverability potions! (She actually scored higher than I did!) I knew she wouldn't have any problems,but we are very glad she decided to attend the Big Rig Truck Driving School training class. They were great, and she really got a lot out of the class.

We are also pleased that we have been officially approved by FedEx Custom Critical to drive for them. We are actually listed as active drivers in their system, but still have to attend orientation in order to start hauling freight. We are scheduled to attend Surface Expedite orientation Aug. 8-10.

Another piece of the truck driving puzzle is also in place, as we have been approved for the White Glove division of FedEx Custom Critical, and will be attending the White Glove orientation on Aug 12-13. White Glove trucks offer additional services, and may be best explained from this quote from the FedEx Custom Critical website:

 FedEx Custom Critical White Glove Services feature specially trained drivers and specialty equipment for the safe transport of your most sensitive shipments. These services include a full range of temperature-control offerings as well as a complete suite of Secure Transportation Solutions.

Essentially, this means we will be hauling freight that requires additional care and handling. It could literally be about anything. We are very happy to be accepted into White Glove, and it affords us an opportunity to increase our earning potential. White Glove loads usually pay more (in some instances, a great deal more) than regular Surface Expedite loads do.

Even though we are attending White Glove orientation, we still do not know if we will be starting out in a White Glove truck. (A White Glove truck carries a great deal of additional freight handling equipment when compared to a Surface Expedite truck) We have selected Expediter Services as our Fleet Owner. If they have a White Glove truck available when we attend orientation, we may be able to start out in that truck. If not, we will start out in a Surface Expedite truck, and switch over to a WG truck when one does become available. Either way, we will have the White Glove orientation out of the way.

We hope to pick up the truck on August 5th. That way we would be able to bring the truck home and get some of our things packed, and some of our electronics (GPS, Phone, laptop and Xoom tablet) installed. Although we are looking forward to getting started, we still have many questions on what to bring with us, and just where is it all going to fit! Still excited about finally getting started and really looking forward to getting the truck!

We will be attending the Expediters Online Expedite Expo in Wilmington next Friday and Saturday, July 22-23. We are hoping to talk with current expediters, as we have many, many questions about life on the road, and hauling freight in general. We attended our first Expo about three years ago, and are really looking forward to this one! It's a very informative event, and very family friendly.  (And it's FREE!!!)

We have been slowing getting a list of things we think we will need on the road. I'm sure we will forget something, but hopefully, we'll have a better idea after talking to some of the current drivers at the Expo. After all, there is only so much room in the truck! A fun puzzle to solve.

One of the things I have been wondering about is tools. Our fleet owner takes care of all the major maintenance and repairs that our truck will need, but we are responsible for minor items (replacing light bulbs, loose items, keeping mirrors adjusted), so I know I will need some tools.

I spent part of the day yesterday going through my Dad's old toolbox. It brought back a flood of memories for me. I used to help Dad with a good deal of the maintenance on his trucks, and have used almost all of the tools in that old toolbox many times over the years. I don't think I'll have to purchase any tools right now, as Dad's toolbox had about everything I think we'll need. He was partial to using only Craftsman tools, and they seemed to have stood the test of time. Good tools and guaranteed for life.

As I picked up each wrench, socket or ratchet, I could almost see Dad using that particular tool on the old Kenworths. Bittersweet in a way. At least a good portion of those old tools will be traveling with us on the road. I guess Dad will be there also every time I pick up one of his old tools. Glad to have him along for the ride!

Jim