We first started the straight line backing.

“First put the truck in reverse. Take the foot off the clutch, both feet on the floor and let the equipment backup on its own. Turn your head side to side and look for any drift on both mirrors.  If you see it drift to one side, turn the steering wheel to the same side, hold for 3-5 seconds and return the wheel to center.  Remember don’t turn the wheel too much.”

“Shit this is so simple, I can do this in my sleep,” Todd cried.

“Yes, it’s simple but even the most experienced truck drivers mess up straight line backing sometimes. They lose patience and often oversteer,” Sherry explained.

We can’t run a marathon, if we don’t know how to walk. So after we all got straight line backing drilled into our heads, we were ready for the next step: offset backing.

“Offset why are we wasting our time with this BS- why can’t we cut to the chase and start learning how to parallel or alley dock like the Big Boyz?” Todd insisted. “That’s where truckers make their mark.”

“While offset may not be something truckers do very often, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Jimmy answered. “Offset is important because sometimes when you’re doing an alley dock, you’re just about there, but you just need to move the truck over one lane.  The last 10 feet can be the difference between making to it to the shipper by your cut-off time or pulling into a truck stop before hours expire.”

“So there are two types of off-set – one to the right and the other to the left.  Say you have to move the trailer to the right. Turn the steering wheel hard left. Back up and stop when you see 3/4th of the landing gear in the convex mirror.  Then turn the steering wheel hard right and back up until the trailer is directly behind the truck. Then back up straight, looking for the target cone in your right mirror. When the trailer tires clear the cone, turn the steering wheel hard right again and bring the truck in alignment with the trailer and push the trailer into the box. STOP.”

All eight of us took turns making two maneuvers at a time.  The rest of us stood around and shot the breeze or poke fun at our classmates as they ran over cones or completely mucked up the maneuver.  Martha and I spotted for each other and gave advice on how close we were getting to the cones.

When others did their turn, I found it a waste of time just waiting around, so sometimes I went for a quick run around the yard, away from the big trucks or even around town. Sitting in a driver’s seat all day is unhealthy so it’s smart that I start exercising from the very beginning.

“Alright guys, stop making fun of your classmates – we can joke in the classroom, but when we’re in the range, this is serious – you could kill someone,” Jimmy warned.

Training in the Front Royal range was like camping.  We were 15 minutes from campus and there were no bathrooms except two porta potties that weren’t emptied as often as needed. One was for Sherry, the lead instructor (and the few females who trained with us) and the other for everyone else. Luckily, the range was located next door to a Thai restaurant. Ben’s Family Cuisine located on the foothill of the Skyline trail.

We first started the straight line backing.

“First put the truck in reverse. Take the foot off the clutch, both feet on the floor and let the equipment backup on its own. Turn your head side to side and look for any drift on both mirrors.  If you see it drift to one side, turn the steering wheel to the same side, hold for 3-5 seconds and return the wheel to center.  Remember don’t turn the wheel too much.”

“Shit this is so simple, I can do this in my sleep,” Todd cried.

“Yes, it’s simple but even the most experienced truck drivers mess up straight line backing sometimes. They lose patience and often oversteer,” Sherry explained.

We can’t run a marathon, if we don’t know how to walk. So after we all got straight line backing drilled into our heads, we were ready for the next step: offset backing.

“Offset why are we wasting our time with this BS- why can’t we cut to the chase and start learning how to parallel or alley dock like the Big Boyz?” Todd insisted. “That’s where truckers make their mark.”

“While offset may not be something truckers do very often, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Jimmy answered. “Offset is important because sometimes when you’re doing an alley dock, you’re just about there, but you just need to move the truck over one lane.  The last 10 feet can be the difference between making to it to the shipper by your cut-off time or pulling into a truck stop before hours expire.”

“So there are two types of off-set – one to the right and the other to the left.  Say you have to move the trailer to the right. Turn the steering wheel hard left. Back up and stop when you see 3/4th of the landing gear in the convex mirror.  Then turn the steering wheel hard right and back up until the trailer is directly behind the truck. Then back up straight, looking for the target cone in your right mirror. When the trailer tires clear the cone, turn the steering wheel hard right again and bring the truck in alignment with the trailer and push the trailer into the box. STOP.”

All eight of us took turns making two maneuvers at a time.  The rest of us stood around and shot the breeze or poke fun at our classmates as they ran over cones or completely mucked up the maneuver.  Martha and I spotted for each other and gave advice on how close we were getting to the cones.

When others did their turn, I found it a waste of time just waiting around, so sometimes I went for a quick run around the yard, away from the big trucks or even around town. Sitting in a driver’s seat all day is unhealthy so it’s smart that I start exercising from the very beginning.

“Alright guys, stop making fun of your classmates – we can joke in the classroom, but when we’re in the range, this is serious – you could kill someone,” Jimmy warned.

Training in the Front Royal range was like camping.  We were 15 minutes from campus and there were no bathrooms except two porta potties that weren’t emptied as often as needed. One was for Sherry, the lead instructor (and the few females who trained with us) and the other for everyone else. Luckily, the range was located next door to a Thai restaurant. Ben’s Family Cuisine located on the foothill of the Skyline trail.

We first started the straight line backing.

“First put the truck in reverse. Take the foot off the clutch, both feet on the floor and let the equipment backup on its own. Turn your head side to side and look for any drift on both mirrors.  If you see it drift to one side, turn the steering wheel to the same side, hold for 3-5 seconds and return the wheel to center.  Remember don’t turn the wheel too much.”

“Shit this is so simple, I can do this in my sleep,” Todd cried.

“Yes, it’s simple but even the most experienced truck drivers mess up straight line backing sometimes. They lose patience and often oversteer,” Sherry explained.

We can’t run a marathon, if we don’t know how to walk. So after we all got straight line backing drilled into our heads, we were ready for the next step: offset backing.

“Offset why are we wasting our time with this BS- why can’t we cut to the chase and start learning how to parallel or alley dock like the Big Boyz?” Todd insisted. “That’s where truckers make their mark.”

“While offset may not be something truckers do very often, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Jimmy answered. “Offset is important because sometimes when you’re doing an alley dock, you’re just about there, but you just need to move the truck over one lane.  The last 10 feet can be the difference between making to it to the shipper by your cut-off time or pulling into a truck stop before hours expire.”

“So there are two types of off-set – one to the right and the other to the left.  Say you have to move the trailer to the right. Turn the steering wheel hard left. Back up and stop when you see 3/4th of the landing gear in the convex mirror.  Then turn the steering wheel hard right and back up until the trailer is directly behind the truck. Then back up straight, looking for the target cone in your right mirror. When the trailer tires clear the cone, turn the steering wheel hard right again and bring the truck in alignment with the trailer and push the trailer into the box. STOP.”

All eight of us took turns making two maneuvers at a time.  The rest of us stood around and shot the breeze or poke fun at our classmates as they ran over cones or completely mucked up the maneuver.  Martha and I spotted for each other and gave advice on how close we were getting to the cones.

When others did their turn, I found it a waste of time just waiting around, so sometimes I went for a quick run around the yard, away from the big trucks or even around town. Sitting in a driver’s seat all day is unhealthy so it’s smart that I start exercising from the very beginning.

“Alright guys, stop making fun of your classmates – we can joke in the classroom, but when we’re in the range, this is serious – you could kill someone,” Jimmy warned.

Training in the Front Royal range was like camping.  We were 15 minutes from campus and there were no bathrooms except two porta potties that weren’t emptied as often as needed. One was for Sherry, the lead instructor (and the few females who trained with us) and the other for everyone else. Luckily, the range was located next door to a Thai restaurant. Ben’s Family Cuisine located on the foothill of the Skyline trail.

We first started the straight line backing.

“First put the truck in reverse. Take the foot off the clutch, both feet on the floor and let the equipment backup on its own. Turn your head side to side and look for any drift on both mirrors.  If you see it drift to one side, turn the steering wheel to the same side, hold for 3-5 seconds and return the wheel to center.  Remember don’t turn the wheel too much.”

“Shit this is so simple, I can do this in my sleep,” Todd cried.

“Yes, it’s simple but even the most experienced truck drivers mess up straight line backing sometimes. They lose patience and often oversteer,” Sherry explained.

We can’t run a marathon, if we don’t know how to walk. So after we all got straight line backing drilled into our heads, we were ready for the next step: offset backing.

“Offset why are we wasting our time with this BS- why can’t we cut to the chase and start learning how to parallel or alley dock like the Big Boyz?” Todd insisted. “That’s where truckers make their mark.”

“While offset may not be something truckers do very often, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Jimmy answered. “Offset is important because sometimes when you’re doing an alley dock, you’re just about there, but you just need to move the truck over one lane.  The last 10 feet can be the difference between making to it to the shipper by your cut-off time or pulling into a truck stop before hours expire.”

“So there are two types of off-set – one to the right and the other to the left.  Say you have to move the trailer to the right. Turn the steering wheel hard left. Back up and stop when you see 3/4th of the landing gear in the convex mirror.  Then turn the steering wheel hard right and back up until the trailer is directly behind the truck. Then back up straight, looking for the target cone in your right mirror. When the trailer tires clear the cone, turn the steering wheel hard right again and bring the truck in alignment with the trailer and push the trailer into the box. STOP.”

All eight of us took turns making two maneuvers at a time.  The rest of us stood around and shot the breeze or poke fun at our classmates as they ran over cones or completely mucked up the maneuver.  Martha and I spotted for each other and gave advice on how close we were getting to the cones.

When others did their turn, I found it a waste of time just waiting around, so sometimes I went for a quick run around the yard, away from the big trucks or even around town. Sitting in a driver’s seat all day is unhealthy so it’s smart that I start exercising from the very beginning.

“Alright guys, stop making fun of your classmates – we can joke in the classroom, but when we’re in the range, this is serious – you could kill someone,” Jimmy warned.

Training in the Front Royal range was like camping.  We were 15 minutes from campus and there were no bathrooms except two porta potties that weren’t emptied as often as needed. One was for Sherry, the lead instructor (and the few females who trained with us) and the other for everyone else. Luckily, the range was located next door to a Thai restaurant. Ben’s Family Cuisine located on the foothill of the Skyline trail.

We first started the straight line backing.

“First put the truck in reverse. Take the foot off the clutch, both feet on the floor and let the equipment backup on its own. Turn your head side to side and look for any drift on both mirrors.  If you see it drift to one side, turn the steering wheel to the same side, hold for 3-5 seconds and return the wheel to center.  Remember don’t turn the wheel too much.”

“Shit this is so simple, I can do this in my sleep,” Todd cried.

“Yes, it’s simple but even the most experienced truck drivers mess up straight line backing sometimes. They lose patience and often oversteer,” Sherry explained.

We can’t run a marathon, if we don’t know how to walk. So after we all got straight line backing drilled into our heads, we were ready for the next step: offset backing.

“Offset why are we wasting our time with this BS- why can’t we cut to the chase and start learning how to parallel or alley dock like the Big Boyz?” Todd insisted. “That’s where truckers make their mark.”

“While offset may not be something truckers do very often, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Jimmy answered. “Offset is important because sometimes when you’re doing an alley dock, you’re just about there, but you just need to move the truck over one lane.  The last 10 feet can be the difference between making to it to the shipper by your cut-off time or pulling into a truck stop before hours expire.”

“So there are two types of off-set – one to the right and the other to the left.  Say you have to move the trailer to the right. Turn the steering wheel hard left. Back up and stop when you see 3/4th of the landing gear in the convex mirror.  Then turn the steering wheel hard right and back up until the trailer is directly behind the truck. Then back up straight, looking for the target cone in your right mirror. When the trailer tires clear the cone, turn the steering wheel hard right again and bring the truck in alignment with the trailer and push the trailer into the box. STOP.”

All eight of us took turns making two maneuvers at a time.  The rest of us stood around and shot the breeze or poke fun at our classmates as they ran over cones or completely mucked up the maneuver.  Martha and I spotted for each other and gave advice on how close we were getting to the cones.

When others did their turn, I found it a waste of time just waiting around, so sometimes I went for a quick run around the yard, away from the big trucks or even around town. Sitting in a driver’s seat all day is unhealthy so it’s smart that I start exercising from the very beginning.

“Alright guys, stop making fun of your classmates – we can joke in the classroom, but when we’re in the range, this is serious – you could kill someone,” Jimmy warned.

Training in the Front Royal range was like camping.  We were 15 minutes from campus and there were no bathrooms except two porta potties that weren’t emptied as often as needed. One was for Sherry, the lead instructor (and the few females who trained with us) and the other for everyone else. Luckily, the range was located next door to a Thai restaurant. Ben’s Family Cuisine located on the foothill of the Skyline trail.

We first started the straight line backing.

“First put the truck in reverse. Take the foot off the clutch, both feet on the floor and let the equipment backup on its own. Turn your head side to side and look for any drift on both mirrors.  If you see it drift to one side, turn the steering wheel to the same side, hold for 3-5 seconds and return the wheel to center.  Remember don’t turn the wheel too much.”

“Shit this is so simple, I can do this in my sleep,” Todd cried.

“Yes, it’s simple but even the most experienced truck drivers mess up straight line backing sometimes. They lose patience and often oversteer,” Sherry explained.

We can’t run a marathon, if we don’t know how to walk. So after we all got straight line backing drilled into our heads, we were ready for the next step: offset backing.

“Offset why are we wasting our time with this BS- why can’t we cut to the chase and start learning how to parallel or alley dock like the Big Boyz?” Todd insisted. “That’s where truckers make their mark.”

“While offset may not be something truckers do very often, it’s actually an important piece of the puzzle,” Jimmy answered. “Offset is important because sometimes when you’re doing an alley dock, you’re just about there, but you just need to move the truck over one lane.  The last 10 feet can be the difference between making to it to the shipper by your cut-off time or pulling into a truck stop before hours expire.”

“So there are two types of off-set – one to the right and the other to the left.  Say you have to move the trailer to the right. Turn the steering wheel hard left. Back up and stop when you see 3/4th of the landing gear in the convex mirror.  Then turn the steering wheel hard right and back up until the trailer is directly behind the truck. Then back up straight, looking for the target cone in your right mirror. When the trailer tires clear the cone, turn the steering wheel hard right again and bring the truck in alignment with the trailer and push the trailer into the box. STOP.”

All eight of us took turns making two maneuvers at a time.  The rest of us stood around and shot the breeze or poke fun at our classmates as they ran over cones or completely mucked up the maneuver.  Martha and I spotted for each other and gave advice on how close we were getting to the cones.

When others did their turn, I found it a waste of time just waiting around, so sometimes I went for a quick run around the yard, away from the big trucks or even around town. Sitting in a driver’s seat all day is unhealthy so it’s smart that I start exercising from the very beginning.

“Alright guys, stop making fun of your classmates – we can joke in the classroom, but when we’re in the range, this is serious – you could kill someone,” Jimmy warned.

Training in the Front Royal range was like camping.  We were 15 minutes from campus and there were no bathrooms except two porta potties that weren’t emptied as often as needed. One was for Sherry, the lead instructor (and the few females who trained with us) and the other for everyone else. Luckily, the range was located next door to a Thai restaurant. Ben’s Family Cuisine located on the foothill of the Skyline trail.

We started with the spring rolls – they were crispy and fresh sprinkled with ground turkey, cilantro and carrots.

Then Martha ordered the seafood stir fry which was zesty, succulent and filling.  She could barely make it half-way and realizing the lack of modern restroom facilities at the yard decided to take a doggy bag.

I ordered the Drunken Noodles with shrimp – 3 peppers out of 5 and boy those juicy Thai peppers were hotter than the engine exhaust pipes.  I had to order a 20 ounce glass of Singha just to put out the flames.  No wonder they call these noodles drunken.

After lunch I thanked Satya and quickly went over her website.

“Your site design is great. The menu is very readable and the font type is definitely mouth-watering,” I complimented.

“That’s good to hear,” Satya responded. “That’s kind of you.”

“My only beef is with the SEO – You don’t appear to be using the Yoast plugin so the menu is not fully optimized for SEO.”

“SEO?”

“Search Engine Optimization – improving your ranking on search engines like Google.”

After this, I went over Google Business with Satya showing her how to update her info and responding to reviews.

Before I knew it I could hear the roar of a turbocharger in the distance. A half an hour had passed and Martha was probably already seated behind the wheel.

I rushed back to the range to the usual straggle of trainees waiting for their turn for the truck.

“Where have you been,” Todd exclaimed officiously.

“I’ve been eating at Ben’s Cuisine next door,” I answered.  “You should go there sometime.  The food is affordable and the staff is hospitable.”

“Yeah, I know Martha brought back the stir fry which I enjoyed but she, unlike you got back to school on time.”

“Well, I had some business to take care. And after all, we’re all here for ourselves so if I wanna come back late, that’s on me.

I didn’t feel like I needed to explain my absence to my fellow classmate. My only responsibility was to myself and to my instructors, and I would never get in the cab of a truck with Todd ever again.