9 Things Every Commercial Truck Driver Should Know

Trailers are an important asset for transporting goods in various businesses. They provide long distance transport services for businesses that require raw materials and products that are located far away.

Trailers can be for personal or commercial purposes.

Here are a few things every commercial truck driver should know:

Communication

As a commercial truck driver, you will have to communicate with people at different stages of your work. When you are picking up your load, you must communicate with the person in charge to ensure that all the required cargo is loaded.

As you deliver the goods to the customers, you must communicate professionally and clearly with them, so that they can acknowledge receiving the goods.

Costs

Trucking does not come without its costs. Most commercial companies will not pay for any damage you cause to the truck out of negligence. Careless mistakes on the road, which lead to damages on the truck, will reflect on your pay slip.

Majority of commercial trucking companies will not cover food expenses for you. Whatever you eat on the road will be out of your own pocket. You cannot stay without eating especially if you are a long distance driver. Be ready to bear such costs.

Relationships

Trucking is a very time consuming career. You will spend more time on the road than at home. This can at times put a lot of pressure on relationships. If you have a family, be ready to spend weeks and even months away from them. Although constant communication over the phone may help, it is not a constant solution. Always find a way to spend time with your family every chance you get.

Experience

This is the most obvious thing you should have as a truck driver. Commercial truck companies will only hire you if you have good driving experience. These companies believe that experienced drivers are easy to work with, experience few road troubles and are fast in delivering the goods.

DOT Physical Exams

Ensuring safe operations, DOT physical exams comprehensively assess a driver’s fitness for the job. Administered by licensed medical examiners, these exams cover various aspects to guarantee drivers can perform their duties without major medical concerns. It is crucial for drivers to meet and maintain certain regulations to pass these comprehensive physical assessments, securing their ability to operate commercial vehicles safely.

Maneuvering

As a truck driver, you will need to be able to get to specific locations using the truck. Some locations may be deep within the city where roads are narrow, parking spots are smaller, and bridges are lower. You have to be skilled in handling these situations in order to be a great truck driver.

Commercial truck companies might require you to work with a variety of trailers. The most common include:

Dry van trailers

These trailers look like long rectangular boxes with wheels. They are the most preferred for raised docks because of quick loading and unloading.

You can check out these commercial dry van trailers, to have an idea of what you will be working with. You can also purchase one for yourself if you need a truck for personal use.

Reefer trailers

They look alike to dry van trailers but are square-shaped. They have a refrigeratitransportationon unit for preserving perishable cargo.

An important note about suppliers

As a commercial truck driver, always keep in mind that suppliers like to deal with punctual drivers. Always show up on time so that the suppliers can properly load the cargo on your truck/trailer. You are not the only truck driver they deal with. In delaying, you also make other drivers late as they wait for you to finish loading. This may negatively affect the supplier’s business. So keep time and know how to communicate with the suppliers of the commercial truck company that has hired you.

Some uses of trailers include

Personal use

You can own a trailer that you can use when shifting to a new place, transporting materials from your farm, or even live in it among other uses.

Commercial use

Companies that deal with transporting heavy cargo use trailers to do so. If you own a company that transports containers from the dock, or logs of trees, or any other heavy cargo, then trailers will make work easier for your company.

Before you buy or rent a trailer/truck, you need to consider the following:

• The state of the trailer/truck- Ensure that it is in the best condition. You can take it for a test drive to be sure.
• The market price- Before you buy or rent one, make sure that the price is fair and sensible.
• The type of trailer- When you want to buy a trailer, ensure you know what type you need. Do you need a dry van, a reefer, or any other type?

The role of transportation in demand and supply

Trucks and trailers are important because they play a great role in transporting goods. When there is a delay in transportation (maybe the truck/trailer broke down), the goods do not reach the market on time. This affects their demand and supply because the supply of the good becomes scarce, while the demand of the good increases. Traders sometimes take advantage of this and increase the price of the goods.

Trailers and trucks are important for most commercial businesses.