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Let's talk trucks
- Thread starter LumbermanSVO
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A little over a week ago I started running teams with a guy. I sleep while he drives and vice versa.
We woke up yesterday morning in Waddy, KY made a delivery in KS, picked up another load in MO and right now we are just outside of Rock Springs, WY, we should be in Sacramento early tomorrow morning. It is amazing how much ground a team can cover when running full tilt.
Anyone have any questions on how teams work?
We are still looking for some stickers for the truck that say "Team truck, In emergency check sleeper"
We woke up yesterday morning in Waddy, KY made a delivery in KS, picked up another load in MO and right now we are just outside of Rock Springs, WY, we should be in Sacramento early tomorrow morning. It is amazing how much ground a team can cover when running full tilt.
Anyone have any questions on how teams work?
We are still looking for some stickers for the truck that say "Team truck, In emergency check sleeper"
I hate updating my own thread, but here goes...
For all the details read the last few days of my blog.
The cliff notes:
My co-driver can't drive to save his life. i can't sleep while he is driving. Told the company I want off the truck. They don't have a truck for me to drive, could be waiting for weeks to get a truck. Called a friend, he is putting me in his truck. Gonna take a week off then hit the road again.
For all the details read the last few days of my blog.
The cliff notes:
My co-driver can't drive to save his life. i can't sleep while he is driving. Told the company I want off the truck. They don't have a truck for me to drive, could be waiting for weeks to get a truck. Called a friend, he is putting me in his truck. Gonna take a week off then hit the road again.
Haven't seen the saga for a while, glad to see you made it through the winter in one piece. Last couple of years have been challenging, to say the least. I spend too much time in strange cars on strange roads, so it always seems to be a butt-clencher. Still driving for that "Phoenix-based carrier"?
Rudimus Prime: A driver is limited to how much they can work in an 8 day period. Having a co-driver essentially doubles how much a truck can work in that same 8-day period. As a company driver this results in more pay per mile. Basically, while driver 1 is driving, driver 2 is sleeping. When the hours are up for driver 1 driver 2 is now legal to drive and driver 1 goes to sleep.
The catch is that you need drivers that can drive a truck smoothly, admittedly, not an easy thing to do. The upside is that finding a parking spot isn't as much of a concern anymore. The companies also give teams the priority when planning loads, you spend more time making money and less time sitting waiting for a load. Especially when the economy sucks.
John, yeah still working for them, until tomorrow anyway. After that I'll still be pulling their trailers but I'll actually be working for my friend.
Nabooly, no, every truck doesn't require two drivers. In fact, most are solo drivers. Most guys can't live in a small space with another guy. In this case my problem was with his driving and not his personality. As I said above, you can make more money running as a team, if you can hack it.
The catch is that you need drivers that can drive a truck smoothly, admittedly, not an easy thing to do. The upside is that finding a parking spot isn't as much of a concern anymore. The companies also give teams the priority when planning loads, you spend more time making money and less time sitting waiting for a load. Especially when the economy sucks.
John, yeah still working for them, until tomorrow anyway. After that I'll still be pulling their trailers but I'll actually be working for my friend.
Nabooly, no, every truck doesn't require two drivers. In fact, most are solo drivers. Most guys can't live in a small space with another guy. In this case my problem was with his driving and not his personality. As I said above, you can make more money running as a team, if you can hack it.
Oh yeah i can see how it would get really annoying really fast. Although it would be nice having someone keeping you company on a long trip, albeit they will probably be resting until their shift most of the time.
Maybe that's why so many of us retired Navy guys end up driving long-haul as a second career...
Me, I found the same thing, just sitting in planes, rental cars, and hotels.
What a horrible day, I'll more details tomorrow...
Right now I'm waiting for a locksmith because I can't find the keys to my pickup, still gotta go return the rental...
Right now I'm waiting for a locksmith because I can't find the keys to my pickup, still gotta go return the rental...
I finally made it home. You wont believe what all happened on my way here. I can barely believe what happened. I have a lot of typing ahead of me, lol. It got so bad that I can't even be mad, all I can do is laugh and drink this cold beer sitting in front of me.
Nabooly: Define a "Long trip" I bet out opinions differ greatly on that, lol.
actually, most guys who have been doing thins for some time really enjoy the solitude. If i could run solo and live in a shack in the mountains surrounded by trees life would be grand. Someday...
JohnNotBeatle: Yeah, there are a lot of former military people behind the wheel. They seem to have the right attitude for getting the job done. if you don't mind me asking, what do you do?
Nabooly: Define a "Long trip"
I bet out opinions differ greatly on that, lol. actually, most guys who have been doing thins for some time really enjoy the solitude. If i could run solo and live in a shack in the mountains surrounded by trees life would be grand. Someday...
JohnNotBeatle: Yeah, there are a lot of former military people behind the wheel. They seem to have the right attitude for getting the job done. if you don't mind me asking, what do you do?
I work for a major provider of products & services in the education industry. I travel to higher ed institutions all over North America and conduct training on the platform we provide. Typical gig is five days (one out, three training, one back), but can be as little as three or as many as seven (like this week). Last year was 40 or so weeks on the road.
Weeks that I'm in (like next week) I do web-based training from home. That works out to about 10-15 contact (billable) hours for the week, and I get to do it in my pajamas!
I'm starting the typing now...
Edit: 3-1/2 hours later... I haven't written a word. My sister came home and I've been talking with her. Gonna start writing now....
So, my day yesterday really started the day before. It started at 7:30 am on Tuesday when Orlando woke me up to talk to Chuck(the fleet manager). Afterwards I wrote the three emails throughout the day.
At around 1PM Orlando decided it was time to head over to our 2PM pickup. He had made up a set of directions and off we went. I was riding in the sleeper watching Poolhall Junkies on the laptop and watching him to see how lost he was gonna get.
California has roads that trucks con travel on, and they are marked. Trucks are not allowed on the unmarked roads. naturally, I wouldnt mention this if he hadnt decided to drive down the restricted roads. I think that well over half the roads he chose to rive down were restricted roads. He even tried to make a U-turn in a park entrance, and almost dragged the trailer through a ditch on the way out. The whole time he hadnt yet realized that he had taken the wrong exit off the interstate.
When he got to the shipper he was upset about how much the load was gonna weight. We had picked up 22,000 lbs of freight from the first stop and the second wanted to load 20,000 more on us. I dont know why this made him upset because we can take 44k of cargo with before having to worry. After a few phone calls to the company he was finally convinced to let them load the truck. and we hit the road.
When we got to Sparks(Reno) at around 7:30 he pulled into the truck stop and informed me that I had to finish taking the load to Salt lake so he could sleep. I figured screw it, why not, at least well get there faster and this whole mess will get over quicker. on the way I reserved a rental car at Budget. When we were almost at the terminal I called a cab to take em to the car rental place.
When we got to the terminal I started to unhook from the trailer and he threw a fit. I figured it would be pretty hard for another truck to hook to this trailer like this but, oh well, apparently orlando knows best. I grabbed my phone and headed for the cab that was now waiting for me.
I arrived at Budget at 6AM, I was scheduled to pickup the car at 6AM, right on time. the guy informed me that I was gonna have to wait an hour or so because they didnt have any one-way rentals ready. I felt like asking what the point of the reservation was but I let it be. He told me to take a seat and wait. I went next door to Avis and in less than 5 minutes was headed back to my truck in a Subaru Outback. Can you guess who Ill call before Budget in the future?
I was about two block from the terminal when orlando called me.
Oralndo: Where the hell are you?
Me: About two blocks away
Orlando: Well get here fast, I have **** to do
I hung up. He didnt have to pickup the next load for at least 1-1/2 hours to 3 hours from now. It was only 17 miles away so there was no need to be throwing a fit. When I got there I parked the car in the parking lot with enough room to park the truck next to it. I found him and told him to park the truck in the parking lot. He headed that way but decided he wouldnt park in the lot, only the street.
I called him and told him to park it next to my rental, he said no. I walked over to the truck and told him Id park it there. He locked the doors and said I wasnt getting in the truck. now, at this point Ive been up for nearly 24 hours, Ive just driven 500 miles, and Ive had to deal with him being an ass for no reason, this isnt good. I tried to open the door and he started yelling at me I hit the door a few times with my fist then walked away.
I went inside to the office, slammed open the driver window and loudly announced, Im trying to get off my team truck and my team driver wont let me. If i dont get help there WILL be a fist fight. This got their full attention. A supervisor walked out to the truck with me, on the way out I was very apologetic about him having to deal with this crap first thing in the morning. I explained the situation as we walked.
When we got out there orlando had moved the truck back into the yard and we couldnt see it. I spotted Orlando walking across the yard and the Supervisor called him over. they started talking. Basically, Orlando didnt want me to get my stuff and didnt really care what the supervisor had to say. I got so mad listening to all this that i was about ready to just leave everything behind, my 17 MacBook Pro, 1TB drive full of music/videos, golf clubs, $500 bike, everything.
Eventually the supervisor had to actually park the truck in the parking lot right in front of the building. He had me park my car in front of the truck. Orlando was told that he could sit in the window and watch me but could not go outside. I was instructed to take all my stuff from the truck and lay it on the sidewalk so that when I was done Orlando could look it over to make sure I wasnt taking anything of his, then I could load it in my car. That was fine with me because at least I could get my stuff and go.
I was about halfway done unloading when some guys walked up and started to give me crap about where the truck was parked. I was already having a super crappy day when this guy decided to intervene and try to make it worse.
The following is censored, real life is rated-R
AH: You cant park that there, when the terminal manager comes in he is gonna be mad.
Me: A supervisor parked it here.
AH: That was your one chance to talk to me like that. You cant park here.
Me: If you have a problem with where this truck is parked then you need to go inside and talk to the supervisor, not me.
AH: You wanna make this personal?
Me: I dont give a F who you are, they Fn parked this Fn thing here. If you have a Fn problem with it then take it up with them.
At this point he just stared in my eyes trying to get me to break. I was way too damn pissed off to let this ****** think he was gonna walk over me.
AH: Thats the last time you talk to me like that
Me: Fine, you wanna make this personal, lets do it you stupid F, lets go inside and see who is right.
I climbed out f the truck and headed inside. Like before, I flung the driver window open, this time I announced, Now there is some dumbass who is trying to pick a fight with me over where the truck is parked. The lady in charge told him to let me be and to get me some boxes. I went outside and continued where I had left off. When AH came back out I figured the proper thing to do would be to apologize. He wanted nothing of it and told me he hates drivers. Ah, he must be one of the helpful ones when I call in...
When I finally hit the road I called my old driver manager and explained things to him just so someone who wasnt involved could hear my side of the story. I got to Laramie, WY before I got too tired to drive. I had to take a short nap, I think it was about 2 hours. I hit the road and arrived at the Denver company terminal at around 5PM or so. I quickly transfered everything from the rental to my pickup. As I went moved the boxes I also looked through them for my keys, I never found them.
So now Im stuck there with no keys to my pickup and I still have to return the rental. I called a couple locksmiths and they both wanted over $200 to make keys for an 85 Ford. Way too much. Even worse, it was gonna take them a few hours to get there, I wasnt about to wait that long. I figured I could just hotwire the truck, I know how from my years of installing alarms and remote starts. I just needed to figure out how to disable the steering lock. I already knew how to get in the truck, so i Just had to get it running.
I called my dad, who knows how these things work, looking for advice. I made a list of tools and headed for the Home Depot. Just as I had gathered everything he called back and told me that he was thinking of the old system. I put all the tools back and found the ones I need for the new system, they were cheaper.
I got back to my pickup and was taking things apart and though to myself, what if... So I grabbed the chisel and, without sticking it where the key goes, was able to force it to turn, it started right up! (I returned the unused tools today). I shut it back off and took the rental car back.
I caught a cab back from the rental place. i was just about to leave in my pickup when the cabbie pulled back up, my card was declined. Great. We went to an ATM and I tried to pull some money out, nothing. I tried checking my balance, nothing. I just kept trying until it eventually let me pull $100 out. I gave the cabbie $60 and headed home.
I was about halfway home when I needed to stop for fuel. The credit thing at the pump was down so I went insIde they were in the process of upgrading their system. The girl turned the pump on and told me it shout be back on by the time Im done pumping. I figured Id better stop at $40 because that was all the cash I had, I went over by 31¢. Sure enough, when I went back in my card was declined. I had to go back out to my truck and dig up 31¢ to cover the whole bill.
I finally got home just before midnight. I went digging through my mail and found a huge phone bill, $222. Ouch. I surfed the net a bit and tried to backup my MPB drive to an external I have, The external wouldnt spin up, crap. I talked to my brother-in-law for a bit them went to bed, this horrible day was finally over.
Considering everything that happened I handle things pretty well. I talked to my sister today and she was surprised I didn't hit anyone. I'm broke now, but that is easy enough to fix. I called T-Mobile and changed my billing so I don't go over again.
I bought a cheap ATX power supply, added a switch so it would turn on and power my drives. I also have a 1TB drive that stopped working a week ago. I have a SATA--> USB adaptor so I can now use them, their cases just went bad. I think I might build a case to house the ATX PSU and both the 2.5" and 3.5" drives. I have some SATA-->eSATA adaptors. Then I can just get an Expresscard-->eSATA adaptor and be good to go.
I gotta buy dome new door lock cylinders for my pickup, they'll come with new keys. I'm not sure it I'm gonna worry about the ignition, it now works without the key. its an old beater so I'm more worried about the contents than the pickup itself.
At around 1PM Orlando decided it was time to head over to our 2PM pickup. He had made up a set of directions and off we went. I was riding in the sleeper watching Poolhall Junkies on the laptop and watching him to see how lost he was gonna get.
California has roads that trucks con travel on, and they are marked. Trucks are not allowed on the unmarked roads. naturally, I wouldnt mention this if he hadnt decided to drive down the restricted roads. I think that well over half the roads he chose to rive down were restricted roads. He even tried to make a U-turn in a park entrance, and almost dragged the trailer through a ditch on the way out. The whole time he hadnt yet realized that he had taken the wrong exit off the interstate.
When he got to the shipper he was upset about how much the load was gonna weight. We had picked up 22,000 lbs of freight from the first stop and the second wanted to load 20,000 more on us. I dont know why this made him upset because we can take 44k of cargo with before having to worry. After a few phone calls to the company he was finally convinced to let them load the truck. and we hit the road.
When we got to Sparks(Reno) at around 7:30 he pulled into the truck stop and informed me that I had to finish taking the load to Salt lake so he could sleep. I figured screw it, why not, at least well get there faster and this whole mess will get over quicker. on the way I reserved a rental car at Budget. When we were almost at the terminal I called a cab to take em to the car rental place.
When we got to the terminal I started to unhook from the trailer and he threw a fit. I figured it would be pretty hard for another truck to hook to this trailer like this but, oh well, apparently orlando knows best. I grabbed my phone and headed for the cab that was now waiting for me.
I arrived at Budget at 6AM, I was scheduled to pickup the car at 6AM, right on time. the guy informed me that I was gonna have to wait an hour or so because they didnt have any one-way rentals ready. I felt like asking what the point of the reservation was but I let it be. He told me to take a seat and wait. I went next door to Avis and in less than 5 minutes was headed back to my truck in a Subaru Outback. Can you guess who Ill call before Budget in the future?
I was about two block from the terminal when orlando called me.
Oralndo: Where the hell are you?
Me: About two blocks away
Orlando: Well get here fast, I have **** to do
I hung up. He didnt have to pickup the next load for at least 1-1/2 hours to 3 hours from now. It was only 17 miles away so there was no need to be throwing a fit. When I got there I parked the car in the parking lot with enough room to park the truck next to it. I found him and told him to park the truck in the parking lot. He headed that way but decided he wouldnt park in the lot, only the street.
I called him and told him to park it next to my rental, he said no. I walked over to the truck and told him Id park it there. He locked the doors and said I wasnt getting in the truck. now, at this point Ive been up for nearly 24 hours, Ive just driven 500 miles, and Ive had to deal with him being an ass for no reason, this isnt good. I tried to open the door and he started yelling at me I hit the door a few times with my fist then walked away.
I went inside to the office, slammed open the driver window and loudly announced, Im trying to get off my team truck and my team driver wont let me. If i dont get help there WILL be a fist fight. This got their full attention. A supervisor walked out to the truck with me, on the way out I was very apologetic about him having to deal with this crap first thing in the morning. I explained the situation as we walked.
When we got out there orlando had moved the truck back into the yard and we couldnt see it. I spotted Orlando walking across the yard and the Supervisor called him over. they started talking. Basically, Orlando didnt want me to get my stuff and didnt really care what the supervisor had to say. I got so mad listening to all this that i was about ready to just leave everything behind, my 17 MacBook Pro, 1TB drive full of music/videos, golf clubs, $500 bike, everything.
Eventually the supervisor had to actually park the truck in the parking lot right in front of the building. He had me park my car in front of the truck. Orlando was told that he could sit in the window and watch me but could not go outside. I was instructed to take all my stuff from the truck and lay it on the sidewalk so that when I was done Orlando could look it over to make sure I wasnt taking anything of his, then I could load it in my car. That was fine with me because at least I could get my stuff and go.
I was about halfway done unloading when some guys walked up and started to give me crap about where the truck was parked. I was already having a super crappy day when this guy decided to intervene and try to make it worse.
The following is censored, real life is rated-R
AH: You cant park that there, when the terminal manager comes in he is gonna be mad.
Me: A supervisor parked it here.
AH: That was your one chance to talk to me like that. You cant park here.
Me: If you have a problem with where this truck is parked then you need to go inside and talk to the supervisor, not me.
AH: You wanna make this personal?
Me: I dont give a F who you are, they Fn parked this Fn thing here. If you have a Fn problem with it then take it up with them.
At this point he just stared in my eyes trying to get me to break. I was way too damn pissed off to let this ****** think he was gonna walk over me.
AH: Thats the last time you talk to me like that
Me: Fine, you wanna make this personal, lets do it you stupid F, lets go inside and see who is right.
I climbed out f the truck and headed inside. Like before, I flung the driver window open, this time I announced, Now there is some dumbass who is trying to pick a fight with me over where the truck is parked. The lady in charge told him to let me be and to get me some boxes. I went outside and continued where I had left off. When AH came back out I figured the proper thing to do would be to apologize. He wanted nothing of it and told me he hates drivers. Ah, he must be one of the helpful ones when I call in...
When I finally hit the road I called my old driver manager and explained things to him just so someone who wasnt involved could hear my side of the story. I got to Laramie, WY before I got too tired to drive. I had to take a short nap, I think it was about 2 hours. I hit the road and arrived at the Denver company terminal at around 5PM or so. I quickly transfered everything from the rental to my pickup. As I went moved the boxes I also looked through them for my keys, I never found them.
So now Im stuck there with no keys to my pickup and I still have to return the rental. I called a couple locksmiths and they both wanted over $200 to make keys for an 85 Ford. Way too much. Even worse, it was gonna take them a few hours to get there, I wasnt about to wait that long. I figured I could just hotwire the truck, I know how from my years of installing alarms and remote starts. I just needed to figure out how to disable the steering lock. I already knew how to get in the truck, so i Just had to get it running.
I called my dad, who knows how these things work, looking for advice. I made a list of tools and headed for the Home Depot. Just as I had gathered everything he called back and told me that he was thinking of the old system. I put all the tools back and found the ones I need for the new system, they were cheaper.
I got back to my pickup and was taking things apart and though to myself, what if... So I grabbed the chisel and, without sticking it where the key goes, was able to force it to turn, it started right up! (I returned the unused tools today). I shut it back off and took the rental car back.
I caught a cab back from the rental place. i was just about to leave in my pickup when the cabbie pulled back up, my card was declined. Great. We went to an ATM and I tried to pull some money out, nothing. I tried checking my balance, nothing. I just kept trying until it eventually let me pull $100 out. I gave the cabbie $60 and headed home.
I was about halfway home when I needed to stop for fuel. The credit thing at the pump was down so I went insIde they were in the process of upgrading their system. The girl turned the pump on and told me it shout be back on by the time Im done pumping. I figured Id better stop at $40 because that was all the cash I had, I went over by 31¢. Sure enough, when I went back in my card was declined. I had to go back out to my truck and dig up 31¢ to cover the whole bill.
I finally got home just before midnight. I went digging through my mail and found a huge phone bill, $222. Ouch. I surfed the net a bit and tried to backup my MPB drive to an external I have, The external wouldnt spin up, crap. I talked to my brother-in-law for a bit them went to bed, this horrible day was finally over.
Considering everything that happened I handle things pretty well. I talked to my sister today and she was surprised I didn't hit anyone. I'm broke now, but that is easy enough to fix. I called T-Mobile and changed my billing so I don't go over again.
I bought a cheap ATX power supply, added a switch so it would turn on and power my drives. I also have a 1TB drive that stopped working a week ago. I have a SATA--> USB adaptor so I can now use them, their cases just went bad. I think I might build a case to house the ATX PSU and both the 2.5" and 3.5" drives. I have some SATA-->eSATA adaptors. Then I can just get an Expresscard-->eSATA adaptor and be good to go.
I gotta buy dome new door lock cylinders for my pickup, they'll come with new keys. I'm not sure it I'm gonna worry about the ignition, it now works without the key. its an old beater so I'm more worried about the contents than the pickup itself.
Ouch. Just frickin' ouch.
I think I woulda had to kill somebody after a day like that. You've got a higher tolerance for pain that I do!
Yeah, I am still shocked. If it was just another job I would have probably hit someone long before I left Salt Lake. The thing is, I love driving and I don't want something like that to show up on my DAC, so no hitting.
I think he turned on me because he knows he wont be able to make it on his own. He has no sense of direction and doesn't handle problems very well. Without trying to sound like a wank, I give him two months on his own, tops. He just wont make it. And, if by some miracle he does, the driveshaft in that truck wont make it past six months unless he really changes hid driving. And when a driveshaft goes it usually takes out air and electrical stuff when the pieces go flying.
Today was nice though, I just sat around and watched season three of Weeds. I needed a day like today.
I think he turned on me because he knows he wont be able to make it on his own. He has no sense of direction and doesn't handle problems very well. Without trying to sound like a wank, I give him two months on his own, tops. He just wont make it. And, if by some miracle he does, the driveshaft in that truck wont make it past six months unless he really changes hid driving. And when a driveshaft goes it usually takes out air and electrical stuff when the pieces go flying.
Today was nice though, I just sat around and watched season three of Weeds. I needed a day like today.
And, I've just learned that I've been terminated due to "Violence in the workplace"
Even worse, this will go on my DAc making it very difficult, if not impossible, to get another long haul job for the next 3-5 years.
Now I'm wishing I would have hit the guy...
Even worse, this will go on my DAc making it very difficult, if not impossible, to get another long haul job for the next 3-5 years.
Now I'm wishing I would have hit the guy...
That is completely hosed! Do you have any recourse whatsoever? Are you a Teamster or is Swift RTW because it's an AZ company?
Sounds like this clown played the system against you, I'd be filing grievances, counter-complaints, anything I could think of. Don't take this, um, stuff, lying down!
Grrrr!
Sounds like this clown played the system against you, I'd be filing grievances, counter-complaints, anything I could think of. Don't take this, um, stuff, lying down!
Grrrr!
I have to make a few phone calls tomorrow. If they won't budge them I'm screwed.
Even worse, because my friend's truck is leased to Swift, I can't even drive for him if this sticks.
Even worse, because my friend's truck is leased to Swift, I can't even drive for him if this sticks.
I'm back baby!
It turns out that my friend who I was gonna drive for knows people, people in the corporate office, people who know people. A few phone calls, a retarded bus ride and a day of running silly errands and I'm now in a new Kenworth T2000 waiting for my first load as an empoyee of my friend.
No rookie is gonna boot me from industry!
The details are on my website.
It turns out that my friend who I was gonna drive for knows people, people in the corporate office, people who know people. A few phone calls, a retarded bus ride and a day of running silly errands and I'm now in a new Kenworth T2000 waiting for my first load as an empoyee of my friend.
No rookie is gonna boot me from industry!
The details are on my website.