Originally Posted by Kujo

Yeah for whatever reason they hinged the pedal from the bottom instead of the top so the angle is weird. Great once you get used to it though because you can actually rest your foot on it while in a traffic jam and not accidentally hit the brakes but be ready to just in case.

I don't drive in traffic jams. There's no traffic jams at 3am. There's always parking when you finish, too. A lot of people don't like driving at night. It's so peaceful without all of the solar-powered drivers and trucks on the radio and the road. I'll drive whenever needed but definitely prefer a lunar-powered truck. If I can keep rolling my 14 hour clock in the night, it's great!

That is definitely a plus about the brakes though. I haven't really had to use the brakes that much so far. I guess I can put away that broom handle I like to use when I have the cruise control on from the sleeper.

We are going to road trip and recover a couple trucks tomorrow night/Sunday. They said there wasn't really much freight around KC. It's a holiday weekend. They asked if I could help and I said sure. Once I deliver this, I will go back to KC and take a break (as well as the other two drivers). Then, we will hit the road to OK and convoy back.

One thing I don't really like is how the pedal is 62 and the cruise 65. Having a couple extra on the pedal seems to make more sense. I would make it 65 on the cruise and 66-67 on the pedal. I wouldn't use it very much but then you have it if you need it. You don't really have anything in between if it's not on cruise. You hit the resume button and it's like..."Houston, we have liftoff!"

I made some money recovering a truck. It was a piece of cake. I will have 2700+ miles this check (first full week paycheck) with almost two days off. I have the weekend to relax and get a reset.

Quick update...I picked up in Topeka, KS on Tuesday and delivered that to Stockbridge, GA on Wednesday afternoon. It was a drop and hook on both ends for a total of 1009 paid miles. My current load is 1056 paid miles. I live loaded in Statesville, NC on Thursday. I will deliver it tomorrow in Rockford, IL. I could/can deliver it today but I pick up at the same place....and that load won't be ready until tomorrow. Rather than going there, leaving and then going back, I just came to the truck stop. I will just wait until the outbound load is ready (since this load doesn't have to be there until tomorrow). It's a drop and then the new load is just a hook. That one is going to Wichita and is 650 paid miles. I will have 2715 miles on this check (plus there will be about two days left for the pay week...Sunday and Monday). I got my first whole check today which was for 2751 miles. It was a very nice-sized check after taxes, etc. So far, everything is going great.

Oh...and I figured out the cruise control deal, too. To use the pedal between 62 and 65, first you have to push resume which brings the truck up to cruise at 65. Then, if you tap the resume button a few times it will drop the cruise speed down but then you can use the pedal to control 62-65. Overall, I am getting about 7.5 mpg (basically, doing 65mph with the cruise control). I got a chance to drive up and down some mountains, too.

Got a load picking up tomorrow in Winfield, KS. It's going back to Rockford, IL. I believe it's a live load but it's a very light one. It's a drop 24/7 at the consignee when I get there. It's 713 paid miles.

So far, all of the loads have been driver-friendly (mostly drop and hooks) and good length, too. The total paid mileage (empty and loaded) of all of the loads I have done so far (listed sequentially from first load hauled to current load) are as follows : 435 miles, 860 miles, 525 miles, 757 miles, 925 miles, 544 miles (truck recovery), 1009 miles, 1056 miles, 650 miles, 713 miles (current load). Since May 18th, I've driven 7042 miles total (small amount of miles is for current load not yet paid). I've been paid for 6751 miles (+713 miles after this load). I'm getting 7.3 MPG on the last 1130 miles (probably about 7.5 MPG since I started).

Sorry, I've been slacking on the updates. I haven't really been coming online lately. I dropped the Rockford load on the 6th and picked up an outgoing load at the same place. That load was almost 40,000 Lbs. I dropped that in Kansas City, KS on the 7th. It was 462 paid miles. I reloaded (took only 15 minutes for a live load) on the 8th in Liberty, MO. It was a light load of only about 7500 Lbs. That load dropped in Elwood, IL last night. It was 482 total paid miles. I bobtailed to the Minooka Pilot since it was late...but I did find legitimate parking for a bobtail. Today, I bobtailed back to Elwood, grabbed an empty and picked up a drop and hook load from Rockford (again). I think they know me by now (since I've delivered there twice and picked up there three times in the last week). They are pretty easy, no-hassle loads. It is scheduled for a drop in Mount Vernon, IL by tomorrow evening. It was 412 total paid miles. I have no preplan yet but I sent a check call after I was loaded today. I will drop it at the consignee early in the morning. I am supposed to be back in KC for home time in a couple of days. Then, I will be taking off five days after staying out for four weeks (including orientation). I will be ready to run as many loads and miles as they can give to me again. The first three weeks on the road with ACT have gone pretty well. Fuel mileage was 7.6 MPG on 2400+ miles the last round. It is 7.9 MPG on 1100+ miles so far this round.