Originally Posted by Ridgerunner665

I've always ran 35 going up that way, used to go up that way alot back in my glass hauling days...its better now than it was then.
There are plenty of deer down through there and it gets pretty foggy sometimes at night because its so close to the river...buts its the best route I know of.

Nitro... I have a list of truckstops (mostly Pilots) that I'm never going to be in again, and Nitro is #1 on that list. RC could have gotten fuel at the Pilot in Circleville, OH if he had came down that way...the next fuel stop after that is the TA in Wytheville, VA.



I have tried...and I just cant get used to manually shifting this thing. The shifter is too far up on the steering column for me...its at about 2:00...it needs to be at about the 3:30 position IMO.

Manually shifting it feels as "foreign" to me as writing with my left hand. If Maverick wants me to shift manually...they gonna have to give me a manual transmission. I don't mean that in any kind of smug way...thats just the way it is.


RedCoats Wife...if RC wants or needs any help with routing, I'd be happy to help him...I could give him my phone # and help him out till he gets the hang of it.

Originally Posted by bduke

Originally Posted by Redcoat wife

You will if you're going to Charlotte. Redcoat is in Charlotte, NC along with 4 (at last count) other Mav drivers picking up catalytic converters (or something like that) headed to Orlando due Friday morning.

Validation is a good thing. Sometimes, as a new driver of flats, RC starts to feel like he's not doing a very good job of getting to the shippers/receivers in good time. When he picked up his last load on Monday, it was due in Salisbury by 1300 Tuesday otherwise he couldn't deliver until Wednesday morning. So he busted his butt to try to get down there by Tuesday (even after being delayed 2 hours for being told to go back to Gary for a new tire) and in the end didn't make it. This morning, he was the first one to the consignee and 3 other guys pulled in after him, one of whom had left before him from East Chicago. One of the guys told RC there is no way to make that trip in a day and get there by 1300.

So that made him feel a bit better about not having made it on time. I still say RC is very hard on himself when he shouldn't be.

You will be happy to note that RC pitched in and helped two other drivers untarp their loads and one of the other guys helped RC untarp his. They got everything folded up in record time. Sure makes for an easier day when drivers help each other out, don't it.

Stay tuned.

Originally Posted by Bob-in-Atlanta

Is Maverick currently hiring in Georgia? I live about 30 miles North of Atlanta in Buford Georgia. I can't really tell from the hiring map on the Maverick site. Does anyone know if there is a waiting list or is it an immediate hire once I get out of school? I have a current CDL class A and DOT card but no OTR experience and I did not get the license through a school, so I would have to go through a school first so I could get the required training hours and certificate. I will be calling Mav recruiting on Friday, is there anyone in particular I should ask for? Do they pre-hire? I could go to their NC terminal and complete all the paperwork if needed. From what I have read here, and a few other places, they seem like a good outfit.

Thanks,

Bob in Atlanta

Originally Posted by notarps4me

I thought they shut monocure down?

Originally Posted by Redcoat wife

I didn't get the details this time because it seemed a simple enough dispatch. Not sure where in Charlotte he was. Whoever does catalytic converters. He went from there over to I-95 and then headed due south. Is spending the night at a rest stop near Exit 215. Plans to take 50 to Orlando. The con is on Alafaya Trail (434). That's pretty much all I know.

Wish I'd a known you were in Moncure. I was working about 30 miles from there all day today near a little town called Angier. Could have popped over to say hiya. Saw a Maverick truck on I-40 around mm 318 today between exits for NC 42 and NC 210. Don't see too many on I-40 so nice to know they're in the area.

Take it easy.

Originally Posted by Ky_Truckers_Gal

Hey, y'all!!
My trucker just got hired on with Maverick this Thursday! A lot of what he's going through is exactly as you put it in your earlier entries, RCW. Thank you for the heads up! I keep reading this topic so that when he gets some loads, we may have some info on the stops already

Originally Posted by sarge26044

MPG tips:

1. Shift manually- When in automatic the truck shifts at a higher RPM especially in the lower gears. tell him to watch how much higher the rpms are when the truck shifts in automatic than it allows you to shift in manual.

/quote]

Just wondering. How much of the MPG improvement do you attribute to manual shifting?
I run a constant 56mph loaded or empty.
I only Idle when it is to hot or muggy (in my opinion) to sleep and my tolerance is pretty high.
I use the auto shift feature. Generally I ease away from stop lights or signs.

I have been contemplating going to manual shift but I'm not sure it would be worth the trouble.

BTW I am able to achieve a co.nsistent 7.15 mpg.

Thanks
Bookerz out

Originally Posted by mizdageeragn

Sorry but I'm a little confused. When ever I got a preloaded trailer I loved it. Unhook from one and hook to the loaded trailer. It would be partially tied down and I usually just had to finish chaining or strapping and then tarp it. I don't understand why he had to switch everything from the preloaded trailer back to his trailer. Just drop and hook and go or am I missing something. Is Maverick making their drivers keep one trailer with each cab?

Originally Posted by Redcoat wife

Exactly right. I couldn't remember all the bits he had to swap over but I knew it was more than just tarps and that it took him a while.

I got a bit of clarification on Redcoat's goal to break 7.0 on his fuel mileage on his tired truck, which he found out is actually a 2005 after talking to another Mav driver who had been with the company for 16 years. The guy told him that the 2005-06 model trucks were a bear to get decent fuel mileage out of so now Redcoat doesn't feel quite so bad.

There has been a bit of discussion in this thread about manual vs. automatic mode of driving with some swearing by one and the rest swearing by the other. I think one of you said to compare the RPMs when the truck shifts in automatic and to see if you can shift in a lower RPM in manual to save fuel. Redcoat tried that. His truck shifts at around 1500 RPMs for the most part. When he tries to shift manually at a lower RPM (like around 1300-1400), there is some kind of warning thingy that beeps at him for being too low. He says there isn't enough torque or whatever to pull it. He said this truck won't pull the gentle uphill grades without jumping the RPMs up and when he tries to change gears, it just won't pull it so he ends up going back to where it was to start with. I know this is a bad description but I'm sure you all know what I'm trying to say.

RC spent the night at the yard in Madison and was going to wash the truck when he arrived but it was closed. That surprised him. He was wondering why they don't leave it open all night.

Anyway, he's back on the road again heading toward KC.

Stay tuned.