From the conference room back to the driver's seat

A balancing act...34,080 on the drives and 33,600 on the trailer.

20160427_173643[1] by sawmill posted Apr 27, 2016 at 6:59 PM

 

**We interrupt this thread for some sentimental thinking***

I was talking to a friend today at the old company. One of the companies they delivered a lot of product to in the past filed for bankruptcy and then got bought out by another company that their sister company has a strained relationship with. Not good news for them, as if times in the oilfield weren't hard enough right now. Company executives butting heads and all but having a pissing for distance contest in the conference room....Sure makes me glad to be where I am. Granted, things could be a lot better as far as rates go, but listening to him talk about the woes of the chemical business made me glad to be where I am. I told him the only things I miss are the hot rod W900 I had and the health insurance plan.

I wondered when I started this if I had what it takes...now I realize it doesn't matter. If you have the aptitude for this work you can make it happen. That's what it comes down to...the aptitude for the job...many don't have it as evidenced by the 100% turnover in the industry. I will say it has been nice to bounce ideas off some of you guys and it helps to read other threads here as well. Let's keep going, shall we?

**Now back to your regularly scheduled trucking banter**

 

Yeah, the bumper on that pickup is about 2" away from the counterweight on the forklift.

$3758 TTT from Amarillo to Tampa area.

 

So if anyone happens to be near Bradenton, FL and hears a sloppy contractor talking about how he lost a box of deck screws for his belt feed screw gun on SR70 this morning...please hold him til I get there, I need to issue him a beating. I guess I should feel lucky that it only hit the two outside left tires on the trailer and not all 9 down the left side. But still, it's $750 I wasn't planning on spending.

20160428_083733[1] by sawmill posted Apr 28, 2016 at 3:23 PM

 

Tip for any Landstar guys reading...there is apparently a new rule with the Comdata cards. If you get fuel you may only do it once in a two hour time period. Every once in a while I will fuel 50 gallons and shut it off and fuel the rest of the way just to get the extra shower credit. Been doing this every now and then for the entire time I have been leased to LS.

But today I was at the TA at Vero Beach and the fuel hose bumped the shutoff handle when I walked by it and shut it off on me. Of course, communication not being Landstar's long suit, I knew nothing of the new rule until the fuel desk told me about it. Calls to Comdata were made, then they needed to hear from LS. Card Services told me it can be over-ridden if you call and ask them to do it but it doesn't stay that way forever.

 

I'll never figure out why agents will live and operate on pacific or mountain time and then traffic in freight in eastern time, give out only half the info needed to pick up and then act surprised when they get early morning phone calls about it.

 

With continuous improvement in mind I was doing some thinking. I can't really say I have a strategy when it comes to the loads I take. I tend to go out from the intermountain west to the south and bounce around a few weeks then go back toward home. I tend to look for loads first that have the highest dollar amount, then sort by the highest $ per mile, and then deadhead distance. I have thought about making a real effort in reducing my deadhead miles. I think I would end up doing more short trips that way, it seems like usually the loads closest to me don't go very far. I've had a hard time convincing myself to book anything for less than $1000 gross, usually the deadhead kills it or it doesn't feel like enough money for the time involved. Maybe the long runs are better? Guess some more thinking is in order...