Nice. Always good to carry spares though. Wiper blades too. Since we service the walmart trailers too see if you can get some of those lamps as well.
Missing a Gear: Pulling the Hills of Western PA
Discussion in 'Schneider' started by Schweiss, Mar 5, 2016.
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Thanks! I'm slowly accumulating parts in my toolbox- extra gladhand seals, a hacksaw purchased (unsurprisingly, at Walmart) when I arrived for delivery only to discover the Schneider-issued padlock wouldn't unlock (Called dispatch: "What do I do?" Answer: "Cut it.") - but didn't know I could ask for other spare parts also. Will definitely need to do that.
FreightlinerGuy Thanks this. -
^^ @Schweiss you are learning so much, a lot of it "hands on," per se . . . ! I don't drive for SNI, never have, but your thread is enlightening to one of the "older been-there-done-that" guys. You are extremely well-versed, and the verisimilitude is enthralling!
You, sir, are what this FUTURE / present !~ needs in the up-and-coming drivers.
Much respect, man; good luck on your travels, and be safe, Driver!
(print these posts for a possible future book, or a paid blog; not kidding!)Blackshack46, FreightlinerGuy, scottlav46 and 1 other person Thank this. -
Did my one-month “safe track” check when I came on last week. This is now the third driving test I’ve done since I started at the beginning of February – once at the end of the first week of training, the end of the third week of training, and then after one month on the job. Schneider is definitely committed to ongoing training and evaluation – for better or for worse, I suppose. At any rate, it went well. I showed up to start my week, got assigned a truck, loaded in, planned my first trip, and then an OSR went out with me to couple up to my load and conduct the test. I went through the coupling procedure, pre-trip inspection, and an alley dock before heading out for the road test. I lost points on the alley dock – my setup was near perfect, and I was lucky to work the trailer into a straight-line back into the hole, so I backed on in and pulled the brakes. It was perfect. But… I didn’t Get Out And Look (GOAL). The reason I didn’t was because I could see that I was perfect on my sight side with almost no angle heading in, so I knew I was good on the blind side as well. I won’t hesitate to GOAL if I’m at all uncertain about what I can’t see, but I don’t do it very often anymore when I’m dropping trailers – and of course I didn’t think about it here. The OSR said the backing was fine, but he had to automatically deduct points anyway. So I’ll remember that for next time. Because I’ll be doing this regularly for Schneider – though unless I have an accident, it’ll be a year before the next one.
Is all this testing helpful? Maybe. It’s probably debatable how much it decreases accidents and unsafe practices, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. And having some experience with companies that didn’t emphasize safety in this way, I kind of appreciate it.
Now, the last part of the follow up includes the sleep apnea questionnaire, which I have yet to do. If I get sent for a sleep study and slapped with a cpap machine, I may feel differently about all this…FreightlinerGuy, Grijon, G13Tomcat and 1 other person Thank this. -
This is a great thread, keep the posts coming!
G13Tomcat Thanks this. -
After driving a brand-new auto the previous week, I spent last week in a Columbia with ~287,000 miles on the odometer – or more likely, that number plus 1 million. I can’t say I was happy when I grabbed the keys off the board and went outside and found it. It didn’t ride great, didn’t pull great, and the interior was a lot less convenient. Some of it was that I’ve grown accustomed to compartments, cup holders and outlets in certain places, which were all different. And some of it was that the differences didn’t make sense. For instance, the windshield wiper controls (and everything else – cruise control, engine brake, etc.) were on a switch on the dashboard. Cars have had wiper controls on the steering column for decades; Freightliner couldn’t figure this out until just a few years ago? And the cup holders. Holy crap, the cup holders. My water bottle fell right out of them. How can you screw up cup holders? Seriously? COME ON, PEOPLE!
Also, it smelled like feet.
But this old truck was orange, so I finally got to drive an actual pumpkin. A worked over, beat up, ugly pumpkin – but a pumpkin none the less. And after a brief time, I got used to the truck. A couple days into it, I stopped by the shop in between loads for a couple of small repairs. A wire from the alternator was disconnected – looked like it had rusted off and corroded, and been that way for some time. Strangely, it didn’t affect the truck running in any way. There was also an engine support bar missing its anchor bolt. The mechanic laughed, asked how old the truck was (“I haven’t the slightest idea,” I answered, which was true – though I’m guessing a decade or so), re-soldered the wire, which as I had figured wasn’t essential, and added a bolt back to the support bar. I was only supposed to have the truck for a couple days, but then in the middle of my first load with it, my return destination was changed to a different distribution center – I was loaned out to another account for the week. More on that later. But in short, I wound up stuck with the ugly pumpkin for my entire week. Oddly, it seemed to pull the same loads and make the same amount of money as a Cascadia. Very suprising (he says tongue-in-cheek). And I had just purchased a bottle of Febreze. So I had that going for me.
So now a new week, and I’m back in a Cascadia. For a day or two, anyway.FreightlinerGuy, 91B20H8 and Grijon Thank this. -
A small step up: I’m no longer slip-seating, and was assigned my own “keep” truck when I came in this week.
I expected that I’d be slip-seating for a while when I started. I had heard it could take three months or so to get an assigned truck, but I also knew drivers who had gotten one much sooner. My training engineer had advised to be careful about asking for a truck: “If you go asking for a keep truck right away, but you don’t have many miles yet, you might get one, but it might not be one you want.” So I figured I’d just wait a while, and the slip-seating wasn’t too bad anyway – at least when I could get a truck for my full six days.
But it was starting to feel like Russian Roulette when I’d come in each week and ask for a truck: would I get a nice new auto, or a newer manual for a few days? Or would I wind up back in the Crapolumbia for the whole week? It was starting to feel like I was getting the Crapolumbia a lot. And it was okay. The old orange pumpkin even became endearing, in its own way. The way you have to hold the wheel a quarter-turn to the left to keep in check its desire to run in circles to the right. The wicked shimmy right around 45mph, which was almost always there, but sometimes disappeared for no apparent reason. The smell of old cigarettes and feet. Endearing. And the old Series 60 engine never gave me any problems.
So when I came in this week and asked for a truck, dispatch gave me one to check out, and mentioned that I might want to ask my DBL where I was on the list for a keep truck, because a couple drivers had just switched to part-time and turned their trucks in. The first truck looked okay. I could live with it. But when I started it – which I’m glad I did before loading all my stuff in – it was completely dead. Back to dispatch to ask for another one. Number two started right up, and looked better – cleaner, and maybe a bit newer. I loaded up for the week, and when I went to get the paperwork for my first load, I also stopped by the DBL’s desk to ask about a keep truck. Apparently I was next in line, or close to it, because when he pulled up the waiting list, he asked if I wanted to keep the truck I’d just been assigned for the week. And that was that.
Like all the trucks on this account, it’s a white Cascadia. This one is a 2014, with 305k on the odometer, and will keep me driving a 10-speed for a while. The last driver kept it clean and seems to have taken pretty good care of it. It does have a missing fairing – batwing – on one side, and I’d be curious to know how someone managed to rip it off. But the shop said they’ll replace it at the next PM. And other than a couple of minor things that I need to take care of, I really can’t find anything wrong with it. Looking forward to being in the same truck all the time and getting to know what’s going on with it maintenance-wise as well as tracking fuel usage. And yeah, my wife found some bedding on sale right after I told her, so I can finally get the place I spend six out of every eight days set up to be a little more comfortable.FreightlinerGuy, Grijon, 91B20H8 and 1 other person Thank this. -
Potato chip loads are light. Really light. I had heard this, but now I have experienced it.
Also enjoyed the yard at the shipper. Loved the off-road, drop-your-trailer-wherever-you-can-find-a-space theme they have going on there. Really nailed it.
But fast. Got paperwork, dropped, hooked, and gone...FreightlinerGuy, G13Tomcat and Home_on_wheels Thank this. -
Sitting in a Denny’s at a Flying J on I-70 heading toward Columbus. I’m heading home tonight, but making one more trip. I had taken an overnight load yesterday, and got back this afternoon. I knew I’d get back to the yard with about seven hours left on my 14, but never received another assignment. I figured this was because everything for today was already covered, and they wouldn’t give me another overnight (called a next-day, meaning the trailer is loaded but not scheduled for delivery until tomorrow) since I’m scheduled for home. I’d be happy to take another load, but I’ve been getting home at two or three in the morning lately, so the idea of arriving home early evening sounded great. But I also thought I should check in with the office before I left.
That might have been a mistake.
I was right about the loads for today already being covered – they were. But my DBL had a couple of trucks due to be turned in to Obetz, and needed someone to bring the two drivers back afterward. And, oh, look – you have hours left, and need to fill them? Let us help you out! So I’m driving my own car and being paid mileage for the trip – more than my regular rate, so it should cover the gas and still round out this week’s pay pretty well. A nice, easy trip to finish off the week, and I’ll still get home before midnight and have my two days off.
As for the stop at Denny’s, well, that’s just because, unlike the trucks I’m chasing to Obetz, my car is not governed at 60mph. Have a great and safe weekend, everyone!FreightlinerGuy and G13Tomcat Thank this. -
Awesome thread man. Enjoyed the reading. Be safe keep the shiny side up !
Schweiss Thanks this.
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