Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

Get paid loaded or empty (PC MILER) same rate plus fsc. I also get a bonus of .05 cpm on loaded miles only on my anniversary date which will be July 21st. I have deadheaded over 500 miles before to pick up a load. It took some getting use to since I have never worked on mileage pay always a percentage and when I pulled a flat always booked some of my return loads and run the numbers, the miles, gave rates, all that good stuff that you do when running a buisness and I miss that but this will work for now until things get better. Sometimes I feel like a steering wheel holder because all I have to do is drive. lol

 

Sounds like you got to talk to Jay. He actually left at the first of the year to go pull pneumatics for Dhalsten. He got stuck at a feed mill for 20 or so hours, and they wouldn't pay detention, so he decided that was the last straw. He said he'd waited in enough lines for one lifetime! He was a good hand, but he was having a difficult time grasping why he had to wait so much wherever he went.

Thanks for the compliment on the trailers...we try to keep our equipment up to par. It seems to keep the DOT off of our backs!

As far as changing your name, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe if I call myself Jose' Fernando Salazar I'll get some big scholarship to a prestigious school then I won't have to drive anymore!

 

wheathauler, doing anything this week? My son, Caleb, has been busy hauling wheat from Anthony to Enid. Picked up a load of fertilizer at Koch for the backhaul, supposed to deliver it to Burden in the morning, then pick up some soybeans in Udall to take to Cargill in Wichita. He says he has picked up soybeans at Cargill, but hasnt hauled any out of there, but I think it is the same place, just different drive.

 

I always thought sitting and waiting was part of the job. I did it hauling grain, feed, cattle, freight and in the oil field and never got paid. We never ever thought someone was going to pay us to sit while we were used for storage, well we might have dreamed about it. I always liked going to Camp Acco (Cargill) in OKC, Purina in OKC, Edmond, Ft. Worth and other mills in Commanche, Hereford, Lubbock, Amarillo, Guymon and Liberal because I new I was going to be their for awhile, lol. Sitting to unload for several hours and never got a dime for it, I guess I should have asked. lol. But I just sit in the truck (Cabover to) and waited no TV, no cell phones, no computer, no fridge, had to walk somewhere to eat so you could stay in line, go to the pay phone to call the office or call home. Those were the days. I wished I could go back in time. lol. Fuel was less then a dollar a gallon, rates were better, no mexican trucks, it didn't cost twenty grand to rebuild your engine, it was fun. You new just about everyone that pulled a hopper in your area or that went to the places you did and everyone helped everyone. Those were the days and they are missed. I forgot two things, no freakin EPA and no CARB.

 

Coadman, what is Caleb driving? Make and color and what is the name on the truck? I will look for him when I am around home. I have seen some Kansas trucks hauling into ADM lately but the only name I recall is Golden Plains from Hays, KS.

 

We just bought a newer truck, a 2000 Peterbilt, Blue, with "Wheatridge Inc" on the doors, pulling a Timpte trailer. Give him a holler on the cb if you see him, don't know what he would answer to , but if you holler "Wheatridge", I'm sure he would perk up!

 

Paid deadhead miles - heck, I'd be having a great week with that one. Unfortunately for the wallet - I am not. Think I'll run this scenario past you guys - I'm sure you already know who I'm contracted to - without naming names.

I wanted to start on Tuesday this week - and I get a pickup appt made for Monday night at 11pm at Cargill (wheat mids of all things - in a 42x96x78 - all of 21 Tons looking like a big girl in a twin bed with the tarp rolled). Now this is a 110 mile deadhead from the house, washout required, for the princely sum of $18 a ton going 226 miles. It was all I could do not to throw that one back and hope it was bait for a bigger fish. That load took me away from the house, made no money, and actually cost me money after paying for the washout.

So I run the load, thinking it's got to get better - and here we go on the magical mystery tour.

Second load out is sand clay with another 160 mile deadhead. This runs going 355 miles to AR from MS. I think - hmmm - well I've hauled sand and silica sand before - this is a new one. So I camp out overnight about 15 miles from the place, and head over in the morning. The owner walks out of the office amused when I pull up, and says I know what you're here for - and you don't want to load it..... Turns out it's basically ballfield clay, and if I loaded it into the hopper - I'd have to turn the trailer upside down to get it out - or blast it out with dynamite! I call the agent, and he calls and talks to the guy - turns out they'd had to refuse about 7 trucks already. I get absolutely nothing for driving there to find that out - maybe someone should have called and confirmed the load? Next time it will be me calling, although I'm wondering why I pay 10% of these pre-determined rates to someone to give me this lousy info.....

Okay - we'll just step up the next load a day early - I would've had to deadhead 170 miles back to it from the endpoint of the sand clay load.... Turns out the place is another 160 miles in front of me at this point. So off I go, and I'm told they can load me in the afternoon, sometime around 3pm. I get to the outskirts of town at 12 noon and park. I have lunch, chat on the phone for awhile, and then call about 2pm - to get no answer on the number. I search the internet, find another number and call it - no answer. My wife calls and I tell her what's going on and she goes to work on it. About 5 minutes later she calls me back to give me a number that's being answered. I call the number and it's someone's voicemail at the company - hit 0 for operator - and ask them for help. Next thing I know I'm talking to the plant supervisor, and he tells me that he's gotten about 6 calls for directions, but there's only enough product for about 3 loads. No trucks have shown up yet, and here's the kicker - their loading hours are 5am to 1:30p so there's no wonder why no one answered the phone! I'd been sitting around and could've been there at 12:15!!

So I go tearing across town, while relaying the info to the agent who should be telling me all this stuff. I'm figuring on camping out at the gates to get 1 of the 3 loads out the next morning. Nope! Not happening!! About 10 minutes into the drive, I get a call from the agent - who's telling me the load has been put on hold - the receiver has no room for it until Monday! This is load#2 for the day being closed out, and now 330 miles of deadhead from where I started after the loser load of mids.

Now the next load is white rice, and I just hauled mids, so I need to clean or washout the trailer (again). It's another 220 miles deadhead away from me....... Am I lucky, or what?! I'm given a company name, and a phone number to go by, and the phone number given has been disconnected. My wife finds another number, and gets to the switchboard, but can't get a human being on the phone. So I have no clue of the address, and we had to dig for a working phone number on our own. Not bad for 10% of gross?

So I get about 140 miles into the deadhead, and realize it's getting dark and cold. I still need to stop somewhere and sweep out the trailer. I find an excellent spot - a small fuel stop with a good sized parking lot and tall lighting. I back in, open up the trailer and start working it over. Come to find out the 1999 Wilson that I'm being fleeced for 10% of gross actually leaks a little at the seams - besides dog trotting down the road. Not a big suprise, but I'm having to scrub mid paste out of the trailer. I wind up tired, cold, dirty, and I now have a kink in my neck - I finally threw in the towel and put up here for the night.

It was all I could do to contain myself when dealing with this crap - I almost asked for freight headed back to NE so I can drop the trailer off and be done with the whole thing. If anyone's thinking about going this route - DON'T BOTHER - it'll save you a ton of aggravation and expenses. Although I've found no better way myself - there has to be one - how could it be worse?

So before I go too much farther on this load - I'd really like to talk to a human being on the shippers end of this equation. If I deadhead too much more, I might meet Jerry Garcia himself! Now the agents telling me he can try to get some money out of load#2 that got stalled..... how about just paying me my 90 cents a mile to at least cover my costs (making no money at that point - but not spending mine). He says no - but we'll bill it forward and see what happens..... mmm hmmmm slim and none - but it sounded good on the phone.

So all in all - this place is great if you like deadheading all over creation, and spending money you don't have. It would also help immensely if you didn't eat, or have anything pesky in your life, like bills for example! This wasn't really a rant session at first, I just wanted to inform you all of what's going on. It's really hit the limit, and I'm having a hard time finding motivation to bother with the next load. Wonder how much this one will end up costing me.....

Best to all of you, and hope you're having a good week!

 

####, that's a mess. It's not like that every week is it? Cause it sounds like you're running for some grade A morons.