Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

kick out Mex?

There'll probably be more coming in the next wave if the Mex economy gets worse. It looks like the oil (Pemex) down there is running out because they don't have the technology to go out in the deep Gulf. When that source of income dries up what's ol' Mex got to export but people?

 

I've been watching the bids on a few auctions. It wouldn't surprise me if a few of the bidders were auction employees running the price up.

I don't think I'd want a mexican truck. Probably been run into the ground.

 

Oh lawdy, here we go again. South lots getting full at Cargil. Bean line was down from 7-noon for scheduled maint. So everybody starts showing up just before noon, they are still down. NOW Horizon is friggin broke. GRRRRRRRRRRRR can I just dump my wheat on the ground, and call it a weekend LOL

 

Wheathauler we just got rain. Pocahontas and Black Rock had hail.

 

I just hauled for Horizon in Chattanooga last Monday - wish I had my trailer and could get gross out of mids! The lines at Cargill are like a soup line during the great depression - and both pay about the same to wait. You know, I've thought about doing the same thing before - just lay down a couple beads and stick the bill in the top

In the shuffle 2 days ago, I lost my load of coal going to SC that paid decent. Between waiting time at the mine, and then the receiver, I was a day behind in the schedule. That load was the only reason I took the load of sand north, and deadheaded 309 miles to get it. The coal load was given to another driver when he thought I was going to have to return the load of sand I had. I might've been able to wait for the morning and see if they had a spare load still going, but since you can't idle in PA I didn't want to hang around.

Personally, I was just glad I didn't have to make a round trip - I told the agent that with the mountain route to their place it'd have to pay about .40 more a mile to get over the cost of fuel and wear and tear on the equipment. And getting through their mine was like driving a soap bubble through a box of razor blades!

Ended up with a load of urea out of upstate Ohio. I've hauled for the place before, and was familiar with it - at least it has an FSC to the rate. I was told the load appt was at 9pm, which was about 6 hours ahead of me - and would give me time to drive another 300+ miles deadhead......

When you get further along in the week, you start to see what all the delays are costing you. In my case, I can't recover anything to compensate for them, and I've been on time as scheduled all along, cutting into my own hours - until the delay unloading the sand.

When I get to the load appt 15 minutes early, I check in to find out the load appt was scheduled for 9pm THE FOLLOWING DAY. I keep my cool, and after an hour of waiting, they call me on the radio to tell me they'll be loading me out tonight. This was actually wrong, because by the time they finished loading the truck, it was 1:30am the next morning - but who's splitting hairs. The kicker to this load, is that it has to be received over a thousand miles away - within 30 hours...... or it has to wait until Monday morning. I was asked if that was possible, and I said no - there's mountains in the way and the weather is rolling in. We decided to make the delivery date Monday and I routed through the house to hang out with the wife, do some laundry, and re-stock the truck.

I called a few other contacts today, and was able to work on strategy and planning with my wife, in person for a change. We do this over the phone all week long, and I'm really glad to have her help. She's learning fast, and I think she'll be a great dispatcher one of these days when I'm running as a true independent.

The next step is to find a broker with good customers, and a fuel card policy. Better yet if they're no-recourse and happen to have the midwest region, or at least the southeast. Wow am I getting sick of the quality of the roads in the northeast! I might as well take the fairings off my truck now, instead of littering the traffic lanes with 'em later!

Hope the week got everyone paid and home, and thanks again for all the responses to what's going on over here. I'm just hoping that some customers will still pay for reliability, professionalism and service - because I intend to start charging for it very soon!

 

Maybe that will end up being your ace in the hole down the road. Your wife learning all the in's and out's dealing with these jokers. Sounds like shes learning the ropes very well, and her bs detector is being finely tuned.

I have had many days like you have had, but mine are always near the house, and its a 20 mile dead head, and not a 300. I almost always get to go home at the end of the day. I would be going ape poo over some of the stories you have told on here. You truly have the patience of a saint.

 

Today was going pretty decent. Got my load off this morning, went back 90 miles and got another one going 130 miles and had another one to go back and get running about the same. Then I blew the turbo out of the loader. I hate that loader. Ah well, they got another one lined up out of gardner for me to grab and run with in the morning. Hopefully I can get that off tomorrow afternoon in time to put this thing in the shop far service, tires, and an alignment. We'll see how hard Kenworth fails at getting that done before Monday.

 

Oh man, did that comment hit close to home. I have been trying to fix a problem on my moms old 95 Ford Explorer. The cruise control quit working, so I hit up google for some help. One of the first things I found was a recall from Ford stating they had a recall on the Speed Control Deactivation Switch, which is nothing more than a brake pressure switch. Cool, I thought. Popped the hood on the Explorer, and sure enough. Brake fluid was leaking internally from the switch. Brake fluid had dripped down through the wiring harness, and had eaten nearly all the paint from the brake master cylinder. This switch sits on top of the brake master cylinder.

I let my dad know about the recall, and they got it down to the Ford dealer. Now mind you I went to great lengths to explain to dad what needed to be done, and why.

From a link I found:

The Ford Switch Defect Explained The Ford Speed Control Deactivation Switch, also known as a "brake pressure switch," costs about $21. The switch shuts off the cruise control when the driver firmly steps on the brakes. The switch is located under the hood of the vehicle and is attached to the brake master cylinder on one end and wired to the cruise control on the other. This position places it above flammable reservoirs of brake fluid. On most of its models, Ford designed the switch to be powered -- or "hot" -- at all times, even when the vehicle is off and the key is removed from the ignition.Inside the switch, a thin film barrier separates brake fluid from the switch's electrical components. Investigators say fires can break out under certain conditions, such as when the film cracks and brake fluid from the master cylinder seeps into the electrical side of the switch. This can cause a fire, even when the engine had been turned off and, in some cases, idle for days. The following signs could indicate that you have a problem with your cruise-control switch: cruise control is not working properly; brake fluid is leaking around the switch; fuses are blown near the switch; or the fuse for the speed control cannot be opened.

So the Ford dealer works on it, on their way home mom calls and says there's still no cruise control. So I pop the hood again. There is a brand new wiring harness with the original LEAKNG switch WTF!!! Here we go, a #### $20 switch and this dealer cant act responsibly. I told dad just go buy the #### switch from Oreillys and I would put it on. Dad says "no way" he's gonna make the dealer do it.

What T's me off even more is the fact they were never notified about the recall in the first place. They purchased this vehicle brand new, so its not like they didnt know they owned the #### thing. Hell, I have gotten 3 recalls on my Ford F350 7.3 on the stupid cam position sensor and I am 2nd owner of that vehicle. They have been driving around in a potential time bomb, and didnt even know it!

You'd think right now with Toyota being in the dog house with all their recall problems, you'd think Ford would be on this like white on rice trying to keep their nose clean. I have a feeling dads going to spend days and days fooling with these idiots, and I will end up putting on that switch for them later down the road, once dad gives up. Its just so sad you cant go to a dealer and get decent service. I have given up expecting good service, id just settle for competent at this point!

Before somebody says it, YES I know I should just go get the switch and put it on, it's about a two minute job. I know I know I know. But, dad wont hear of it. He wants the dealer to do it.