Stevens Transport aviary

Well I made it home two hours before the turkey came out of the oven. Had dinner at my daughter's house. Of course I gave her grief for serving so late (4pm). What are dad's for?!
Nice and warm here in Boise. 23 yesterday.
Dropped my load friday morning, went to TK around the corner to get APU fixed, but they were closed for holiday. Dropped my trailer at KW and headed home.
Figure I'll be at TK first thing monday morning for the 'fix'. I'm 99% certain it's the same issue as the last three times...the reset switch is burned out. Think I'll ask them for an extra. It takes five minutes and a #2 phillips to fix it.
Got to enjoy my first scotch since April this time. Forgot I had it. One drink and I was buzzed! What a light weight I've become.
Barbequed some steaks last night. Tonight I'll make Beef Marsala in a reduction sauce with fresh spinich fettecinni. Boy how I miss my cooking. (so does my wife, kids, grandkids). Great to be home, even if there is snow everywhere.

 

Glad you got home for thanksgiving emulsified. Enjoy..
I would be getting an extra reset switch too. But something else is causing the reset switch to trip/burn out so often. Mine has only tripped twice...and one of those was when I had Petro service the unit.

Well my time at home should be over, but after 3 pre-plans, and 3 canceled, I was starting to get worried. Still at home today, and now have a load, that does not pick up until Monday. 2 more days at home...good load to Maryland too.

Watching the weather carefully though, I may have to leave Casper Sunday, to make it down to the Denver Area...Expecting 2-5 inches of snow Sunday night Monday Morning in Casper. Hate to start a fresh log book with a 250 mile day. Such is trucking though.

 

Hello, hope everyone had a nice, safe Thanksgiving...I have only been on this site a few days(although I had been reading posts about 2 weeks prior) and I am really impressed with all the driving knowledge here and all the info about Stevens. I had never driven anything larger than a 5 ton straight truck(military) and that was 20 years ago, until a little more than 2 weeks ago at my school. So here is what happened to me last week while I was driving with my instuctor in the passenger seat, another student in the back, and 2 students following in another vehicle. We were on a back road right near the W. VA, PA state line(very hilly, rough terrain) I was going approx 40 mph and had never driven this particular road before in my life. Well I came to the crest of an average size hill(with a sharp curve in it, typical steel guardrail placed at the very edge of an approx 50 foot drop off to who knows what), now what do I meet almost head-on but a flatbed marked "oversize" hauling some huge piece of earth moving equiptment already somewhat in my lane, well I immediately slowed to about 15 mph because in my mind I didnt see alot of margin for error on my part. My instructor(25 yrs OTR experience, and I have alot of respect for) said I should NOT have slowed so much and I needed to stay closer to the guardrail on the curve cuz of the 48' trailer, honestly I was just happy to make it thru the curve and down the hill. I know I have to stay in my own lane with the trailer, but does anyone have any input on how fast they would have gone down that hill?? I have no idea what percent of a grade it was, it was some remote back-road(common here where I live). I hope this makes sense, thanks for reading.

 

In my opinion, you did the right thing. A person needs to know and respect their limits. Better to slow down too much and be safe than too fast and....
Your instructor is telling you how to do things as you become more comfortable driving. But to say a two week student can or should drive as well in this type of situation as a 25 yr veteran is not being realistic. I suspect he was instructing you on how to drive as you gain experience.
As for speed down the hill? Be comfortable, error on the side of caution and be safe. Speed and quicker decisions come with experience.

 

sitting in Waco Flying J, waiting on the QC to beep. But since it's sunday, I'm not hopeful. Got the Load dropped last night. Grabbed myself a decent empty. Now It's Denny's for Breakfast. hope everyone is keeping safe.

Oh, and I'm now at G3 and on the Pre-alliance Fleet. So I'm hopeful for some very strong runs.

 

As emulsified said drive at a pace you feel safe, 100% agree ya did the right thing. When you are behind the wheel you are in control of the vehicle. I definitely would have slowed way down, that's what the hazards are for .

Headed back to the yard today. Time for some OR2 fun. Everyone be safe out there and will catch yall in 4 weeks, god willing.

 

Always drive at a speed that keeps you in control of the vehicle. Your instuctor could probably control the truck in that situation at a high speed but given where you are right now 15 mph was the right speed for you. Fast is bad, slow is good.

Anyway, I got assigned my truck and am typing to you from within the snuggly confines of my T-2000. Still at the yard sad to say. As I was getting the keys, the former driver came to me and told me the tractor had a major coolant leak. He said he had not shut the truck off for a month in order to prevent the failed gasket from cooling/contracting. Told me he had taken it to a TA and they could not find the leak, reported it to Stevens when he came to the yard and they could not find the leak. Why? Because they did not let the engine cool so that the caskets would contract therefore exposing the leak! He also told me to really stick the gears because they popped out once in awhile, including when mountain climbing and descending.

I go find the truck and sure enough there is a lake of anti-freeze underneath and a steady drip, drip drip. I roll the truck up to the shop for some final calibrating of the jake/cruise control or whatever. I point out the leaking coolant. Remember, this truck was assigned to me and I was given a clearance form stamped Mechanically Ready or words to that effect.

If not for the former driver, I would have driven out of here on my first run and ended up on the side of the road before I had gotten out of Texas. Now, I am stuck like chuck waiting on the major repair to get done. There is no coolant left in the engine and so I can not idle. Engine automatically shuts itself off. Red engine light comes on and all that. Truck has way the heck over 500K miles on it. No APU but it does have a power inverter thingy and the inside is in good shape. The former driver said that other then what I have already mentioned it is a good tractor.

I did have to take the driving test the other day due to my booboo in LA. I like the red shirts but I got one I had never seen before and he is complete a-hole. I was so pissed/rattled to have to go through this thing with such a prick that I ran the stop sign leading into the yard at the end of the test. I am sure I made his day. Will take the faarking test again tomorrow and hopefully get all the other clearence things done. No chance I leave here tomorrow though with my truck all messed up.

I am debating on making a stink and requesting another truck since I could get an even worse one. I do feel good about this truck since it already has the power inverter thingy installed.

I am still happy, just a little frustrated but I knew coming to the yard was going to be a pain in the ### and I was not dissapointed.

 

Alamorich good luck to you. Hope everything works out for you. What choices would you have for a replacement truck if yours is in the shop for awhile? Could you maybe get a new T700?

 

Hi Alamorich, hope everything works out for you with getting that truck fixed, keep us updated on the outcome, best of luck.
I will be back "on the road" this week with my school. If anyone comes up on a truck going slow on I-70 around W. VA, PA go around please, it's just me still tryin' to stay in my lane Take care all and have a safe week.

 

Hey gang! Great thread here. I drove for Stevens for a year. Great company. Quit driving and moved to OK. Did not renew my CDL and now that I want to return to driving a year later....yep...do it all over. Don't let your CDL go, even if you think you will never use it (or want to use it) again! Getting my posts up for PM purposes, however, for those considering Stevens...pay more attention to the positives on these threads than the negatives..Tlea, Emulsified, Smokr (and other professional drivers with the right attitude) are on the mark here. Stay safe out there, gang. I will keep you posted on my January return to the road. Whether I return to Stevens or not...the company and drivers will always be on my favorites list.