Fighting for trailers

go get a local job, then you will be paid by the hour when youre waiting on the next trailer to be ready

 

Maybe the dispatcher didn't know that another driver had been assigned that trainer not in the system yet either that or the o/o was stealing the trailer , and no i haven't personally had any issues with not having a trailer usually theres plenty of them around so no need to fight over that.

 

I was almost to a drop/hook receiver in VA once, on one of those narrow, shoulderless Virginia divided highways. Narrow lanes, no wiggle-room. I was in the hammer lane because I knew my left turn was coming up and it's hard to spot til it's right there. I'd been driving all day. It was 9PM and my appt was 4AM and we have the option to drop/hook or live unload. Well there's no way I'm getting up at 4AM to live unload so I was just gonna drop, grab an empty and park in their staging lot til morning.

This other guy from my company comes flying up out of nowhere, starts passing me on the right, on this narrow road. We started up a hill, and with heavy trucks, same company, it became a "special olympics" competition and the turn was coming up and he was now stuck in the right lane.

I knew what he was doing, if there was only one empty trailer, he wanted it. So I dropped a gear and mashed on it and started pulling ahead of him. So what's he do? He swerves at me! I had no choice but to hit the brakes. He cut me off and slammed on the brakes just in time to whip that left turn so fast I was expecting him to roll it over.

So we both get through the gate and the gaurd told me that there was only one empty trailer and the other guy got it. He said I could drop and see if there's an empty in the AM or I can live-unload at 4 AM. I said I'd just drop and bobtail to the sleeping lot.

So I get in there, find the hole they wanted me to drop my loaded wagon in, turns out it's a pull-thru. The spot for the prick's loaded trailer was in the back row and it was tight. The second I saw that I whipped into that pull-thru slot, un-hooked in like 30 seconds and floored it, went through the back row to find an empty and noticed the prick was still out there cranking his dolly legs down. So I grabbed that empty and headed straight for the sleeper lot. When I was back in the cab doing my tug-test I saw him bobtail SLOWLY past my truck giving me this "big mean scary guy" look. It was priceless.

But the story ain't done yet. About a month later I'm at the company's yard and that same guy was there. He had just gotten fired because he got a ticket for following too close in his personal vehicle, plead guilty like an idiot, and our insurance company said they had to get rid of the guy. (Probably not the only reason he was fired, but that's just what I was told by the safety director) His truck was 3 months old and mine was due for trade, so guess who got that truck!!

 

Front Royal Going Up And Down 340/522 Jocking For Position?? lol.... but we have that #### problem in Halfmoon (Albany, NY) where it will be 3 of us up there delivering and its two drop trailers... i hate that ####...

 

That happens alot. You need a trailer and the dispatcher looks on the computer. Meanwhile, a different dispatcher is looking for a trailer for another driver. Then you have two drivers going after one trailer.
That guy sounds like he had a case of the arse. He could of been a little more professional about it and still got it. Some act like little babies out there and throw a rant when they get mad. Whhhaaaaaaa!

I remember one instant like that where I got the run around by night shift. I drove the whole way across Chicago to a lot. Cool, there was a trailer. I dropped my loaded trailer and before I could get unhooked, here comes one of our bobtail and hooked to it. ##&*#. I finally went to another customer and got one.

That's when you negotiate with your dispatcher and get some extra pay.

 

you should have reported his erratic driving and near hit form swerving...i would have....

in the future, get to your shipper/receiver early, this "may cut down" on no trailers being available...

 

The only time I've ever ratted out another company driver was at the Flying J in Lamar, PA and it was because he was selling company fuel for $1 a gallon using our fuel card, back in the summer of 2008 when it was $5 a gallon. The dumb *** didn't even realize there were several other company trucks parked in the front row facing the fuel island, and I heard him on the CB discussing the "transaction" and watched him get out of one of our company trucks, thinking "no way, ... he's just going in for coffee" but sure enough he walked up to a fuel pump and swiped his fuel card. By the time the guy had even finished pumping the fuel I had already had our VP on the phone and had e-mailed him, our safety/recruiting guy & our OS&D lady some nice telephoto pictures of both of these guys' faces, the "buyer's" truck and our company truck, showing truck/trailer numbers.

 

well that is downright stealing so that was certainly a great call to make.. but erratic driving, improper behavior at a loading dock (or any where's), drop a dime on the SOB's...hey i look at it the way i was taught in school and in any orientation i ever went to and that is,

"we represent the company, we are the FIRST one's people see when we walk in. they DO NOT see the person they spoke with on the telephone, they do not see the president of the company or any other office worker from the company, hell sometimes they do not even see a sales person"

if we allow the scum bags to go on and cause trouble, it makes EVERYONE in that company look bad, up to the point of losing customers, freight, and maybe ultimately our jobs...all because a few extra scummy-scumbags....

so drop a dime, screw'em.....

 

There's been a few times I've seen one of our drivers do something stupid out on the road and called our safety/recruiting guy's assistant and tricked her into giving me the guy's cell phone number, then I called him myself to chew him out. I try to keep the company out of it unless it's something that's just TOTALLY unacceptable.
But if it's just a mud flap or trailer lights or something and he doesn't have his CB on, I'll trick the recruiting lady into giving me his cell phone number so I can call him myself.