Terminal Rats

Head gasket or warped head.

Check your MPG, if low then your blowing it out the stacks.

Mark

 

One thing I have learned in life is EVERY job has good days, bad days, and EVERY job has its own brand of bullturd. A job is exactly what you make it. You need to pick your batttles. You cant fight all of them. Pick what is really important to you and hold your ground, and let the rest go. Its like a marriage, if you argue with your spouse over everything, it will not be a long marriage. Same as your job. Somethings are just not worth it. If you sit around complaining because you got a load that was only 150 - 200 miles, what you might not know is that it just might lead to a 1200 mile load. Its not like your FM is just going to tell you, "Please take this load because I have another one for you on the other side that you will like better." Just do what you said you would do in the interview. WORK, take what you get. It will not always be great weeks. Now if you go 3 months and never had a good load then I can see you complaining. That is where pick your battles comes in. Now as far as the truck maintenance goes. If its not SAFETY related, if they can fix it stop if not then go, there will be another time you can get it done. I am so sick and tired of hearing people on here talk about how they are not going to go anywhere until their AC is fixed. How spoiled are you, years ago when I was working for a moving company my AC was two fans attatched to the visors. ####!!!! Do you want some cheese with that wine???? I am willing to bet that a lot of the maintenance issues with people are a result of not properly doing PTI's every day and not coming to the terminals when you are scheduled. Keep your truck up like you own it because it is your livelyhood that is what comes of it. If you look at it like a company truck and treat it as such how can you expect them to take care of you if you dont take care of their equipment?

Sorry for the long post. All I have to say now is if the shoe fits, wear it, if not let it fly over your head!!!!

 

Dang now that was a long one..... But so true, I got it. Now its time to get it.

 

At the time you wrote this, how long have you worked for this company? Be very careful here, one day in the future you may find yourself eating some serious crow. If you take the time to search these forums you will find several people all full of pro company feelings just to discover how wrong they were. Not trying to pick a fight, but I have had AC issues and I refuse to try to drive all day in stifling heat trying to make a delivery with sweat blinding my eyes. Especially when said tractor has been in the #### shop for this same issue more then once! Also APUs going out because of DPF or alternator issues IS NOT BECAUSE OF PTI ISSUES. In fact from my experience most of the breakdown issues is because of things that already have been wrote up. There are many drivers at USA Truck that have driven for them many years, they take the good with the bad and just do their jobs. My phase 2 trainer is just such a guy. He has over 15 years with them likes the company and defends it when the attack is unjustified. However there are also a lot of drivers there that hate USA Truck and have legit reasons to do so, and a lot of them are still trapped in their 1 year.

So if you want to be pro company this is your right, but dang it why do you have to channel your pro company feelings into negative comments focused onto the many drivers both past and present that have in a lot of cases developed a well deserved hatred for this company and at this point you have not driven a #### mile for them yet. Why can't you just say I am hoping to one day drive for USA Truck because I find them to be a good company to drive for and leave it at that!

 

I think now would be a good time to relate an encounter I had with a USA Truck driver in Lincoln Alabama sometime ago. Said driver was under a load and was planning to abandon both the truck and load at this truck stop, he was upset and near tears. He related his problem to me and told me his wife was en route to get him. I told him this was a serious mistake that would in all likely hood end his driving career. He told me he did not care because he was hoping to get a local job. It was a Sunday and I was spending the night there anyway so I spent some time with this guy and finally his wife that day. When asked why, this guy told me of several problems he had. Most were his fault I know, but 2 were not! I know because the same thing happened to me. I advised this driver to get that truck and load to Atlanta. Find some story to get it repowered then clean it out. That way it's not abandonment and it won't go on his DAK. Last time I saw him he was headed east on I 20 with his wife following him. It's a fact of life not everybody is going to like working for this company, it don't make them lazy, it don't make them bad or problem drivers. It just makes them drivers that need to move on, and most finally do.

 

I don't ever remember stocking up for the company. I was speaking in generalities. There are people that hate and love just about every job they ever had. You are right, I have not done a #### thing for this company yet. No where in my post did it say that, I LOVE USA TRUCK. No where did it say, I KNOW ALL THE PURE TRUTHS ABOUT USA TRUCK AND YOU ARE ALL FULL OF IT. I will soon find out on my own. I have worked for my state dept of corrections, I can promise you that this place does not have more bull than im used to dealing with, just a different smell.

And I made sure to say in my first post that if the shoe fit........ I guess you forgot to duck.

 

Oh, and btw exray, I was a sgt with 16 years in a max security prison and my top salary before overtime was 31k. So I think I can put up with the bs here knowing that I can make the same the first year that I made after 16. I will keep you posted as to how I feel after I am here for a while.

 

10-4 Sarge

 

Well Sarge, keep up that good attitude. I'm pulling for ya.

 

And with this post you just set my main point into concrete. I won't print all my thoughts about you here, but I have a feeling come the end of your first year you won't be employed by USA Truck.