Driving OTR with US Xpress

Great post Wedge

 

wedge man, you freakin kill me!lol I'm dyin here. Gotta pee nowWait.....just did! Thanks!

 

Oh man Wedge, that cricket story is one for the record books. I'm going to share the story with a truck driver friend of mine....I'm sure he will get a laugh out of it as I did.

Keep them coming Wedge,
The Diceman

 

OMG Wedge the cricket story was great!


CPAP story......odd....very odd. Dave has a CPAP and I have seen the hose do all sorts of odd jumps during his tosses and turns but around your neck??? Twice??????

Stay away from guys called Stephan if you see them...............

 

Hey Wedge....I was wondering how you are doing without having a APU in the truck. I understand that all USX don't have them and it is the ONLY thing I have in my "con" list about the company. I know most companies don't have them, so I am not picking on USX. I was just curious what kinds of ways you, other USX drivers, or drivers in general work around this issue. I am mainly concerned about having trouble sleeping on very warm nights which I have read seems to be the number one concern as it does have a impact on safety. Oh and I am well aware of "idling", but have read there are some "no idling" allowed scenarios that I will encounter. I have read that some just ignore it and idle anyways as it seems that it is not enforced but have read people still getting written up and fined. I just want to do everything by the book regarding rules and regulations if at all possible. Do you find in most cases you can idle at truck stops or even at shippers?.

Do any USX drivers know if there has been any inside the company talk about USX getting APU's...either adding them to the current fleet or at least starting to have them installed with the new trucks coming in?.

The only option I have come across from searching the boards with "APU" is some roof mounted devices that apparently can be installed at the roof window location, but will uninstall cleanly when the time comes to turn in the truck. You can apparently run these units off the truck batteries during a normal 10 hour shut down while still having enough juice to start the engine up. That just doesn't sound right to me, but that is why I am asking for some confirmation on this.

Thanks in advance Wedge for any input you or others have for me,

The Diceman

 

Hey Wedge....I think you made a reference in a previous post to wearing a hearing aid. I also have one (just on my left ear) and was wondering if you had any issues to overcome during your DOT physical. You obviously passed but was just wondering if there is anything I need to be aware of as someone who wears this device?. I was told that the hearing test consist of them standing behind you and saying something in a low volume voice that you must repeat back. I was told that they don't whisper, but do speak softly.....is this true?. Does USX or companies in general require any additional hearing tests (even if you pass the DOT) if you wear a hearing aid?.

Side Note: I am scheduled to have an out patient surgery to get an advance hearing device which I will be using by the time I take any kind of hearing test. It is almost guaranteed to improve my hearing by almost 50%. If you would like to know more about it....send me a PM. I can't do that until I post some more here on TTR.

 

I just had the hearing test and she turned her back to
me and whispered word. It's a small room and heard her
Just fine. I have hearing loss one ear.

 

I thought that this was a little bit funny, I get this e-mail today and I found it in my SPAM folder. I have never had any contact with these folks either, so not sure why I would be getting e-mail form them:

Receive the respect you deserve, and the overall benefits package you've
been looking for at Crete Carrier Corporation. At Crete you can expect to
find the following:

- Industry Leading Pay (Top 25% of our drivers earned over $63,000 last
year)
- Driver Satisfaction (Industry Low Turnover below 40%)
- Dedicated Dispatch
- Fleet Options (National, Regional, and Home Weekly)
- Modern, Well-Maintained Equipment
- Terminals and Maintenance Facilities located nationwide
- Proven Safety Record (Best CSA Scores in the industry)

Join the industry's best drivers at Crete Carrier by clicking the link
below or calling 800-998-2221.
http://mailer.onlinewebsitehosting.com/link.php?M=18980317&N=32907&L=27556&F=T


There are no shortcuts™

 

Diceman, in my 19 months with the company we have never had an idleing issue. If the outside temp is above 70 degrees, your truck will idle all night. We also have the "Certified Clean Idle" trucks. We were at the 49er Truck Stop in Sacramento and the police came through writing tickets for idleing. Any truck with the clean idle sticker was passed by. It was 100 degrees out, by the way. I think NY is even tougher but we have never been questioned about it. With a dog in the truck, I think I would get the ASPCA involed if they made me turn off my truck. Dogs are always treated better than humans. I could probably raise a million dollars on the internet from crazy dog lovers (like my wife)