Stevens Transport aviary

Iwas up on FG on Wednesday, traffic was starting to get thick then, IDK if anyone else has noticed but the traffic over the weekend was pure crap. Easter and spring break had a lot of stuff plugged up. I had a couple near misses, one woman probably texting came up about 80mph and almost ate my honda catcher I had been in the lane for at least 1 1/2 minutes, I had a BMW go around me cut in front then back over into the hammer lane and the guy in front of him tapped the brakes and BMW locked em up and started spinning sideways in front of me. My following distance saved my butt on that one cuz he spun into my safe zone, I was able to get the brakes going and adjusted my position enough to not hit the SOB. Be careful out there, lots of kids on the highways lots of alcohol and lots of heads up the posterior ends. Pucker factor over the weekend was -8 lol

 

It's like that every day in the dfw area. I have close calls several times a week. 4 wheelers just don't think!

 

It is my opinion that Texas has the worst drivers in the country. The most rude, crude and disrespectful of anywhere.
They don't know how to change lanes, what a speed limit is, which lane to turn into when doing a left turn....they cut across multiple lanes to exit a freeway, and many time just bounce across the grass strip to the frontage road.
Forget about stop signs or signals. Italy is more law abiding than Texans, and if you've never driven there, you can't appreciate what I mean.
NYC is full of law abiding and polite nuns compared to Houston.
The only real question in my mind about Texas drivers is which city is worst...Houston or Dallas.

 

Picked the wife up yesterday in Ft Worth. Got what is apparently a regular load 4 times a week with 3 picks in the Dallas area going to Il. Delivers at 1000 tomorrow. Made it to Rolla today, have a little more than 3 hours of driving to go. Almost time for bed.

 

Sitting in Kenosha.Wi delivering in the morning.

The truck I bought last week is getting a whopping 6.3 mpg. This is my 4th truck and have never averaged less than 7.0 This thing is gonna bankrupt me if I dont figure out whats wrong with it.
I called and talked to Pat in Alliance maintenance and he told me that Cummins considers 6.3 good ... really? They are so clueless in the Stevens shop.

 

Trade it back in. Don't you get 30 day window for things like that?
It's a T2000. I know they do MUCH better than that.
I got my mug on that MPG poster with a 2010 T2000.

 

My boss walked by my desk tonight and saw me holding my head.
Asked if I was OK.
I told him I was fine, but was just trying to figure out how some of these drivers got past the chewing gum test.
We had TWO drivers run out of fuel tonight.
Not low. Not red light on for 90 miles, but stone cold dead.
Both Alliance.
I know why. Today is tuesday, they're heading for their final and don't want to put fuel in before they transflow for the week.
People!!! Think!
How much does it cost you to have an extra $50 in fuel in your tank? I know the logic...your money is in your tank, not your bank.
But how much does it cost to have a service truck bring the fuel to you?
$200, plus full retail on the fuel!!!
Use some business sense here folks! Don't let your tank run that low. Know your route. Know your fuel stops. For crying out loud, don't let your tank get below a quarter. It just isn't worth it.
One of these drivers emptied in Denver, spent a day, then was dispatched to the meat patch where he spent two days waiting for his load.
Now, two hundred miles from Garden City he's paying a truck to bring him fuel.
He lost enough time to where he'll lose his load. It will hit the repower board in the morning and he'll get repowered off of it somewhere in Kansas or Missouri.
Then it's off to Storm Lake or there abouts...to wait again for heaven knows how long.
This business is tough enough without our being our own worst enemy.

 

I dont know about trading it in. Im emailing Ryan about it tonight to see what he says.

 

short range thinking cause that problem. Trying to maximize the next paycheck, without thinking about the week after that.
Alliance is a cash flow game, keep the cash flowing in, and not out, and DO NOT worry about making each week the same paycheck. You are a business owner now. Get that cash into your pocket. Want to maximize that cash, learn to buy fuel efficiently, and purchase as much fuel as you can in the cheaper states, and only what you need in California, and the New england states. If you run I80, Gary Indiana is always an opti stop, and cheap fuel.... plan your trip to be low on fuel when you pull in, and fill those tanks... even if you are delivering into Chicago... so what if it makes that trip look less profitable, your next trip will be very profitable...

Now I know that goes against everything stevens teaches in the business class, but your largest controllable expense is your fuel, and maximizing buying as much cheap fuel as you can will make your wallet fatter.

 

Actually Cummins does think 6.3 is good fuel economy. They only expect their engines to average 5.5.
Go to fuel, and find out what that truck averaged while part of the fleet. Then you will know that it is not for you, or does have a fixable problem.