Destination Unknown

Here is some stuff that's been going on with us:

We've were having problems with our ProStar a few days before our home time. Coolant was leaking into the passenger floor. I had to fill the coolant every two days. When we got to Markham, we had the shop look at it. Problem was I believe the heater cord.

Had them look at our DriverTech too. Last month, Markham replaced the DriverTech box because the screen would stay on the settings screen when we were driving. Had some other issues with the DriverTech so had that looked at.

On our fourth day at home, FM calls early in the morning, with a voicemail informing us that if we come back to work early, they will have good loads lined up. USX was short on reefer teams. She wants us to be at Markham by noon to re-power a team. We rush over there. Wait for several hours to find out about our re-power. Nothing. Finally, around 5pm we find out we are not re-powering anyone but got a pre-plan from Indiana to Phoenix, Arizona. Its a Nestle load so that means reefer. FM tells me that we can bobtail. Load doesn't have to be picked up till 7am the next morning. We're about 4 hours away. It's 6pm, wife notices that before we leave that the DriverTech doesn't have the new 30 minute break software update. Shop says we need to put the truck in shop in order to be fixed. Markham shop is the coolest guys. Very approachable. I used the occasion to pick up our chains. Guard your chains & the paper for them with your life ! Otherwise, you could end up paying $250. Shop got done updating the DriverTech software around 9pm. On my way to Nestle.

I love showing up to places early. I've found 90% of the time they will load you. This place is huge. They will let truckers park for the night till their appointment. I drive over to the guard shack & check to see if its pre-loaded. Guess what ? My load isn't ready but they'll load me now as long as I bring them an empty. Nooooooooooooooo ! I should have known it was too good to be true. I send a msg to night crew. They tell me that I can pick up an empty at the Indiana drop yard. Pull up the address on the DriverTech. Its about an hour away. Not bad. By the time I get to the drop yard....there is a sign saying that it belongs to CRST now. Okaaaaay WTF. Send another msg. Night crew asks me if I'm at the new drop yard. Ummmm noooo. I'm at the drop yard that came up on my DriverTech. Typical USX. We drivers are the last to know. I get the new address. Terrible location. We share it with Covenant. I find the reefer. Guess what ? Its got a seal on it. Ugh ! My appointment was for 7am. I could have picked it up at midnight but instead I'm searching for an empty. Night crew tells me that I have to head back to Nestle till the day CSR shows up. He is going to ask Nestle to let me in without an empty. When I got back to Nestle, I explained my night to them. They were so cool. They said USX had an empty there & that if I hooked up to it I could dock & they would load me right away.

Think the fun is over ? Nope. The reefer unit has a tire with no thread left on it. Nestle loads me. Breakdown told me I could get it fixed. I had over to the Pilot on I-465 Exit 4 I think it was to scale. Got it on the first try. Awesome ! It's like 8am at this point. I meet my first lot lizard here. She was a real beauty. LOL. Take trailer to SpeedCo for a new tire. Every load at USX is an adventure. Every time I think I'm ahead....something always comes up that makes me just on time.

What I LOVE about reefer is that most loads are cross country & we have plenty of time to deliver them. We got to spend a whole night at the Route 66 casino then a few days later...a whole day at the Colton terminal.

A couple days ago, we were heading to Monroe, GA with a Wal-Mart load we picked up in California. On my way to the fuel stop in Bellmont, AZ the ProStar stop engine warning was coming on. I made it to the fuel stop, found out most of my coolant was gone. Breakdown said to top it off till I can deliver the load then get to a terminal. Wife takes over driving & I go to sleep. A few hours later, she wakes me up because smoke is coming out of the engine. We quickly pull over. I open the hood. Tons of smoke comes out. I'm thinking its the coolant because earlier I couldn't find where the coolant was leaking. From the corner of my eye, I see a fire. The turbo is in flames. I put out the fire & notice our entire truck is covered in oil. I mean COVERED.

ProStar is in Albuquerque, NM at the International dealership. USX put us up in a hotel till its fixed. Turns out the fan stopped working on the truck which led to the oil misting which resulted in a fire.. I'm not an expert so I probably explained this incorrectly. International said USX told them this has happened to a few of their ProStars & that they asked them to open a case with International. Those of you with ProStars....heads up. Keep an eye on the fan.

We now have 7 months experience. Paychecks have been around $1,200 before taxes since we started reefer. Every month we're improving as drivers. Looking forward to learning & not looking forward to chaining.

 

Awesome ! Thanks man. I wont be chaining then. I don't want a preventable because someone hit me.

 

Vinsanity, their scaling back but they will still have reefer loads.

We do about 3 loads a week and BOOM 5,000 - 6,000 miles for the week with a day or two to chill at Colton or a truck stop.

If they aren't taking new reefer teams then I suggest FedEx, Ceva, and possibly Amazon dedicated. The drivers I've met who do the first two get A LOT of miles. The last guy I met who does Ceva had 8,200 for the week. Last time I talked to someone about Amazon was in May so maybe someone here can tell me if it's still good. I never cared for Amazon because it was high value.

 

Thanks GearFloater.

We try to share our experience at US Xpress....the good and the bad. Succeeding in trucking is not easy, we all have to help one another.

We're getting paid .48 CPM split.