Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

Saturday Trainer Frank had both me and Sunday Driver all hooked up on our cells. They wanted to know if I had any questions. For the most part, don't know even yet enough about the job to have good questions, still absorbing--or trying to absorb--what I've been told so far.

But I asked, "What's the number one reason drivers left?" Stunned, awkward silence followed, broken finally by Trainer Frank. He says to Sunday Driver, "You want to take that?" Ha ha.

Sunday Driver said not enough work caused guys to leave. Frank agreed. Sunday Driver added that it was a darn hard company to get fired out of. There was a pause, then they both chimed in at the same time and together, "Unless you have a wreck!" They both laughed. Funnee.


//This is 1,111th post to this thread... As a judge once said to me, "Victor, you runneth at the keystrokes!"

 

Hi tsavory! ampm wayne!

Since Gordon, I haven't divulged the companies I've worked for, consisting of a Haz outfit, the Prairie du Chien run outfit and now this Bloomington yard. I started the thread because there was such a gap between Gordon's reputation as a strong, long haul outfit with good pay. Had never seen such puny pay checks! Waited until I'd hooked up with the Haz outfit before recounting my days with Gordon.

Had a long running battle with a couple members about Gordon. Mods were not very happy about it but I think that's pretty much in the past now. For a long time the thread was under Gordon, then got moved to Experienced Trucker's Advice, on the front row, where readership flat exploded. Have been told it got moved down here because it's become a personal blog. Dunno.

Prior to Gordon, I'd run mail for a USPS contractor and haven't divulged them, either. Not too difficult to find out, though, 86% Vehicle Maintenance score on CSA (89% now) but paid well for trucking, just under $24/hr and home every night from Bloomington to Cincy and back. According to the shop, nothing was ever wrong with their trucks. Ha ha. Always seemed like I had to run that roller coaster through the woods between Bloomington and Nashville, Indiana with windows down in the frostiest weather to keep awake from the exhaust leaks trying to put me to sleep. (Lots of deer, too.)

Would never happen with this outfit. Trucks are good.

Wayne's the O/O been at this outfit since Day One--in comparison, I'm just getting my tootsie's wet. So maybe the name of this outfit will come out, dunno. A lot of threads here (sorry, Mods) are cheerleader threads for a company or a driver who got the raw deal and wants the trucking world to know. This thread's about trucking in general, as I've experienced it, not a particular company per se. YMMV. Your mileage may vary.

Even your experience with the same outfit!

Keeping in mind that this outfit has an explicit confidentiality policy, I'm looking forward to Wayne's input, especially because he's also been an O/O with this outfit from Day One! Put's Wayne in a very enviable category to my mind... and speaks well for the company! Very cool!

Welcome, Wayne, to the thread!!

 

Actually, the confidentiality has to do with company information and customer information that they would not share with competitors, not like their name is secret per se. It may be that this outfit's name may come out. Hasn't been (to me, at least) important. Many have asked in the past, though.

I'm told this outfit's never had a part-timer before. The Haz outfit hired me on part-time and told me I could work when ever I wanted. Then hired 6 full-timers behind me and I was no longer so valuable to them--full timers went out first, then the part-timer got what was left. Uh, that was me.

Then they started keeping me out longer than I wanted. Prairie run outfit kept me busier than I wanted. Only signed up for one Prairie run a week and darn if Yard Boss didn't eat up my whole summer, 2-3 Prairie's a week. What I want out of this new outfit is about 2 days a week and sometimes none. We'll see.

Plus, we slipseat and I'm a rigid non-smoker. Rigid. We'll see.


//This morning's mouse was another large deer mouse. Quite dead. Tonight, though, had another mouse trap thief. Never did find that other trap. This one tonight was also a deer mouse, smaller, and dragged that trap completely across the room, peeing all the way, too. Ugh!

Got 5 eggs out of the nesting box this morning for both Saturday and Sunday. Got in late enough both days did not want to disturb the girls roosting in the coop. Got one egg today, didn't check tonight.

Still got HOS and Smith System to do on the online courses.

 

If you're coming north on 231 from Spencer, when you hit that two-lane northbound section as you climb Dean Hill up to the Junction, you're in my neighborhood. Bought the property in 2005 and then a Cat D6 dozer and Cat 955 track loader to move the hill above the mobile home into the ravine behind the mobile home. Basically, it was an excuse, a project, to buy the big toys. Was living up in Greencastle.

Actually bought the place as a rental for a fellow, a logger who helped me out a lot on different projects and his family that got knee-deep water in their living room in the 2005 White River flood just after Xmas 2004. They never did live here and I just concentrated on moving dirt.

The dozer's long gone, the track loader's down the hill with a broken left track (maybe get to that next year). Such is Vic's life. Uh, mine.

Living here's kind of an accident in timing. Broke up with the girlfriend, you know how that is, not realizing 2008 was going to be a perfect financial storm. My place in California got caught up in litigation and ended up living here.

But it's free and clear... Don't owe anything on it. No mortgage. I'm rebuilding the mobile home from the inside out, furring out 2x4 studs to 2x6 and adding R19 insulation. Gutted the interior. It's a slow go.

Hope you're not like the coal haulers who speed up instead of slow down coming down the hill with their engine brake's bellowing a mile into the woods. County has a noise ordinance and have plans to get a group of homeowners together here next year to trim their noisy rigs. Coming down into Vail's quieter!! Illegal, altered exhausts, mufflers removed, 6-9 inch pipes straight up into the air like ships' horns. Very rude, they are.

 

Third Trip on My Own...

These are long days but very do-able. And it was rainy today, but a rain you could walk around the truck a couple times in little more than a shirt (warm tonight, too) and not get wet. Even Portland didn't have such un-moist rain; Portland you walked between the drops, here in Indiana today there were no drops. Oh, it was wet on the road, all right. And the windshield filled and refilled with what looked like jillions of tiny, white gnats. But it was water. Little pin pricks of water.

When I got to the yard there wasn't a single company truck on the yard and we were waiting on '13'--well, let's call her that--'13'. When 13 finally got in, it was a heavily late start. Traded pleasantries with the driver and he brought it over to the trailer I needed hooked and got under it. Surprised me that he smoked because at least at first the tractor did not smell bad; he used one of these vapor things.

Of course, since we were running late, the trailer RRO (Right Rear Outer) had only 40 pounds of air, supposed to have 100 PSI and if it's down 30% DOT considers it flat. At 40 pounds, it was flat; even at 70, it would have been flat for that matter.

Reed the Mechanic took care of the flat in what seemed like 5 minutes. Might have been longer, truth be told, just seemed like only 5 minutes. And that quick I was on my way. Happy day!

On the way back, Sunday Driver called, "Where are you?" He was up ahead, left before I got to the receiver. "I'm running cross-country on 68/80 to Hopkinsville," I responded. "Missed Pennyrile Parkway for talking on the phone... " Twas true, but it was Sunday Driver I was on the phone with and then ran over 30 miles too far northwest on 24. Oh, well. Mistakes are good learning tools, right?

Maybe not. Sunday Driver started listing all the drivers who'd done the same dumb thing. In fact, he said Trainer Frank had done it twice (passed the on-ramp to Hopkinsville and 41), the last within the last two weeks. Doesn't say Pennyrile Parkway. Perhaps it should.

So I'm in good company... had a similar conversation (no list of other like-wanderers) with ampm wayne as I picked my way through the alternating dog-leg and straight- through streets of Hopkinsville.

You're in the left lane on one street with the turn dog-leg (except it runs the length of the block) on your right; then, to go straight you move over to your right lane and the turn dog-leg's on your left.

Means that you're shifting lanes every block. Could be a hazard in truck--or car, like when a four-wheeler gutter-balled me on the right, running straight through from the turn lane as I'm readying to shift over into 'his' lane.

Could get down right nasty. Crunchy. Some days they all think they're bulletproof and immortal. I would not bet on it in a truck's blind spot!!