Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

I am dispatched for both days.

 

Unless you control the maintenance and upgrades to your equipment. Then not so often do you get burned.

Rescued a dry (non refrigerated) load in Indy Sunday. While waiting for other driver to show and remove his locks tried to start refer -- no go!.

I let other driver know to pre-trip the refer whenever he hooks a new trailer to save grief later, that way he coulda had it fixed on the way.

I was rescuing the load so no time for me to stop in route from Indy(Sunday) to Reno (tuesday). TK (thermal King) in Salinas is closed till Monday for the holidays, Good thing I was planning on taking the weekend + Monday off.

 

Hmmm...I didn't get anything. Strange. I guess only 'special' former employees rate.

 

Vic a good basic "refer 50" (prerequisite for "refer 100")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEkhX2zZX14

As he scrolls through the sensors screens he notes the pretrip function. Select that and it does a good check of the unit. Takes some time, So start that and do your regular pretrip. Refer should be done about the time you finish your standard pretrip.

Quick and dirty check on a running/Loaded unit: go to Gauges and look for temperature differential between supply and return. Difference of 10 is good 6 is the low end and should be serviced soon.

 

One of the most irritating factors I've experience with "trainers" is their reliance on teaching a new driver what goes on inside the cab with little to no focus on what goes on outside or why. Three examples come to mind:

1. Why not train a new driver, including a driver new to the reefer business, how to operate a reefer and why, not just how to turn it on or off and set a temperature? There is much to learn and much to teach. So...Do it!
2. Why not train a new driver how to move the tandems including what happens to the weight and why, not just how? My guess is every trainer thinks that every CDL holder learned the how/why in school; that is not the case, is it? So...Do it!
3. Why not train a new driver, including a driver new to a movable 5th wheel, how to operate it including when and why? Not all trucks have one and not all truckers with one have used it. So teaching someone "new" what happens to which weight when the 5th wheel moves is critical.

I had to learn these skill on my own, after being kicked out of the nest, and had plenty of frustrating experiences trying to get a load within the 12K/34K/34K weight limitations without really understanding the interrelationships between all the parts that moved and how one affected the other. Coming from an industry where training programs must have FAA approval prior to implementation, I know this: There might be high-quality training programs out there that do all those things and more, but in general, our industry-wide training needs to focus on the small points much more than just getting the truck from here to there for 4 weeks or so.

 

Most trainers shouldn't be trainers. I would make a great trainer, because I care. But I will not, because I have no patience and a very low tolerance for stupidity. And not the kind from being new. I mean the kind where they think it's a joke. I trained 3 drivers and one made it. I wasn't allowed to train after that. Apparently I took training seriously. And DD, you're right. Most of these "trainers" only scratch the surface. There's so much more to learn.

 

Well, I know I'm a bit OCD and anal about the "why?" and understanding the interrelationships between things as well as the "how," but surely our employers could do better. Yes, it would be expensive and time-consuming, but heck, if drivers felt better about their own competence when they were given the keys to their first truck, it might even improve retention rates.

And now I return control of the forum to its rightful owner.