Anybody ever just abandon your co. truck?

i have never done that, alwasy turned my trucks/keys/trailer/load/equipment in

 

I have. I came here on TTR asking what the legalities were. The owner of the company came on here pretending to be someone else and make me look like trash. It was a pretty heavy moment for me. He was found out and banned LOL!

Today I feel justified for doing it. At the time I was afraid, as the company owner was trying to convince me that I would be arrested if I didnt return the truck to his yard.

I had a 15 yrs absence from trucking and was shocked at how things had changed since I last drove a truck. I had never heard of 'recent' experience, vs past experience. I mean its not like you ever forget how to ride a bike. I had 7 yrs of heavy haul experience. Incident free, accident free. None of that matter when I needed to get back to work.

I answered a Craigslist ad here in Fla and hired on with a company based out of Tacoma Wa. This guy was a tyrant. Nothing you did was good enough. I wanted to quit, but knew if I did I risked losing site of my dream. My dream to become an O/O. I knew I needed to show some seat time in order to use this first company as a stepping stone to move on to something better.

I was shown how to step by step edit and rewrite my logs in order to run 800 - 900 miles a day. Really pushing the extremes of human endurance. I ran coast to coast from Londonderry NH, to Oakland Ca and back. 4000mi a week on a consistent basis was routine. Sad part was I was only paid a flat $750 a week salary on a 1099. When ever I tried to get home time, I was told they were trying, because I lived in Fla, it was difficult. I was forced to be away from home for 4 - 5 months at a time. In 2011, out of 365 days,.. I spent 22 days at home.

I watched what happened to other drivers who disobeyed instructions. They were pulled from the trucks at Weigh Stations and accused of illegally operating the trucks. This was done at places in the middle of no where,.. as far as possible from the drivers home state. I had made up my mind that when I quit, it was going to be on my own terms. I was one of his best drivers. I knew how to run the miles, I knew how to steal sleep when and where ever I could get it. I made it 12 months with out any incidents.

The final straw came when I asked to be home for Christmas. I hadnt seen my family since Sept. I picked up a load going to Fla. When I scaled the load, I was 2400 lbs over gross. I went back to the shipper and asked to have product removed. They responded that the owner knew the load would be 'heavy'. I argued that it was beyond heavy,.. it was illegal. I called the operations manager. He gave me 2 options. Since it was Friday,.. I could sit until Monday and get product removed,.. missing Christmas with my Family. Or Cowboy up and run the load. I decided at that moment, when I got home, I would call and give my resignation notice. My last load would be to bring the truck back to Washington.

I made it into Fla dodge every scale from NH all the way down I95. When I got home I let them know my intentions. I knew the consequences and tactics my A-hole owner would try to do to me. So I demanded that the only way I would return the truck would be to have either a plane, train or bus ticket back home and in my possession before I would go under a load. This made the owner livid. Yelling, cursing, threatening me with arrest of theft of his truck, all kinds of BS. I stood my ground told him if he wanted his truck, I needed to have that ticket over nighted to me or he could go pound sand and find his own way to get the truck.

The final delivery was at a WinDixie DC in Miami. I figured that was as far from Tacoma Wa as I could get the truck. Would be a great place to leave the truck. I contacted the Windixie management there. Told them the situation. I took pictures of the truck. I got the security guard to sign off on the condition of the truck. Handed him the keys, my wife had followed me there. I got in with her and went home.

At the time I thought my driving career was over. I knew that truck abandonment was the equivalent of shooting your foot off in this business. How ever,.. another member here was following my story and for some reason read through all the BS and took a liking to me. He informed his company owner and I was soon contacted by the carrier I am still working with today.

As an O/O I now know all the lies I was told. I look back at all the BS I was told and made to believe. How someone can take advantage of someone during a low point in their life is beyond me. So I understand both ends of the trucking spectrum. I have seen the bad and paid my dues. I have learned how to take my experience and use it to prosper as an O/O.

So yeah,.. I left that truck and dropped it like a bad habit.

 

hurst, that acutally makes sense, glad you stayd and acomplushed yout goal of being an O/O

 

Well sort of, I was working for Roadway as a casual city P&D guy. I was and still am full time Police Officer. Terminal Manager called me one morning to see if I could work. I told him I could but had to get off in8 hours cause I had to go to work that night. He had no issue as we had done this before and I came in, picked up my bills and started my route. I got sent out of town on an all delivery no pickup stops. All went well until truck broke down and walked about a mile to call terminal (no cell phone in the good old days). I called in talked to dispatch she got a service truck in route ( I waited an hour. Made it to next stop truck breaks down again and I call dispatch. She started yelling at me about screwing around and not working. I reminded her if I was screwing around I would have broke down both times at a phone not walking down a state road. She said will send repair service. I wait, nothing I call back said she did not have time to call. Ingot the paper work and keys told stop someone will be there to get truck or fix it I riding back to terminal with another driver from another company. Business was ok with leaving the truck and off I went with the other driver. I arrived at the terminal went in to see the dispatcher and gave her the paperwork and keys and went home to sleep before going to my full time job. I went in next day to see Terminal Mgr. he was cool with my decision in what I did. Asked if I would still work for then said not as long as the dispatcher was still there. I left and got a casual job with CF for about 24 months and cot a call one day from the Roadway terminal Maniger said she is gone want to come back. I stayed and worked for them until they closed that Terminal. All in all total of 5 years with Roadway. So I guess I did abanoned there truck but no customer freight left on it and they understood but still was not the best thing to do but I had no real choice.

 

I never did that, allthough, there were jobs I certainly wanted to. I always made it back, even if I had to pay for the fuel myself. I've quit jobs with no notice, but always had the mindset to return the truck, mostly because, my 4 wheeler was there. When I worked in Green Bay, I knew of a guy, that's all he did, was travel around the country picking up abandoned Schneider trucks. It was a FULL time job, let me tell ya'. Matter of fact, I think there were a couple of guys that did that.

 

[QUOTE="semi" retired;4503895]I never did that, allthough, there were jobs I certainly wanted to. I always made it back, even if I had to pay for the fuel myself. I've quit jobs with no notice, but always had the mindset to return the truck.[/QUOTE]

Same here. I've never abandoned a truck. It ALWAYS was returned to the home terminal.

 

I abandoned a abandoned truck. Try that one folks!

A company that I won't mention, (cabover) sent me over the Flying J truck stop in Carlilse PA to recover a truck with another driver. We found the truck in the back row. I barely had my bag out of the guys truck when he took off on me. He was supposed to stay with me until we were sure the key worked, the unit started, pre-trip, and that I got rolling. Well, I opened the drivers door and climbed up to about seat level when I almost went into a power puke. After a couple minutes I used the foot hold on the bumper to climb up and look in through the windshield. I could see that the driver didn't just abandon the truck, he just about destroyed the interior. The seats were sliced up, QualCom covered with who knows what, about a case of empty beer cans, 1/2 eaten pizzas, urine bottles, and a pile of what looked like feces on the doghouse. There was a note left on dash saying..... 'thanks for the ride".

I called my dispatcher to let her know what I found. I told her that we needed a tow, and I needed a ride, because I wasn't going any wheres near the inside of that truck. She said she would make some calls to see what they could do. I waited about an hour and called her back...... Nothing. This went on for 6 hours before I got a return call from weekend dispatch telling me that they had been sending messages over the Qualcom, and why hadn't I responded?!?! They were trying get me to bring the truck to the terminal. Again.....I explained everything about the condition of the cab, and I wasn't about to drive 2 feet.....never mind 280 miles to the terminal in Va.. They went straight into "beast mode" about me being under dispatch, and refusing to drive. I hung up on them, took about 15 pictures of the cab, and found a ride to a car rental. I drove straight to my terminal thinking I would quit or be fired. Neither happened after they got the pictures developed. I took a week off, and didn't work for them much longer after that.

 

Well in a way, I did, and here is how ( I will try my level best to make this short)

I once worked for the now defunct RPS (now FedEx Ground). Ok, I had a weasel of a boss, in fact, his beady little eyes and nose, he looked like a weasel. Day after day, he would bust my chops. You see, I was hired as an employee of RPS, and as a result, they paid a whopping $75 per day. The o/o's when doing their door to door deliveries would pay me either the $75 for the day, or more. But when I had to do thier routes, RPS did not pay me to do their routes, but I did still get the $75 a day, since I did T/T work.

Ok, I was primarily a T/T driver, going and getting loads. I had to finger print everything. Well this one day, Weasel has me start at 7 Am, then tells me to be done by noontime, as I'd have to do an O/O's route, in an area I NEVER heard of.

Ok, I finish T/T work by noon. But now he tells me that the O/O route MUST BE DONE by 2 PM, as I'll have MORE T/T work!

Ok, off I go to the area, never heard of, with OVER 200 stops? To be done by 2 PM?

I just couldn't do it, drove back, hopped into the T/T to get the T/T work done.

Next day, weasel tells me, "we had a service failure in your area yesterday, and if you cannot do the job, we cannot use you".

I said ok.

I had T/T work to do. Drove the T/T out the gate. Literally DROPPED the trailer across the gate (it opened form the inside), I had shut down the entire operation, as no other Tractors were available. Many of the o/o's were lined up outside the gate, couldn't get in.

I drove the tractor across the street to my soon to be NEW employer. I walked inside, asked if he was hiring, he said YES. Went for the DOT physical and drug screening. Come back and he say's, "what the hell is going on over there t RPS?"

He KNEW what I had done, he saw me pull up in front of his office.

I said, "I don't know George, looks like some a-hole blocked the gate?"

He laughed, I laughed.

I get home, my answering machine is lit up like an X-Mass tree.

Weasel said, Hey, get here and move this trailer, you are fired.

Calls me a second time, says the same thing.

I continue to eat my grilled cheese and tomato soup.

I called him back and said, well if i am fired, I ain't gotta do shyte.

He thinks over what he said, says to me, nah, you ain't fired, so come on over and move the trailer?

I told him to eff off.

Oh, and the keys to the tractor?

As I parked that across from my NEW employer?

I tossed them into the pond!

So in a way, I abandoned the equipment, but at any age that I ever was, I took NO SHYTE from NO boss.

 

I accepted a 300 mile load after 20 hours off duty but was too tired to finish it. When dispatch yelled at me for being a bum I abandoned my truck and became a mechanic.