An old man's career goes flat, Snackbar moves to open deck

Tarping, yes. Chaining/straping, no. And the physical work is why I moved to the flat side.

 

1st stop unloaded fine. They don't have any type ramp to unload with, but they do have a rollback type delivery truck with a beaver tail flipout that can aim up, so we just aimed it up(the end was about 10" off my trailer deck so we threw down some 4x4's so the forklift could get on their truck without damaging the tires before they can rent the thing). Super nice people, talked with you like you were old friends. Now headed to N. Bend's delivery which is smaller and tighter than stop 1. I will have about 2 hours extra on my 70 after I get to N. Bend, unload and get to Arlington...and my Nag-A-Gator is saying I will have right at 3900 miles in the last 8 days once I get to the yard on Monday, so that long hilly ride yesterday didn't kill my week too bad.

 

SPD on the whole is a good fit for me, and I am still enjoying my travels here. Are they perfect...no, but neither am I.


Likes - first and foremost 0 micromanaging. It's "here is your load, where and when it picks up, and where and when it delivers". No hand holding, no nagging, almost no contact other than if the dispatcher beats me to the punch and calls me before I can txt him my PTA. 2nd, I like our customers. Flatbed customers don't generally give you a "awww crap, I gotta unload you" attitude you get from the door slamming warehouses. 3rd, I like the diversity of our freight...well, except elevator loads, but hey, they can't all be gravy loads. Next, I like the fact that so many of our Op's and safety people are former drivers. It says a lot that when someone wants to get out of the truck, they still choose to work here, which is also another 'like', there is ample resources of flatbed hauling knowledge available if I have a question or a problem, and you aren't belittled for asking about something you've never done before. Another thing, if you run into another SPD driver at a customer or in a truckstop, you generally can strike up a conversation and you feel like you're part of something, a whole lot like it was at Moore. I like my KW, with it's 13 speed...it might not have all the comforts that the Volvo does, but I like the look of it because has a sense of class. A Volvo, well, the 1st thing that comes to mind with a Volvo is - it's the choice truck for the Chicago Russian mob companies or at one time, Swift's primary truck of choice. I also like the fact that they don't tell me where and how much to fuel. I can fuel at any Flying Pilot or Love's, and I have an app that accesses our network to see where the best price is after the company discount.


Dislikes - the Peoplenet, but that is going to be eliminated in the not-so-distant future. Also, I hate the collision avoidance crap on my truck. It isn't as bad as Creaffer's Junkliners, but it still sucks. It wasn't bad at first, but it is getting further out of alignment so it is picking up stuff well out of my path(and even stuff that isn't there). Next, I hate tarping(like most open deck drivers...I have never found one yet that says "oh boy, another load I have to tarp...Yipeee"), but that's part of open deck, maybe I won't hate it as much once I get better at it, but right now, I suck at it.

Things I accept, but would prefer different - this PACCAR motor. Honestly it leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't pull like an ISX or X-15 Cummins, and the jake is nowhere near as strong as a Cummins. Also, if I had a choice, I would prefer a TK-APU rather than this Carrier... they're quieter and smoother running...but a Carrier is still way better than the Opti-idle crap Creaffer had...so I will live with it(with a smile on my face)

I am sure I am missing some stuff, but over all, I have no real complaints about SPD. Yeah, the pay could be a little better, but I will gladly give up a few bucks to be treated like a professional

 

Amen to that!

 

The problem with that is, a lot of companies have their trucks set up with different governed speeds between cruise and pedal and pulling the plug disables the cruise and throws a trackable code. Then if someone hits you it opens the liability door for a lawsuit against the company and the person who pulled the fuse. Moore's Anthems had the nanny crash crap as standard equipment. When I spoke to the safety director about ordering them with that system deleted(which was an option) his reply was simple...if we're involved in any type of a crash, we get sued regardless of fault. The other person's lawyer will argue that the damage could have been less if the crash system was installed so their settlement would be higher(he said that was the advice of their lawyer)