Time to start Houffing -- new gig at Houff Transfer

I have mentioned before that this place is very serious about taking care of their equipment. Case in point: Today I hauled a 24-year-old trailer, still in service.

Whenever we swing by the main terminal in Weyers Cave with a trailer in tow, we run it through the trailer shop. The mechanics come out and give it the once-over. They check the lights, the roof, the doors, then they get underneath the trailer and check the brakes, the seals, the brake chambers, the support struts, and anything else that might be an issue. If the trailer is empty, they'll sweep it out.

If no problems present themselves, they wave you along. But if there's something that needs fixing, they fix it ASAP.

This may be pretty common in the trucking industry. I've only worked for two companies, and this is one of 'em. And although there was some talk several years ago about Abilene wanting to do something similar, they never did. So it's pretty new to me.

But the results of their effort and philosophy allowed me to haul a 24-year old trailer today, so that's pretty cool.

 

When I first started driving for Houff, they gave me a 2026 Freightliner. Since my last truck at Abilene was a 2024 Freightliner, I was in familiar territory.

However, the 2026 Freightliners at Houff have an "IdleSmart" system. This system will automatically start the truck if the battery voltage gets too low. It will also automatically start the truck if the temperature gets too hot. The idea being that you set the bunk A/C to whatever settings you like, and when the truck starts itself automatically, the A/C runs and cools down the cabin. Once the cabin temperature gets to the setpoint, the engine turns off again. In this way, the system is supposed to save Houff money (vs. installing an APU or just letting the trucks idle all night).

And as it turned out, the truck I was in originally (truck 708) had a problem with its IdleSmart system. The battery voltage protection system worked fine, but the cabin comfort controls did not. The unit would always say "Safety condition - truck not in neutral". Even though the truck was, in fact, in neutral and the parking brake set. But no way to convince the IdleSmart unit of this salient fact, and so it wouldn't turn on when the truck got too hot, and I told 'em I wasn't gonna sleep in a truck that was 75F or hotter inside.

So they switched me to a different truck (truck 704), also a 2026 Freightliner. Identical to truck 708 in all respects, except that the IdleSmart system actually worked as intended. My cab was maintained at a suitably comfortable temperature, and I slept the sleep of the just. Mind you, the IdleSmart system basically kept the truck running all night long. It runs 20 minutes at a time, then shuts off, and there's a delay of maybe 2 minutes before it can restart itself. And if it was suitably warm outside, it would run for 20 minutes, shut off for 2, run for 20 more minutes, shut off for 2, etc etc. I imagine whatever money they're saving on fuel (and I don't imagine it's a lot), they're losing in wear-and-tear from the truck starting and stopping 3 times an hour for 10-12 hours.

That was back at the beginning of March, and I drove 704 for six weeks and change. Up until last Saturday, when they told me "Your truck is fixed."

My truck is fixed? What truck is that? I thought I'd been moved permanently to 704?

"Yeah, 708. We're gonna pull you to the yard and you can get back in your truck."

I would have objected if not for the fact that 704 had, in the six weeks I drove it, developed some kind of sensor issue related to the cruise control. I'd be driving along, minding my own business, and suddenly half the warning lights on the dashboard would light up. I figured out pretty quickly that this was simply a sensor/computer issue, because pulling over and turning the truck off until the dashboard reset would reset the warning lights. But as long as those warning lights were active, I couldn't use cruise control. And Houff runs 65 on the pedal, 68 on cruise.

It was obnoxious, but I put up with it. But the thought of getting into a truck that had both a functioning climate control unit AND a functioning cruise control kept me from requesting that they just let me stay in 704. So, this past Sunday, after testing 708 to make sure the climate control system worked like it was supposed to (and it did), I moved everything out of 704 and into 708. And then took a load back to Richmond.

Got parked at our Richmond terminal and started to settle down for the evening, whereupon I discovered that reports of the IdleSmart system being repaired on 708 had been greatly exaggerated. Same old warning, "Truck not in neutral". Even though it was most definitely in neutral and the parking brake was set. And so the truck wouldn't start no matter how hot it got, and by the time the cab temperature hit 85F, I just said "screw it" and hopped in my car and went home.

Got back in the truck the next day, called the shop, made arrangements to get back to Weyers Cave to drop it off, and had to move again to a different truck. Two full truck moves in less than 24 hours.

Current truck is a 2022 Mack Anthem. First time I've been in a Mack. While it's got some aspects I like (no IdleSmart, for one thing -- it's got a ThermoKing standalone bunk AC/Heater) the living space is smaller than the Freightliners I've been in. So it's definitely a little cramped in here.

Once they get either 704 or 708 back in running order with all systems functional, I will move yet again.

 

Also took these pictures last weekend. The first picture is a group of 30+ year old trucks that are still in daily yard jockey use at the Weyers Cave terminal:




The other pics are of a very old truck (maybe one of you old gearheads can ID it) that they have on the yard. I don't think it sees regular use for anything, but I would bet money that it will still crank up and run.