just rocked the boat

I retired running my own trucks. All he had to do is ask the shipper if he can leave the loaded trailer in the shippers yard "IF" he can't go any further and is totally out of hours.

By the way, when I was your age I'd already been trucking for 38 years.

 

In the first place...your first post isn't anything similar to the second "clean up"! Second, a Swift company driver cannot use the truck for personal conveyance...against company policy! And third, what IF the shipper doesn't allow a loaded trailer to remain on property?

BTW...I'm not impressed with your trucking experience from days gone by when the rules and regs were 100% different from today! Especially when I read some of your posts regarding how things SHOULD BE not how they really are. This is one example of a new driver deciding to do it the LEGAL WAY and not be bullied around by a DM! The old days are gone and some of the new drivers are aware of the consequences that running illegally can do to their future as a driver, not only with Swift but with any company that holds any merit to running a rig the legal way!

 

Yes. Drop the trailer at the shipper. I actually meant drop it in the door, go take care of personal stuff while they're loading it and return for it later. I've done this numerous times with Swift, Celtic and Prime. Really, it's not a big deal. Most shippers don't have an issue with it. It has to be in the door anyway and your truck not being hooked to it makes it more stable for the loaders.

It's the shipper's own stuff. Why wouldn't they allow it to be in their yard?

 

All well and good....IF YOU KNOW THE SHIPPER AND THEIR RULES...no mention of this from the OP...in fact quite the contrary! The OP states he is in his second week solo...states he is "about an hour away from the shipper"...which means he doesn't exactly know the travel time and has the dispatch miles as his reference to distance. He doesn't say he knows the shipper.

MOST SHIPPERS? Really...at best less than 50% would be my experience...and of those generally only the ones that are set up for a drop/hook environment. If the load requires a LIVE LOAD...that means the driver is on property while the loading is taking place...MOST SHIPPERS won't take a chance of the driver/tractor getting involved in some incident off property and then not being available to get the loaded trailer out of the way. ALL shippers don't necessarily have yard goats on property, and not that many drivers are going to drop their trailer just to move someone else trailer out of the door...some do granted, but not a general "OK I'll do it"!

Is that right? The landing gear on a trailer is more stable than a 16-17 thousand pound tractor? Some design engineers would like to see your data for this!

Once loaded onto the trailer, technically it ISN'T in their inventory, therefore not covered by their insurance and the loaded trailer and the freight contained is the responsibility of the carrier! As an example...it's inventory tax time...having some trouble in certain zones finding an available empty trailer? that's because the inventory has been loaded onto a trailer and is "in limbo" as far as inventory tax is concerned!

 

The guy was just standing up for himself ...

I personally don't run hot .... And make a fine living doing it legal

I also understand your thoughts on dropping the trailer on the shipper yard finishing break calling etc ... Just can't leave is the prob legally ...

I don't fault the OP on this thread for trying to do things the right way ... Maybe he could have worded the message a little different ...

But never the less ..

 

So why not get the load info and directions, look it up in your road atlas and figure out if you have the time to at least get there and get the trailer in a door? Then either take your 10 while attached to the trailer or someplace inside the shipper's property where you can park bobtail?

It's not written anywhere you have to take your 10-hour break at a truck stop, and some days it's just not possible. You will have times when you're camped out at a shipper or receiver instead of that nice cozy truck stop. Those days you just have to suck it up and deal with it.

 

Injun, i would say MOST TIMES you cannot drop a trailer in a door at a shipper and then leave the property. What if you're bobtail, and get into a wreck...now what is the shipper suposed to do with the dock your trailer is tying up, lest not forget the load thats on it. (granted, swift will probably just have a truck bobtail there to pick it up and leave). that is why it is always a smart idea to have bottled water and snacks on the truck.

here is an example i just ran into....i gave earlier. I went back to the final at 930p and got checked in for a 1030p appointment. Only took me 5 minutes to drive from the T/A to the final, and seeing how i was on private property, i'm not logging it on L3. (legal? who cares....) I sat waiting for a phone call telling me what dock door to bump....just after midnight, i finally get it. I'm there till just after 3a. SIX HOURS sitting at a grocery/food distribution warehouse (it dont suprise me)...then run the 5 min. back to the T/A where i'm shut down. Yeah, technically, its not legal, but now that i'm here....give any smoky bear my logbook and they couldnt tell the difference. Is that 'running hot'? i dunno....is it 100% accurate? sure it is. (hence the 7 min. rule)

 

I guess we should educate Walmart about trailer stability then. Or they already know about it and consciously choose to place their dock personnel into a less safe situation. Until the driver signs the freight bill, the cargo "belongs" to the shipper whether it's loaded on a trailer or not.

Again, it's not the issue of not going. It's agreeing to go and then changing his mind. The time to stand up for yourself is before agreeing to pick it up in the first place. That's my point. Since he did agree to load it, other solutions needed to be found for his break than stopping midstream.

Regarding customer service: I have encountered some customers who, as they're signing me in say, "Oh. You're a Swift, huh?" with a here-we-go-again look. It's these customers I am extra careful with to be polite, cordial and do everything the way they want it done. Because obviously, they had a bad experience with our drivers.

 

Another option would have been to "kiss the dock" in high reverse, drop the p.o.s. trailer without lowering the landing gear, hurl the gallon jug of rank p!ss out the window while exiting the property, and clean out the tractor at the nearest airport, train or bus depot, just prior to abandonment... all done AFTER securing a better job, which is not so easy in today's economy.