My Swift Adventure

Since leaving Lancaster The PornStar has pulled a light trailer to Houston, a slightly heavier trailer to Laredo, and a very heavy trailer to Chicago and not one Warn Engine Light to be had... amazing that a truck will perform as it is supposed to when not being choked to death. She doesn't seem to have any more power than she had before, but she wasn't lacking in that department. I haven't driven far enough to really notice a difference in MPG yet but again it was never an issue. The only real issue she had was the constant Warn Engine Light and the one full stop that was Turbo related.

Thanks again Ms. Injun for the heads-up on the crankcase filter, and to all us newbies out there, keep your ears open... ya just might learn something.

 

Hi, my name's Fewe and I have E-logs...

 

Hey everybody,

I thought it was about time to update my little thread and bump it back to the top. My one year anniversary with Swift has come and gone and I even got a reminder message on the Qualcomm.

From all the talk about the wonderfulness of Plus1, I couldn't have lucked into a position on a dedicated account at a better time. I was on hometime and happened upon a driver on the Dollar Tree dedicated out of Olive Branch, MS. He put me in-touch with the DM in-charge of the account. We talked for a few minutes and Marcel, the driver in question, gave me the phone list for the drivers on the account at the request of Joe, the DM in-charge. I called several drivers to get "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" about the account.

As an aside, my Road Trainer at Millington was on the Dollar Tree account for 5 years before going to the academy so I had some knowledge of the account. It had been a route I had contemplated from the beginning but just had to pay my dues and wait for an opening. After talking to the drivers and my family, we decided it was definitely worth a try.

The Good:
Way more hometime, as in every weekend and 2-3 nights per week and only running South-East, so no chaining to get out of truck stops after the Blizzard of the Century tracks me down.

The Bad:
Some stores aren't necessarily designed with the idea of a 53' trailer behind a ProStar getting around into position to unload. Most stores are in existing shopping malls which are better suited to box trucks. Also, only a few stores seem to have loading docks, most either have an elevated rear entrance or a street level door.

The Ugly:
Unloading 38,000 to 43,000 pounds of freight by hand onto rollers 2-3 times per week with 1-4 stops per load. Having been in construction in a past life I'm not un-used to the amount of work involved, but it has been about 3 years since I have worked like this. Actually, it feels really good to bleed and hurt a little for a change.

So here I am 2 weeks later getting ready to head to get my trailer and head to Arkansas for a 3 stop 42,000 pound delivery tomorrow. After being gone for a year with the occasional stop in to say hi, it is very strange being home this much, but we are adjusting nicely. I also noticed today that my driver ranking now says "NONE" presumably because I'm now on a dedicated fleet, kinda strange after seeing "PLATINUM" for the better part of a year.

All in all, I'm enjoying my new position and the benefits that come with it. I do however miss some aspects of OTR life. Some day when the kids are grown and gone I would like to return to OTR, but for now I'm very much liking being home.