Husband/Wife Team to start with Covenant

Good to know!! If we do get by that way. We certainly will! And thank you for the compliment!

 

Good to know. I see you have those chains! Nicely done.
If you get a chance to see Rocks... say Houdy for us!!

 

Finished my shift driving and took a moment to REread a couple recent Covenant newsletters. Both featured upper management taking the leap to take a trip on a truck with an experienced driver. I for one appreciate this VERY much, because it is a culture shock to most who might have a preconceived notion of what it is like working in the OTR world.
While on the truck with Dennis, our trainer, he told us of another prospective husband/wife team who started training; they only lasted two weeks! The reason they did not finish is the difficulty they had sleeping in a moving truck or even in a parked truck stop setting (with all the various noises and smells)
Then after Ron and I finished training, we heard that the VP was going to take a trip with our trainer. That was encouaging to me knowing that Mr. Lyon would make the jump from the predictable corporate environment to the very unpredictable nature of OTR. It is truly the ONLY way one can know the ins and outs of the day to day issues that the driver encounters. And logically, becoming more sensitive to the challenges and frustrations that drivers face while on the road AND Putting on the driver's shoes is TRULY the only way to achieve making things better for the driver.
...........For this, I say thank you for putting yourself out there. ​

 

Hey Rocks! From my understanding, it was about four days and I did hear that it was quite a shock in regard to the sleeping environment at the truck stop. There was/is no APU on Dennis' truck. It was an out of environment shock for the VP regarding sleep. THAT is why I thought it was worth mentioning, because THE HEAT and HOW IT AFFECTS OUR PROPER REST is such an important issue for drivers and the ONLY way that corporate or dispatch can empathize with the driver's plight is the "hands-on approach". As for me, when I get back from home time, it takes me a couple days to get back into sleeping sound with all the movement and the noise.
As for the Idle Air?...well, the cost to me is a bit much. I believe APUs could certainly resolve the Company's over idle percentage problem and the over-priced idle air (most struggling driver's really can not afford). What is interesting, when we see the few Idle Air locations, the lack of parking ISSUE ends up pushing the drivers to park in the idle air spots. Most of the Idle Air Units are not even being utilized.

Boy oh boy, "dispatchers riding with their drivers"...you said a mouth full!
IMHO, I think the young dispatchers are just following orders to make sure their appointed loads get from point A to point B in a timely & profitable manner. Some take it a bit too far, especially not really understanding the day to day tough (sometimes dangerous) decisions the drivers have to face. Frankly, most would likely be frightened just to do a ride-along. The shear size of the truck is intimidating to many people. Then there is the issue of the actual ability to empathize. Well.... that brings me back to why I posted my thanks in the first place.
If one is not willing to put theirself into another's shoes, then the aspect of changes of any kind ever occurring is halted right there.​

 

The Breakdown Department at Covenant
Once again, Ron and I are so VERY pleased with our breakdown department. We had a good week with miles pushing over 6000...
then the dreaded CaPOW!!
A rear trailer tire blew! + shredding the mud flap with it. So we safely pulled over onto the shoulder and made the call to Breakdown. And as good fortune would have it, we stopped right in front of the sign stating we were just 30 miles shy of Omaha Nebraska. So we wobbled to the repair shop, where the work order was already waiting! It was just a matter of waiting for our turn in the repair bay. We utilized our down time by washing a load of clothes and grabbed a quick bite. Then back on track still arriving EARLY on our delivery!
Nice way to end the week.