AMSTAM/Tree of life/JB Hunt/Northstar foods

But most of the time, the one million who say it sucks in certain ways are right on.

I guess I could stick my feet in an oven and my head in an ice box. My average temperature would be just fine, so I should make the best of it and keep a good attitude as the skin on my feet burns off and my face freezes off.

Hey--it's all what you make of it.

 

Well if you turned down the oven before you stuck your feet in and put your face in the fridge instead of the ice box things would be different. Some people type some of these posts and the way I read a few of them is they bring this on themselves, not saying this is the case with you Toddstn but thats how your post comes off as, at least to me

 

Can't argue with that, as long as I alone have access to the controls. Most of the time I'm not the only one who can turn the heat up or the chill down, though. When the actions of others affect me, I will definitely have an opinion, and what I make of it may or may not be positive.

 

I am not quite the company man that you might think I am. I am sorry that you have had such bad experiences with the companies that you worked for. I dont know if all recruiters lie because I havent dealt with them. I do know that all dispatchers dont lie (granted some do) because I have had (in my opinion) some pretty good ones, and some pretty bad ones also. I didnt have to kiss butt to to make it in this industry but have had to make compromises. If you are sick of the jobs that you have had and are disgruntled with all of the recruiters lies, then go to the source and talk to the drivers, they are the ones that know how it is where they work and probably have all the info you want. But what works for them might not work for you. If you think working at a 7-11 would be better then go for it, do whats good for you. If you dont want to get up at 1am and work 14 hours to be local then dont, it works for some people and it dont for others. I know there are alot of bad jobs and companies out there and you should do your research before you jump ship. There are also alot of good jobs out there and its just a question of finding them, or being in the right place at the right time. Lots of info on here regarding both.

 

How true. I'm sure their are some companies who do as much as they can to be a good company to work for within the system they operate in. But does that make them good because the rest are so bad? And why are they the exception and not the rule?

How can OTR companies look someone in the face and tell them how important safety is to them and then work them 80-100hrs a week at all times of the day or night?

How can OTR companies say how well paid you are with a strait face, when even their own reports show you are not for the amount of hours you put in?

How can OTR companies say they care about you and your family and then charge you a arm and a leg for insurance and keep you off your door step 10months or longer per year?

How can OTR companies say they are good and then let you spend a average of 33hrs a week on a dock loading or unloading with little or no pay?

How can OTR companies put up misleading ads that sound like you are being paid so great, but are not based on normal working conditions or the average hours that most people in the US work which is between 40-60hrs a week.

If you work 70hrs a week for 46weeks out of the year at $.35 a mile getting 2800miles per week which is all above the industry average you will being pulling in $14 bucks a hour. Is that worth leaving your life behind for?

How can OTR companies who say they are good charge you $4000-$5000 to train to be a truck driver at their schools, and then make you pay again with low wages of $.26 to $.30 a mile?

How can OTR companies who say they are good, yet tell a experienced driver who might have driven in less then 3 or 4 states that they are no longer a experienced driver and need to be retrained so they don't have to pay that driver for their experience?.

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from leaving their life behind to do one of the top 10 most dangerous occupations in the country for $14 a hour. I just want them to crunch the numbers before they leave their friends and family to live the life of a vagabond who is looked down upon by the general public and even their own companies they hire on with.

You want to say a OTR company is good? Then show me that they pay you by the hour for all hours worked. Train you at their expense so you can make them a profit, not profit from training you. And get you home for at least 2 days on a weekly basis.

 

BigBlue, you just re-reminded me why I got rid of my license coming up on five years now. As it stands today, the soonest I'll be driving 18 wheels again is the day after doomsday. I'll be hopping from one blown-up bit of earth to another. Yeah, in other words, I'm NEVER driving rigs again.

 

just remember that 3rd day after Doomsday when you're working for JBHT and i'll give you a friendly toot while I drop off a load of Intermodal trailers and containers. Maybe even stop for a lunch break.

 

Dude, I'm all for doing lunch on that day. IF I can fit you in, let's definitely meet on a floating piece of earth after it all explodes.

Seriously, if I were in the USA right now, maybe we could meet up. You could give me a tour of a locomotive. I've been wondering how the locomotive version of the jake brake works. This is the system that absorbs all the energy that develops when a train begins to slow down and the motors in the trucks turn into generators. What happens to all the electricity that gets generated when the brakes come on? Where does it go? I would guess some kind of electrical 'radiator' that dissipates the electricity into the atmosphere. It has to go somewhere, and there aren't huge battery packs on locos to absorb it all.

 

Not a huge battery pack, it's more like an alternator feeding back into your car battery. Dynamic Brake Application is what it be called. It puts power into things like the Air brakes, the Electricals in the Cab, etc.

Also, UP's real strict on who they allow on a locomotive....but if it's off the main somewhere in the middle of nowhere, sure, why not?