Class starting 25 Oct 11

A couple of quick thoughts today. First, if you have no clue how the 8/2 split works, find someplace that sells clues and get one.(or two) The 8/2 split can be a lifesaver in a tight hours situation that can get you to your 01/90 on time without a logbook violation. I was able to squeeze 12.5 hours of driving legally in one day (one 24 hr period) to get to my 90. Delays such as weather, traffic, and construction are not really factored in to your appointments. You have to know how to make it work in spite of those delays in order to be an asset to your FM. If you are pushing the clock, getting too close to your DDT and your HOS are gonna cause a problem, call your FM. They can take action to keep you from getting a service failure in these cases. Don't put your FM in a position to give you a service failure that was caused by traffic, construction or other situations outside your control.

Second, Family can really stress you out. If you are married or have a significant other, talk to them about stress and how situations at home affect you. Tell your significant other that handling the situation first, then talking about it after is a better, and less stressful way to go. It is very hard to take, listening to a situation that you have no ability to help with, then driving with your mind completely on the road.

 

Pre Trips and Post Trips. I have learned a valuable lesson today about why we should do a visual inspection during a post trip inspection. While looking in the engine compartment during my pre-trip I noticed the shock absorber was in a weird position. One of the bolts broke off, laying the shock on the front air hose that goes to the front service brakes. Top bolt broke, bottom bolt was loose. After getting into the bay at CHDSLC I looked closer. The air hose was broken through. With it being a front brake, I wonder how long I would have driven before noticing it if I hadn't caught it.

Update: Left shock was damaged, so I am having both front shocks upgraded to the gas magnums. We'll see how that changes the ride.

Lesson to learn: Don't just check the oil and the tire pressures. Take a good long look at your truck, from suspension to air hoses to engine and all of its hose clamps. Also, it might be a good idea to have a tool kit that goes up to 3/4 or 1 inch wrenches or sockets.

 

It's been a while since posting about the shocks,, and they are awesome. Since then, I have returned to sprimo to spend a little hometime and $$$. It was a much needed break. While home, I had a great time with the kids and wife. (the dog too) Stopped by the FM and the training coordinator and picked up a TnT student to take out. Starting from scratch, we spent some time yesterday shifting, city driving, and a little truckstop driving with a trialer."Joe" seems to be a quick learner, but is having a hard time with the downshifting. Today I installed the Air-Tabs on my truck and will let ya'all know how they affect MPG. Also had a step box installed for the chains (it is that time again) and the deer-guard. They finally started getting them in 3inch tubing. Those old ones weren't worth the $800. The new 3inch tube guards are much nicer, and look like they can handle mowing down a deer. The 18inch step box has enough room for the chains, liquids, air hose & jumper cables. I also am experimenting with velcro for the front curtains. I picked up a lock-tite glue for plastics & fabrics and so far only one strip came off the cab plastic. All the velcro stayed on the curtains.

I also started working on a spreadsheet to break down monthly and quarterly stats. As the year goes on, I will be able to analyze the seasons more objectively based on my own income and miles. I can also see my net CPM by month and quarter, as well as my tax liability during those periods as well. If you are running a business, it is a good idea to come up with ways to look the business to see if the objectives are being met, and if the "juice is worth the squeeze".

 

Things are going as expected with Joe. He is improving his shifting abilities daily, and retaining info on pre-trips & elogs. Headed cross country now, and I can sleep with him driving.

Today I stopped at the Penn 80 truck stop and ran into two characters asking questions about their weight tickets. They couldn't seem to figure out where to slide the tandems to get their drives below 34k. After looking, and their tandems being forward all the way and the weight ticket being 35500, I had to inform them that they had to go get their load reconfigured. They had driven an hour from their shippers (dry van) and didn't weigh until they had to pee.
Cautionary tale about going to CDL school, then getting your own truck without learning from someone experienced. Also good endorsement why drivers should ride with a trainer for 30k or so miles. (even though half the trainers out there don't teach students everything they need to know, scaling should be on the list)

 

My trainee is progressing. getting better with his shifting and driving skills. On this run from Salina KS, he got 6.9mpg coming across KS & Missouri. We talked about the difference between mashing the pedal and just using it as needed. Coming out of Ohio and across the PA turnpike to Carlysle he got 7.4 mpg. at 79k that's pretty darned good. Give him the rest of this week to hone his skills, then move on to advanced tasks.

For those who are curious, his tasks include open road driving, entering/exiting freeway, entering/exiting truckstops & rest areas, shifting & downshifting,, pretrips, hooking & unhooking, drop trailer & pick up trailer inspections and QC reports.

 

Coming off of hometime, and Joe (trainee) is doing much better at shifting. I guess he was always thinking hard about shifting all the time, kinda overthinking it... and now that he has had time to decompress, he is shifting more natural, as if his actions have moved from thinking actions to habit/automatic actions. Now that we are past the initial tasks, Joe will be performing more cab management tasks (IE QC depart shipper & depart receiver macros, live load calls, comdata checks for lumpers & interacting with the shipper/receiver personnel) more backing & parking, and start talking time management. We will also start talking about customs and courtesys in the industry. (would love to get some feedback on your courtesies & customs..... the helpful ones)

Had an overhead done on the engine and have noticed an improvement in power and smoothness. More to follow on the MPG's.......

 

Switched over from driving early mornings into the day to driving afternoons into the night. 2pm-2am shifts are hard to get used to, and adjusting the sleep pattern has been challenging. Finally got a good sleep today. How have you guys handled teaming and setting up shifts?

 

a few days ago my DEF injector became clogged and almost shut me down. At first the check engine light came on with the code for the DEF injector. After I stopped at TA Cheyenne with the intention to push to SLC, the little yellow DEF light on the fuel gauge started blinking. That is the yellow/red light of Derate that will slow you down alot (the EPA requires this, although the truck could run normal in this condition) I was told to go directly to the frightliner dealer and park. Got repowered and repaired within 12 hours. (stopped in at 0200, shop opened at 0700, truck in the shop at 1030 and out at 1230) and was covered by the warranty.

Back in September, the Detroit Diesel guy showed up at the Sprimo yard looking for trucks to software update. He told me that the DEF system was programmed wrong and was injecting during the regen period that was clogging up the DEF injector. The software update was supposed to fix this, but with 90k miles already, I was doomed to have this happen. Now that the software update is installed, my DEF injector should be working properly.