Stevens Transport Aviary . . cont'

So I met one of our Primadonna drivers I keep hearing about. He told me he doesn't drive at night and only works 11 hrs a day from start to stop, if UE sits five hours waiting to get loaded, he only drives six.

I told him, see ya down the road, I',all be in the Stevens truck passing by the Truck Stop you're sitting in.

 

15 hours to get loaded and get my bills and the only reason I can see is no one bothered to set a new appt. So I end up at the bottom of the list. Oh well. Rolled out this morning tired and hungry, made it to the Petro in Rochelle and had breakfast, got some coffee in me and headed out again. I was nodding before I hit the Iowa line, so I pulled back into the new loves in Davenport, took a 2 hour nap, grabbed a shower and took off again. Made it to my fuel stop in Des Moines and got asked to repower a load going to NJ. I won't be able to make OTD either, so I'll be handing this off tomorrow sometime. I'll run some miles off it first though. Thanks to the W.N.A.W.D for the assist waking up the other driver for the repower.
Waka waka.

 

You should of asked him how he makes any $. Would love to know that. Geesh!

 

From a friend of mine lol

Replies ...

 

I wonder if that was the same repower my DM was trying to push on me after I left the Peterbilt shop. Needed a minor repair, down about 4 hrs. I no sooner called him to tell him I was rolling and he starts asking me to repower one of his guys with a National Beef load going to PA... keep in mind this is on the 20th... 3 stops, 1 on the 22nd, 2 on the 23rd, total miles... 700 and change.

Umm, no thanks, that is 700 miles in four days... he says well its really only three because the driver won't get there until tomorrow. Me, son I sit today, but you are not counting that? Him - What do you plan to do just sit there and hope for a load? Me, nope, gonna make a phone call, gotta go. 1 call and ten minutes and I had the Granite city to Cheyenne load, 900 miles, plus the 300 dead heading back to Lexington to start the next load, in three days.

Crazy the things they try to sell us.

 

I get a chuckle every time I send in my axle weights. If I this under 80k, someone is always willing to tell me what adjustments to make, I generally have already done them anyway, ornifnitbis already good I get the "OK to roll" message, usually 30 miles down the road.

Then there are the days like today... First weigh, 5/8th tank in 6th hole... 11980, 32820, 35340, 80140... so I slide back 4 more holes, rewigh and send in 11980, 34380, 33740, 80100 10th hole... want to guess what message I got back? That's right, none LOL

perfectly.legal with the APU exception, but no one ever wants to touch that one.

 

Depends on the states you are going to run in... not all give you the 400lb APU exemption. And the 10th hole puts you at 42.5 ft, which is over length for many of the eastern seaboard state.

 

Sometimes the QC msgs come faster than we can respond. especially when the phones are busy. There are only so many of us to answer everything.
But you'd be surprised at the number of drivers that don't understand how to adjust the weights or don't realize it's legal to run with the tandems in the 8th hole or whatever.
We have drivers all the time (new ones) that refuse to run in anything other than the 5th hole...won't do the 4th or 6th...only the 5th, because "my trainer told me so".
A lot of misunderstanding.
So we respond as fast as we can, even tho people that know what they're doing are likely 30 miles down the road.

 

There are only 4 left I think with out the APU exception... but I was good, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming. I pretty much only had two scales to worry about. Nebraska City, which was open and said truck exit, but I got green lighted on the prepass and tomorrow at Tue Wyoming Port of Entry. Bit I did not get any fuel until after the red light came on and then o my added 50 gals in Elm Creek, so I'm legal.

Since I left the yard two weeks ago tomorrow with a 79980 load, I have pumped more than 50 gals maybe three times, and one of those was 68 gals in a bone dry reefer. Seems like every load I pick up is 44k or better lately.

Tennessee started granting the APU exception in July, Hawaii does not, but who cares? Same with Rhode Island, California is the big one that does not, and I can not remember who the fourth is.

 

No doubt Emul... I just chuckle because anytime I am heavy or right on the edge... I never get a response. To be honest I don't expect one either, I just figure they are thinking its on me of I run with it.

Thankfully I have a DM who understands the need for the occasional, or the last two weeks, the frequent non compliant fuel stops.