TransAm Trucking, Inc. - Olathe, Ks.?

Loooool. Joe IS a little off, but he's awesome. I love Chris and Terry in Safety.

You guys, its snowing. SNOWING. And the wind, omg. It was shoving my empty trailer all over the road. Dont feel safe running to Fort Morgan with the wind this bad and slowing hard, so Im gonna hang out at the TA for a bit.

 

I was relieved to see you on here, Honeybadger. I knew you were heading that way and that the weather was wild. Last night I was seeing severe storm warnings, tornado warnings, high wind warnings and snow ...all within that upper tier of states.

Passport, I feel the same way about asking for pay that you have already earned.... I don't know of any other job that you have to do that in. With Husband's new job it is automatic if he has had to wait an unreasonable amount of time....however there is not an amount set in stone. He gets 50% of whatever the company is paid for holding up the truck. We thought ...hmmm, that will never happen! ....but he has actually received detention pay for a load that held him up 5 hours. It wasn't much but it was something and was paid without asking.

Husband had a load that was over a little more than 400lbs. and was told to run it by TransAm's night time dispatch because of the so called APU allowance. The APU allowance is not honored by all states and some states require a certificate on the APU stating that it is in working order. Since the load was only going from Nebraska to the yard in Olathe....we did what Pete is doing, figured how much fuel he would burn by the time he had to roll the scales. He got into the yard and dropped the trailer, walked in to talk with dispatch so that they could tell the swap driver not to fill his truck with fuel. The fleet manager heard this and had a fit ....told Husband that there was no allowance in some states and was an automatic ticket, and if the other driver got a ticket it would be on him. He was told that night dispatch had told Husband to roll with it and then he wanted names ....Husband told him that if he wanted to know to go back and look at the messages. Now,while I don't believe that Husband would have been accountable if the other driver received a ticket, I do believe the APU allowance has too much ambiguity in that law ....and that if you happen to hit the wrong scale with the wrong people it could be a problem. I am one of those people that always errs on the side of caution though!

 

Honeybadger be safe out there! Any pictures?

 

Do any of you ever look at the traffic webcams that most states have? I am amazed by how many are out there. I have looked at them during weather events and been able to see when and where road conditions start to get iffy. During Sandy, Husband was in New Hampshire and there was a webcam across from the truck stop that he was tucked into. I was actually able to watch what was happening. There are also many private webcams ....I usually just do a search for traffic cams in the area. I am always surprised by how many there are.

 

I have the same general understanding of the status of the APU exemption. Based on this thread, I checked my permit book. I do have a statement, a memo written by Thermo King stating that the unit in this truck complies with the APU exemption. It is written in a way to explain to the reader that a 400lb exemption should be given based on an energy bill that was signed by G.W.Bush. it sights the section of the law.

I have never knowing rolled with an overweight load, this exemption is something I would pull out of my pocket only as a last resort if it looked like an officer was about to start writing. My advice to anyone out there, don't depend on it, try not to use it at all. I never want to get yanked out of a weigh station line, give an officer any reason, like being overweight to start looking more closely at my equipment, my logs, my records, etc. in the first place. However, if I up against the wall, it may be something to mention, if needed to try to help your case if you are caught < 400 lbs overweight.

Good tip about the weather webcams, I never thought about it. I will start to search them out as old man winter is coming up the walk way. Thanks!

 

my load was actually all my fault
I was full of fuel
and first weigh the drives were 35600
when I ran the tandems all the way forward was still 34800
way I was going first scale was down in ten from Baltimore
so I ran down to ten border still 34600
called David Cole we talked about it discussed different alternate routes
decided to drive up and down I81 until I was down to 34400
been over 4 scales since never more then 3/8 of a tank
green lighted since
so I wasted time and fuel all on me being a lease op
by being too lazy to go back to shipper
because I would have to wait until the next morning............sigh

 

Wow....that's a big difference.

 

Hello All,
Well I have been lurking around for awhile reading your posts, they have been most informative. I want to thank each of you for your input into this thread because I feel like I have made an informative decision. I start orientation on October 9th in Rockwall. I am looking forward to becoming part of the Trans Am family. Just wanted to say hi and thanks again for all the information you post!! See ya round,,,,Rumblestrip

 

We always felt like Dave Cole was a big plus for TransAm. Husband trusted him and valued his word. It was nice to have him go over the situation and discuss what you could do, Pete.

 

Welcome, Rumblestrip. We are happy to have you join us. You are in Rogers, Arkansas? That's not too far from me ....I am northwest of Springfield, MO about 30 miles. You will be in a good area ....my husband picked up many loads at Tyson in Rogers. If we can be of any help to you please let us know. If you've been reading different threads, you know that no one company is perfect for everyone. We have all had our frustrations with TransAm ....and we have tried to turn this thread into one that helps all of us muddle through and make it a workable situation. The blog that I have listed in my signature line is far from complete and I add things as I have time, but hopefully as time goes on it will become a good information source for everyone.....many drivers and former TA drivers have given input.