Good Night From II

Congrats Marvel on going Platinun!

Tiger

 

Home sweet Home . In a few hours get to talk to one of mine and Innkeepers friends, Mr. Walker. Yesterday the planner said that he was going to have management get a hold of me so we could talk. Went into Target and was never contacted. Oh well. Back otr when return from Vacation. Next time that I post here I will be 7K miles away soaking up the sun and some great food for 3 weeks nd be met at the airport by this lovely lady.

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enjoy your time off bisqueak

 

At a rest area 20 miles west of St Louis on I-70.

Got to my first pickup in Calhoun Ga at 8am to have them tell me the appt was for 2pm..uh oh!!
they were pretty nice about it and gave me door. Part of the load was already staged but it would take a little time to prep the rest. Was ok with me since it was better than waiting till 14:00. Three hours later I was rolling. While I waited I let the CSR know they screwed up the appt time. They wanted to start giving me flack about they were right and the shipper was wrong. Unreal!! They told me I needed to double check blah blah blah. Got fed up and just ignored them.

Crossed into KY on I-24 and got pulled into the weigh station. Everyone else rolled on through but they told me to pull into the Barn for a full on Level I. Oh great!! Another delay on a very tight schedule. An hour later I left with a clean inspection and no violations.

I should make it to my next pickup in Kansas City in the morning with barely 10 minutes to spare. Hopefully they're quick and I can get up to my drop in Omaha for 14:30.

 

Mitchell, SD at what used to be a Pilot and is now a Sinclair. Just finished running I-90 last night from Hardin, MT in pretty amazing conditions for winter... no wind, clear skies, and temperatures were between 40ºF to 58ºF until the last hundred miles or so when they finally dropped to around freezing.

This SHOULD be the day my trainee FINALLY makes 200 hours BTW (behind the wheel). We're running to Illinois and have about 620 miles to final. If he stays true to form he'll milk 7-8 hours BTW and put in another 300-350 mile day and say, "Phew! Boy am I tired!" That's okay, that'll put him over the top. I'll make delivery tonight and will be working on snagging a load to Gary or any other nearby terminal to get him logged off my truck ASAP! If this all works out it will be 48 days to get his 200 hours.

While he's a safe driver, with lots of following distance, etc. I'm very concerned about his ability to deliver loads on time once he's solo. It wouldn't surprise me if he starts racking up service failures. Nor would it surprise me if he shows up at a terminal ######## about not getting enough miles .

After this I'm putting in for home time and run solo back home. I need a break before taking on my next trainee.

 

Just outside Omaha, NE at a Walmart.
And, strange, I have no cell phone signal here (T-Mobile), not even roaming. My Verizon internet is just fine, however.

Aside from iced up roads and several accidents to go around early 'this morning' along I-80 in IL it has been a very nice day.
I lost some time due to the slower speeds, but I still managed to send my Mac 5 one minute before my scheduled delivery time.
And, I wasn't one to slide into the ditch. There were a dozen or so cars and trucks that did - mostly cars.

Day... I mean night. I'm stuck on night shift for the time being, which I dislike. My delivery was set for 0015!
Now I'll be picking up at 2000 about 10 miles away this evening, headed to KY for a 2300 delivery tomorrow night.

I have limited hours coming in the next couple of days. Hopefully I can readjust my schedule back to daytime driving.

 

Once he is on his own he will either sink or swim.
He may sink a bit first, from what you say.

Still, if he wants a paycheck and a job, he will hopefully remember what he was taught by you and make good.

 

It took my husband 55 days to get his 200 hrs. His trainer was LAZY. Only reason he stuck with the guy is he lived nearby and i was 9 months pregnant. After 1 week out the guy had to return for his glasses...then it was hometime...then out again, only to return the following week for a toothache...his dm didnt give him a load for a week. He also never delivered early and would turn down loads until he got one he liked so they would spend days sitting. Plus, he would wake up late or after they went team if my husband was driving during the day he would sit up and chat and then be too tired to drive at night...but, if my husband drove at night he slept the entire time. We was getting $70 paychecks and the guy wouldnt even let him fuel the truck to get shower points. Plus, the guys wife was constantly texting my husband because she thought her husband was cheating on her.

 

Granted, we did have a three day Christmas break and seven days down time when our truck broke down, but this seems like an eternity to me. This trainee has come close to costing me service failures on several JIT loads, and I was tempted to turn them down because of his inability to produce. I ended up driving 65-70% of the miles on any given multi-day run.

On the other hand I was told another trainee in Jurupa Valley was asking for another trainer after spending 34 days on the truck with only 87 hours BTW. That was largely because the trainer works a local dedicated gig and there just aren't that many drive hours available during the day.

My preference is to get a trainee in the truck and not come home or take a 34 until they are finished, typically in 24-32 days. Up till now my trainees have taken pride in putting in hours and running miles. Every one of them were capable of running over 600 miles, some up to 650 miles in a shift on a long haul. This trainee's best day was 505 miles, with a typical "full" day with nothing to do but drive being around 400 miles.

I'm not sure how planners will deal with that. It will be interesting.

 

80 was a mess in IL last night. I know I was taking it slow on it and 55. 55 was even momentarily shut down for a bit. Gotta love freezing rain.