Good Night From II

im glad I do not have to worry about hunting trailers for over a year now

side note I got a message today that Swift is raising wages again? At that point OTR pay might be higher than what I get with Target, I do not want to go back OTR though and like getting home once a week, we just found a nice house 9 miles from the DC which i already put a deposit and first months rent on and will be moving there in a couple weeks. Will be nice to drive home most nights to sleep in my own bed with the wife. Found the house in Shafter for only $1k a month, same house in Bakersfield we were seeing go for $1500 a month.

 

Thats kinda rediculous. If I was you. I would have printed off a copy of my logs. Requested a copy of the report. Then if they didn't remove it from your DAC. Tell Phoenix you are calling your attorney for a case of defamation of character and slander against you. Pretty sure what they did is the definition of that since your DAC can prevent you from getting another job.

 

Fred Meyers in Vancouver, WA to take a 10+...

My day started at the rest area on I-82 just northwest of Selah, WA (great night's sleep) at 3:00 am, then t-called my load in Sumner and tried to see if they could do my B-service. No chance. Two mechanics on staff and they're busy painting the floors to prepare for an inspection.

The gentleman at the dispatch window with the Scottish brogue was very helpful. Got me in direct contact with Troutdale planners, who got me a load delivering in Tigard tomorrow early a.m., then I'll go to Troutdale for the B-service. Troutdale's shop has always treated me very well.

On the way in to Sumner I stopped at Walmart just off US-18. Doh! One of those Walmarts that have half an aisle of fresh produce. Blueberries past consideration for consuming, etc. That's why I stopped at Fred Meyers here, it's what a Walmart SHOULD be.

 

The auburn, walmart might as well put a Petro sign up. Being next to a theater is nice, but the abundance of trucks attempting to park makes the place a madhouse at night.

 

Good to know, that was my original "Plan B" this early a.m. Glad I got to this Fred Meyer. MUCH better produce. They actually don't leave stuff on the shelf that is past its expiration date.

On that note I did a reefer load with multiple stops for Walmart a few weeks ago in D/FW area (the night of the big ice storm). In spite of BIG signs inside every receiving area regarding procedures for receiving reefer load I NEVER saw them check the temperature per the procedures. Not once. On top of that they left many pallets out in the warm warehouse area for over 30 minutes as they pulled pallets to get back to their pallets. Pallet falls over and spills the produce? Pick up and save everything that didn't actually touch the floor, never mind wearing plastic gloves.

If it ain't pre sealed in a container, like organic salad, or in a "nature wrapper" like bananas or oranges, I'm not buying it at Walmart anymore.

 

Nephi, UT at the Flying J. Picked up a can load from Crown Cork & Seal last night which delivers Monday @ 4:00 PM. Plenty of time so taking my time.

 

At the service plaza east of Lawrence, KS. Ran out of time to get to Edwardsville. No great tragedy, I really try to avoid the terminals. I did get some good news this week, first they canceled the over priced insurance I signed up for like a rookie idiot (which I fully can be). Also Swift has agreed that I qualify for a lease ... though for some reason I find myself questioning whether or not I qualified because of my driving and customer service or if I just managed to get through six months with out hitting anything or causing trouble. Who knows.

Any advice for a new leasee? (Please, if your going to reply with "don't do it", well, don't do it. Lol.)

 

Matthews, MO at TA.

I got the truck into the shop here to check out the batteries, but they all checked out good.
I'm at a loss as to why the cab power is shutting off after several minutes of shutting down.
All they could think of was to wire brush the terminals and other connecting parts, but I think that was also done in Salt Lake a couple weeks ago.

I'm playing it safe by idling as I cook dinner. I'll shut it down for the night however, and see what happens.
I'm cooking the last of the food that might go bad if the cooler gets too warm when the power shuts off.

Still having problems with my air compressor, even after the Salt Lake shop replaced the governor.
At idle it won't kick in, so I slowly lose air pressure until the alarm goes off. I've had little sleep in the past couple days because I have to get up to rev up the engine to get the compressor working about every hour or so.

Tonight I'm shutting it down to get some good sleep.
If the power is shut off I'll just have to replace the milk when I hit Walmart tomorrow.
It is not too warm and humid or too damp and cold tonight, lucky for me.

 

How much experience do you have running a business?
Are you fully aware of ALL the expenses that you will deal with?

I'm not saying don't do it, but I'm wondering how prepared you are.

 

My business experience includes a decade of management & training in retail and industrial settings, plus a music business degree. Plus my uncles were both owner ops and I spent a few summers helping them as a summer job back in the 80's. The setup is simple. My wife and I already live on the truck, so home time needs are moot. We'll probably take mini breaks in the form of 34's as needed. Otherwise, we're committed to running our butts off and stopping only for a couple days during the slower seasons. As to expenses I understand most of it, not too many surprises there. The plan is to come out owning the truck eventually.