Good Night From II

Thorntons in Lincoln, IL. Found out that have a nice window on my delivery so decided to take my time since my next load is a preloaded trailer also that can not deliver near home until after 1201 on Tuesday. Target load.

 

Buffalo, WY. Just finished a steak at The Bozeman Trail Steak House, well worth the walk from the tiny little truck stop.

 

home sweet home for 3 nights and then hit it again for another month and back home and then hit again before next flight to the Philippines in November

 

North Bend, WA at the prettiest truck stop I've ever seen. Was less than 2 hours from final in Fife when I got a message rescheduling it for tomorrow @ 0700.

Oh, and when I got here at 1300 the place was nearly full.

 

At the house in Houston.

Finished my run from Nephi, UT to Humble, TX last Friday and went on home time for the weekend.

I've had several discussions with my DM and Terminal Mgr over the past month or so regarding regional home on the weekend type accounts out of this area and they all pretty much sucked for one reason or another.

I gave Swift my notice of leaving last week and cleaned out my truck and turned in the keys yesterday morning. I was told the door would remain open should I desire to return any time in the future but I really don't see myself returning.

After 4.5 years I'm burned out on OTR and being away from family so much plus I have no urge to run up North through another brutal winter.

I'm moving to a southern regional outfit with 5 on & 2 full days off at home each week..plus better benefits.

Y'all take care and be safe!!!!

 

HousTank, sorry to see you go, but I know you've been talking about it for a while so it really comes as no surprise. I wish you the best of luck with your new company and enjoy your family time.

I know what you mean by getting burned out on otr. I've been with Swift for 5 1/2 years and even though I don't mind going anywhere in the country except the northeast, I really missed being home with the family. It sucked hearing about all the stuff my family was doing and I missed out being stuck out on the road. Then I signed up for GLR and .....things haven't changed a whole lot. Lol. GLR is a home weekly Midwest regional account, but sometimes I will choose to stay out two weeks. And I've still missed out on family outings. But the pay is way better than otr.

Anyway, again, good luck to you and don't be a stranger, though I'm sure you won't be able to stay away from this board. It's in your blood. Once a Swifty, always a Swifty. Lol.

 

At the Pilot in Tumwater, WA.

Stacked load curse struck AGAIN!

Was supposed to be enroute to Lathrop (to t-call there) except the customer loaded it on another carrier's trailer.

To the Troutdale planner's credit they quickly planned me on 40K paper load sitting in Sumner going to Sparks. Problem is I BARELY had enough time to make it Lathrop. So between my intense dislike of Reno/Sparks, the weight/route, and lack of time I said no.

 

Loves, just out of KC on I-29.

I've had an interesting couple days.

After delivering to Walmart the other day I'm sent to drop my mt up in Indy.
Then pick up an mt about 15 miles away for my next load, with a comment that I HAD to get that exact trailer number or it would be a service failure.
Of course, that trailer wasn't even there.

So I call a ECT DM who turns out to be very helpful.
He cracks a few jokes and assigns me to the trailer I want, dispatches me and off I go.

Later I get a pplan that is 1 loaded and 1 empty mile, picking up at a Walmart DC and delivering 2 days later at the same location.
I ignore it, figuring they want 'help' on the dedicated. Been there, done that - not again.

A bit later I get stacked with two.
Pick up at Edwardsville terminal and deliver tomorrow morning in Counsel Bluff, then pick up an hour later near Omaha for a load going to CA.
And I thought... IDEAL!
That gives me an easy 2k for the week by early Monday morning, so nearly 3 days to make a very good week.
It routes me through WY to a smoke shop that carries my pipe tobacco, which I'm low on.
It also routes me through Wendover, NV, and that is a place I like for many reasons.
If I'm lucky I can spend a night there. If I'm really lucky I might hit a jackpot.
If not, at least I'll get to enjoy the great buffet at Peppermill - with a great discount for us truckers.

 

Sounds like typical planner BS. They are so worried about "controlling" drivers that they use scare tactics.

I routinely grab the trailer I WANT when they send me to a customer for a specific trailer. Why, because more than 50% of the time the trailer they "assign" isn't there. Or there is a brand new 15 or 16 series trailer sitting next to the POS they sent me to pick up.

 

Thanks for all the informative posts! Personally, I have benefited more from your posts about trucking in general, and of course information specific to Swift than reading every single post on the entire site. Good luck, and let us hear from you about your new endeavor. God speed.