My RBX journey Strafford MO

This last picture really Ticked me off and made my wife cry. I was taking a load a while back from Springfield to Tulsa then back to Springfield. I picked up my wife sense it was a short trip. As we were leaving Tulsa we crested a long hill. Anyone could see the construction going on. It was a mile away. Everyone could see all the brake lights lite up on close to 200 cars and trucks. Traffic was sitting still. The edit Truck Driver with the red circle I drew around it. He or She had rear ended a family in a small SUV. The SUV which you can't see is on the front right side of the Trucker. We seen it as we passed the crash. We prayed everyone was all right but looking at it we just got that feeling that the family was either all in ICU or in Heaven. The item circled in yellow. That's a baby stroller, next to it was a teddy bear and some baby cloths laying on the asphalt. The Trucker wasn't paying attention because I looked for skid marks and they appeared to have started after the SUV was hit.

 

I would like to do a full update but it's almost 16:00 and I about to go to bed. Waking up extremely early tomorrow. I dead headed, paid of course from South Miami to South Carolina 628 miles, for a drop and hook and taking this load up to Indiana, 733 miles. Picked up Saturday afternoon and delivering it in the morning. So, at this time I'm just going the answer the questions asked and do an update later along some pictures.

1. No APU's. There is a bunk heater used for heating the cab/bunk and it works very well. We idle in the winter if it gets below 20 degree's, that's to prevent the fuel and DEF from freezing. Idling in the summer? Yes, when its hot I idle.
2. Most all trucks have a refrigerator in them and every new truck comes with one. There are a few that don't. If it doesn't I guess you could ask for one to be installed however if its a truck that is close to 3 years old I doubt they would put one in it due to the fact it would be getting close to being sold and replaced with a new one. A friend of mine had a truck last year, he bought a refrigerator from the Freightliner dealership and had them install it. Why he bought it I have no clue. I wouldn't. My cooler was just fine.
3. The inverter is a cobra, 1,500 watt continuous with 3,000 watt max output.
4. Yes we run e-logs. I would not want to ever go back to paper again.
5. We use pre-pass for weight station's as well as all tolls except Florida. I was told that sometime this December Florida well be added to the pre-pass. I just delivered a load to south Miami this past Friday from Wichita KS. I took the Florida Turnpike. Cost 60,00 plus dollars.
6. Fuel is purchased using a company comdata card and all scales are reimbursed on your following pay check.
Hope this helps. Safe travel's to everyone.

 

Update Time: RBX has been really good to me. If you remember last year I ended up taking off almost 3 weeks because of some issues that required my attention at home. Well last Friday I came by the house and left out Saturday morning. Drove up to Effingham, IL. Sunday morning at 04:30 my wife calls me and tells my daughter was taken by ambulance to the E.R. She then was rushed into emergency surgery. I sent a message to the weekend dispatch about the issue. I then called him and asked If there were any drivers in my area I could switch loads with. No one was close to my location so he told me to just bring the load back to Springfield and he would find a driver to take the load up to Indy. Within 3 minutes I had received my new messages and headed back to the yard. My daughter is doing fine. The Doctors let her come home for Thanksgiving as long as we keep her in the bed, Bed rest was part of the deal she had to agree to or they were going to keep her until Friday. I was planning on calling my Fleet Manager to see if I could head back out Friday or Saturday but I decided to wait until Monday to head out. I'll explain in a minute. Let me jump back a few of weeks. I was in South Carolina and my wife had called me. Told me she was at work and cut off the tip of her thumb with a meat slicer. She sounded fine on the phone so I asked her how bad it was. She said not bad, the girls found the tip of my thumb and put it in a plastic baggie for me. I said you've got to be joking right. She said no, heading to the E.R. as we speak. I asked her If she needed my to come home and she told me no that she was fine and our daughter can help her out. So this leads back to why I'm know waiting until Monday to go back out. Wife is not sa-post to put her hand in dish water, use a mop or give our grandchildren their baths for a few weeks. My daughter can no longer do it right know so I've been slaving away since I've been home. I don't mind doing all the house work while she plays maid to my daughter, LOL. I will tell ya this much, when your in your fifties and your trying to keep up with a 4 and 6 year old, coffee and Monster drinks do help some.

Know for my road update. I've been putting in quite a few miles. I've been here 20 months know and have only done 3 resets out on the road. My load book is in my truck so I can't list every location I've been to or the miles I've ran. The week before last I went to Tyler TX, then Queen City TX to South Carolina then back to Texas and again back to the Carolinas then Oklahoma then home. I track all my Empty and loaded miles every week. Then When I pick up my pay statement I compare what I have to my statement and its always identical. This tells me that the lady in the payroll office is doing a great job.

I sometimes go fishing when I'm out on the road. If your wondering how in the world I find the time to stop and do some fishing. Its called time management on my part. If I'm going into Okla. and its a drop and hook on a Monday morning, well, I keep my left door shut and try to roll in there Sunday afternoon, then take an hour or two of down time at a small lake. I found a couple of other places to fish, Kansas, Mississippi, Georgia. I was in contact with the Department of Game and Fish for KS and MISS about the laws/regulations so I'm legal. I'll continue with it this spring. If I have a load going to Georgia I normally call and get my fuel route change in order to take highway 78 to I-20. That way I can visit my family in GA and If I have the time I'll have them come pick me up and go to the stock car races to watch my brother-in-law go around in circles.



This is OKLA fishing. Had a few hits but it was actually to hot that day.



Spending the night on a farm in Ohio.

Everyone be safe, enjoy your travels and enjoy your family day tomorrow.

 

Yes ma'am, I'm still with RBX. Wife and daughter are fine, thank you for asking. I just finished my 2 year review this morning. Received another raise. Just finished unloading here in Oklahoma and heading over to Missouri to pick up a load going to Mississippi.

 

I'm in Baldwin FL right know waiting for a load assignment. My last post was rushed. I was trip planning and my light was green as well as writing out a com data check. I'm glad you liked the thread. We haul quite a few loads to Florida. Last year I picked up a new driver here in Florida and took him to the yard in Springfield. Beats a bus ride I think. Well keep me updated on your status with RBX. I'm sure you'll find them one of the better small companies out here.

 

I'm not sure. A driver had told me that he thought they had a couple of team working for the company. That was over a year ago. If you call you can always ask for Mr Peavy, he's in charge of nearly everything that has to do with Drivers, Fleet Managers and the Load Planners and would be glad to take your call. He's the individual I would direct that question to.