Be "On Time"

Get real man! Look at the downward trend that segment has taken over the years! There are a few in that segment who are still professional. The vast majority of them are warm bodies. Don't even pretend you haven't seen it.

 

I don't particularly care what a person use to do for a job. I do however care about their appearance and that no matter what job they are doing they do it the best they can. Hey, we need people to flip burgers. It's honest work. Just take pride in yourself and your job. If you do that you'll be respected and compensated accordingly. There are more than few pilots out there that are unprofessional. It's a shame.

 

Not everyone will pass a good certified pilot car class. Trust me I have had instructors tell me the horror stories
Plus certain states the vehicle must pass and they get failed also....

 

My favorite pilot would let out know what was coming and the number. Another pilot would call out every little thing including a rag in the left track but when we were on hwy 200 between Sand Point and the Montana border he called out I was meeting another oversized load. I was 140' long and he was 15' wide. Not going to get by each other in the corners on that road, especially since I had a left hand corner.

What he FAILED to tell me was that there were 4 more behind the first.

I don't give a #### about a rag in the road but I need to know about the wide loads.

 

I always tell them to watch my blinkers and grab the lane if getting over. Then I usually have to wake them up on the radio.

 

I've had a few like that, #### gets old fast. I get a lot that ask what I want called out. I'm well, it's kinda your job to know what I need called out. I don't need to know if there is a car passing.( unless you see my blinker coming on) i do need to know if another big one is coming!

 

My rear pilot was worse. She did not see the S10 Blazer get so close to taking out the beam dolly that they broke the dowel on my corner flag.

 

Forgive my ignorance, hauling cars rarely (ever? LOL) requires a pilot car so I'm not really in my area of experience so write the following out of not knowing any better.......

After reading this thread, I'm just wondering out loud here but...

And this would apply especially for you OOs...

You bought a truck and pay all sorts of bills to run your company. Would it make sense to also find someone to hire perminently to work just for you?

To have them and their vehicle always there, always under your control. Their job becomes more than just pilot car driver, they are assisting in loading/unloading, maintenance send ahead to scouts routes, carry spare parts and tools in their vehicle.

Same person and vehicle every time all the time. You train and equip them the way you feel it needs to be done.

Would that be an option?

 

A lot of the big companies do this. As well as the mobile home guys and a few couples. The biggest problem is that you don't need them for every load. It is a practical idea if you are strictly super load and need one for every haul.

 

I guess I shouldn't say a lot of big companies. A lot of companies that do only big, is more accurate