From School to Superior Carriers

If you don't get another job before then I would call him back weekly and make sure he has your phone number. Just make sure its not right at the start of a day when they are usually putting out fires. They want career minded people who want to work and IMHO you can't show too much interest. I called my TM pretty much weekly until I had a start date. I always had a reason...Just got my hazmat, wanted to check on my status, Is there anything I need to do. Mostly its about keeping your name in front of them so if they do need someone you will be remembered.

 

2/16-2/20

Started this week out with a short 360 mile snot run from our yard to the WWTP in Baltimore. I decided to sleep at the terminal in Baltimore and headed out about 2:00. I figured that If I introduced myself to the dispatchers there before leaving to deliver my load that I might be more likely to get something out of there. Got there about 10:00PM and shut it down.

The next morning I introduced myself and headed out to deliver my load. I noticed a marker light out on the trailer and since I had a window I had the shop there repair it. I made it to the plant by 9:30 and was finished airing off the load by 1:30. There was nothing coming out of Baltimore so they tank washed me back to High Point. I was glad I ran it the way I did as I was able to get home by 10 PM even though I got stuck in a traffic jam in Durham and had to grab an empty from the tank wash.

On the way back I got my next dispatch. I read the messages real quick. I had a trailer pick up message for 6 AM on Wed 2/18 for one of the N Chicago dedicated runs we do all the time. I made a mistake in that I didn't read the shipment pick up date and assumed it was 2/19. I have done this load a lot and it is usually set up that way.

I left at 8:00 after telling dispatch I would probably be a little late for the loading appointment because of the wreck last night. That was no problem and I was ready to run hard to make it as close as I could. About an hour down the load dispatch called and informed me that I actually didn't load until 2/20. I slowed down, did some truck stop trashing around and am now about 5 miles from my loading point in the morning. I also had another local load added to this one so its really a good thing that I am here early.

Tomorrow I will load at 6 AM, deliver about 70 miles away, go back to the plant and load again for home. It will be a pain in the butt because the 140 round trip is on the toll roads around Chicago. The good thing is that I will be paid hourly from the time I leave the truckstop until I am loaded for home so its more money on this load. Hopefully I will be able to get far enough down the road to get home Saturday. If not it will be a real short day Sunday.

 

2/20-2/22

Got up early and drove the 3 minutes to the plant to load by 6:00 AM. That went great and I was off to make my "local delivery" by 7:45AM. That put me right in the middle of rush hour traffic on I-294 around Chicago. I took I-88 west for about 30 miles as well. It was pretty much stop and go. I got to the consignee about 10:00, scaled, drove to the racks they showed me on the map and set up to back into the hole I thought I was going into. No one was around so I grabbed my paperwork and went inside in search of someone.

When I finally found the right guy he informed me that they had just started their break and he would be with me shortly. I double checked that the hole I was lined up on was the correct one, went back to the truck and backed it into the hole. This one was a pretty tight hole up an asphalt ramp that rose sharply for about 3 feet then sloped downward gradually. You had to have the setup perfect when you went to jack it into the hole. Cut it too sharp and let the tandums drop off the ramp and it would probably roll you. I hit it the first time, got out and looked to make sure and pretty much had the truck lined up where it needed to be when they finally came out to unload me about 45 minutes later. They had me climb up and get a sample out of the dome and vent the tank so they could pump it off. I was headed back towards N Chicago by 1:00PM after a short power nap.

When I got back my trainer was there swapping out the dry bulk load we do a lot. The guy helping him was the same one that was going to load me so I pulled under the rack, walked around front and helped Ed get the trailers swapped. About 30 minutes later they loaded me. It went quicker than the morning and I was on my way out of town by 4:00 or so. traffic was a little better than in the morning and I was able to get to the Petro on I 65 at the 201 with about 30 minutes left on my 14.

I had made it to this truck stop with an empty from our terminal in about 10.5 hours before so I thought I could get home even though I was loaded and would climb mountains slower.

I headed out the next morning about 6:15 and made it home Saturday evening with about 5 minutes of my 11 to spare so I was pretty happy. The load delivered at 6 am Monday but they had me drop it on the yard for a local guy to deliver. I got Sunday and Monday off.

Just got a call from dispatch saying its a little slow and they want me to work local tomorrow. I am delivering another load of the same stuff I pulled in at 6:00 am Tuesday and will probably spot tanks or load waste water the rest of the day. Sleeping in my bed another night is fine with me. They should get me out by Wednesday and at least I will make a few hours Tuesday. No complaints from me. The last month I have been running back up to what I was averaging before the holidays.

 

Yes I am. I feel really blessed to be where I am.

2/24-2/25

Yesterday was as I expected. I left the house about 4 AM, got to the yard about 5 and was on my way to deliver my load by 5:25 or so. The rest of the day was spent picking up empty tanks and bringing them to the yard or spotting them to be loaded at various customers. I also got to live load one at a place I had never been to before. It was a real tight little joint that required a blind side back into the loading rack. I got it in no problem but had to get out and look about 3 times.

This load also had to be weighed at a moving company about 2 miles away and they made you bring the scale ticket back to them before giving you the paperwork. It was sort of downtown with lots of telephone poles and tight right and left turns. I spent more time in the wrong lane than I did in mine. Thank God there wasn't much traffic. Another local driver had been given a choice of loading this tank or doing the Paint tank switch I have talked about before as being such a pain. He chose paint so I got this one. I am glad. It was a different sort of challenge and now I know where another one of our customers is located. I finished my day at about 4PM so I got paid for about 10.5 hours.

My load for Wednesday was to be another N Chicago dedicated run loading Thursday so I figured I would get home for the weekend with a check slightly below my 1000 per week average of late. I was delighted to discover upon returning to the yard that the tank I was to use wasn't empty yet. I was offered a 2500 mile run from the yard out to Carlsbad Ca delivering Monday. This will be a very good week.

 

2/25-2/26

My loadwas sitting on the yard when I got there on Wednesday. I got hooked up and was on my way in about 30 minutes. I ran 500 miles and shut down just past Birmingham Ala at the Petro. There were tons of parking spots even though I pulled in there at 11:00 PM.

I was on my way by 9:30 the next morning with plans to stop in Tyler Texas for the night about 500 miles away. I easily could have run farther but my cousin lives in Tyler and its an opportunity for a non truck stop meal. Then the inevitable happened.

I knew I would eventually experience a truck breakdown under load. Shortly after entering Louisiana on I 20 I remember noticing a strange whirring sound whenever I would start down a hill and let up on the throttle. I thought it was engine noise but all my guages were good so I continued on. Just past Monroe La I stopped for lunch. When I got back to my truck and did a walk around I noticed that my left front inside drive tire was almost bald on one side and the wheels weren't lined up with the rear tandems. Then I walked around to the right side and saw that my inside drive tire was rubbing on the spring mount and had rubbed about an 3/4 inch chunk off.

I called the terminal and the shop guys set me up at a freightliner dealership. Since the tires were not flat I limped the truck back to the shop to save a tow bill. I am now sitting in a hotel hoping to get on the road tomorrow. Fortunately this load has a liberal delivery window on Monday so If I can get repaired I can still make it. I am only about 1600 miles away. Right now I am sitting in a hotel at company expense.

 

Oh yeah I am counting my blessings. For one thing I didn't get stranded on the side of the road. I was in the hotel several hours before I would have shut down for the night. The worse thing that could happen is that the shop can't get me out today and they send another driver to rescue this load. That would be around 3000 miles lost.