Indian River

I just logged on here and saw this. That’s cool you got out of the truck. Hope everything works out with your new job. I’m still at IRT, still happy here. I hear you on the Winter storms. I chained up 3 times in 1 week this past month. I was going up Cow Canyon on 97 in Oregon and my truck spun out about half way up. I was loaded, headed to Spokane. Had to get out and put chains on right there in the highway in order to finish the climb.
Take care and don’t be a stranger.

 

Still going strong at IRT. When “bigcat1124” left the company, the daily #### chat on here kind of fizzled out. But, I’m still here and everything is still going good. The new truck they gave me in November of 2017 now has 220,996 miles on it... I think I got it the final week of that November (can’t recall the day). So that would be just a little over 18 months ago to give you an idea on average miles.

I know some drivers who turn more, but they’re on a 320 each direction dedicated run in Kansas where they drop/hook on both ends and never really have to wait on a tank wash, so that’s not a good apples-to-apples comparison.

I do well with the miles I get as an OTR driver and they keep me running. 2 and 1/2 years into the job and they still leave me alone, don’t micromanage me, and are easy going when I take home-time.

I still spend a lot of time running the West Coast. That’s always been my personal preference. We use a new tank wash in Sunnyside, WA now where it’s a drop/hook. Although, I still see some IRT trucks at the one in Prosser from time to time when I’m going up the hill. Tropicana in Industry, CA (LA) has gotten quicker with the unloads it seems like. They brought in a big boss several months ago to help straighten up some of the flaws in Clovis. I met him a few times. He seemed like a pretty good guy, and to his credit, Clovis seems a little more organized these days.

Hope you guys are doing okay out there. And Bigcat1124, I hope you’re liking your new job.

Drive safe,
Larry H.

 

It can beat on you from a dead stop through 4th or 5th gear. After that it smooths out. It really depends on the size of tank you’re hooked to and whether or not there’s any airspace left for it to surge in after they load it.

 

It depends on a persons work ethics. Some drivers refuse to go to certain places and are really picky about what loads they do. Some hire on as OTR and then a month or so into the job they start wanting to be home every week. Some will get unloaded at a customer then park at a truck stop without contacting anyone, after which, they complain that they were “left sitting” for a day.

If you accept loads, communicate with dispatch and let them know your ETA 2-4 hours prior to delivering and ask for a preplan so you can keep moving you can run good miles and make money. 55K to 75K would be realistic. The higher end of that comes from some who are on the dedicated account that I spoke of earlier.

 

It’s the best job I’ve had.