Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

It was just about 6 hours before DM finally called to ask if I was empty.

 

Here at Performance Food Group in Richmond on Ranco Rd. I have been here twice before, and it was a hot mess both times. Today doesn't look any different. When I got to the lumper's desk, there were 5 other guys there waiting on their signed bills. They'd been cleared and unloaded and they'd paid their lumper fees, and the only thing they needed to get on the road was a signed BOL. And for reasons surpassing my understanding, the lumpers were having difficulty getting the bills. One guy said he'd been standing there for over an hour, just waiting on a signed BOL.

Last two times I was here, I got two hours of detention. I suspect that today will provide a similar opportunity.

 

We're doing that load quite a bit now, I think. One of our drivers brother is a pretty big wig at the NC plant & he said we had started coming in there a lot.

 

The only problem with this Vegas trip is that I cant getting unlded until tommorrow,and wont have enough time to squeeze in a reset.

Otherwise its hot lol.

 

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Lol tried to post a picture that didn't come thru,me and this technology don't mash well.

115 on the dash.

 

Well, as it turns out, I did not earn detention today at PFG. They finished unloading me with 15 minutes to spare.

Just as I was getting myself ready to pull out of the dock, another Abilene driver knocked on my door. Seems he wanted help backing up.

Okay, sure, I was new once, so I don't mind helping a brother out. And the PFG yard is kinda medium-hard mode. It's not Battery Dantzler or anything, but it's the kind of lot that would've thrown me for a loop when I was fresh out of training. So I hop out of the truck and head towards his.

He's a team driver, and usually his co-driver helps him out. But his co-driver had a family emergency and isn't in the truck at the moment. Also: He used to drive flatbed, so not a lot of opportunities to learn how to back.

Okay, no problem, glad to help. Whatcha need me to do?

Well, turns out that what he wanted me to do was to get in his truck and actually bump the dock for him.

My actual reaction, right here:



I did agree to do it, though. Mainly for the novelty of backing up a truck that wasn't a Volvo. I wanted to see what it was like backing up a Freightliner.

Took me a bit longer than it would've taken in my own truck, but that's to be expected.

He thanked me profusely, I told him he shouldn't be passing up these opportunities to practice his backing, he said he knows, but it saved him 10-15 minutes because it would've taken him approximately forever to do it himself.

In other news the trailer I picked up from Lumber Liquidators, due in the Philly suburbs tomorrow morning at 8:00am, ain't gonna be on time. Two tires were in violation. One of them had the same shape as a stop sign, only with more sides. Mudflap was barely hanging on. Mudflap frame was bent. Door was missing a chain (the yard jockey secured it to the trailer with half a dozen zip ties).

Called the manager of the Lumber Liquidators where it's supposed to be delivered, explained the situation, gave him my phone number, told him to call me in the morning for a status update.

Let it never be said that I don't go the extra mile for our customers.