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

Good Luck and Stay Safe!!!

 

Man had a hard time trying to back this boar's head load into the dock in alpharetta, ga. Just poor engineering putting the power box in the way. Could have been worse though I suppose given some of the other boar's head places Ive been to.

 

Shipper they sent me to was an obstacle course to back into.......my backing skills sure got tested today.

 

Mine too. Had to back out onto the highway and then blindside back in and down the drive and around the building into a dock.
Love these broker loads....

 

I have to say that, aside from an unexpected day off on Monday because the planners forgot about me, my past couple of weeks have been smooth and uneventful.

Load of margarine from Richmond to Chicago.
Load of guacamole + pretzels snack cups from Grand Rapids to Richmond.
Load of printers and toner cartridges from Richmond to NE Connecticut.
Load of printed paper products from Bayonne to Richmond.
Load of vitamins from Richmond to Columbus.
Bobtail to Cincinnati to pick up an empty dry van.
Deadhead to Nashville.
Load of printers from Nashville to Richmond.
Day of layover.
Load of vacuum cleaners from Richmond to Carlisle, PA.
Load of Gatorade from Mountain Top, PA to Wytheville.

I mention this just so things don't get too doom-and-gloom around here. We like to grouse, but only because days where everything goes smoothly don't make for entertaining trucker stories.

 

Are Abilene trucks outfitted with the lane departure, blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control systems. If so, how do you like them?

 

Pretty much all trucks are equipped with this stuff now. It is ########, but something you have to deal with if you want to work in this industry.

Our 21 Volvo would see overpasses as a threat and slam on the brakes momentarily. Usually when we were heading downhill.

Sometimes it would see vehicles in another lane, and jam the brakes suddenly.

If this is the technology they are using for self driving trucks, they have a long way to go.

 

I’m aware of it fully. I have been driving entertainer coach tour buses outfitted with all the latest technology til this coronavirus shut our industry down. I know all about the sudden braking and other surprises that it presents. Was just curious if their trucks had it. I figured they would. I’ll be starting at Abilene in a few weeks. Was supposed to start next week but my wife hurt her back at work and is going through physical therapy and I’m going to help her out til the end of this month. I hope to get started the first week in November. I’m anxious and looking forward to working at Abilene. They seem to have a lot of good drivers and they seem to take good care of them.

 

They are less annoying than I thought they'd be.

The lane nanny I have not deciphered at all. All I know is that if I activate my passenger-side blinker, the lane nanny beeps at me. Whether there's a car over there or not. If I activate my 4-ways, the lane nanny beeps at me. Whether there's a car over there or not.

If it is trying to send me some kind of message about the status of my blind spot, I have not figured out what that message is.

The collision detection doesn't bug me too much because I prefer a fair amount of following distance. Mine will occasionally go off due to vehicles in the next lane if I'm going through a curve and they're ahead of me. Never had it beep at me because of a bridge pylon.

 

It’s all in if the sensors are set up correctly. Of the 2 loaner trucks I’ve had the last couple times my POS Mack has been in the shop, the 1st lane departure sensor would go off constantly if I was sitting still next to something. This one is actually set correctly and is silent when parked. It will let me know something is beside me (street lamp, trees, cars, etc) when I have my t/s or 4-ways on. It is a bit of a distraction if you’re not used to it (thankfully - I guess - the Mack doesn’t have all that). I can say I’m loving this Volvo I’m in now, but I know it is only a loaner. I asked George in the body shop for a new seat, fix the seat belt, and the passenger mirror defrost. Nothing too bad, but the seat is awful and I would have a headache (or a backache all the way from my shoulders up) every day when driving it. Was told he is the only person down there now and it’ll be a minute before he can get to it.