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

Getting empty in Gordonsville. Got a deadhead move back to Richmond, then Jason gets his own truck. I'll be headed home tonight, then 2 weeks off with 10 days of that floating around the eastern Caribbean. I can't get out of this truck fast enough.

 

Ahhh...home. Left Richmond yesterday morning at 5am, made it to the rest area just north of Cocoa, got up at 3am this morning, got to my delivery at 7:30, was empty in North Miami Beach at 8am and home having breakfast with my wife at 9:15. We sail on Saturday for 10 days around the Islands in the southern Caribbean. The big green truck is put to bed until the 20th.

Jason is now a new solo Abilene driver. He got his truck assignment Tuesday when we got back to the yard. They dispatched me on his load initially but when he got his load assignment we switched. His load to Miami became mine, and my 2 stopper to Tampa became his. I had already left the yard to go load when the switch took place, so I loaded it and came back to the terminal to give it to Jason. Instead of two trucks accumulating 400 miles of deadhead to get the both of us home, it came out to 150 miles, much better on the company.

I'm very proud to say that Jason did a fine job. He had questions and did something I wished a lot of new drivers would do, he made a phone call, in fact, he made a bunch. My job as a trainer is not to just cut trainees loose, it's also to be there as a mentor long after they go solo. Like I tell every trainee I've had, it took me 36 years to gain this wealth of information, I can't give it all to you in 2-3 months, after you go solo, call me with any issues. I don't say this because I think I know everything, but after these 36 years I probably do have the answer.

 

A 2014 Volvo with 300k on the clock, and not a ding, scratch or dent on it.