after orientation w/swift

Oh yeah, does swift let you idle the truck for comfort? What kind of equipment do they have?

Dirt Dart, I would like to here more about how your training is going. Please keep us posted. When I get going I will do the same.

 

JWalker,
Well I did not have to do a pretrip on my roadtest. I was told by the mentor doing my roadtest that he does make new folks do them but that he rarely made those who had driven b4 to do them as long as they seem to have a decent head on their shoulders, (Determined on the walk out to the truck in a little Q&A session). I made it a point also to look real hard around and under the truck prior to getting in. I asked about the shift pattern and if he was loaded or empty and how much the load did weigh if any. I asked if the truck had any little quirks I needed to know about and all this b4 he gave me his safety brief.

As far as the break test again that varies on the mentor as I have been told. The mentor I had asked me questions about the break test such as At what preasure should the alarm sound? I started to answer with "I believe..." he quickly stopped me and said " You can believe anything you want but that doesnt make it so and that will not satisfy the DOT. Either you know the answer to a question or you dont and should say so. Dont guess, KNOW!"

As far as the equipment we are running in... Volvos and freightliners. some old some new. Some nicer than others but most get the job done. They are in the process of replacing a bunch of OLD Freightshakerz and are alos reducing the fleet by 1500 trucks. With the reduction they are also trying to push a bit harder for people to team more. Lets face it the company makes more if the truck is always going, cant really blame them there.

When it comes to idle time, from what I have heard from solo drivers is hat they have a heater that runs when the truck is off so they dont have the need to idle the truck due to cold. Im not sure what they do in the hot months and places as the solo trucks do have an auto shutoff after so long of idle, (Like 5 mins).

My only first hand experiance has been in a team truck which does not have the auto engine off for idle.

I have had no issues with payroll at all. The pay week runs thursday to wednesday and payday is the tuesday following. Easy to setup Deposits to multiple accounts if you so choose and you can change them at will.. All done through a Kiosk at any terminal.

My time in Training has been interesting for many reasons. I have learned a bit and always try to learn more. I feel if your not learning anymore or willing to learn then you should quit this job as you are now becoming one of those super truckers you hear about that knows everything and has done it all and is 1 turn away from going over a cliff because of it.

I have been keeping a blog for friends on myspace. Im not sure if Im allowed to post that info here so if you would like to view that drop me a not and I will send ya a link to it.

I will try and start a weekly deal on here when I get in my own truck and am no longer with a mentor just after the holidays..

Until then.. Be safe folks
More Soon...

 

ok off to do my pretrip and drive to seattle....then back to albany then seattle then albany then maybe someplace different lol you gotta love preplans though..

 

hey boys and girls i would like to ask you somethings about swift becuase i am looking to go to work for them here soon but i still have some ? i would like to ask and the person on the phone has no ideal what their talking about so i'll ask you

are you allowed inverters in your truck (for a lap top)

what is the max speed can the truck do (is it 60mph ,62 mph or is it 90mph)

what is the max avg speed can you log (am i only allowed to travel 550miles in an 11 hrs, can i travel 660 miles in 11 hrs, 682 miles in 11hrs , or can i go 990 miles in 11hrs) if i got a load with enough miles to do that with
what i really what to know is what is the max amout of miles can you long in any 11hr drive time

 

Their policy is the most you can log is 60 MPH but I usually did 61 or 62 and always got away with it.

 

Yes, in fact I am sitting in Flagstaff debating on whether I will idle all night or trust the antigel I poured in the tanks. Terminal said idle, add antigel or do both but just stay warm. I have no problem staying warm as my T2000 has an Esbar heater system in it. Turn it up past midway and you think you are a Christmas goose in the oven.

Swift is really pushing "no-idle" and many trucks have either the Esbar or Webasco heater systems in them. For summertime they say if it is too warm to sleep comfortably then idle. Biggest push right now, besides safety, is customer service. Industry experts say that many companis, inclding some of the so called cream of the crops may go under after the first of the year. One report I heard is that DOT may not renew operating authorities for companies who have been running in the negative operating ratio range. Right now there seems to be a bidding war on freight and companies are undercutting each other to get business.

As drivers we need to understand, if our company goes under, we go under. For too long there has been this us and them mentality in this industry. You see it on here a lot. Professional drivers recognize that it is not them and the company; they realize they are the company. We need to do everything we can to help our compan succeed and that is best done in two ways, run as efficiently and safely as possible and provide the best customer service we can. That good customer service ranges from being on time, acting and dressing professionally, and biting our lip when we want to complain about how a customer doesn' realize how important our schedule is.

I guess I should get off my soapbox. I am enjoying my return to Swift. I have been treated well and my DM has been keeping me busy. In return, I am running as hard as I can, getting to the delivery ahead of time and offering to do what I can to move freight.

 

The real policy is "log it as you do it." In that case averaging is unneccesary and can get you in trouble. As for inverters, they do not allow hard wired inverters.

 

What I love most is the option to receive a text message on the cell telling you you have preplan. I was at our Alb. terminal today after an early morning delivery and by the looks felt I would be there awhile waiting for a load. Next thing I get a text that I had a preplan and the qc hadn't even beeped yet. About three minutes later it showed up on the qc.

 

Paw,
You sittin at my home town.. hahaha.

In fact I got a trip that'll get me there Sunday. Are ya O/O or did you just get lucky to get a Company T2000???

 

Inverters - You better get one that plugs in the cigarette lighter and you better take it out and hide it if you're truck goes in the shop.

Idle time - 20% or less

Logs - Log it as you do it.

Speed - 61.5 MPH unless you're lucky.. If you're lucky.. SHUT UP and enjoy it.. DON'T tell anyone... LoL

Equipment - Volvos, Freightliners, Internationals, Kenworths.

Yeah... I think that covers it.