An old man's career goes flat, Snackbar moves to open deck

Doing a whole week of flatbeding. Nothing as exotic as you guys though. Just stacks of 8 foot aluminum logs. Nice change of pace.

 

Hopefully @supersnackbar is fine with me sharing this. He got a shout out from one of our “top” drivers for how well he padded and tarped his load. This driver is an expert tarper and has done a lot of big ugly loads. No he mostly does legal freight, because he’s sane, unlike the rest of us. I’ll include a few of his pictures. Good job man!

 

Aluminum logs beat wood logs any day.

 

Maybe so. Hard on chainsaws though.

 

Is this the driver that helped me out in Ranch Dominguez the other day? If it is, he complimented my tarp job when he was helping tear it down... I thought he was just being nice to the 'special' kid in the class when he said that (haha )


My wife says she has figured out what my problem is when I say I am taking to long tarping. She says that I am too much of a perfectionist and want everything perfect and will work on it until it is...and after almost 37 years with this goddess, I found out long ago that she is right more often than wrong. So I need to get the tarping job done so that it covers the freight, stays on the freight, and doesn't get torn by the freight, then as I get faster, improve it closer to perfection. When I 1st started at Moore, the first 3 or 4 months lacing up a double drop took me an hour or more. But by the time we were merged with We-lie, I could lace one up as tight as a Marine's bunk in 15-20 min and not work up a sweat, so I WILL get faster.

 

Yes I would think it was. He’s on a dedicated Wichita to Rancho Dominguez I believe. Relatively soft spoken, lots of tattoos. Good guy.

 

Yep, that's him.

 

Just keep in mind falling hurts, I’d rather let the young drivers be speedy tarppers so long as I’m not the one laying on the ground…

 

You tarping those logs? When we would get aluminum logs in, especially in winter, they would be stored outside at the shipper. Loaded, tarped, and then delivered to us, where they would be untarped, unloaded, and stored outside.....

 

Years ago when I drove for Boyd I picked up a big block of granite, the load instructions said load must be tarped. I called dispatch to confirm, “absolutely must be tarped” I was told. So I dutifully tarped this big rock.

I get to the receiver, a small place in the far reaches of Minnesota. I pull in, the owner comes out to greet me, he’s sipping on his coffee just shaking his head. He says “don’t untarp yet I’ll be right back.” This is pre cell phone camera days, he comes back out with a Polaroid camera and snaps pictures, and says “did you tarp that by choice?” I say “no sir, I was told this load absolutely, positively must be tarped.” He laughs and says “ “it’s a freaking rock.”