ATS/school

Well sports fans, I got into Gary early in the am, just as they were closing. Good, I thought. Don't have to go through the safety lane and can get my chains and tarps in the am and still make an early delivery. Nope. Had to go through this morning and they put my trailer out of service until they did its yearly inspection and fixed a few lights. They also found a few problems with the truck. Fuel filter full, oil leak, broken hood mirror. So I told them about the cruise not working and the tractor ABS light being on. I didn't get the truck out of service until almost 5pm. And then they realized that they were supposed to fix the trailer too! Apparently the guy checking me into the safety lane marked the trailer as empty so they didn't even know to fix it right away. It's now 730pm, still no trailer. At least i'll get a reset in today. I'll leave very early am, if the trailer is ready. They are hunting down an electrical problem! By the way, yes, I did just get the fuel filters replaced in Bangor. I was told the new ultra low sulfer diesel is plugging the fuel filters much faster.As many as 3 changes were one used to be. That could get real frustrating!

 

well I finally got the trailer back, at 1145pm! Set out in the am for the delivery, made it no problem. I even got my next load fairly quickly. I'm hauling insulated steel pipe again. So I had tohead back to Joliet, couldn't make it before the shippers yard closed so back to Gary. Oh yeah, the trailers lights are messed up again! No left turn signals. Ok, look guys, I say. All I need is a quick fix so I can drop the trailer at the shipper for a pre-loaded on. You can get it back from them. No luck. Got it back at 1130pm this time. They also had to replace some of the decking. I know that they are only doing their job, but to lose sleep two nights in a row for one lowsey trailer?! Geeesh. And now back to the good news. The load is going to ......drum roll please.....Brooklyn, New York! Oh boy! Well it had to happen sooner or later. It won't be that bad, aside from all the #### tolls! I got that I-pass to help, then found out it didn't work in OH,or IN. Well it should work for the NY ones though. There are supposed to be 4 of us delivering. Im running with another driver who actually works for ATS as a Northeast Regional driver so he knows the way pretty good. I won't lie to you, I like that. I'm not TOTALLY on my own. We left before the other drivers showed up so don't know how close we all will be. Probably pretty close since there are supposed to be riggers involved. We are trying to get some decent directions from the consignee. He told us today just to call him around 7am. Problem is we told him we were planning on coming into the city around 5am to avoid as much traffic as possible, and couldn't just pull over anywhere and wait for him. So he says "ok, just call me at 7"?? Hello! Are you paying attention? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH? (sorry, couldn't resist) We called our FM's to have them get with customer service and get some answers. I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I have to redo an old log, Can you believe I have to do it because I logged fueling 2 minutes off? Fueled at 1017pm, logged from 10-1015. Even my FM thought that was crazy! Good night all!

 

So we head out early am for the big apple. We never did hear back from the consignee or dispatch. So after a little work on Streets and Trips(remember the other driver knew NY so truck routes weren't an issue) we figured we had to be close. Things are going pretty smooth. We try calling the cons. at 7am, just like he said to, no answer. GRRRRRR. We also got a little lost, actually just missed the turn. I said that I thought the map had shown that Rockaway Ave turned into Rockaway Pkwy., but the other driver said that shouldn't be. Well I was right. Go figure! Finally get a hold of cons., he says "don't go past Seaview", ok, so now what? Just stop right in the middle of the street with two trucks each with 53' trailers? So we pull over, just past Seaview, the first place to do so. You got it, had to make a u turn. To those of you who haven't had the pleasure of NY, some of the streets aren't made for trucks, let alone trucks making u-turns. Thank God the people were cool about the whole thing. And so were the three traffic cops that we did it in front of. Not even a word. Well we finally get around the block to where they want to unload us. Of course we had to double park, no big deal. But 4 trucks and trailers take up a LOT of a street. But that really wasn't going to be a problem. They only had one SMALL, and I mean SMALL, back hoe to unload us. The thing could barely lift the 40' sections of pipe. And it had to do it one piece at a time. Then carry the pipe about 150 yards to set it down and come back for the next piece. After over 4 hours, one truck was unloaded. Oh yeah, the local "work force" came by to hassle the contractor for not hiring their "boys" instead of the guys he had. A little shouting, some threats, the police called, nice NY welcome! Then I get a mess. from my FM to switch trailers with the first driver and head back to NJ to get a load for a big customer and head for CA. Cool I thought(I'd much,much,much, rather run the West coast than East, tolls drive me nuts!) Then I hit trafic after the Verizano Bridge. This Midwest boy thought it was about the single biggest cluster f*** he had EVER seen! All those lanes converging into 4 in about 100 yards(at least thats what it seems like). I moved maybe 50 yards in an hour. So I lost that load. Couldn't possibly make it south of Jersey by three when I wasn't even out of NY then! So I spent the rest of the day waiting for the next avail. load. I'm going up to New Holland,PA for a 4 stop trip that ends in Tulsa. Comes out to about half the miles as the CA trip. So I survived my first trip to NY. Don't care if I never go back. No offense to anyone who likes the big city, I just never have liked cities. Much happier in the country! But I can say I did it. And other than being a bit overwhelming, not as bad as I feared it might be. Yeah I know, I wasn't alone, but close enough for me. I really need to get some sleep folks so take care and hope you enjoyed my "adventure".

 

Well I'm sitting at a J in OH, can't deliver the first part of the load until monday am. I guess i'll get another reset. I found out Friday am that I finally got bumped to my new Fleet Manager. I sure hope she is going to keep me running like the first guy did. He set the bar pretty high though. She doesnt appear on my list of FM's, so maybe she's new? That may be good or bad, depends on how much experiance she comes in with and how much money she wants to make. I want to make as much as poss., so I'll hope for the best!

 

Ok, so I picked-up 4 balers. Two square and two round. They took some thought to secure. New Holland is VERRRRY particular about padding. To make a long story shorter, I got all 4 delivered ahead of schedule. My reward was to head to Wichita, to the Case/New holland plant. No, not more balers, skid-steers this time. Another 4 stop load. And it was a live load. That took longer than it should have. I was there early but wasn't loaded until almost 2pm. No way I was going to make it all the way to DFW before the place closed at 430. I didn't think that was such a big deal, until I was told by the last 2 stops they were'nt open on the weekends! So I set off early this morning determined to at least get the Dallas and Houston stops off. I got to the first early and they were willing to unload me. Only problem was it was a dock at the back of the building that was meant for straight trucks! After moving several pieces of equipment, I got it in. Unloaded and headed for Houston, fully expecting the dreaded Dallas morning traffic. I must have timed it perfect, no problem at all, made good time. Houston sucks! All that constant lane shifting. Well that delivery went REALLY well, pulled in one entrance, they rolled out a portable dock, done. Pull out the other gate and move on. I actually was able to make it all the way to Beeville for stop #3. Just got there before they left. Head out tomorrow for the final stop in Brownsville. I'm already trying to get the next load so I can move on the weekend. There really isnt much down here. Besides I am supposed to be heading towards home for some family time. We'll see what happens. So far I have impressed the new FM, got both runs done on time or early, despite some obstacles.Well now I have to go pre-register for the new TWIC card we all will need to get into ports. Stay safe all!

 

So I ended up sitting in our Laredo yard all weekend waiting for someone to find me the RGN that was supposedly there. Ya, lost that load. The only RGN's in the yard were loaded. And no-one around til Monday. So I got a diff. load late Monday morning. Hauled steam tubes up to a power plant in MO. Ran w/ another ATS driver. Nice guy, been there 8 years, but by the time I unloaded I had had enough! Never stopped talking! And VEEERRRRYYY indecisive. He didn't really want to run hard bacause he wasn't "for certain" that they would take us early. Even tho I had called the cons., twice. I then got told to switch trailers with him, he had a 48' flat, I had a 53' step, and head to Gary,IN. Was going to pick up a load of steel for a new customer, heading to Eau Claire. Nice and close to home, just in time for some much needed hometime. There was some big concern that I would be too heavy for the load. Of course customer service was gone for the day, so we weren't sure if I was actually getting 46,000lbs or if the number was rounded up. That and the other driver wouldn't change trailers until he was CERRRRTAIN that this was REEEEALLLY what his FM wanted him to do. Because he "never really said it was you I was to trade with, just another driver". Even tho we were the only ATS drivers in the whole truck stop! Well we finally switched, and then he followed me up to Gary! ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!! We could have had this done a long time ago! Well it turns out he wasn't supposed to come to Gary, he took it on himself to come and try for his physical. Lets just say I now understand why he isn't able to pay his cell phone bill! I thought only newbies liked to keep it to 300 miles a day? I don't think he expected me to push for 550-650 a day. Well I finally got to the shipper and its a good thing I switched to a 48'er, loaded 45,900lbs of flat steel bars. Then headed for Eau Claire. After driving around for an hour trying to find a street that wasn't on any map or comp. program, I found them. Now the fun part. Had to back down the side of the building, into the building, through the first building into a second one to get unloaded. Only problem, there was only about 10' to manuever. There was a hill that had been cut back on the drivers side, with 4' high concrete barricades holding the hill back, sort of. And two rows of pallets piled to the top of the building all the way back, on the pass. side. Of course the door to back into was offset, not straight back, and then you had to get back over because there were rows of shelving all the way down. Think of backing down a Home Depot isle, complete with all the crap in the isle! I made it, but took a few pull-ups. Then the closer I get to home the worse the weather gets! The older I get the more I wonder why I live in this state! Home now for a few days, need to get the TWIC card Monday and do some safety stuff on Tuesday. Not sure if i'll be under a load Tues. nite or Wed. I'll update later, stay safe,and remember summer IS coming, eventually, right?

 

Ktea, is he a O/O,L/O, or company driver? Glad some enjoy this thread! Well I missed the safety meeting on Tues., forgot the bridge was closed. That and I waited too long, hoping to say good-bye to the kids. Three of them had some state test to take. Oh well, they'll just have to get me home for another one! I picked up a trailer out at West, another RGN, and headed to Fridley for a big generator. This thing looks heavier than it is. Comes in at 24,110lbs. But its almost 13' tall, thus the double drop. This makes the third or fourth time i've pulled an RGN and know what? I won't be taking this one apart either! I know, that will come, careful what you ask for and all that. I'm just dropping the whole set-up in San Diego, then bobtailling up to Fontana to get a diff. trailer. Well at least that was the plan last time I heard from anyone. Me thinks my new FM hits the door at 5:01pm. I told her that everything was confirmed with the cons. for me to deliv. early, on Sat.. Even though they usually don't take deliveries on Sat., but since i'm only dropping they are making an exception. Hopefully I didn't bust butt for nothing! Guess i'll find out tomorrow. I WAS hoping to get under another load and get out of this state this weekend. Ok, getting another load on the pay check would be nice too! Sitting in Fontana now, heading out in the morning to deliver. I'll update you tomorrow, unless I get a load right away! Well I can dream can't I? I have heard the horror stories about loads when your FM isn't around.