Bulkmatic, as it happens...

Is a see thru trailer to much to ask for?? I mean come on, we put a man on the moon in 69!

 

I know it will (at least I hope it will anyway), just aggravated when I posted that is all. This Dextrose unload just kicked my ###. First 2 hoppers went just as I remembered and my notes said they should, 3rd and 4th were totally different, kept losing pressure every couple minutes. I know what was happening, it was just pushing a small hole all the way down thru as opposed to pushing the whole mass down, but I just wished I could see if what I was doing was helping or not. Took me just under 4 hours to empty the trailer out

Starch load tomorrow so hopefully things will go smoother.

 

I got introduced to the chunks @wbw6cos referred to in the previous post yesterday morning.... oh the joy.

The trouble I had with the 1st dextrose unload was total loss of pressure (trailer and line), this one was pretty much as he described from start to finish. Pressure problems, line sounding like gravel going thru it then nothing, then plugged up the hose going into the silo pipe a few times. It took me so long I didn't make it home last night, ended up about 50 miles short of the yard camped out at a hotel for my 10. At least today was the last 50 miles back to a drop and hook and up to Green Bay with a starch load to a place I had been before, everything went smooth.

If nothing else it is experience, and it looks like I'll be needing it as tomorrow morning I have a Dextrose unload then next week I will be working evenings with a 3 and 11pm dextrose unload at the same place and something else in between.

It's been an interesting week, lots of ups and downs, lots of swearing at myself, a few Oh #### moments but I learned a couple things along the way.

Hopefully next week will go okay, but I did this exact schedule of deliveries for 3 days when I was with my trainer and it was down to the bone time wise even as fast as he is. I can't go nearly that fast so I'm not holding out much hope.

@Steelersjunkie Try this one out for size, don't know if you are into instrumentals or not

 

@Goobr54 Was great to talk yesterday man, stay safe out there and let me know when you are wireless man, it will make the calling easier.

Was working the semi-overnight shift this last week, starting around 2pm and generally finishing close to the end of my 14, except for Friday night into Saturday, when I had to use my 16 hour exception to make it back. Pulled into the rail-yard to drop my empty with 8 minutes left on the 16.... good times.

Mostly dextrose last week (more good times). Was doing 2 deliveries to the same place each day with a really short starch run in between. The dextrose loads themselves aren't really bad, and the folks on each end are nice, but the process at the shipper and receiver are both so time consuming it's enough to make you wanna beat someone upside the head with a pipe wrench. Between that and the fact that these particular loads don't pay well it was just an aggravating week overall.

The biggest thing I've learned on my own so far.... slow is steady, steady is fast.

Well okay, steady may not really be fast, but for me at least it's one and done. My trainer taught me well, and eventually I will probably migrate, at least partially, back to the system of connecting/disconnecting/breaking seals and whatnot that he uses, it really is quick, but for now I just can't do it. Since I don't have the experience yet I was constantly missing one thing or another and having to stop in one step to go back and fix what I just screwed up because his system is based on one bug circle around the truck. I am now doing things one item at a time, which is eating up time but I am not forgetting or missing things anymore. Hook up procedure at the moment for me is now starting at the back of the trailer and doing one thing at a time.... Completely hook up discharge hose from trailer to silo and trays pans for it, move to return vent hose, completely hook up that one, and so on and so forth. Started working from back of trailer to front. On disconnect I go in reverse, from front to back, one item completely done before moving to the next. Way more back and forth movement but I'm much more confident in what I'm doing this way.

Overall, things are starting to come together little by little. The hardest adjustment so far is the hours. Running recaps OTR was way easier days, I did that for 2 months at a stretch without a problem, nice even pace. Totally different animal here doing this.

Every Friday we get our settlement statement, or whatever you would call them. Our work week runs from Sunday to Saturday, then the following Friday you get your statement that lists all the loads you did and what each one paid.

For the week of 6/3 to 6/9 I did 7 loads, 2030 total miles for the week for those loads and grossed $1630. I think I use 66 hours of my 70, so for those of you that break it down that way it turns out to $24.69/hour.

Every load pays differently due to mileage and if you loaded it or not so weeks will vary (this past week I just finished was way more work in a couple hours more and will pay less) but overall I could do worse.

@Steelersjunkie

 

I have devised a sure fire way to avoid ALL traffic when you are coming thru Chicago.

Ask me what highway I am on, whatever one I say I am on, take a different one!!!

I've lost 5 hours in the last 3 days due to being stuck in traffic.