Carpetted dunnage…..

That load must be paying pretty good. Dunnage and carpet and chocks...and buying pipe stakes, and making trips to office max to buy staples...

 

I don't normally haul pipe, but once while in Houston, I got a load going from Houston to Laredo paying near $7/mile.I jumped at it. Even went and bought pipe stakes and dunnage. Had to do the carpet deal and all. Picked up someplace right to the south of Houston (I believe it's Pearland).

^^^^Strewth. That place in Pearland where I went to pick up the fancy pipe has this 4 foot nothing Mexican yard boy they call Shorty. I first noticed him when he came up and stomped on my feet to check and see if I had steel toes on. Things went downhill from there. For some reason, it seems like everyone working there that's not in management is deathly afraid of Shorty. I know for a fact that I can't be the first driver that backed Shorty into a corner and told him his role in the divine scheme.
Have you ever had anyone just walk up to you and stomp your feet? I haven't had anyone piss me off that bad since I quit pulling reefers.

 

I had an issue with a guy named speedy once. He was the only guy in the yard that spoke English, it was new jersey. Its an other story, nothing to do with pipe carpet or chocks. LOL

 

When I load pipe out of Houston we use 6x6 carpeted. Loader forks are real thick. Thicker than a 4x4. Pipe wedges are plastic. I have used wooden ones. Take along a hammer and nails.
FYI you need full ppe . To load.

 

Don't you just love it when one of those "Big fish in a small pond" type guys tries to push you around. I usually try to do what they ask but it won't involve abusing my truck.
I was delivering shingles to a home depo type store one time. I was the last of 3 trucks to pull in overnight. In the morning a forklift screamed up to us and started yelling off the bat to pull in the back one at a time and get your crap ready. Just a arrogant fat boy. I kind of chuckled. He looked at me and talked me down in front of the other two drivers. Then screamed out of there. One of the other guys said he is the yard manager and a prick.
Me quietly thinks okay, "Game on".
I unstrapped and waited my turn.
Finally the guy before me pulls out so in I go.
The trail went strait in and made a hard right around the building. Right at the corner it looked like a dozen pallets had been ran over.
All boards with nails. The other guys ran right through it. I stopped short and was throwing it all to the side when Mr big shot drove up and started chewing my ***.
I told him "I'm not moving till it's cleaned up". He told me that "yes you will". I laughed at him again. He jumped out of the forklift and got in my face and started screaming. I laughed even harder.
Then he told me to back out. He was not accepting my shingles. I told him I would sit in this exact spot and block the entire show for the rest of the day.
He made the mistake of trying to push me.
Things went downhill from there.
I backed him up clear into the building. He was back pedaling as fast as he could and fell on his *** a few times. A crowd of workers gathered around as this was going on. Somebody came out of the office and started hollering. I finally cooled off and explained what was going on. He told another forklift driver to get me unloaded NOW. Then he asked me for my bosses phone #. He made a show of calling it right in front of me. You should have seen the look on his face when I answered my cell phone eye to eye with him. I told him to read my name on the door.
I don't think I had better go back there again.
Deals like this makes self employment worth it.
Every minute of the of day to day , night, weekend, holiday all the extra crap a guy has to do to stay afloat on his own. The not knowing if your going to make it. The fear in your chest trying to make payroll for your guys that depend on you.
The freedom to tell it the way it is is to any arrogant jack*** is priceless.

 

I met shorty in Pearland
He wanted to step on my boots. Too. I said fine then it's my turn. Now when I go there he doesn't pull all that nonsense.