Central Refrigerated Truck Stop II

Man, their fuel stops arent spot on either, they told me to stop at US 71 exit 185 in Peucliar, MO. So im looking for it, and realize there is not 185. Go to pilots website, its exit 167. If you havent noticed, trainer didnt really spend time on trip planning. It was, no time for that, I already know where we are going. Or look in the atlas. We never once looked at the routing in the qualcomm. So this is all pretty new to me. Besides the tests they give us.

 

That's what I thought. I was wondering why a company truck would turn off after 5 minutes. Generally that means it has an opti idle, and you have to set it. The ones without should run forever. And having had na opti idle, I can see why it would be nice, but they suck. I've never had one in a truck that worked right. Start up, shut off, start up again, the blowers might work, shut off, start up, no blowers, run all night. Ugh. So annoying.

 

If you can find a more direct route that won't jeopardize the load and you, you are usually free to take it. Central actually cares more about you hitting the preferred fuel stops than it does the exact route. If that's a faster way to get to the 70, then you can take it. Don't call, don't ask just go.

Here's where you get in trouble: You get your routing. You hit the first fuel stop. Then you see a more direct route, and decide to take it. That route doesn't put you back in line with any of your fuel stops. So you re request fuel routing. You'll get new routing, but that first fuel stop you took will now be non compliant. And, you run the risk of being asked why you're on a totally different route. That's a problem.

What's not a problem is skipping a fuel stop because you have enough fuel to get to the one after. Or taking a slightly different path that put you out at the same place. Or not fuelling, getting on a different highway, and then asking for fuel routing.

We used to pick up in Hershey, and we HATED going the back route, and then across the 80 in PA. So we'd head back out the way we came in, putting us in Carlisle, and then request fuel routing. It would get us fuel in Carlisle, and down the 76, which we preferred. As long as we didn't fuel on the existing routing, we were fine. I once asked fuel and permits about it, and they said if there was a more direct route that didn't put you too far away from the routing, then take it.

For something like your map, just go. Don't ask, just take off and go. That's direct and makes sense, and if you ask, someone will probably tell you no, even though it's perfectly fine. Just check your atlas for any low bridges.

 

Three of the best things I can recommend, if you don't already have them, are an atlas, the truck stop guide (usually a dark blue cover), and The Next Exit. The atlas is good for telling you where low bridges are, and for mapping out routes. Get a laminated one and you can draw on it, last year's $15 model sold at discount works fine. The truck stop guide is good because it gives you exits, and what's available (how much parking, is it pay ot park, do they have a scale or showers or a shop) and the Next Exit shows you the exit number for all viewpoints, weight stations, rest areas, as well as what's at every exit. It also marks all RV parking with red, and while you can't always park a truck where an RV is, it clues you in to WalMarts and other places you can park.

You might want to report your trainer for the crappy trip planning. If he won't help students trip plan, then he's setting them up for a lot of trouble. When he's training, it doesn't matter if he knows how to get there. It matters that you learn it.

 

Yeah, I had that problem in the innertrashional I was in for a while. Cycled twice then would get an error code and run all night but at least the blowers always worked. Had a Volvo a few years ago that always worked flawlessly.

 

Yeah the Petes don't have a clutch safety switch. It's nice except when a student cranks the truck or tries to crank the truck with it in gear.

 

My truck won't start in gear or with the clutch out. Seems like one of the other would suffice. Also, I'm sorry your students don't know how to start a truck.

 

I'm delivering now and picking up at the same cx. The trl will most likely need a washout, and that's a 45 mile round trip. Anybody know if central will cover me on those miles, or am I just sol?

 

have u guys ever been to minooka ,IL the cold store plant. u ever notice they got a central worker there moving trailers and you gotta check in with them any other places have this for central?

 

Got a message over the qualcomm saying "Layover-Mechanical_driver$280" followed by some letters and numbers. Is this my DM hooking me up with some extra cash? Or is this the reserve account thing they talked about in Orientation? If it is my DM getting me some extra money, do I need to do anything with those letters and numbers, or is it all automatic?