Diary of a current Swift flatbed driver

schmud0811, I find your posts and photos very interesting. Keep up the good work.

 

Schmud, thanks for starting this thread.

Not trying to hijack it, just wanted to say I just started flatbedding for Swift as well. Only company that would take me on without going back to school after being out of a seat too long. Was supposed to finish up with trainer at Greer, but ended up in Phoenix instead. Was told I'd be able to do all my final testing there (wrong, just the flatbed test), would probably get a '10 truck (wrong, got a '07) and would get a load back towards NC for my home time (wrong, unless you count CT as on the way to NC!). !st load was out of a mine in AZ to Ct, 2500+ miles, Thurs. to Mon. Then I screwed up, accepted a preplan to pick up a coil in PA and T-call it at Greer and then realized I was a couple of hours short of being able to do it on time. So they re-powered that, I got a 34 re-start in Jessup MD, then yesterday picked up a load of trailers (for generators) that delivers Monday in SC. So it's been 9 weeks since I've been home, technically I'm owed 8 days off, but have a feeling I'll have to fight for them.

As for Laredo, It's not the greatest, but I think Gary is worse. And I like the shower facilities at Laredo better, even better than Phoenix.

 

"Maybe they think swift trucks are so slow they can go back in time!!"

HAHAHAHAHA 197,000 points and a trip to the bonus round for schmud0811 who made me snort coffee out my nose. The best line on these threads in recent history.

I really enjoy your posts. I am thinking about flatbedding when I come back to Swift. I am in the process of losing weight and know a more active lifestyle would be better for me than dry van hauling.

Thanks for the laugh and for keeping us informed on your journey.

 

Hey, be sure to follow the proper procedure to pay for the hotel room. I never had any problem getting reimbursed on scale tickets and toll receipts, but apparently turning in receipts with your driver code & trip # isn't good enough when "company" advances on fuel card is involved.

I ended up paying for hotel rooms when the truck broke down, and one time, I had a van load and had to pay lumpers on the spot with a Comcheck at some food DC in SLC, UT.

Each time, payroll put money on Comdata as company advances (and I used an appropriate Macro on Q-comm for lumper deal), but they were deducted as personal advances on my paychecks.

Nobody could really tell me (or maybe wasn't willing to tell me) what had to be done to get reimbursement on those expenses. The best I could do was to use them as tax deduction.

 

Hope schmud's Ok. Me, got my home time without any issues, just had to clean out my truck (standard thing for more than 4 days home time), but I gave it to the shop with a list of items to fix and when I got back last Friday, it was sitting on the ready line, so I'm back in the same truck. So get a load from Huger SC to Des Moines Iowa, for Mon. del. get here and deliver, but there's a howling coming from the engine, and the Protect Engine light keeps coming on. What the ####? So I macro On Road, they tell me to get it checked out, but that the FL dealer is closed for the July 4 holiday. So I camp at Bosselman's for the afternnon and night, and am at FL 1st thing Tuesday AM. Guess what, they were open on Monday!
Anyway, howling is a air leak from air dryer box, and EGR valve is shot. Leak is fixed, but they have to order the valve, will get it on Wed. So off to a motel. Today, Wed., I go over and wait, only to be told that the part didn't come in, probably tomorrow. So here I sit in a motel room again. This bites!

Worst part is that paying for a motel room means having to get an advance, then turning in the receipt for reimbursement. There goes next weeks pay check, till they pay me back.

Ah yes, the joys of OTR