Directions?

Seems like most of the directions posts are for east coast, or involve lots of backroads. One thing to look at a map and see, oh to get from New haven, CT to Baltimore, MD I just run 95. Another to have someone tell you to avoid nyc and Philly by taking 287 and 295/njtp.

 

I had a friend who called me in tears because his GPS zonked out on him. He said he was at the shipper and couldn't get out. I said " how the hell you get in". A GPS, to me is only a guide. I started driving using a map. What I do now, when I have to deliver or pickup at a new customer, is run the route on GPS then run it on Google and switch to satellite view so I can visually look at the warehouse and surrounding streets. That way I have a visual of where I am going and where the docks are. A GPS routed me once on a 2 lane highway, had me staring at a 9ft bridge. Had to back up almost a quarter mile with a loaded trailer. Lesson learned.
Happy trucking.

 

he said he didn't have a cell phone, NOT that there were no phones back then.

we used a pay phone.

such an angry young pup.

 

You said it was in Hayward.


Let me sum up this entire thread with a few quotes in chronological order:
"I don't know how you young whippersnappers manage these days. When I was young, we didn't even have women!"
-Adam

"I don't know how you young whippersnappers manage these days. When I was young, we dragged our freight everywhere!"
-Anonymous, shortly after the wheel was invented

"I don't know how you young whippersnappers manage these days. When I was young, we just knew where we were going!"
-Anonymous, shortly after the RM Atlas was invented

"I don't know how you young whippersnappers manage these days. When I was young, we didn't ask other truckers for the best route on the Internet!"
-OP

This thread is just an echo chamber for people who "walked to school barefoot in the snow, uphill both ways" to #### on other people in order to make themselves feel better.

 

Well....with no cell phone or google maps...I would get a phone number for the place I was going. I would call them and ask how to get into their facility. Then I would get my atlas and determine the best way to get to Hayward. Once I was close I would go to a fuel stop and ask around there if anyone had been where I was going or I would get on the cb and ask for local information and ask for info that way.

But if you’re talking about today I would call the facility, I would ask if there is a certain route for truck traffic in and out, I would also give them an eta and ask if their appointments are flexible if I had one. Then I would get on Google maps and verify that the directions I have been given match up with what I’m looking at on my screen. Then I would get my atlas and figure out how I wanted to get to Hayward. Once I determined that then I would use google maps for my rough daily mileage to plan my stops for the trip. As I get closer I would contact the facility again with an updated eta to try and get in and out sooner.

So basically I would use all tools available to me in order to make my trip as smooth as possible. I wouldn’t punch an address in to the gps and drive and just show up at the facility I’m going to with no contact just because some guy sitting behind a screen has you scared to actually call someone on the phone.

 

QUOTE="mustang190, post: 11276171, member: 58667"]I still can’t believe I drove all those years with out a GPS(still don’t have one) or a cellphone and no ELD!
Always got to where I needed to be.[/QUOTE]
So you did call a place after all, or yes without cell 0hone it was so easy to find out how to reach shipper or reciver , yep totally believable.
And for fuel , with smartphone now days you can SAVE literally 30-50$+ EVERY TIME YOU FUEL TRUCK station, simply by looking what price of gas and where.
Not to mention now days most people at gas station won't speak to you, thanks to homeless and weird freaks running around everywhere.
And don't get me started on driving without A/C in a middle of texas or power steering wheel on some twisty mountain roads. AND NO 65+MPH EITHER , member back in a days interstate was not existing;
Also forget about big sleepers either!
Yep trucking back in a days was a blessing!

 

“I do things this way and I would never do things that way because this way is better than that way and if you do things that way you are gonna miss.”

Is there any one way that doesn’t miss, be it GPS, road atlas, customer directions, or the desk jockey that says, “we get trucks in here all the time!”

What do you do to insure that you NEVER miss?

 

I'm not that good yet. I satellite the destination. If it isn't obvious where to get in and out, I get contact info and call. If there's contact info on the rate con, I call regardless. You never know when the "obvious" way is the wrong way. People on the other end of the phone are happy to offer directions.

After that, I map it out with GPS. Then I go road by road and compare it with my atlas to make sure it's not restricted, or has low/weak bridges. Then I trace the route and make sure I'm not headed down a "road" that's actually a shortcut through a subdivision (for example). Once I'm satisfied, I say a prayer and look for tenth gear. It usually works, but it sure AF doesn't always.

If none of that worked, I'd hit a truckstop nearby and start looking for daycab drivers to hopefully get directions. If that didn't work, cops and fire department. Maybe even the post office. For local anyways.

But if I were route planning a long trip and wanted feedback from the pros on the best route, I wouldn't hesitate to ask here on TTR. I've asked dumber questions.

 

We used to get directions from Qualcomm that's had all our load information. The if needed we would call the pickup or delivery and ask for directions. We had use use pay phones at the truck stop. LOL. If we had Monday morning delivery we had make sure to call and get directions on Friday. My dispatcher back then would set message to everyone remember to get directions before everything is closed for the weekend or holidays.

If all else fail they told me to call for a taxi cab and have the cab driver bring me to the address I was looking for. We also planned on arrival at delivery or pickup 8 hour early. So we could sleep their for the night if possible back under the older HOS.

You usually would go out the same way you come into pickup or delivery. I remember when I had a student and he had a cell phone. I was thinking you don't need to to drive a truck and we had delivery in Long Island New York. He called customer for directions from the truck ! Look how easy we have it today GPS navigation and Google maps with satellite view. Everyone has cell phone and it normal to call from truck.

 

Simple. We had these things called notepads and these sticks that you could write with called pencils and pens.
When I was a day out from Cincinnati I would call from a table phone while I was eating my breakfast and get directions.
The nice thing about those old fashioned notebooks was I could keep and update those directions.
It was really simple