From the schoolbus to Transland

Well I didn't have a choice and had to give up the Pete whether I wanted to or not. As far as handling down the highway and the roomy interor I preferred the Pete. the Volvo has the advantage in tighter driving and backing conditions, and I love the gauges. What I didn't like about the first Volvo was the engine was a volvo engine, (which is weak), the air suspension on the front, and the meritor tranny. These new ones have Cummings, no air front suspension, and eaton fullers. Ye and like your mentor said I have new tires and brakes.
When I got the pete it was very dirty inside. I never really got it cleaned the interior was trashed,and it seemed the tripac needed some work. About three miles from the yard on my last run friday night the volt meter started yelling at me. I got to the yard and got the trailer dropped, parked just in time before the truck said it had enough. It woudn't restart.
So this is just in time.
What's funny is my dispatcher said he was not looking forward to telling me about me having to switch out trucks. He thought I would have to be pryed from the pete. But I figured because of it's age and all the new trucks coming in that I expected it so I never got fully attached to it. But I told him this has to be the last time I switch until this truck is ready to be retired. Switching trucks is a major pain and basically ruined my only full day off. I expect to be in this truck for the next three years or so. I will give my full review next time I am back.

 

In many ways I am. having something new is always fun. But this might be my imagination but it seemed I got a little more respect when I was driving the peterbilt. it seems like a lot of "veterans" assume that if you drive a Volvo that you are a company newbie who doesnt care about anything. It will be interesting to see if I am right.

 

Ok I finally got some time to do this so here goes.

I had two good months in my Peterbilt 387. Highlights were having to bobtail almost 5oo miles to pick up a new trailer...IN THE SNOW. For the most part I avoided the bad weather and tight areas where my Pete might have had parking issues. I knew I wouldn't be in the truck long so I never got settled in. Transland has kept me moving but still seeing the house.
Friday I was told I was getting a new truck, so this meant saturday would be used for moving in. Not much of a day off plus it was snowing during the move. While waiting to be loaded in Ft. Worth Friday I organized everything for an easy move. It also helped that this Volvo was similar to my old one so I already knew where everything was going. This move was a lot easier despite the cold snow.
March 1 - March 7, 2009
Sunday was supposed to start at about 10 am but new trucks have bugs as I would soon find out. I made some last minute adjustments, signed in my Quallcom and then fueled the truck. I was ready to go...until I hooked to the trailer. My fifth wheel was way too forward so I hit the switch and the pins don't move. So I go to the shop where I recieved a lecture on needing to read the manual. Well I am sorry but I didn't have time to read the Shogun sized manual for a truck I alrady knew how to use. I was under the impression that this fifth wheel was no different than the other. I suspected that it was frozen because of the snow and temperature. I brought it in from outside and after messing with a hose and spraying some lubricant the pins moved. This ordeal lasted way too long and I was to go to New Braunfels, TX. I was gonna do it in one shift and be ready for a load assignment first thing in the morning. That plan went out the window. I drove to Waco where I spent the night and drove the rest in the morning.

Monday after I left Waco i realized I was almost out of fuel. This was a surprise because I had bigger tanks on this truck and should not even gone through half just from Springfield, mo. This was a drop and hook and my next assignment had me deadheading to Waco and the load goes to Memphis, TN. When I fuel I found my right hand tank was still full. I head to the shipper and started my long wait which is usual here. Another Transland driver was there and I was telling him about the fule tanks. He showed me a valve that was closed that could have been the problem. I opened it and forgot about it. After getting loaded I am almost to Dallas when I noticed I only had a quarter of a tank of fuel so I pull to a rest area opened the right tank and fuel is overflowing. So i quickly closed it, then I closed the valve not knowing if I should have messed with it. I called the shop (After checking the manual of course) and told them what was up. They told me to head for the dealership in Little Rock. I shut down in Texarkanna for the night.

Tuesday I get a wake signal from the shop. The big boss came in and told me about the valve and to yup you guessed it, open it. I open the valve and told the shop I would look at it again in LR just in case. I get to LR and it's doing the same thing. I get to the Volvo dealership where I explained the situation to a very overworked and annoyed shop lead who was at least kind enough to come outside and made sure the valve was in the right postion. He explained that it would take awhile for the fuel to settle equally in both tanks. My low fuel light was on so I put in enough fuel to make it to memphis, I still managed to make it four hours early to my appointment and was told to sit tight until then. Five hours later I get a dock. I get my next load. Deadhead to lexington, TN and it goes to Terrell, TX. My hours allowed me to go just outside Memphis and I hit the bunk.

Wednesday I wake and finished driving to the shipper. When I get there the happy security guard asks me if this was a D&H, I answered yes and gave him the appropriate numbers but he still didn't belive I was D&H. He makes a big rucus about how he has never heard of Transland but was surprised that a couple of our trailers have gotten past him. I go to the office where I am told to drop my mt in slot 151. This became more of a chore than needed to be because this company didn't get the memo that spray painted numbers on GRAVEL doesn't work well. Thanks to process of elimination and an annoyed yard jockey I found the spot. I get my new trailer and head off to Terrel, TX. It was 539 miles and the customer was next to a TA. I park for the night listening to the wind shake my truck.

Thursday I call the reciever to see if I can get in early. I must have hit a nerve and was told "politely" to not show up more than 15 minutes early. I get there to see I was a part of a mini Transland convoy that was delivering here. That usually means that quick load assignments will be scarce. After an two hours I was unloaded and was told to get comfortable by dispatch. So back to the TA I go. Before I get there I was surprised with my next load beeping at me from the QC.
It was a beer load but the appointment time wasn't until 3AM. Great. Now I need to try to get some sleep at 11am. Nothing like being thrown into a third shift schedule on a whim to liven things up. But this load had me going back to Springfield which was needed because I was still having my fuel issues even though I have opened the valve. I find out that another Transalnd driver had a load assignment from the same customer so we both departed about midnight. We are alowed to be at this shipper 4 hours early. At least we didn't have to worry about Fort Worth traffic.

Friday EARLY morning we headed to Forth Worth. We decided we would run together back to springfield. We both got loaded at the same time. Running with someone made the trip a lot easier especially with the early hours. We kept each other awake with the CB conversation. We get to Muskogee where I had to fuel and decided that a nap was needed. About an hour and a half we took off. My load was due in a few hours where as the other driver was dropping his on the yard. I make it to Springfield where I did a drop and hook and headed back to the yard. One of the mechanics discovered that there is TWO valveS that need to be open. I guess this got by them because the old Volvos only have one.
Oh well. We learn something new every day.

 

You are welcome. this is why I do this. I hovered on this site and researched for a year reading as many threads on this site and found a ton of stuff that I even printed and took with me to school. Every recruiter that came to our class said I seemed very informed for a new guy. Hell I even ticked off the covenant recruiter. My teachers even snagged a few things from the pages I have read here.

Good luck with Swift. I hope it's what you are looking for.

I will post the rest of March asap. I have a monday afternoon delivery at a grocer place in Detroit. Most grocery places give you plenty of time to do whatever because it's usually several hours to unload.