From the schoolbus to Transland

Your welcome. I try not to let the negatives get to me out here. But there are times where one has to take a deep breath before moving the truck any further. That extra minute can save some damage.

I also try to remain positive on days like today where I am spending Easter weekend at a Pilott truckstop. Judging by the looks i am not alone. I am one of three Transland trucks stuck here for the weekend in Minooka, IL. Speaking of evertrucker I wonder if he is here because this lot looks like a crete terminal.

 

March 8 - March 14, 2009

I HAVE A MAGIC LAPTOP!!
Yes it's true. I can sit waiting in my truck doing nothing for hours but the minute I go to work on my updates for my thread I am either loaded, unloaded, or am getting my next assignment.

With that being said it's hard to get this thing caught up but I gonna try and do a condensed version.

Sunday i had a load that went to Youngstown, OH for a monday delivery. Other than a SIX HOUR unload for a half a trailer everything went ok. When mt I was sent to just 15 miles away to Brookfield, OH. I barely make it before they close and had 36000 pounds of steel loaded in way to far forward in the trailer. I scaled the load was was over on my drives. I had a choice sit all night and have them reload it and be late or find a "good" way to get to my destination in Fort Wayne.

Tuesday Morning I departed early. I picked a "good" route except Indiana and Ohio was under water. I had to make a bunch of detours due to washed out roads. Luckily I got there with time to spare. My next assignment was on the other side of Ft. Wayne. i get to the shipper ( no thanks to my gps) and got loaded within an hour.

Wednesday I get this back to the yard and get a load to Tyler, TX. I barely make it within my 11 hours and was told by security that there was no overnight parking. I was forced to find an idustrial area across the street.

Thursday I started early and it took way too long to get unloaded. Part of the delay was due to being assigned a door that had a trailer in it. Yard Jockey made it very clear he wasn't moving it until 4am even though it was loaded and ready to go and he sat there until 4am. Must be a union place. After being unloaded I go back across the street. After about 4 hours I get a phonecall that my Qualcomm messages aren't getting through. I move up 10 feet and get flooded with several messages. The funny one was a load that had me deadheading to Shreveport (about 110 miles away) but I had to be there in an hour. Hmmm... I called dispatch and told him that even though I had a new truck it couldn't do 100 miles an hour. He assured me that the appointment time was a formality and that they would load me when I got there. I get to the shipper and see why. I get in a line that literally has 20 trucks. And anyone who has done papermill loads knows that they can't possibly have more than two docks going at the same time. It takes four hours to get to the dock but 15 minutes to get loaded.

Friday I arrived in Oklahoma City where i was unloaded within 15 minutes. I drive to pile-it and grab a shower. I get back and my next assignment was a drop and hook from Muskogee to Springfield. This is an easy run which I have done many times. I bobtail to the yard after dropping my trailer.

For my second week in my new truck I had 2948 miles paid. I was home until monday.

 

It's funny you mention that. This week I had about 1500 miles and had two days to go 800 miles on the run I am on now. I had heard that they laid off some of our flatbed fleet. Transland has some good accounts that has helped us keep above water but just barely. Right now I am sitting until my delivery at 5am so I am gonna try to catch this up.

 

From what i understand our flatbed division is handled differently without the luxury of the dedicated accounts we have in dry van. So far i am ok (knock on wood)

One week freight has been good and then the next you are fighting for frieght. It's been inconsistent at worst.

Another change that will affect us is that I think we are gonna go to electronic logging. The ones who gripe the most will be out the door. I know two drivers who have been testing the system. I run mostly legal so i am not too worried but it will cut down on the total miles a little bit.

 

Here is a short update.

I have been running my butt off. After a slow couple of weeks I have been averaging about 3100 miles a week. Right now doing a reset in Jackson, GA. It's rare that I have to reset outside the house. But i took a hot load to macon and ran out of hours right after dropping it at the customer.

The layoff of the flatbedders was wrong. The five drivers left because a combo of slow frieght and we are going to electronic logs. I am not on the logging system yet but will be by summer. no more 714 mile days for me.

I have my next update coming soon after I try to finish my meal.
In the meantime I do have a blog. it's not as detailed as this but I update it a little more. http://doomytunes.blogspot.com/

I am almost at my one year anniversary of being solo. What a year.

 

Week of May 3 to May 9, 2009



Wow! Who opened the floodgates? My week started early sunday am after just a brief 34hr reset at home. I had a 661 mile trip to Steven's Point, WI. I had an uneasy feeling about being able to find this place because Google, the GPS, and the company directions were all different. This usually means that there is something to avoid in a big truck. Company directions led me astray and I find out what I needed to avoid. Apparently someone thought it clever to have an industrial area right in the middle of a residential area. I ended up down a road that said no trucks over 10 tons. Ooops. I find a decent 4 way stop and pull a u-turn. Once I got back to where I started I pull over start up my laptop and open my newly acquired Microsoft Streets and Trips. I bring up a map of the city and find my way to the reciever. After several hours I go to the nearest truckstop and sleep in.

Monday I sat and sat. About 2:30 I get my next assignment. Deadhead 99 miles to Beaver Dam. The only problem was I had an hour and half to make my appointment time. Grr. So I haul butt as much as my 65 mph truck and state hiways would allow and got there a half hour late. I lucked out. The shipper said I was actually on time and the guy before me was late so I got loaded immediately. That bad part is that it was due in Kansas City, MO before noon on Tuesday. That's 516 miles. Great now I am on a third shift schedule. At least I wasn't sitting. After a hard night I got to KC with no problems.

Tuesday I get unloaded and find a spot to finish my ten hours. I get my next assignment. Deadhead 46 miles to St. Joseph, MO. I had to haul butt yet again to make it by the shipper's closing time. I pull in and was told I needed an empty scale weight. This place doesn't have a scale so I scrambled to find one with the CB. A local bullhauler led me to a scale up the street. $7 later I had my scale ticket and was docked. A "nice" fellow said that it would have been easier and quicker for me to show up at 8am. I tried to explain that I couldn't move my truck until 2pm but it was in vain because he still couldn't understand HOS. Another guy came out and told me to scale the load and call him with the weight. The only problem was that the original scale place was now closed and I had to drive out of the way to a very busy Loves and pay more money for another scale ticket and make a phone call. After that wasted hour I proceed to take this load to the yard in Springfield. 214 miles later I drop and recieve my next assignment. It was a load going from the yard to 460 miles away to Ennis, TX with a 2pm delivery on wednedsay. Good news I was heading to my favorite area. Bad news, I was still on the third shift.

Wednesday I make it to the reciever and get unloaded literally in ten minutes. My next assignment was to deadhead to FT. Worth and get a Beer load going to Springfield. My appointment wasn't until 10pm but the shipper will load you up to fours early from your appointment time. But I had a small problem. This next load was gonna have to be strapped and my trailer didn't have the side rails I needed to do that. So I deadhead to Midlothian, TX at a toysrus and swap out trailers. The security guard first objected but after I assured her that there was nothing wrong with the trailer I brought she let me go. My plan was to spend the rest of the day until I could get into at the shipper and was taken waaaay early. This allowed me to get a head start and get a couple of hours down the road. I get a good night's rest in Durant. I had plenty of time to get to Springfield 14:00 was my appointment time.

Thursday I stopped in Muskogee for fuel and a shower and proceeded on. I already had a preplanned load waiting for me when I delivered. It was going to Tyler, TX. I went back the way I came and fueled and slept for the night in Muskogee.

Friday I made my delivery and had another load from Ft. Worth that got me home for saturday night and spent home sunday. Monday I had a load planned to Plainview, TX So it looks like next week could be good as well.