Good Night From II

sidney ne. dropped that target load this morning at the target dc in cheyenne wy. p/u up here at 1700 today going to slc ut 1st stop(1800 appt), then lehi ut final at 2200 tomorrow.

 

Well, here in Florence, KY. Took a command load this morning when Memphis started to play their games. DH to KW to get a trailer and we will tell you later what to do as far as a load. Picked up a HAZ-MAT going t Dallas for Monday. Yes, lots of time, but it is what I wanted. Gives me time to still get lots of rest. They then tried to back me up with another HAZ load from Dallas, pu at 1300 and deliver at 0900 640 miles away. Nope, that was not going to work. I did have a nice talk with my new Account Manager there and she did confirm, it was Swift that put a stop to us getting the high dollar amount that we used to get. It was because we were mostly jut hauling their freight. Well DUH, if we are out here to make money, going to take the loads that pay more. Plus she said that SWIFT wanted their cut, and when we were offered Command, it was only in case Swift did not have any freight in certain areas. Oh well.

 

As far as actually getting our B service done anywhere else but a terminal, actually considering time involved and the cost, it is almost less for me to get mine done at TA/Petro. With our discount it only cost me about $260. That is for the ultimate. Also, they replace all of the filters and use new oil. Not recycled. Ran into a L/O one day getting his B service done at a terminal. I asked him how much, and he said that he did not know. Swift would not tell him until they actually got into the truck and see if anything was wrong.

 

The mentor class was so small we blew right through the material in one day. I'll be soloing back toward Mira Loma to pick up my first student.

After class I was told I had to swap out to a new truck, as my truck is past due for sale. They gave me a brand new KW T680 and I have to admit that the interior, dash controls, and especially the easy clutch were a very pleasant surprise. I have a load headed back to Tolleson, AZ that I'll pick up tomorrow in Greeneville, TN. This will be good to solo for a few days to shake out how I'm handling the truck before getting a student into it.

By the way, the point was made that mentors aren't supposed to allow their students to use either the jake or cruise control for the duration of the time they are in training. They're supposed to learn that on their own after they go solo. Not particularly wild about that idea, but I can see some value in it. I'd rather be teaching all components of driving controls, but that's the way it is.

 

Lepton students can't use cruise control or Jake brakes for first 2 weeks from what I was told and it states that in the student packet.

 

First two weeks seems okay, basically the first 50 hours plus some additional BTW time.

 

At the Loves in Quartzsite, AZ delivering to the Albertsons DC in Tolleson tomorrow. I hope it doesn't take forever like the King Soopers in Denver did.

i have a 2014 T660 with the Cummins ISX15 and the jake is set to kick on when the speed reaches 3 mph over the set speed.

 

Salt Lake City, UT.

I delivered a load a bit north of here around noon, then went a few miles to pick up the next load.
It was supposed to be pre-loaded, but it wasn't due to be loaded until 2200. They had me drop my trailer and I told them I would be back in the morning.
A planner called just as I was pulling in to a J. She really needed me take a Costco load to Sheridan, CO, and she was something like 56 loads overbooked.
I was taken off the first and took the one to CO.

Well, as I was writing this my delivery was rescheduled from 6/27 2100 to 6/28 1700.
Oh joy. I can now try to t-call it in Denver or sit on it for a day.
Not sure what I'll do yet. Maybe find something fun to do with Leann.

 

my mentor let me use the cruise and jakes once he figured out what kind of driver I was, I was using cruise 2nd day off and on, jakes I always used....I would prefer my student to use jakes going down a grade but thats my opinion.

taking my 30 here at the Vegas Target and I have to say this was the easiest Target I ever delivered to, it has a space in front of the docks the size of a dang football field just like my boss told me and he said all the Vegas Targets are like this. It was 290 miles and I got here in 5 hours and 7min, mpg was a whole 7.1 with 30k in the box. Dispatch pays 616 miles and the round trip is 580 so I be glad to take it ^^ and I should be able to make it back to the DC. Tomorrow I have to take a load to Lathrop to get my 90 day done, hopefully they dont end up taking all day Saturday to do it.

 

its good to teach the student how to brake going down grades without jakes. most truck nowadays have jakes, so just in case it doesnt work. when i was with my trainer back in '97, he didnt show me how to do it without jakes. so when i got my truck when i was solo, truck didnt have jakes. i used the formula that was in the dmv cdl book and smoked the brakes bad where i couldnt see half rear of trailer. this was going down the i-5 gorman grade. was talking to a few driver at a truckstop and told them my story and one guy says to time the amount of time i'm on the brakes. then i would multiply it by 6 and thats the amount of seconds i have to stay off brakes beforre appling again. havent smoke brakes since