Good night from...

Kickin' it in Lewiston. Originally came out of Calgary Alberta with a load to Toledo Oregon. Picked up in Toledo and tcalled in Troutdale then picked up another load in Troutdale and tcalled in Lewiston. I wish I could just run tcalls all day every day, I hate going to customers all the time unless they are slam dunk easy to find or I have been there before and therefore know how to get in.

Anyway I have another Calgary bound load, just debating whether to sit here for 36 hours (Canada 34 is 36) or do a strict 10 here and jam up to Calgary and do the 36 up there-- delivery is Monday morning.

 

Do the 36 in Calgary, and check out the city

 

At a Rodeway Inn in Monticello, UT. I have an 8:00 PM delivery appointment at the Target DC in Phoenix tomorrow and ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE EARLY! The thought of spending another 12+ hours in my truck wasn't what I had in mind, so when I drove by and saw the truck parking I doubled back and got a room. Gonna go on the clock @ 7:30 am Phoenix time in the morning giving me until 9:30 pm to deliver and get back to the terminal. Then a quick 34 at home and back on the road.

 

Pueblo, Co at swifts abandoned, for sale, tumble weed infested lot next to Target DC.
sent another target load, but it p/u here @ the dc tomorrow @ 1800, 24hrs of sitting again, hmm
loads going up to Billings, MT and last time ther I got stuck for 45hrs till I got a load out.
declined load w/ comment of, will run load if you back me up w/ a load right out. This was at 8am, no reply or removal of load.. msg'd my dm and asked if I could get a load to p/u tonight, as I have 4hrs left today, no reply.. mac 30 isn't offering loads either..

 

I sat in Pueblo for nearly 24 hours until I accepted a Denver load headed for Phoenix. Since I wanted to get home I took it.

 

This wasn't a good day at all. Got the news I'm getting a new DM next week which was going to happen sooner or later. Mine handles the noobs until they are minimum maintenance then they get assigned a DM with 50 other drivers. Last I heard was it wouldn't happen for months because there are few new drivers coming to Laredo; the Eagle Shale oilfields are taking them all.

Next I discover the scales at Laredo are off by about 2000 pounds. I'm on a load brought across the border going to CA. Set the tandems at 40' and it scaled okay although heavy on the tandems. Steers and drives were light so I didn't worry about filling up, 187 gallons, 1448 pounds, last night. Headed out this morning and noticed on the downhill curves decelerating it was pushing to the inside of the curve. I know a very tail heavy load will tend to try to go straight and push the drives out turning the tractor too tight. I stopped and scaled it in El Paso and it was 700 pounds over on the tandems, slide three holes back and its legal. Except now its over 40' so I'm headed into the Phoenix terminal in the morning to get it fixed or get off it. I anticipate a seriously crappy day tomorrow. In the future I will scale every load over 35k picked up at a terminal at the closest certified scales regardless what the terminal scales say.

To add to this great day I still have a front end shimmy so my brand new steers were not balanced. As a result of the great B Service I had to add a gallon of oil before I headed out of Laredo. I still have a drive tire leaking 30+ pounds a day. I noticed the water temp suddenly drop from 205 to 170 after I had just topped a downshift hill. Sudden temp drops in a water cooled engine indicate the temp sender is reading hot air not hot water and, sure enough, I will be adding coolant in the morning before I start up. I wonder if I would get reimbursed if I scan a B-Service receipt from an outside shop next time.

Frank

 

I was talking with a couple Swift mechanics here today who were on a smoke break-- evidently a Swifty dove into a runaway truck ramp sometime earlier today before I had gotten here. The one guy was saying he had to replace 3 of the brake slack adjusters on the truck as they were no good/out of tolerance when the truck was towed in.

OK, aren't the company trucks supposed to go through a DOT/BIT inspection every 90 days like the O/O trucks? I'm sure the poor driver will be blamed for the out-of-control driving that ended him up in the runaway ramp, but I'm hearing way too many stories about Swift mechanics with poor skills turning out unsafe trucks every day.

 

I believe the biggest problem with the company mechanics is there is absolutely no accountability. They get paid for showing up, acting busy and not accidentally burning the shop down. The guys who worked on my truck in Jonestown and Laredo will never have to answer for doing substandard work no matter how much noise I make. They keep their jobs with survival skills not mechanical skills and someday, if it hasn't happened already, a driver will die because of their don't give a #### attitude.

I have never heard about needing a 90 day DOT inspection on my company truck. It was mentioned that if I get a Level 1 the first week in June with whatever that max enforcement stupidity is called to be sure to get a sticker.

Frank

 

Frank,

I know from experience that while Swift absolutely will not reimburse you for oil they will reimburse you for coolant. My last company truck had a serious drinking problem and went through over 5 gallons of coolant in the time I had it. I bought the coolant then sent a message requesting a PO for coolant along with the amount.

 

Still Sparks, NV. Woke this morning with a pplan on QC. PU t-call trailer at the yard and take it 30 miles for a live unload. That is sure not going to happen. Proof that the planners to not look at the trucks, that they just see a number and that available.