Good night from...

Love's @ Lake Havasu City, AZ. Have another 1575 to run to Memphis, so it should be a nice weekend with plenty of time to my appointment on the 4th. Need to start seriously planning for where I can find a big screen to watch the Seahawks/Saints on Sunday.

 

Well knowing that it won't dispatch without an empty would have been a good piece of information to have. Seems somebody forgot to mention it. Haha. It all worked out though and I have a nice preplan to Florida after this is dropped. Its funny, I sent a MAC 22 for the load I got a service failure for (a long time in advance) and it was quite obvious that nobody was scrambling by the fact they rescheduled it for a time that I still was unable to make. Still haven't heard back on my appeal for that one but it was a short week so maybe Monday. Thanks for the tip, Scottie!

 

^^^^ Yeah, seems that trainers are sometimes (often?) lax about teaching the fundamentals of the Qualcomm communication sequences needed to get your dispatch. When you arrive to the location of the empty you should send a Mac-5 (Arrived at Final Destination) and then send a Mac-6 (Empty Call) once you've hooked to your empty. The dispatch will then come through pretty immediately, then wait a minute or two and your fuel route and navigation dispatch will also be updated.

Getting to the location of the empty can be an adventure, since they don't give you a Navigation "dispatch" to the location of the empty. You need to enter the address into the Nav system. Last night I arrived at the location of my empty, only to find out there are two addresses in San Bernardino with the same street address. I had to get on Google Maps and start searching for Amazon, then found out there are two different zip codes for the same street address, but the zip code I had gone to (in the middle of a residential area) was actually another suburb. I then reentered the address in the nav system with the correct zip code and it then successfully got me to Amazon to get my empty. Thank goodness I have a notebook with excellent wifi...

 

I came here with experience so I just got a crash course on the system during orientation. Its been trial and error since. From what I gather, my class got more than most do in terms of hands-on training. We had a guy that was hired through another terminal and turned loose that knew virtually nothing about the Qualcomm and had been on his own for weeks. As for the empty, I was fortunate to no need one. I guess they supply empties to the shipper through the local yard and don't want us taking our own in.

 

Does anybody know how to go about getting on an account as a surge driver? IE if I get to an area with some dedicated stuff is there somebody I can call and ask if they need help for a little bit or do they find you?

 

rightcoast...start asking your dl who is in charge of what acct and what is available. unless your dl mentions something to you our ask you, they most likely wont notify you. keep a eye out at terminals bulliten boar too

 

i hate this stupid phones small buttons lol

 

Just north of Waco. I was trying to get to the Tiger Truck stop at the 386, but with this traffic tonight, did not have the hours. After a 2 hour unload this morning and then almost 2.5 hours to pu a preloaded at our terminal in Laredo, the 14 was ticking away and even another 30 min break would not have helped. Wasted a lot of time grabbing this preloaded sprinter trailer. First check in with t-call window, told go somewhere else, wait in line and told that I need to go get the trailer and then come back to the same line again. Went for the trailer and found out that the rubber seals where missing. The bald headed twit told me to go to the shop and went over there, they are at lunch and the blue box was empty. then when return to the trailer, and to a walk around, found the back door open and all of the others where shut tight, so I got ahold of the twit again and had him get someone to get in the trailer and inspect it. He told me that it was my job. NOT. I have not accepted it yet, and with all the other trailers closed up and not mine, they where going to check it out. Well he did. It is also his and his people's job to make sure that the trailers are ready to go. Did they not see that the rubber was missing when they placed the glad hand lock on. Well, it is been backed up traffic from Temple to here. When you see the signs that say 4 miles 24 min, 11 miles 30 mins, you just know that you are in for it.

 

Didn't you notice the sign at the gate and on the way into the building stating gladhand seals are available at the gate guard shack, the dispatch window and the shop? Curious that you don't have a supply in your truck. BTW the "bald headed twit's" name is Joe and he's a really nice guy. However his job description doesn't include holding anyone's hand. The reason so many Laredo trailers are missing gladhand seals is due to the Trans Mex drivers using them for prophylactics; yeah they have a lot of kids.

Try going up I35 on a Friday afternoon when the Nascar circus is in Fort Worth: Waco 15 miles 86 minutes.

 

I have heard of some drivers picking up the discarded glad hand seals off the ground in truck stops then swapping the bad ones for the good ones in the trailers Then they have a zip lock baggie full of good glad hand seals and some other driver picking up those trailers have to swap them out for good ones and throw the bad ones on the ground again.

Have about 34 hours left against the 70 before Wed pay period cutoff. Today being Sat, they offer me a load going 750 mile delivering on Tues. turn it down and send mac 30, my PTA is too far into the future. Fixed that and they offer me another one, 550 big window but I can overnight it and be available or otherwise it takes me close to family for a quick visit if nothing else.