My RBX journey Strafford MO

gntorres61, I don't think you will have a hard time locating another job. Everyone makes mistakes. The thing that is looked at from my point of view is how costly is any mistake that a driver makes. In your case no one was hurt, which is a good thing. However, finically it was costly for the company. When anyone makes a mistake they must ensure they learn from it. One must ask themselves, 1. Why did it happen. 2. What could have been done to prevent it from happening in the first place. 3. What steps are going to be taken to prevent it from happening again. Those three questions will probably be asked at an interview. Just be up front when you apply with another company. Its a good chance they may call and ask questions of your pervious employers. I'm just guessing here but to some small companies the fuel nozzle incident could be looked at as a liability to their insurance companies and others it may not. If you really want to drive you may have to go with a mega carrier for a year. If I had to pick a large company it would be either Crete or Schneider. As far as RBX, the map on the web site shows we run North Carolina. I don't know how often or what the running lanes are. So I'm not sure if your in the hiring area. Wouldn't hurt to call and ask. Have to go. Just received my work assignment. I'm sure you will find a good company in time. Be safe.

 

Shovelhead, Everything is going great and I think I got enough Omega-3's to last the entire year. As far as choosing RBX. Your welcome. I created this Blog or Post, one, to show my thanks to everyone on here whom I spoke too, and two, to help out new drivers or anyone looking for a different company. I think you made the right decision. I know I did.

Know for my update:

Sunday my wife brought me down to Springfield a little early. She wanted to ride with me over to have my truck washed. So after throwing all my stuff on the bunk, wife said lets go. You can organize it later. What? LOL. She usually organizes everything for my. Well at least she made up my bunk first. After the truck was washed I took it across the scale. Both fuel tanks and the DEF tank were full. Just curious as to what it weighted with everything in it. 20,040 lbs. Took my woman back the yard and she headed to the house and left me to organized everything. The next morning my Fleet Manager called me, told me he sent an assignment going from Springfield to IN. Pick up was noon and a 0600 appt the next morning. After loading I arrived in IN around midnight. I had been there before. If you pull in after hours at this place you open the doors and just back into one of the docks and go to sleep. Forklift woke up at 04:45, they had changed their hours last week. Pulled off to the side and went back to sleep. Then drove to another shipper in IN going to Tulsa OK. Drove through 4 different rain storms and heavy traffic. I always watch 15 to 20 seconds ahead or farther if possible. Everything was going fine, the only problem, everyone was on flat ground and the road was straight in this area. So there was no 15 to 20 seconds to see. I just kept my distance. All at once traffic came to a stop. I can tell you the anti-lock breaks worked the truck and trailer. From that point on for the next 20 miles or so it was stop and go at 10 to 20 mph. When traffic finally picked back up, I seen nothing that should have slowed everyone down. I was running behind after all that. I called in and told them I was running an hour behind and Fleet Manager told my he would take care of it. I dropped in Tulsa and needed an MT trailer for a live load. Again, I called in and told my Fleet Manager I was running late and needed an MT trailer He gave me directions to a plant. Found MT and headed over for a live load. Well they had found an RBX trailer sitting in the shippers yard and put it in the door. So I turned around and took the MT to the shippers yard, dropped it and went to the dock that had the RBX trailer. Know this plant is always running behind. I walked inside to see how much longer it was going to be and forklifts were running around like go-carts. The operator loading my trailer drove by and yelled something to me. Cant here to well inside a warehouse full of NASCAR forklift racers. He stopped and told me about 30 more minutes and they would come get me. Left Tulsa, late again. It was around 15:00 and my apt was at 17:00 the same day in Harrison AR. I took a double check of my trailer in the mirrors and couldn't see any wings attached so flying was out of the question. Again I called in and Fleet Manager changed the time for me. I arrived in Harrison and the place asked if I wanted to wait for them to unload it. I seen some of our trailers and told him it was ok that I'll just take an MT. He said that would be fine. Know here's the good part. I drove MT from Harrison AR up HWY 62 in Northwest AR through Eureka Springs going to Seneca, MO. That road is the narrowest road I have taken a Tractor. The turns were so tight you had to slow down to 15 mph because you had to cross the center line in order to prevent your trailer from hitting the rock walls or falling off into the ditch. Great training and very stressful. In the end it was all good. One thing I will say, If your loaded and weight more then 68,000 lbs you cannot drive that route. The bridge weight limits wont allow it. Been running behind all week but my Fleet manager has been taking care of the appt times for me. I'm currently headed to West Memphis AR for a 12:00 noon apt so I'm Sitting at the Flying J on the East side of Fort Smith relaxing. I'm staying out in order to try to run on recap and see how my days work out after my first seven.

That's it for know, everyone be safe.

 

First, gougc2004, I don't think you will be disappointed with RBX. With your experience you shouldn't have a problem getting on with them. I've been here 60 days this past Saturday. I wake up and look forward to driving each morning. Like I stated previously, if I didn't enjoy my profession I surely wouldn't do it. If you have any questions just ask. If you call RBX, ask for Kristi, she's one squared away lady.

Shovelhead78, I'm going to try and answer your questions to the best of my ability.
DEF is Diesel Exhaust Fluid. It has to do with emissions. Link below will explain it better then I can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHvi2Lgnac

Recap: For E-Logs its simple. There is no calculation to do. Its done for you. I'll post a couple of pictures if I can get them uploaded.
Your allowed to work a total of 70 hours in an 8 day period. In a perfect world you would need to be on duty driving and on duty not driving, lines 3 and 4 on paper logs 8.5 or 8 1/2 hours a day. That totals out to 68 hours. Max is no more then 70 hours.
Example below is directly from my e-logs.
Out for 12 days. Read this from the bottom up starting at day one. It starts to repeat itself.

Day 12 10 hr 44 min Same as day four.
Day 11 5 hr 32 min Same as day three.
Day 10 9 hr 06 min Same as day two.
Day 9 8 hr 17 min Eight days later you are starting the cycle over beginning with the first day you drove.
Day 8 7 hr 27 min
Day 7 7 hr 33 min
Day 6 9 hr 09 min
Day 5 10 hr 07 min
Day 4 10 hr 44 min
Day 3 5 hr 32 min
Day 2 9 hr 06 min
Day 1 8 hr 17 min First day you drove is the same as Day 9.

You cannot always control your hours. On day three, 5 hr and 17 min I picked up a load in Tulsa and the trailer had a light out. I called after hours maintenance and Carl, (great fellow) gave me an exit for the Boss Shop just one exit from were I was at. I took the trailer to the shop. This is the only shop within miles of my location. They had two bays. One had a trailer in it with a trailer door busted off and the other with a tractor leaking fuel. Then took me phone number and told me they would call me when it was my turn to get into the shop. I nearly run out of hours waiting. In fact when I pulled out of the shop of course my parking place was taken along with every spot. I idled the truck around the lot twice until a driver pulled out and I backed her in and camped there that night. What was the problem with the light you ask? I'll tell you. First, any maintenance work I can do on my own vehicle I will do myself. It is a waste of my valuable time to sit and wait for someone else other then our shop to fix anything. I could have been 150 miles down the road or more as long as I waited. Our shop your in and out pretty fast. That's another story I'll get to later. Anyway, it was the top right front corner marker light that was out. When I pulled in I handed the mechanic a light. I keep two extra of everything in my truck. Every light for the tractor and trailer both along with springs for the air lines on the trailer, mud flap ect, ect. He climbed the ladder, tightened up the ground wire, came back down the ladder and handed me my light. This took less then 60 seconds. I walked inside and called carl. Got the PO number and wrote a Comp data check for over 50.00. That's crazy. If I owned my own truck you can be sure I will keep one of those little giant ladder systems locked to the back of my truck.

Update: I went to West Memphis AR to Mississippi to the RBX yard in Springfield to Bloomfield, MO to Austell, GA to College Park GA and know I'm sitting in Mississippi going back Kraft in Springfield. I have 8 hours and 17 min I'm able to be on duty tomorrow. That means time management on my part. I think I can make it if I have a perfect day. Good weather and traffic. The only thing that's going to slow me down are the Arkansas hills and stop lights along with Murphy's law. I don't pay Murphy any attention any more. Those are thing I can't control.

Side note: If you ever go to the Publix DC in Austell GA, they used to have a holding area across the street for over night parking. I was planning on parking there but the gate was chained up. The Petro on I-285 cost 15.00 and the Quick Trip cost 10.00. So I ended up going down to the Flying J which was past the DC. I woke up and headed over to the DC and I arrived at 04:10 this morning. My appt was at 05:00. You can arrive their two hours early. I pulled up to the guard house and took my papers in the gentleman inside. He look at his watch and said (I can't letcha cha in until four triddy so youse gona to havs ta) I very nicely interrupted him with a southern drawl and told him (Isia wnt ta high schooz at Lithia Sprinngss and I spnt the lader part of my dazzs liven in Douglasville. I kept talking for close to 2 or 3 minutes and he joined in the conversation with me telling me he was born and raised in Douglasville. Before you know it he looked down at his watch and it was 04:25 and he said, (well dar's no use't in ya leaven and comin back know is dere)? I said (na sir I reckon not). Anyway he told me that Publix sold the holding lot across the street over a your ago and the new owner was tired of drivers leaving their trash there. He also told me their is no two hour window, at least not at 05:00. Well that about it. I'm going to cook me a backed potato, chicken with dumplings and a can of green beans then call it a day. Everyone be safe.
I'll up load the pictures in a couple of minutes after I download them.

 

Starting at the bottom is what comes available on the 8th day.



On the right side it reads available tomorrow and in two days. If lets say you have a 700 mile run to make. Add the two days together and divide by 50 to see if you have enough hours to make it. Loads are based on 50 mph. However I always divide by 60. But, dividing by 60 won't leave much room for error. Murphy's Law of course. You must also take into account fuel, bathroom, CAT scale, traffic, ect.



Time Management, LOL I arrived in Mississippi with enough time left to do a 5 min post trip and 4 min left on my clock.

 

Flying J at 02:30 this morning. Couldn't rotate it on my phone.



Monster KW at Flying J

 

Doug, that is awesome. I'm glad every thing is working out for ya. I'll try the catch up with ya if I'm here. I'm going home Thursday but I'm not sure which day I'm going back out. I need to speak with my FM because of the holiday weekend.

Shovelhead78, I made a mistake on the log info. I'm currently on my 8th day today so I still ran today from my initial 70 hour clock though I didn't have a full 11/14 available. Tomorrow the days start over. Tomorrow I'll have 9hours and 6 minutes and the next day only 5 hours and 32 minutes. Made it here to Kraft with 10 minutes left on my 8 hour drive time. doing a 10 hour break and headed up to Kansas City tomorrow them home for the weekend. Taking the Woman to an appt in ST Louis. Everyone be safe.