Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

'Learnin' to Fly But I Ain't Got Wings...

Hills look considerably different whether you're loaded or empty, going up or downhill. Pulling out of Prairie is a long pull, the ISX pulls it in 7th, 25 mph at 1400 with plenty left to either back off or kick in but not to catch 8th until the first swayback and from then on into Postville, 20 plus miles later, 10th is fine.

The hills still 'look' daunting but the proofs in the gear it takes to pull. No problem. The stretched out vistas seem like you can see and maybe just reach out and feel the soft, green-carpeted curvature of Mother Earth all around.

The Mexican restaurant's still open and three Hispanic guys sit on the steps of a small shop up a block from a Somali shop where I see a burka-clad woman, back to me as several Somali men linger by cars in front of the shop. When I make my turn I give a wave to the Hispanic guys and they are maybe too surprised, or drunk, to respond.

Further down the street Hasidic kids play some kind of ball out in the street. From a distance one gives the old up-and-down elbow and gets a toot-toot. They do a little cheer and I stop there in the street a block from where I'll put up for the night.

"Is this a community center or temple?" I ask. Neither. It's a school and there are about 25 students. Hell, had thought there were about a hundred. Kid from Australia asks if he can pull the horn. He gives it another two toots. One's from Kentucky. Several from Brooklyn.

To learn more about Postville, population 2,200 or so, down from its recent heyday, Google the Postville Raid. Remarkable, absolutely remarkable. Town's a little edgy, frankly. Told it's much better than it was. In the park is a sweet bronze of several figures. Surprises me that it survives intact in a community this oddly diverse. In northwest Iowa. Farming country.


Written Monday, June 9, 2014 from Postville, Iowa. Lame Internet connection, a little better at the Mexican restaurant, best at the pizza place closed tonight. All rights reserved.

 

Comparing Broker Confirmations

Pretty much that sums it up. They want us. They need us. Shippers, Receivers, Brokers, Trucking Companies. But ain't no way they're ever going to love us.

Never. Gonna. Love us. Drivers.

Don't fool yourself. Not even a little bit.

Ah, something in life that you CAN count on in addition to Death and Taxes!!

On this Postville, IA 44K load the broker has a long-time relationship with Dispatch. Doesn't pay particularly well, $700, should be $800-$850, since I'm pulling $750 to the east side of Wisconsin on loads that weigh half as much.

But it's 'easy' and fairly frequent and it's a moveable feast--there's nothing firm about the 'get there' date as long as it gets there within the week. That's very useful. It's a good Monday load when most shippers don't load out on Sunday. At least it is for now.

Turns out our Prairie du Chien high-priority customer has a little wiggle room we didn't know about--a good thing. If we're supposed to pick up on Monday, for example, we could pick up early on Tuesday morning without upsetting any apple carts.

Otherwise, if we miss 4-4:30 pm in Postville we thought it screwed us in Prairie. Turns out not. Another good thing.

The broker/agent has just changed brokerage, now works out of his home in South Dakota. We get a one-page fax with rate and details to sign and fax back, forming a contract. I simply drop the signed BOL into our weekly postage-paid envelopes along with my log sheets, fuel tickets, etc. The Mother Ship takes care of the rest.

This confirmation has the magic PU (pick up) numbers but not all confirmations do. Apparently there is so much chicanery between brokers that you get the PU number on some only immediately before you need it to prevent re-brokering the load.

Although I've only seen a few confirmations so far, some break down the rate into a load rate and FSC (fuel surcharge). I'm coming to see that it doesn't matter. Whatever number you agree to is what you get and that's about it. Don't come crying later about the tolls you paid, ya-da ya-da. Negotiate ALL your accesorials in advance.


Written Tuesday, June 9-10, 2014 from Postville, IA and while waiting to load at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. All rights reserved.

 

An Abundance of... Oops!!

"Then let's take the high side," I said. The broker quoted $700-$900 from Indy to north of Madison, WI.

"Okay, $900," replied the broker. I could hardly believe it. That's the kind of load we want, $2.40/mile going the long way, out I-74 to I-39 and on up to Wisconsin. Cool!

Turns out we do NOT have the wiggle room in Prairie du Chien the warehouse guy thought. Out of an abundance of caution, I called Bev who actually schedules the loads. "Oh, Victor, Loren doesn't have a clue," she said, then went on to explain that logistics at three companies do their thing, then it drops down to purchasing departments, then to her and finally orders to pick and produce on the warehouse and manufacturing floors.

She would need a written authorization from God to authorize me to pick up on Friday when my pick up this week is for Thursday. Problem is, I've already booked a load out of Bloomington, IN going to Columbus, Wisconsin, sister load to one I recently pulled for $750. What to do, what to do??

"Happens all the time, Victor," said Rachel, one of the broker's assistants. "Don't worry about it." Really? I had expected tarred and feathering and maybe some kind of reverse accessorial charge, a $200 cancellation charge. Not. They were VERY nice. Wow. So much to learn.

By the time I got off the call the Bloomington to Columbus, WI load had popped back up on the Trulos free load board. Very dynamic.

If all goes right I replaced a $750 load for Thursday which could have gotten me in trouble with our key pick up in Prairie and stumbled into a $900 load for today, Wednesday. Only have a partial confirmation from the broker, Michael, who claims he has all the southeast Wisconsin loads we can handle.

"Vic, we sometimes have 3 a day, always at least one," said Michael.

I'm still pinching myself a little bit and we don't have a full confirmation yet.


Written Wednesday, June 11, 2014 from home, six miles north of Spencer, Indiana. All rights reserved.

 

Pickup Sticks--It's a Game!!

Quite a few Heartland trailers here, as well as every other mother's trucker. Maybe we'll encounter one and have another little 'interview'! Arrived 1:15 for 2 pm (1400) appointment. Place is big and very, very busy today.

Received a rate confirmation from broker for $900 but no info on shipper or receiver. Just PU and DEL cities. No address, company names.

Took a while to get driver instructions. They wanted the rate confirmation signed but nobody told us. Every time I spoke to the broker he said he'd get confirmation out 'right now', says he worked until 9 pm on loads. Says he has 16 trucks here right now and some have left, departed, rather than wait. Lots of unhappy truckers here. Why be one?

Another driver using this broker arrived for 2 pm appt only to learn that appt was for 6 pm. Wants to pull out but I think will probably stay. Heard him talking on cell to broker. Could only be same one, which driver confirmed.

Driver instructions did not have magic PU number.

That's how paranoid brokers are about other brokers posing as truckers and re-brokering their load. You get here, call him and only THEN he gives magic PU number.

Turns out appointment was for 8 am and I'm a work-in with anticipated wait time of 5 hours, give or take. I emailed broker that had a door assignment and wait rate for truck is $50/hr. He came back, that he could have 2-1/2 free, agreed to $50/hr after that.

Emailed him back that I could agree to 2 hrs free and $50/hr to truck thereafter and called him. He agreed, said he was about to reply to my email and will follow-up by email.

My reasoning here that truck wait time not same as detention. You have a 2 pm appointment, arrive on time and they take 4 hrs to load you, jump through the right hoops and get 2 hrs detention--MAYBE. This is actually better. Doesn't matter whether shipper pays broker for my wait time. Not my concern. Broker wants me to PU load at 2 pm that had an 8 am appointment...

O-o-o-oh, yeah!!

Broker's going to call and try get load expedited, says he updated the appt time yesterday. Again, not my concern. My concern is hard deadline in Prairie du Chien tomorrow. If he gets the load expedited that's fine, a good thing.

My concern: Prairie du Chien. This load is secondary.


Written Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at shipper, waiting to load. Loading started at 4:15 pm, well after 2 pm 'appointment' that really was 8 am appt. Fell asleep, scrunched my glasses AGAIN. Gonna leave here one well-rested puppy. Green light at 6 pm, so $900 load and $100 wait time, $1,000 for 375 miles. Scaled at Pittsboro, IN Love's. Steers: 12060, Drives: 30,960, Trailer: 33,560, Gross: 76,580. Good to go.

All rights reserved.

 

Brokers and Tired Truckers

"What is this..." the big, old guy--still strong, barrel-chested--with a pale, tired face, equally tired blue eyes and loose white curls of hair that escaped his equally white-haired beard and head like single weeds that rise above, grow out faster than the unkempt patches of grass below.

He stood truck-stop-shower clean in shirt and jeans despite all the wispy white curls escaping out of untrimmed beard and hair in a line of equally tired drivers at the shipping window, all holding slips, most without the magic pick up number that each would soon call the broker for...

"Don't they know," he said, to no one in particular, exasperation in his voice, looking at me looking at him, "that if we wait 5 or 6 hours here to load we don't have time to make the delivery? You know, they don't care. They don't care. What the Hell are we supposed to do?"

The broker said he had 16 trucks there for loads, loads booked to a mix of owner operators, company drivers, lease drivers, intermodals, vans and reefers parked by the shipping office or backed to a door that might not start loading for hours yet.

The why the broker has a role here is fairly simple. Neither shipper nor receiver want to deal with all the billing, driver instructions and details, MC numbers, for multiples of trucking outfits. Push that off to a broker, pay the broker a rate, let the broker advertise the load on the boards. take the calls, negotiate with each trucker individually and worry and dispatch.

The free enterprise system's in play and there'll be winners and losers.

While I talked to a trucker at the door next to my door, 33, another came up. "Excuse me," he interrupted, looking to the driver sitting in the cab. "Can I borrow a cigarette?" The driver pulls out a cigarette and I rag a little at both.

How did he know to not ask me in the first place?

The next morning this same cigarette-borrower pulls past me on I-39 near Madison, not all that far from where I'm parked in a residential area for the night. The blue seal on his reefer was unmistakable, or so I thought. But I'd gotten a good look at him and his truck while he slid his tandems.

Yeah, that was him, running a little hot, pulling away and past me despite that I run 66-67 and the speed limit's 65 up there. I got loaded at 6 pm yesterday, when did he get loaded I wonder...


Written Thursday, June 12, 2014 from a residential neighborhood west side of Madison, Wisconsin. After a long rest in Prairie du Chien, did not have the hours to make a rest area. This'll do...

All rights reserved.

 

300 Miles to Willow Creek

Funny.

It was exactly 300 miles total from our truck yard to the shipper in Indy and then from the shipper to Willow Creek Rest Area near Paw Paw, Illinois on I-39. What are the chances of that, I thought, as I wrote down my mileage for the day on my log.

Not only that, the curly, white-haired, older trucker back at the shipper was right. My four-hour wait to get loaded made it awkward to get to my destination before receiving closed there at 12 noon Central time. Well, had the hours to get there, to drive straight through. It was only an additional 115 miles from the rest area to the receiver.

Then I would not have the hours to make Prairie du Chien until late or even until the day after it had, absolutely had to be picked up. Besides, don't much like driving at night and had scrunched my glasses. Usually keep them up by the dash when I'm in the bunk. Had wanted to be able to look out in the side mirror and see the flashing light next to the trailer back at the dock behind me.

When the light changed from flashing green to flashing red it would mean they would start loading.

Had the glasses on the keyboard, fell asleep and rolled over on them. Scrunch!! (Got them fixed in Prairie, though, better now than before.)

Yeah, I was going to watch for that flashing light, as well as the activity on the lot in front of my truck and maybe for a Heartland or Gordon. Now, 300 miles later, from the rest area I could see a Gordon across the Interstate at the rest area on the southbound side. That's my favorite rest area on this lane, southbound I-39, the Willow Creek Rest Area on two levels, 'separating the species', truckers and cars.

This one's just okay, the northbound rest area.

I needed to figure this out, how to run those 115 miles and still make Prairie du Chien. The best solution was double yellow's 8/2 split. It might cause the company fits, though. Called the Yard Boss about it, that I doubted the software they run the logs through would pick that up. Otherwise, though, any delay in traffic or equipment could put me too late to deliver.

The 8/2 split would afford some breathing room around the delivery and still make it possible to get to Prairie in good time. Yuppo, that's what I'll do, just mark it VERY clearly on the log, get the Yard Boss' buy-in and mention it in my 'shutdown for the night' email that I planned to send.

Maybe all that would help.

I thought about the old guy back at the shipper. Big guy. White, curly wild hair. Untrimmed. Tired. Exasperated. What choices had he had all those years ago when he began trucking? Like Stevie Nicks sings about in 'Dreams'.

What had he had and what had he lost in the intervening years? Years that brought him to this shipper and to this very screwed up brokered load that he was trying, trying to pick up? Old trucking dog was very frustrated and very tired. Hope he made out okay.


Written Friday, June 13, 2014 kind of on the border between Madison and Fitchburg, Wisconsin in a residential neighborhood, shut down for the night. All rights reserved.

 

On Route Back to Indiana

Breakfast this morning is a 50 cent can of Van Camp's pork and beans from Wal-Mart. It's a nice neighborhood that I can't leave until I have 8 hours to add to my log this morning. Very nicely green, well-maintained lawns, nice trees, the birds have been out at work inspecting those lawns for bugs and worms since early as folks do the morning commute.

Waited until a gal walked by with her dog to pull my forward curtains.

Yesterday polished off all the smoked fish I bought. This time a big chunk of buffalo fish pretty fresh out of the smoker and small filet of walleye definitely right out of the smoker. Better selection than last time. A guy was hosing down the Alumacraft, squeezing Dawn or some other dishwashing liquid into the boat and rinsing it off with the hose.

That's how fresh this fish is, and yes, you can eat Mississippi River fish, indeed. Many lakes around here, too, I think.

Couldn't understand why if avocados were 94 cents in Bloomington, Indiana at Wal-Mart, they were $1.28 here in Prairie. Or bananas 44 cents and looked great in Indiana while the bananas here in Prairie looked some bruised, especially at 55 cents.

So why, oh, why, I thought, is peat moss $7.97 a brick when I pay $11.97 back in Indiana? Thought I would buy three, for the price of two. Didn't last time because I was going right back out, might as well wait. Well, this is the end of the wait that has arrived.

As I pushed 3 paid-for bricks up into the front seat from the shopping cart I happened to notice where they came from: Waupaca, Wisconsin. Eh? You mean to tell me shipping this to Indiana adds $4 per brick??? Really?

$4 per brick??

The chickens just love to spread this stuff out. All I have to do is rip it open and dump it out. Still pondering $4 dollars more per brick in Indiana.

Shipping, eh? Gonna have to do the math on this $4 brick!

To be continued...


Written Friday, June 13, 2014 from an attractive residential neighborhood. I just need to make the turn up at McKee which will take me down to Beltline Highway. All rights reserved.

 

My Idea of a Tragedy...

My idea of a tragedy is a good theory killed by a fact. Contradicted. Squished. A good theory gone to waste. Proven wrong. Oh, my. My $4 dollar cheaper bricks of peat moss are smaller, too, than the ones I buy at Rural King. Consolation's they're here now and I don't have to make a trip to Bloomington or Martinsville to get them. Cheaper price had nothing to do with proximity to Waupaca. But what a great theory!!

One of my chickens was acting broody or egg-bound. Broody is when they won't leave the nesting box because they think they'e going to hatch an egg or two. Had to turn the nesting box over with her in it turning over with it to get at the 4 eggs underneath her. She didn't want others in the nest box with her either. This morning another crawled on top of her and laid an egg.

Only have one nesting box.

So much for chicken privacy, eh?

The other possibility was that she was egg-bound, an egg stuck in her vent. I'm not much into probing her vent so took plan B, an Epsom salt bath for her. Just happens I had left my bath full of Epsom salts from before I left out. It's got lots of magnesium so I don't let that bath water down the drain. It goes into a waterer and gets poured strategically outside. Hey! It's fertilizer.

Plan B, chicken bath, then fertilizer. Waste not...

Brought the truck home, left my car up at the yard. Haven't done anything with it and may not. Had thought to clean up the inside some. There's a yellow layer of nicotine to deal with, steam off. Who knows, there's still the possibility they'll come up with another truck for me. Don't want to put too much effort into the inside of this one. Have been spritzing with foamy window cleaner, then wiping off. Ugh!! Dude, that crap's on the inside of your lungs!

The concern that we would lose work and runs has passed. Yard Boss wants to hire a couple more full-time drivers, home every night. He doesn't know about this writing I do. But if you live near I-70 and US Hwy 231 in Indiana I could probably direct you to a newspaper ad where you could stumble onto a help wanted. Driver. Home every night. I guess there's six runs a day 3 hours out, some wait time at both ends. No touch. Just bump the dock and wait for green light. The trips have a rate so you're paid by the number of trips.

Apparently no one else wants Prairie du Chien either.

My next load's coming out of Shelbyville, IL. Called Friday to re-confirm and the gal laughed. "Well," she said, Dawn's out today and on vacation all next week..." Dawn's the broker I made the deal with. "But you just saved me a call. You're on my list to call to make sure everything's okay."

Told her we're still good for a 3 pm pickup tomorrow (Sunday) at Shelbyville going to Sturtevant, WI. It's all good.

Pays $700 to the truck. Fairly light. 20K. Then on to Prairie for my important pick up and empty when I hit the hills on the way there.


Written Saturday, June 14, 2014 at home, six miles north of Spencer, Indiana. All rights reserved.

 

Heartland Interview #3--Javarious, tractor 31xx

Twice a gal driver for Central Refrigerated/Swift cut me off and then did the same to another truck as she sped through construction zones near Terre Haute. For that matter, even Old Dominion decided to ignore the 60 mph section there.

No matter. It didn't take long to pass Central Refrigerated/Swift, leave her well behind and see that she was talking furiously into her headset.

Probably unaware of what she had done.

Some of the drivers out here are like a short wick, lit and burning. Just a matter of time. It did take 20 miles or so to catch up to ODFL, though. No big deal. Approaching Effingham decided to pull into the Pilot just before my turn off and replenish my creamers that have been out all last week. Grabbed 3 Stoks (a cup's worth of caffeine in each), Irish creme and French vanilla, all to add to the couple hazelnuts I did have left.

Holding up the handful to the cashier, "Okay to grab some extra creamers??" She said, sure, and so far no one has said anything otherwise. Ah, but I left more than I took, too... in the biffy, you know. Spent zero, my usual truck stop purchase. I'm not there much except for free creamers from time to time.

Pulling out to leave the fairly vacant parking lot I spot a Heartland and swing around, turn into the lane next to him so we are driver window to driver window. At first, he didn't notice.

Honked on the city horn. He still didn't notice. Continued to honk on the city horn and... finally, we had a chat right there with my tail hanging out across the freeway behind me. Don't you hate it when someone pulls that?? Well, they could get around.

Sorry, ex-GTI'ers. Javarious has the Prostar Plus with MaxxForce engine, tractor 31xx, and runs system, like Noah, out of Jacksonville, like Noah, and likes his job, like Noah. He had 3000 miles last week, expects to hit 3100 this week and, like Noah, averages 2500 plus, makes good money. He would prefer the ISX. Well, of course!

Did I mention he likes his job?

Javarious really has no complaints. Started trucking with Prime and made good money there as a Prime trainer, a total with Prime of 1-1/2 years. He started with HTLD just before the Gordon acquisition, so has a little over six months with Heartland. Has not been to a Gordon terminal, although he could. Has seen no change in his job as a result of the acquisition. Nothing to report.

You know, you can tell when someone is disgruntled. Javarious is not. Pleasant and professional.



Written Sunday, June 15, 2014 while being loaded in Shelbyville, IL. They make you slide tandems, lower landing gear and pull out from trailer while loading. Okay, fine. All rights reserved.

 

Vic's Road Punishment Index

It's been a rough week or so for young deer up in Wisconsin. They feel overly safe following behind Mom if she doesn't spook over something and if so, they'll just hang back and then make a run for it, sometimes fatally. Lots of 'em alongside the road. I really, really hate that, especially if fresh.

There are so many that haven't been picked up yet I'm starting to get to know some of them. 'Oh, yeah, saw that one the other day, too...' I think the intense rains contributed.

Used to do a nightly run (with USPS mail for a contractor) through the wooded area between Bloomington, Indiana and Nashville, Indiana twice a night and it seemed there were always deer about.

Had lots of close calls but never hit a deer, knock on wood. One night up ahead they just kept popping out of the woods, one-by-one as I hit the brakes, pulled on the air horn and kept the truck straight.

Finally, when I figure they're all across, out pops a fawn about a pause distance behind the others. So I'm tooting on the air horn for all I'm worth to get her/him/it to get a move on and not tarnish my deer-free record.

I did say I've never hit a deer, didn't I...

Thankfully, the loader yesterday in Shelbyville assisted me with my tandems. These have been very balky and it's required that you run them all the way back, get up to the dock, chock your wheels and disconnect the tractor, pull it forward while a nose dolly gets pushed under the trailer bulkhead. Then the trick is to get them back 20 empty holes from the tail. Not too bad with two people. Thanks!!

Had same issue as the earlier load to Windsor, how to run it in timely fashion so had hours left to get to Prairie du Chien. Had a 9 am appointment in Sturtevant, Wisconsin (Windsor closed for receiving at 12 noon) and an hour further to reach Prairie, 3-1/2 hours, roughly. What to do, what to do.

Pondered over it while loading. It made most sense to run it straight through, take either an 8/2 split like I did to Windsor or a full 10. Well, we'll see, I thought. Ran out from Shelbyville to Mattoon, right there on I-57. Oh, my! What a nice road. Coming in wasn't.

Had run out I-70 west to Effingham, Illinois and took 32/33 north from there. Big mistake. Learning curve. An older, fully frost-heaved road with twists, turns and curves all the way up from Effingham. Ugh! I'd put that road up as a 'Vic's Road Punishment Index' of 7-8, with 10 being jawbreaker. Very uncomfortable even at 40 mph, a beating on the kidneys as the seat backslapped me.

There's a jawbreaker just south of Janesville on I-39 southbound that has caught me by surprise twice now. Well, if I'm going to run this lane, better start taking note of the pain and where. For example: A couple times now I've made the transition from I-74 westbound to I-39 northbound as the sun starts to set. From I-74, the sun is pretty much in front of me and the truck's shadow behind so not noticed.

The exit and transition have a choppiness like on water, a thumpety-thump-thump about 3-4 on Vic's Road Punishment Index. From the sun in front, the transition makes a long 'S' curve, first to the right and then to the left--and into another long 'S' such that the sun 'moves' behind the truck, making a distinct shadow on the left side of the truck.

Then, as the truck progresses through the transition, the sun 'moves' to the other side, the shadow on the left is seen from the cab to make a sudden, sharp move over to the right.

Very, very cool.

Even worth the pain of the choppy-feeling pavement there. (I-74 westbound exit 164 transition to I-39 northbound.)


Written Monday, June 16, 2014 at Willow Creek Rest Area (I-39 southbound, the two-level rest area that I really like) on the way back from Sturtevant and Prairie du Chien. All rights reserved.