Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

If i have enough $ saved up after getting a year of experience then ill move out closer to jackson ms where all the terminals are. If not ill bide my time and apply later

 

If ive got the money for a downpayment on a house closer to jackson i will. If all else i have options

 

Yep, I had that happen. Six skids to PU, got there and got the Deer In Headlights Look..."Oh, um...UPSF picked up their stuff and yours!"

Called dispatch: "Dude, we got poached by UPS! Let's get our gats and represent!" LOL

It happens. They poach our freight, we'll poach theirs if we get the opportunity. But I'll help out any driver who needs a hand, TL or LTL, union or not. We're all in this together at the end of the day.

 

We frequently pull 'em with a single-axle tractor as well as a single-axle dolly, though our load weight per trailer is typically under 12K. (As does UPS Package here as well, though more than two 48's they seem to haul a Rocky Mtn set). Our entire rig from bumper to bumper isn't ever really near 80K.

 

I did worse this morning I delivered the wrong stop what a pain that was. I caught the mistake on my way back to the truck and fixed it better me catching it then anyone else, but that's a sucker right there.

 

I think one thing these pie in the sky autonomous truck proponents don't think about is some of the places LTL trucks go. When I go to a very difficult place to back into, you know the kind where your truck is halfway in the road, I ask them how long they have been in business. The response is usually since 1950-60's or 70s. This is back when trailers were 40-45 feet at the most, and now there are 53.

Besides that, my job is very dynamic. Will a truck be on the door at this stop where it easier to blindside on the next door, will I get a break in traffic to where I can back across a five lane road, will the idiot Waste Management driver put the dumpster right in the way, will I be able to park in oncoming traffic and open my doors since I need both lanes?

As far as the above topic, I have to sometimes pick up skids that other drivers left at a previous stop. I don't like delivering to places where I can't count the pallets or product coming off to make sure they are getting the right stuff. I almost bother them to the point of redundancy with "hey, your getting six skids, and I have other stops. Hey my next stop is floor loaded, etc." and even doing that I had a guy unload my next stops 15 pallets last week. Pulled off the door, backed right back on it, and said I need you to load those last 15 right back on. I wonder what an autonomous truck would do in that situation when it made it to the next stop 150 miles away with no product?