Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

Were running short too now were running short on everything drivers and trucks we have a bunch of new 2017 Volvo's all shiney and clean, but they don't have plates yet and were short on drivers and power so now they have had to resort to renting trucks I had a rental truck today. I'm going to be here at the warehouse next week as well running night transit which is the double trailers. I'll be like a regular LTLer.

I was on Volume truck all week this week, and I ran our farthest run today which is PITT-BUFFALO, New York.
I had left at 1amish and got back oh just now got back to the hotel. 477 miles and maybe 12 hours.
No back haul which was fine, had a rental truck today as well Yellow Penske Freightliner Cascadia Automatic, governed out at 70miles per hour which is 7 miles an hour faster then our Volvo's however, our Volvo's are Cadillac's compaired to the Freightliner Rental Cascadia's. However that 70 mile an hour governor came in real handy on the New York Thru Way this morning. However that being said our Volvo's are a million times nicer on the inside the controls make way more sense, the interior is 100xs nicer, the seats are a bazzillion times better in the Volvo.

The almost barebones Freightliner, had this goofy cheap 30% bench passenger seat and then a semi regular drivers seat, but nothing nearly as nice as the Volvo's, however I bet the sticker on the Volvo is $20G's more then the Freightliner although that doesn't matter GFS shops price, but then they don't and they just decided that Volvo is there thing and won't change from that, which is fine out of Internationa, Freightliner and Volvo my personal opinion is Volvo is the best also the most expensive, but it's the best.

International and Freightliner are pretty much tied although the controls on the Internationals I think are better placed, that Casscadia the controls were in some stupid places and fumbling down around in the dark on I-79 looking for some rediculous control is stupid vs the Volvo where the controls are where you would look for them.

Like Freightliner there key is off and down to the left. Volvo the key is on the colum like a normal car whcih makes way more sense.

The automatic transmission that was another thing for the most part it was alright, except it was 13 speed and that thing would start in second gear and go all the way up.

In Buffalo and Pittsburgh there's a lot of stop signs before getting on the highway. Sitting there in an automatic trying to get moving from a dead stop starting in gear 2 is rediculous talk about impeding traffic.

If I had one our Volvo's I could have started in 4th gear, swtiched up to 6th gear (yes I skip 5th) then by that time could have been doing 20mph+ and ready to head up to 7th and have already been 90% of the way to track speed.

No instead I pulled out and waited for the truck do shift and go through the motions and it was slow and I though oh yeah this is good.

However on the highway no complaints the Freightliner was fine the visibility out the windshield that was alright as well the radio sucked in it, but what ever. Our Volov's have nicer radio's and I'll admit I'm kind of a cranker I'll cranck the radio up some when I'm all by my self.

Anyhow though smooth run up to New York at the end of the day and that's all that counts.

 

Holy crap! I thought my place was short handed. Worse we have had was 4 out of 6 drivers working.

 

This morning in Buffalo, New York our farthest run.

 

Haha,yeah! Hook up three 45' trailers. "Gee officer, I figured I was legal since triples are legal in his state"!

 

Ya may have passed me at some point today, @Mike2633. I was delivering in Dunkirk NY, then shot down to Erie, PA where I'm laying over before kicking my final 400 cases off and heading back east.

BTW I saw two of those yellow terrors in our yard this morning too...either we're down tractors or up on volume this week. I don't like to use them, for some reason our local Penske yard governs them down around 63 (well, the last one I drove was, anyway). Not fun, our trucks go 65 on cruise, 68 on pedal.

 

I was right near Dunkirk as you know. I was thinking about you I don't recall seeing any Fritos today but I wouldn't have been hard to miss not to many GFSs in. New York were kind of one offs up there especially a GFS in New York State with a Penskey "Yellow Terror" I like that by the way that's a Good one. Anyone taking pictures for Hanks Truck Pictures would want to get me not to sound ego tystical!


GFS has this pretty interesting concept store in Buffalo I don't know if you have ever been to our store there it's geared towards restaurants but is open to the public it's the only store of its kind in the company very nice on the inside.

Yeah passed the world famous Angola service plaza and everything. I think the last time I was up that way Mobil had the contract for all the New York State Thruway gas stations.

 

Freightliners suck
I'm so glad Mike sees that now.
once you drive a Volvo is just makes so much more sense (well once you find the hood release which takes a few minutes, but everything else makes sense)

hmmm, short drivers, short drivers, short drivers, but they just cut us from 74 to 65 (which is a pay cut really)

I'm sure that will end well.

Oh, actually one guy (of 6) on the night extra board just gave notice last night (ODFL bound)
hmmmmmmmm, shocker

 

A lot of GFS old timers are ODFL bound even some of the old time Michigan guys are ODFL bound that's one company that isn't short people.

Yeah the Freightshakers are real clunkers took me forever to open the hood of the truck. Very poor design. Thank God GFS doesn't actually buy those hell they don't even like renting them, but when the old back is up against the wall.