Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

i was thinking maybe that union contract aint going to well

 

USF Holland?

 

Snider has been covering runs out of Carlisle for several years . YRC like to tell you they are filling in , but Snider did not buy single axle sleeper cabs to “fill in “ . That is the only job they can be used for in their world .

 

Alright so now that I'm a big time road driver like most of you, I can tell some big time road stories.

Busy 2 nights for me they've been working me pretty hard. I've been going all over the place. In the past 2 days now this is probably low for some of you, but I work for a food service company so it's a little different, but I've managed to do a little over 800 miles and have set up and taken down about 15 sets of doubles.

If you work for a food company that runs double trailers you will be setting up and taking down sets of doubles a lot. Same with like FedEx Ground you will get lots of practice hooking and unhooking and hooking again.

The yards you will go to will be a mixed bag some of them are main branch yards with lights and pavement and an office with sales people and stuff although none of those people are around when you get there.

And then other yards you go to will be distant far off "dark" terminals or satalite or substitute yards some will have a nice gravel drop lot others will be just a dusty mud yard full of pot holes.

The far away yard I went to last night was just a little dark yard a couple trailers, and 4 tractors. I don't even know if they have a transit driver running out of there I didn't see any converter dollies or anything like that. It was just a little 4 truck yard and I'm not even sure they run 4 routes everyday.

Anyhow it was a late release through the hills of Pittsburgh down all the way on route 70 and PA-US 40 snaking through the curves and hills and endless road construction and 45 mile an hour bottle necks and goofy hard to figure out road construction and confusing PA signage. There were a couple times where thank god I had the road in certain areas all to my self, because I really had to slow down to really look and pay attention to where I was going.

You can look on a map and have a GPS running, but neither one of those things is 100% full proof and I did both, but still you still have to pay attention to what you're doing. Pennsylvania can be a challenging state to drive in and when you're in a big truck pulling a set of doubles to some far off place that trucks like your truck don't normally go it's a bit of a challenge.

Food service trucks don't always go to big lots and huge mega freight terminals not that every LTL terminal is a huge lot or mega freight terminal plenty are smaller and cramped, but with food work you'll be going to places that well, they can accommodate, but you need to do some work.

Last night I got to the far away yard near Morgantown, West Virginia and the yard it's self wasn't to bad really nice gravel they had a light it was on a hill, but other then that it was alright. What I did and you can say this was to much work, but what ever. The yard had enough room to get the truck around, but it wasn't real good for moving a set of doubles. So I broke the set of doubles down. moved one trailer into place.

Unhooked the converter gear and parked it off to the side.

Then I moved the trailer I dropped into place to make everything look nice and tight. Then I hooked my Converter to the back of my truck and moved it in front of a trailer and then unhooked that hooked my truck up to my trailer and then clanked my train together.

Anyhow, it all worked out well. Now on the way back my slow truck was doing better as the run was mostly down hill, but I came upon some 45 mile active construction and wouldn't you know it a set of XPO doubles and a UPS Freight sleeper cab truck load truck were all in a big fat hurry to deliver there load of garbage cans to the Home Depot first and I'm busy slowing down, because the sign said 45 miles active zone and I knew it was having driven by the other way.

Anyhow these two both pass me up because I have the slowest truck in the fleet no really I have the slowest truck in the fleet and both of them once we get down to a single lane slam on there breaks infront of each other. Now on the flip side there was another UPS Freight truck load truck going 30 miles an hour through the construction and even I had to pass him up. If I have to pass you up that's really embarrassing to you.

Anyhow, I got to the little town and had to snake my way through the little town where are faraway yard is, I felt almost out of place the town I was going through doesn't get much double trailer traffic, but food service doubles tend to go to more challenging places and that's why you have to set up and take down so much. Anyhow I have to go to work another big night tonight.

Usually what I do is I leave my yard where I live drive to the warehouse. Then kind of like an OTR driver they send me someplace else then I go there drop my trailers and grab my empties and come back where I unhook re-hook and head back to my home yard.

 

Uniontown? Connellsville?

 

Yes sir around that part of the world. Right on the PA, West Virginia and Maryland state line.

 

Alright another fun filled day is over.
Tonight was a little bit of an easier day.
Now one thing I learned was a 50ft trailer is easier to pull and a bit lighter then a set of doubles. I know dry van doubles the trailers probably have a fairly low tare weight, they probably don't weigh as much, but food service doubles even empty are heavy.

You have 2 trailers, all the axles that go along with the trailers and truck, plus since the trailers are refrigerated they have metal floors and other heavy components like 2 refrigerator units and 2 fuel tanks and ramps and other special delivery gear, which all ads to tare weight.

Anyhow, I had a 50' trailer to take on my first run with 27000lbs and I noticed the 50' trailer pulled a lot easier and I was able to keep up a better average speed.

Doubles the two trailers combine there load weight was 28,000lbs. That load felt a lot heavier then the 50' trailer with 27000lbs.

Coming back the 50ft trailer empty was like nothing.
With doubles though it's a lot heavier.
Anyhow I have to go get some sleep have a nice day.

 

So this was interesting yesterday afternoon when I was headed to the warehouse I was passed up by a truck from a small time company real small company called DC Transport. The truck and trailer was nothing special, but where they were located was. They were located and based out of Washington, DC.

And it really was true the actual semi trailer just a dry van trailer, but the actual trailer had Washington, DC license plates on it. I thought there's something you don't see very often at least not me, I've not seen very many Washington DC based trucking companies and you don't see many commercial vehicles registered with Washington DC license plates. When was the last time you saw an OTR truck which this one was registered and based out of Washington, DC with actual Washington DC plates. It's not a very common sight.

Then again I don't think there's really much heavy truck freight being manufactured or distributed from Washington, DC it's self.

 

DC has its own produce market like most large cities. Also there is a small Chinese market and a few stand alone distributors.