Shambles

I empathize with you greatly. We all tend to be where we are from. With you, it's the Eastern seaboard. I'm a south Western guy by birth and where I always return to.

You are probably familiar with those decorations in truck stops of a map of the US made up of state license plates. After I had been to every one of the 48 and I have, the map looked so small. Land locked as I am doing short runs in southern California the map looks huge.

I want to make it small again.

 

How right you are. I had one a few days ago that had practically no brakes. The tractor had to do all the work. I had a near jackknife on a rainy day. If it would have happened on ice, I'd be dead.

Last night, I picked up one with a loose fitting pigtail jack. The pig tail came out. The idiot boss removed the deck plate from the truck months ago. Just for a little while like he always says. Anyway, the pig tail dragged on the road and was damaged. It still works but he will probably try to make me pay for it. The last time that happened it was worse. It wrapped around the drive shaft and tore completely off. Also, I nearly fell across into the well more then once hooking up the air lines and cable with no deck to stand on. I don't bother to play monkey now. I step into the well and straddle the drive shaft when hooking up the lines.
I'm not a litigious man. If I was I would 'accidentally fall" into the well and call an ambulance chaser on my so called boss.

 

Most of the other drivers in our small crew like the arrangement of the last six months because they are family men.
I'm not, which is why I love long haul so much. The boss turns that subject on me when I have told him I don't like local work "The other drivers don't complain. They are grateful for work" He reminds me of my mother. I loved her, but I grew tired of her method of assigning guilt.

 

I'm not challenging you, but I've 4200 miles in a week more than once.

That of course was with an ungoverned truck and running in states with a speed limit of at least 70 for trucks.

 

I guess that's why I have been working for mom and pop shops for the last six years. Big companies keep you reigned in at 64.

I used to feel like a pawn on a chessboard with big outfits.
Little company methods aren't much better. The last bunch I worked for, only five trucks, and this current one has me feeling like a cross between a street walker and a pack mule