Stevens Transport A year in review

Stevens equips the trucks with the Thermo King tri pac. Yes it has the wabasco bunk heater. It will make the truck to hot if you want it that way. At zero degrees in wyoming with a slight wind blowing, I was warm and toasty in my shirt sleeves. I don't close the bunk curtain.

The A/C setting in Phoenix AZ with my curtains up, kept me comfortably cool. Setting in a loading dock in Nogales AZ, I stayed cool.

As a lease operator, I am responsible for paying for my own fuel, so it is my choice if I idle the truck or not. The APU will NOT operate while the truck engine is running.

 

Refer loads tend to drop just a little, not near as much as dry van though.

Yes my first lease truck was older, and had no APU. Stevens lease is NOT a purchase. It is a 2 year lease, and then you turn the truck in, and start again. Now if you want to buy the truck you are in, you give stevens written notice before the lease is up, and then they set up a loan, 2 more years, about $40,000 principle to purchase the 2 year old truck.

If you leave the company before the lease is up, you leave everything behind.

 

I don't do canada...canada won't let me in

I hand canada loads off to other drivers either in Detroit, or Buffalo. There are some dedicated drivers that just cross the border day after day. No extra pay for crossing the border.

All OS&D is handled, more than a case, and Stevens will find a place for you to deliver it to. Food banks, farmers markets, they have places everywhere that buy the OS&D. If all else fails you will take it to a sanitary land fill. NOT FUN.

 

The income is better than a company driver, so long as you have some business experience, and understand you are running a business. Is it good compared to other companies, yes and no.

A year or so under your belt, then your options open way up, as many companies will hire you with a year of experience.

I stay as my options are limited living in the wide open spaces of wyoming. I don't want to haul oil/gas field equipment.

 

Oct 18 to 24

Miles ran, 2571

Miles paid, 2337

Miles transflowed, yet to be paid, 1590

Made my early morning meat load to Walmart, then headed over to Camilla GA to pick up peanuts headed to laredo..Closer to the yard.

Arrive in Laredo, on wed, drop my trailer, and am given a frozen load to take the the rail yard in Haslet, then to the yard.

Arrive at the yard on thrusday at 9am, I am clear at 3pm. Safety talk that required me to come to the yard took 5 minutes...nothing to talk about.
Compliance took longer as we went over and over compression, which they could not show me what I was doing wrong on my logs. They could not find any compression on my logs.

Truck was cleared at 0730 Friday morning, and I departed the yard at 0915, to pick up a live load going to denver for monday morning. Arrived in Denver Saturday afternoon, parked, talked to a couple of drivers, walked over to northfield and wondered around. Did a 34 hour reset.

Denver....next stop....meat patch.

 

Oct 25 to 31

Miles Ran, 3231 a good week

Miles paid this week, 1590

Miles Transflowed, yet to be paid, 2696

Started Monday Morning with a fresh 70. Reset in Denver over the weekend. Made my delivery to BASF, and get a load picking up in Holcomb KS. Figured I would head for the meat patch. Problem is the DLD is Wed at 1949. I don't need another reset...Head to Holcomb. About an hour away, QC beeps, load is ready...

Arrive a Holcomb, drop trailer, pickup trailer, and down to the Garden city TS. Ben fighting the wind all day, and really don't feel like driving any more. Get up early Tuesday and roll out, Stopping for the night in Pontoon Beach IL. Ask for a repower since I am running early. Will try in columbus OH in the AM.

Get up Wednesday, roll, stop for fuel in Richmond IN, ask about the repower, nothing yet, oh well, call the reciever, see if they will take this load on Thursday Morning...sorry, we don't have the room for it on thursday was the answer. Oh Well, roll on, stop East of Columbus for lunch..get a call, Have a load that needs to be in NJ 480 miles away at 0800. It is now 1400. sorry I will be late for the appointment. They will take you late. about 30 minutes later get a QC that they found a team that could get it there on time. I roll on to the Somerset plaza in PA.

I have a short roll for thursday, and stop at the TA in Bloomsbury NJ, so I can roll into Keasbey NJ Friday morning.

Friday morning goes smoothly, in and out in 3 hours. Get a load assignment to pick up at Mullica Hill Cold Storage. 2 drops, Oklahoma city, and The colony TX. 1700 miles, appointment is 3pm.

Check in at 1pm, and it is 930pm before I am loaded, pulled off, recounted, changed, reloaded. This place can never get multi stop loads correct. Head over to the J at Carneys point, a whole 4 miles away, and call it a day, as I am tired, having started my day at 2 am back in Bloomsbury NJ...Log book says I can drive, but the body says no.

Catch some sleep, wake up at 0400 and roll out..US 30 through Lancaster PA was a pleasant drive before everyone gets up. Otherwise it is a S L O W roll. Knock off at spiceland IN for the day. Get up at 3am and roll down to Big Cabin OK. Get up at 3am to make my 0600 appt in Oklahoma city.

So ends a good week of miles. Amazing what a reset can do.

I like to hit as many opti stop fuel stops as I can, to get that additional unknown discount. But I have to also watch where they are sending me to get fuel. On the NJ run, the opti stop added 80 miles to the route. I choose to skip the final fuel stop, as I had more than enough fuel to make my delivery, and do 300 more miles. Part of trip planning as a lease operator, to squeeze every penny into my pocket I can.