Stevens Transport A year in review

Thermo king Tri Pak...the webasto is part of that package. $50 per week is well worth the comfort and piece of mind it affords.

Have to secure the trailer at a location stevens approves of.. So long as it is legal in your community, as a lease operator, you may take the tractor home. I do.

The pre-alliance time you will get a company truck, what ever is available on the yard. Stevens is NOT a purchase. After that, your choices are limited to what is available at the time, unless you want to set around and wait, and wait...

Now something you were NOT told about taking more than 30 days off, You will have to re-qualify when you come back. After 30 days off, you are no longer employed. You will change trucks. And this will be considered a lease turn in, and you will be charged for everything they find wrong with the truck.

 

Exactly what I do, set the mode I want and the temp and forget it. The tripak uses a diesel fired heater to heat the bunk, so the APU engine does not have to run all night to keep me toasty and warm. The name is what is confusing you, in my humble opinion.

 

Dec 6 to Dec 12

Miles ran, 2751

Miles paid, 3011

Miles transflowed, yet to be paid, 0

Started this week off making my delivery in Lancaster TX. Pulled in at 0715, backed into the door, and by 0830 I was empty. Headed over to the loves to transflow my paperwork, and get another load. Had to wait a couple of hours again for a load. Long deadhead, to Rogers AR, Tyson. Arrive in Rogers about 6pm, check in, no trailer has even been assigned. Great.

At 4am my QC beeps, saying my DLD is less than 2 hours away, and no L call has been made. I was up anyway, hoping this load would be ready, as it was due in Mount Vernon NY on Thursday 10am. There are 2 Mount Vernons in New York, and this one is in the City. Nope load is not ready, but it is in the door, and about 1/3 loaded. Now that I know the DLD is 0615, I will check back then. At 0615 I see the Yard Dog pull a stevens trailer, so I go and check, yep that one is mine, hook to it, pull onto the scale, over weight, gross, and way over on the trailer in the 10 hole, loaded all the way to the doors.

Back into a door, they unload the entire trailer, pull 30 cases off, and reload the trailer, to the 48FT line like it should be. Back onto the scale, 5th hole and I am legal. Time to push, and put some miles behind me...

Get a call from my DM, will I help with a repower going to cartert NJ? is it porkys? yes, I will take it. Easy in easy out, and parking on sight. Repower in Carlisle PA, the other driver is saying he just can't make the 0600 appt. He is upset when he finds out my load is going to the city, but too late. I catch some sleep, and head off to porky's...traffic slows me down, and I pull in at 0630... so much for detention pay, and it is 1 pm before I am empty.

Had a pre plan, that dispatch took away, saying I did not have the hours to make it. Wonder what truck they looked at? oh well, DM was not happy when he returned from lunch and had me asking for a load. Took him a couple of hours to find another load, but it had less deadhead, and delivery was to the same place, going from Hazelton PA, to Edwardsville, IL, drop and hook both ends. By now I have had a 10 hour break so head up to Hazelton, am informed they have jump started the refer, and it is still giving them troubles. I put it on continuous, hook up, and head out.

Stop at Sapp Bros, in PA, to tired to go farther. Trying to get to Edwardsville early, to get a load out before the storm, and the days loads are all gone. The refer had different ideas for me though. As I got into Indiana, and the temp rose above freezing, it sounded like a gun shot went off behind my head. Pulled into the truck stop that was only a mile away, to see what happened. My tires are good, but there is liquid leaking out of the refer, smells like acid. Open the refer door, and the whole side of the battery is missing.... Spend 4 hours with road rescue getting that fixed, and burns up my 14.

Arrive in Edwardsville saturday after 11am no empties, no load...next load out sunday, does not need to be in Longmont CO until Tuesday 2345...So I do a 34 hour reset, and wait for the storm to pass. Will pick the load up on monday.

 

Yes Stevens reports the lease to the credit bureaus. And since they take the payment each week, you are always current on your payment. Does help.

Yes stevens will sell you a truck, with them financing it, and taking the payment each week. If you want to keep the truck you lease, it must have more than 350,000 miles, and be more than 3 years old, before they will consider selling it.

All stevens trucks have the tri pak... unless they are more than 5 years old, and there are a few of them left, since the downturn.

 

Dec 13 to Dec 19

Miles ran, 2529

Miles paid, 2562

Miles transflowed, yet to be paid, 892

Started this week out in edwardsville IL, after a reset, rain, snow, bitter cold. Had a the brakes on the rear right axle freeze up, setting in the cold and rain... Took a while, and a can of brake cleaner to break them loose. Then it was over to hershey to pick up my load. Grab it, but the trailer tandems refuse to slide, a few shots of WD40, and they finally slide. Got to love cold weather...

Roll out and make Mittons TA in western nebraska...leaving me a short run for tuesday morning to longmont co. Arrive in Longmont and park 4 miles away from the receiver, 60 degrees and sunshine.. Ask about a pre plan, but am ignored. Roll over to Mclane, check in, and at 0200 I am headed back over to the little truck stop, still no load.. catch some sleep, walk over to the waffle house for breakfast. Get back to the truck, have a load assignment, Picks up in Lexington NE, DLD Friday 2300...ouch... freight is really getting slow.

Finish out my break, and roll across the warm sunning plains of Eastern Colorado, and Western Nebraska.. Arrive at Tyson, drop my trailer, restock the supplies on the truck.. love that wal mart. Then I grab a hotel room, since I have 2 nights to kill...

Friday morning I call and surprise, my load is ready. So I can leisurely roll east at my pace, in the daytime. Get out of tyson about 10am, and head east on 80 and then drop down to US 36. Going Monrovia MD, right off I70 between Washington DC and Baltimore, then over to willimington DE, and then UP to Buffalo NY. Fuel at the loves in St Joeseph MO, that took 45 minutes, as they only had 4 pumps working, repairing the concrete. Then across US 36, a nice 4 lane to I72, where I stopped for the night at a nice small Truck stop. Friendly staff, but they are closed from midnight until 5 am. I am asleep anyway.

Get up on saturday, send in a repower request stating where I will be during the day if they need any help getting somebody home for christmas.. no response. roll to claysville PA for the night...another nice quite night. Then I have a 3 hour roll to Hagerstown MD for Sunday, as Costco does not have overnight parking, and there is no place closer to park. Arrive at the pilot about 1pm local time, and there were a handful of parking spots. by 3pm the place has been packed.

Now if everything goes correctly on Monday, it is 40 miles to costco,830 appt, they are quick, then 118 miles to Burris, noon appt, dealing with I95 traffic north through Baltimore, and Burris is so slow, and then 380 miles up to Buffalo NY for Tuesday am. And US 30 is so much fun approaching Lancaster PA.

Can certainly tell the CSR has no idea what driving the East coast is like, or how much time it takes. But as they say, make the first one on time, the others will just have to accept you when you get there. Yea right!!!

 

I want to say merry christmas to all who have popped in here and read my adventures, shared, or just quietly lurked. I will not be home for christmas, but the day after, hours of service and all. Everyone be safe, enjoy the holidays, and thanks for sharing a small part of my adventures.