Stevens Transport A year in review

Week 6
Miles ran, 3045, the miles have been good this year
Miles Paid 3005
miles transfloed not paid yet, 2666, just sent them in today, Sunday.

Got up Monday morning to fog, normal for the west coast of oregon. Drove the 8 miles to the receiver, pulled into there tight parking lot/truck entrance, backed into their pit, and was quickly unloaded. Okay, now where will I go, not knowing the northwest very well. Beep, Load assignment, going to pick up in Othella Washington, 315 miles north. MMMM, just north of Pasco. Load delivers to fort Worth TX on 2/12 at 2am. I do not have the hours to make the delivery. Off I go to pick it up, appointment time for pickup is 8:30am, and I am 6 hours away. Pull in at 2:30 pm, get told it will be an $80 restage fee for missing my appointment. Okay, back to the truck, send in the request on the QC, get the Tcheck, go back in and pay up. Get told to wait, a supervisor will come out and knock on the truck when they are ready to load me.

I got a Looooong nap in. Woke up at 9pm, still no knock. See the supervisor walking back to the building, and ask him when will I be loaded. He says last. Well there are only 3 other trucks left. At 11pm, I finally back into the dock, and at midnight, I am loaded, now over to the scale, as this is 44000 lbs of frozen potatoes. I am legal with 1/2 tanks. Back over to pick up my paperwork.....shift change....2am, get paper work, head down to the flying J at Pasco. It is not much of a truck stop, but the restaurant next door is good. Take a nap, eat breakfast, and continue on my 4 hours of drive time today. I let my DM know that I will be stopping in Baker City OR for the day. As I cross the scales at the Washington/Oregon border, I get the message to park, and bring in my paperwork. I park, gather up the permit book, log book, and bill of lading, and wander in. Scale master wants to see my log book. Looks it over, asks me a couple of question, wondered why I had taken a 6 hour nap, and said, all is good, hands me my log book, and a signed inspection form. No Violations.

My DM does his magic again, finds a repower that is going to robert LA, that delivers on sunday, and has 2160 miles to go. #### he is good. The other driver, a trainer is happy to get rid of the load with too much time on it and takes off. I plan out my trip against my hours, and Stevens Fuel route, that makes very little sense, and would add 120 miles to the trip. And I do not have the 2 additional hours on my logs.

I plan it out, Fill in Ontario OR, run i84 south to i15, and then cut down us6 through colorado, and New mexico. then Run I40 to US 287 to I30. I choose to fill at the loves along the route, as that is usually the best price. Stop the first night in Farmington NM, a hole in the wall, but a place to park. Next night make Vernon TX. Get caught up in a DM's game of trying to say he did everything he could to get a driver home that was sitting empty in Temple. I kept my load, and made Port Allen LA. 60 miles to go.

Get up sunday, drive the hour, to walmart for a 7:30 appt time. arrive at 6:30, and get turned around, as the appt time is for 8:00, and they do not let any trucks in early. I turn around, go down the narrow road to a little fuel stop, turn around, and fall back in line, 10 trucks away from the gate. Takes 40 minutes to get back to the gate. Oh well, there rules.

get unloaded in the "standard" 2 hours, and they rejected 200 cases of apples, saying they are bruised and decayed. Look perfectly good to me, but what do I know. I am the 3rd truck of apples that they have rejected all fuju apples.

Sunday, OS&D, I will be here until Monday Afternoon. Head over to the Petro at Hammond. Get a phone call, dispatch needs help, and I am the only Hazmat driver in the area. give my OS&D trailer to this driver, take his trailer, and head for Conroe TX for a monday morning delivery. sure, keeps me moving, and I will get 3000 miles this week again.

All is good, find the other driver, who is wanting to go home, Mardi Gras and all, not happy about sitting on my trailer, but thinks he will be home before dark. He is new.
I check out his load, he has delivered the first stop, the trailer is not placard correctly, as all 4 sides are not the same. check the paperwork, all the Haz Mat was unloaded at the first stop. I have 15 500 gallon bins of chemical that is NOT haz mat. I peal all the placards off the trailer, and head for Texas. I can even run the back roads of texas, and keep the "extra" miles down. Otherwise I would have to stay on the Interstates, which would add 50 miles, and argue to get paid those additional miles.

tonight I sit at the Loves, in Cleveland Tx, 30 miles from the Reciever, with an open window of 7am to 3pm to deliver. Will deliver around 7am, to avoid the traffic, and to get on the empty list for the Houston area early. I hope I don't go to Tyson, but get a haz mat load instead.

Now I will have to keep reminding my DM that I must get to the yard for my DOT 2 year physical, before the end of the month. Then I plan on going home for a couple of days.

 

Monday Sucked, headed over to Conroe to find my delivery, down this "paved" narrow lane, that about the time I go there is nothing back here, the road curves, and there is the plant. Check in with the guard, pull forward 100 ft, check in with receiving, and she starts cussing under her breath. #### programers have changed their system, and she can find no record of them ordering the delivery. About 10 minutes later, I back into a door, and get unloaded, as 4 more trucks pull in. 30 minutes later, I am back out on that "road" out to the highway.

I head towards Houston, praying, but no luck, a Tyson load. Head over to the loves/ blue beacon to get the truck washed, and the trailer washed and washed out. This transfer plant has no wash bay. Set in line for 1 hour at the Beacon. No problem, 1 mile to tyson. Check in at noon, park, take a nap, get up eat, take a nap.....Go check back in, they ar
e still waiting on product . Back out to the truck, watch some TV. Midnight, 2 other Stevens trucks are headed out, I am still waiting.....
Check in again, we have the product now, just need to get it shrink wrapped, and you will be next. Well no s h i t sherlock, I am the only truck sitting out there. Oh but it is now lunch time, we will start on you at 1am. I hate Tyson, and the way they treat drivers. And Stevens puts up with it.
2:30 am I finally am loaded, and headed for the gate. Now I can not legally make the delivery to PA either. The whole day is messages from my DM and Meat, are you safe and legal for on time delivery?

Do you guys in Dallas not read the messages I sent in at 2am, saying I am running late, due to shipper, and where I plan on stopping today? I guess not. Now I am in Meridian MS, done for the day, and not a word from Dallas.

I hate Tyson loads. No wonder in Bad weather you see tyson trucks pushing on, and see them off the roads too....trying to make that delivery after being held up at the shipping plant. I won't do it, the load will get there when I can get it there, or they can repower it.

 

week 7
Miles paid 2980
Miles transfloed, not paid 2042
Miles Ran 2505 Slower week this week due to shipper delays

Started the week out delivering to Conroe Tx, and then down to Tyson in Houston to sit all day. One day wasted. Get the load finally and run with it, argue with meat about me being able to make the delivery, which I did Legally and on time to Orefield PA. Parking around the allentown PA area is limited at best, and I have 1 hour left of drive time. find a little truck stop on 309 just south, and park for the night. Only problem, the truck stop closes at 8pm, and reopens at 6am. At least the food was good, and reasonably priced.

Friday morning is run down to Philly Docs, and pick up grapes, 8 am appointment. $45.00 gate fee since I don't have a TWIC. Another money scam, but we have to put up with it. Takes until noon to get loaded, and the load delivers in Lansing MI Saturday by 10 am. I can make it, with a split sleeper, but produce wants to repower it. I finished my 8 hour break in Philly, and then head north, to Youngstown OH to hand the load off.

Arrive in youngstown, find the other truck, who did not think, and parked in a spot full of ice and snow, and struggled to get out from under his loaded trailer. He will learn. He also had a meat load going to Porky's in Carteret NJ, that delivers on Sunday at 4am, and he has been requesting the repower since he is running ahead of schedule.

I take the load, and say, ah Porky's, can deliver early, can park, all is good. Enjoy your night drive, as produce told him he had to be in Lansing by 5am. I go to bed, and awake on saturday with a raging head cold. Changes my plans, I drive over to Columbia NJ TA, shut down, and get some more sleep. Get up Sunday before the worms and birds, drive down to Porky's, and get unloaded. Have a HazMat pre-plan that picks up Monday in NJ.

Head over to the Vince Lombardi, shut down watch the race, sleep.

The HazMat load takes me to Texas, which I need, as I need to get to the yard by the end of the month, to get my 2 year DOT physical.

Slower week this week, and next week will also be slow, and then I will go home for a few days to get my taxes done.

 

I run legal as possible. I play within the lines of DOT and Steven's policies.

Stevens audits the logs against the QC movement reports, and I have passed every audit. Now have I drove 5 miles to a truck stop, or a dirt lot after unloading at WalMart after my 14 hours are up, Yes I have. Was this legal, no, but it is life as a trucker. I do my best to keep this to a minimum.