Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Discussion in 'Swift' started by DocWatson, Jan 3, 2013.

  1. Wolfyinc

    Wolfyinc Road Train Member

    2,888
    966
    Apr 21, 2013
    Salem, or
    0
    the parking is BAD, lucky im bobtailed right now, double parking all over the place and its now weekend....


    I should be gone by afternoon so you wont find me, just waiting on my tires and then im out of here.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

    1,263
    1,006
    Jan 21, 2010
    Jersey shore
    0
    Next time then.

    I was checking out my drives and I gotta get a couple replaced as well. Hoping they can get it done.
     
  4. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

    12,647
    25,584
    Nov 23, 2012
    Yukon, OK
    0
    Uh oh... is the Sumner shop fast and good? I'm headed in that direction and would hate to have to sit, might have some issues with the dreaded red light...
     
  5. Wolfyinc

    Wolfyinc Road Train Member

    2,888
    966
    Apr 21, 2013
    Salem, or
    0
    they finally finished my tires at 12:30 today, it just depends how many are in line. I drove up to the prequal line before they even opened the doors this morning,
     
  6. DocWatson

    DocWatson Road Train Member

    1,263
    1,006
    Jan 21, 2010
    Jersey shore
    0
    I got my truck in the shop with them now. I dropped the truck off on Saturday afternoon.

    It seems whenever i bring the truck to Sumner to get some work done they make it seem like I'm putting them out.

    Good news is that they are repositioning me tomorrow down in Oregon where there is more freight once I get up and going. I was afraid I was going to be stuck sitting in Sumner for days waiting for a load.

    Back on the road tomorrow...
     
    Grijon Thanks this.
  7. MysticHZ

    MysticHZ Road Train Member

    5,811
    5,551
    May 28, 2010
    0
    Sumner is not unique in that regard ... Memphis, SLC and El Paso are the only 2 shops that I've been to that seem to understand that fixing trucks is their job, not an imposition.
     
    Grijon and DocWatson Thank this.
  8. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

    12,647
    25,584
    Nov 23, 2012
    Yukon, OK
    0
    I'm sitting in "Boomtown USA" (Williston, ND). Lot's of dirt, dust, and mud from the fracking fields. Waiting for a dispatch and it might be a while. Not too many goods heading out from here IMHO. Brought in a load of caffeine drinks to fuel the field workers. The Walmart has big signs that said "NO TRUCK PARKING... TOWING AT OWNER'S EXPENSE", so I parked next to the dozen other trucks and asked a trucker, "What's up with the signs?"

    "Don't pay them no mind. Nobody bothers truckers in this town unless you're drunk, disorderly, or running red lights."

    Had a great night's sleep.

    By the way, there is a brand new Love's and a Pilot north of town on Hwy 2. I didn't find out about them until I made my delivery this morning and asked the forklift driver. When I asked Qualcomm to locate the nearest truck stop it returned some T/S about 100 miles away.

    Anyone coming into Williston from the west on Hwy 2 should be aware there is about 10 miles of dirt road going up and over hills due to construction. The dirt isn't quite compacted and I felt the rig settling down in quite a few spots. Had to shift down to 3rd to get up a couple of the climbs and activate interlock, while dodging pothole canyons in the road.
     
    Doublecutter Thanks this.
  9. Lepton1

    Lepton1 Road Train Member

    12,647
    25,584
    Nov 23, 2012
    Yukon, OK
    0
    Too many trailers and not enough space. I asked where to drop my empty on Saturday morning and they said put it in the back row. By the time I rounded the corner to get a pull through into the back row I realized the entire lane behind that back row is filled from the back end of the back row to the fence. Didn't realize I had to G.O.A.L. to see if I could use a lane at a terminal. That presented a technical back and jack maneuver to get out of that hole and go back to do a blind jack into a slot in the back row.

    One good thing is that when I picked up an empty on Monday morning they didn't make me go a "mother may I" routine or hassle me in any way (like the little Hitler's at the guard shack in Mira Loma). It boggles my mind that each terminal has its own rules and procedures. They should have the same procedures. Nothing like hooking up to an empty only to find out they have to assign an empty, or waste time parking and going in to get assigned an empty only to be told "oh just go hook to one" or worse yet "uh, gee... go out and write down a list of all the empty trailer numbers out there and then we will tell you if any of them are available" (yeah, that did happen to me in Illinois).
     
  10. capthook

    capthook Light Load Member

    182
    102
    Jul 16, 2010
    NC
    0
    That's tbe process at most terminals. Or call your DM to check.
    Trailers may be going into shop, already dispatched to another driver etc
    It's lame when you come back out from the dispatch window after getting
    the last and only mt, and find some newbie hooked to it.
    "Um, that's my mt, I'm dispatched to it."
    "Oh yea? Well it's my mt cause I'm hooked to it."
    "Well you can look at my qc or check dispatch."
    "F you, blankity blank"
    "Dude, unhook from my mt NOW"
    And so on and so on....
     
  11. Wolfyinc

    Wolfyinc Road Train Member

    2,888
    966
    Apr 21, 2013
    Salem, or
    0
    lol, thats why when I see an MT I back to it but not hook on to it then i call my DL and see if I can get assigned to it, if its a go then I finish hooking up and sometimes beat the others to it.
    Mira Loma is the worst terminal by far in my own experience getting an MT

    My experience with the Sumner shop was very good compared to other terminals I dealt with, the tire guy gave me no hell and said I definitely was going to get some new tires while 2 other terminals tried to claim I was good to keep going for awhile.
    Also waking up to a note on my window to verify my mileage and stuff showed they checked out my truck before I ever even talked to them that morning and knew why I was parked near the shop
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.