"That kid that don't know nothin'"

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Managed to get to the AFB. Running off of 2 hours of sleep, manic energy and tears. Last night was a disaster. The Western Star blew up. After my last load I stopped at the truck stop to find it was completely dry. Quickly put some water in it and got the temp down, truck was running smooth and I told my boss, he wanted me to bring it back to his house to swap trucks. I got like 30 miles before the truck began running hot again, far over the 230 gauge. So I quickly got into another truck stop and started getting water then...it just shut off.

So I started putting water in it, and after filling it up with 5-7 gallons of water(i had just filled up 20 mins prior) I tried to start it and it was dead. Told my boss and he told me to sit tight because the engine is toast. So I did, went to sleep for an hour til he knocked on my cab to wake me up. Had me try to turn it over and proceeded to invent new curse words.

He got a wrecker hitch on the pete and had it come out to pick up the truck. Had to help the driver hook it up, yank it 60 miles down the road to drop the truck. Then I had to take the pete, get the wrecker hitch taken off, go back to that truck stop to get my trailer then turn around to go load.

I didn't get to my trailer til 3am. The loader at 5am. Had to be in Altus by 9, so imagine my depression when I found the drive, if i left then would put me there exactly at 9.

I swallowed some B12 and got a mtn dew & a hunts and hit the road. As I type i'm unloading into a pig and i'm unloading fast. Gotta run back to Ada, get another load and go up to Edmond. Little bit of a gambit, but i'm gonna try to take a nap and rest up. I'm covered in oil and dirt and feel like it. Can't wait til the end of the day, i'm gonna hit that flying J shower so hard.

 

That get it done attitude will help you so much in the future. Just learn as much as you can all the time.

Try spicy food or candy. Spicy beef jerky wakes me up more than any coffee haha.

 

If you decide to pass on that RV, I'd be interested in it. I'm trying to get out of Corpus, and housing in West Texas is neither plentiful nor cheap.

Keep up your good attitude and work ethic, and you will go far and do well. Love's will also give you a free shower when you fuel up, in case you're not near a PFJ.

 

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Had a relatively easy going day. Last night my trailer lights went out completely. I got off the highway to find a trooper behind me coming up to the cab to inform me of it. I thanked him and told him I thought it was my pigtail cord and that I was going to head inside(of a rinky-dink gas station that definitely didnt have what I needed). He offered to follow me up an exit so I could stop at a mucher nicer and larger casino truck stop an offer that I took happily.

I knew I was screwed anyway, but I went inside, convinced the manager to let me test the new cord on the truck(price tag being $100). He let me, I swapped them out and sure enough all my lights came on. It was a quick and easy fix, but I had one issue; paying for it. It was 1am, no way was I getting ahold of my boss. So I tried to use the fuel card, didn't work because I had JUST filled up a couple hours earlier and maxed the limit.

So I informed my dispatch, he told me to get some rest and to get the upcoming AFB load done 'when I can'. So I shut down to wait for daylight.

Got some good sleep til about 5:30-6. I should get more of that. I jumped up, got running alongside the rising sun. Super pretty sunrise this morning in Oklahoma, I was blessed to see it fully. Lots of rain came in shortly after the sunrise, but before I got hit by the rain I enjoyed a beautiful pinkish-purple sunrise the lit up a dim part of the sky.

Got loaded at 8am, when I was supposed to have delivered it. So I was already 3 hours behind schedule, that worked out in the wash. On my way out I stopped by the Western Star to grab the pigtail cord off of it and play a sad violin. Put that cord on, saw my lights were on and hauled ### out.

I noticed all the lights except the headlights went out so I figured a fuse blew and I called my boss to make sure there wasn't a hidden quirk of the truck, there isn't and he's gonna get me a new fuse kit to replace all the ancient fuses with.

Day kinda flew by, I'm on the return to my bosses house and i'm done for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is going to be slow, my dispatch said so i'm afraid i'll have too much time to sit. Sitting costs money, of which I have none.

But I do have a pizza and a fishing rod. Doubt i'll be hurting much.

 

I tell you this.

If at all possible PACE YOURSELF. You remind me of me back in the day. You got a 40 mile route march with a potential half day combat into line the next morning. You are going to hit a wall if you do not find ways to REST UP.

I appreciate your get up and go when it's time to overcome all these challenges. You would think (Leaving aside for the moment my love of old iron...) having a good truck that wont break when you sit in it... would save you alot of tears and heartache. Never mind what your boss must be enduring mentally with everything teetering on the high wire with Mr Murphy dancing on a rusted bolt off one end of it.

BTW my thumbs up to the very nice Mr Smokey who probably helped you on one hand and started writing with the other. Either way you got helped before you really got hit.

 

I appreciate the advice. A man must know his limits. I feel that wall coming.

Honestly, its not as bad as it seems. Last week I had some very consistent and very good sleep. This week, the W.S breakdown really screwed my sleep pattern. I'm just now recovering as I type. I'm laying down for a good 10 hrs of sleep. I told my dispatch(the guy my boss is leased to) about the breakdown last night and he said to always tell him of that stuff so he can schedule accordingly, that he'll give me easy, non time-sensitive loads when I need an easy day. The trade of course is being there to run hard like i've been doing.

Honestly compared to frac sand, even these last few days have been no issue. With frac sand I drove an even older, rattling and vibrating POS with bad mirrors and a scary loose steering wheel. The truck fatigued me so much. Contrast that with this peterbilt(or formerly the W.S) and i can run this thing for twice as long while feeling fresh because it's smooth, pratically drives itself and the noise is the perfect mix of awakeningly-loud 10 inch stacks, and good seals. It's perfect for running at night.

Irregardless, i'm still picked on for being a "non-driver" by some of the other guys who run the 24 hour frac sand schedule. But they all have their own problems. Coffee, cigarettes, Monster and for a few, meth.

I have no vices, no stimulants and certainly don't plan on starting any. The one thing I rely on when I absolutely require it is some 5000mg B12 I got at GNC. But even then, thats rare.

I only have my drive, adhd and my endurance that keeps me awake when needed. I dont and never push myself further than I know I can handle. I've seen too many wrecked trucks and lives lost due to that. A friend of mine whom I went to school with rolled his semi due to fatigue. After being there for his mother, i'll never subject my family to that.

But at the end of the day, you have to be a man and figure the value of everything. Sometimes you're put in a bind and the only way to keep your spot in the honey pot is to not #####-foot and get 'er done. You nailed it though with 'pace yourself'. I used to do a lot of Wrestling and BJJ and pacing, endurance and knowing when to conserve energy became a huge part of my day-to-day life. Both at work and on the mat.

As someone said earlier, it feels like i've found whats right for me. It's just a matter of keeping it. Not many 21 year olds are given this chance and position. To run bulk when a good chunk of regular OTR companies won't have anything to do with me, it's worth working through the night, not to prove that I can do it, but to just do whats asked of me with no excuses.

Because I assure you, the moment I show that I can't "hang" i'm toast. Theres too much pressure to perform and too many other applicants with more years and lower insurance rates.

 

Have somebody show you how to re-wire the ends in your light cord. A lot of time it's just a loose or broken wire that keeps your lights from working.
It's a dead simple job, the wires and the plug-ins are color coded and once you see how it all goes together you'll be all set for the next time.

 

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I'm very happy I made this thread. Everyday i'm getting good advice. Fixed my lights, but my headlight was messed up. So @REO6205's post stuck out to me, this morning I took it off and messed with the wires. All it was was a loose cord and a quick fix.

Outside of that my problems are minimal today, excluding the potential lack of work. Thankfully there is some heavy machines that need to be hauled.

The lack of work stems from some other 21-year old at the edmond plant. He didn't know what he was doing and stopped up the chute, made a giant mess and got banned. He probably didn't turn on the assist blower, most importantly it seems he didn't ask for help. I feel for him and hope he's doing well, but I can't say I don't feel better about my first day.

I am salty as it cost me my second load yesterday and today. The plant is still backed up, i think they're just now getting the last trucks out. A lot of detention time is being paid out there.

I got another AFB load, finishing it as I type. Might have to haul some tires to have a full day, but i might also sleep more. Im still debating the two.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. I think my week will be much better tomorrow.

 

It took me over a year (of doing it on and off, not regularly) to really understand the mechanics of the system mostly through trial and error (training doesn't really seem to be a thing in the pneumatic world) and it hasn't been until the last several weeks that I've clued in and had a bunch of "eureka" moments that has significantly cut down my unload time.

I deal mostly with crushed, pebbled and powdered aggregates, calcium, lime, potash, phosphate, etc. Each "zone" of dry bulk has it's special unloading techniques. I did cement (a new style of recycled material cement) earlier this year and it was entirely different to what I was used to.

In the end, unloading a pneumatic is an art-form. There is a "science" to it, but if your ears aren't open and you aren't paying attention, it'll get away from you really quickly and that's where the instinct comes in. You have to know what to do before you do it, and jump on it quickly lest you get a clog.

You'll make mistakes and learn from them, just don't ever let it go over pressure and you'll be fine. Sometimes frustrated with yourself, but fine in the end.

 

I appreciate your post.

My own lifestyle against that of no sleep can be boiled down to one sentence earned in blood, sweat and tears...

"Driving while sleepy is worse than driving drunk"

If you do well, you will be really good down the road. Having a good tractor that keeps you not from getting beat up and all tired is another big advantage. It seems you already found it. That is a good thing.