Too BAHd I didn't listen to some people

In may, I signed-up to drive for BAH. What attracted me to them, and not some others was their promise to have me home every weekend, which was one they kept. I never had a problem going to Church on Sunday. If it's a civil right for one man to love another, it should also be a civil right to go to Church if I want to. I won't work for someone if they won't let me do that.

Now that that is out of the way, lemme tell you my story.

I signed-up at the beginning of May. At first, things were great. I saddled-up in a 2006 International 9400i, not one of those ugly, newer trucks. No DPF, no DEF, Just Right! They should use that as an advertising slogan, because it would certainly attract people like me. I was home every weekend and my domicile terminal was only 1.5 hours from home. I was making predictable runs to the same places most of the time, and I like it that way. Most everything is drop and hook. All of these things are things that I love and would look for in a trucking job.

1. I'm in my church on Sunday and get to hang with family/friends once a week.
2. Predictable runs to the same shippers and consignee(s)
3. Probably 90% drop and hook
4. No DEF!

Here's the down-side.

Maintenance.
Very frustrating restrictions of where I can get fuel.


I loved that 9400i, but it has some issues. Most of the problems were minor and I don't even remember them, but it needed shocks and developed a crack in teh radiator. I had a water leak develop, and when I took it to their shop at the terminal, they tightened a strap on a water hose and said it was good. I filled-it up with water and went on my way. I noticed that it was still leaking and I had to add almost 1 gallon of water every day. I kept noting on inspections, but nothing happened. I rolled-up on the terminal at the beginning of DOT Week and asked them to look at it again. They said I have a cracked radiator and slip-seated me into another truck. I was on my way in a 2006 or 7 Volvo. It was the new, ugly style, but again, no DEF. That thing drove really nice, so it is not hard to imagine why some people like them. That truck had a major exhaust leak and some other problems that I can't remember. The inside of the cab smelled like exhaust. It was pretty rough.

I reported those problems and they had me switch into another truck, again. That truck was an '07 International 9400i. It was extremely filthy on the inside. I would have refused to drive it because of how filthy it was, but I didn't have to. I was dilligently pre-ripping it, hoping to find a fault. Thankfully, there was not a current registration in the truck. I had to argue on the phone with the dude from Safety for several minutes about weather there was a registration. I reassured him that I had gone through the envelope several times and there was no reg from this year. There was one that expired in January. Danny, the boss of the shop, pulled-up in another Volvo and assured me that it was ready to go. I moved all my crap into that tractor and did a hasty pre-trip in a thunderstorm. Once I got to the coast and unloaded, I found a problem I overlooked. The rear tractor brakes were out of adjustment. If I was BT, the tractor would slide when I tried to brake. When I reported this problem, they told me to drive back to Concorde, NC and grab another tractor. Once I got my load back to Concorde, I was on the way, but I didn't like that idea. There was a place right next to where I was parked that could have fixed the brakes, but they weren't going to spend the money.

In all, I slip-seated 4 times in 5 days. I was not a local delivery driver who went home at night. I slept in that truck, so that was a huge hassle. I think that out of 4 trucks I drove (5 I pre-tripped), one of them would not be placed OOS if it had a Level 1 inspection. I don't know how I didn't get one. 50% of the trailers I hooked-up to had brakes out of adjustment. They kept arguing with me about problems and refusing to pay to fix them. I am sorry I complained about the radiator. I would have had an easy and productive week.

When I went home that weekend, I got a call telling me that they had hired me by mistake and didn't have enough verifiable experience, so I was getting separated. I am sure that has nothing to do with me butting-heads about problems on various trucks. No one told me, but they also stopped direct depositing checks I was still due, and I had to drive to Kings Mountain, only after finding out I had run out of money. So, now, I am looking for a job and IDK how, but I have no money and I have a pile of bills that are waiting to get paid.

 

Thank you. Most people agree I would be a good priest. Maybe trucking is out of my league.

I have never been shown how to adjust brakes. The first company I worked for, was Werner and they forbade their drivers to adjust brakes. Since then, no one has shown me how to do it and they either had their shop adjust brakes or they assumed I knew how to do it. Now, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit I have never done it before. Some big companies who won't let drivers adjust brakes. I don't know if it's a liability thing or if it's a control thing. Werner seems to treat their drivers like children, so maybe it's just them. I Would LOVE to be shown how to adjust brakes. I would keep the necessary tools with me and adjust brakes as necessary.

 

You have an MDiv? That rocks.

When I was in school, they told us about adjusting brakes, but they never showed us how to do it.