TransAm Trucking, Inc. - Olathe, Ks.?

I DID NOT MEAN TO OFFEND YOU....Every bit of advice you have given me I have taken to heart.
He was already passed 96 and back on 135 already when I asked the question...

Thankfully 90% of the time I can co-pilot for him, and be there for him for moral support.
As everyone has said on here, TA doesn't train you. You will screw up, you will ask yourself if you are crazy for doing this, and you will have bad days. Hopefully all of us have good nights tonight.

 

I found the TS, it is south of 50 on 96, what I was seeing at 50 & 96 was the KWIK Stop.

 

Im a company driver and i go out of route sometimes .one time i went out of route 40 miles so i could get a shower and i never heard nothing about it. Besides that i follow the route solution.

 

I can't believe that HTQ admitted to being blond, then something about mensa level intelligence...... like that should hold us off!!!! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!!! Get to pull out all the blond jokes now!!!!!!

 

well there probably is a touch of miss Clairol in there by now anyway

 

LOL, TransAm Pete is a salty sea captain! Your questions are good and fine by me. No need to "learn it yourself". It is 2013, information age. Of course ask questions here and other places, take every opportunity you can to learn from others.

However, Pete is right. So much about this job is how your manage your clock. Park away from the receiver and you have to start your clock to drive to the receiver the next morning. Then you burn clock all the while you wait to be unloaded, some problem or delay at the receiver and it could cost you your whole day!

Park AT the receiver and get unloaded using “off duty” status. Go “on duty” only when you are fully unloaded and done everything you can so you are ready to move to your next pick-up with a fresh clock.

It is one of the nice things about TransAm trucks, they are well set-up, so you can be self contained to stay at places like a receivers yard and be ok. Receiver does not have parking? Find it! I would often crawl less than 15mph (to stay off duty) to make my delivery after I had to park across an industrial park or other, because there was no parking directly at the receiver.

Take a break, shower and whatnot at a truck stop or other as you are close to the receiver, but push on and park overnight at or near the receiver. Save that clock!

 

I've heard them all at one time or another! Trying being 4'11" tall along with the blonde ......had somebody send me a baby car seat for my birthday one year, with a note about them being worried that I couldn't see over the steering wheel!

Have to use a touch of Miss Clairol now .....to cover the gray hair that TransAm gave me!

 

Yeah, I often went out of route, nothing crazy but at least a few times 40 miles or even a little more. I mean 40 miles out of route on a 1,000+ mile route. Never heard anything about also. Guess it just depends on your DM.

 

It was back when he first started and before I learned to keep a notebook on everything so I don't remember the exact mileage. It didn't seem like much to me and he just explained it, no problem. I think much depends on who your DM is or was. When Husband first started his, DM was Jack G., he was a hard task master but Husband was so lucky to have him. Husband would get mad, Jack would get mad.....but Husband learned how to be a driver and make money at it.

 

I am sure these self-contained GPS navigation systems are a bit of a scam. I think a laptop based GPS system is the way to go (I ask about it on the main board). I mean,what is a 5” or 7” self-contained GPS except a small computer (like a laptop) with a small squinty screen and poor input controls?

A laptop, or tablet gives you a nice big screen, MUCH more processing power. On a laptop, you can run GPS, plus run comparing software (like Google Maps), add notes and pictures, research points of interest, etc. all in one unit.

Rand Macnaily has good software and they are using it to add-on sell you a computer system, a self-contained unit, most of us don't really need! (most of us have laptops). Rand Macnaily knows most truckers will be happy to buy an off the shelf, plug and play system and that is how they get away with upselling a self-contained unit!


Having said all of this....all I really have is a laptop and a collection of parts like a laptop, laptop stand and USB GPS. Still have not figured out how to put it all together.

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