Truck breaks down and my dispatcher or driver won't answer

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by jesus1337, Aug 9, 2024.

  1. snicrep

    snicrep Road Train Member

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    Yeah but the op won't leave the dream stage.
     
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  2. 88 Alpha

    88 Alpha Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    @jesus1337

    It happens like this pretty often:

    "You're truck will be towed to the dealer in El Paso, TX. They are estimating it will get into a bay in 10 days. Hopefully, it's a quick fix. We have a truck available in Bangor, Maine and we have a driver coming through your area with a load going to Maine. He will swing by and pick you up and take you to the other truck in Bangor. He will be there to get you in 2 days. You can do this and get paid 2 days breakdown pay or you can go home until your truck is repaired".

    You: "What happened to the other truck?"

    Company: "We're not allowed to tell you." (meaning, the truck may have just gotten out of the shop in Maine, the driver may have quit and the truck is filthy with McDonald's bags and pee bottles strewn all over the truck, or the previous driver died in it and it's just like it was when law enforcement found him, minus the dead body)
     
  3. Ex-Trucker Alex

    Ex-Trucker Alex Road Train Member

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    I'm imagining a possible scenario: Overworked and frazzled dispatcher is sitting at her desk. The phone rings, and your cell number pops up on the caller I.D., at which she screams at the top of her lungs; JESUS!!!!!

    She then collapses onto the floor, dead. The dispatch manager then states "Looks like Jesus finally took her.."
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2024
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  4. austinmike

    austinmike Road Train Member

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    lol sounds about right. My first gig we broke down in slc. Company wanted us to load up all our junk and go get in a truck up in Washington state. We looked at each other and declined that offer.
     
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  5. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    I was bussed out to West Virginia for a truck once.
    I got there at around 3 AM, the place was closed down.
    I found the truck, which had a dead battery so I could not start it. Cold and damp and I had minimal supplies with me. Not even a pillow or blankets.
    Come morning when I could see things, and the truck was infested with stink bugs. But I was stuck with it.

    Because of the dampness I didn't notice an oil leak. The transmission output shaft was leaking,
    Long story short, it had three trips to the shop to get that leak fixed. And that only happened when I told the mechanics what to look for - a scratch on the seal race that 3 different shops failed to notice.

    In the 6 months I had that truck it was in the shop a total of 1 month for various problems. 30 days of shop time during a 6 month period.
    Luckily, one night a truck backed into it. It crushed in the side of the sleeper while I was sleeping. So I was finally able to get out of that truck.

    That was supposed to be a loaner truck when my truck went in the shop.
    I refuse to do the loaner truck thing now.
     
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  6. austinmike

    austinmike Road Train Member

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    That's exactly why we declined to go get in a sight unseen truck.
     
  7. Judge

    Judge Road Train Member

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    We all had big dreams…
    Truth here.
    Where i used to work we had company phones, when one guy died, and he was replaced the new called a guy for directions.
    It showed up the dead guys name and the customer wouldn’t answer the phone.