What would do you in this situation?

Redrover, thats a helluva week. Glad to hear you made it out ok.

Did you ever wind up getting your HOS plan all worked out? And it looks like you were able to get on with swift rather than carolina cargo. Good for you.

 

Why don't you move on from Swift??? I had been off the road over 11 years. Swift hired me easily, I did 6 months, got hosed all the time, then went to a great carrier with a guaranteed weekly pay package.

 

I don't want to quote your whole wall of texts and complaints but here is a perfect example where you are the source of all your problems. You head into snow with only 1/8 tank, no bunk heater, no trip planning, no preparation for the circumstances, and no experience running snow or chains. If you even read your Swift manual, Swift considers 1/8 tank, out of fuel, and in a emergency fuel situation. Your heading into winter mountain pass conditions and your next fuel is 100s of miles ahead on the other side of that snow and mountain pass. However you and your great trip planning just passed all your fuel stops just minutes before in Post Falls, ID. WTF

I am not going to go down your whole shopping list of complaints, but all your problems fall into this exact same category; Things that you brought on to yourself.

A couple weeks ago you were bragging on what a great backer you were, and now?

Then your talking smack on how great a company Swift is. You can only fail if your a lazy ###; This week, it seems like failure found you in spades.

 

No food, no fuel and so on.

Stop doing the headless chicken thing or your career will be short lived.

 

I have to point out you should have learned from history. There was a woman. You should have slugged her and put her in your sleeper. She would have served as a source of heat and if all else failed a source of food. Kids these days. The Donner Party means nothing to them.

 

@RedRover try to get in touch with @Moosetek13 , he can help you with Swift's ins and outs. I read over your post kinda quickly, sounds like you got two forced impossible dispatches in a row and will be getting two bogus service failures out of it along with some alleged preventable crashes.

Need to get picture and video evidence as quickly and preferably live as it is happening. Otherwise it is like all those other trucker stories "Yeah, umm I was swerving to avoid a headon collision and missed the car but flipped the truck over in the ditch, the car took off of course...."

I also gathered you may have improperly tried to slide your 5th wheel around. The proper procedure involves lowering the trailer landing gear first then dumping the tractor air suspension to get that weight off the 5th wheel. leave the 5th wheel locked and slide around gently.

 

I had half a tank and kept being forced to shut down after a few hours of crawling up mountains for days in a row. Where would you suggest that I fuel? The loves with the line 2 miles(literally) long, or the mom and pop truck stop that was out of fuel? Or maybe drive 40 miles in the other direction to get fuel on the off chance that the situation isn't as bleak there and if it is I have just completely screwed myself?

Short of someone sending a fuel truck to me, there was no getting fuel. It was on the other side of that pass. By the time I'm at the top of the pass, then my fuel situation was at emergency levels. It's not like I just set off with no fuel and said #### it let me see how far I can get. There was nothing to be had. I already had to drive 30 plus miles out of the way to scale a load because people were actually parked on and all around the scales out of hours or snowed in.

Im in an automatic now, so I can't just ease off the clutch and things slide for me. This thing is dead standstill or taking off like a rocket.

 

@scottied67 did you ever get back into a manual? God I dunno what i'd do without slammin my super10 in his sitch. Thank GOD the gentleman I drive for has older Petes, yeah longs.... and the gears. Couldn't imagine what this kid coulda done in an auto, anymore than he tried. The stupid MANUALS even say "don't hit the gas when backing up" ....... LoL. @RedRover i feel for you, man. Been reading it all. Just #####.

 

I know your in your first winter but you have to learn to recognize some obvious things. When you stoped to fuel and the line was "2 miles long" that was because it was the last reliable option and all the other drivers knew it. Or when the truck stops jammed full and you can't even get on the scale.Those are more experienced drivers that are waiting it out. Follow there lead. And the most important of all next time your dispatcher tries to make you drive over hrs tell them you are going to call and get the OK from safety that will change their tune immediately. I know you feel the pressure to do everything right but you did it all wrong this week. So next week when something goes wrong which it will it always does just roll with it. Despite what others may say you can't legally make up lost time. It is what it is and it will get easier. Good luck and don't give up

 

Nope in an auto for the long haul here. I didn't think about the problem with the auto for sliding the 5th wheel. Hope I never have to slide mine.