What Would You Do if this was your OTR job?

Let me share my day with you,

Monday:

Get out of bed at 7:30am central time at the industrial park parking lot in Denton, TX because dispatcher doesn't even show up to work until 8am EST and it will take a while until they find a load to Fontana, CA for Wednesday's scheduled hometime.

8am CST a load message getting me to Riverside, CA with an extra stop in Flagstaff. But no message explaining where I need to go to pick up an empty to take to the drop and hook shipper.

Call in to dispatcher. "Hey where do I grab a trailer?"
"Hold on, let me get with customer service and I'll let you know.

Half hour later a message appears on the elog saying to pick up an empty 10 minutes down the road at X location.

Drive to location and hook up to trailer. Open doors, and see that trailer is already loaded. Drop the trailer immediately. Head inside and ask shipping dept what is going on.

They direct me to another trailer lot. Have to hop curb and drive up steep dirt embankment to get in. First attempt truck slides back down the hill. 2nd attempt barely make it. Six of our company's trailers in the lot. Walk all over the lot looking in each one. All full.

Call dispatch. Wait on hold for ten minutes. Dispatch tells me to check at another couple buildings in same complex. I check the last four trailers there and all are full.

Call dispatch. "There are no empty trailers here. Should I drive 15 minutes back the other way. To the only other drop yard?"

"Hold on, let me check with customer service before sending you up there."

10 minutes later I get the green light to go there. I ask for a fuel card extension to use the out of network Loves next door to the drop yard. I fill up and get shower.

After my shower, I'm pulling out of my parking spot to go next door to hopefully get the empty when dispatch calls.

"Change of plans. Go rescue a load in Hutchins and deliver it 40 miles from there in McKinney."

"Can't anyone else do it?"

"If they could then I wouldn't be asking you."

"I'm trying to get to CA for hometime Wednesday though. We planned that over a week ago. Plus I just rescued a load in TX last week."

"Well you practically refused that one, because you put up such a fuss just like you're putting up a fuss right now."

"You sent me that change of plans last week right at 5pm when you were leaving the office and I was on a two lane highway with nowhere to pull over for another 20 minutes, and I still covered that load despite having to head 186 miles in the opposite direction. Just to take it 80 miles."

Long story short I rescued the load today too, and made it to the original shipper by 5pm. ( I would've been here at 11am)

I hooked up to my preloaded trailer and all the airbags are flat, half the trailer skirt has been ripped off, and the door has a gap at the top of it, and barely closes. I've been waiting for the TA road squad for 4 hours now to come and fix it. They were supposed to be here one hour ago.

Dispatch refuses to find me another load, and I will be spending another night parked in some industrial park without bathroom access.

Fun