Profile For Auggie69

This is not trucking-related. I just figured a little trivia might be a good way to help a driver relax and relieve some of the mental stress of the job by focusing on something else while taking a break.

A local radio station is asking callers to name an actor who has played two major roles on separate TV shows during his/her career. An actor playing the same role on 2 different shows (ie, Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane on Cheers and Frasier) would not count.

They are giving a prize to whoever comes up with the actor who they think played the 2 most memorable characters. Of course there will be no prize here, but see who you can come up with anyway. Please limit your response to one actor...whoever you think is the best.

Ted Danson for Cheers and CSI

I have several years of experience driving semis and i want to get into the tanker business. i don't have hazmat and don't want it. what are some food grade tanker companies that hire in Florida. i can't find anything online. i live in the fort myers area so a lot of companies won't hire me because I'm too far south. i need a company that is willing to take rookie tanker drivers.

Don’t know if they take rookies or not

Indian River

Did you ever get your hands on a cryopack? If so, has it helped any?

Hey, thanks for asking. Not yet but it’s on my to-do list.

Did you look into AFLAC for coverage? Also, topical diclofenac (Voltaren) helps me somewhat on the knees. Odd enough I can't take it orally as it tears me up.

Started my new job as a shuttle driver on Monday with Ben E Keith food division. My initial impression so far is very positive.

From application to offer it took about a week and a half. The background checks seem to be more thorough than most companies . A friend of mine told me it’s because you are dealing with food but I don’t know. It could just be the agency they use.

There was only 4 of us in our 2 days of orientation/ onboarding. Most of the information was not transportation related but ALOT to do with proper food handling, OSHA type training. Then your basic jj Keller trucking videos that everyone knows about

The facility was new and top of the line and everyone was VERY friendly and accommodating. The people that work here definitely believe in the company and try to represent it the best they can. Very professional and polite all the way through. The HR rep and the transportation manager asked us where we wanted to eat and took us to a local bbq place and ate lunch with us. When I got to my yard I was assigned a mentor who walked me through hooking doubles and the elogs system. The elogs and pretrip procedures here are very different than what I am used to but I’m picking it up. I’m trying to feel my way around the procedures and how things are done so I am taking my time.

The warehouse pickup procedure is very organized. We fuel up on the yard and they have a fuel station that allows you to hit both tractor tanks, def, and both reefer trailers at one time. It’s a very smooth process. And the people dealing with getting the loads out and the yard drivers are great and very helpful

Every driver at the yard and every employee I have met has nothing but great things to say and so far it seems like this is going to be a very good fit. Only about 7-8 hours on duty a day. 5 days a week.

So far I’m very impressed and glad I made the move. I have been missing driving since I left Werner. I enjoyed my time teaching but I think this is going to be a much better fit.

You run reefer pups? Don’t think I’ve ever seen those

Schneider was very lenient with you. I would have thought they would have let you go sooner than they did.

I would personally love to see the industry more difficult to get into and much more closed so that it resembled pre-deregulation,

I'm curious why you'd like to see that.

It probably appears odd. What I mean by it is a theroy:

There's a boom bust cycle of high demand, then over capacity. But capacity is kept artificially high, even in bust cycles. If it was an organic free market, the carriers would shed capacity rapidly. But they don't.

Another issue is that in virtually every other marketplace, the service and or goods provider set their prices, then the market determines price/value point. Here, our customers set the prices. Part of the reasons they are able to do that is because there is such a surplus of drivers.

If the bar to become a driver was raised as it used to be through a process of apprentice, journeyman and master, the quality of the drivers would increase, the number of drivers would be reduced, both making the position much more valuable and expensive.

The other element would be to increase standards to get an authority and link it to knowledge and performance by having to posses a master CDL in order to be granted authority as well as a test.

The few trades such as electrical and plumbing that require formal apprenticeship, journeyman and master levels have kept their rates higher as a result.

The existing regulations allow for unfettered entrance to the industry relatively speaking and then like a snare, an ongoing source of potential violations that result in increased revenue to the government. If the issues were systemically prevented upon entering the industry it would benefit the industry but obviously not the government.

I certainly don't desire the regulations that prevented us from conducting business, but the result of a much smaller and more valued craft is something that I look at.

Carters deregulation though did benefit the consumer but at the cost of the driver.

Would you hold yourself up to higher entry standards for drivers?

I recall from your training diary that you had to hire a lawyer to get a speeding ticket reduced or dropped to get hired. You said that Prime pulled an offer at last minute and you then ended up at Knight? So you gamed the legal system to get in. Doesn’t change the fact that you were speeding.

This isn’t meant to be personal. Just that we all need to look in the mirror.

That's not any different than complaining that wealthy people take advantage of the federal tax code to lower the taxes they pay. Are they "gaming" the tax laws (legal system) to not pay their taxes? After all, it doesn't change the fact they made lots of money.

I can get out of a fine and no traffic points for a speeding ticket if I take an online defensive driving class. Is that gaming the system too?

There is an existing Lowes DC at 4532 United Dr in Shippensburg. I think it's run by Penske. Not far from the one at Cramer Rd. The one at Cramer Rd is operational. The article refers to an expansion at Cramer Rd.

Have I confused everyone yet? :)

Anyone have knowledge or experience on this account? From Shippensburg, Pa to Syracuse, Ny DC. Thank you in advance for the help!!

There *is* a Lowes DC in Shippensburg. Been open a couple years. Been there awhile ago when it first opened.

Here is an article about it. Address in the article is correct:

Lowes DC Shippensburg

The place in Cumberland is somewhere I've never been to before. It's called American Woodmark.

The place in Hagerstown is a Home Depot DC near the truck stops that I've been to many times.

The Home Depot is awesome. Been there many times myself and 90% of the time I'm the only one in the yard :) I've parked many times at the mall right down the street and grabbed something to eat.

So my usual load out of Cranbury, NJ to start my week at 02:30 Monday morning canceled this week. Instead I had to wait to pick up a load out of South Jersey at 16:30 Monday afternoon. It was a split load. I did the first leg. I met the driver of the next leg just after midnight at a Pilot near Youngstown, OH.

The next load I was given doesn't pick up until this evening at 20:00 in Cumberland, MD. That's 200 miles and nearly 40 hours between loads. I did drive most of the deadhead miles yesterday in order to get closer to my pick up location.

I should be able to deliver that load at a place north of Pittsburg by 0200 tomorrow morning. From there I'll have another 200+ mile deadhead to Hagerstown, MD for a pre planned load that picks up there at 0100 Friday morning. That's another nearly 24hrs between loads.

I dont know if this is a sign that things are slowing down for my company. It could be that the canceled load at the beginning of the week simply took me out of my normal "lane" of operations, which is mainly along the i-95 corridor between MA and VA. Anyway, I will have only done three loads this week by the time I deliver my last load Friday morning in Secaucus, NJ. We shall see what happens next week.

Where are you going in Cumberland and Hagerstown?