Profile For Bill A. Parking Lot

A Weigh Master was pulling a O'Malley's truck over for a license plate issue and the driver shot him. I was on my way to my truck to go to work and turned off OR212 onto Amisigger headed for Troutdale and as soon as I rounded the corner I saw a male body lying in the middle of the road. A unmarked police car, or possibly the scale masers car, was present as was a late model Mustang and two pickup trucks. I thought it was some one at the bus stop that was hit by a car. Turns out I had come up to the sight of the shooting 7 min. after it happened.

The below link is the news story and photographs of the shooter. He is still loose and considered armed and dangerous. He was last seen in a silver Mercedes with WA plates. His plate number and photos are in the story. Please take a look and keep an eye out for him or the car and notify authorities if you spot him.

He is survived by a wife and child as well as other local family members.

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2014/02/deputies_spot_truck_tied_to_re.html

my name is josh and im looking to start a career in trucking i will be attending in march 2014 and im trying to learn as much as possible before schooling begins what can i expect in school and what can i expect on the road how is the lifestyle??? i just want to see everyone's opinion about life as a trucker any feedback would be great.

Josh,

I haul cars and have trained two new drivers to do the same for our company. One drive who had experience, but not with hauling cars and one who just graduated from trucking school. The guy who went to school is still riding with me and not ready to go one his own, but he has a great attitude and works hard. Both critical traits for this kind of work. When he started training it was clear that he lacked practical experience with some very basic skills. My advice to you is to remember that you need to suck in as much information and experience as you can while in school. It's very expensive and if you do the minimum required you will get out of it the minimum required. They will get you your CDL, but it's up to you to pull from it anything more that you want. Make sure you learn some critical basics like down shifting/catching gears, how to properly ride your Jake-Break, testing your connection to the fifth-wheel, and how to identify and inspect things that make safe operations possible. Learn logs inside out and be familiar with how log book violations effect your record and how they tie in with the FMCSA. My trainee could only drive a 10 speed and I had to give him some instruction on using a 13 speed. He also needed training on down shift and being able to pull through the scales smoothly. He knew nothing about what to expect when getting a red light at the scales, getting his logs inspected, and/or getting a truck inspected. Although it's no big deal if your checking your gear like you should, it can be nerve racking the first time some one who can pull you off the road is digging through your log book and asking you questions about the truck. Most of these guys have been good guys from my experience. Good luck Josh.

Yep, you are doing good for being in training. Also, your pay being attached to miles means don't get labeled as a complainer. Seek advice on this site where you are safe before making anyone at work angry with you. If you finish training and some one tells your dispatcher you are a "problem child" they can make you or break you. No one needs to eat crap, but keep the skids greased with you co-workers and dispatch if you want good miles. Also remember others have been around longer and had more time to work on good relationships with dispatch. Do what they do if they get the miles you want. Spend your energy making sure you are rolling as much as possible and stay positive. Pay will go up or down and is directly proportional to your attitude!

Decided to drop by the Love's truck stop this afternoon, just to get a 'feel' and see what they're like.. There were 7 lanes at the fuel island, and trucks were backed 5-6 deep waiting to fuel. All the drivers looked to be around my age, some older, some younger-but the ONE thing it seems they ALL had in common is that they were a bit 'rotund' if you know what I mean. There was a McDonald's there, so that probably explains a lot...

There were a few places for rigs to park (I've been hearing that most truck stops have NO parking) BUT this was in the afternoon-probably couldn't BUY a spot at night. Not QUITE as noisy as I thought, but it still won't be easy sleeping..Those big diesels have a ground shaking growl. Checked out the showers and found them sparkling clean, (they smelled like Clorox) with plenty of room to shower, shave, change clothes, etc. and an attendant wiping everything down. NICE!!! (I heard that it was nasty at these places).

TONS of goodies for your rig too! DC converters, powered coolers, even dash cameras. Jackets, knives, Blu-tooth headsets (gotta get me one of them) and LOTS of CB and GPS stuff.Toys, TVs,just about anything I would need...(uh-oh..there goes my paychecks)...

I watched the drivers for a while, no one seemed to be overly tired, they all seemed pretty alert, fairly friendly. They all opened the hoods and did lots of checks...Those engines are HUGE!!!!

Picked up a bunch of those free min-magazines, just to browse through.. All in all, it was quite an experience. I was wishing I was one of them, walking back to my big ol' rig, getting ready to head out...SOON ENOUGH!!! Can't wait to meet some of y'all!! (I'll be the skinny one)

Yep, lots of big fellas out on the road. Even if you haul boxes or reefers you can make a few simple choices that help you keep in shape. I'm 52, 6' tall and about 170 lbs and want to stay just about where I am, but I haul cars now and loading/unloading is a workout big time. Prior to that I only went to truck stops when I needed things you can only buy at truck stops. I'd keep a cooler or have a frige in the cab and kept lots of healthy food nearby. In AZ I'd park at road side pull overs and hike in the desert a bit. In NV you can find places along two lane highways for your 10 hour break where you can find some fire wood, pull out the cooler and a small folding chair and enjoy the clear sky. Be creative and find different places to stop. Gets you away from the fumes, keeps you a bit more active, and lets you get into the sights that lots of us wanted to see when we got started. You can always find a Walmart you can pull a truck into to re-load the cooler. I will say, once or twice a week I like to get a big fat T-bone, eggs, hash browns and toast for breakfast. Usually not at a major brand truck stop. I go to less crowded mom-n-pop centers. Lots of parking, not a mad house, and better food. Cee Gee's exit 57 I-5 in Oregon, Dive on west side of I-5 in Oregon at exit 99, a couple of diners in Austin NV while running the back roads to Vegas, etc.

Welcome Bill !!! You are our very FIRST parking lot !!!!! I've heard such horror stories about hauling cars...So I'm glad you came here, so we can get it from someone who knows !!!! Fell free to post about your experiences and the learning curve...

Although this company is a solid one, they did put me solo a bit too fast. With the holidays and all I think they were short handed and sent me out with only three days training. Understand though that I'm also a heavy equipment operator and learned the hydraulic system rather fast. My issue was that I put two Toyota Vans, 2013's, too close. One facing forward on the top over my drive's and one backed on at the front top position of the trailer. (Loading cars/vans/trucks/suvs is like doing puzzles to make height, length, and weight.) These things are long and I already knew I was not going to get as many on as they wanted. Two vans were close to each other making my turn radius very tight but felt I could just be extra cautious. Well, my first drop had a detour about 1 mile from the lot and it included a jack knife turn. Long story short I put a basket ball size dent in one van, busted three tail light lens covers between the two vans, and shattered the rear window of one van. Called my boss right away to let him know so he could start damage control with the client and he just said, "Look Bill, we stuck you in the truck with only 3 days training. We told you you would get from two weeks up to two months! Don't even worry about it!" When I got back he teamed me up for a day with a guy who's been hauling cars for 15 years and was picking up full size trucks. Long and tall! This guy made loading look easy! I learned a ton of good stuff from him and expect to be dispatched out this AM with a full load. Then the boss gave me a cool, stainless steel company coffee cup. (Already got a jacket worth about $150 bucks and lined sweat shirt worth about $50) Feel very lucky to have found these guys!

That's interesting, Bill. I did have an arbitrary question, though. I had heard that car haulers have to join the Teamsters Union. Did you have to join?

I think that's for the big fellas. This Co. only has 5 trucks on the road and wants to grow to 15 and stay at that size. No mention of union.

Dude that is so cool! Kind of seems like a puzzle to have to determine what goes on the top and what goes on the bottom.

How does the trailer feel around turns? Does it feel top heavy? Does it feel like it constantly wants to tip over?

What quality cars are you hauling? Junk cars? Accident cars? New cars? New Audi's? Or a mix?

Feels like a frickin boat on many turns! One place in Washington state where 205 N. merges with 5 N is under construction and it feels like a earthquake is goin on under the truck. Sharper 60MPH turns tell you right off that you are running top heavy, but all in all it's not as bad as I expected. I've been hauling lots of rental car returns from Oregon up to a auction house near Seattle. No junker cars yet.

Just finished my first week and a half of hauling cars. In summary; big bucks, HARD work, learned a lot and still a lot to learn. Did I say HARD WORK!! Hard part for me is loading upper and lower levels in a way that makes both height and length. Never been shy of physical labor so I like that part. Girlfriend will like the bulk that will come! The actual driving is like break time compared to loading/unloading. All in all I like it better than any driving job I've done so far, but it does take a different kind of person to do it. Truck feels like a ocean liner on the interstate. Lots of time spent climbing around on trailer as if it were a big set of monkey bars. Hard to keep clean. If anyone wants to know more let me know and I'll try to respond soon. Not much free time in this gig.

I MAY be called in to whizz in a cup. I just tell them when I ate my last muffin

Ya know, some smaller companies that know you well might let that slide, but I think it would be incredibly rare nowadays to get a second opportunity like that. If you worked for one of the major companies and failed a test, telling them you ate poppy seeds and would like a re-test is going to get you laughed out of the building.

Yes. It will come across as if you think you have a way to beat the test and can keep using. No judgement being made, but it this industry if you land a good job and refuse to give up a particular kind of muffin to keep it without ongoing hassles, if I were the boss I'd feel you must not want to drive for me very much and let the first test stand. Companies want people who care about their job more than they care about a muffin.

Appreciate all the advice. I believe I'll just let it go.

Smart move Keven. I'm not saying they are right, but please know this; a BUTT TON of smaller companies operate this way. I got my CDL old school, permit-train with a company-CDL, no formal school. Due to insurance costs I was only able to drive for less than honest companies for two years. (Now I say to new-bees to suck it up and go to a school.) My hopes of "helping them" get in line were quickly squashed! Then it was a matter of keeping MY record clean for 2 years so I could move on. These guys are usually desperate and want drivers to break laws because they are near going out of business. They can not run the business end of things even if they were good truckers at one time in the past. As others said, you already documented what he wanted. Just the fact that you are leaving will resolve your problems. You are paid to drive a truck and that is enough responsibility for most people. I don't think you need the hassle of trying to be a cop, lawyer, and FMCSA enforcement officer without anyone paying you to do so. Being a cop of any kind is not your job. In many ways the rules set for the "masses" suck and even make driving more dangerous, and yet they need systems to at least try to keep the roads safe. They, (the government) have strung a very long and complicated web to keep the public safe, grow and create jobs/job security withing their departments, and keep politicians looking as if they are actually earning what we pay them. I'd say any person smart enough to keep out of that mix and just drive the truck from point A to point B in a safe manner is a smart cookie. Support safe and reasonable practices and laws by researching organizations you like. I'm a member of Truth in Trucking and OOIDA for that reason. They continue to stand up for us in ways that keep us alive and earning a better wage every day and are professionals. They are paid to stand up for us and know how to do so better than we do. In a perfect world your employer will have no choice but to conform to necessary laws, not be shut down, and become a respectable provider of jobs in this incredible country we live in. I'd say leave it alone and contribute to organizations you feel will represent you in a solid and professional way. Don't go away mad, just go away educated!