Drop Yards, Headquarters, And Other Company Facilities
Topic 12461 | Page 2
In the last 10 days I have been to 2 drop yards and 3 terminals.
We get routed to terminals if they are close for fuel.
Personally I like going to terminals. Shower is clean, laundry is free, and not as crowded as truck stops.
Showers at terminals only get cleaned once or twice a day... Truckstops after every use... Think about that..
Not true with Schneider. Cleaned after each use unless you come in the middle of the night.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
In the last 10 days I have been to 2 drop yards and 3 terminals.
We get routed to terminals if they are close for fuel.
Personally I like going to terminals. Shower is clean, laundry is free, and not as crowded as truck stops.
Showers at terminals only get cleaned once or twice a day... Truckstops after every use... Think about that..
My childhood shower was in the basement on bricks with rafters exposed. When you raised your arm to clean your pit you would get a hand full of cob webs. In Iraq you had to walk down a hall of a makeshift shower tent through 3" of sand coming in and going out of the shower.
They could clean those showers once a month and they would still be cleaner than what I have experienced. ;)
I didn't say truck stop showers weren't clean, I just said the terminal had clean showers, free laundry, and are not crowded like truck stops.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Miss Myoshi, I think you are getting the idea that everyone's experience with terminals is different, and will be determined by their particular job in the industry.
When I started driving for Knight I went to orientation at the Gulfport, Mississippi terminal - that was to be the terminal that I would be dispatched from - my "home" terminal. There were three successful candidates out of the ten that attended that orientation. I recently was at the terminal and by way of a remarkable coincidence we all three happened to be at the terminal at the same time. We compared notes and discussed our jobs with each other. I'm sharing all this with you to show you how different everyone's situation will be when it comes to visiting a terminal.
Let's start with me. Just about the only time I ever visit a terminal is when I am in for maintenance on my truck. I am on a dedicated flat-bed account for SAPA aluminum extrusions. My dispatcher actually has his office at the SAPA plant in Delhi, Louisiana - he works hand in hand very closely with the shipping department at that plant to help coordinate the many loads going out of their plant and make it all work efficiently. I am constantly delivering loads from this plant and returning here to get another load going to places all across the country, but mostly East of the Rockies. Our terminals are all very nice and have free laundry equipment available and free showers, and of course a drivers lounge where you can relax and watch Television if you're so inclined. I like the terminals, but I seldom stop at them for the night just because I can better manage my time by having the plethora of options of the many locations that the national brand truck stops provide me.
Now, one of the other drivers is a refrigerated over the road driver who likes to stop at terminals when he can because he enjoys the camaraderie of the other drivers. It is more of a personality choice he makes - I don't need that, and frankly I find the type of camaraderie that is available to be annoying at best. I'm somewhat of a loner, and I just don't enjoy jumping in on a conversation of constant complaining about my job. I do this stuff because I love what I do, I find very few like minded drivers at the terminals. He enjoys sharing his war stories with other drivers who are similar to him - they talk about how they insist that their dispatcher give them this or that load and how their demands are met or about their many attempts at getting their dispatcher to understand just how hard this job is.
The third driver pulls containers from the several ports that the Gulfport terminal is strategically located near. He is at the terminal everyday because he is a slip-seat driver who comes in every morning to get a truck for the day, and he will try to pull at least three loads a day from the ports. He comes back to the terminal each night to drop off his truck and then goes home for the evening. He was stuck at the terminal this particular morning because there was no truck available for him when he arrived that morning. A little better planning on his part and he would not have been stuck there like he was, but hopefully he will learn from his mistake.
Forgive me for all this rambling. but I just wanted to give you some idea of how each person's experience will vary based on their actual job they do for the company, and their personal preferences.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
You are in VA? So your home terminal will be Pittston PA as will be mIne. It is much much smaller than MO. Still has free clean showers (which housekeeping will yell at you if you use right after someone and they didn't get a chance to clean them). They have a cafe but I don't think it is 24 hours like MO. Bunks and the spa. If I needed to hang out somewhere I would prefer MO lol. But pittston is close enough to home I could Park my car there And leave the truck there for hometime. It's also has a shuttle to take you around town 8ncluding walmart
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Miss Myoshi, I think you are getting the idea that everyone's experience with terminals is different, and will be determined by their particular job in the industry.
Yes. I figured everyone would be different, and I was curious about everyone's individual experiences.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
You are in VA? So your home terminal will be Pittston PA as will be mIne. It is much much smaller than MO. Still has free clean showers (which housekeeping will yell at you if you use right after someone and they didn't get a chance to clean them). They have a cafe but I don't think it is 24 hours like MO. Bunks and the spa. If I needed to hang out somewhere I would prefer MO lol. But pittston is close enough to home I could Park my car there And leave the truck there for hometime. It's also has a shuttle to take you around town 8ncluding walmart
Yes, I'm in VA. Unfortunately that's a bit far for me to drive, so I'll likely have to be routed home in the truck. Good thing is there's a Walmart within walking distance to my house, and there is a Swift driver that parks there regularly. I'm hoping I'll be able to do the same.
Hopefully we'll run into each other!
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Prime also has safety meetings at each Terminal on fridays. It is a teleconference between them all. And all I. Attendance get free breakfast. You can ask questions or make suggestions... nice communication to be honest.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
That sounds pretty cool. I've heard great things about their communication.
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Showers at terminals only get cleaned once or twice a day... Truckstops after every use... Think about that..
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.