Vent & Brag For The Week
Topic 27058 | Page 2
Finally out of the Best Western....sittin in a 2019 cascadia with 214k on the odom.....Lady driver dropped it off at Garners so we got it assigned to us now......She did a year now moving over to drive for Gardners.....
Camped at Love's here early morning empty pick n drop for load headed out to Bedford PA.....got lots time on it delivery on 23rd.....We should be there plenty early n drop .....Then bug DM for outbound load fast !! Weekend DMs really dont get much done.....Found out other truck rhat died out on me was prior driver got canned so put like 60 gallons water in left tank.....Guess they didnt get it all out......So it aint going out anytime soon.......Glad we are !!
Dm:
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.
Finally out of the Best Western....sittin in a 2019 cascadia with 214k on the odom.....Lady driver dropped it off at Garners so we got it assigned to us now......She did a year now moving over to drive for Gardners.....
Camped at Love's here early morning empty pick n drop for load headed out to Bedford PA.....got lots time on it delivery on 23rd.....We should be there plenty early n drop .....Then bug DM for outbound load fast !! Weekend DMs really dont get much done.....Found out other truck rhat died out on me was prior driver got canned so put like 60 gallons water in left tank.....Guess they didnt get it all out......So it aint going out anytime soon.......Glad we are !!
Nice! Sounds like you lucked into a nearly brand new truck!! And no, weekend dispatch is more for putting out fires than dealing with the day to day stuff. Once you have a good relationship with your DM they will probably have you set to where you'll rarely need to speak with after hours.
Dm:
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.
Glad you guys got finally got moving Stevo.
Found out other truck rhat died out on me was prior driver got canned so put like 60 gallons water in left tank...
that kind of crap really ****es me off. I hope they're charged for repairs if they can prove the driver intentionally damaged the truck. I take pride in my job and I'm willing to admit if I goof up, that's how we learn and improve. It also shows your integrity. There are far too many drivers out there that are trying to always pass the blame, not report damage they caused or screw over their company. It definitely doesnt help change the way most of the public views us. That seems to be a battle we will never win unfortunately given some of the crap we see on the roads daily. One of the biggest reasons I love this forum is how much is preached about personal responsibility and how our actions directly impact what our treatment in this industry will be. If you're a driver getting numerous violations, citations or damaging equipment (intentional or not) you're not going to have as positive of an outlook on the industry as somebody keeping their record clean and not causing damage. It amazes me how many people get bent out of shape that Walmart wont allow them to park overnight. It's no surprise, have you seen the way many drivers leave their trash on the ground? The other day I stepped out of my truck at a truckstop in Kearney MO and nearly stepped on a bag of human waste, not to mention all the jugs you see sitting around the lots 20 feet from a trash can.
Dm:
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.
Brag: My very first student was ready for his CDL test this morning after only 11 days. He passed pre trip with 3 points missed out of 90. He passed backing with zero points!
Vent: He rolled through a stop sign - A STOP SIGN - 
during his road test and ruined the trifecta. Needless to say he feels horrible about it. We will pass in 48 hours when we retest.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Vent: a four-wheeler blew through their red light while I was half way into the intersection. Skimmed right by my front bumper. Worried me for a second because I wondered, "did I do something wrong?" Other drivers told me no, they do it there often because you're turning onto a hill and they don't want to be behind you. :(
Brag: finally learned how to use tandem's interlock, manual transmission mode, and button timing just right to spread a load of heavy clay, along a curve, without hanging up my trailer wheels in the spread (and stalling, needing a bulldozer to push me). :)
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Brag for me for this week: Delivered a day ahead of schedule this morning. I had sent messages in to dispatch asking if this could happen a day early, since a 1550 mile load should never take five days. Got replies back of "deliver as scheduled on 20 Nov at 0800". Uh.....no. I called the customer to check with them. "Sure thing! Bring it in anytime between 0800 and 2000." Next one starts tomorrow morning at 0500. 850 miles in 26 hours. Drop and hook on both ends.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
Yeah, then there was a vent. GRRR!
Got to the shipper this morning at 0445, to grab a preloaded trailer. Checked in after a long walk to see what I was getting into at the place (don't want to drive down a lane that may end up being employee parking lot), so I parked and checked it out on foot.
"Uh, this load is not ready yet. Day shift may know what's going on when they get here at 6." BP elevates slightly...
I tried again at 0610. "We don't show anything going out today to NC." I send a message in to our crew. "I'll check with Customer Service when they come in at 0800." Central time. An hour behind me. BP rises more....
1030 comes and still no word from shipper or dispatch. Clock continues to run....
1130 and I get a reply message, " Going to check with the CSR again." Now starting a fresh headache.
1220 " Sorry. The customer booked the load then doesn't have the product, so it's now cancelled." Now low on hours, my headache and I depart.
185 miles, 10 hours off the 14, 5 hours detention. Lost money today, but hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
Currently sitting at a travel plaza on the OH toll road until after dark. Napping and see what I get next when my break is complete and I check in for the load board. "A day in the life."
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
Brag: Wife and I got in 7,139 miles for the week, made $3,168.81 on my paycheck alone. Not too shabby for a "mega" company driver.
Vent: Paid $547.76 in Federal taxes. At least Texas doesn't have an income tax.
Never move the steering wheel... Just go straight, control your speed, you may have to hit the brakes. Invest in a camera, I like my Garmin 55, the mid range one, and my Herd Bumper. Always be prepared for the most stupidest of animals, the human one. Don't be that guy.
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I had two deer run into me when I was at Crete, Jamie. Same process of calling it in, then sending pictures. I never heard anything back, either, but I had no dented or broken body panels.
One deer in Texas tried to stop on wet asphalt and went under the trailer tandems. The other one in Pennsylvania jumped headfirst into the passenger door and steps which broke her neck...
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".