...so They Gave Me My Own Tractor ...

Everyday, as a city driver, I walk to the city dispatch window to receive my manifest , my handheld computer and then I walk around the corner to the next window to the linehaul dispatcher , who controls which tractor goes to whom. Usually he hands me a little post-ie with a tractor number on it, tells me where it is in the yard, and then informs me when it's due back to the yard, so the nighttime linehaul driver who drives it, can have it back for his assigned gate time. A lot of times, the city drivers are driving the linehaul drivers' trucks till it's time to bring them back. The linehaulers consider "their" trucks to be their own and get totally p/o'd when a city driver brings "their" truck back in any condition other than the way they left it, i.e., not topped off with fuel, windows dirty, trash in the cab, la-la-la. I for one, bring them back looking nicer than when I was assigned them that morning, but for some, nothing is good enough.

Last Thursday, as usual, I got my manifest, walked around the corner to the linehaul dispatcher's window to get my tractor assignment and he tells me he's giving me my own tractor. At first, I said, "COOL! Righton." Then I stepped back and asked, "Wait a minute. Is this a good thing or is this because there have been issues?" ...a couple of times, (rarely though) city dispatch has kept me "out there" working too late, when the linehaul driver needed his truck to make his gate time. He said, "It's because of the issues. I give you your own truck - no more issues."

This went from, "Gees I can't wait to tell my buddies on TT," to "So this is what I get for taking great care of these trucks?"

I walked out to "my" tractor, defeated. It was the dirtiest, oldest, clunkiest, most dented, least polished, rusty-fendered, icky-est, smokiest smelling truck in the fleet. I did my pre-trip inspection. Damn. I couldn't find anything wrong with it, so I couldn't hand it over to the shop for some DOT failure. It had mud and grease all over the rear of the cab because it had no mudflaps. Someone must have bobtailed it back to the yard in a heavy rainstorm. Ugh. It had a Meritor transmission that would break anyone's left ACL for sure. OMG roll-up windows and no automatic mirrors. Funny how the only time I get really emotional about my job is when I have to drive a truck I'm not proud of. Most girls would be upset with, "He's being mean to me," or "Everyone's so gruff around here," or "This job is too dirty for me," la-la-la. But no, I was upset because it wasn't a badass truck. And oh, the mileage. I looked at the dash. 86,000 miles and some change. Yeah right. That means it already went over a million and now it's a million, 86,000 miles. I was choked up, literally fighting tears. No time to take it to the truck wash in the yard and clean all the grease and mud spots off. "They really hate me here," I thought. Honeymoon over. It's just a job.

I went back in and talked to the dispatch manager. "Hold your tongue," I told myself. He was in his cubicle. "Did you know that J... gave me my own truck?" I tried to keep my tone even and non-complaining. "No," he said. "Hey, that's a good thing." I thought about it for a second, "It is?" He said, "Yeah. Now you don't have to worry about getting the truck back to a linehauler and it will save you time in the yard and on your pre-trips 'cause you'll know the truck really well. You can just get your manifest, and even if there are no trucks available, you'll have yours and you can just GO." I thought, "Well, as long as the dispatch manager didn't think I was a dirt-bag," I was kind-of okay with it. I went back out there, hooked to my trailer, started my route.

Filthy inside. Blech. The tranny was busting my knee. I had to force the dang thing in to every gear, it seemed. And forget down-shifting without using the clutch. Plllttththth. Then, sometime during the day, I noticed that somewhere around 25 mph and up to about 50, the tractor had some serious kick. Once I'd get to that speed, it would just take OFF like a horse, unbridled. Hey, this thing had a some personality. I giggled at the kick. It would just vroom and leave traffic behind once it sped up ...without any coaxing. What a crack-up. I noticed a few other things. It didn't have the lane-warning alarm that goes off in the other trucks when your wheels have come close to, or crossed over the lane into the next one. Well, the air-conditioning worked really well. Can't complain about THAT. Because of its age, dents, and scratches, I was no longer under pressure to keep it pristine. It didn't have those stupid fenders over the rear tires - so I didn't have to worry about scratching, breaking, cracking, or bending them on sharp turns.

The next day, I brought in a bucket of all my vehicle-cleaning wip-ies, windex, paper towels, etc. ...yes, armour-all. After an archeological dig, I found the dash board, emptied out all the stuff from the last driver, swept the floor, polished the windows and mirrors, put down non-slip floor mats, and it's starting to look like it's "mine." If they're gonna' give me a pos, it's gonna' be MY piece pos.

In reality, it's still a good truck. The drive tires are brand new. It's pretty cool to have my own every day. Today, I couldn't go into work and I was actually worried someone else might have driven it. We've bonded already.

-mountain girl

Just waiting out my "90 Day" no-drive restriction ... I had a stint placed in the 'ole ticker and DOT says no driving for 90 days because of it ... just 30 more days and then I'll be back on the road and I won't be able to harass anyone for a while (hopefully be) too busy ... you'll be safe ... but then you've been pretty busy yourself, eh?

Jopa

Oh wow. Sorry you've been through so much. Ow! Hopefully, the stint is doing what it's supposed to do. Inertia can be torture, if you've been used to being "on the move." The next 30 will go by quickly.

Been very busy. I really love it though. P and D is a good deal. I work my tail off, get in and out of the truck a 1,000 times a day, deliver heavy freight, no day is the same as the other, and I go home every night. I can travel OTR at a later time.

Be good to yourself. That sense of humor will keep you alive and healthy.

-mountain girl

Very nice story! :) I like how you took that "lemon" and made it into a nice pitcher of "lemonade" Congrats on getting a truck of your own, even if it is a bit of a hooptie:)

Love your attitude! Keep the smile on your face and that truck will become a brand new one in no time!

Thanks for the cool story.

I don't know what state you're in, but here in Ohio the Man would give two citations; one for each missing mud flap.

Sygma does slip seating too. I would have liked to have my own truck, even if it was an older one. I got the older trucks most of the time anyway so at least I wouldn't have to clean up after the last driver.

Congrats on having your own truck.

My truck is nearly the same. No one wants to drive it because it is not a cool black and red like all the other newer trucks. As a matter of fact, it is the oldest truck we have. But mechanically this thing is a stallion. Where all the other trucks are running 500-550 horse power, I am sitting at 625 horsepower. It does not have all the bling that the other trucks have but dang does she like to run. I have to set the cruise so that I do not get a speeding ticket.

Oh and congrats on your own truck.

Super neat story... Way to go... Like your attitude... Your dwelling on the positives... Good luck and God Bless

In case I wasn't clear, I do have mud-flaps ...just no fenders over the drive tires.

And thanks. The dispatcher's deliver was kinda' negative but I don't care.

And yeah, Pat, she likes to run but she's not modern enough to have cruise control. Lucky you. Heh-heh. No engine brakes, either. lol.

-mountain girl

In case I wasn't clear, I do have mud-flaps ...just no fenders over the drive tires.

And thanks. The dispatcher's deliver was kinda' negative but I don't care.

And yeah, Pat, she likes to run but she's not modern enough to have cruise control. Lucky you. Heh-heh. No engine brakes, either. lol.

-mountain girl

Again, if everything is so good, why so blue? (This is like the fourth time I've tried to get you to comment on your Avatar - maybe you'll take the bait this time, eh?)

Jopa