Long Haul Trucking

Take the day off. If you can’t leave the country, at least leave the state. I’m kind of joking but I’m not. This is the second time DOT has been to the office in about two months. First time, they gave us a week notice, then when they arrived, they only wanted to see household stuff, but we don’t do household stuff. The team stayed about 20 minutes and left.

This time we get another week’s notice and I’m in most everyday, redoing what I did for the last one. The biggest problem for some reason is drivers sending in their logs. More on that in a minute. Inspector flew in from Carson City, (Nevada’s capitol) yesterday afternoon. She came with a team, but they’re at another company, we get a solo inspector.  We get some preliminary questions, fill out some paperwork, last about an hour. She has stuff to do at DMV today, so tomorrow she comes back for the real deal.

I have nothing left to do. It’s all done. What’s there is ready and what’s not, isn’t going to be done by tomorrow anyway. So, I took the day off. Tomorrow, she will ask for random drivers, random equipment and random logs, hopefully she picks the right ones. Plus going through other paperwork, making sure our drug program is being done right and comparing all of that to what paperwork she has. That will be the interesting part, what they already know before they even get there.

You would not believe all the calling and harassing of drivers to get them to send in their logs. Some were missing and had to be redone, but we’ve been telling them this for a month. Some don’t do their DDVIR (vehicle inspection report), that’s probably what we’ll get in the most trouble for. But you wouldn’t believe these guys have been driving for 20 years by the way they are so lazy about their paperwork. One driver just got his physical in and there was a gap from his old one and he was driving. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just because he didn’t get caught then, doesn’t mean he won’t get caught now.

I’m going to say it and probably get in trouble for it, but it’s the 21st century. Truckers that don’t have a laptop and know how to use it might as well not have a cell phone either. Go back to your horse and buggy. How can you run a business without the right tools today? The best and affordable tool is a laptop. It may take some investment of your time, but it’s worth it. Take the time to learn Drivers Daily Log and stop sending in logs with stupid mistakes or get a calculator.

Part of the problem is there is no reason for them to do anything. The owner and myself came up with new procedures and sent out a letter saying there would be rewards for logs that were done right. That didn’t work, so he is going to go the other way. Other companies have strict requirements about logs and I can see why. If logs don’t get sent in or you have a lot of errors or violations, you get some kind of reprimand. Sometimes, it’s get sent back to HQ for three days of unpaid and non-working, log class. How would you like to be in class for three days and not working and not be home? Wonder how quick they will get their logs in if their pay is tied to it? Don’t send your logs in, don’t get paid. Not even my idea, but it’s the only tool that will work.

That’s stupidity, but you would think drivers that have been driving this long know the routine by now. If you want to be treated like a professional, act like one, otherwise you’re going be treated like children. Not everyone is a problem with their paperwork, we have our professionals that know what to do, but there are others that are not as professional as they should be. This is easy stuff, it’s not rocket science. Get your logs in every two weeks, have a physical once a year, get your truck inspected once a year. You would think we were asking them to actually do hard labor.

I received a lot of questions from the inspector about how I audit logs and spot falsification. I use DDL’s iTruck for auditing, but that’s only good for hours of service. Other stuff is mostly by “feel” (didn’t say that exactly),  I’ve been driving for awhile and I know it takes two days to drive from Dallas to Vegas. Even though DDL can audit for each states speed limits, you have to put in a lot of other information and I don’t have time for that. I do put in the miles driven per day and I have it set at 60mph and if anything flags I look at what state is being driven through. I should be using the confirmations or trip sheets more, but I usually don’t (didn’t tell her that part, must have forgot).

The biggest part is there isn’t that much freight going on where anyone has to falsify their logs. Do a trip and you’re lucky if you get loaded the next day. If you get two trips in a row, that’s not going to be enough to make you drive hard enough to lie on your log and it probably won’t happen next time. Drivers usually get a reset on their hours at least once a week, so why do all the work that it take to lie for no reason.

More about how it goes after tomorrow. I’m interested to see the tools they use to audit stuff and how picky she’s going to be. She seemed nice enough, she’s retiring in 16 months and has been working for the Fed for many, many years. She even told us she’s getting a raise in January. I guess the Federal government is the job to get nowadays. The State used to be pretty good and it still is, but Cindy is getting more and more work piled on her and all the State workers have to take an unpaid day off every month. It amounts to about a 4 percent pay cut. But she’s still employed, but no one likes have to do more work for less money. I know how that is, truckers have been doing that for the last year or more.

We’re doing a lot more on a lot less. After this fall it may be time to find another way to pay for classes. Getting used books only stretches the dollar so far. I started out with four classes this summer and the classes different ending dates. Some have been more compressed than others. One four week class I was slammed with something due almost every day and that was when I drove to Seattle and back so two days up and two days back I couldn’t do anything. Probably won’t be taking another four week class again. My six week class is done, almost the same but better. I finally got ahead of schedule on that one. Now I’m down to two classes and I’m bored. I may take five classes in the fall. If I spend the equivalent of an entire day (since I’m not working) on one class, I should be fine and I have the weekend if it get really bad.

I started out taking all computer classes, that now I have to catch up and start taking the general ed stuff. Two computer classes and two or three gen ed stuff. Plus some home study on math should keep me busy. I need to get my math up to speed before I take the math placement. I don’t want to waste my time and money on math classes that don’t count.

Because the Volvo hospital in Vegas is now closed and the local mechanic thought it was too serious to perform surgery in the parking lot. I drive the patient the 100 miles to the next nearest Volvo shop. I was hoping for a terminal diagnosis and the only solution would be to put the beast out of its misery.

The diagnosis is critical but not terminal. I was hoping for a quick painless death to this problem, but instead I get to apply another bandage and continue on. We have a plan in place in the case of a sudden death but I guess it’s not time yet, so I’ll keep dragging this beast to the next load and the next load after that.

I was ready to get an estimate that was going to be so expensive that I couldn’t afford to fix it and the solution would have been simple. Put the beast down, call Volvo and tell them where it’s at. But instead I get more pain and another bandage to keep on trucking. It’s just enough where it would be silly to let the truck go because of a relatively small repair. It’s still a big bill, but in the big picture, not impossible.

The shop in Vegas closed down so I had to drive to Saint George and buy a new camshaft that is being shipped from Germany. It would have been under warranty except that the roller bearing isn’t under warranty and that’s the part that broke and screwed up the camshaft. These manufacturers aren’t stupid, they know what breaks and what doesn’t. Good thing I don’t care otherwise I’d be really upset about waiting a week for a part. I am really glad this happened so close to home.

So we go back to the plan of a trip a month or so, make the payment, put it up for sale or find a driver.

I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man! John Merrick, The Elephant Man

One of the good things about trucking is that there isn’t much contact with the same people. Unless you’re going to the same place over and over, if you don’t like someone or someplace, wait a few minutes and it will change or you won’t have to see them anymore.

It’s different when they’re in the company you drive for. Even then it’s only for a few minutes at a time, so that’s good. This company has setup an environment where it’s the old people against the new people. It’s not like this is news, we were told this at orientation. I thought it was just me, but everyone I’ve met that’s been here under six months has the same observation.

I’m not that social in the first place and I don’t need any kind of social reinforcement, but I expect to be treated at the very least, a human being and hey, let’s shoot for the moon and ask to be treated like a fellow driver.

These guys think they work so hard when they don’t even wrap and strap their own loads or climb around trade show crates when the trailer is 115 degrees or more. Build a full deck by themselves, climbing around securing freight and help unload on almost every single load. I was going through Advil like it was candy. Except for driving, there isn’t much to this, probably why there isn’t that much money either.

I wonder how long I have to be here before I’m not new anymore. Since there are drivers that have been here for twenty years, I may not be around long enough to find out.

Most of the “new” drivers have been driving for several years and are far from being new. Every time I meet an old driver I hear about how hard they’re working, while “new” drivers wonder how they’re supposed to make money like this?

Someone is going to have to retire before anyone that’s been here less than ten years gets a show. Most of the lead drivers act like they are so busy and it’s so complicated. When all they do is help people back in to the dock, make a few phone calls, fill out some paperwork and suck up to the lead carpenter which is probably the hardest part and will probably be the reason I don’t get a show. When the lead carpenter wants a trailer, the lead driver calls the truck with that trailer and tells them to show up at the door. They’re a contact point for the customer which is a good idea, but they can drop the attitude.

The other requirement is to be able to act like a prima dona around the new drivers to make yourself seem important and treat new drivers like they don’t exist until you’re ready to talk to them. But it does seem to be how these guys make their money. That and padding their hours is the advice I always get.

I suppose they have to keep their core group happy and everyone else is just a transient, especially now. For a company that does everything everyone hates, like going to Canada, NYC, never going home, sitting around between loads for days and the slowest pay in the industry and the pay isn’t even that great from what I’ve seen, except for the extra lead driver pay I have no idea why there are people that have been here for so long.

This will probably be my last trucking job because if it slows down anymore and I’m not working for more than a truck payment and fuel, I can be broke sitting at home, at least I’d be home.

After being home for more than a week I go back to work tomorrow. I’m going to Los Angeles to pick up a trailer, bring it back to Vegas and move Mama Mia out of Mandalay Bay and take it back to Yonkers, NY for storage.

While I enjoyed being home, I couldn’t really enjoy it because I’m not working and not making money to stop worrying about the bills. The holidays are over and everyone should be back to work, ordering stuff and shipping stuff, but they’re not. After talking to a couple of other owners, it’s really bad out there. Even though with the new company I get paid between loads, it’s doesn’t make the truck payment. If the economy could have lasted another year, we would have been okay, but it didn’t and we’ll survive.

Clean Red Widgets?

Tired of hearing about clean red widgets? After the 20th, I’m turning Obscure Mania into a anything but trucking blog and you won’t see another word about clean red widgets (I’m in third). Computers, gadgets, XP, Vista, Linux, Networking, politics and anything else I can come up with. I’m keeping Adventures as strictly trucking and will still be updating about trucking stuff here and Life on the Road. I would really like to get this online stuff to start making more money. It would be great to make the truck and trailer payments, but that’s not happening right now.

I was putting other kinds of posts here, but they just seemed out of place. They’re still here, but if someone finds one in a search engine they are redirected to the same post on Obscure Mania. I haven’t changed the theme yet but it will probably look a little like Adventures.

Trucking is Fantastic!

Maybe another word that starts with F but probably not fantastic. Honestly, trucking is too depressing right now. People I know are filing bankruptcy and losing their trucks. No one has enough work, even those that are working, it’s barely enough to survive and the outlook doesn’t look much better. Even if the economy does magically recover, it will take trucking a while to catch up. So far, all the plans I’ve heard are only going to prolong the inevitable. If Cindy wasn’t working full time right now, I’m not sure what we’d be doing.

Obama and Lincoln?

What’s with Obama and Abraham Lincoln? Doesn’t he know Lincoln was Republican? Once he gets into office he can’t be like FDR coming up with all sorts of plans for the government to help. Europe doesn’t call the Great Depression the Great Depression, because for them it was only a depression. Europe and the rest of the world came out of the depression long before the US did, thanks to the government trying to fix something they should just stay out of.

I made if home for Christmas after one of the worst drives I’ve had in a long time. I was always trying to drive ahead of some weather system or just keep driving through it. I missed a big snow storm in the Northeast and I drove as fast as I could to get in as much driving before more ice and snow hit the Midwest. Wyoming was the worst, usually is. Elk Mountain on I-80 must not have any weather stations or no one cares what the weather is up there because I can look on the internet at three different weather sites and they all say everything is fine on I80 through Wyoming.

I Hate Driving in the Snow

It wasn’t really snowing, but the high winds (thankful for the 42,000 lbs in the trailer to keep me on the road) blew the snow that was there, not only across the road, but high enough to block everyone’s vision. It was worse than fog. There were times I could barely see the hood of my truck. Thankfully, I was able to stop in time when I saw a stopped truck in front of me. Most everyone drove real slow and kept in contact on the radio.

When I stopped at the Little America later that night, the story on the CB was that I-80 going east was closed because of the white out, trucks collided and someone died. I couldn’t find a news report, but Elk Mountain probably doesn’t get much press either. No one cares about that place except for the Elk and Antelopes.

I made it to my delivery a day ahead so I wouldn’t have to drive far if there was any weather. Good plan, because there was. After delivering, I’m heading west to drop the trailer before heading south. I chained up for Donner’s then sat in a traffic jam for two hours because of some wreck up ahead.

I Hate Traffic, Driving in the Snow and Snow Chains

Because of the wreck everyone was bunched together, so the de-chaining area was packed. Trucks and cars were using the regular shoulder so the rest of us had to drive in the left lane to keep from killing someone. Of course there were a few idiots that just saw an empty lane and used it. I stopped one place, didn’t like it because traffic was too close. I drove a little further, found an off ramp and pulled off enough so I was out of the slow lane, but blocking the on ramp a little. At least, the percentage was smaller that someone was actually going to use that off ramp. What a mess.

No More Mama Mia in Las Vegas

The rest of the trip was a piece of cake after that. And now after working in Phoenix last weekend and I’m picking up the closing of Mama Mia in Vegas this week I’m thankful not only for being home, but for not being in the weather. Even though it snowed in Vegas last week, it’s all gone, it’s still cold (for around here). Here’s some video of the snow in Las Vegas in case you missed it.

Cindy had always wanted to see Mama Mia, so a couple of years ago on Valentines Day we went and saw it and had a great time.

It’s almost official, but close enough, I’m no longer with Bohemian and I start with my new company on Tuesday. It’s a long wait till Tuesday and it’s supposed to snow for three days this week. I’ve got plenty of fuel and food. I’m at a truck stop in southern central PA so I have facilities, intermittent wifi and I’ve dropped my trailer at the new company so I’m fairly mobile if I want to be.

This is the only company I’ve left that I actually feel bad about leaving. I’ve been here three and a half years, which is a long time in trucking. (Which is sad, but that’s a different post). The company changed, some of the people at the company changed and the market has changed.

I like and respect the owner of Bohemian and he’s been more than fair with me and everyone there. He was totally open about everything, payroll and invoices were open for anyone to see. He has a huge heart and has helped drivers and employees with more than any other boss I’ve ever heard of. And he would always stand behind and argue for the drivers instead of instantly blaming a driver like most places I’ve been.

Humble Beginnings

When I started at Bohemian he was working out of the second floor of his house in Kentucky with his wife and sister as employees, he would still drive once in awhile and still run the office. After moving the company to Vegas, getting a warehouse with an office, they slowly turned from being a trucking company to a brokerage with a warehouse and a few trucks. Meaning, instead of putting the priority with the trucks and drivers, the emphasis was on the warehouse and the brokerage, they were using trucks from any company. Instead of having a payroll problem fixed while you were on the phone, now it was – wait till Monday. Bending over backwards at the expense of the drivers for a couple of core customers while getting brokered loads to fill the rest. They were great loads, pad wrap, store fixtures, display cases, trade shows, audio equipment for shows all with good money, but those have slowly died down for a number of reasons, including the economy.

I’m not publishing my new company just yet. They have 3% turnover and like most good companies, you won’t see them in the recruiting mags. I kept in touch with a friend that left Bohemian and has been there about five months and likes it a lot. They only have owner operators, they require drivers to be able to go into Canada and New York City and they require one of their drivers or someone at the office to actually interview a new prospect before they hire someone.

Most of their drivers are referred by other drivers and when I heard what the recruiting bonus was I would have fallen down if I wasn’t already sitting. Their only requirement is that you absolutely must be on time, no excuses, period. Since they dispatch and schedule at 45 mph, it shouldn’t be that tough. I could stop and get an overhaul compared to what I’ve been doing lately.

They actually have customers and they will get a few broker loads. Rather than the other way around with mostly brokered loads and a few customers.

Show me the money!

Pay is a fixed rate per dispatched mile depending on the length of the trip with a fuel surcharge based on the National Average. Everything is paid for except for plates, fuel, maintenance and insurance. Tolls, fuel taxes, empty miles, bobtail miles, detention starting the first hour, layover everything paid for. They even pay for orientation and fuel surcharge from your house when you start. Hopefully they don’t nickel and dime it all back like some places, but my friend doesn’t have any complaints. Every time I talk to him I have to keep telling him to wake up, because he must be dreaming! He says it’s all true and it’s a totally different experience from what we’re used to. We shall see.

I’ve been with my current company for three years and I’ve known my current dispatcher for five years. WIth the high turnover rates for trucking companies, that’s a long time. After I told the boss about how I’m seriously close to leaving, we all go out to lunch. Two and a half hours later they go back to work, I go home. The boss has not only been to my house, but they stayed here when they first moved out to Vegas for several weeks. He’s been completely honest with me about a lot of things and the inner workings of the company for a long time.

During the meeting, I didn’t demand anything. I know trucking is slow right now. I know it’s a hit and miss business even in the good years, that’s not the issue. Without airing out all the dirty laundry, let’s just say, some problems were identified, promises were made, good faith efforts were done and if I still don’t like how things are going after the first of the year, I can go.

On the plus side of staying: I can usually do what I want. I don’t go to Canada anymore and I don’t go to New York City anymore. Both of which I will have to do if I go to Company X. I still go to Long Island and anywhere else around that cesspool, but I don’t like it. The traffic I don’t care about, it’s the getting lost in that area can be hazardous to your truck’s health, and I’m always getting lost. Yes, I have a GPS, but they don’t help trucks much in the big, bad city. The convention center in NYC is over 100 city blocks from the Interstate, there’s no marshaling or staging area, so you’re driving around the block like a tourist looking for a parking place, it’s idiotic. On top of tickets for trucks being too long, idling and anything else they can think of. It’s a very unfriendly place for trucks.  I’ll go to Los Angles a hundred times before I go to NYC.

I don’t like going to Canada anymore for a dozen different reasons. Between the long lines, waiting and hassle if the paperwork isn’t perfect, to the long lines, waiting, hassle and then waiting again to get xrayed coming back in. If all the BS coming back to the States was about security… Please, it’s like airport security, it’s only there for show and tell. If someone wanted to go around customs, they just find a street with no checkpoint and drive across. It’s Canada, who in their right mind wants to sneak in to that place.

Plus I’ll have more time to decide what to do with my trailer. Where to put it, if I can sell it and all that. Nothing is going to change enough between now and the first of the year to make that much of a difference. Company X will still be there and it will still be their busy season. I won’t have to hassle someone new about getting home for Christmas and any time at home during the winter is less time I’m in the snow or the possibility of snow. And clean red widgets rock!

I guess he showed that other driver who’s boss. He goes to jail, his truck is impounded and his dog goes to the pound. That makes the road rage and pulling a gun all worthwhile. The only one I feel sorry for is the dog. Looks like he didn’t want to leave. Willie doesn’t have to worry about this happening to him. Even though I wish I had a gun in the truck, it would probably be more trouble than it’s worth.

Dog, a gun and an angry trucker lead man to jail and his dog to the pound
A trucker accused of pointing a pistol at another driver ended up in jail, with his truck impounded and his pet pooch transported to the pound following an incident on the George Nigh Expressway on Wednesday.

Police at the scene said the incident had been caused by “road rage” after one trucker thought another cut him off while driving down the highway. After some conversation over a CB radio, the drivers decided to pull over and talk it over.

It’s at that point that Goff is accused of pointing the gun at the other driver, according to police.

The other driver left the scene and then contacted police, investigators said.

They actually pulled over to duke it out? They’re both idiots.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Dennis Splawn, left, stands by as McAlester Animal Control Officer Richard Morris moves a reluctant dog from the cab of a truck

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I’m at the Corning, CA Flying J with 180 miles to deliver in the morning between 9a and 10a. It’s getting to be impossible to drive on Fridays and Sundays. The truckstop, oh, excuse me – The Travel Center is packed and not with trucks and truck drivers. RV’ers, cars, pickups towing boats and jet skis line the gas pumps three deep with one cashier.

I was having dinner in the truckstop last night and a family comes in and the waitress goes through her intro with the buffet price and the lady says, “it doesn’t look appetizing at all. Have you seen it? It doesn’t look appetizing.” I wanted to jump up and scream, “IT”S A TRUCK STOP! Don’t like it, go somewhere else. I don’t have a choice. Applebee’s doesn’t have truck parking!”  Even though the buffet didn’t look appetizing she thought the rest of the food in this place was going to be any better? Maybe it’s just me.

California becomes a nightmare on the weekend especially with cars going 70+ and trucks only allowed to drive 55. Simply idiotic. Granted most trucks are doing between 60 and 65, but if you want to pass, good luck getting into the left lane without killing someone.

Weekends used to be the best time to drive, no rush hours in the big cities and it was a great time to just sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery. Now, everyone is in a hurry to get to the lake/river/wherever or get back home from the lake/river/wherever and even though any vehicle towing anything is supposed to be going 55, you’d never know it. Trucks hauling jet ski’s going 80 are normal, god forbid if a semi goes 70, the world might end. CHP could fix California’s 15 billion dollar deficit in one weekend if they were out here.

You used to be able to “hide” from the general public and most traffic by driving at night. But now, construction crews come out at night and close down interstate lanes so they have more room to stand around. You could end up in a worse backup than any big city rush hour.

So, what’s the answer? Don’t know. according to Cindy, I overthink stuff way too much, she’s probably right. I’m getting to really hate the traffic. The days of letting your mind wonder and enjoying the drive are pretty much over everywhere except the most remote areas of the country. The simple art of merging is too much of a concept for most people. If I let you on, get out of the way so I can move back over and not get stuck in the left lane. I’ve given up, unless the left lane is completely open and no one is around, I”ll just stay in the right lane and force them to either speed up (the smart ones) or slow down and act like I’ve run them off the road, (the stupid ones).

And truckers aren’t exempt from being idiots. I’ve seen trucks almost cause a wreck letting someone on the interstate. Last time I checked, people on the on-ramp have to yield to traffic and it’s a lot easier for a car to drive around me, then it is for me to have to drive around and adjust my driving for them.

It’s a good thing I’m headed home. Make sure you get out of the way.