We finally made it home after getting rained on all through Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma. I had to unload part of what we have here in Vegas anyway and the rest in LA on Monday morning.

My dispatcher came in to unlock the warehouse on Saturday and helped unload and we had a long talk about trucking and other things going on at the office. He was showing me on his emails all the bids that he would put in and then get underbid for some outrageous amount going to places like Florida where people know they will have to go out of Florida empty and California where diesel is over $3.07 a gallon.

He also showed me all the brokers that have claims and complaints against their bond. Then he shows me those same brokers posting freight and still working. There were complaints against carriers running with no insurance and canceled authority.

Someone that doesn’t pay extra to see that information on the internet may be dealing with someone that doesn’t pay them or doesn’t have insurance.

We are doing okay. Not great and not horrible, but we are getting by and hopefully these people will be out of business soon, then when the economy picks up, we will be around to take advantage of it. Until then… we’ll do the best we can with what we have.

I deliver the rest of our load in LA tomorrow, pick up again tomorrow back to Vegas so I can take care of a few things and then back to LA to load on Friday for a round trip to Dallas and back to Vegas. Then we’ll see about getting to Minnesota.

4 Comments

• At July 3, 2007, Wayne wrote:

  test one comment.

• At July 3, 2007, Wayne wrote:

  test comment two.

• At July 12, 2007, Laurie wrote:

  This is a great site! It is all organized very well.

  I don't have the knowledge of the technology needed to do this... wish I did.

  Keep up the good work.

  Wow!

  And thanks for stopping by my blog site. I am humbled.

• At July 12, 2007, Wayne wrote:

  I've been doing this for years and this is the newest edition. I started out on typepad.com, kind of like blogger, there's also wordpress.com (free). I felt I had to learn about servers and the self-hosted version of wordpress for my new job. I'm always learning. Gives me something to do while waiting for loads. If you want help I can point you in the right direction.

In the past 2.5 years that I started driving for Wayne (now husband) this is as slow that it has ever been. Our next load picks up Monday afternoon and we head for California. The rate is very low but we are moving. We have heard other truckers say the same, but still can’t help wondering if its our company. We have looked into having our own authority or maybe another company but for now we are riding out the slow time.

We have lots of time this weekend in Maryland, so we found a nice truckstop which is very shady with a nice cool breeze. Wayne parked by the empty field so we can take Willie out and play catch. I started a new book and tomorrow we will drop the trailer here and find a grocery store so I can make some salads and a hot dish. Wayne is busy with his blogging and editing all the rest of the bloggers on “Life on the Road”. This second job has kept him very busy but he likes it and that is what counts.

2 Comments

• At June 23, 2007, Bee wrote:

  As a safety director in the midwest, all I hear is how slow it is for those that haul dry or specialized freight. It seems that only refrigerated freight is still busy, people will always eat I suppose. If your company has a loyal customer base, then I would suggest that you stay where you are at, moving will make you new "man" on the board with a smaller chance of hauling for their old time customer base. Ride it out where you are if you can. If that is no longer an option, consider hauling for a refrigerated company.

• At June 23, 2007, Wayne wrote:

  Even when I hauled Refrigerated there was still a slow down when the growing season in Calif is finished. Unless things pick up I bet this year's slow season for refrig will be even slower than normal.

After our time off and having spent most of the winter in the south, I guess it’s our turn to play in the snow. This is from a web cam in Wyoming on I-80, which they closed for about 10 hours and we were still on time in Iowa the next morning. After Iowa we had a short haul (for Graebel Van Lines) to Kentucky, drove to Chicago to pick up our current load to Phoenix. After surviving thunderstorms, hail and tornado warnings in Missouri we stopped in Albuquerque to let the winds die down and the snow in Arizona to melt off the roads. After we deliver on Monday afternoon or Tuesday there are several possiblities for our next trip, which may even include a ferry ride! Stay tuned.

2 Comments

• At March 17, 2006, Aaron The Truck Driver wrote:

  One day its summer one day its winter.

  What happened to spring, summer, winter, fall?

• At November 9, 2009, luis valverde wrote:

  i need to drive 18 wheeler tks

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.

2 Comments

• At July 22, 2009, Bee wrote:

  Welcome to my world! I moved out of the truck two plus years ago and started as the safety officer for a small refrigerated company. I never realized that there were so many drivers out there that didn't know how to do a log book even though they had been driving for YEARS. Then of course we have the drivers who just don't do a log book and can't be bothered to turn in the pages. Furthermore we have drivers who are unable to flip the log book page over and do the daily inspection. We have had a audit where not only was the company fined for these missing logs and missing inspections, but so were the drivers. Even that did not change their behavior.

  What is the solution? I have no idea! We too have tried the carrot and stick method, then we just tried the stick, neither worked. DOT says we can hold their paychecks until all logs are turned in, I guess that will be next. We are looking at a Federal audit in September so that will be one of the many questions I ask the inspectors.

  Good luck on your audit.

• At September 30, 2010, John Wall from Truck Driving Jobs wrote:

  A DOT Audit or Compliance Review has proven to be a concern for thousands of companies, often resulting in major, unwanted expenses as they found out they were not prepared and were subsequently fined large amounts of money.

From Fort Worth to Las Vegas we encountered high winds and dust storms on our way back home. We finished loading late Friday nite and I was to start driving Saturday morning to Las Vegas. It was so windy I had both hands on the wheel with a tight grip when about 200 miles into our trip I saw the top of the trailer flopping in the wind and holding on by inches to the passenger side. I yelled ” Wayne” about 3 times as he was resting in the back and spotted a sign that said rest area 1 mile. I decided that I could make it there. Wayne was speechless as he saw what I was yelling about. The roof had ripped off the trailer over the Texas panhandle probably in many small pieces but the a large piece was still hanging on. I heard one trucker over the CB describe it as a large sailboat going down the freeway.

As funny as that sounded we were in a serious situation. The cargo was fine and we were able to pull off the remaining large piece about 12 feet long. The front 1/3 of the trailer was still intacted but around the middle the fiberglass ceiling had ripped off the trailer. Wayne secured what he could and we headed for Las Vegas before any rain could hit. We arrived about 2:30 am Sunday morning and unloaded later so all the freight was undamaged.

Wayne will take the trailer to Fontana, California for a new roof. We will be on vacation until our trailer is ready again. If it takes too long we will probably rent another trailer for a short period. This is one adventure I hope never happens again and will be a story to tell for a lifetime.

A few pictures from our latest trip.
The Saint John River in New Brunswick.

The dock we delivered to in Vegas from Northborough, Mass. First class all the way!

And entertainment from the Entertainment Capital of the World! At least this guy is doing something for his handouts. Click on the picture, it’s a bit fuzzy because we were so far back, but he’s juggling three tennis balls. He needs more practice.

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.

Downtown SF,
originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking.

Next to the Westin Hotel unloading sound and video equipment for some kind of show or conference. Notice, I’m NOT in the picture. Two teamsters inside the trailer and stage hands waiting at the tail to take equipment off and roll it inside the hotel. I hate driving downtown anywhere, but it is more of a challenge than the interstate and keeps things interesting! This time went pretty well both inbound and outbound and I went straight to my next load in Burlingame. Here are a few pictures of the Bay Bridge and a couple more downtown.

I’m in Kansas now waiting to get some “bonus” freight and then drive like heck to San Jose on my way back home to pick Cindy up.

4 Comments

• At July 22, 2006, Bee wrote:

  Isn't San Fran fun in a big truck?! Not!

  What did you do with Cindy? She was with you for a while and in this post she is not.

• At July 22, 2006, wayne wrote:

  Cindy's stayed home to take care of some things. I should be back in Vegas next week for a few days off where we will be together again!

• At August 30, 2006, Trucking wrote:

  Wow, San Fran?! You brave soul!!!

  If you're interested, check out my blog site about trucking across america: http://truckingacrossamerica.blogspot.com/

• At October 15, 2006, David Zemens wrote:

  San Francisco - what a great city. I can't wait to return there. I must admit, having never driven a large truck (or a small one), I can't imagine how tough driving on those hills would be!

Finally out of the snow and extreme cold. I thought I was out of the snow last night, but I woke up this morning with snow on the windshield in West Virginia. After about 20 minutes of driving I came on to a wreck that had both directions shut down for 45 minutes. Rumor had it that a car spun out in front of a UPS freight truck, the truck hit the car or went into the median to avoid it, I don’t remember, but the UPS truck and trailers were on their sides in the median.

After I crossed into South Carolina, the sun came out and it’s still a little chilly, but it great compared to what I was in a few days ago. After being cooped up in the truck for so long, Willie enjoyed his walk around the parking lot. I enjoyed being able to get out of the truck myself without a coat and long underwear.

I not expecting anything out of South Carolina for a few days, it would be nice if I could keep moving, one prospect is too far away and loads the same day I’m unloading. Oh well, back to the same old grind.