Profile For Dennis L

This blog article by G-Town helped me get my attitude right for training. Basically “be humble and coachable”. It still is necessary to be humble after 3 years OTR, learning everyday.

https://www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/Article-3893/ego-becomes-downfall-of-cdl-students

If you have a Hazmat endorsement you may be required to redo it. Check with Texas for their rules.

When I moved from AR to MO I was required to redo my Hazmat endorsement in MO. Had to go through the expense and time to get another TSA background check and take the Hazmat written exam in MO.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

I returned home on 12/22, a day earlier than scheduled. Off until 1/3. Will visit family in SE Arkansas 12/26-12/29.

Had 2 deaths in family there recently in Oct and a couple days ago, so mixed feelings this Christmas.

I’m working on a local driving job opportunity to get off the road. Driving a dump truck (aggregate stone) and/or a concrete mixer. Will know at mid-January if I get it. Interview was positive.

Job requires minimum 2 years commercial driving experience with relatively clean record. I have 2.5 years now. Hourly pay rather than mileage pay starting at $22/hr.

Probably $20k less per year, but it’s time for me to be home to help my wife more.

I’ve achieved one of my goals to see the country having driven in 46 states (only missing the Dakotas).

I did a topic search here for “dump truck driving”. A thread came up from G-Town. As usual he provided great detailed info about how to be safe operating a dump truck compared to a tractor-trailer combo.

Very sad news. Anne made me feel welcomed on this site. She helped me get through my TNT training with Prime.

Hey BK, how did your knee replacements go? Are you feeling like a young buck now?

Stevo, sorry about your nephew.

When I worked in Angola, a National co-worker had a 7 year old son with Lukemia. He needed to travel for treatments in South Africa.

To raise money an Expat co-worker with long hair like you had volunteered to have it shaved off for donations. We had a good time watching it come off. He raised a lot of $.

A $10 #2 buzz cut every 2 months works for me :)

I'd gotten a fist pump a time or 2 out on the road from kids. Brings back memories of us doing the same thing, as kids to truckers lol....Easy to make a kid smile and make their day too lol

1 of my funniest, I was in my '69 lowered, patina'd VW Bus, @ the drive thru at In & Out burger. As I approached the pick up window, 3 little blonde girls, maybe from 6-10 years old. They came running across the dining area inside, to the windows by the drive thru. All 3 of em gave me a big wave and a thumbs up/peace sign.

Hey Stevo, were you a Hippie?

PS. I think you are not considering the mileage based performance bonuses that company drivers receive in your calculations.

Prime and Wilson are very similar since Wilson hauls Prime freight.

My base CPM is currently 57 CPM (52 CPM if in a condo). I’m 2 CPM higher than starting rate of 50 CPM after 2 years based upon rate increases for cumulative miles.

Weekly mileage based bonuses include fuel cost savings (largest bonus, mine ranges from 3-5 CPM), Service & Safety bonuses, health bonus, northeast region load origination bonus (I don’t get this very often).

There are other ancillary payments for stuff like detention time at customers, multi-stop pay, hazmat pay, shop downtime pay, layover pay, etc.

This week I got a $150 detention time payment. I’d rather have the miles!

So, my weekly performance bonuses + ancillary pay combine for about 6-8 CPM on top of my base CPM.

Hope this helps

Listen to Tucker Carlson interview with Calley and Casey Means. Then read their book “Good Energy”.

They have been advising RFK Jr and Trump about the chronic heath crisis with children and how to change it.

I still need to figure out how to eat better on the truck to cut out the ultra processed foods high in added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, bleached flour and seed oils.

Unfortunately we haul all of this garbage ultra processed foods. The meat that I haul isn’t organic grass feed neither.

Calley & Casey Means