Comments By TwoSides

Completed my weekend run on Monday. The first stop I had in Elkhart did not have overnight parking so I'm glad I followed my gut and stayed at that Pilot in Fremont. I did show up earlier than my 10am appointment time and there were two trucks in front of me, ended up getting unload at 0900. Headed into Illinois for my other two stops. My second stop needed an appointment time. I didn't call my DM that morning but instead called the receiver before I left out to my first stop and made the appointment for 1300. I arrived there at 1240. The last stop was first come first serve so no problems there. Came back empty to Cressona and arrived there Tuesday evening.

Was given a load assignment to Port Newark in Elizabeth, NJ for Wednesday. Only 120 miles smh. Wasn't even one of Knights customers, it was for this company AIM. I did have the pleasure of pulling one of their Conestogas and it was delightful. It rolled back with ease and had a properly working string to lift up the back flap.

Did a thorough trip plan and glad I did. The GPS did not know what to do at the Port. Had no problems with that but was amazed at how busy it was over there. Container trucks everywhere! Traffic was heavy and I thought to myself, these drivers have to spend most of there clock just trying to get in and out of there.

Came back to Cressona empty again and now I have a three stop run in Ohio for tomorrow. Warren, Canton and Bolivar. I've been to those places before but not recently. Matter of fact, the place in Bolivar was where I got into my second incident back in March and hit a street sign making a right turn lol. My first stop isn't until 7pm Thursday, which is weird because I never had an appointment time after 4pm. Hopefully it won't throw me off my routine. The second stop is for 8am Friday and the third stop doesn't have a time yet. This is loaded on a Conestoga and I miss the other companies trailer already. I would rather tarp and re-tarp a five stop run than have to deal with these Conestogas.

At the terminal now doing much needed laundry and waiting to roll out tomorrow. I will be coming back empty on Friday and cut my time out on the road short because I'm going on vacation next week. A much needed vacation at that. I have to say my DM looked out for my interest by giving me this run. I will be able to get back to the terminal at a decent time and get home. I thanked him for that...

As I recall, you were towed once, then hit two poles. Incidents and accidents both can end up on a DAC.

Dang Mr. Pack. I hit two poles?? Lol. I only have two incidents. The first one was taking a right turn to wide and slid into a ditch on the other side of the road. The second incident is where I hit the pole on a right hand turn, and I never got towed.. Maybe you have my story confused with someone else?? It's all good, I know you are reading a lot of drivers threads... I will look into them like Chief said and call the safety department here to see what they put on my DAC. Hopefully it's just the one I got the citation for which was the second incident...

Davy, I have thought about changing terminals but I only know of OS terminal and mine that do flatbed. My attitude does stem from a lot of small things that build up then on top of that my pay is habitually incorrect.

I am an over thinker, also a perfectionist. Every Minute detail has to be in sync for me to feel comfortable with doing something. Being here has really tested that trait and that is one of the reasons for my constant frustrations. Not having the proper training and being thrown out to the wolves is definitely not what I'm use to or was expecting.

Old School, Shawn's defense at first was that payroll isn't putting it in. Then when I got Ashley involved he acted like it was an honest mistake. The most recent one he said " you should have received x amount for tarp and stop pay and that's what it shows you were paid for" Those were his exact words. Usually he just asks for the trip number but this time was different. Shawn can be condescending at times so I took offense and responded in a not so nice way. I'm always professional and cordial with him but my response was anything but.

I know sometimes my tarp pay or stop pay gets paid before my mileage and other times it may follow on the next week's check. Those things depend on when my DM enters them. Is that happening? 

That happens sometimes, but in most cases I'm waiting 2-3 weeks to get my tarp or stop pay. Now if he was to say, sometimes it gets paid out slow, like detention and layover, then I would respect that. But when I ask him why tarp pay isn't in a check, he blames payroll....

Say you do decide to leave, do you think your three incidents there at Knight will show on your DAC Report?

No no, not three. Just two and I assume you are telling me they will show on my DAC report.... I'm well aware that one of them is on there, the second one I got the citation for and would be surprised if the first one is on there. Seeing how I didn't receive a ticket or citation. But I do get what you're saying Pack....

If I have to stay a full year or more then I will do so. If there's a possibility another company will accept me, then most likely I will move on....

Made it to the Pilot in Fremont, IN this afternoon. There definitely isn't 130 parking spaces like the app says, it's closer to 50. The place was half full when I got here and after taking a shower and coming back to the truck I see the number of trucks has grown significantly. My plans of going to the receiver in Elkhart are scratched due to the fear of not being able to park there overnight, then returning to the Pilot without having a spot to park. The perfect scenario would have been to park at the receiver today so I would have an early start tomorrow with no time coming off my 11. But that's my fault for not calling on Friday to confirm if they allow overnight parking. Not a big deal since it's an hr away, but that will be a hr off my 11.... I have a 10am appointment time but I'm going to show up when they open at 7am. Hopefully to be the first driver at the door and they unload me.

My other two stops don't have an appointment time even though the B/L says an appointment time is required for delivery. Let's see how that works out. My DM comes in at 7am so I will communicate with him before going to those stops.

Now I want to address my attitude so far and vent a little... I feel myself getting frustrated out here and I'm not sure what the root of it is. Could it be normal rookie frustrations? Am I home sick? Is it my DM? Could I be burning myself out? Maybe all of the above? I know for sure one of the causes is my pay check consistently being wrong..... I stay out for 3 weeks and go home for a 34. When I'm out, I end up running on recaps and only slow down for weekend driving. Which could explain why I enjoy Saturday driving as much as I do.

Got into somewhat of a heated debate with my DM two weeks ago over my pay. I was missing $300 in tarp pay and a detention pay. When I bring it to his attention he says I'm wrong. That is where the heated exchange occurred. I have been solo for 6 months now and my check has been correct a total of 4 times. 4 weeks out of 6 months, and yes this weeks check was missing tarp pay and a stop off.

I'm always missing tarp, stop off, detention, layover and breakdown pay. On 2 checks the mileage was completely off. Like only getting paid for 60 miles on a trip that was 729 miles. It's a bit annoying to always go through this. I have talked with payroll, my terminal manager, my DM and his boss. Still same thing every pay period. I remember doing a thread about it when I was 2 weeks solo and some members said I was overreacting. Hmm, wonder if I'm still overreacting. I can't say it's personal because 1) its been happening since the very first check and 2) I'm not the only driver having this issue.

Right now I have 59,210 miles solo under my belt. I would love to stay here for a yr to reach 100k but with my pay issues and some other minor issues, I can say I'm just about ready to leave and look for another company.

This is a great thread. I have learned a lot from reading through this, for example the break in the 14hr clock from using the split berth. That will help me out now that I understand what it actually does. Please continue to share how you guys/gals manage your clocks. I hope no one will feel like they are being "one upped" or being a "one upper" We are all in different divisions and what works for a flatbed driver might not be as productive for a Van/reefer/tanker driver. Also being OTR or regional. But with all the info on the table maybe we can use some different tactics from each other.

As a rookie I can say this has been very helpful and I want to thank you all for engaging in this conversation. Also like Brett said, please share the real world factors you guys face and possible solutions for coming across them. Stay safe out there drivers!

Yo Davy, it's going. Been doing some, I guess, self reflection lately. My attitude/morale is going sour. Didn't realize it's been 3 weeks since my last update. Time is flying out here....

I'll start where I left off at from that heavy 2 stop run going to Sidney, OH. All went well with that and when I got back to Cressona for my next assignment I was given that 3 stop run into Salem, OH that wasn't ready before. That was on a flatbed and needed to be tarped. So for 2 stops I had to re-tarp the load. That was fun, plus it was super hot that day smh. Did a backhaul into Friendly, WV and picked up some ingots going to Cressona. Ingots are my favorite because they are the easiest and fastest load to secure. After that, I went back to Sidney for another 2 stop run. Racked up a lot of miles that week with those 640 mile runs and back. Then to finish off the week got a 4 stop run into Chicago, finishing in Dekalb Illinois.

Seeing that my next assignment was going in Chicago I was not too thrilled. Still a rookie and major cities are intimidating, not to mention the load was on a flatbed and not a Conestoga. So I will be doing some work with a few un-tarping and re-tarping at the stops. The first stop was on Ashland ave in downtown Chicago. Doing my trip plan I see a bunch of 13'2, 13', 11'4, etc, bridges around. One wrong turn and it would be disastrous. Not going to lie, I was nervous starting the trip but once I got there it wasn't bad. It was right off of 290 about 10 miles down the street and to the left. I did have to go under a 13'6 bridge which always makes me uneasy.

The 2nd stop was on 51st in Chicago, which again wasn't bad at all except the traffic. The 3rd stop was out of the city in Addison, IL. Had to drive through the town there but it was way better than Chicago city streets. The last stop was in Dekalb, Illinois. Beautiful scenery driving on 88w with open roads and no traffic. I was proud of myself that I survived Chicago lol. In reality, it wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be. Although that first right hand turn off of 290 was very very tight, there wasn't any real problems delivering to those places.

Came back to Cressona empty and did runs in Ohio and a new one in Atkins, VA that week. All simple, easy, quick runs. No backhauls, so I was able to do a little over 2500 miles that week which is the most I've done so far. Definitely worked for them though. I usually get around 22-2300 miles a week and around 83-8500 a month staying out 3 weeks at a time. Following that I went to Lafayette, IN. I haven't had that run in a looong time. Felt good going back there. Empty run back to Cressona and now on a 3 stop run to Elkhart,IN, Northlake, IL and Northbrook, IL.

This is my weekend run and I do enjoy Saturday driving. Less stress and time to really plan out my driving. I'm currently at Blue heron service plaza on 80w in Ohio and decided to stay here. I wanted to get to the Pilot in Freemont, IN but didn't want to take the chance of there not being any spots left. The app said it had 130 parking spots but I did a Google satellite view and saw a lot less lol. I'm only 1hr and 20mins away so I'll make my way there tomorrow. The Pilot is about a hr away from my first stop so I was planning on staying there till Monday morning. But I will also drive down to my first stop tomorrow and check it out to see if I can park there which would be better. Google satellite shows me there is a dirt lot in the back but cannot see if it's gated. Will definitely find that out tomorrow....

So to my understanding running recaps or doing a reset is not a bad way of handling the clock? I'm glad this is in discussion because I had a question on the best way to manage the clock for optimal performance. I do run on recaps and only do a reset on my hometime.

Turtle said:

But a driver running resets can exhaust his 70 in five or six days, reset on the 6th and 7th, then have an additional 14 available on the 8th day. Therefore, a driver running resets can have 84 hours available in which to drive in 8 days, a clear advantage.

Never knew about that... I guess my route doesn't allow me to do this but I wasn't even aware of being able to have 84 hours available in a 8 day span.

I have more questions but its time for me to get some sleep. Probably should have waited when I had time to explain the way I run to get some insight.

Davy I know exactly what you are saying about the company. Everything you said happens at this terminal also. Before trucking, I was a small business owner for 15 years. Realized that my eyes are still as a owner of a company. I get frustrated and confused at times on the way our company does business. It's slowly fading now that I'm accepting the fact that this is not my company lol..

My thoughts on rookies having difficulty because of their lack of pattern recognition is what Brett said:

Many people go through life without paying close attention to things around them. They never develop real sharp pattern recognition skills, and they don't learn as well as they could.

BK I agree with the multitude of patterns related to driving a truck. I'm 6 months solo and I can say I have noticed a lot out here on the road. My advantage in driving has been this website with members helping me with questions, also being a vigilant and observant driver from the day I got my drivers license. Had a couple of incidents with my right turns lol but learned from them quickly. Still have a lot to learn though.

And stop picking on us rookies lol. Yes, this job requires a lot of focus and awareness but I think if a new driver has decent situational awareness and are observant, they will have an upper hand out here on the road

Just want to ask my rookie question...

Does the recap/reset hold more value to what division the driver is in? Tanker, Intermodal, Dry Van, Flatbed etc.... And if they are on a dedicated account or not??

Continued from yesterday..... The truck was finally done at 0120 Thursday... I get the invoice for the job and see they only put tires on the trailer and a plug on a drive... I'm confused and ask the guy, what about the trailer?? He tells me the tech went home and they will look at it in the morning when he gets in. The tech went home??.... He was the one that called me and told me to come into the bay. I start to question the guy on why it took so long for the tires. 5 hrs for 5 trailer tires and a plug on a drive. I'm a little annoyed that it took so long. He starts to answer me but I cut him off and thanked him. I realize he was the only one in there. I see in his eyes he is exhausted and there was no need to question him. It is what it is at this point.

The Loves is super tiny and at 0130 there was definitely nowhere to park. Not even on the side or anywhere, it was full to capacity. There is a flying j 14 miles down 78 so I left to try my luck there. Before leaving I thought maybe I should hop on the Cat scale and get weighed. Just curious on how illegal I really am....

Crazy heavy on the trailer axles. Now knowing my actual weight I'm torn between driving 14 miles or staying where I am. The only options I have at the time are blocking the parking lot, sitting duck on the shoulder of 78, or the flying j 14 miles away. There is only on choice I really have. I leave and go to the flying j taking it slow. I get there and it's like this one perfect spot was waiting just for me. I'm happy something went in my favor that night.

My phone rings at 0710. It's the tech from Loves. Tells me he is ready to look at the trailer. I make my way back to the Loves and he gets to my trailer. He has me set the trailer brakes, pull forward, do this, do that and after 2 hours says it's the relay value and they don't have the part there. That's just great, he sends a message to Knights breakdown to get the part over to them and I'm waiting again. 3 hrs later, there is no part and no clue on when it will arrive. My DM messages me and wants me to come to the terminal and let the shop try and pull the axles apart. I'm a little hesitant on that because the terminal is 60 miles away and there is a weigh station I have to pass on 81. I inform him about it and he calls a driver that passed by there earlier and he said it was closed. Now off to the terminal....

I get to the terminal and we were able to get the axles spread apart. It was simple, they placed blocks at the rear axles, greased it up and had me pull forward. Worked on one try... I then pull off to the side in the yard and rework the rear of the load. I had to move two winches so they weren't over top of the tire and throw that sixth strap over the top in the back.

As I was doing that, Brad, who was my second trainer on the road who is now a trainer on the simulators and backing maneuvers in the yard, comes walking over with his class of five trainees. They stand there and watch as I was strapping the load which was somewhat awkward. Two of them are there for flatbed and they start asking questions. How do I like it? Is it hard? How to strap a load down, etc... I'm answering them and showing them what I'm doing until that one dreaded question comes up....How was the training?.... I instantly pause because I don't want to lie but I also don't want to sound like a terminal rat lol. Thankfully Brad quickly steps in and answers that question for me lol.

They leave, I finish up and head to the Loves down the street to get scaled. I want to be sure I'm legal before hitting the road. My steers are 11960, drives are 28000 and trailer is 39520. I'm close on my steers and trailer axle but I'm good to go. I head out but did not 1make it to far. Im feeling tired so I immediately pulled into a rest stop. I got maybe 5 hrs of sleep this morning and there's no need to risk anything by driving tired. I'm only going to Ohio so I will be there tomorrow