Profile For Steve L.

How I would feel is (in my opinion) less important than whatever this would, or wouldn't accomplish.

So, what would be the objective?

am currently looking to either get a grant to go to school

Since you’re planning to attend a local school, why not go in ahead of time and ask them who hires out of their school?

That should give you some idea for your area.

Bird One; I was questioning Ryan B’s claim that

“Corporate greed is driving it into the ground.”

If Ryan B’s definition of Corporate Greed was poor people calling in sick, I misunderstood.

There are still container ships sitting for weeks off both coasts. So now the feds may be going to get involved "to fix" another supply chain crisis? If trucking did pick up some of the slack, how would that unfold? The shippers and receivers can't keep up now. I'm not for 34 hour resets in the docks, but that could be a future possibility. That will be a real attractive recruiting pitch for perspective drivers. NOT. Experienced drivers are bailing because they've had it working so long and for so long away from home for money that holds less value every passing day. Sound pointless? God help the USA.

Corporate greed is driving it into the ground.

“Corporate greed?” Who among us isn’t greedy? Got a 401(k)? Where do you think that $ is invested? You don’t want maximum returns from your investments? 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Moe; I hope your nerves are settled a little by now. I find that having an experienced driver (at my company) often gives me the ability to vent and get talked off the ledge. In turn I do the same for them.

I agree with the others, but especially Banks’ point about 5 weeks being too much. We all have our limits, maybe you’re finding out yours. That may be a good thing ‘cause now you know.

Try to maintain your composure and keep the important conversations to you and the ones who value you, and work with you, most; not after-hours dispatch.

Unless there’s a critical event you must be home for, try to remove the emotions from your conversation and maybe make it more about safety and effectiveness. E.g. if y’all don’t honor my hometime DURING DRIVER APPRECIATION WEEK 😆 it may negatively impact my ability to safely deliver on time.

But seriously; stay safe and just ask them to keep their commitment as you’re doing for them. I hope this helps.

Man, this site is really expanding its horizons on the types of advice to give.😆

I currently drive for a Southeast Regional company and hometime is pretty flexible.

When I was with Schneider, similar to Klutch; I was on a schedule of 5 days off per month. Usually I'd be out for two weeks, then home for two days, back out two weeks then home three days. They were very flexible on when I took those days off. E.g. I could ask to get home on a Saturday and be off Sunday and Monday. Or, get home on a Tuesday and be off Wed, Thurs, Friday. Heck, a few times they let me stay out three straight weeks and then take five days off. This happened once for my Wife having a surgery and another time for my Son's wedding (which they routed me to an Operating Center near the wedding location).

I have to say, some of the mega carriers, like Prime and Schneider (at least when I was there) really treat their drivers well, when it comes to stuff like this.

I hope this helps.

Anne, the email brightened my day. Some days are good, some not so good.

G town, thought about what you said in a post about Cali. Dropped my speed down a bit there. Always watching my wagon.

OS, I think about how you function within Knight and keep trying to emulate it. Seems to be working.

PianoMan, feel a kindred spirit to you in many ways, not ready to jump to skateboarding yet, but one of these days.

Packrat, you're Like the ass kicking uncle everyone needs.

Bret, I wouldn't be driving if not for you putting this all together.

Guess what I'm getting at is that there's so much more to this lifestyle than the driving to consider. Coming here is like coming home to family. I can honestly say that following the advice of the folks here that have been around a while makes for a successful journey.

Anyways, just a nod of gratitude to everyone here. One foot in front of the other, onward and upward.

Amen!

My phone rang at 0745 and the dispatcher on the other end says "I have a Hubbard meet for you, 1030 gate". That works. Plenty of time to get ready and it's not a bad run at 598 miles.

At 0850 my phone rings again and it's dispatch. "Change of plans, Hubbard got cancelled you're going to the meet pad and your gate time is in an hour". At this time, I'm prepping my lunch and my wife's lunch and the chicken is cooking. I get it all done and shoot to work cutting through the back roads the tourist don't know about because they do 25 in a 45. Ain't nobody got time for that.

I make my gate and start heading towards the drop pad. At 1230 my phone is ringing and it says "Central Dispatch". O boy.... I answer and he says "hey, change of plans. We don't have any freight for you at the drop pad, take those trailers to Youngstown because they have freight that needs to go out today". Not a problem.

I arrive at Youngstown at about 1500, drop my trailers and hook my new set in about 25 minutes because I already have my assignment and I'm a mother flippin professional. I go into road dispatch to get my paperwork and the lady is on the phone and she says "something something something Pocono". At that point I know they're talking about me.

She finally hangs up and says "change of plans, drop your tail and take the lead and dolly to Hubbard and there's a trailer the that has to get to Pocono today. I ask for the weight of the trailer and it's heavier than the trailer I'm currently hooked to which means a full swap.

I drive about 30 miles to Hubbard and no trailer. I call Central and they insist it's there. They call the driver that dropped it there. He's describing where he left it and at that point I realize I'm in the wrong place. The trailer is at the drop pad. The same drop pad that didn't have freight for me 4 hours ago. I tell Central I can't do it. I have 5 hours and 30 minutes of drive time available and I can't backtrack 30 miles. They say "we need you to do this, pick it up get as far as you can and we'll get you a rescue". That took half an hour to sort out.

At this point I'm pretty annoyed with all of this because it's simple logistical errors that shouldn't be happening and I hate getting a rescue because those guys are hourly and they take their sweet time getting to you. I can refuse, but I do it. It's a PITA, but not the end of the world.

I get to the drop pad and hook my set in about 15 minutes and take off with exactly 5 hours of drive time available and 324 miles to go. I had to get rescued 15 miles from my building.

The day ended with a grand total of 687 miles, 4 drops, 3 hooks, 1 tractor only, 1 fuel and an hour of delay pay (30 minutes sorting facts in Hubbard and 30 minutes waiting for a rescue). I used up 10 hours and 56 minutes of drive time and my entire 14 hour clock. I probably got closer to 15, with the yard moves at the end because I fueled the tractor and plugged the doors.

It was not a fun day, but it was a profitable one.

WOW!

Tonight I pulled into a rest area off Interstate 70 in Illinois. This was during regulation time and I planned to do my 10 there. Big sign on the way in says: NO OVERNIGHT PARKING. So I mosey down the road, run out of time, put myself on PC until I get to the next rest area. I don’t care if that was legal or not. Didn’t have any choice.

I've never gotten a knock on the door in any state to move because I was parked somewhere too long.

I've never gotten a knock on the door in any state to move because I was parked somewhere too long.

I'm curious about this. Neither have I been told to move from a rest area, but here's what I'm wondering; in some places (especially South Carolina), I see signs that say "No Overnight Parking," but I've also been told (by non-Law Enforcement peeps) this is just to prevent camping and doesn't pertain to trucks. Anyone know the truth?

Thanks!

Just an update for any drivers that travel I-65 in Tn. I just read an article that The Tennessean Travel Center has broken ground on their rebuild of the burned down travel center. The article stated that it will have the BBQ restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, an ice cream parlor with coffee and donuts. Glad that they decided to rebuild as it was a go to spot for a lot of us.

Hey, Navy!!

Ya know, I've been 'MULLING OVER' this thread for a few days; KNEW that place sounded familiar!!! Went to meet some friends over there YEARS ago, and ended up at the PRICEY "The Tennessean" Hilton hotel, on accident! I was digging in my purse for the largest limit credit card I had, in fear!

Finally DID find the right place....DANG, their food was the best! Shredded Pork, loaded potato, fried okra, ..... ON & ON !!!

Got any pix/postcard? I looked; couldn't find mine, either. I'll have a reason to go visit Tonya and Patrick, when they DO reopen, haha! I hear that he's "local" now; not sure if it's still with H.O. Wolding, or not, though. I wonder if Grumpy knows, hmmm! LDRSHP was his last handle on here, I think. I kept in touch w/ his wife for a good while.

So, the truckstop/restaurant .. ANYONE ELSE, been ?!?!?

~ Anne ~

ps: Got any tips for our new Florida guy, here on TT? It's the P.B. guy w/ the "Pre Greenhorn" thread... jsyk! Thanks!

I loved The Tennessean! I’ve only had the pleasure of parking there overnight, a few times, but loved the food and especially the hospitality. I was so saddened to hear of the fire, but glad to hear of the the rebuild. It seems we need more of these pieces of Americana, before we completely forget about the greatness that IS America.

Bruce, I stumbled onto this site before I even got my permit. I don't know if I brought the satellite preview idea from my previous job of having to scope out customer locations or if it came from here. If it was here, probably G-Town (THANK YOU G-TOWN!). But, I've always done a satellite preview before going somewhere I haven't been.

I'll never forget (when driving for Schneider), taking a marked detour and being directed (via navigation) to take "Covered Bridge Road." I was in a small town and immediately pulled over, walked into a local store and asked for directions; something about "Covered Bridge Road" didn't seem like a place I should go in a big truck. The local's directions were spot on and disaster averted.

Bruce, this is such a great reminder for newbies. THANK YOU!

Trucking Economy - As a company driver, there's much information we're not privy to, especially what loads pay. E.g. our company drivers get paid $20/hr detention pay, our O/O's get $60/hr. Maybe our company is charging the customer $100/hr.

I also once had a long deadhead (Minneapolis to Grove City, OH), where I picked up a load going to Miami. That's about 765 deadhead miles. Since you didn't say how long your loaded miles were, I'm going to use my load as an example of how the company might be making the money on a long deadhead.

Deadhead miles - 765

Loaded miles - 1155

Total miles - 1920

Fuel cost - $1,152 (1920 miles/7.5mpg x $4.50/gal)

Driver pay - $1,094 (1.920 miles x $.57/mile)

Total cost to company - $2,246

Load pays - ? But, on an 1,155 mile load, maybe it pays $3,000-$5,000).

Trucker Economies - Bottom line, spend less than you make and don't waste money on stuff you don't need. I believe trucking is much like being in the military in this respect; some drivers will get paid on Friday and be broke on Monday, while others are flush with cash while looking like they don't have a pot to...well, you know. :)

I hope this helps.

And that’s encouraging Steve? I’ll bet if I replied like that you’d post some derogatory, judgmental remark.

What factors influenced your decision?

Rookie_the_great ?!?

~ Anne ~

OMG I'm laughing right along with Anne, and that's a BAD THING?

GEEZ, people. SMDH!

I don't give two S***s what anybody thinks of my profession. It provides my family a very nice life financially

-Right there! Agreed!

I learned at the early age when somebody offers you something you express your gratitude even if you don't necessarily care for it

-Humility; thanks for the reminder of its importance.

I'm censored here

Stop lashing out at us and talk to us with respect. This is a repeating pattern with you. You did it to the staff at Schneider, to the hotel staff, and now to us. Everyone is trying to give you the help and the opportunities you need to succeed, and yet you spit in their faces and then blame those same people for your lack of success. Truth is, you are your own worst enemy. I hope you can see it's time to change your tactics.

You are absolutely wrong but I'm definitely regretting that I kept shut up for two weeks and didn't talk until the day before last day that I asked instructor to not to scream and also asked another instructor to let me change food because this food truck keeps serving a very inferior food. These two were ground for termination. I wish that I would confront earlier and save time/money for myself and them. I don't see a respect from majority of members here either. Mostly very toxic mindset of you gotta go thru the ... I went thru too and also shut up and appreciate whatever they give you. No thnx.

Did you even read what I wrote?

I only had the time to do it BECAUSE OF a difficult situation yesterday and I’m waiting out my ten hour break. BUT YOU DON’T GIVE RAT’S REAR END!

Sorry G-Town, he does need to get his…well, ya know. 😆

Stop stalking my comments

Sorry you feel I was stalking. I had just finished a pretty lengthy post and saw yours.

I'm either on here a lot or not much at all. Comes and goes. Most of yours ARE encouraging and helpful and usually have bunches of praise by the time I see them. So, hey, sorry if that comes off wrong, I didn't take you for the sensitive type JUST KIDDING!

Oh well, yes you're very helpful most of the time. Yes you're wonderful. Yes...man, lighten up, I'm just kidding with you. But really, check that hat size, might have gone up a little...c'mon, just joking, you're THE G-TOWN man.

What factors influenced your decision?

Rookie_the_great ?!?

~ Anne ~

if you get your head out of your ass

Is that what passes for encouragement now?

"Great" why do you have such little self-confidence?

Who convinced you that you couldn't stand the AZ heat?

Who convinced you that you couldn't get by on crappy food for a few weeks?

When did you hand over your can-do attitude, to anyone who threw up roadblocks?

What are YOU going to do to gain back your perseverance?

Please understand; I don't know your circumstances, nor does it much matter. Any company you go to, heck ANY JOB you go to, is going to have things you don't like, challenges to overcome. You once said you get bored easily. Won't challenges keep you engaged? I offer the following for consideration;

1. Doing pretrip, pretrip, pretrip in the heat gives the company knowledge that you're gonna inspect the equipment in ANY weather. Also, if there comes a time the truck craps out on the road, with no ac, you'll be able to handle waiting 3-5hrs for roadside assistance.

2. Doing things "their way" shows them you're flexible, WHICH YOU WILL NEED TO BE when out on solo runs. You can learn, using the way that works for you, but if they say something's got to be done, do it and don't argue.

3. NO company is going to change for you. I went thru Schneider Orientation (7+ years ago) with a guy who thought he could tell one of the biggest trucking companies, ALL that they were doing wrong. He's been with more than seven companies (most within the first three years) and is still trying to fix the industry.

4. The two weeks WERE NOT WASTED. You learned stuff you don't even realize. Those things, added with what you've learned in the past and will learn in the future, are shaping the future you.

5. Believe in yourself. No matter what someone throws at you, believe you can overcome those challenges AND DO IT!

Sorry for being so long-winded, but I hope this helps.