Profile For Robert B. (The Dragon) yes, I breathe fire and other sideshow tricks

That's misusing PC even though that may not be your intent. If you go to Walmart you would need to return to your current location prior to going on duty to head to your pickup due to it being the direction you'll be headed.

The requirement to return to the point of origin was dropped.

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with the one and only lease operator on our dedicated fleet. He likes to talk. He insists he's leasing because he makes more money than the company drivers.

He came on board while I was on my year long medical leave due to my vision issues. When I came back he expressed his pleasure at meeting me. The reason he gave for being glad to meet me was, "You are legendary around here - everybody speaks highly of you." I think he thought he might impress me yesterday when he announced to me, "I made $210,000 this past year."

Of course he looked puzzled when I said, "You know you can't B.S. me that easily. We both know you produced $210,000 in revenue, but that's a far cry from how much money you made. I know you're smart enough to know that number. So, tell me what you actually took home before income taxes."

He blurted it out quickly. I knew he had it established. "Well, because of all my write-offs I actually made $68,000." I made him grin uncomfortably when I said, "Write-offs are just expenses. That's what they are. What you need to do is learn to control those expenses if you want to earn more than these company drivers."

"Oh, I'm definitely earning more than the company drivers," was his response. I didn't bother to give him my numbers. I took some extra time off this year, and ran mostly on re-cap hours. I just barely broke through into the six figures level. I am very happy with my position here at Knight. The pay is great and the account suits me well. I'm eight years in here. That includes the one year I was out medically.

I will reach my million mile status on this account this year. That will be accomplished all with the same company, same dispatcher, and same account.

In addition to my income, Knight has a performance based program that grants company stock to drivers with an excess of 500,000 miles. That and the company dollars contributed to my 401K are just cherries on top for me.

Who knows Old School, maybe that guy will learn a thing or two. I do have to say that him bragging about a 210k gross to the truck is really pretty weak and he definitely needs to rethink his decisions lol. I’ll have to sit down and break down the numbers for the year. I track all my loads and settlements but my wife runs the books and the budget beyond that. Once I have a chance, I’ll post in here as well.

We haven’t slowed down a bit. I don’t expect we will considering we haul pet food ingredients, the food that feeds our food and ingredients for beer.

I do love how the new agenda is to come up with dramatic terms to classify weather. Atmospheric River,,,,, so it’s gonna rain a lot and cause some abnormal flooding. Arctic Bomb Cyclone,,,,, high winds, cold temps, lots of snow. Holy crap, it’s winter!!!!!!

It is. My understanding is that they modified certain areas with higher speed limits simply because the traffic flow is running at 80 anyway. What effect it will have is still a toss-up but it works for South Dakota and other areas of Texas

Current wind chill at the house is -32. The winds haven’t really started kicking up yet so I’ll probably take a quick rip on the sled. The frozen lake is begging for a high speed run

These are great, thanks. I was concerned over being and to slow on a grade and this clears it up.

Good advice on the Jake/rpm relationship as well. In dry weather, I use the hell out of the Jake more so than the service brake. I should mention that I intend to buy this T680 from my company when they sell it. Does the Jake really cause a lot of wear and tear on the engine?

Appreciate all your responses!

It doesn’t cause any wear and tear at all. The harnesses controlling the system do wear out and have to be replaced but it’s not an incredibly major repair. I’d advise strongly against buying that truck. Most companies keep trucks right up to the point where the power train warranty runs out and the reality is that modern trucks aren’t built to last. They’re built to pass along to the next sucker willing to land in a money pit.

It doesn’t matter if Helen Keller designed the exit, you should have taken the room you needed to safely clear the exit and intersection and obviously weren’t watching that passenger side mirror or you’d have stopped before dropping the trailer tires off the edge. Constant awareness to everything around you is a requirement in this profession and so is patience.

I just feel fortunate each time to drive around up there and not need to dodge bullets. Crazy drivers around there.

Fight crime, shot back lol

You don’t need anything as Laura mentioned. Living in western Minnesota and working through the winter in the coldest parts of the country, I’ve yet to have an issue. Fun fact, DEF contains urea and urea is also used as a de icer at airports and extensively by the Air Force due to the fact that it doesn’t corrode the structure of the aircraft.

I think a lot of people forget that those escorts serve multiple purposes. Not only are they communicating with the driver and watching for potential hazards, they’re also there for traffic control and rolling road blocks when needed. Do they take additional liberties at times? Yep, they do. Once you’ve pulled a few loads which require escorts and their distinct abilities though, you really do start to appreciate how diligent the good ones can be. This time of the year gets pretty difficult due to the lack of daylight travel hours and planning can be even more difficult when dealing with city travel curfews as well. I’m not 100% defending their actions but having dealt with the situations, I have a different outlook on what it takes to move those types of loads under various circumstances, especially taking into account that the general motoring public doesn’t give an inch in regards to space or paying attention, sometimes a bit of a reminder let’s them know Hey!!!! This thing is big lol.

I use the MyRadar, weather bug and weather underground apps in addition to the state 511 apps. Also, once you’re in range, switch the truck stereo over to one of the weather channels to get a current outlook for the area you’re in. Depending on potential weather, I’ll tune it in when I park so I can get the forecast for the next morning.

I’m one of those who prefers to start at 0200-0300 and for a couple reasons really. I like being able to plan around larger cities where rush hour traffic can really bind up a day and I can generally avoid that. The other reason being that it gives me a chance to shut down a little earlier with less worries about finding parking and less chance of waiting for a shower. Some days though, I’m up and ready to go but I’ll drive a few hours, take my 30 and stretch it out to an hour, maybe 90 minutes and grab a nap if I need it and then I’m ready to go for the rest of the day. This time of year though, I do change it up a bit. Being in the upper Midwest, the weather can get pretty sketchy. To me, it’s safer to start a bit later, get a better look at the roads and impending weather, also giving road crews the chance to do what they need to do, making the roads a bit easier to navigate.

I have a bit of a different take as I always run recaps. However, the reason for that is because of the loads I haul and the customers we service. It’s different for everyone and you have to figure out what works best for you depending on many different factors. The answer isn’t really cut and dry for every driver.

How to become a millionaire in trucking———- start with 3 million.

3 consecutive quarters of negative GDP, still rising inflation rates, rising energy costs and coming food shortages. Keep listening to those politicians and media icons who tell you everything is fine though because why would they lie? Not to mention a public education system churning out dumber students every year, consumed with everything social media. I think it’s safe to say we’re in a bit of trouble.

You will never be able to run this way, but 70 hours/8 days = 8.75 hours. You will never be able to actually work in the industry driving an average of 8-9 hours each day. The reason is that there are so many variables that it's impossible for hours driven to work out so neatly each and every day.

You will want your focus to be on driving safely and getting that load where it is supposed to go and on time. Keep those three things at the forefront and you will be well on your way to being a successful and prosperous driver.

Completely incorrect Ryan. I stay out 2 weeks at a time and then take 3-4 days off or maybe more depending. I always run recaps unless the situation forced me into a reset and trust me, I am very successful.

Totally agree with you Brett. I still pull for the skilled trades unions in many ways because of their apprenticeship programs. A new member effectively starts out as hired sweat. Through hard work, dedication and education, they earn their way to the title of ironworker, electrician, carpenter and so on. Continuing education opens up more doors to master level certifications, project managers, site super, you name it. Those are the unions I support because those members have skin in the game. Teamsters, UAW, NEA and others? They can go right to hell as far as I’m concerned because of the corruption at the top but also the laziness and ineptitude among their ranks.

The Motor Carriers Act happened. The Teamsters had such a stranglehold on the logistics industry that the federal gubbament had to get involved. Corruption, greed, racism and horrible practices ruined them. Not only did they control the drivers, they controlled the docks and much of the available warehousing at the time. If you wanted your products, you had to play their game or you didn’t play at all. It’s a shame really but oh so typical of many unions.