Profile For Bird-One

Hey VA 4 wheeler. Valid question came to the right place to ask. If you see something done by a commercial motor vehicle that must be addressed. In MY opinion best steps to take are

1. Steer clear of the driver and get out of the way. Don’t antagonize like I’ve seen before. 4 wheelers flipping of drivers, driving right next to them and waving at them, boxing them in etc.

2. Try and get as much info in a safe manner as possible. Find the company name. Company that represents the driver you call on will ask for tractor number, trailer number, and location. And sometimes you’ll see that “1-800 how’s my driving” sticker on the back of the trailer.

People often get embellished. Most companies will take these claims seriously. Especially the larger ones. Remember this is the drivers livelihood. But they must be held accountable as well for such dangerous actions.

Also, I would love to be able to call in on the 4 wheeler who decides to cut me off while fiddling with a jar of peanut butter doing 43 in a 55 on a two lane road with no way of getting around. I could go on and on. Just something to think about.

Hi Robert, been running with a small outfit for almost 3 years. Great company. I’ve been running paper since the day I started with them. I’m legal due to the truck being a 95. 99 or older you do not need elogs. Our logs already have company name and address printed on there. Rest is on us to pen in. Also has a dvir on the bottom for trailers. It’s a single loose leaf sheet of paper. Now exception to that is if your are not going over 150 miles in a day than it doesn’t matter the year of the truck. And you will only need a hours log on you. Meaning you just have your start and end times. trailer numbers, etc logged. I’ve had my logs inspected numerous times. I keep em in a binder so you can just hand em right over.

Hope that made sense.

Hey Anne I’ve been called worse than banks... lol. Anyways the Cobra 29 Ltd the Chrome as Packrat has and the NW or nightwatch. Which I think illuminates more than the regular Cobra. Kinda cool just recently learned of that one. The LV models are the ones that I personally would stay away from. But that’s me going off of what I’ve heard from the cab tech I go too. He’s had more issues with the LV than the Ltd. And yes it isn’t necessary to have it immediately peak and tuned i forget your husband is a veteran driver I’m sure he knows all this already. And I actually am in a long nose pearl white day cab that I do not slip seat. I personally bought two long Velcro pieces of tape from loves and slapped it on the dash. Goo gone will take care of the residue whenever I need to take em off. I’ll take a pic Monday. I also run a speaker next to it. My hearing is awful. Hope that helped? Haha

Ef my life... Bird one not Banks... sheeesh.. all the dang B WORDS today..

...including the one I'm calling my daughter atm.

You don't daycab but home daily.. same diff?!?!?

Amazon has 119 and now finding a 'better one' for 129?

'When a woman buys something she knows nothing about' should be the title (newest!) of this thread!

Hey Anne, just the base Cobra 29 Ltd is all you need. I think I got mine for 90 dollars at a TA. Spent an extra 30 to get it peaked and tuned and it was gold. Can’t remember how many watts I had out of it. I’ve heard various issues with the other cobra models. I’ve since bought a galaxy 66 but I can thank trump and that covid stimulus check for that haha. O and antenna I’d recommend the Wilson. I run a predator 10k but it’s a bit expensive.

Delivery is at the Target DC.

Then, over to Mars Petcare/DHL for the next pickup. That one goes to a Walmart DC in Petersburg, VA.

I'll have to keep moving because I'm trying to get home as early as I am able on Tuesday. I'll have an approximate timeline in 24 hours.

I will keep a 'lookout' for your timeline; maybe we can figure something out!!! I get ya, on the 'hustle for hometime,' though...I really do. I remember the good ole' days I'd be helping route my man home, pronto~!! How long are you off for???

Back to CB searching...Maybe I'll just get him a gift card for one; I need help! There are SO many variations to the 'Cobra 29' it's not funny! Bluetooth, non, dashcam, not, omigosh. Research time, haha!

Am open to any pointers and links. Yes, we have Amazon Prime, LoL!!

I know one thing for sure before I went through Schneider orientation and training I was on tt everyday. When I started that phase tt was the last thing on my mind. I was finally in a big truck. Was way too busy. Might be the same for her. I’ve been quietly following along her journey so I hope we hear from her as well.

It means she has the function disabled on her device (it's optional), or it means a member hasn't logged on in several days.

Thanks, PackRat. Bummer, either way you slice it.

We tried.

Don't worry. Maybe she's just busy?

Maybe. Just being 'local' for first few weeks training, kinda odd she wouldn't have time to post. Maybe she got a new trainer or they put her OTR first, since the other trainer DEF'd the fuel tank ?!?!

IDK..

Hope we hear. Thanks, Pack.

You’re probably doing it right Anne. She’s not showing up on the tracker at all.

I was thinking the same thing earlier today.

Yep....I was gonna do the 'tracker' and see if she's in TN or IN ... but can't figure it out for some reason. All I got. :(

Why on earth would a driver be worried about a shortage? More freight to go around. Doesn’t make sense.

CDLlife is reporting that one of the other men believed to be a ringleader and slammer Cornelius Garrison who was also cooperating with the feds was found shot dead in his apartment. No suspects yet.

I'd pull containers before I pulled anything for Amazon. Not sure if the current cost of insurance has been mentioned. That is hurting companies big time. Factors like rising cost of tolls. Even a tire can be an absolutely insane expense. I have a screenshot of a receipt from Love's I'll have to find from a few weeks ago. Grand total of 830 dollars for one trailer tire. One. It was the customers trailer so didn't cost us any. These are all things you have to consider. And hope you are mechanically inclined and know when you are being ripped.

Amazon pays so little they have a hard time getting people to do it, coupled with unrealistic delivery windows and I do not think they would be a good company to pull for.

Good stuff Bobcat. Did you end up getting that run? You said Fort Wayne either makes you work the dock or sit for two hours. God forbid a driver gets exercise. Or has to nap for two hours. Doesn't sound bad to me at all.

I have never seen a Swift car hauler in my life but than again I started seeing Swift flatbedders for the first time last year. Bobcat mentioned the biggest 3 in the Chicago area. I think 2 of those 3 are union. Juicebox is a car hauler but he had a year of flatbed experience prior too. Been a bit since I've seen him on here though.

I don't know much about Cummins. I had a Detroit 12.7 in my previous truck. The truck on the right in my avatar. Didn't like how it was spec'd though. 10 speed with a meritor transmission. Wasn't fan of that transmission at all. Currently in 3406 E 13 speed.

Kivi’s trucks are all Paccar and Cummins. These trucks are golfers and with the exception of 1, they all run the 12.7 or 14 liter Detroit engines. Cat has more grunt down low, Detroit are more high strung and the one truck we have with the Cummins will crush both to be honest lol.

That's interesting. Not too completely hijack this thread but im curious did you have a cat engine with Kivi bros? Curious because I always heard the Detroit series doesn't have the pulling power Cat has but tend to get better mpg with the Detroit.

I'm lucky enough to be able to not only park in a indoor garage but have access to a hose and ZEP soap. So I wash mine pretty much everyday. By keeping up with it, it only takes me 10 to 15 minutes to wash. Inside I do my best but almost all of the customers I go to have a gravel lot so its not as clean as I wish it could be but still pretty clean.

BTW Robert what's under the hood in your rig?

A very rare legal load which delivers Tuesday morning to a military facility north of Seattle. Because of holiday restrictions, we try to book legal loads to keep moving and not get held up for too long. In this case, it gave me a chance to give this beauty some much deserved Tlc. There’s nothing like a fresh coat of wax from top to bottom and a full polish for all the sunny bits to make you feel good. The compliments from others really do boost confidence too.

How many others take the time to keep their trucks looking good inside and out when the time allows?

12.7 Series 60 with a little extra, 13 speed and 3:73 rears. Mine gets washed every week and I try to keep up with the polishing so it’s never too much effort. I strip and wax about every 3-4 months to help keep the finish in good shape.

I'm lucky enough to be able to not only park in a indoor garage but have access to a hose and ZEP soap. So I wash mine pretty much everyday. By keeping up with it, it only takes me 10 to 15 minutes to wash. Inside I do my best but almost all of the customers I go to have a gravel lot so its not as clean as I wish it could be but still pretty clean.

BTW Robert what's under the hood in your rig?

A very rare legal load which delivers Tuesday morning to a military facility north of Seattle. Because of holiday restrictions, we try to book legal loads to keep moving and not get held up for too long. In this case, it gave me a chance to give this beauty some much deserved Tlc. There’s nothing like a fresh coat of wax from top to bottom and a full polish for all the sunny bits to make you feel good. The compliments from others really do boost confidence too.

How many others take the time to keep their trucks looking good inside and out when the time allows?

How close will that put you on hours give or take?

Ill wave to the west when I get there, We will make it work at somepoint.

Its 610 miles round trip an with the pay raise that went into effect yesterday it makes a nice payday

In your opinion. when im watching videos an officer getting his clock cleaned by a piece of metal getting thrown at the back of his neck while bystanders laughed. On top of now officers having to wonder if they are gonna get crucified for any decision they make. I'd say being a truck driver sounds pretty good in comparison. Like Daniel said, first year maybe. But if you were able to handle law enforcement for the past 5 years. There isn't much you can't handle. The 1st year for me had its moments but overrall wasn't that stressful. Thank you for your service by the way Sean.

Hey guys. This is my first post here. I was hoping to get some input on a career change from law enforcement to driving commercially.

I have been in law enforcement for about 5 years now. Needless to say, the current climate has been extremely demoralizing. Practices with my agency have changed dramatically and it seems like I can no longer do my job without a supervisor breathing down my neck or question every decision I make. The result is me coming home stressed and in a bad mood everyday.

I have my CDL A already, but have no experience outside of driving for the military. I was drawn to this career path as I do DOT inspections at my local agency as an ancillary duty. I love this aspect of law enforcement and have not had any bad encounters with drivers. I'm fairly well versed on the title 49 regulations and what not. Unfortunately this is an aspect of my job that I can't do regularly as I still have to answer calls for service.

The idea of truck driving sounds very appealing and I have no doubt I would enjoy it. My only concerns are taking a paycut (my base salary is $51,000ish) and being away from family. I am getting married at the end of September and the idea of going away for months at a time right after that doesn't sound all that great to me of my significant other. Money isn't everything for me, but at the same time, I'm not exactly in a position where I could take a paycut.

All in all, I'm tired of the micromanagement and the culture surrounding American law enforcement right now. The idea of changing careers is pretty scary, but being miserable in my current career isn't my much better.

Is there any advice or words of wisdom you guys are able to provide? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Nobody told you this but you’ll be just as stressed as a truck driver

No worries Bobcat. Figured it was worth a shot. I'm down that way every once in a while. And I continue to consider OD. But my company maybe picking up alot of work come end of the year. So I don't know. I keep going back and forth with it.

I'll be around the TA in Morris tomorrow if anyone will be out that way.

Not sure what your hours are or how far away you from the Berkots DC off of Briggs in Joliet but I'll be there tomorrow for a drop and hook around 10 or so.

Gonna depend on how close the trailer is to the wall if I'm looking at it right. I think you could hook it but you're going to have to make an immediate hard right so the nose of the trailer clears the dumpster. Which may or may not leave room for the corner of Icc bumper to clear the wall .