Posted: 6 years, 10 months ago
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Trying to find work after Swift termination
This has all the makings of "I'm glad that happened" in hindsight.. Good luck, you'll survive to move forward. Be safe!
Posted: 6 years, 10 months ago
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What If Question - OTR Hot or Cold
When its 90F I wish it was 10F..When its 10F I wish it was 90F.. What I really wish is for 70F on a golf course but oh well, I'm an OTR driver..😀
Posted: 6 years, 10 months ago
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Done playing games. I want to get into a truck.
Congrats on kickin' the weed out the door, it ain't easy!.. In any case, trucking or not, sounds like you're on the right track man. Hang-in and best of luck.
Posted: 6 years, 10 months ago
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I figure idling can be an expensive habit. Surprising amount of fuel when you add up a weeks worth of idel hours. Some of the big companies utilize APU's for that reason alone. Imagine 200+ tractors idling 60 hrs per week each. Cha-Ching.
Posted: 6 years, 10 months ago
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I have the best fleet manager ever.
Right on! I too have a good FM. A few years back I was working in Beijing China. Was scheduled to stay over Christmas. My Chinese bosses came to me and said "since you have done such a good job we are sending you home to be with family for the holiday" WOW, how cool was that, flights ain't cheap!!......Well, after Xmas I called my guys in the UK and said "go ahead and send me my return travel plans". They said "the Chinese fired you man"...lolol....I'm sure Prime will have you back for more fun and games!!....Enjoy your home time!
Posted: 6 years, 11 months ago
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During training (40k miles) we used a Rand McNally. Went solo and figured the world of GPS navigation was about to go south (didn't purchase my own)...Now solo I use the QC system and "Trucker Path" app for all needed parking info etc etc
I was told that the QC platform was no good but I've had really no issues. It follows truck routes.
In doing fine and didn't have to spend money on a GPS!!
Posted: 6 years, 11 months ago
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HOS - mindset and practicality
That makes perfect sense. If you get hung up big or close to the 34 mark then jump on it.
I completely disagree. Sometimes, a 34 is necessary. Example: I picked up my current load on Saturday with 6.5h on my 11 in Bridgewater VA going to Rogers MN by the end of the day on Tuesday. 1200m, should take about 22h drive time to get there. I only had 18h on my 70. Ain't no way in hell I can make there with the hours I have, so I get a far as I can, pulled a personal record of 640m in 10h 34m on Sunday, got to a kwik trip in Mauston WI, 34h reset, can start my day as early as 0400 Tuesday morning. Can easily make it there within the appt window, and now I have a full 70 to run hard and get home without having to worry about being short on recap hours.
@unholychaos: can you explain this further to understand how HOS work in real time? I’m guessing you drove the remaining 6.5 of your 11 on Sat. Set out early Sunday around 07:30. Pulled your personal record on Sunday & shutting down around 1800? Which then gave you the 34 hr reset until 0400 Tuesday. Is this correct?
Also, if you weren’t worried about home time, does it make better sense to get to the receiver early using recap hours, maybe the receiver accepts the load early & you can get another load in on that weeks check?
Let me explain the situation a little better. I'm not getting any hours back until 0001 Tuesday, which I'd be getting about 8.5h. I shut down in WI at 1730 on Sunday with 220m left to get to the drop. I only had about 2h or so on my 70, so I had to either wait until midnight to start my day and get there at about 0500 and run off recap, or wait a few hours and start my day at 0330 to complete my 34 and have a full 70 to work with. Waiting only an extra 3.5h just makes sense, if anything, I see it as more of a break after a long 7 days of hard running (3600 miles within that week btw).
Posted: 6 years, 11 months ago
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HOS - mindset and practicality
Yeah I'd say definitely get home for the holidays if you got loved ones at home. I have a young family so home time is very important. If I did not I'd probably live out of the truck and save.
Most definitely agree. My wife and I have 5 kids with 4 at home.. I came to trucking from an occupation that had me out of country 6-8 weeks per tour. Its not easy but the kids have really never known anything else. Without my wife being the plumber, carpenter, doctor, chef, landscaper and BOSS along the home front, this kinda schedule could never work out
Happy holidays to you and yours C.T.
Posted: 6 years, 10 months ago
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I Survived My First 9 Months Trucking =D
Congrats on milestone. In all fairness what struck me within your post was saying "no" to a company direction.
Are you a dry van? Maybe go for reefer division to make up for slow dry van times of year.