Profile For Grumpy Old Man

come on grumpy, tell us how you really feel!!! This guy is the epitome of drivers who bounce from company to company. he is an embarrassment. I lost count at how many companies he went to, including buying his own truck. He is in the prime facebook groups still bragging about this video and his interview on TV. Big deal. I met the POTUS when I was 16. it doesnt define me. he got his 15 min of fame and cant leave it alone.

He is the reason i dont watch youtube videos nor make them, despite being encouraged by others. at the time many other youtubers came out on both sides of this issue. but remember, any idiot can have a facebook page, blog or youtube account. it does not make them an authority on anything.

i laugh at his RunzHard handle. Give me a break. He is a whiney crying baby and im more of a man than he is. But im definitely more woman too.

LOL. I don't doubt it. My daughter in law would call him a soy boy.

If young men and women like him are our future, we are doomed.

JungleListSoldier 4 years ago I think the surprise is you were approached by film producers to star in a trucking reality show.

I love that comment. Maybe that was his plan all along.

Apologies for raising yet another old thread, but I could not resist this one.

I am confused by something though, everyone keeps mentioning 160 miles. I'm not sure where that came from, but I did have trouble understanding some of the recorded conversation. I did see people post that he drove 2 hours before saying he was falling asleep, so maybe that is where the 160 miles comes from. Livonia to Oak Creek is 5.5 hours according to Google.

But regardless, Bear in mind I am not a trucker, and driving a truck is surely different than my van, but I could have driven 5.5 hours after sitting awake for 10 hours. And I tend to get sleepy when driving, and that may be my downfall in this career. BUT, I did hear the dispatcher ask him if he wanted to sleep for an hour, which no one has mentioned. If I drove 2 hours dead tired, napped for an hour, I could have driven at least another 2 hours, then maybe I would need to get out an go to the bathroom, get a cup of coffee, walk around, and go another 2 hours. And so on. I recently drove 650 miles with no problem. I got a room about 30 miles from my destination, simply because I had promised my wife I would not drive the entire way, that I would get a room somewhere. I take promises seriously, so I stopped, though I could have easily made it the whole way.

My take is that he wanted to make this video to get hits. Everyone wants to be a YouTube star these days, and young people have no work ethic.

Frankly, the guarantee is probably helping create guys like him. In my unexperienced opinion, he is gaming the system and collect his guarantee while doing as little as possible.

I used to sell cars, then became manager. I would hire and train guys for a sales job where you could make $50K by simply showing up and talking to people all day. It was long hours (12 hours a day M, T, and Th, and 9 hours a day W or Fri (one of those is a day off), and Sat. I hired and trained a kid and in his first week, he was late twice, always with some excuse. I pulled him aside, and warned him if he couldn't be on time, I would have to let him go. A few days later, he was late again. I pulled him aside again, and told him next time he was going to be late, to not bother calling, to just turn around and go home, because he would no longer have a job. The next day, I get a call saying he was going to be late. I told him go home, you don't have a job. He asked for another chance, and I told him I gave him another chance, and he blew it.

At the time, I was working 2 hours a day longer than the sales people, then going home and working on a side business (graphic design and database work) all night, napping on the couch while the database ran calculations, wake up, do some more work, start more calculations, and nap again, and if I was lucky, drag myself to bed for 2 hours of actual sleep. And yet, I was at work, on time, every day.

If he were my employee, and I had to route a truck for him under those circumstances, after offering him an hour nap, I would have fired him. And if there weren't a driver shortage, I bet they would have as well, and there would also be no guarantee.

Brett said: This driver is my personal example of what is wrong with our society in general and the trucking industry specifically. An utter lack of pride, integrity, work ethic, and loyalty. This guy is everything I hope none of you will turn out to be.

And this:

Look, this dude knew exactly what he was doing by refusing to drive. You know that. Why didn't he just yank a wire out of the engine or slash a steer tire and say the truck is broke down? Why didn't he say he was sick and throwing up all over the place? Why didn't he do any of a million things he could have done to get out working without being questioned? He's been around long enough to know the tricks. He didn't want to use those tricks. He had an agenda.

He purposely refused to drive, knowing that was unacceptable under the circumstances and would get a big rise out of dispatch. Then he'd take advantage of any slip-ups they might make by setting up the video camera, getting "the goods" on his company, get out of working, and get a bunch of attention for his YouTube channel all at the same time. If they tried to fire him he figured he had the video to protect him. If things didn't go his way he knew the "poor me" act would draw a TON of attention to his YouTube channel. One way or another he figured he had it covered. He wouldn't have to work and he wouldn't lose his job if he played his cards right.

And then there's the 2500 miles per week guarantee his company pays, were you aware of that? What if he could LEGITIMATELY get out of working and yet remain eligible for the guarantee? He would do less work, make more money, get tons of attention for his YouTube channel, and have the goods on his company if everything went well. Even if it didn't he figured he'd come out alright in the end.

.... Abe clearly had an agenda. And a video camera.

He may have been too tired to hold the steering wheel but thank God he wasn't too tired to contrive his plan, setup the camera, and blackmail his company or we would have missed out on a lot of good debating now wouldn't we???? :-) 

Could not agree more. The whole thing was planned. My radar went off at the microsleep comment as well.

To be fair, some of my personal feelings about unions comes from when I lived in Phila, and they were tossing non union roofers off roofs, things like that. Organized crime had a firm hold in unions there, at least in the 80s.

And in Niagara Falls a while back, there was a bombing incident, where they bombed someone's house. I think it was a witness for a trial, but I don't remember now, it has been about 10 years.

I thought I had typed in my post that I didn't know anything about the Teamsters, but I don't see it, looking back. Not sure what happened. But just because I personally don't like them, doesn't mean others might have a great experience, and more power to them. It just isn't for me.

Money isn't everything. I like money as much as the next person, but there is more to life than just accumulating wealth.

Tim, welcome to our forum!

Don't let the idea of having to make a commitment to your employer scare you from the Paid CDL Training Programs. A lot of people erroneously think they will have some sort of leverage by attending a private school, but that is A Common Myth that is simply not true at all.

I am considering private school, but from the couple of places I have spoken with, tuition reimbursement is offered "if we are the first company you work for", so you are still basically signing a contract, if you want to get your tuition money. However many months it takes to pay it off, you would have to work for that company anyway. That may not be true for all companies, but it is something you should check into.

I've also seen unions fight (successfully) to keep people in their job that should have been fired on the spot.

Guy that walked off the job for a week, no call, nothing. Showed up after a week like nothing happened.

Guy that simply refused to do his job.

That is just the top two that come to mind.

Not a fan of unions.

The union part is enough for me to say no thanks

They're the best paying jobs in the industry and they have full benefits, so I don't think anyone will be upset that you'll be leaving an extra job open for them.

I've seen unions screw their members over too many times.

One example was American Axle. The union went on strike to negotiate. Went to the table numerous times. Finally management said this is the last offer, we will have no choice but to close the plant if we can't reach an agreement. Union rejected the offer, plant closed. Union leader was leterally crying on TV, saying I can't believe they shut down.

Another was a friend whose company was being sold. Union didn't fight anything, rolled over to whatever management offered, gave up a ton of benefits and seniority.

The union part is enough for me to say no thanks

Just for clarification... your truck will have to be stopped for you to be able to change your logs. And if you have to move the truck from the fuel island to a parking spot it will not automatically switch you over to the "drive" line. It does automatically switch to the "drive" line when you get back out on the road, but not on such a small amount of movement like within the confines of the truck stop parking lot.

Thanks, that is what I was wondering.

I am currently on the HOS portion of the High Road Training, and had a question.

Let's say, for example, I was tight on my 14, and pulled into a truck stop as my 14 expired. Could I then put myself as on duty, not driving, and park, fuel, etc? I know you said under 15 mph wouldn't show up, but I'm not sure every company's eLogs work the same. So for the purposes of HOS, would that count as drive time, even though I'm not on the road?

Thanks again for the High Road Training, it is an awesome tool. I am slowly learning to read the questions and answers very carefully, as almost every question I get wrong is because I didn't read carefully. Like the brake test, I kept missing the two minutes in the answer instead of one minute.

A hair test will show it for longer periods, so if the company does hair tests and tests for Tramadol, you will also have a problem

Jamie, this seems like some paranoia. Think about the price (monetarily) you are willing to pay for taking a few pain pills. Is it really worth that to you?

I think I would do one of two things.

Just list the Tramadol on the paperwork they give you for the drug test. Put on there that you took a few Tramadol pain pills on or around June 5th for a painful ear infection. The problem with that is that they will require you to list the prescribing physician. If it were me, that's what I would do, but I know not everyone would be comfortable with that since the medication was not actually prescribed to you.

Or you can just put off going to orientation for three or four weeks. Schneider would be a great place for you to start. I'm sure if you tell them you've got some other obligations for now, they will still be glad to take you when you are ready.

Yeah it might be, I know failing such a test would be bad news from what i read. I thought about paying to get a test done, just to be sure. I just wanted other opinions.

Putting orientation off a few more weeks might work out, as it's been nearly 90 days since i last took it. I will probably just do this.

Definitely self test. Get a test for opiates, and make sure it was Tramadol you took

For what it is worth, Tramadol is a synthetic opiate, and unless they specifically test for it, it will not show up. From what I see, they don't but I would not want to risk my career on it. However, it apparently doesn't stay in your system long.

https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/tramadol-addiction/faq/how-long-does-tramadol-stay-in-system/

But again, it is your decision. If you are caught, and lied about it, it could be the end of your career.

Congrats

Congrats

Sorry for the hijack. I think hauling glass would be a cool challenge. "Specialty" loads have always fascinated me.

Met up with Danielsahn today. Nice guy with a nice truck. Stoked the fires a bit for me, can't wait to start the next chapter of my life.

It was great to meet you. Glad I was able to help the fire burn a little brighter. You have my number, if you have any questions questions.

Well, at this point, I don't know what I need to know, LOL. Once I do, I will definitely get with you.

Agreed.

I was nearly bankrupt when i came to prime but couldnt afford the $2500 to file for bankruptcy! lol

When i went into training, i negotiated lower payments on the credit cards for one year, got a two month deferment on my car, got my car insurance reduced due to reduced miles being driven, and the utility companies put me on a budget plan to reduce my payments. i even gave my landlord half at a time instead of one lump monthly payment.

Talk to the creditors. see what they say. most will work with you because it is cheaper than chasing you for it. but keep to your promise and call to re negotiate. if you promised $50 but can only give $25 this.month, call ahead and tell them.

i paid off $62,000 in debt and am now free and clear!!! whoo hoo!!! My credit score went from 505 to 766, and i now have $$$$ in high yield savings accounts and $20,000 in my 401k. life is sweet.

it takes innovation and determination. i ate quite a few deli sandwiches the first couple of months. even though im at one of the highest paying companies for newbies and i got miles, i still needed to tighten my purse strings. all well worth it.

Plus, many new drivers get wrapped up outfitting the truck with toys like TV and fridge instead of paying bills.

this sounds like an article is needed lol.

Nice Rainy!

I guess I should have finished the thread before offering advice. But, it reinforces the excellent advice Rainy gave you

Thank you,Rainy. I read through that other post. I guess the biggest thing is going without a paycheck for 2-4 weeks. It would be different if I had a spouse who was working, but being a single guy (who is already behind on some bills due to fluctuating work schedule as it is) do I want to really risk losing my phone, having lights turned off or anything else (looking worst case). I was leaning toward PRIME (I have heard and read alot about them and the training) and I hate to look at the hard reality of the weekly pay while in training. It may be better to go with a lower CPM to start and just try to run harder then to risk falling further behind.

Everyone here has been helpful and I appreciate that. There are a lot of things to take into account and I have got some more homework to do I guess. I have been able to whittle my bills down but not sure if I can swing the couple weeks without a check. Who ever said adulting was easy.......lied. it is almost too much to absorb at times.

Contact your debtors and explain you are starting a new career and you will be paid very little for the first couple of months. See if you can work out a payment plan to pay them something to show good faith during your training. Many will work with you.

Here's a tip that will greatly help you prepare for the permit tests. You said...

I have been studying the manual and trying to gear my self up for the change as it is huge.

I would ditch that plan and go with studying the High Road CDL Training Program. That will make a huge difference in your ability to grasp and retain all the information you need to know. It will give you a tremendous headstart over the other students and will likely get you connected with your first trainer much quicker.

This is good advice. Thank you to TT for providing this awesome training tool!

Congrats!

I'm just impressed that your reading so much of this forum that you dug up a 3.5 year old thread!

Arise Necro-thread! It lives! IT LIVES!

Hey, some of us read everything, LOL