Profile For Grumpy Old Man

I was self employed. Had to show tax returns

Got a 630 am delivery in Watertown Ny tomorrow. Im about 1.5 hrs away and plan on leaving 3 hrs early so i can take it nice and slow. Shouldnt be much snow overnight but temps are dropping to single digits.

I came through Canaan this morning and it was slick. My first solo snow storm. Came down 6 mile hill (west side) and snow all the way to Albany. Then clear sailing to Syracuse, then back to Fultonville, where I shut down.

Got a full day tomorrow to get to Putnam CT

Grumpy Old Man, I was mainly thinking CPM drivers. What can hourly drivers do to maximize their income other than maxing our their hours on the job every week?

Good question, and one I’m not sure I am qualified to answer yet.

Though I do see other drivers in the NE region complaining they aren’t getting enough hours, while I’ve been running hard since I went solo.

I think it’s due to me not wanting to sit at a dock, regardless of me getting paid to do so. I think my preference to drop and hook and keep moving makes me more profitable for the company. I could sit and milk my clock and make the same money, but I prefer to keep rolling as much as possible.

Then there are guys like me that are hourly, though granted, we are in the minority.

I run my clock completely opposite what a CPM driver does. Happily, most of that is driving and drop and hook, I hate docking for any reason, I can't stand sitting still.

From everything I’ve seen they are a fine company, and a year will go quickly.

Make the best of your training and good luck. You got this.

Stay away from the CBD pills too folks, they will pop on a hair and or urine test. Lawsuits already in the works suing these CBD outfits that state no THC and state they will not show up, well they do.

Yep, even hemp CVS oil.

I have 3 pair of MACV boots from goruck.com I bought 2 and they sent me one under warranty.

Most comfortable boots I’ve ever had. Light as a sneaker. Awesome warranty. Lifetime, replace or repair, no questions asked. The sole of one started to separate at the heel. Sent them a picture and they sent a new pair, no questions asked. 25% off I believe for vets, 35% on Veterans Day according to their site.

Once it is in your hair, it stays, like rings in a tree. It does degrade over time. It takes a couple of weeks to show up, because the hair hasn’t grown past the surface yet.

The 90 day figure is based on 1 1/2” of hair, since most people’s hsir grows 1/2” per month.

Body hair does not grow as fast as head hair, so hair tested from there will show much longer.

HFT Myths

Congratulations and good luck

I found a couple for my company.

One from a guy who washed out of orientation, and another who claimed he only made $500/week. Unless he was talking about during training, he is either full of it, or lazy. I’ve averaged $1,00/week since I went solo.

I would never believe a negative review I found online.

Best advice is wait 30 days for it to show in your hair, then cut your hair very short. It takes a while to show up, as your hair grows slowly.

Then wait 90 days. You will need 1 to 1 1/2” of hair to test.

Then never smoke again, because you will get caught.

And the best advice of all, WATCH THOSE TANDEMS, all the time.

On the one hand, I’ll agree that sometimes topics get a harsh response, and see this change as good.

On the other hand, you’re going to need a thick skin to be a trucker. Lol

I have gleaned some awesome knowledge from the experienced drivers here, and that knowledge has definitely helped with my success.

Hopefully someday I can pass that knowledge on.

As far as backing, practice makes perfect. When I started almost every docking situation terrified me. Then I graduated to just being anxious, now I know I’ll get it in. Just take your time, look and think before you move, and if possible, watch other drivers do it first. And never worry about how long it takes you. As long as you don’t hit anything, and get it to a place where they can unload you, you did a great job. :)

LOL.

I got a leg cramp lifting mine.

Debating whether I want to have a sandwich, cereal or walk into the terminal and microwave something? Cereal and sandwich I can prepare and eat on the truck, I can also warm up something but that means dragging stuff out to get to the hot lunch box appliance. I have been deciding what I want to do for the last several hours???

Sometimes I avoid cooking because my crockpot and hot box are under the bunk. Does everyone’s bunk weigh a ton, or is it just mine? I have a 3” memory foam pad on my mattress, and I wonder if that is why mine is so heavy. Every time I stick my head in I kind of expect to get my head trapped in it. What a way to go.

I forced myself to dig out the crockpot the other night and tossed in a pork shoulder (ham, basically) the size of both my fists, a bunch of vegetables and some chicken broth. Made a pretty decent soup.

Yeah, I’ve been off duty for a while.

Too bad it isnt On Duty. Being hourly you'd have made a ton of money!

I could retire. Lol

Yeah, I’ve been off duty for a while.

Slacker! Get your @%! back to work!

Lol

I had all the time in the world yesterday, so instead of my 30, I took 3 hours. My ELD missed it completely and violated me because of the issues.

Last week Ryder asked me if I would like to help out with trianing new hires.

This is really more of an on boarding process since we are currently only hiring drivers with a least 2 years experience. I will take them out for a few days and show the the procedures on some of our most common runs, how to do their paperwork, ELD, etc.

I am no where near being one of the senior drivers in our fleet so I had to ask "Why me?" Safety driver gave following reasons: 1) In 18 months and over 200k miles I have had zero issues, not even a single HOS violation. 2) I communicate well. 3) I'm not an "A hole".

Not sure how often I will be needed but I said yes. I have to admit that it feels good to realize that they appreciate my preformance.

I find it sad that #3 has to be included but from what I see on a daily basis from some of our fellow truckers...well, let's just say there's a lot of type A personalities out here.

I can attest to that.

Congratulations Greg

Yeah, I’ve been off duty for a while.

Congratulations and good luck