Comments By Grumpy Old Man

Oh Hi Deb.

Yeah, they are always pretty good. But having been an aviation electronics tech, I understood how hard it can be to find intermittent electrical issues. But I’m pretty sure all Freightliner did was scan for codes. It sat outside the shop all day as far as I could see.

It's crazy that the dealer could not come up with anything, but your home shop could. I was a HOW driver for 4 years; I always felt that the shop in Wisconsin did a great job.

Lol. Yeah.

He just incon 6-8 drivers so he could run in and grab some lunch. Forgot to mention that

Yes, I know I am an ahole, but hopefully it was a teaching moment for him.

Your name says it all. If they knew who you were they'd have to expect you to respond in some way🤣

Drivers do that a lot in rest areas where there is angled parking for pull-throughs. They park along the back of several trailers essentially blocking the spots when they become empty. Grrrr!

So about March 2021, I got a new(ish) truck. My friend drove it 24,000 miles and left to go with a local company.

By January 2023, it had broken down or needed repairs that took a week or more at least four times. The final straw was a week in Wisconsin to get the bunk heat fixed (annual issue) that took a week, then a week later I had a def pump issue. Towed to Freightliner in Albany NY, where they said it would be two weeks before they looked at it.

I told my FM I was renting a car and going home, the truck is a lemon and I’m tired of being broke down and not earning.

She said nope, had me rent a uhaul, empty my truck, drive to Wisconsin and pick up a brand new truck.

20,000 miles later, the tach and speedo gauges started sweeping up and down, caution lights flashing off and on, trans wouldn’t shift, and weird errors like “please apply brakes” would pop up.

I was able to drive it to Freightliner in Maine and sat for 5 days, to be told we can’t recreate it. I had to stop 7 times in 3 hours and shut the battery off for 10 minutes to make it there.

So they had me bring it to Wisconsin and our shop found a major wire bundle behind the dash that didn’t have enough slack, and was partially unplugged.

So far it has been working fine, 1,000 miles or so later.

So now I just started a new dedicated run. I pick up in Avon, NY, drive to Fremont, IN, swap trailers with another driver, and return. Repeat Tuesday through Sunday.

Just started today, so we’ll see how that goes. But it can’t be worse than delivering to grocery DCs that want you to unload at 2 AM, but can’t stay after (or before) and no truck stops in the area.

I’ve been rolling right along.

Also known as 50% of Wolding shipper/receivers. Which is why they specifically train for it and you have to pass it to get hired.

My trainer always told me to keep half of whatever room I have up front to give room to swing the cab to follow the trailer.

The training is described here somewhere, there’s a procedure to step off distance.

But basically you want to end up with the center of your tandems at the corner of the trailer to the left of the open spot, with the cab at a 90° angle to the trailer. At 90°, the tandems will not roll, but will pivot.

I pulled into a KwikTrip in Fond Du Lac WI. They have a row of pull through spots in the middle. Everything else was full, and some driver parked perpendicular to those spots behind them, blocking 6-8 spots.

I pulled around the row, backed into the spot in front of his drivers door, and left him about a foot to squeeze into the cab.

Yes, I know I am an ahole, but hopefully it was a teaching moment for him.

I didn’t realize there had been a change.

But I’ve heard a lot of drivers that use it to go shopping, drive home, etc.

Since FMCSA made the last change to PC in its words “To give more flexibility” it has been a mess.

Larger companies restrict it to save drivers from violating it, thus damaging their CSA score.

Smaller companies tend to try and get away with getting more done by misusing it.

DOT inspectors WILL scrutinize logs much more if they see much PC on them.

I’m currently dealing with log issues and getting drivers up to speed for a small company. Until monday they didn’t have PC and when I asked why, I was told they didn’t know what it was so it was never activated. It is now and they were all given training on the proper use of it. If it gets to be a problem I’ll have to reevaluate, but on a case by case basis.

I hate the drivers that will creep along at 62 until you start to pass them, then speed up to 65.

I avoid truck stops if at all possible. If not, I try to nose in. For noise, for me.

Will your truck not idle, or they just don’t allow it?

If I couldn’t idle, I would be looking for a new job. It isn’t safe to be in your truck in the hot sun, and it also isn’t safe to not get a good nights sleep.

Although dispatch says loads are slow, they keep me moving. Maybe because I made it plain if I’m going to be away from home I expect to be working. Otherwise I’ll retire.