Comments By Mr. Curmudgeon

Winter of 2014, e/b on 180 near Quad Cities Airport, bebopping along at night. All of a sudden a big hunk of white stuff, oval.shaped and looked about 2' long comes hurtling into my lights and smacks my windshield. Driving a split screen old fashioned FLD, thank God. Impact was on that steel piece, indented th driver side glass about 1/2", passenger side about 1/4". At just above eye level. I shudder still at what might have happened had it been a continuous screen, without that reinforcing. Was able to piece it together later, high tension lines cross over the highway there, and the chunk must have been ice collected on the lines.

Maestro: the topic of pre-trip inspections is one that doesn't get enough play. It's drilled into the heads to get the CDL, but how many of you see drivers actually getting down and looking at stuff? How many times have you gotten to pick up a load and the trailer hasn't had a federal inspection in 15 months? Tires hanging slack on the wheel, or completely missing?

Things that I found to be a challenge for many of the drivers I trained / coached / mentored were: 90 degree angles on brake slack adjusters, looking for leaks in hub seals inside the brake drum, examining the ribs or underside of trailer floors for integrity, tire pressure and tread depth checks. I have a sh**-ton of images that I put into a document that I used for day one kind of stuff. I found that many of the drivers that may have attended high school but not gotten an education there have no idea what a 90 degree angle is. Used the 'finger gun' too demonstrate - that was a lightbulb moment for at least three drivers from Chicago - they knew what to say to the CDL license road test examiner, but didn't know what to look for.

So many other ideas that fit into this, but I would say "Pre-trip Inspections. If you aren't getting down under, you're making a blunder. Who is YOUR blunder going to kill today?".

Ya, I actually made that into a meme...

Makes me wonder how the self driving units will do it...

Thanks, BK.

All no touch freight, the bulk are drop and hook with some live loads. Horror stories of three to four hour waits when loads aren't ready. The consolation is that all of us are hourly, even the regional folks, OT after 40 hours worked in a week. They run the 60hr clock. So far, seems a good gig.

And just gladly driving again. And the pay is WAY better than slinging pizza.

53' I presume. Work the tandems to help you get turned into the lot off F street, use that space to the left of the spaces opposite the dock to set up for a back in. Probably take a few pull ups, depending on the space and vehicle obstructions present. I find that using tandem slides during the back can actually sometimes make a tight back easier. If there are no cars there when you first get in, using the full side of the lot adjacent the dock (you can see the 18 tire marks driving along the sidewalk edge) might be the ticket.

Did a thing last week.

Got hired by an AFP (Amazon Freight Partner) based in Phoenix. Will be doing runs to south Cali, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, or El Paso areas. My first run will be tomorrow heading to San Bernadino, Highland, and a couple of other spots in CA. Out one day, back the next. Total of four days running. Then three-ish (it is Logistics, after all!) off. The runs are scheduled to provide enough time to get to destinations on time (all things being equal and subject to unforseen issues) without being a cowboy. So far, doing the two days of training and the one day solo local work (nigh onto 40 hours OD, with about 20 driving) the vibration doesn't seem to be affecting the neck / spine / inflammatory arthritis. The CNG automatic transmission is a challenge - no torque, just be patient, hang out on the right side of the roadway, and we'll get there. Governed at 65. Cameras facing the driver and outward, with constant monitoring of speed and other factors. Some will gripe about it. Me? If you're doing the right thing, you're doing the right thing. Their truck, their load, their pay, their rules. It's easy enough to factor that into the equation. At least for me.

I knew I missed this life. I just wasn't aware of how ACUTELY I had missed it.

You'll know me if you see me. I'll be the ONLY driver in the western states wearing a derby. If you see me, gimme a wave...

First concert: Soldier Field (the original) July 8, 1978 - Rolling Stones, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes, Peter Tosh and the Wailers, and Journey. And lots of very stoned people. Walking across the pedestrian footbridge over Lake Shore Drive to get to SF, there were dudes sitting on the rail advertising which substances they were selling.

Best concert: Would probably have to be Eagles in Vegas in June,2015, shortly before Glen Frey stopped performing and passed away. Also up there are Scorpions 2023 and Bob Seger (twice in the past 8 years, both of them top notch). I agreed to go see Elton John with my wife, and it was not as bad as I was thinking it would be. I then convinced my wife to attend Mark Knopfler live in Chicago and she was pleasantly surprised. Given that it is her turn to pick the show, she chose Shinedown ( a group that I'm not particularly fond of from radio / playlist pieces), but they might be better live. We'll know in October - Vegas show.

Other concerts on the list of "I'd do that again, maybe"? Eric Clapton. Gary Clark, Jr (kind of a modern day Jimi Hendrix but bluesier). Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Great thread!

I'm back. Long update.

The past year plus has been rough. Inflammatory Arthritis is omnipresent, but manageable. Taking meds weekly for the rest of my life is better than not being able to do anything other than take a dirt nap.

Went through two jobs, first at Fry's meat seafood service counter. That was a phenomenal one for me - getting paid to talk to people 40 hours per week about meat, seafood, other foods to combine with it, grilling, smoking, baking, frying, etc was heaven. Then the IA arrived and shut me down. Went back after a number of months to FT at the meat service counter. Hired on, went through orientation, arrived for my first day and learn that the FT job was gone, but they had PT in the deli for me. 17 hours / week over four days, at $15.40 / hour, with a 30 mile - 45 minute trip each way was just not fiscally responsible. I figured out I was working for around $5 per hour after I factored my drive time and fuel for four trips. Currently working at the Love's Travel Stop in Cordes Junction, I17 MM 263. I sling pizza at the Godfathers inside. It's an OK pizza, ask for what's freshest if you go in.

Some may think that slinging pie is a step back. It is, and it isn't. Here comes the philosophical Curmudgeon for a bit. I am over 60 years old. Clearly the oldest guy on the pizza line. Likely one of the oldest in the Love's. I figure that maybe being where I am at is not a bad thing. I have worked for over 40 years in a number of jobs, with some great people and some real tyrds. Being able to show the 17-22 generation what "Customer Service" should look and sound like may have some nobility and purpose. These folks, no fault of their own, have difficulty communicating with others without using an electronic device, they are challenged to discuss topics other than the latest video or ticktok, and have limited concept of how to convince someone to do something (also called up-selling). I believe that working the line as an 'old man' in a positive mode, showing them some of the skills we all gathered growing up in our former lives, and showing them that even though you're not making $100k per year doesn't diminish the value of what you do, has a real value. Or, I could just be slinging pizza and trying to find nobility in it.

Maybe both hypotheses are valid?

Franklin penned an essay in the late 18th Century called "Information to Those Who Would Remove to America". It's available online through the National Archives. In that essay, as I read it, Franklin says that America was (still IS if you ask me) a land of great opportunity for those willing to dedicate hard work, effort and personal courage to achieving success. There were no handouts at that time, everyone was mostly equally challenged to make themselves. That being American is less about WHO YOU ARE, and more about WHAT YOU DO. And, consequently and currently, what you do, and the manner in which you do it, still drives and determines your potential for achieving success in our Nation. That is, I believe, why so many are willing to go through the steps to legally immigrate here, for their chance at that potential.

Maestro, in his earlier post, commented on short term targets. For me? Getting my HME renewed is one - it lapsed last summer when I was non-functional. Big mistake - relearning that Haz stuff is a challenge, just need to purge some minutiae and find a spot in the memory banks for something useful. I will do that. Finding an outfit locally that will hire a three day a week slip seat driver. OTR? Pneumatics? LTL? 6 Axle agg haulers? Construction is still robust in this area, and there are a number of opportunities to explore in that venue. It's not OTR, and boy do i MISS the feel of the wheel. But, physical limitations from the neck stenosis and cumulative vibration irritation dictates a three day, max, work week of driving. The HME needs to be first step, as that broadens my field of options. Then it's just a matter of finding the outfit that sings out "We Are Family".

Bottom line? I AM BLESSED. I'm over 60, still breathing without a machine to push it. My wife of 33 years this year still keeps me around (another reason for working, she still needs her "No Tim Time" after my 28 years in coppery and seven-plus in a truck). Our son is productive, earning a good wage working with his hands and his music skills, and happily married to a wonderful lady. He still speaks with me (willingly, to my ongoing amazement) once a week or so just to keep up with our world. And we're building our dream home, finally, after holding the lot for 20 years. The image below is our view to the north, and I've named the place "Mesa Vista at Trail's End". If you think about it, and the journey we are all on, you'll get it.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Stay safe, Drivers. We depend on what you do. Every Day. Moving the products that make our economy keep running is noble work, indeed.

- What went well? - What didn’t go well? - What can be better? - What improvements can I make?

Maestro - 24 years in training of new cops (both one on one in the car and as a field supervisor) and about two years in trucking one on one training gave me these questions to ask after every event, shift day, or at weekly training recap. They apply equally well to trucking, but darned if I didn't blow the trainees away by asking them rather than telling them.

"What did you do correctly or approximately correct?"

"What, if anything, would you do differently?"

"What caused you to be successful on the things you did correctly or approximately correct?"

"How can you apply that to other areas that you need to do differently?"

This is all a condensation of multiple years of doing it, working with troubled trainees, and finding ways to help them find their success. Just like the mind can't picture "Don't" (as in "Don't think about your shoelaces" - because you'll immediately think about them) the brain can easily be driven to success by positive statements - I will do... I can do... I was succesful by... Stay away from the negative speak, and despite the industry and it's challenges, you'll learn well.

Good luck to you.

How can you be sure that the demand for drivers will increase again when it is decreasing day by day?

Melton: the truth of the matter is that the trucking companies must adapt to keep in business. What your outfit is hauling this month, may be completely off their freight lists in three weeks. I worked for a regional outfit that was married to a major heavy industry manufacturing name - when their business model dictated relocation to TX our outfit remade itself and started hauling furnishings. It saved them. And most outfits will do that, if they are willing to adapt to the changing circumstances.

Yep - economy is tanking badly for the past months for a variety of (staying off the soapbox and out of the politicritter arena here) reasons. The end of the line, though, is that transportation of commodities relies on what we do behind the wheel - whether it's an 18 or a three axle straight truck. Deliver. Haul. Relocate. That's the meat and potato of this industry, and confidence in the AMERICAN economic engine, rather than the people seated in the seats they sit in, will (i am confident) see us through to better days.

I remember in Summer 2015, I was power washing the insides of trailers used for almost a decade for hauling industrial castings, simply to get hours and keep working. It was pretty darned slow for us and a lot of other outfits. Being adaptable in what you're willing to drive, keeping the intermodal option open, staying positive and making a good impression on your driver manager and dispatchers - these things will all help you weather the storm.

Good Luck!