Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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What constitutes a 'lousy load' in freight hauling?
I thought drivers get paid strictly by the mile and not by the "load quality"?When an over the road driver refers to a load as lousy, it isn't a reference to the "load quality." It could be a lot of different variables that make it undesirable, but none of it is in reference to the quality of the load affecting what you get paid.
Let's say I have six hours left on my clock when I empty out from my current load at 0700, but my dispatcher needs me to go pick up a live load one hour away from me, but it's scheduled to load at 0900 the next morning. We might call that a "lousy" load. It makes us sit and wait longer than is efficient. Sure, we will get some layover pay, but who wants to be inefficient and settle for such pay when we could be maximizing our pay?
The whole point of the context of his remarks is that highly valuable drivers who are willing to do what's needed will be rewarded for taking such loads willingly and agreeably.
Yes, I personally hate being inside a motor vehicle that is NOT MOVING! It's aggravating and boring as hell just sitting in my car and be waiting! As a driver I would want to be rolling as much as possible on duty. It's not so much a lousy load as it is a lousy schedule.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
View Topic:
What constitutes a 'lousy load' in freight hauling?
Quote from Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving
If you'll haul a LOUSY LOAD for them every so often then they will reward you with consistently good miles, a lot of good runs, and respect and tolerance for you as a driver and nd a as a human being."Taken within the context of Brett’s point; operative phrase is; “every so often”. Focus on that thought Todd, for a good driver it’s the exception and will be rewarded whenever possible with a much better load.
I am not the best person to reply to this since there are very few Walmart store loads that I consider “lousy”. Having the dock out time delayed by several hours is about the worst thing I deal with.
Rainy’s reply suggesting it’s subjective is a good answer. Everything must be applied to the bigger picture, good drivers, conducting themselves safely and professionally typically deal with their definition of a lousy load as an exception, not the rule.
The routes we must drive are predicated by many factors, most out of our control. However it’s a big part of our job to effectively adjust and manage the situation at hand, and exercise good judgement in the case of (for instance) driving during a bad storm. In a Utopian world all shippers/receivers would be within 1 mile off the Interstate exit. Rarely the case and complete fantasy if that’s your expectation.
You must safely and efficiently conduct business as if you are your own boss; making good decisions based on sound, well grounded judgement.
As a car driver on long trips occasionally, I see the heaviest concentration of big rigs on Interstates and major/state highways. It's just an observation of mine. I see few trucks on rural roads unless they are logging trucks, grain/feed trucks, hay trucks, fuel tankers or milk tankers. I can't ever remember seeing a dry-van or reefer a rural/county road.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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What constitutes a 'lousy load' in freight hauling?
I thought drivers get paid strictly by the mile and not by the "load quality"?
In Brett's Raw Truth, Page 62 as follows:
"But companies are desperate for good drivers so if you can prove to them over a period of time that your are safe, hard working, and reliable then they will do their best to compromise with you. If you'll haul a LOUSY LOAD for them every so often then they will reward you with consistently good miles, a lot of good runs, and respect and tolerance for you as a driver and nd a as a human being."
Now, I can see some ROUTES' being lousier than others. I would always want to be driving on the relative safety of well-maintained Interstates (the beaten path) as much as possible and far away from high-crime areas and traffic congestion as much as possible. Flat, straight, wide open roads in moderate climate would be more welcome than ice-cold twisty winter mountains with treacherous grade percentages and scorching summer deserts.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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My two cents may only be worth that, but here are mine. A gun is a big no, even if you have a concealed carry doesn't mean it's valid in the state your in, stun gun, well some states are making it illegal to own or use, pepper spray, colder weather can be an enemy to there effective use. Personally, a cheap and effective weapon for defence, a wire coat hanger, hit someone with one of those folded and they will be wishing that they had thought twice about messing with you, plus it will mark them, it's easy to carry, (even concealed) and it's a light quick weapon, that would not be easily taken away. Also, big plus, legal in all states, it's a freaking coat hanger.
Being a life member of Gun Owners of America you know how I feel about anti-gun attitudes.
I would rather be armed with something more formidable than a coat hanger if some 400-pound linebacker of a thug were attacking me. Even pepper spray.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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Im a female getting ready to start driving and most companies will not let you have a weapon. So with that in mind I went and did the research and found a few companies that allow you to have a dog
What about a police taser or a stun gun?
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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Can I Physically Handle Trucking?
Cynthia, most of the job types you'll run across in trucking are "drop and hook" (simply swapping trailers) or "no touch freight" (just like it says).
Physically the hardest thing you'll deal with are landing gear cranks, and tough door latches. Both are covered here.
A help for for latch problems: sometimes the way the ground is causes the trailer to not be square. If the door won't get closed, pull forward a few feet, and that may straighten the trailer up.
Are trailers that flimsily constructed that uneven ground will cause doors to jam? Sounds like the 1992 Corvette coupe with targa top I had. The book said the car had to be parked on level ground or the four screws for the removable hard top would not line up to anchor it down to the body pillars and windshield header. The fiberglass body had that much give in it. I hated driving the car with the top off because it shook like the devil.The soft-top convertible (roadster) 'Vettes have a much more rigid frame and are heavier.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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Do sleepers have microwave ovens in them?
You're not lazy but you are hoping to fight a family over a will of their dead mother in order to not have to work and fill your bank account????
Todd Holmes wrote:
An elderly woman I knew for 33 years just passed away a week ago. She had money and property in opulent Marin County, California and I was told by one of her sons 18 years ago that I would be in her will in place of her older son whom she supposedly disinherited. She even told me I would be in her will herself 10 years ago.
Next month, I will be checking the probate court records to see if this was really true. One of her sons might be the executor of her estate and I don't want to question him about this personally.
Just in case this will business was all a lie, I will have to find another way to fill my bank account with cash for old age.
So you only intend to work if you have to. But not lazy? Not living off of others?
You do realize a will can be changed at any time. If you are in a will a lawyer will contact you. No one is obligated to keep you in a will even if you were told a year ago, it could be changed.
WHY would you put all.of your hopes on the will or someone else?
Your own statements prove your lack.or.commitment and it is insulting.
I was only stating that I was promised to be in this woman's will by her and one of her sons. I am not staking my soul and betting my VA Pension that this promise still holds true. I will not commit suicide should I find that I get nothing from this woman's estate after all. I will check with the probate court in a month or two to know the truth once and forever unless I get something legal to this effect sooner in the mail.
No person alive is going to reject any inheritance they are offered.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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Do sleepers have microwave ovens in them?
Todd, one note about your diet. The low-fat thing was kinda debunked a long time ago. Low carbs, high protein, and fairly high levels of fats are the better way to go. For decades they preached low fat and low cholesterol meals. Turns out they were totally wrong about that.
I train hard 6 or 7 days a week. I eat more of a Keto or Paleo type diet, close to a carnivore diet - mostly meat, eggs, and full-fat dairy including yogurt and pineapple cottage cheese. I'll have a bowl of oatmeal with my eggs and I put blueberries in my oatmeal and cottage cheese. I eat almost no vegetables whatsoever. I eat almost nothing that's white - no bread, no pasta, no potato. So basically I eat piles of meat, eggs, and dairy.
Most people are having a heart attack after reading that. It's an appalling diet according to old standards, but opinions are changing rapidly. I'm incredibly healthy in every way. I couldn't train as hard as I do and be healthy if I wasn't eating right. I never, ever get sick. Not even the sniffles in as long as I can remember, possibly years.
If you're feeling lousy it's worth taking a shot at a different diet. Obviously what you're eating isn't working. It takes about 30 days for the body to adjust to a change in diet so you can't just try something for a few days. And it's best to adjust slowly, not all at once.
Getting away from carbs has been life changing for so many people, but the body adjusts slowly to that change. Carbs are like an addiction. If you cut carbs too quickly you'll feel super lethargic, almost like you have the flu. So if you make any changes to your diet, make them slowly and give them a full month before you decide if it's working or not. Everyone is different. You have to experiment to see what works for you.
Brett:
Here is my diet now for a typical day:
breakfast: two eggs and four deli ham slices (97% fat free) fried with PAM and one baker potato fried with a coat of PAM on the skillet and a glass of water with a shot of cranberry juice concentrate for flavor OR a bowl of oatmeal, cinnamon, no sugar, no butter, with a half cup of skim or 1% fat milk: I but the skim milk as much as I can find it with a late pull date in the stores for freshness
lunch: one or two chicken salad sandwiches on white bread, with lettuce and tomato sometimes, one tablespoon mayonnaise (100 calories), a dash of mustard and a couple tablespoons of non-fat plain yogurt as a low-cal filler so not too much mayo is used: the mayo for sandwiches is where I fudge on the diet OR a sardine sandwich with two cans sardines packed in water with a tablespoon of mayo and some steak sauce poured on. My steak sauce is 25 calories per tablespoon the bottle says.
a snack: maybe a bowl of oatmeal or a can of no-fat refried beans with parmesan cheese and taco sauce: I use parmesan cheese a lot because it is low-fat as compared with most other cheese
dinner: a plate full of frozen vegetables as spinach, green beans, carrots and peas, a starch such as long-grain white rice, cornmeal polenta or pasta, I use a tablespoon of corn oil for the rice and a tablespoon of corn oil for the pasta so it doesn't stick while boiling, my spaghetti sauce is made with one tablespoon of corn oil, and a meat item as a skinless chicken breast or a 7%-fat grilled hamburger patty. Grill means LP barbecue grille.
dessert: a smoothie made with thawed frozen fruit as peaches, mixed berries, blueberries or strawberries with no sugar added, skim milk and a splash of vanilla extract: no sugar or sweeteners are added to the smoothie in blender OR some plain non-fat yogurt with fruit and a splash of vanilla
beverages during the day: mostly chilled spring water, sometimes ice tea with lemon, decaf Lipton mix and no sweeteners, low-fat buttermilk to put a lining on my stomach when it is upset sometimes or to act as buffer when I take my medications
occasionally I will buy non-fat cottage cheese and put fruit, vanilla and no sweeteners on it
I don't ever buy butter anymore and seldom buy cheese except occasional lower-fat swiss cheese.
The days of French toast, frozen waffles, butter and syrup are long gone for me.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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Do sleepers have microwave ovens in them?
I also take a prescribed baby aspirin everyday to "prevent heart attack"But, but, earlier you stated something to the effect that your doctor says your heart is in perfect condition?!?
Yes, my ticker is perfect condition so my doctor told me the other day. The aspirin is just a precaution that doctors do for older patients perhaps because of my age until my obesity is averted. I have never had a heart attack and don't ever want to start having one. People in my family have died of heart as well as cancer issues, I told my doctor. It is common to put older people like me on an aspirin regimen these days.
Obesity is still a major risk factor for a heart attack even if my doctor thinks my heart sounds strong when he puts a stethoscope on my chest.
Posted: 5 years, 2 months ago
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What constitutes a 'lousy load' in freight hauling?
Old School, with that in mind, I think most drivers would favor drop and hook over live loads. Some companies probably do drop and hook exclusively or most of the time. Drop and hook sounds like my kind of bag. This practice seems common in freight railroading.