Profile For Noob_Driver

Hows flatbed freight Old School? I feel likevim seeing less of them on the road out here and Ive noticed alot of flatbed tractors and tanker tractors hooked to leased dry vans. I talked to a Oakley tanker driver who said they had recently rented quite a few dry vans when i was docked next to him at a beer distributor. I got a chuckle out of him trying to figure out his tandems, i helped him out and he said he hadnt slid a tandem in 20 years!

Who actually owns the interstates? I know each state maintains their stretch of the road but are they subsidized by the Federal Government for some of the cost of repairs? If so i would love to see the Government buy some of this unused land along the interstate and create some truck only parking. Nothing fancy just parking spaces i dont even need restrooms with vending machines ill take a porta john if it means i dont have to stress over late night parking.

After a preventable accident where i did something very stupid on my 2nd solo run my truck got turned down from 66mph to 62 mph. In about a month Ill be turned up to 70mph when my 1 year accident free kicks in and Im excited about it. Not because i think ill get more miles but because i think it will get me more rest. Instead of pushing 10 hrs for 500+ miles i can cut some time off that which translates to more rest for me.

My first hiccup with the negative effecta of the corona virus.

At a kenworth dealer having electrical issues sorted and the waiting room is closed to the public.

Its 38 degrees here with the wind feels like 30. Going to get a hotel room if its a long fix but they said it might be a quick easy fix and they need to run a full diagnostic test to figure that out. Probably be out here for 2 hours.

Read your friggin message!!

Huh?

Oh sorry..... Your Qualcomm had a message on it in the picture, lol.

Read your friggin message!!

Congrats Grumpy!

Had a feeling it might have been Essity/SCA.

Had a buddy deliver there yesterday at 1100. That was a picture of the entrance. He got lucky and got told to drop by the yard guy who had just dropped an empty.

Sorry you had to wait so long, and hopefully you got a good door. That first one you get to past their stop sign is pain.

Im at our Terminal in Weedsport NY and dreading a load from there tomorrow. Fingers crossed I head West to Buffalo.

So I'm still not down with "coordinated global(ist) conspiracy" - YET (or even national one). The response is too disorganized, haphazard and sloppy for their to be actual coordination (or someone/thing pulling the strings nationally/globally).

My theory on that is the opposite. This feels almost perfectly coordinated to me. They've kept a steady cadence when it comes to tightening the noose. They didn't move so fast as to freak people out and start riots and panics. They steadily just moved toward a lockdown a little at a time. Maybe they even purposely made it seem a little haphazard so it didn't raise suspicions, so we thought they were just making decisions on the fly.

They limited crowds to 1,000 then a couple of days later to 500 then a couple of days later to 50. They reduced international travel, then they reduced domestic travel. Now they've reduced it to no unnecessary travel. The next step will be military checkpoints in the streets, probably before the week is out.

They closed some schools, then more schools, then all schools. They reduced capacity in some businesses, then closed some businesses, then closed most businesses, then closed all but very necessary businesses.

Everything moved at a steady cadence. They did it in bite-size chunks, systematically, in a way that even the most suspicious people felt it was on-the-fly and not premeditated. But there's no way you put the entire globe on lockdown in a week, on the fly, and do it at a pace that doesn't create any panic unless you've planned it out and coordinated it at some level.

I'm glad I live on a secluded property way up in the mountains with plenty of firewood, food, toilet paper, and my doggy. There are herds of deer everywhere and all of my neighbors are hunters. I can't imagine what it's like for the millions of families who live paycheck to paycheck and have $100 in the bank and three kids at home and can't work because their workplace is closed.

Just saw this on one of our drivers facebook groups from a former employee. Not sure which company or the truth behind it.

I goal on empty docks with noone around me. Its become a good habit. I will admit i dont goal at truck stops with empty spaces on both sides and i usually regret it and have to pull up to straighten.

Not leaving them open for parking only is ridiculous. Its asking for trouble. It wouldnt hurt anyone to just have the parking only option like you see in alot of states. Maybe a port a john but thats not even necessary to be honest. Noone will complain.... Well maybe super truckers but they always complain.

On a side note i know terminal rats have been mentioned as whiners who congregate at company terminals but truck stop drivers lounges might be the absolute best spot to locate whiners and hear about how great other drivers think they are.

One of our drivers mentioned the facilities are closed but parking still available with port a johns. Is that not the case?

Yessir! Thats the one. 20klbs of tp? Dropped on the end of the center line?

All state owned rest areas are also closed. Not sure if that means parking or just bathrooms/vending.

Day 19. 3/13

Started my pretrip at 0500 and headed North on I39 into Wisconsin. Hooked up with I94 and made my way to our Terminal in Black River Falls to fuel up at 0820.

Arrived at my final at 0940 and was told to wait until 10am and my appt. Got my door and was unloaded at 11am.

While getting unloaded i sent a reminder to my dispatcher about my upcoming hometime for the 17th. I know weekend freight has been spotty the last few weeks ao i let him know whatever is easiest for him works for me. If taking hometime early helps ill do it or I can stay out longer if needed as I had no pressing appointments. He replied back saying thanks and told me he could get me home tonight.

I was given a pickup in Eau Claire a few miles away and arrived at 11am. Was loaded at 1345 and headed East to our Richfield terminal to drop the load and head home.

Arrived at Richfield 1800 with 2 minutes left on my clock and dropped my trailer and creeeped over to our bobtail line parked my truck did sone paperwork and hopped in my car to head home until the 17th.

8.58hrs on duty

8.58 hrs on duty

468 miles driven.

If I ever decide to leave OTR and go local linehaul seems to be one of the only options in the south Chicagoland. That or drive a dump truck. Either way i regret not getting hazmat and tanker as well as doubles and triples endorsements when i tested. Might want to brush up on the high road training section.

The way I understand it is you dont use PC to reach a safe haven, you violate then add a note saying you were headed to nearest safe haven. Because whether you are advancing the load or not you still cant be off duty and moving the load. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Probably because we both work at Millis, this is how I understand it as well. You can PC empty or bobtail to a parking spot or a grocery store, restaurant etc but not under a load. We're allowed to violate within reason to a safe haven but it must be the nearest stop and it cannot be a terminal for us.

Day 18. 3/12

Started my pre trip at 0200 and headed back west towards St Louis. Arrived at my final in Edwardsville at 0515 and checked in at the guard shack. Dropped my loaded trailer and hooked to an empty at 0530. Sent my empty messages and ready for dispatch. While waiting i headed back to clean out the trailer which looked like they used a wood chipper to unload it.

Got my new load when i finished sweeping the trailer. A pickup 70 miles back east or so on I70 in st elmo il heading to Altoona Wi.

Left and made my way back east to St Elmo. Arrived at 0730 and checked in. The load wasnt ready for a drop and hook so i was given a door for a live load. Backed in and waited.

Got loaded at 0900 and headed out to 70 east, then hopped on 57 North to I74 west and then I39 North to Wisconsin.

Stopped at 1400 at the Loves in Roscoe IL. Delivery appt is tomorrow at 10am at a grocery store.

9.20 on duty

8.48 driving

541 miles

First pic is of my first delivery. 2nd is my pickup.

Day 17. 3/11

Started my day at 0410 and did my pre trip and headed North on I65. Made my way up to I71 heading towards Cincinatti and the I75 merge.

Stopped at our Terminal to fuel and take my 30 at 0800.

Arrived at my final at 0850 checked in and was given a door to drop my trailer in.

Easy straightforward back and then scooted over and grabbed the last empty. Sent my empty message and ready for dispatch.

Got a load to pickup at our nearby terminal going to edwardsville il.

Got to the terminal at 0930 and backed my empty into a spot and hooked to my new load.

44klbs of laundry detergent. First driver looks to have shifted the load a little bit so ill have to take this drive pretty easy.

Strapped it in so it wouldnt shift anymore as best i could with some corner protectors and a load bar.

Not sure if i found this app on this site or not but theres an app called timestamp camera that timestamps and location stamps your pictures. I use it anytime i find damage or anything odd with a load or a trailer to cover my butt. Lets be honest sometimes we miss stuff and forget to message saftey or whomever you message with regards to damage and this covers you.

Headed out at 1030 and made my way to 70 heading west. Scaled at the TA in Eaton Ohio..... Dont scale at the Pilot on the othwr side of 70 its almost impossible to reweigh if needed.

Made my way west theough Indy to a Pilot in Brazil Indiana at 1400.

7.43 on duty

7.10 driving

378 miles

I94 West in Wisconsin heading to Eau Claire.