Comments By Bill R.

Great video. I really appreciate the ones that actually provide information I can use. Will be looking forward to more.
Hoping for the best on the weight loss. Right there with you on that task. Cutting down on the junk food and focusing on veggies. Had luck with that in the past.
I'm also back to pedaling my "trike" 10-15 miles a day, starting to lose the extra inches I've packed on the last couple of years.

Rick S. wrote:

but if the bicycle riders are anything like the last time I was there, they (for the most part) ride like they own the road without consideration to any traffic around them. So it's no surprise to me they get themselves "eaten" by trucks. Bikes are one step down from cabbies in their complete disregard to others around them.

As a cyclist and one-time commuter, I can't agree more with Rick.
On any cycle (I currently ride a recumbent trike and just sold off my motorcycles) I keep my head on a swivel and in the mirrors. Bicycle riders are getting more and more "brave" and don't pay any attention to where they are in a lane or what is around them.
And motorists here in Nashville aren't making it any better, either. I rarely ride on the streets around here due to the quite likely chance some SUV will veer over the right line and BOOM. One of the main reasons I stopped commuting on the bicycle years back.
Thank goodness we have some decent bike trails/paths near my home.

RealDiehl...you hit that one right up the middle. Stopped at a red light on the motorcycle one day...SWOOSH!!!!...Escalade with a soccer ball on the back window just about took my left elbow off as they ran the light in the left turn lane the wind blast actually rocked me a bit.

Well, haven't hauled anything, yet....

I passed an Averitt Express flat bed on I-40 West out of Nashville the other day.
He had 1 electrical transformer on a pallet, the size that you see in neighborhoods. He had it sitting over the drives, 2 straps.
Bill

G-Town wrote:

Sorry I can’t agree, the majority of the article (surprisingly) is quite truthful and accurate. And chances are; there were additional details qualifying things like “driver shortage” that were edited-out.

Normally, I wouldn't read anything from Cosmopolitan, either.
I have to agree with G-Town on this one, though.

Read the whole article and it pretty much tells everything I've alrady gleaned from reading through Trucking Truth. No fluff, no drama, just some good facts.

I guess this one falls into "Don't judge a book by the cover"...
Bill R.

NeeklODN said...

I'm waiting at a shipper. Popcorn at the ready.

Mmmm...popcorn....And a very large col' drank...in my deeply Southern accent...

I bet that is kinda disconcerting when looking back and seeing all that trailer wall.

Great that you'll have time to visit your daughter. Hope you get there safely and have good weather.
Bill

Tractor Man wrote:
I use the "safe speed" formula. For example: If I have determined my safe speed to be 45 mph, I choose a gear and engine brake setting that will actually keep me below my safe speed.
once I reach 40 mph i will briefly push the accelerator to release the engine brake, get back up to 45 mph, then let the engine braking slow me back down to 40 mph. I rarely use the service brakes when going down hill.

Tractor,
Excellent advice. Putting this one in the helpful hint file. I've done the same thing in my personal vehicle, but it has never crossed my mind when thinking over CMV driving.
Bill R.

Turtle said:

However, I grossly underestimated the strength of us missing them.

Turtle,
I'm right there with you, man. My 1st grandbaby is in Wisconsin (we get up there every 3-4 months) and it's looking like #2 will eventually wind up on the Gulf Coast. Hoping OTR can get me some loads in the vicinity for a short visit or reset once in a while.

Seems like you really have a great thing going there with the new direction at Prime. Wishing you all the best.

Really appreaciate all these positive examples that show what can be done in trucking when you apply yourself and do a great job.

Bill R.

Brett,
I would really like to read something like this, especially as it is exactly where I'm sitting right now...coporate job and politics getting older by the minute...looking for something new.

G-Town,
Excellent response, as usual. Great questions/responses to get one thinking over this new career change we are considering.

I'm in a very similar situation to TXGooner with family and money (college tuition), but I do have an end point in sight when my daughter graduates next year. Family is supportive and understand what I am hoping to do with the new career. I just have to stick it out that long.

Getting my patience and humility practice in...don't tell 'em what I think. Just get the job done and make sure my customers are receiving great service from the work I do.

Looking forward to more replies and the article, eventually.
Bill R.

PackRat said:

If I’m ever parked close by, I’m going to jump up on the running boards, then tap Morse coded messages to you through the back of the sleeper.

I'll help!!!

Rainy, Great article, BTB...
Thanks,
Bill R