Profile For Joseph I.

I would be getting another opinion on what caused the blackout, (unless you really know and are not being honest with yourself) I am afraid the results will be far worse for you and your family if you start driving truck and have another episode. Your health is more important than a truck driving career. There are a lot of other career opportunities for someone getting out of the military with an honorable discharge available especially in the hiring climate and economy we have right now.

I used to many times fill our farm semis at Walmart and have to either stretch the hose across or turn around to fill both tanks. They had fuel $0.25 cheaper than anywhere else a lot of the time.

After a while you will get your truck figured out as far as fuel left. When mine gets to 1/8th tank and the light comes on I know I got to find fuel within a hundred miles. On the old International day cab I had on the farm when it got to a 1/4 tank I better be finding the next place to stop.

If your doctor will not give you any help as you said I would be looking for a new doctor. If it is something you need you will have to find a way to deal with DOT but keeping it a secret or just stopping taking it will only lead to bad ending for you in the long run. Do nit start a new job or career with a lie or falsehood. By getting a different doctor I mean to look for a second opinion not just going out and hunting down a doctor that will help cheat you through.

Yes I meant 10+ hours with no stops which I do about 2 days out of every 2 weeks. My normal day is about 450 to 500 miles with 1 drop and hook then one live drop and onto a live pickup them back home for the night. So I know getting out every couple hours if even for a few minutes helps a lot and does not cut into your miles that much.

I got a new guy question for you. Someone explain this critical event thing to me and what exactly causes it and how do companies treat it? My truck, a 2018 Cascadia, has an accident avoidance sensor that flashes red and at slow speeds at least can cause braking or slow down to occur. Is that what you are talking about? If so I have had it go off about 4 times in my truck, the first was turning in tight quarters at a loading dock area and I was close to a brick wall, the 2nd time a little red sports car cut in pretty close in front of me on the interstate.

I bought a nice little seat cushion that I use, but not all the time. Just use it if getting tired of sitting for to long, the slight change seems to make the difference. I do not know how long you go between stops but when I am driving all day, meaning 10+ driving with no stops I take at least 5 minute breaks every couple hours and make sure you use your 30 minute to your advantage and take a walk when possible. I do not have in the truck but when I was farming we would have longer days and I really liked the heated seats for my back, I would crank the heat to high for about 10 minutes then off.

I was not questioning whether doing a pre or post trip inspections are a good thing or should be done. I do them every day I was questioning if they actually need to be logged as such. What I read in the book I got is you need to make sure your truck and trailer are in good and safe working condition every time you are going to put it on the road but the rule book does not state that you must do a pre or post and log it as such. At least not what I have read so far.

Diet Pepsi and Tic Tacs are my way through the day. I have not drank coffee for years but used to and now that I am trucking full time I may start drinking that again as I am cheap and it is free at most stops I make along the way.

The grades are not like mountain steep but some of the curves can come up on you pretty fast if not paying attention. I do not believe they made a straight road through Missouri anywhere. I personally like that route and 65 North through there as there is some nice country and very nice farms through there. You can run into some Mennonite areas if off the 4 lanes so give the horse and buggies a brake.

Am I incorrect in stating that a pre or post trip inspection, while possibly required by your employer, are not required to be logged by the DOT for any length of time or need to be a pre or post. My company tells me to do a PTI (pre trip inspection) at some time during the day but some guys never do.

Depending where you are located there are places that rent and lease truck and trailers on a weekly and monthly basis. This is not the type of site to find one though. There is a place down the road from me that does just that, but mostly tankers and grain trailers seasonally for farm country. But this time of year they would be more likely to rent one for a week or 2.

Hogs definitely. I have farmed all my life and the protocols are far different than the past. I believe a lot of end points (packing plants) even have a drive through wash for the bottom sides of the trucks to wash and disinfect. If hauling hogs from nursery to growers or to finishers those trailers will be washed out and disinfected after each use. Not quite as stringent with cattle as disease problems not as bad as with hogs.

What are some of the terms I should be using in the notations section on my E Logs when out on the road? I have been at this for 3 weeks now and seem to be doing OK on them, but as far as how I should be labeling things in my notes I might as well get things right from the beginning instead of falling into bad habits.

"so I will have them address the Jake coming on after 2 mph over cruise speed. Raptor"

Isn't the speed at which the jake "comes on" just a setting that can be adjusted within the menu you control from your left keypad on the steering wheel. Same as you can adjust the following distance and other ACC features?

I am into driving OTR for 3 weeks. I hauled grain locally for 30 years from the farm but no distance driving, 60 mile round trips max, and always in a 13 speed manual. I am in a Cascadia with an automatic and wondering the how best to handle steep downgrades, especially longer ones with some curves. Do you switch to manual and select a gear or leave it in auto? Use the jake brake from the top or as needed? If using the jake use 1st, 2nd or 3rd position or is that dependent on the steepness of the grade? Do you use the cruise and set it at a slow enough speed?

Thanks for everyone's ideas on the subject. Mostly I am in the Midwest not out in the mountains so just need some input on how to attack downgrades.

I am in second week of driving and will be pulling almost exclusively dry van loads with some days 3 or 4 drop and pickups. At 6' tall I still think the release handle is hard to reach and a pain to deal with. Is one of these pin or handle release tools worth owning and is one better than the rest or is it pretty easy to make my own? Thanks

I just started hauling for a company 2 weeks ago. Before that I farmed and we hauled all our grain from the field to the farm then to either elevator or ethanol plant or bean meal plant. So the first time I have ever loaded under 80,000 intentionally unless only having a half load left was 2 weeks ago. Normally ran 82,000 to 85,000 except in the fall when limits were raised to 90,000 for duration of harvest.