Papa Pigs Zainy Rookie Solo Adventures

Come over to flatbed. It will be like a vacation.

Had a little bit of time today to film a little bit of my unload. The sound quality isn’t the beat but if you turn up the volume you can hear my hillbilly voice lol.

https://youtu.be/-rz_wxCPDqo

Thanks for the video. Brought back memories of my jobs I had in my teens when I was working merchandise.
Bill

Great paid workout Papa Pig! I see why you've lost some weight. Keep up the updates.

I really hate coming to this store. You have to have your tandems all the way forward to get in the hole, the. All the way back to get them on the planks. The planks are there to semi level the trailer but they are old and busted. As the pictures show on one side I was able to use a random piece of wood, on the other side I had to get more creative. They had a shopping cart full of mudflaps that drivers have lost, at least 10 of them, so I stacked them up and they seem to be working ok, I will readjust them in the morning when I pull forward to break the seal and open the doors. At least they gave me the 48 foot trailer this time. But honestly this unloading area is so messed up it should be a front door delivery. If I have time I might record the shenanigans of trying to unload on this slope. Luckily I didnt hit anything or cause the damage to the fence or pole that you can see in the pics. Some folks obviously weren’t as fortunate. Sometimes I long for a day and doing this job lol.

Wow... I love those kind, makes my job much easier, but not yours for sure

Well, once I released the racket strap , it turned into one of my quickest unloads 😂🤷🏻‍♂️. No one was hurt and not much product was damaged lol . Rolltainers came off the trick VERY easily lmbo

So I just hit over 3 months solo earlier this week and I passed a solo milestone of 150 safe deliveries. I have been to more stores but the sweep stops don’t count toward your official safe stop count. As long as I get paid for them I don’t care. Actual count is probably around 250. I am still enjoying what I do and learn more every day. I strive to become as efficient and safe as possible. Here are a few things I have learned .

PRE TRIP Check everything, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Also kicking a 70 psi tire and a 100 psi tire sound pretty darn similar. Only difference is that one is a ticket. Pull out the pressure gauge and check your tires. It doesn’t take long

PRE PLAN ROUTE It’s easy to get too comfortable by plugging in an address and rolling out. But I promise, it can get you into some trouble and you can end up in places you DO NOT want to be in

SET UP IS EVERYTHING! Before pulling into a store I will look and see how I need to set up and if I have the room. The key to backing successfully, especially in DG is setup. Here you might not have the option to pull around and try again. You need to get it right the first time or prepare to go into the store and ask ppl to move their vehicles( I’ve had to do it, not fun but Gotta do it at times)

COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT ! One thing I was getting a little frustrated with was my loads home. The closest stores that deliver to my house from my distribution center have me driving out of route 70 miles each way. That’s are 140 miles of free driving. No biggy but it adds up. I finally asked about this and they said “why didn’t you say something before? We can poach a sweep load from the other dc to get you paid for getting home” so with mileage and the stop pay it’s at least an extra 100 bucks that I get just for going home at the end of my Friday load. My dispatch team works hard and I don’t envy their job. But they were more than willing to help me out and keep me happy when I brought up a concern. They aren’t mind readers. If ya got a concern or need something , ask about it instead of letting it fester and becoming bitter.

BE KNOWN FOR YOUR WORK ETHIC A lot of our delivery area was affected by the hurricanes this week so for once there wasn’t enough freight to go around. When I would rush in to get my paperwork I would hear other guys complaining about not having a load. One guy asked me how long I have been there and seemed a little ****ed off when I told him . Insinuating that loads should be given to drivers with more longevity. I asked him how many loads he typically runs a week and he said 3-4. When I told him that I do 5 consistently and would do 6 if my 70 didn’t get in the way he scoffed and mumbled that he wasn’t gonna burn himself out for the company. Point is, When loads are scarce it pays off the be the guy who will run, who doesn’t complain about taking low mileage loads every now and again.

Everything isn’t always sunshine and roses but thats life. Having fun so far and keep on trying to get better. Be safe out there drivers ! If you made it this far down, thanks for taking part in my journey!

Last post......*LIKE*

Pure Gold!

I’ll echo what packrat wrote- “LIKE it”. Brilliant- no more 140 miles of free driving- and $100 to boot!!

COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT ! One thing I was getting a little frustrated with was my loads home. The closest stores that deliver to my house from my distribution center have me driving out of route 70 miles each way. That’s are 140 miles of free driving. No biggy but it adds up. I finally asked about this and they said “why didn’t you say something before? We can poach a sweep load from the other dc to get you paid for getting home” so with mileage and the stop pay it’s at least an extra 100 bucks that I get just for going home at the end of my Friday load. My dispatch team works hard and I don’t envy their job. But they were more than willing to help me out and keep me happy when I brought up a concern. They aren’t mind readers. If ya got a concern or need something , ask about it instead of letting it fester and becoming bitter.

BE KNOWN FOR YOUR WORK ETHIC A lot of our delivery area was affected by the hurricanes this week so for once there wasn’t enough freight to go around. When I would rush in to get my paperwork I would hear other guys complaining about not having a load. One guy asked me how long I have been there and seemed a little ****ed off when I told him . Insinuating that loads should be given to drivers with more longevity. I asked him how many loads he typically runs a week and he said 3-4. When I told him that I do 5 consistently and would do 6 if my 70 didn’t get in the way he scoffed and mumbled that he wasn’t gonna burn himself out for the company. Point is, When loads are scarce it pays off the be the guy who will run, who doesn’t complain about taking low mileage loads every now and again.

Everything isn’t always sunshine and roses but thats life. Having fun so far and keep on trying to get better. Be safe out there drivers ! If you made it this far down, thanks for taking part in my journey!

So I just hit over 3 months solo earlier this week and I passed a solo milestone of 150 safe deliveries. I have been to more stores but the sweep stops don’t count toward your official safe stop count. As long as I get paid for them I don’t care. Actual count is probably around 250. I am still enjoying what I do and learn more every day. I strive to become as efficient and safe as possible. Here are a few things I have learned .

PRE TRIP Check everything, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Also kicking a 70 psi tire and a 100 psi tire sound pretty darn similar. Only difference is that one is a ticket. Pull out the pressure gauge and check your tires. It doesn’t take long

PRE PLAN ROUTE It’s easy to get too comfortable by plugging in an address and rolling out. But I promise, it can get you into some trouble and you can end up in places you DO NOT want to be in

SET UP IS EVERYTHING! Before pulling into a store I will look and see how I need to set up and if I have the room. The key to backing successfully, especially in DG is setup. Here you might not have the option to pull around and try again. You need to get it right the first time or prepare to go into the store and ask ppl to move their vehicles( I’ve had to do it, not fun but Gotta do it at times)

COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT ! One thing I was getting a little frustrated with was my loads home. The closest stores that deliver to my house from my distribution center have me driving out of route 70 miles each way. That’s are 140 miles of free driving. No biggy but it adds up. I finally asked about this and they said “why didn’t you say something before? We can poach a sweep load from the other dc to get you paid for getting home” so with mileage and the stop pay it’s at least an extra 100 bucks that I get just for going home at the end of my Friday load. My dispatch team works hard and I don’t envy their job. But they were more than willing to help me out and keep me happy when I brought up a concern. They aren’t mind readers. If ya got a concern or need something , ask about it instead of letting it fester and becoming bitter.

BE KNOWN FOR YOUR WORK ETHIC A lot of our delivery area was affected by the hurricanes this week so for once there wasn’t enough freight to go around. When I would rush in to get my paperwork I would hear other guys complaining about not having a load. One guy asked me how long I have been there and seemed a little ****ed off when I told him . Insinuating that loads should be given to drivers with more longevity. I asked him how many loads he typically runs a week and he said 3-4. When I told him that I do 5 consistently and would do 6 if my 70 didn’t get in the way he scoffed and mumbled that he wasn’t gonna burn himself out for the company. Point is, When loads are scarce it pays off the be the guy who will run, who doesn’t complain about taking low mileage loads every now and again.

Everything isn’t always sunshine and roses but thats life. Having fun so far and keep on trying to get better. Be safe out there drivers ! If you made it this far down, thanks for taking part in my journey!

They are building a new DG near our center. Damn thing has to have the smallest parking lot I've seen not to mention where the DDrivers back up. I'll take a pic as it develops a bit more.