First Day W/ F&S, I Got Lucky

My first day on the road with F&S didnt go as I expected. Got me thinking I should call W.E. before things get worse. Let me explain.

Finished training in knoxville on thursday last week, friday morning I drove a rental to Brilliant, OH because thats where my assigned tractor was. Got to the terminal and no one had any clue that I was coming to get my truck, and no one knew who I was or where my assigned tractor was. A mechanic had to find my tractor for me because it was all the way in the lot, they were using it to move broken trailers around. FM calls me to see if I was there because he wanted to find me a load to pick up, ended getting a loaded trailer from another driver at the terminal(**** ASS TRAILER JUST DIDN'T KNOW YET). Before the driver left he told me he had the lights fixed on the trailer and there should be nothing to worry about(RED FLAG). Did my pretrip everything worked as it should, all lights were working, no loose/hanging wires. My drive from Brilliant to my house was only an hour. No issues on my drive home.

Fast forward to Monday morning. On my way to deliver my first load the ABS light was coming on after every bump, figured with all the weight its just what happens with F&S trailers(My first FB load, had 50k on my trailer, 3 aluminum coils). Made it to NJ from pittsburgh to deliver my first load on Monday morning with the ABS issue the whole way. On my way to my pickup location in Lancaster PA a fellow trucker signaled to me that my trailer marker lights were flickering. Its around 12pm driving on 76; DOT is everywhere. Dont want to get hit with a failed Level 1. I immediately pulled over checked the pigtail, all lights were lit and stable as I did a walk around. Started driving and the lights are flickering again. Pulled over again wiped off the pigtail and the prongs on the trailer connection once again all lights were stable and lit. Started driving and theyre flickering again. Called my FM(He didnt come in today, was assigned 3 new drivers last week and wasnt even there on our first day, more on that later), another FM answered they transferred me to roadside assistance. I tell roadside my issue, that I'm an hour outside Lancaster. Roadside tells me my issue is not worth them coming to me, tells me to spread the prongs on my trailer connections and just drive to their partner shop in Lancaster. So I pulled out the toolbox went to town on them prongs, all lights were lit and stable. Started down the road and they're at it again.

Pulled over and called the safety manager in knoxville(Supposed to be the head of all safety managers of the company), he basically told us during the training week they wont accept failed DOT inspections. So called him to see what am I supposed to do, no answer left a VM. Called my safety manager at the brilliant terminal, no answer left a VM. Left a thorough message on the company driver app that should go to all terminals, no response, no call back. Filled out a maintenance repair form and sent it directly to the brilliant terminal mechanics, no response no call back. So I called roadside back and told him that the prong trick didnt work, he gave me the address and number to their partner shop. Called the shop they said they close at 5(it was 3:30ish) and they said they wouldnt be able to help me until sometime in the morning. Told me they open @7 ad\nd they might be able to get to me sooner than later. I had a little over an hour left on my clock from all the stopping and getting fuel etc. They told me theres a mom and pop truck stop( Ruttters, nice little spot) a few miles from the shop. So I went there for my 10hr. Went off duty at 4:30. Had to drive here with the lights going crazy, it was raining so I had to have my lights on.

This was my first day driving FB and my first day driving with the company. FM told me to call him if i needed anything on friday and he called off monday. The other FMs didnt know what to do with me, Safety wouldnt answer the phone and roadside basically told me to F off. Felt like I shouldve had some type of back up or support. Still have not received a message or call back from anyone. The other two new drivers had issues as well, our FM sent too my drivers to the east so Driver #1 was stuck sitting at a shipper for 3hours with no load to pickup, burned out his whole clock waiting for a call back, had to call them back and they said oh yea just drive to a truck stop we'll find you something in the morning. Driver #2 delivered his first load then got a call from F&S saying they never got his results from his drug test, how TF was he allowed to take a truck all the way to indiana to deliver THEN they call and say that.

Not liking the way its looking, thinking I should get these lights fixed and go to a different company before it gets worse. I know its not good to jump ship but theyre not making a good first impression. Sorry for the long story just wanted to be thorough. Thoughts?

I think you're blowing this way out of proportion. Your lights were flickering, it's not the end of the world.

As for your FM taking the day off, things happen. You don't know why he called off and you're making assumptions that he just decided to stay home. How many new drivers does he get in a day? How long should he wait before he takes a day?

You're going off the deep end because you had a bad first day. I've never had a good first day, they're always bad. You're in a learning phase and you handled it well.

Every company is going to have issues, it's just a matter of how you deal with them. You can't quit everytime things get a little shaky. I've had glad hands pop off mid trip and sat on the side of the road for 4 hours for somebody to come do a 5 minute job. It's the nature of the beast. Next day I laughed about it and hoped today would be better.

Bad days happen, take the lessons and move forward.

Good Lord... what a total overreaction.

Shim the 9-pin connector with a small piece of folded paper. I use wooden coffee stirrers, they are reusable. It will stop flickering...

Chill.

What you experienced is typical of equipment that has some miles on it. Usually the trailer connector.

Thank you guys for telling me I was being a little B about it! Im getting it fixed now.

Your words, not ours.

Someone got out from under a trailer and forgot to pull the electrical line.

Wire cutters, wire strippers, a Phillips screwdriver and some electrical tape looks to me to be all that was needed to fix that problem in way under an hour.

Maybe the safety department was dealing with other drivers?

What company is this F&S?

I can assure you this will not be the only trailer you pull that will have a minor problem. Lights, mudflaps, flat spots on tires, ABS lights, doors, latches, registration paperwork missing, etc. It happens so stay calm and work through any problems that arise. Be part of the solution, not another problem. Adapt, overcome, and move on with a new experience.

Wire cutters, wire strippers, a Phillips screwdriver and some electrical tape looks to me to be all that was needed to fix that problem in way under an hour.

Maybe the safety department was dealing with other drivers?

What company is this F&S?

I can assure you this will not be the only trailer you pull that will have a minor problem. Lights, mudflaps, flat spots on tires, ABS lights, doors, latches, registration paperwork missing, etc. It happens so stay calm and work through any problems that arise. Be part of the solution, not another problem. Adapt, overcome, and move on with a new experience.

Fraley & Schilling; I believe.

~ Anne ~

1stthing I thought too was shim the plug they get loose. AHA but the ground came out, and others bare spots. People don't grab the tabs on the metal part, and unplug the connector lol a lot yank on the cord, and you see how good that works....Animals lol

1stthing I thought too was shim the plug they get loose. AHA but the ground came out, and others bare spots. People don't grab the tabs on the metal part, and unplug the connector lol a lot yank on the cord, and you see how good that works....Animals lol

Yep, now I know why Tom kept my Sally Hansen nail file, and put it in a ziploc bag with some NoOx !! ;)

~ Anne ~

ps: Animals! (StevoRenoSong....)