Rookie Truck Drivers, What Would YOU Do? #2

So I'm in the unfortunate position to have never had to deal with things like this because of my job. But I'll take a stab at this.

I would first contact my dm. The main problem I see with all of this is the temperature. You had certain temp to maintain and its not. It's a dairy product and they probably don't give any leeway to this. You have no idea how long ago the water pump failed or how long the temp has been above required. So I would imagine that Wal-Mart is going to dispose of the load anyway. So basically i aim to deliver on time because fixing the unit isn't going to save anything at this point. Then hopefully you get time to fix the unit before your next pick up.

Honestly I really don't know though. I'm really bad at this I think

From all I've heard, with Walmart if you miss a delivery time it's gonna be HOURS before they'll let you back in. I'd go deliver the load, and update dispatch with the condition of the reefer. Otherwise, I'd be waiting at least a whole day between Walmart and the repair shop, this load would go bad in the reefer on the back of the truck, and nobody's happy.

I was in nearly an identical situation about a month ago. I'm not going to comment about what I did, since I've experienced it, but I do want to reiterate what Daniel said. These things happen all the time in trucking and you better be prepared to make a decision and stick with it. You can't waste time going back and forth between decisions when it comes to situations like this. If you make a gut decision and stick with it, even if it turns out that you could have done something different to better the situation, you have to keep your head up and file it away in your memory bank. Make the decision, stick with it and then learn from it. That is the biggest piece of advice I could give anyone just starting out.

This is fun! I'm not going to say whether I like these answers or not because that would give something away, but people are thinking about it and it is a good exercise in seeing what kind of stuff you will face out on the job. Each new day has it's own set of challenges, and knowing how to handle them will make a big difference in your careers.

This is fun! I'm not going to say whether I like these answers or not because that would give something away, but people are thinking about it and it is a good exercise in seeing what kind of stuff you will face out on the job. Each new day has it's own set of challenges, and knowing how to handle them will make a big difference in your careers.

Yea I agree with you old school. It was an interesting convo to have with Daniel.

Everyone had some solid answers, keep it going people. Remember, no answer is the wrong one.

So this has nothing to do with the answer but lets say your trailer temp was already at idk 60 degrees.and the product was ruined is that the drivers fault ? I figured I would ask on this subject that way if by some chance the answer would have any weight on this question it can be answered later as to not

I assume the water pump is in the trailer and not the tractor or else you're not going anywhere. I would call my DM and let them know what's what and then go ahead and make the delivery. Drop the trailer and high tail it to the next pickup.

The product is already above temp. To have the repair will take 2 hours at least and the unit will be shut down completely during repair. On the other hand if you deliver it will be off the truck in less then 2 hour. I would deliver AND explain my situation to wdc so they could move quickly to insure the product doesn't spoil.

Oops forgot to mention the pre planed load. Your only chance to get it is to diver but if it also requires reefer it just might be you DM will have to reschedule it find you a working unit or give the load to another driver. Sorry just not your day.. there will be others

Call the FM , explain the situation, crank the reefer down to say 30 degrees and roll. Staying 2 hours to get it fixed ruins your time and the load.