Oh Man, What A Rough Day (With A Silver Lining)

So, my day starts at 0500 with a short hour long drive into Detroit to deliver some gear for a car show. I arrived at 0630 (no problem, my appt was for 0700). Anyone who has been there knows the parking availability, which is maybe enough room for 3 trucks. There were at least 5 when I arrived, so I had to do laps around blocks at the Cobo Center to find a place to park then walk up to the guard to check in. Still no problem, it is what it is. I check in and the guard tells me to back up to dock 8. I walk back to my truck, pull up to the ramp and get a call on my CB to hold up. (I am now blocking a lane, there is no backing up. The only option is to do the laps again as other trucks are arriving). I am then told, at 0815, to back to dock 21, so I did. Well, They (union) started unloading me at ab 0900, got me a little over halfway empty then went on break for 30 min. Came back and I finally rolled out at 1030.

I`m not bashing the union, just sayin`.

I go to my next pick up in Troy, OH and while there, notice pink fluid under the tractor. Yep, coolant leak. It wasn`t much and I have to stop at our yard in Erlanger, KY for fuel anyway, so I roll. With this on my mind and while I was rolling into Cincinnati, it started sleeting. Okay, a bit tense because traffic was getting pretty heavy, but, still fine and I was able to keep a good buffer around my rig... So I thought. I am in the middle lane, hammer lane was clear , granny lane had a big truck to my front and a couple 4 wheelers beside me. I notice way ahead that the brake lights are coming on so I ease out of it with plenty of room, until, the DA supertrucker in the granny shoots over into my lane and immediately hard brakes. The idiot had no choice because the traffic was slowing, he wasn`t, and he closed the gap. Okay, instant reaction time. I hard break, I feel the trailer trying to push the tractor around so I let off and "drove" it into the hammer lane and regained control. I knew the hammer lane was clear and that there were 4 wheelers to my right. The idiot killed my buffer but not my out. No one was hit and I kept rolling. I was extremely pi**d though and if that fool had a radio on, he/she got an ear full.

Now, I make it to the yard, fill up and run into the shop to let them know about my coolant leak. They wouldn`t even be able to look at it until around 10pm. No can do, I am on a hot load that delivers tomorrow morning near Atlanta. I call my FM and she says fill that sumb**ch up and roll on. That is exactly what I did. The motor got hot a couple times (had to sit in traffic for about an hour due to a wreck) and even cut out on me while climbing a hill on I75 near the KY/TN line. After that happened, I figured that is enough for one day.

The silver lining? I pulled into the truck stop here about 9PM and there was actually parking! (Don`t do the math on the HOS , it will not look good).

The real silver lining is I have a brand new 2015 Freighshak... I mean, Freightliner waiting for me in St. Louis that I will be picking up later this week.

What a day.

Glad to hear there was something good that came put of the day! I live in the northern 'burbs of Cincinnati and hate to drive down I-75 in my personal car much less a truck, which I know is coming soon. I think I'm testing at the end of this week and then will hopefully be flying solo. Good job of preventing what could have truly been ugly!

So, my day starts at 0500 with a short hour long drive into Detroit to deliver some gear for a car show. I arrived at 0630 (no problem, my appt was for 0700). Anyone who has been there knows the parking availability, which is maybe enough room for 3 trucks. There were at least 5 when I arrived, so I had to do laps around blocks at the Cobo Center to find a place to park then walk up to the guard to check in. Still no problem, it is what it is. I check in and the guard tells me to back up to dock 8. I walk back to my truck, pull up to the ramp and get a call on my CB to hold up. (I am now blocking a lane, there is no backing up. The only option is to do the laps again as other trucks are arriving). I am then told, at 0815, to back to dock 21, so I did. Well, They (union) started unloading me at ab 0900, got me a little over halfway empty then went on break for 30 min. Came back and I finally rolled out at 1030.

I`m not bashing the union, just sayin`.

I go to my next pick up in Troy, OH and while there, notice pink fluid under the tractor. Yep, coolant leak. It wasn`t much and I have to stop at our yard in Erlanger, KY for fuel anyway, so I roll. With this on my mind and while I was rolling into Cincinnati, it started sleeting. Okay, a bit tense because traffic was getting pretty heavy, but, still fine and I was able to keep a good buffer around my rig... So I thought. I am in the middle lane, hammer lane was clear , granny lane had a big truck to my front and a couple 4 wheelers beside me. I notice way ahead that the brake lights are coming on so I ease out of it with plenty of room, until, the DA supertrucker in the granny shoots over into my lane and immediately hard brakes. The idiot had no choice because the traffic was slowing, he wasn`t, and he closed the gap. Okay, instant reaction time. I hard break, I feel the trailer trying to push the tractor around so I let off and "drove" it into the hammer lane and regained control. I knew the hammer lane was clear and that there were 4 wheelers to my right. The idiot killed my buffer but not my out. No one was hit and I kept rolling. I was extremely pi**d though and if that fool had a radio on, he/she got an ear full.

Now, I make it to the yard, fill up and run into the shop to let them know about my coolant leak. They wouldn`t even be able to look at it until around 10pm. No can do, I am on a hot load that delivers tomorrow morning near Atlanta. I call my FM and she says fill that sumb**ch up and roll on. That is exactly what I did. The motor got hot a couple times (had to sit in traffic for about an hour due to a wreck) and even cut out on me while climbing a hill on I75 near the KY/TN line. After that happened, I figured that is enough for one day.

The silver lining? I pulled into the truck stop here about 9PM and there was actually parking! (Don`t do the math on the HOS , it will not look good).

The real silver lining is I have a brand new 2015 Freighshak... I mean, Freightliner waiting for me in St. Louis that I will be picking up later this week.

What a day.

if you had qualcom w/ e logs you were screw'd ,,,,yeah arent driver managers great ? Been there done that for 25 yrs ..

now drive casually northwest (out of boise id. ) still same B/S with dispatchers / shippers /recievers as was 30 yrs ago ...

I was forced to drive a elog truck after using paper log for 30 yrs , a few months ago ,,and I got a violation 1 st trip out ..I wont run an elog now ..I only drove 9.5 hrs took 6 hrs off ( in off duty ) & drove 1 hr after that and the said I violated my 14 hr rule ,,I couldnt see that ..I was forced to take 10 hrs off at the receiver , and missed my 2nd drop ,,there was a huge debate about it ,,

I quit when I got back to yard ,,,the co I was hired to was leased to other co w/ the Elog (qualcom) ,,asked me back ,,I now wont run Elog ... ..because the other co wont allow leasers to run that way on Elog ..then I'm just casual ..3-4 days a month ..

if you had qualcom w/ e logs you were screw'd ,,,,yeah arent driver managers great ? Been there done that for 25 yrs ..

now drive casually northwest (out of boise id. ) still same B/S with dispatchers / shippers /recievers as was 30 yrs ago ...

I was forced to drive a elog truck after using paper log for 30 yrs , a few months ago ,,and I got a violation 1 st trip out ..I wont run an elog now ..I only drove 9.5 hrs took 6 hrs off ( in off duty ) & drove 1 hr after that and the said I violated my 14 hr rule ,,I couldnt see that ..I was forced to take 10 hrs off at the receiver , and missed my 2nd drop ,,there was a huge debate about it ,,

I quit when I got back to yard ,,,the co I was hired to was leased to other co w/ the Elog (qualcom) ,,asked me back ,,I now wont run Elog ... ..because the other co wont allow leasers to run that way on Elog ..then I'm just casual ..3-4 days a month ..

if you drove for 9.5 hours, then took 6 hours off duty, then drove another hour, you were driving 15.5 hours after starting your on duty. That is an HOS violation. Even with paper it would be a violation unless you like to embellish your log.

Did i miss something?

Glad to hear there was something good that came put of the day! I live in the northern 'burbs of Cincinnati and hate to drive down I-75 in my personal car much less a truck, which I know is coming soon. I think I'm testing at the end of this week and then will hopefully be flying solo. Good job of preventing what could have truly been ugly!

Yeah, that could have turned into a really bad day. I actually don`t mind driving I 75. Cincinnati has actually been one of my easier cities to get through. I really... really hate going through Atlanta. More lanes equals more idiots which turns into a back up nightmare darn near every time I go through.

You will do just fine. Always remember to leave yourself a buffer zone and an out if that fails.

if you had qualcom w/ e logs you were screw'd ,,,,yeah arent driver managers great ? Been there done that for 25 yrs ..

now drive casually northwest (out of boise id. ) still same B/S with dispatchers / shippers /recievers as was 30 yrs ago ...

I was forced to drive a elog truck after using paper log for 30 yrs , a few months ago ,,and I got a violation 1 st trip out ..I wont run an elog now ..I only drove 9.5 hrs took 6 hrs off ( in off duty ) & drove 1 hr after that and the said I violated my 14 hr rule ,,I couldnt see that ..I was forced to take 10 hrs off at the receiver , and missed my 2nd drop ,,there was a huge debate about it ,,

I quit when I got back to yard ,,,the co I was hired to was leased to other co w/ the Elog (qualcom) ,,asked me back ,,I now wont run Elog ... ..because the other co wont allow leasers to run that way on Elog ..then I'm just casual ..3-4 days a month ..

Hi Jon,

Um, I actually do have elogs. I have an amazing FM with no load planners to screw things up and there are ways to bend the rules a bit to accomplish a run. I do not recommend any of them (I am not going to elaborate any more) because they are technically in violation of the HOS rules. I honestly think my FM runs interference for me when dealing with the safety dept. I don`t really know, just a feeling.

With that said, I am with you. I absolutely hated going from paper to the elog. The advantage I had during the transition was that the company was (still is) cool with the way I run and basically left me to it. I stayed legal for the most part sometimes getting parked with literally a minute left. Other times... Well...

if you drove for 9.5 hours, then took 6 hours off duty, then drove another hour, you were driving 15.5 hours after starting your on duty. That is an HOS violation. Even with paper it would be a violation unless you like to embellish your log.

Did i miss something?

Nope. You are right.

By the way, I was still legal on my elog going through Cincinnati. I know If I am involved in a wreck while being creative with my HOS, I will be stewed. I do not do it much at all, I am just putting the truth in front of you.

Use caution in stl.. stuff is getting deep

Use caution in stl.. stuff is getting deep

Yeah, no problem. I am not worried a bit. I appreciate it though.