Three 34-hour Restarts In One Week!

Topic 8667 | Page 1

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The Persian Conversion's Comment
member avatar

I know this isn't par for the course, but I sure am getting tired of sitting! I've had this same load for 9 days now and it's been nothing but problems.

I picked up the load (automotive lifts, 5 different stops) last Friday afternoon with about 500 miles to go to my first stop on Monday morning. So I got up there Saturday evening and took a restart on Sunday while I waited.

Come Monday morning, my truck breaks down right outside the first delivery. Luckily I'm able to make that delivery before the tow truck comes and hauls me away. Late Monday night, the truck is ready and I roll out to my second drop.

Tuesday goes good, I make my second delivery in the morning and my third in the afternoon, plus I get a couple of hours in towards the 4th stop.

Wednesday morning I head out and discover the check engine light is on, showing the same faults as before. My route to the 4th and 5th drops brings me right by our terminal , so I call our head mechanic and he says he'll have to look at it on Thursday. So I push hard and log 674 miles before dropping the truck in the yard and going home to visit my wife and kids.

On Thursday I'm expecting the truck to be ready to go that afternoon so I can make my last 2 deliveries on Friday. Well they did fix what was wrong that day, but they also found the power steering pump was out. I hadn't even noticed. So they had to order a new pump and it didn't get there until Friday. Thus I take my second restart of the week. The plus side? I get another day with my family. :)

I call the last two receivers and the 4th one tells me I can do a Saturday delivery but the 5th one says I have to wait until Monday. Now I call dispatch and they give me a choice: I can either head out on Friday, make the 4th drop on Saturday and the 5th on Monday, and they can most likely get me reloaded that same day. Or I can stay in town, head out on Sunday, make both deliveries on Monday and probably get reloaded on Tuesday. I feel like they're testing me to see what I'll do. Take extra time off to be with my family but fall behind for next week, or skip the family time and get in the best position possible for next week. I choose to leave on Friday.

So here I am on Sunday. I made the 4th drop yesterday and drove to a truck stop a couple miles from the last one. Taking my third restart in 8 days today. But tomorrow I'll finish with this load from hell first thing in the morning and have a fresh 70 to work with. If I had stayed home, I would have had a fresh 70 on Saturday, but I would have used up a day's worth today plus still had 2 drops to make tomorrow, and I wouldn't be reloaded again until Tuesday. I feel like I made the smart move from a trucking perspective, even if I lost out on a chance to spend more time with my family.

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

Ernie S. (AKA Old Salty D's Comment
member avatar

It happens. Just part of the life of a trucker. I know it sucks, but hopefully it won't happen too often.

Just think, if you were still running under the new rules, you would not have gotten 3 in a 7 day period and would have some really goofy hours coming back going forward until you either evened out or got another 34. So there is always a bright side to things if you chose to look for them.

Ernie

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Old School's Comment
member avatar
I know this isn't par for the course, but I sure am getting tired of sitting! I've had this same load for 9 days now and it's been nothing but problems.

Every once in awhile you get something like this. It is unfortunate, but it won't happen very often. It looks to me like you are doing very well, and have some understanding of how to manage your time for profitability. That will develop as you get more familiar with how things work out here on the road. Hang in there, I think you are going to do real well at this job.

The Persian Conversion's Comment
member avatar

Thanks Ernie and OS! I know it's kind of a freak occurrence and it was bound to happen eventually, but I wasn't expecting it to happen on my second week as a driver! I'm really hoping this week goes a lot smoother. I am so ready to put a big bunch of miles behind me...

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