Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Loxley, Alabama: Love's Travel Center
I dropped off my trailer yesterday morning, and am now waiting for an empty trailer to become availible. Unfortunitly three other trucks were down here before me and two of them are waiting as well. Yesterday night two more trucks showed up and so we have turned one section of this Love's into a Falcon Terminal. We have five bobtails grouped together in three spots and have hung around talking about things. I found out one thing that is probably the reason for a lot of the changes that have been going on. Part of the company has been sold to another party by a few of the family members that own it. Apparently it was sold and part of the deal was that these new owners would run the day to day operations. I don't know how much that they own, but right now it seems like they are interested in getting as much money out of the company as possible while running it into the ground. Truck repairs and services have been delayed for more than just the people who were at the closing terminals. A lot of other things have been cut as well, so at this point it is just a matter of getting a decent paycheck while riding this down in flames. At least I will be building time at one company, so will have unemployment to fall back on if I need to for a while.
the waiting for a trailer isn't to bad, especially since I don't have a whole lot of hours to work with today and tomorrow. If I stay here till at least midnight I will be able to restart myself and start tomorrow with a full 70 hours to work.
the waiting for a trailer isn't to bad, especially since I don't have a whole lot of hours to work with today and tomorrow. If I stay here till at least midnight I will be able to restart myself and start tomorrow with a full 70 hours to work.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Benton, Arkansas: Pilot Travel Center
Right now I am just waiting until it is time to leave for my delivery in Arlington, Texas, at 9:30 tonight. The reason for the wait is to make sure I have enough time to start driving back with the empty racks that I will be getting. Hopefully on Saturday I will be able to drop the racks in a drop yard and then head somewhere else with another load.
Ever since I crossed into Illinois yesterday morning, I have been in shorts and loving it. Last night I needed to run the truck to keep cool, it was a little humid and the trucks on either side of me were both idling so it was just too noisy. It sounds strange, but it is easier to sleep with my truck idling than with the windows open and the sounds of other trucks drifting in, quieter too.
I had some fun with a new cashier at the Love's travel center in Marion, Indiana, on Tuesday. I had to go inside to pay because he key pad was not working on the pump, and when I was giving her the information to process the transaction she got a little confused. When she asked for my truck's license plate number I started off Paul, Victor, Frank, and she started typing Paul. The other cashier got a good laugh from it as well, since I was using the names to stand for the letters on the plate, PVF. This is common on phone calls and when using the radio to make certain that the correct letter is heard. A single letter spoken can be misunderstood easily, but a word is harder to mistake.
I just set up my phone to be able to post directly here, so I will be able to do short posts, and I think send pictures as I feel the need.
Ever since I crossed into Illinois yesterday morning, I have been in shorts and loving it. Last night I needed to run the truck to keep cool, it was a little humid and the trucks on either side of me were both idling so it was just too noisy. It sounds strange, but it is easier to sleep with my truck idling than with the windows open and the sounds of other trucks drifting in, quieter too.
I had some fun with a new cashier at the Love's travel center in Marion, Indiana, on Tuesday. I had to go inside to pay because he key pad was not working on the pump, and when I was giving her the information to process the transaction she got a little confused. When she asked for my truck's license plate number I started off Paul, Victor, Frank, and she started typing Paul. The other cashier got a good laugh from it as well, since I was using the names to stand for the letters on the plate, PVF. This is common on phone calls and when using the radio to make certain that the correct letter is heard. A single letter spoken can be misunderstood easily, but a word is harder to mistake.
I just set up my phone to be able to post directly here, so I will be able to do short posts, and I think send pictures as I feel the need.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Colonial Heights, Virginia: Pilot Travel Center
This week has been fairly busy and this is the first chance I have had to say anything. Monday started early, I left Perrysburg at 2 AM to pick up a load in Marion, Ohio. That load was going to Canada so I dropped it in our Romulus, Michigan, yard. From there I picked up a load that was going to Laredo, Texas. Since I am no way near Texas right now, something obviously changed. That was a phone call just before I crossed the Mississippi River. Apparently there was a load in St Louis, Missouri, that needed to be picked up that day, and I was the closest driver. So once I got across the the river I headed North to our drop yard to get a trailer for the load going to Prince George, Virginia. All of this makes Monday through today look a lot like this.
To make my day really pleasant, I found out that they are going to be closing the Falcon Terminal in Toledo, as well as the ones in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Cleveland. I still have a job, but everyone that works in those terminals do not after they shut them down. They will be locating somewhere for the local drivers to park the trucks at. I am just hoping that it is some where that I feel as comfortable about leaving my car at as I am now. The real problem will be getting services done, it used to be that I could leave my truck on Friday and it would be ready to go on Monday. Now I will have to take time out of my work week at a terminal to get them done, as well as any other work that needs to be done.
The amount of freight does seem to be picking up, but it still bothers me about the amount of cost cutting going on right now. There are at least five trucks in the Toledo yard that are awaiting complicated repairs, at least two of which will need to be towed to where ever they decide to fix them at. There is also a wrecked trailer that will have to be taken somewhere. With around fifty drivers working out of the Toledo area, it really doesn't make sense to me to take away a support base for local repairs. The likely result is that drivers will not report things until they are serious to avoid getting stuck at another terminal. After all if they are serious, they might be able to get them fixed on the road, which is faster than the black hole that West Middlesex has become for trucks.
To make my day really pleasant, I found out that they are going to be closing the Falcon Terminal in Toledo, as well as the ones in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Cleveland. I still have a job, but everyone that works in those terminals do not after they shut them down. They will be locating somewhere for the local drivers to park the trucks at. I am just hoping that it is some where that I feel as comfortable about leaving my car at as I am now. The real problem will be getting services done, it used to be that I could leave my truck on Friday and it would be ready to go on Monday. Now I will have to take time out of my work week at a terminal to get them done, as well as any other work that needs to be done.
The amount of freight does seem to be picking up, but it still bothers me about the amount of cost cutting going on right now. There are at least five trucks in the Toledo yard that are awaiting complicated repairs, at least two of which will need to be towed to where ever they decide to fix them at. There is also a wrecked trailer that will have to be taken somewhere. With around fifty drivers working out of the Toledo area, it really doesn't make sense to me to take away a support base for local repairs. The likely result is that drivers will not report things until they are serious to avoid getting stuck at another terminal. After all if they are serious, they might be able to get them fixed on the road, which is faster than the black hole that West Middlesex has become for trucks.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Hodgkins, Illinois: Loading
Yesterday started early, I did a quick local load from Monroe, Michigan, to Avon, Ohio. It was a round trip for the Ford assembly plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, of interior body panels. Four racks of these panels filled the truck up. Then I sat in Perrysburg for several hours, at first at the yard, then I just went home to wait for them to figure out my next move. The next move turned out to be a couple of beer runs today. My first run will be going out to Rockford, Illinois, then back here to load again for Jackson, Michigan. The result was a decent number of miles yesterday, but today may end up a bit short.
The biggest problem with these beer runs from my view point is the fact that it takes so much time to get loaded and unloaded at each end. This time limits the number of runs one can do on already short miles. It would be best if they got a some drivers and gave them a guaranteed amount to cover all these short runs. Then no matter how many short runs they do, they are assured of a decent pay check. We all know that the company is making money on these runs, so the drivers need to make some as well.
This type of load really makes a good argument for being paid hourly. For that matter the fact that we can work a 14 hour day without getting any overtime is another argument for being paid hourly. I don't think any other industry can work as long a day and not get any overtime. This is why the Teamsters seems to do so well at the short haul places, like Yellow, UPS, and a few others. The drivers know they are not getting paid enough for the time spent with the freight, so they brought in the union and got a contract that pays them by the hour.
The biggest problem with these beer runs from my view point is the fact that it takes so much time to get loaded and unloaded at each end. This time limits the number of runs one can do on already short miles. It would be best if they got a some drivers and gave them a guaranteed amount to cover all these short runs. Then no matter how many short runs they do, they are assured of a decent pay check. We all know that the company is making money on these runs, so the drivers need to make some as well.
This type of load really makes a good argument for being paid hourly. For that matter the fact that we can work a 14 hour day without getting any overtime is another argument for being paid hourly. I don't think any other industry can work as long a day and not get any overtime. This is why the Teamsters seems to do so well at the short haul places, like Yellow, UPS, and a few others. The drivers know they are not getting paid enough for the time spent with the freight, so they brought in the union and got a contract that pays them by the hour.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Buckhorn, Pennsylvania: TA
Today I got to see something I never expected to see while driving down the road. For no apparent reason a JB Hunt truck decided to do a u-turn on the highway. He went from being along the side of the road to making a left into the median. So I got to see a truck broadside to me as I am coming down the highway at highway speed. The median at that point was a lot wider than the length of a truck, but you just don't do that. It is dangerous enough when a car does it, but when a slow moving truck tries, it is even worse. It isn't like the next exit was far away, it was only three miles down the road.
Anyway, delivered my load this morning at Papa Johns, and by some miracle (my driver manager), I had another load right away. It didn't take me far, but it kept me moving and local. So I went from Freedom, Pennsylvania, to Austintown, Ohio, and then 232 miles back into Pennsylvania for a pick-up tomorrow morning a few miles away from here. Then I will head back to Austintown to deliver the load, and after that I have no idea. I might just do this loop again, which wouldn't be to bad.
Everywhere I look right now it is getting foggier and foggier. It started to get grayer and a bit foggy the further East I drove from the highest point on I-80, East of the Mississippi (they have a sign and everything). So tonight will be fog and drizzle, which means finding my way tomorrow morning will be a really fun time.
Anyway, delivered my load this morning at Papa Johns, and by some miracle (my driver manager), I had another load right away. It didn't take me far, but it kept me moving and local. So I went from Freedom, Pennsylvania, to Austintown, Ohio, and then 232 miles back into Pennsylvania for a pick-up tomorrow morning a few miles away from here. Then I will head back to Austintown to deliver the load, and after that I have no idea. I might just do this loop again, which wouldn't be to bad.
Everywhere I look right now it is getting foggier and foggier. It started to get grayer and a bit foggy the further East I drove from the highest point on I-80, East of the Mississippi (they have a sign and everything). So tonight will be fog and drizzle, which means finding my way tomorrow morning will be a really fun time.
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