I need a hat, a chain for my wallet & a can of snuff.

Nitro Dude said:
It use to be a lot of fun out on the road and you could make some pretty good money. I think you would have really enjoyed trucking 20 to 40 years ago but it has changed so much in the past 15 to 20 years. You never got bored back then because the cb radio was chattering away 24 hours a day and drivers would run together and stop and eat together. Now days with all of the new rules and the different style of drivers that are on the road are very different from the past. I can tell from reading your posts that you are a good driver and take what you are doing very seriously and I would call you a real truck driver even though you just started. But there are a lot of drivers out on the road today that are nothing more then a steering wheel holder and they are very dangerous with there truck so you have to be very defensive when you drive around them and be very particular where you park or they will take your hood or fender off. That is the reason you see so many chipped and scratched up concrete barricades protecting the fuel pumps in a truck stop and so many trucks with their fenders and bumpers all dented up. I have pulled in and right back out of truck stops many times just because I wasn't comfortable with where I would have had to park. Plus back then you probably could have taken your wife with you. Have fun during your 34 hour restart and keep the shinny side up when you get back on the road.:)
Click to expand...

I think I know one of the companies that hires drivers like you mentioned, but as swiftly as the name came to mind, it left again.
 
Completed the reset. Waiting on my load that was supposed to be here at 6am. I'm getting paid to wait but I sure would like to be moving. This load is going to the Richmond Virginia area. Delivers tomorrow at 10am. It's about 532 miles from here.

While waiting I took in some fittings to have cleaned. One fitting and my onboard pump were used to load resin last Thursday. That stuff is loaded super hot. When it's hot, it's like water. When it's cold, it's like glue. My onboard pump is siezed until it's heated up and cleaned. I hope I don't accidentally got my pump button risking a twisted driveshaft.

Well well well..... My loaded trailer just pulled in. Now I'll wait on this guy to do his post trip and then I'll hook up and do my pre-trip. I get to them haul across the mountains of Virginia today. At least there's no snow.
 
I knew the high cost of downtime and repairs to fix all of the problems that occur with the trucks that are required to have Def and Regen systems and the mandated ELD devices would put a major toll on the independent owner operators and force a lot of them into bankruptcy or put them out of business...and now I think it may be starting to do the same thing to the larger trucking companies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-trucking-giant-slated-declare-014023795.html
 
Last edited:
Dispatched back to my home terminal after delivery of today's load. Not what I wanted but it's what it is. Hopefully something right back out on the road tomorrow.

I'm just sitting in the seat for this offloading procedure. They're doing all the work. I'm just waiting on them to finish and man, are these people slow..... I should have been packed up and back on the road an hour ago.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I knew the high cost of downtime and repairs to fix all of the problems that occur with the trucks that are required to have Def and Regen systems and the mandated ELD devices would put a major toll on the independent owner operators and force a lot of them into bankruptcy or put them out of business...and now I think it may be starting to do the same thing to the larger trucking companies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-trucking-giant-slated-declare-014023795.html
Click to expand...
I don't know anything about that company but sometimes mismanagement comes into play.

As far as the ELD goes..... I could see where I could make a lot more money running at will but that's more than likely at the cost of safety. I'd rather not be run ragged. I'm good with the limitations although I do find myself waiting on time to tick away for me to get my day started. Like right now as example, I'm sitting here watching my 14 hour clock catch up to my driving clock. I'm five more minutes I start losing my driving time before I even get moving.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I knew the high cost of downtime and repairs to fix all of the problems that occur with the trucks that are required to have Def and Regen systems and the mandated ELD devices would put a major toll on the independent owner operators and force a lot of them into bankruptcy or put them out of business...and now I think it may be starting to do the same thing to the larger trucking companies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-trucking-giant-slated-declare-014023795.html
Click to expand...
I did some more reading on that company. Mismanagement more than anything else. That organization had a lot of issues. I also see that these displaced drivers are being offered jobs and signing bonuses elsewhere. It's not going to end happy for everyone but there's plenty of work out here for anyone that's wanting work.

https://www.10tv.com/article/hundre...oss-country-after-company-shuts-down-2019-dec
 
Made it home yesterday with about 40 minutes left on the clock. Not bad at all. I think I only lost about 4 minutes between Richmond and Western PA.

Heading out this morning across the state a little North of Philly. Delivery is early tomorrow morning. That'll put me back home tomorrow afternoon.

Last Friday I delivered a load of resin down in the Roanoke area. It was being used for the manufacturing of paint. It's a really fast drying product when it encounters air. Normally the shipper does all of the loading. In that instance I had to use my onboard pump to load my own tanker. I only had to use one of my adapter fittings to connect my pump to one of the hoses. I stopped at 3 different tank washes since that load and nobody is able to clean that product. My terminal location can but they will have to totally tear down the pump to do so. Until then I can't take any loads that involve my pump. I can't see this as being very cost effective. That stuff is nasty.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I found another article about the shutdown. There is a shortage of drivers now so that is a plus for the these unemployed drivers but the real problem is that a lot of them are stranded out on the road with all of their belongings in the truck.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/no-idea-im-getting-home-001953285.html
Click to expand...

It sucks, but jump on a bus. Another thing, this shutdown had advance notice so some at least should have been able to make it home or close to it. My concern would be if I was going to get paid or if I did was the check good. That could get expensive if I was hanging paper all over town.
 
Started a run today to the St Louis area. Delivers Wednesday morning. Currently spending the evening just east of Indianapolis. I drive until I started into some heavy snow. Going to let it blow on through then get started again in the morning.
 
I'm delivering in the St. Peters area. I plan on driving to Pontoon Beach, IL tomorrow morning. Going to be staying at a Flying J until I go to deliver Wednesday morning
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Started a run today to the St Louis area. Delivers Wednesday morning. Currently spending the evening just east of Indianapolis. I drive until I started into some heavy snow. Going to let it blow on through then get started again in the morning.
Click to expand...
If you ever need a good hotel around Indy I highly recommend the Comfort Suites in Brownsburg. They will let you park your truck and trailer there and they have very nice rooms and a great staff. A lot of Nhra, Nascar, supercross, and sprint car teams stay there. I stay there for 6 weeks during our season.
 
From my parking spot, I can see the i70 traffic. It's moving slow. With all the extra time I've got built into this run, it's not worth the risk. It's still snowing but not nearly as heavy. I don't think the snow is so much the problem. It's the ice. I talked to a few drivers at the fuel islands that came from the direction I'm headed. They all said that if you've got the time just wait.
 
Nitro Dude said:
If you ever need a good hotel around Indy I highly recommend the Comfort Suites in Brownsburg. They will let you park your truck and trailer there and they have very nice rooms and a great staff. A lot of Nhra, Nascar, supercross, and sprint car teams stay there. I stay there for 6 weeks during our season.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info.

Usually the only time I stay in a hotel is when I've got to do a 34 hour reset. The company that I drive for has hotels associated with each of our terminals. From what I understand, they keep four rooms available for us. If I want to stay, they have a place for me to park. I just go in, give them my driver ID and they hand me a key err card.

I don't think it's a problem for me to stay elsewhere but I'd have to get an okay first.
 
Are you going to get to be home for Christmas dpk? When I had my own trucks I spent a lot of Christmas's on the road but for the past 20+ years in the racing industry has allowed me to be home.
 
Nitro Dude said:
Are you going to get to be home for Christmas dpk? When I had my own trucks I spent a lot of Christmas's on the road but for the past 20+ years in the racing industry has allowed me to be home.
Click to expand...
I'll be home.

I left this morning for New Jersey. I only left early so I could park and take in the Steelers/Jets game. Delivery early tomorrow. Make do a local load Tuesday or may just take it off.
 
Something a little new this trip. In-transit heat to keep the product within a particular heat range.

Some things, like the petroleum jelly that I'm hauling, need to be delivered at a particular temperature. The petroleum jelly that we see at the store is in its solid form but it needs to be transported as a liquid.

This load is taking me two days to get to it's delivery point. The product was loaded yesterday morning @ 185 degrees. I have to deliver it between 154-163 degrees. I'm order to do this, I've got to keep the trailer hot while traveling. This is done by using the tractors coolant system. A supply and return line run from the coming system to the trailer. Connected by flexible hoses with quick connects it will allow for hot coolant to be circulated around the internal tank under the tankers skin and insulation. It's controlled by the pictures device. A low and high temp is set and a wireless valve does the rest. When needed the coolant is allowed to flow to raise the temp.

234504b7a5df7c1f145dc05a7a1e26ab.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
That's interesting. When I was pulling Wal Mart loads, they had special trailers made that had three different sections so they could run three different temperatures of product to their individual stores from their distribution centers. Frozen, dairy deli, and produce in the same trailer.
 
Thanks for the explanation, DPK!! I never knew there was that type of technology and can see how it is a valuable tool for transporting different products. Quite similar in scope to the Walmart trailer mentioned by Standonit.

BTW, Standonit, my son is going to the Chili Bowl. You gonna be there?
 
Whizzer said:
Thanks for the explanation, DPK!! I never knew there was that type of technology and can see how it is a valuable tool for transporting different products. Quite similar in scope to the Walmart trailer mentioned by Standonit.

BTW, Standonit, my son is going to the Chili Bowl. You gonna be there?
Click to expand...

doubt it. I went to the first 5 and then it got too crowded. For me anyway. This year they have added more seating, it's a big event. I usually watch it on the web, but this year the final is on MAV and I don't get that one.grr.
 
StandOnIt said:
That's interesting. When I was pulling Wal Mart loads, they had special trailers made that had three different sections so they could run three different temperatures of product to their individual stores from their distribution centers. Frozen, dairy deli, and produce in the same trailer.
Click to expand...
Not a Wal-Mart truck but I just saw a refrigerated trailer with the center section burnt down to almost the frame on an off ramp about an hour west of St Louis. The tractor was able to unhook. It looks like they had gotten the fire out long before I passed it.
 
Close one yesterday afternoon..... Just before dark I had a flatbed pass me hauling two F750's. I was admiring his cargo as he drive by me. I flashed my lights to let him/her know that they were clear. Just as they crossed the center line they, then me, hit a bad bump in the road. It dislodged the removable ramps from their trailer dropping them off right in front of me. Fortunately I had enough time to slow down and move to the left lane as nobody was beside me. I tried calling them on the CB to let them know but got no response. I looked in the mirror and saw the ramps slide side by side right off the side of the road. I don't know how I could have missed them but I guess I got lucky. Now, that rabbit that crossed in front of me this morning. Well, that's a whole different story.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not a Wal-Mart truck but I just saw a refrigerated trailer with the center section burnt down to almost the frame on an off ramp about an hour west of St Louis. The tractor was able to unhook. It looks like they had gotten the fire out long before I passed it.
Click to expand...

The fuel tank for the reefer unit is located down below the center area. You got to pay attention to those things. They have different colored lights that are visible in your mirror. Green is good, yellow is something's not right and red is oh oh you got problems and are going to lose the load.
 
You guys need to write a "Trucking' for Dummies" book. All the subtle things that come out in this thread are really quite interesting and informational. You convey a great deal of knowledge that would quickly dispel thoughts people might have of truckers and the trucking industry while understanding there are good, bad and indifferent in everything.

Keep up the good work.
 
Technology..... Not always what it's cracked up to be..... Looks like I'm going to have to regulate this load temperature myself. My onboard monitor just crapped out. Looks like it lost its link to the valve unit. It's stuck in the open position. That a good thing though. I can now regulate it by opening/closing the valves myself. I have a master valve under the hood. There's another set on the back of the van. And yet another on the trailer itself. The temperature can be controlled by opening/closing any one of these valves. I still have a connection to the temperature sending unit. That allows me to monitor the temperature from inside the cab. There's an alarm that goes off it it gets outside the range. Too hot, shut the valve. Too cold, open it. I'm currently at the low end of my range. I have 6 degrees to play with. I really don't think I could heat up 40,000+ lbs of product up by those 6 degrees overnight but we'll find out.
 
Staying at a Petro tonight about 30 minutes from tomorrow's delivery location. I normally stay at Pilot/Flying J's. I have a years worth of free internet and free showers there.

This place was the closest to tomorrow's destination. Because I filled up here I'll get a free shower in the morning. I decided to pay $5.99 for 24 hours of WiFi so I could watch today's and tonight's football games and Penguins hockey. Could be there location that I'm at but their service is not the strongest. I'm about as close as I can get to the WiFi antennas on the corner of their building. I kept moving closer as other trucks moved out. Good backing practice.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I knew the high cost of downtime and repairs to fix all of the problems that occur with the trucks that are required to have Def and Regen systems and the mandated ELD devices would put a major toll on the independent owner operators and force a lot of them into bankruptcy or put them out of business...and now I think it may be starting to do the same thing to the larger trucking companies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/american-trucking-giant-slated-declare-014023795.html
Click to expand...

Any time the Federal Government bureaucrats get involved in business enterprises, it costs independent business owners tons of money.:booya:
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Technology..... Not always what it's cracked up to be..... Looks like I'm going to have to regulate this load temperature myself. My onboard monitor just crapped out. Looks like it lost its link to the valve unit. It's stuck in the open position. That a good thing though. I can now regulate it by opening/closing the valves myself. I have a master valve under the hood. There's another set on the back of the van. And yet another on the trailer itself. The temperature can be controlled by opening/closing any one of these valves. I still have a connection to the temperature sending unit. That allows me to monitor the temperature from inside the cab. There's an alarm that goes off it it gets outside the range. Too hot, shut the valve. Too cold, open it. I'm currently at the low end of my range. I have 6 degrees to play with. I really don't think I could heat up 40,000+ lbs of product up by those 6 degrees overnight but we'll find out.
Click to expand...

In that situation, do you have to leave the main engine idling overnight to maintain product tamp, or will it also circilate through a pony motor or APU?

Also, what do you do to prevent diesel gelling?I never thought about it until a friend went to Breckenridge, Colo the day after Christmas with their brand new 5'r. Here in DFW we don't get "cold". They ran into issues shortly after they crossed the Colo state line.
 
Magnethead said:
In that situation, do you have to leave the main engine idling overnight to maintain product tamp, or will it also circilate through a pony motor or APU?

Also, what do you do to prevent diesel gelling?I never thought about it until a friend went to Breckenridge, Colo the day after Christmas with their brand new 5'r. Here in DFW we don't get "cold". They ran into issues shortly after they crossed the Colo state line.
Click to expand...
Yes, I idle at night when using in-transit heat. My temp monitoring was still functioning so I knew when to open/close the valve. When I delivered, I was in range.

I'm going to the same place tomorrow. Well, I leave tomorrow. I'll deliver on Saturday. This time it's a drop and hook. I'll drop the trailer in a tanker yard on site. I'll then hook up to an empty to take it to a tank wash where I hope to pick up a clean one for my next load. I'll find out Saturday morning.

As far as gelling goes..... Most of the fuel I buy in the North is already treated. When I fill at a location that doesn't have treated fuel, I use a bottle of fuel treatment in each tank to prevent gelling. I carry a case of fuel treatment with me. I also have a treatment that is used if the fuel is already gelled. Extra antifreeze and windshield washer fluid as well.

I don't carry chains though. If it's that bad, I don't need to be driving and I won't. I'm the caption of my own ship.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Yes, I idle at night when using in-transit heat. My temp monitoring was still functioning so I knew when to open/close the valve. When I delivered, I was in range.

I'm going to the same place tomorrow. Well, I leave tomorrow. I'll deliver on Saturday. This time it's a drop and hook. I'll drop the trailer in a tanker yard on site. I'll then hook up to an empty to take it to a tank wash where I hope to pick up a clean one for my next load. I'll find out Saturday morning.

As far as gelling goes..... Most of the fuel I buy in the North is already treated. When I fill at a location that doesn't have treated fuel, I use a bottle of fuel treatment in each tank to prevent gelling. I carry a case of fuel treatment with me. I also have a treatment that is used if the fuel is already gelled. Extra antifreeze and windshield washer fluid as well.

I don't carry chains though. If it's that bad, I don't need to be driving and I won't. I'm the caption of my own ship.
Click to expand...

Seems that would use alot of fuel to have the primary engine sitting there idling for 8 hours. Greta would have a field day.

I didn't think of fuel being pre-treated. I guess it would have to be, though.

When using in-transit heat, how do you empty the lines in the trailer? Or do the trailer lines stay full and your truck could be contaminated with bad coolant from a previous truck? Seems to be it would mess with the overall capacity of the truck's cooling system at best, and introduce all kinds of bad juju like metal filings at worst (IE, if previous truck's water pump was coming apart)
 
Since I had the day off, I checked a couple
Magnethead said:
Seems that would use alot of fuel to have the primary engine sitting there idling for 8 hours. Greta would have a field day.

I didn't think of fuel being pre-treated. I guess it would have to be, though.

When using in-transit heat, how do you empty the lines in the trailer? Or do the trailer lines stay full and your truck could be contaminated with bad coolant from a previous truck? Seems to be it would mess with the overall capacity of the truck's cooling system at best, and introduce all kinds of bad juju like metal filings at worst (IE, if previous truck's water pump was coming apart)
Click to expand...
There may be other means to maintain the product heat that I'm not aware of but in our case we use the heat from the engine coolant. The only other option that I'm aware of would be to run steam through the lines upon arrival at the delivery point. I wouldn't want to sit there waiting for it to heat back up for it to be offloaded though. If Greta wants her beauty products available when she arrives at Wal-Mart in her electric car, she's going to have to put up with me overnight idling for her. I'm just sayin.

The in-transit heating system is flushed out and recharged after every load. There's also a filter system on it. Not sure how often filters are changed.

Later this morning I'm loading the same product, delivering at the same location. This time, no in-transit heat. I'll be dropping this trailer off and picking up an empty. They will park this trailer somewhere steaming it when they're ready to offload.
 
Back in Indiana at a truck stop that I've stayed at 4 times in the past two weeks. I'll be back in the road when my 10 hour clock is up. That'll get me to my destination with plenty of time to spare.
 
Made it here with 24 hours to spare. Lots of downtime today but that's okay as I get paid for waiting for the delivery window to open.

Tomorrow's delivery point is about 30 minutes from my current location. Staying at a Mom/Pop truck stop for the night. Tomorrow's delivery simply consists of dropping off this full tanker and picking up a dirty empty. Should take no more than a half hour or so to be back on my way.

My next dispatch is to take the dirty tanker to a tank wash in the Memphis Tennessee area. I'll simply be dropping the dirty empty off.

The next dispatch starts at that same tank wash location. I'll be picking up a clean/empty tanker heading a little Northeast. I load on Monday and then head West..... To California. Lots of loaded miles. It will take four days where I'll be delivering on Friday. Should be an interesting week.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Made it here with 24 hours to spare. Lots of downtime today but that's okay as I get paid for waiting for the delivery window to open.

Tomorrow's delivery point is about 30 minutes from my current location. Staying at a Mom/Pop truck stop for the night. Tomorrow's delivery simply consists of dropping off this full tanker and picking up a dirty empty. Should take no more than a half hour or so to be back on my way.

My next dispatch is to take the dirty tanker to a tank wash in the Memphis Tennessee area. I'll simply be dropping the dirty empty off.

The next dispatch starts at that same tank wash location. I'll be picking up a clean/empty tanker heading a little Northeast. I load on Monday and then head West..... To California. Lots of loaded miles. It will take four days where I'll be delivering on Friday. Should be an interesting week.
Click to expand...
Which city are you delivering to in Ca?
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I'm this truck, yes.

I lived out there for two years in the early 80's.
Click to expand...
It has probably changed a little since 1980. Give yourself plenty of time to drive anywhere you go and make sure you stay in the right two lanes in a truck. There are a lot of truck stops and truck washes in Barstow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom