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

dpkimmel2001 said:
Started this week with a run to Providence RI. Got back yesterday evening. This morning I loaded near Pittsburgh for delivery in Montreal tomorrow morning. I'm currently at a truck stop just west of Syracuse NY. I've still got about five hours drive left. Going to head out early in the am to get there by 8am. I hope to get there, offload, and then get back to this location by early afternoon. I'll then head home Saturday morning.

Got to drive through some lake effect snow today between Erie, PA and Buffalo. The ground got covered but the roads didn't freeze. I hope I'm as lucky in the morning. Not looking forward to hauling throughout the winter months.
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I have crossed into Canada many times, how is the boarder crossing in and out of Canada for a big rig like yours?
 
sdj said:
I have crossed into Canada many times, how is the boarder crossing in and out of Canada for a big rig like yours?
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I think it all depends on where you cross. I normally go to Toronto using the Peace Bridge Crossing. In to Canada, no big deal. Coming back into the US with the tanker..... That's a different story. They x-ray the entire truck to make sure it's empty and that I'm not transporting anything.

This mornings crossing into Canada was simple but I was the only one in line at 430am. I crossed @ Alexandria Bay. That was my first time through there so I'm not sure what to expect when I head back today.

I can tell you that information had to be filed by both the Shipper and Carrier online. I don't get involved with that end of it but as a result of their efforts, I'm given a slew of paperwork that I have to hand over both coming and going. They have to verify everything is in order.

My experiences have yielded that the Canada Border Patrol workers are friendly. The US on the other hand..... Well, They're mostly aholes.
 
sdj said:
I have crossed into Canada many times, how is the boarder crossing in and out of Canada for a big rig like yours?
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I have not been in Canada in a few years but in the late seventies when I was in my early 20's I had a couple of trucks and I use to haul a lot of produce from Florida to the Toronto produce terminal. The rates were pretty good going into Canada because no one wanted to deal with the border. But, as long as all your paper work was in order there were no problems getting in, and getting back in the United States was even easier with and empty trailer. I loved going there because the people were very friendly and there was a lot to do in downtown Toronto. I would back into the dock and then jump on a train to go down town and check into a hotel. I remember I use to go to this bar up in the top of the CN Tower which eventually turned into a disco club.:) My one trip to Montreal was not as exciting. Back then if you were an independent hauler you could not haul your loaded trailer across the border but you could bobtail or pull your empty trailer out of the country. I hired a trucking company at the border to pull my trailer in to Montreal and then they were suppose to get it unloaded and then bring it back that night. Well things didn't go as planned. Their truck came back without my trailer and the driver said the trailer wouldn't be empty until the next day and they would call me at my hotel when it was empty. The next day I waited patiently until they called me in the afternoon and said the load was still not unloaded and it would be the next day. So I spent another night in my hotel and then the next day I called the produce market myself and they said it would probably be at least 1 to 2 more days before they could unload my trailer. Now my patients had run out because I realized they were using my trailer for storage until they needed the product. I checked out of my room and stopped by and paid the bill at the trucking company and then hauled ass to Montreal. When I got there the first thing I noticed is that some one stole my spare tire out of the tire rack so I hooked up to the trailer and then went and found a pay phone and called the broker and told him that if he didn't get these crooks to unload my trailer that I was going to pull away from the dock and unload it myself in their parking lot but that trailer was leaving Canada that day no matter what. Within an hour they were unloading my trailer and I was back in the United States before dark. Never went back to Montreal ever again.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I have not been in Canada in a few years but in the late seventies when I was in my early 20's I had a couple of trucks and I use to haul a lot of produce from Florida to the Toronto produce terminal. The rates were pretty good going into Canada because no one wanted to deal with the border. But, as long as all your paper work was in order there were no problems getting in, and getting back in the United States was even easier with and empty trailer. I loved going there because the people were very friendly and there was a lot to do in downtown Toronto. I would back into the dock and then jump on a train to go down town and check into a hotel. I remember I use to go to this bar up in the top of the CN Tower which eventually turned into a disco club.:) My one trip to Montreal was not as exciting. Back then if you were an independent hauler you could not haul your loaded trailer across the border but you could bobtail or pull your empty trailer out of the country. I hired a trucking company at the border to pull my trailer in to Montreal and then they were suppose to get it unloaded and then bring it back that night. Well things didn't go as planned. Their truck came back without my trailer and the driver said the trailer wouldn't be empty until the next day and they would call me at my hotel when it was empty. The next day I waited patiently until they called me in the afternoon and said the load was still not unloaded and it would be the next day. So I spent another night in my hotel and then the next day I called the produce market myself and they said it would probably be at least 1 to 2 more days before they could unload my trailer. Now my patients had run out because I realized they were using my trailer for storage until they needed the product. I checked out of my room and stopped by and paid the bill at the trucking company and then hauled ass to Montreal. When I got there the first thing I noticed is that some one stole my spare tire out of the tire rack so I hooked up to the trailer and then went and found a pay phone and called the broker and told him that if he didn't get these crooks to unload my trailer that I was going to pull away from the dock and unload it myself in their parking lot but that trailer was leaving Canada that day no matter what. Within an hour they were unloading my trailer and I was back in the United States before dark. Never went back to Montreal ever again.
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Never trust them Kebeckers
 
The Alexandria Bay Crossing was not all that much of a process. Not like the Peace Bridge, that's for sure. Nothing more than a question and answer session followed by a $13.40 fee. Gotta pay to get back in. :eek:

They are reworking the infrastructure at the Alexandria Bay Crossing. I'm guessing wherever the are doing will eventually turn into more of a process to get back into the US.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I have not been in Canada in a few years but in the late seventies when I was in my early 20's I had a couple of trucks and I use to haul a lot of produce from Florida to the Toronto produce terminal. The rates were pretty good going into Canada because no one wanted to deal with the border. But, as long as all your paper work was in order there were no problems getting in, and getting back in the United States was even easier with and empty trailer. I loved going there because the people were very friendly and there was a lot to do in downtown Toronto. I would back into the dock and then jump on a train to go down town and check into a hotel. I remember I use to go to this bar up in the top of the CN Tower which eventually turned into a disco club.:) My one trip to Montreal was not as exciting. Back then if you were an independent hauler you could not haul your loaded trailer across the border but you could bobtail or pull your empty trailer out of the country. I hired a trucking company at the border to pull my trailer in to Montreal and then they were suppose to get it unloaded and then bring it back that night. Well things didn't go as planned. Their truck came back without my trailer and the driver said the trailer wouldn't be empty until the next day and they would call me at my hotel when it was empty. The next day I waited patiently until they called me in the afternoon and said the load was still not unloaded and it would be the next day. So I spent another night in my hotel and then the next day I called the produce market myself and they said it would probably be at least 1 to 2 more days before they could unload my trailer. Now my patients had run out because I realized they were using my trailer for storage until they needed the product. I checked out of my room and stopped by and paid the bill at the trucking company and then hauled ass to Montreal. When I got there the first thing I noticed is that some one stole my spare tire out of the tire rack so I hooked up to the trailer and then went and found a pay phone and called the broker and told him that if he didn't get these crooks to unload my trailer that I was going to pull away from the dock and unload it myself in their parking lot but that trailer was leaving Canada that day no matter what. Within an hour they were unloading my trailer and I was back in the United States before dark. Never went back to Montreal ever again.
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You don't want to let your trailer go over the border in Mexico. Many stories of only having enough tires left for it to roll, the lights are gone, and they even take the washers for the air line hookups.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I think it all depends on where you cross. I normally go to Toronto using the Peace Bridge Crossing. In to Canada, no big deal. Coming back into the US with the tanker..... That's a different story. They x-ray the entire truck to make sure it's empty and that I'm not transporting anything.

This mornings crossing into Canada was simple but I was the only one in line at 430am. I crossed @ Alexandria Bay. That was my first time through there so I'm not sure what to expect when I head back today.

I can tell you that information had to be filed by both the Shipper and Carrier online. I don't get involved with that end of it but as a result of their efforts, I'm given a slew of paperwork that I have to hand over both coming and going. They have to verify everything is in order.

My experiences have yielded that the Canada Border Patrol workers are friendly. The US on the other hand..... Well, They're mostly aholes.
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Yeah, I just went to Canada last night to watch a movie because we don't have a theater on our side. The Canadian border guys always chat you up, but the USA guys are interrogating you. It's like chill out man I live in the same fuking town as you.
 
Heading out to Indiana today. I think I'm going to get lucky with the road conditions but the temps aren't looking great. It's too be 14 degrees overnight. Not crazy cold as far as the depths of winter goes but we're only just starting out. Big change considering it was 60 degrees yesterday afternoon.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Heading out to Indiana today. I think I'm going to get lucky with the road conditions but the temps aren't looking great. It's too be 14 degrees overnight. Not crazy cold as far as the depths of winter goes but we're only just starting out. Big change considering it was 60 degrees yesterday afternoon.
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Stay warm dpk. I went to Fontana today and got the hauler washed and now I'm at the racetrack in stacking in Pomona Ca waiting to pit tomorrow afternoon. The weather is suppose to be between 75 and 85 this week.
 
Looks like it got down to about 15 degrees last night here in southern Indiana. The product that I'm hauling was loaded in a triple compartment trailer at 100 degrees yesterday morning at 9am. All three compartments are sitting at 95 degrees this morning. I'm delivering at 8am Central. I don't expect the product temp to fall much more. My concern leading into this trip was the reduction in temperature as this product tends to get very thick around 40 degrees. I couldn't hook it up to my in in-transit heat because it would be too hot. It's supposed to deliver between 80-100 degrees.

Made the right choice.....

So, on Monday I was given a choice from three different loads. The one I took to Indiana, one to Detroit and another to East Stroudsburg. The latter two either going west or East on I80. I'm seeing in the news this morning that I80 ended up getting shut down in both directions yesterday because of weather related accidents. I got lucky. I was traveling west through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana all South of the affected areas. My foot was to the floor almost all day long. I was able to load and travel 585 miles leaving me less than 30 minutes on my driving and 14 hour clocks. Today is going to be similar as I'll be unloading and heading east through mostly the same route. I hate racing the clock. The clock normally wins.
 
Nitro Dude said:
Stay warm dpk. I went to Fontana today and got the hauler washed and now I'm at the racetrack in stacking in Pomona Ca waiting to pit tomorrow afternoon. The weather is suppose to be between 75 and 85 this week.
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Not a hint inside of this truck as to how cold the outside temps were last night. As long as this truck is running, temps are good. For that reason alone I plan on topping off my tanks every time I get down to half empty. Never know when I'm going to get stranded somewhere with no access to fuel.
 
It's the off season so I don't have any adventurous things to share , but I'm surprised we haven't heard anything from dpk in the past couple of weeks. I hope everything is ok.
 
All's good. Been real busy.

Heading to Canada this morning for an early Thanksgiving morning delivery. Weather looks good as far as snow goes so I hope for it to be an uneventful delivery. They are calling for high winds today. The contours of a tanker allow for most of that to go unnoticed.

This must be a pretty important load for the customer as I'm only hauling about 500 gallons of product. It'll take me longer to hook up the hoses than offloading the product.

If all goes as planned, I should be home in time for Turkey Day Dinner. Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a Good Night. Oh wait, that's next month
 
Heading west to the Chicago area early tomorrow. Looks like there may be weather to deal with. I plan on hitting the road before most of the holiday travelers to hopefully get me to my destination by the time the NFL gets rolling.
 
DPK, been watching the weather and wondering how or if the storms of snow and ice aided by high winds caused you any problems. From here and the weather reports, it looks nasty for traffic plus the added extra traffic for the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course here in Florida, anytime a dollop of snow falls they go nuts reporting but I think a lot of that is propaganda to make those transplants and snow birds living here feel good. Stay safe, Dude!!
 
Whizzer said:
DPK, been watching the weather and wondering how or if the storms of snow and ice aided by high winds caused you any problems. From here and the weather reports, it looks nasty for traffic plus the added extra traffic for the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course here in Florida, anytime a dollop of snow falls they go nuts reporting but I think a lot of that is propaganda to make those transplants and snow birds living here feel good. Stay safe, Dude!!
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I made it to today's destination just in time for the 1pm NFL kickoff. I left at 445 this morning taking my 30 break along the way. I'm now parked for the day in Gary Indiana. My delivery point is only 20 minutes from here tomorrow morning.

I ran into nothing more than rain in my way here. Weather reports had me apprehensive but it was all for not. The traffic never got all that bad either. Overall uneventful, just like I like it.

I hope to stay out in the system for a while running only loaded miles. This time of the year is somewhat slow so staying out is hard to do. I'm going to tell them I don't need to be back until the 20th in hopes that I can stay out at least half that. Chances are though I'll end up getting routed back home a lot sooner than even that.
 
That sucks if it works out that way. Here's hoping you'll make it work. Is there a big turnover with drivers? Thinking of there is you might get seniority quicker that way. I'm guessing a lot go guys start out great guns and can't hack life on the road. You sound like you've settled in pretty good though. You 'n Nitro Dude and SDJ. Hope to get an opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season.

I know, I know, it's early, but hey, what the heck, now is as good a time as any.:)
 
No, no a lot of turnover with my company. Everyone's treated the same regardless of how long you've been here. That's not a bad thing. Heck, I'm driving a 2019 International. Another New driver had the truck before me. He was one of the few that left. I got the truck with very little miles on it.

This time of the year is traditionally slow for chemical haulers. It normally picks up after the beginning of the year. I can still turn a pretty good $ even on slow weeks.
 
Delivered this morning near Gary Indiana. Then I picked up a preloaded tanker to take just north of Cincinnati to deliver tomorrow morning. I've got a dispatch already for my next load to New Jersey which will deliver Wednesday.
 
Wasting some time this morning waiting for my delivery appointment. Figured I'd post a pick of my Qualcomm Graph Screen to give y'all an idea of some of the things that we work with on a daily basis.

This is a snapshot of this past Sunday. It's a trip from Western PA to Gary Indiana. The horizontal bars represent periods of time under each of the categories listed down the left hand side. The totals, clear over on the right side, represent the total time spent under each if this four categories. This is basically an electronic representation of the old drivers logbook.

It's a touch screen. When a 'bar' is touched it's highlighted in yellow. That allows for the description of that period of time to be displayed just above the graph. That first bar is highlighted. It represents the time period of Sunday at midnight until Sunday at 424am. Off Duty. At 425am I started my day by logging into this device. The screen concludes 24 hours later with time spent throughout.

This log is kept for eight days. If I get inspected by the DOT, they look at this information to make sure I'm compliant with the current rules and regulations. If I'm not, I'm in trouble.

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Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
Another one of many, many screens. This is my Messages Screen. It's how Travel Orders are sent to me. I work off of this screen from the bottom up.

The first thing that I have to do today is Arrive At Delivery. When I get to my destination, I touch that message and reply that I am there. The system then verifies my GPS coordinates with what is known to be the address. If it matches, I get a message back starting that it's okay to deliver. If it doesn't, I get a warning that I am at the wrong location and I'm not too deliver unless I actually call dispatch.

The 2nd message will be responded to after I've delivered the product. There's all kinds of information that has to be included in the response. Dates, times, odometer reading, etc.....

That next message was just a system wide message from corporate about a new life insurance policy available.

The 3rd message associated with today's dispatch is to take my empty tanker to a location for cleaning. Again, I reply to the message when I arrive. This notifies the tank cleaners that there's a trailer in the lot to be cleaned.

The final message on that screen pic is for my next trailer pickup later this morning. I will respond to that message once I've connected to the next trailer where the process will start all over again. There are several messages above this message concerning the next load.

Everything I've done this week involved preloaded trailers. That's what I like to see. That's where the moneys made on loaded miles. Most times I'm picking up an empty trailer, driving to a plant somewhere to be loaded, and then heading off for delivery. When I do have to take the trailer to have it loaded, those messages would also appear on the screen.

The screen is also used as a form of communication between me and dispatch. If I had something that I needed to ask them quick I can do that on this screen. They'd then reply.


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Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
A friend of mine drives big rig and up here due to weather, the company has parked all the rigs. The company really cares about wadding up 500K trucks.
 
Busy, busy week. Not complaining a bit. Started last Sunday going from Western PA to deliver a load in Gary Indiana on Monday. Took the empty to Chicago and picked up a load for Cincinnati, OH. Delivered that load Tuesday. Got another load and left Tuesday afternoon to take a load to New Jersey. Delivered that load yesterday before being dispatched to my home terminal. Got to sleep in my own bed last night before leaving this morning to pick up a load in West Virginia. This load is going to Roanoke Virginia. 2218 miles later I'm currently at a Pilot Truck Stop for the night about an hour west of my delivery point. Going to be delivering at 8am tomorrow. After that I'm to be dispatched out of North Carolina.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Wasting some time this morning waiting for my delivery appointment. Figured I'd post a pick of my Qualcomm Graph Screen to give y'all an idea of some of the things that we work with on a daily basis.

This is a snapshot of this past Sunday. It's a trip from Western PA to Gary Indiana. The horizontal bars represent periods of time under each of the categories listed down the left hand side. The totals, clear over on the right side, represent the total time spent under each if this four categories. This is basically an electronic representation of the old drivers logbook.

It's a touch screen. When a 'bar' is touched it's highlighted in yellow. That allows for the description of that period of time to be displayed just above the graph. That first bar is highlighted. It represents the time period of Sunday at midnight until Sunday at 424am. Off Duty. At 425am I started my day by logging into this device. The screen concludes 24 hours later with time spent throughout.

This log is kept for eight days. If I get inspected by the DOT, they look at this information to make sure I'm compliant with the current rules and regulations. If I'm not, I'm in trouble.

f5cd182f834500d1d4df88c5bc354b2d.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
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I see you did your pre trip and post trip...good job.:)
 
My dispatch was out of High Point, NC. I'm taking a load to a coal mine in Kentucky. A 600 mile trip across North Caroline, Tennessee and Kentucky. Between this mornings delivery and the start of this current run, I drive just over 500 miles. I've got a little over 300 to go before delivering tomorrow and then another 200+ to make it to the Cincinnati Terminal.

Lots of miles since Sunday. Almost all loaded. I'm currently @ 2,718 miles since Sunday morning. I should finish around 3,200+ for the week. It's not even just the miles driven. It's also the five loads unloaded. One I had to both load and unload. Busy week. Good $'s just in time for Christmas.

It's been just over a year since I became unemployed. November 30th was my last day after working 25 years for that same employer. 35 years in the medical field. Boy, how times have changed.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I see you did your pre trip and post trip...good job.:)
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I caught that too. Very interesting how the times are laid out. That said, I get tired of my own email, I don't have my work email on my phone nor do I bring my work computer home. That little qualcomm box would annoy me quickly
 
Time depleted for the week. The clocks have run dry. Currently doing a 34 hour reset North of Cincinnati.

Finished my delivery mid-day yesterday down in Kentucky. Took the empty to a tank wash in Cincinnati and then bobtailed to a truck stop to reset for the week. Going to take in some NFL action today. I've got a strong WiFi signal at this location where I'll be streaming on the Firestick, iPad & phone to catch all the action.

My 34 hour reset will occur @ 3:40am tomorrow. I'll probably bobtail to the Cincinnati Terminal at that point to have some fittings and the pump on my truck cleaned. Hopefully I'll be dispatched first thing tomorrow.

3321.6 miles for the week. Almost all loaded miles. My better half should be happy come payday. Been waiting for a week like this for a while.

Oh well, time to go some housecleaning before the games start.





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Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
DPK, does your company and their insurance policy allow you to take your wife with you if you want to?
 
Nitro Dude said:
DPK, does your company and their insurance policy allow you to take your wife with you if you want to?
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Nope, no passengers. Not even a dog. I really wish I could take someone. I do see a lot of couples out here on the road. It'd be nice to have her be able to come with me occasionally. I came from a work position where I worked/talked to people all day long to now a solitary position. That part of this job does suck. I talk to my wife each morning in her ride to/from work and later in the evening. We make the most of it when I get home.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm gone all the time though. It's really my choice. I could be home each and every evening running local. That'll be more the summer plan. Right now, there's not as much to do around the house. I'm trying to get in as many loaded miles as possible while that's the case. When spring comes I'll probably be working mostly local runs.

Local vs system driving..... While the local runs get you home most every evening, they're also lesser rewarded runs. Meaning they are mainly out and back. Half loaded and half unloaded miles. Loaded miles pay more. When you're in the system/on the road you make a run loaded to wherever you're going to deliver. You then take the empty to the closest terminal or tank wash to the delivery point. Then you're having another loaded tanker to go to the next point. This past week I drove 3346 miles. Without running the actual numbers, a close guess would be that all but about 500 of those miles were loaded miles. Should be an awesome pay next Friday.

More than your asked for but I've got nothing but time right now.
 
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.:)
 
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