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

Do you go sightseeing while waiting for these things to happen? Can you safeguard the trailer if you were to drop it to go do simething other than sit in the parking lot and ..........wait? Or doesn't that happen?
 
Whizzer said:
Do you go sightseeing while waiting for these things to happen? Can you safeguard the trailer if you were to drop it to go do simething other than sit in the parking lot and ..........wait? Or doesn't that happen?
Click to expand...
Uber. I usually park the truck/trailer combo at a truck stop and Uber somewhere. Mainly when I'm at a location where there's another driver to hang out with. Not much fun going out alone.

This time though I've been watching March Madness in my truck. The Canadians here aren't too interested in basketball so I didn't bother to go out. After I'm done delivering this morning I'm parking untill I complete my restart later tonight. So, it's another basketball day.

As far as dropping the trailer. I only do that at our terminals or at a tankwash where others are parked. Never loaded though.
 
I get that about not leaving a loaded trailer. Or an empty one for that matter. I guess I'm too old fashioned to think about Uber or Lyft although we have used them. Not a big fan of the changing price structure during peak times but do understand it. Carpe diem or what ever might apply.
 
Looks like I'm going to have to head towards Chicago tonight rather than wait until morning. Major snow is to hit along my route from North Dakota down to Illinois starting Sunday. Not sure I'll be able to get and stay ahead of it.
 
Rerouted around the pending snowstorm that is to hit the upper Plains later today? Made it down to the border of Illinois and Wisconsin where it should only be rain. I did not want to get stuck sitting up north waiting for roads to clear.

Dropping this empty trailer in Chicago in the middle of the night tonight. Hooking up another that I'm dropping in Pittsburgh tomorrow morning. Still waiting on dispatch after that but I hope to be sent to eastern PA to get my truck that's been in the shop the past couple weeks.
 
So, this is great..... Show up a couple hours early for my 03:30 load appointment only to find out they don't start loading untill 06:00. I brought this up with dispatch yesterday when I was assigned this load. I didn't think they had early appointments but was assured it was correct. When I checked in at the gate, the guard verified that my appointment is scheduled for 03:30 but that shouldn't have been the case. They say that they'll try to work me in but we'll see how that goes.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
So, this is great..... Show up a couple hours early for my 03:30 load appointment only to find out they don't start loading untill 06:00. I brought this up with dispatch yesterday when I was assigned this load. I didn't think they had early appointments but was assured it was correct. When I checked in at the gate, the guard verified that my appointment is scheduled for 03:30 but that shouldn't have been the case. They say that they'll try to work me in but we'll see how that goes.
Click to expand...
That sucks for sure. How is your truck running since you got it back out of the repair shop?
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
So, this is great..... Show up a couple hours early for my 03:30 load appointment only to find out they don't start loading untill 06:00. I brought this up with dispatch yesterday when I was assigned this load. I didn't think they had early appointments but was assured it was correct. When I checked in at the gate, the guard verified that my appointment is scheduled for 03:30 but that shouldn't have been the case. They say that they'll try to work me in but we'll see how that goes.
Click to expand...
I remember going to a logistics meeting in the nineties and my employer was trying to tell the truckers they had to arrive within 15 mins of the appointed delivery time.

I have never been a trucker but it seemed ridiculous. They already gave natural incentives to arrive on time and slapping on another pseudo non negotiatable demand was not going to help anything.

We recieved several shipments of aged extruded mint oils for flavoring from the state of Washinton to our locaton in SC. We had to buy the stuff prior to the aging so it wasn't like we were going to refuse or delay recieving the needed materials we had already purchased months prior to the delivery.
 
StandOnIt said:
That used to happen to me a lot with the Tyson chicken pluckers. I started calling them before hand. Nobody wants to hang around a plucker plant when the wind was right.
Click to expand...
They have a prison or big city jail in Carsville Georgia. Thankfully I have never been locked up for anything.

But they must have a lot of big chicken barns or a slaughter house nearby and it awful when the wind is right. That has to be one of the built in punishments for doing time there.

Johnny Cash could have wrote a good song about that one.
 
Greg said:
I remember going to a logistics meeting in the nineties and my employer was trying to tell the truckers they had to arrive within 15 mins of the appointed delivery time.

I have never been a trucker but it seemed ridiculous. They already gave natural incentives to arrive on time and slapping on another pseudo non negotiatable demand was not going to help anything.

We recieved several shipments of aged extruded mint oils for flavoring from the state of Washinton to our locaton in SC. We had to buy the stuff prior to the aging so it wasn't like we were going to refuse or delay recieving the needed materials we had already purchased months prior to the delivery.
Click to expand...
Walmart has a 30 minute window or they did have.
 
StandOnIt said:
Walmart has a 30 minute window or they did have.
Click to expand...
Most of the auto manufacturers that I deliver to have short delivery windows. Can't get there too early and certainly never late. Fortunately most have staging yards in close proximity.

I saw this as well with almost every chemical plant that I used to load or deliver at. Many of them are very tight places to navigate that don't allow for many moving vehicles. Heck, a lot of times I see workers that travel by bicycle within the plant.

I usually arrive 30 minutes early to a place that doesn't otherwise specify. When I go to a location for the first time, I always ask what they allow for future reference. Many times, if it's my first time going to a location, I'll reach out to other drivers that I know have been there. Sometime I have dispatch put me in touch with another driver that's been there.

Today's delivery is a great example of past deliveries influencing how I approach this consignee. I've got an 1100 appointment. That's the 3rd of four deliveries of the day for them. Every two hours starting at 0700. The guys that work here are done for the day once they finish offloading the 4th trailer and they like to be done early. Most of the driver's that deliver there know this so everyone arrives early. Today's plan is to show up at 0900. Chances are the two drivers before me will have both arrived early and they'll be way ahead of schedule. Sometimes I'll be offloaded at this location before my appointment time even hits.

You also get back what you give to them. For the most part if you're personable with them, they are in return. Remembering their names builds a great working relationship with them. I'm horrible at remembering names but I know how to keep notes. I keep a list of people's names where I load/deliver. I usually recognize the faces of the people I've seldom delt with and being able to refer to them by name goes a long way. I'm not a people person by any means but I am with my customers. All that being said there's still the select few that are always a-holes and you learn that too.
 
StandOnIt said:
Walmart has a 30 minute window or they did have.
Click to expand...
I worked for a big fortune 500 company at that time that I will not name. One of the biggest and most sucessful in the world.

But I would think that Wal Mart was or is more unique and powerful with making and enforcing such demands. They are essentially a hub maybe one of the biggest if not the biggest in the world.
They probably have a genuine need to demand specific appointment times based on the volume of incoming trucks loads and LTLs.

We were just a small manufacturering plant that produced a few OTCs and a Pharmaceutical product. I think I our department manager just wanted to look as slick as the folks at Wal Mart and wanted us to implement the same program.

But that's pure speculation on my part they may have been told to implement it or else from a regional VP or something. Some dumb stuff can happen from the top down.

A lot of Yada Yada from me I must be bored (slow news day etc).
 
Looks like they're going to take me early this morning for my last delivery of this stint. Went out 02/28. Completed over 16,000 miles since then. I'll be just under 15,000 miles for the month of March. It'll be a new 'month' record for me. This is the last of the long stints for me until this fall.

I'm ready to go home. Yesterday I delivered a few minutes away from my wife's favorite pizza & wings bar/restraint north of Philly. I grabbed a takeout order of the pizza & wings that she likes. She'll be surprised that I'm bringing that home. That's tonight's dinner. Not as good as fresh out of the pizza ovens but good none the less.
 
My new stint started this morning. Have a preload scheduled for 0800 and another at 1200. After the 1200 I was to go hook back up to that 0800 trailer and deliver it in Chicago tomorrow morning. Only problem is, it's to be two products but they assigned me a single compartment trailer. Not sure how that could happen. The # of compartments are incorporated into the trailer number. They should have seen that right away. As soon as I saw the order come to my truck this morning, I knew it was wrong.

Normally, another trailer could be substituted but in this case, the trailer has to be prepped in a specific manner in order to be loaded. No other clean trailers at this yard have been prepped to spec for this load. So, here I sit. Time for breakfast I guess.
 
Ended up getting a trailer cleaned and loaded later in the morning. Got to my delivery point by 20:00.

They pulled me in at 06:30 to offload. Still waiting on them to get started. Looks like they are going to tote these products. They don't have storage tanks at this location to store these blends.

I'm assuming that I'll be dispatched to Chicago after this offload. Our Chicago terminal is only about an hour north from this location.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Ended up getting a trailer cleaned and loaded later in the morning. Got to my delivery point by 20:00.

They pulled me in at 06:30 to offload. Still waiting on them to get started. Looks like they are going to tote these products. They don't have storage tanks at this location to store these blends.

I'm assuming that I'll be dispatched to Chicago after this offload. Our Chicago terminal is only about an hour north from this location.
Click to expand...

Am I correct to assume that only actual driving time counts on your DOT hours?
If you are having to move the trailer around to different doors at a location does that time get counted?

I am glad they have some standards on the hours for everyone's safety, but it just seems like an incredible beast to manage

Note: All of the above unlearnt comments and questions come from someone who has never been a truck-driver. I used to moonlight working at the docks for Roadway Express and with another truck line in the 1990's, that is as close as I ever got to working in that industry.
 
Greg said:
Am I correct to assume that only actual driving time counts on your DOT hours?
If you are having to move the trailer around to different doors at a location does that time get counted?

I am glad they have some standards on the hours for everyone's safety, but it just seems like an incredible beast to manage

Note: All of the above unlearnt comments and questions come from someone who has never been a truck-driver. I used to moonlight working at the docks for Roadway Express and with another truck line in the 1990's, that is as close as I ever got to working in that industry.
Click to expand...
Yes, there are so so many rules regarding time. I find it very confusing to explain but I've learned how to use my clocks to my advantage.

Four main clocks are.....

70hr work week clock, on duty
14hr day clock, on duty
11hr driving clock
8hr rest break clock

Basically you can be on duty up to 14hrs in a day. 11hrs of that can be driving. A 30min rest break had to occur within an 8hr period. The 70hr clock gets depleted by the on duty time used throughout the day. When that 70hr clock expires I have too park for a 34hr restart. That resets the 70hr clock so the whole thing can start over again. All of this is kept track of by a device in my truck. When my truck exceeds 5mph it automatically gets logged as driving.

Here's what my day today looked like in a graph form and also a summary of where my current clocks are after two days of working.....

IMG_4968.jpeg

IMG_4969.jpeg
 
Greg said:
Am I correct to assume that only actual driving time counts on your DOT hours?
If you are having to move the trailer around to different doors at a location does that time get counted?

I am glad they have some standards on the hours for everyone's safety, but it just seems like an incredible beast to manage

Note: All of the above unlearnt comments and questions come from someone who has never been a truck-driver. I used to moonlight working at the docks for Roadway Express and with another truck line in the 1990's, that is as close as I ever got to working in that industry.
Click to expand...
Unless they have changed the law regarding the 14 hour clock which there had been a lot of discussion about it the last couple of years I was out there, but once you start your pre trip it starts a 14 hour clock and you have to be back off duty before the 14 hour clock expires and you can only drive 11 hours within that 14 hour window. You have to take 10 hours off before you can drive again.
 
Nitro Dude said:
Unless they have changed the law regarding the 14 hour clock which there had been a lot of discussion about it the last couple of years I was out there, but once you start your pre trip it starts a 14 hour clock and you have to be back off duty before the 14 hour clock expires and you can only drive 11 hours within that 14 hour window. You have to take 10 hours off before you can drive again.
Click to expand...
It has changed some. If you now go off duty during that same 14hr period for two hours or longer, your 14hr clock stops and you gain that two hours or longer time back. It then picks back up when you go on duty again. You still only have the 11hrs of drive time but it can be pushed to later in your day. I use this feature a lot.

And yes, still the same 10hrs off duty before starting the next 14hr day.
 
Pays to arriver early.....

My next dispatch was to Chicago yesterday to grab a preloaded trailer delivering in Saint Paul, MN. That's about a 6 1/2hr drive from Chicago. My appointment wasn't untill 11:00 today. This customer allowed overnight parking. I got here about 18:30 yesterday and backed into a spot along some railroad tracks. Right around 06:15 this morning they were knocking on my door to have me pull into the building to offload. Hellz yeah! I should be outta here in an hour. I've already been dispatched back to Chicago. Instead of getting there late in the day, I'll be able to split their rush hours. That's about as good as you can hope for going into Chicago during the daylight hours.

Many of our customers allow for overnight parking. I always ask my first time at a new delivery for me. Sometimes it pays off. With this customer, the downside is parking next to the active rail line. Close enough I could feel the ground shake as they went by. Just loud enough that it sounded like rolling thunder during a summer nights storm. Easy to sleep through for me.
 
DAMN!! But I really enjoy reading your activities. Often I share them with my Bride, especially the pictures, for she knows about truck drivers as her father drove a bulk milk tanker for thirty years. Going from farm to farm and picking up milk, backing down long country lanes to get to the milk house. Good weather or bad, rain, snow, ice , sleet hail, you name it and her Dad drove in it and always finished his pickups and delivery to Yonkers, NY, from area surrounding Sussex, NJ. There were days in the winter when he left at five in the morning and never finished until nine or ten at night, occasionally later, because of bad weather. Then he started his day again.
 
The next dispatch was to Rothschild, MN to a Papermill. Picking up some kind of byproduct created as a result of producing paper. I've been here once before a few years back so I have some idea as to what to do here. I'll be loading this load myself. If I remember right, this product resembles milk but smells nasty.

After I'm done loading this morning, I'm heading to Fairless Hills, PA for a Monday delivery. I'll end up getting in a restart before I arrive there. I think I'm going to stay in Carlisle, PA for the weekend. Just outside of Harrisburg, PA.

The goal today is to make the South Bend, IN area.
 

dpkimmel2001 said:
The next dispatch was to Rothschild, MN to a Papermill. Picking up some kind of byproduct created as a result of producing paper. I've been here once before a few years back so I have some idea as to what to do here. I'll be loading this load myself. If I remember right, this product resembles milk but smells nasty.

After I'm done loading this morning, I'm heading to Fairless Hills, PA for a Monday delivery. I'll end up getting in a restart before I arrive there. I think I'm going to stay in Carlisle, PA for the weekend. Just outside of Harrisburg, PA.

The goal today is to make the South Bend, IN area.
Click to expand...
I have stayed at the Petro in Carlisle for many years. Always hit their buffet. Plus, that Blue Beacon is where all of the NHRA race team haulers are washed when we are heading to Maple Grove raceway.
 
I stayed at the Hyatt in South Bend around 1990 or 91ish for a buisness trip.I wasn't aware that the Hoosiers were in town to play ND in a basketball game until the waitress mentioned it.

Those young men from Indiana Univerity came quietly into the restaurant in a single file line wearing suits and ties. Bobby Knight was still the coach but wasn't with them in the restaurant or at least I didn't see him. But the well disciplined behavior and manners couldn't be missed. I would never have known that a group in college athletes where in the men if the waitress had not mentioned it.

Coach Knight ran a tight ship.
 
Greg said:
I stayed at the Hyatt in South Bend around 1990 or 91ish for a buisness trip.I wasn't aware that the Hoosiers were in town to play ND in a basketball game until the waitress mentioned it.

Those young men from Indiana Univerity came quietly into the restaurant in a single file line wearing suits and ties. Bobby Knight was still the coach but wasn't with them in the restaurant or at least I didn't see him. But the well disciplined behavior and manners couldn't be missed. I would never have known that a group in college athletes where in the men if the waitress had not mentioned it.

Coach Knight ran a tight ship.
Click to expand...
He has broken a few chairs during his coaching career. Right now, I'm sitting here waiting for the Womens final-4 to start. Go Caitlin Clark. :D
 
Nitro Dude said:
I have stayed at the Petro in Carlisle for many years. Always hit their buffet. Plus, that Blue Beacon is where all of the NHRA race team haulers are washed when we are heading to Maple Grove raceway.
Click to expand...
That Blue Beacon is my first stop today. I'll be doing my restart at the Pilot though. I've got plenty of food packed. Including a couple extra Easter Dinners.
 
Greg said:
Is your daughter still on the ND track team?
Click to expand...
She's now an Assistant Throws Coach fior them.

She competed independently yesterday at Michigan University in their invitational. She took first overall but is still just behind the Olympic Qualifications Mark. It was her first competition this Spring. I hope to go to her meet next weekend. It's either at Bucknell or Illinois University. Her goal is still there Olympic Trials.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
She's now an Assistant Throws Coach fior them.

She competed independently yesterday at Michigan University in their invitational. She took first overall but is still just behind the Olympic Qualifications Mark. It was her first competition this Spring. I hope to go to her meet next weekend. It's either at Bucknell or Illinois University. Her goal is still there Olympic Trials.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the update and I really hope she makes the team. I would think she is already incredibly accomplished and achieved so much more than most people can imagine.

I am sure you are proud of her.
 
Nitro Dude said:
He has broken a few chairs during his coaching career. Right now, I'm sitting here waiting for the Womens final-4 to start. Go Caitlin Clark. :D
Click to expand...

Bobby threw a lot of chairs and ultimately crossed the line. But I am sure he made a positive impression on many. He is legendary.

Note: If he were living he would be justified for throwing a chair in my direction for all the typos in my previous post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom