High-Seas to Highways

[jvnd1953]

Hey devildice, do you know what happened to dewercs2? I'd call him but the last I heard he had that minor accident and was in the hospital from kidney stones. I hate to call him if it's bad news. I just caught up with your thread. Congrats on your achievements. You've come a long way from Davis. I'm still with Arrow but not for long. It appears I'll be driving a dump truck in my future. Just waiting a few more weeks till they get the truck registered and right now they only have work for about 3 days a week but they will need a driver who can work 6 days a week shortly. The owner is a good friend of mine and he said he doesn't want me to start until he can guarantee that I will make some good money. I can wait a few weeks. $20 an hour but I pay my own taxes. Only getting an average of 1000-1500 miles a week with Arrow. Also cutbacks in layover pay, etc. Breakdowns in our main terminal which I'm at now waiting for an oil cooler to be fixed may take 7 to 10 days at least. Have to wait in line. dewercs2 was smart to quit. They have changed regional driving area to Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. I think the company is going under. Anyway, drive and be safe. I am still maintaining the thread dewercs2 started but will end it when I quit Arrow.

[devildice]

Hey devildice, do you know what happened to dewercs2? I'd call him but the last I heard he had that minor accident and was in the hospital from kidney stones. I hate to call him if it's bad news. I just caught up with your thread. Congrats on your achievements. You've come a long way from Davis. I'm still with Arrow but not for long. It appears I'll be driving a dump truck in my future. Just waiting a few more weeks till they get the truck registered and right now they only have work for about 3 days a week but they will need a driver who can work 6 days a week shortly. The owner is a good friend of mine and he said he doesn't want me to start until he can guarantee that I will make some good money. I can wait a few weeks. $20 an hour but I pay my own taxes. Only getting an average of 1000-1500 miles a week with Arrow. Also cutbacks in layover pay, etc. Breakdowns in our main terminal which I'm at now waiting for an oil cooler to be fixed may take 7 to 10 days at least. Have to wait in line. dewercs2 was smart to quit. They have changed regional driving area to Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. I think the company is going under. Anyway, drive and be safe. I am still maintaining the thread dewercs2 started but will end it when I quit Arrow.

No I have not hear from or about dewercs2 in a long time. Maybe those aliens finally got him? In any case, I hope he's alright.

Not sure whats going on over there at Arrow cuz some drivers I talk to say they are doing very well and yet others say they are starving. I wish you the best of luck with your upcoming move.

[jvnd1953]

Well, I hope Paul is okay. I have been doing better then most Arrow drivers. I need at least 2000 miles a week to barely survive. Ithink Arrow is going down. They have to pay COD for parts from the dealerships here in Tulsa. They had to move to a different motel to use because they owed $10,000 tgo the previous one. Just stuff like this. I'll miss the road and you never know, I may be back when things get better.

[devildice]

Well, I hope Paul is okay. I have been doing better then most Arrow drivers. I need at least 2000 miles a week to barely survive. Ithink Arrow is going down. They have to pay COD for parts from the dealerships here in Tulsa. They had to move to a different motel to use because they owed $10,000 tgo the previous one. Just stuff like this. I'll miss the road and you never know, I may be back when things get better.

If that's the case with Arrow, then I don't blame you a bit for getting out of there. If you hear from Paul, let us all know how he's doing.

[jvnd1953]

I will.

[devildice]

Guess it's time for a quick update on what's been happening.

We (the family) left the house on the 18th of August on our way to Virginia to help my son get settled in at college. We arrived in the Norfolk area on the 21st. Everything went smooth and we turn the trip into a short vacation and stopped at various places and points of interest along the way.

Since he is attending Hampton University under a NROTC scholarship, he along with about 80 other students from 2 other colleges in the area had to go through a week long mini "Officer Boot Camp" of sorts. They basically had a crash course on military bearing and a LOT of physical fitness.

While my son was going through that, the wife and I visited with some friends. We had intended to bounce down to South Carolina for a few days to visit some other friends and relatives but never made it down there.

At the end of the "mini boot camp", they performed a formal "Pass & Review". For those that are not familiar with the military, a Pass & Review" is simply where they all were in uniform and formation and marched around. It was rather impressive because these "kids" have never had any training like this before and in a week the ROTC instructors were able to teach them enough that they looked very sharp. While we were at the ceremony, I run into 2 old shipmates of mine that had their kids enrolled in the program too. We were all impressed with their performance and joked about how we worked so hard to "earn' our Khaki uniforms and here are our kids wearing them after one week...... Anyways, we spent the next few days helping my son move into his dorm room and just went enjoying some quality time together. By Sunday the 30th, the wife and I had to say goodbye and head on home as we both need to get back to work.

We got back to the house Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday, I had a load booked for Friday from Lackland AFB going to McConnell AFB in Kansas. This was going to be a sweet load because I live about 12 miles from Lackland and the load was paying 2.98 a mile. I immediately started getting my truck together to go back on the road. The batteries needed to be charged as they were dead as a door nail and I had one flat drive tire. As I am charging the batteries and loading up the truck with my belongings, I get a call from the agent saying that the load has been canceled.

By Friday, I booked a decent paying load that goes from Dublin, TX to Isabel, KS. Unfortunately I can't load until Wednesday the 9th and I have a 200 mile DH . I Do have a 2nd load lined up after this one that will take me from Salina, KS to St. Paul, MN. After almost a full month off with no income, I need to get back out there and hit it as hard as the available loads will let me.

So, for now I have been at the house taking care of some personal stuff as well as just relaxing. Tuesday afternoon I will bounce up north close the shipper so I can load first thing Wednesday morning.

[devildice]

Well this has NOT been a good start back out on the road after my "mini" vacation. If I were to post all the blow by blow details it would probably take up 2 pages so I'll just give the cliff notes.

I, along with about 22 other trucks, were loading crane parts at a windmill site in Dublin, TX going to another windmill site in Isabel, KS. We spent a solid 6 hrs at the job site in Dublin waiting to get loaded and another 9 hrs in Isabel waiting to get unloaded. On top of that, all trucks, both legal and OD loads had to have permits to run in Barber County up in KS. It turned out that the permits were wrong and we all went down the wrong route to the job site.

In addition, I originally had a re-load lined up out of Salina, KS on Friday going to St. Paul, MN. While waiting to unload in Isabel I get a call from the customer in Salina asking how tall can I go on my trailer. I told him that running to St. Paul I can only be 13' 6". He said that they believe the load was going to be at least 8' 9" or possibly 8' 10" and that he would buy the permits as well as add some more money onto the linehaul. This would have been fine with me, but LS will not allow over height loads on flatbeds and essentially I lost the load.

So now I am stuck for the weekend here in Newton, KS because there were no decent loads on Friday. The only "possible" saving grace to all this is that the agent is trying to get detention pay for all the trucks. As nice as it would be, I will not hold my breath for it and if by some miracle they do get it, I am sure it won't be any where near compensatory to 15 hrs of waiting.

[terrylamar]

Sometimes it works out. I had a load going to Total Petrochemical's laydown yard in Port Arthur. They deadline is 1400. I was pushing hard to get there by the cutoff, running 70 mph, which is a rarity for me. I do get there, barely. They are closed due to some emergency. I got $750.00 for having to wait until the next morning.

[danske]

Sometimes it works out. I had a load going to Total Petrochemical's laydown yard in Port Arthur. They deadline is 1400. I was pushing hard to get there by the cutoff, running 70 mph, which is a rarity for me. I do get there, barely. They are closed due to some emergency. I got $750.00 for having to wait until the next morning.

DD, I ran that dedicated run for 7 weeks from Renton, WA to Tucson, AZ. Unfortunately on Friday I found out that my company was underbidded for contract. So, I am done for that run. Bummer!! I have this next week off where I am in San Francisco Bay Area spending time with my family and friends. When I go back to work on Tuesday 22 Sept, I will back running in the system again.

But, I was going to tell that on the Friday before Labor Day I delivered my empty containers in Tucson. The return load was stuck in Mexico because of the hurricane going thru Baja and Gulf of Mexico. I had to spend the long weekend in Tucson. My company is paying me $600 and picked up my motel room at the Triple T.

So I hope you are as fortunate in getting all the detention pay due to you.

Take care

[JimmerZ]

Hi DevilDice!

This is my very first post to this board. I first off want to thank for the 2 years of posting your journey. I wish more people did the same! I have been reading/lurking around this board for over 2 years now trying to make up my mind if Trucking is for me or not. Actually I know it is, but deciding if I want to make the plunge or wait for a better economy first.

It was amazing how many places I have been across this country in a 4 wheeler (even over the past 2 years) and been to many of the same truck stops, riads, etc that you mentioned along the way. Got family in Shertz and Selma Texas. In fact, I am sure you have driven right past my Dad’s house on many occasion. My Grandma is in Claysville, PA, which you mentioned the Petro there, and all the construction on the 70/76 interchanges in that area (Washington, PA). I live in Denver, CO, so I know of all the places around here and the surrounding states.

I rack up about 40,000 per year in my 4-wheeler going to see family in Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, and Nebraska. There sure is a lot of beautiful country out there! Thanks for all the pic's too!

Again, thank you for your posts from the school you chose to first carrier to 1st O/O to 2nd O/O to 3rd O/O gig. Much appreciated as it really DOES help those of us considering this field.

Good luck to you and your family, and keep those post coming, especially in the times we are in right now. It would help some of us on that are on the fence.

JimmerZ

PS: Will be in your lovely state in October! I sure as %ell hope it is cooler than it was in July! :smile

[devildice]

Hi DevilDice!

This is my very first post to this board. I first off want to thank for the 2 years of posting your journey. I wish more people did the same! I have been reading/lurking around this board for over 2 years now trying to make up my mind if Trucking is for me or not. Actually I know it is, but deciding if I want to make the plunge or wait for a better economy first.

It was amazing how many places I have been across this country in a 4 wheeler (even over the past 2 years) and been to many of the same truck stops, riads, etc that you mentioned along the way. Got family in Shertz and Selma Texas. In fact, I am sure you have driven right past my Dad’s house on many occasion. My Grandma is in Claysville, PA, which you mentioned the Petro there, and all the construction on the 70/76 interchanges in that area (Washington, PA). I live in Denver, CO, so I know of all the places around here and the surrounding states.

I rack up about 40,000 per year in my 4-wheeler going to see family in Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, and Nebraska. There sure is a lot of beautiful country out there! Thanks for all the pic's too!

Again, thank you for your posts from the school you chose to first carrier to 1st O/O to 2nd O/O to 3rd O/O gig. Much appreciated as it really DOES help those of us considering this field.

Good luck to you and your family, and keep those post coming, especially in the times we are in right now. It would help some of us on that are on the fence.

JimmerZ

PS: Will be in your lovely state in October! I sure as %ell hope it is cooler than it was in July! :smile

Thanks for the compliments and I fell honored that you chose my thread to make your very first post. I am glad that some of my postings are helping you and perhaps others.

As I am sure you know, I used to post frequently and have become a little lazy in doing so now. Withe that said, I think it's time for an update

[devildice]

Myself and one other LS driver loaded out of Salina, KS on Tuesday. It's a military load that is paying O.K. heading to Starke, FL. I was a little apprehensive about going to FL as it can be hard to get out of. Lucky for me though, I have a reload right in Starke heading up to Gary, IN and then another load lined up after that in Mt. Pleasant, MI going to Maricopa, AZ. So after that "snafu" on the TX to KS load, things seem to be looking up.

[devildice]

DD, I ran that dedicated run for 7 weeks from Renton, WA to Tucson, AZ. Unfortunately on Friday I found out that my company was underbidded for contract. So, I am done for that run. Bummer!! I have this next week off where I am in San Francisco Bay Area spending time with my family and friends. When I go back to work on Tuesday 22 Sept, I will back running in the system again.

But, I was going to tell that on the Friday before Labor Day I delivered my empty containers in Tucson. The return load was stuck in Mexico because of the hurricane going thru Baja and Gulf of Mexico. I had to spend the long weekend in Tucson. My company is paying me $600 and picked up my motel room at the Triple T.

So I hope you are as fortunate in getting all the detention pay due to you.

Take care

Sorry to hear that the dedicated route is over for you. I am also sorry that you had to stay at that Triple T truck stop (what a $h^t hole that place is).

Enjoy your vacation!!!

[dewercs2]

allright I updated....

[GMAN]

I think that is the first convertible tractor that I have seen, dewercs2. I hope no one was seriously injured in making the transition.

[devildice]

After that "load from hell" (Dublin, TX to Isabell, KS) I got on a small hot streak.

I went from Salina, KS to Stark, FL with one miltary flatbed trailer, then reloaded in Starke with some kind of sand that they use to make molds for molten metal and took that to Gary, IN. From there I bounced up to Mt. Pleasant, MI and loaded 4 Seed seperator Conveyors and took them to Maricopa, AZ.

I "had" a load lined up out of Pheonix, AZ going to Monticello, MN for Friday, but it got canceled . So I made the drop in Maricopa and bounced up the road a few miles to the Love's in Chandler. With in 30 minutes of parking, I had an agent call me and ask if I would be interested in a load from Tucson, AZ to Boiling Brook, IL. She called me back about an hour later and said that the shipper postponed the load until Tuesday or Wednesday next week .

So now I am "stuck" here in Chandler for now. It was triple digit heat here today and the news predicts it to be that way all weekend. If that's the case, I may just DH out of here. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

[danske]

After that "load from hell" (Dublin, TX to Isabell, KS) I got on a small hot streak.

I went from Salina, KS to Stark, FL with one miltary flatbed trailer, then reloaded in Starke with some kind of sand that they use to make molds for molten metal and took that to Gary, IN. From there I bounced up to Mt. Pleasant, MI and loaded 4 Seed seperator Conveyors and took them to Maricopa, AZ.

I "had" a load lined up out of Pheonix, AZ going to Monticello, MN for Friday, but it got canceled . So I made the drop in Maricopa and bounced up the road a few miles to the Love's in Chandler. With in 30 minutes of parking, I had an agent call me and ask if I would be interested in a load from Tucson, AZ to Boiling Brook, IL. She called me back about an hour later and said that the shipper postponed the load until Tuesday or Wednesday next week .

So now I am "stuck" here in Chandler for now. It was triple digit heat here today and the news predicts it to be that way all weekend. If that's the case, I may just DH out of here. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Hey, if my dedicated run from Tucson, AZ to Renton, WA hadn't be canceled 2 weeks ago we may have had a chance to cross paths. The run was canceled because another company underbidded my company. Oh well, back to driving the system.

BTW, I under a 62ft load from So Cal to Seattle. I will deliver on Monday morning.

Wish you well on getting another load.

Later,
danske

[devildice]

Hey, if my dedicated run from Tucson, AZ to Renton, WA hadn't be canceled 2 weeks ago we may have had a chance to cross paths. The run was canceled because another company underbidded my company. Oh well, back to driving the system.

BTW, I under a load 62ft load from So Cal to Seattle. I will deliver on Monday morning.

Wish you well on getting another load.

Later,
danske

Thanks and I am sure our paths will cross again one of these days. Take care and be safe.

[devildice]

Well after a week of sitting , I finally got out of Arizona.

I typically have pretty good luck getting out of there, but for some strange reason I was having rotten luck. Every time I had a decent paying load lined up, something would happen and it got canceled, postponed, or covered by another truck/carrier. It was by far the craziest time I've ever had getting a load. My so called "fall back" load (IF it's paying decent) is copper. The mines were only about 150 or so miles away and the rates were up to $2.05mile gross.

Just as I was about to give in and book one, an agent called me with a better option. I loaded 2 large CAT motors (forgot what models but they were huge) heading to Irving, TX so I jumped on it.

An old friend of mine from when I worked at Davis Transport was in the DFW area so i met up with him at the Pilot in Ft. Worth on Saturday the 3rd. While my log book reset once again, we did the usual of swapping road stories and lies over a couple of cold ones.

Come Monday morning I made my delivery. On my way to Holt, I got offered a load heading right to San Antonio. It was a light no tarp load that was paying just O.K. and since a few "things" have been falling apart at the house I went ahead and agreed to it. Once I was empty, I bounced down to the Loves in Dallas while I waited on the agent to get back with me on the details of the load. By noonish I called the agent only to be told he just heard back from the shipper and it got covered by someone else oh boy, here we go again.

At 2pm with no luck on any loads I was interested in, I decided to grab some gears and bounce home.

Got home Monday evening and immediately started tackling some of these issues at the house. In addition, I have been taking care of a few maint. issues on my truck such as getting my LS 120 day inspection done, replacing all the drive shocks, replacing a broken lock on my tractor side box as well as a few other odds and ends that I had been putting off. Tomorrow I will head over to Peterbilt and get an overhead service/PM done. They are offering the overhead service, oil change, oil filter, fuel filter, tractor lube, and what they call a 21 point inspection for $300 out the door. Supposedly it's a $400 savings.

If all goes well I will head back out on Monday of next week, until then it's "home work" by day and cold beer by night.

[allan5oh]

That's a very good price for that service.