[gcal]

I haven't been here in awhile. Hi to all I have not talked to in a long time.
How is "Steve"?
Long story short, I ain't been driving for years. Some local pick ups for o/o who need emergency favors. But that's been it for years. I was working in a office for 2 years at a cush job and have been laid off for 2 months. I been looking for jobs in the meantime.
I finally got a job with a company. I jumped through all their hoops and finally got offered a route...to MONTANA and back to PDX. It's a dedicated route and pays 38 cents a mile for driving and 17 hr for on duty time plus 25 a day for food.
I am supposed to start tomorrow for one week training and then run my first route next week. PDX to MT and back empty.

Now here is were you guys come in. I need some advice. How bad are the winters in Montana for driving? Is this as bad as I think? Or should I not be worried and just go for it? Any advice is appreciated.
I been looking here State of Montana Road Condition Map in this site for weather info and this is worrying me. I don't wanna be stuck in a truck stop for days doing nothing or have to drive with chaines for 10 hours just to go 100 miles. I rather not take the job if thats the case.

Lay it on me boys and girls. What do you think of this route?

[flood]

Originally Posted by gcal

I am supposed to start tomorrow for one week training and then run my first route next week. PDX to MT and back empty.

ya you may get stuck a FEW times going to MT this winter but the part i don't like is the EMPTY coming back
remember it gets windy too slickish roads "no chains needed" enpty trailer and wind may have you parked when you could run with a loaded trailer.

[gcal]

Originally Posted by flood

ya you may get stuck a FEW times going to MT this winter but the part i don't like is the EMPTY coming back
remember it gets windy too slickish roads "no chains needed" enpty trailer and wind may have you parked when you could run with a loaded trailer.

Very interesting. I didn't even think of that. I saw the high wind advisory but never thought I could get stuck due to that....
That's why I asked.

[GMAN]

Montana and some of the surrounding states will close roads when winds become too high. It is a consideration, but it would not be enough to discourage me from going up there if I had a good lane with good rates. They also get some snow that can close roads every now and then. Most of the times when I have run out there I have not had too many problems getting around. I have been in a situation where the roadway was closed due to high winds and we were routed through the old road and towns.

[gcal]

Thanks as always Gman. Your advice is worth 100 rookie responses in my book!

[jonp]

pdx as in Portland, OR airport? I'm not sure that running back empty would scare me off of this route. You have some mts to cross but the amount of time that you would actually chain up to do it would not add up to much over the course of a year. Sitting in truckstops would not be a frequent thing in my opinion. I used to run out west and only shut down a couple of times in 3 or four years and that was because I chose to do it or there was an accident that closed the road for several hours and that only got me on Donner if I remember right. Does not Wyoming close its road due to high winds much more than any other state?

[gcal]

Originally Posted by jonp

pdx as in Portland, OR airport? I'm not sure that running back empty would scare me off of this route. You have some mts to cross but the amount of time that you would actually chain up to do it would not add up to much over the course of a year. Sitting in truckstops would not be a frequent thing in my opinion. I used to run out west and only shut down a couple of times in 3 or four years and that was because I chose to do it or there was an accident that closed the road for several hours and that only got me on Donner if I remember right. Does not Wyoming close its road due to high winds much more than any other state?

Yes Portland Oregon. I did take the route. I came to the same conclusion, that its well worth it and I get paid if he truck stops due to weather condition's. So it wasn't as bad as I first figured.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by gcal

Thanks as always Gman. Your advice is worth 100 rookie responses in my book!

I am always glad to help. Congratulations on the new route.

[jonp]

If you had said that you get paid if shut down for the weather I would have said to take the route. Thats a good deal. Good luck on it and congrats. Let us know how it works out for you. Take some pictures of the scenery and post them. I havn't had a chance to run that direction for a few years and miss the mountains. Ahh...4th of July Pass

[gcal]

Originally Posted by jonp

If you had said that you get paid if shut down for the weather I would have said to take the route. Thats a good deal. Good luck on it and congrats. Let us know how it works out for you. Take some pictures of the scenery and post them. I havn't had a chance to run that direction for a few years and miss the mountains. Ahh...4th of July Pass

I will. Thanks and yes, that made me take it, the fact that they pay loaded, empty, stuck due to weather, and even break downs. This is a dream trucker job lol ....so far.......I'm still waiting for the hammer to drop and find out im getting screwed some how LOL
But so far so good. I have lost more money driving a truck then I have made so this is nice for a change, to actually make some money driving a nice truck on a nice route were I can put some miles down and see some nice views. I guess its true, sun shines on every dogs ass sooner or later