[kilog55]

yeah just say man that truck is a mess. arent the previousl drivers supposed to clean it out? or atleast one of the garage guys?

[married to the road]

My truck had been detailed before I was assigned to it. I thought that the only time you had to worry about getting put in a truck that had a lot of crap left from the last driver was places that did slip seating. Well, sometimes when you go to a company, they go ask you to go recover a truck that was abandoned. And I have heard stories about what disgruntled employees left in the truck for the next driver! But all you did was take it back to the terminal and would have it cleaned out there.

[BanditsCousin]

Makes you appreciate better equipment.

[Part Time Dweller]

Originally Posted by marvin

Pardon my ignorance; but do all rookies get trucks that are totally disgusting/wrecks? :shock:

Because they know you will clean it for free, as opposed to paying someone in the shop to do it. :wink:

[silvan]

Originally Posted by marvin

Pardon my ignorance; but do all rookies get trucks that are totally disgusting/wrecks? :shock:

Yes.

My first-ever truck was an '83 Freightshaker cabinover with a 145 gallon fuel capacity. I got to know fuel stops really well in that truck. (This was 1997.)

Oh yeah, I still have a picture of that tub.



You can't see it from the side in any picture I have, so you can't see why we used to call this truck Mighty Mouse. It's a single-axle, and it had small fuel tanks because of it's extremely short wheelbase. The one thing it had going for it was that it could put daycabs to shame in a turn.

It's funny looking back on this picture too. I remember why one of the horns is missing its cover, and that black line to the left is where I almost tore the bumper off on some piece of debris in the field beside the dock I was trying to hit.

I remember the construction on I-95 through Lumberton. Somebody peeled a cap right in front of me, and I couldn't miss it because of the Jersey walls. I ran smack over it. A little later, somebody said I was smoking really bad.

Came to find out the cap had folded the crossover back and jerked the fitting out of the big tank completely. I tied up the line and wrapped pastic around it to keep it from leaking worse. I eventually found the Peterbilt dealership there at I think exit 169 in South Carolina, and bought a cap to screw onto the line to prevent it from leaking.

I only had the one tank, the little one. I fueled in every gas station that had diesel, and had to put most of it on my personal credit card to get home. (I was reimbursed, but not for the interest. I wonder how much interest I paid on their fuel over the many years it took me to finally get that all paid off.)

That was my first trip to Myrtle Beach. It wound up being my route for the next nine years straight, but I never again ran it the way I had that first time, starting in Fayetteville and working down. I used to start in Columbia.

I miss that job. Miss my old friends. I'm not happy here now, but I can't go home. :sad:

Home is gone.

[Oldernewbie]

I'm not sure how I lucked out but my first truck was an 07 Freightliner Century with slightly under 40K miles. I was sent from Dallas to pick it up in Atlanta where the previous driver had abandoned it. He even left his fridge and inverter in it Only negative was he took out the hanging wardrobe to make room for the fridge but, heck, I didn't complain.

[BMiller]

You should have seen the JB Hunt cabover I got in 94. Or the Millis FLD Freightliner I had in 96. A guy left an open jar of mayonnaise in that one, as well as chicken bones and a greasy brake chamber right on the bed. It had been sitting for 3 weeks in the summer. The reading lamp lenses were yellow from all the smoking. Or the leased Ryder truck with a huge blood stain on the mattress. I dont think they target rookies for lousy trucks. Some companies are lazy about cleaning them. Or maybe its the drivers.

[RiverCritter]

You may not get a new truck, but it had better be a safe one! Almost every company will give a rookie and older truck - but most not more than 3 to 5 years old. If they offer you an 18-year-old egg beater like they gave me, walk away.

-Robin
been there, done that, left there and quit that

[marvin]

Just to let everyone know I appreciate all your comments, it has been very helpful(I feel better about posting, what seemed to me a silly concern)

[uglymutt]

FFE is the only company I know who gave newbies a new truck, I traded my old 2005 in for a 2007 with 8000 miles already, was promised a new truck but they gave them all to the newbies, made me feel like starting over when all there was left is a wrecked 2007 with miles...... so next time I better get a new truck... or I will go to newbie orientation again...