[devildice]

Hey GFIW,

Just got caught up on the new thread and am happy to see that after some initial roughness, GFI is doing good. Football season is almost over so I'll have to give him a call soon :wink:

[Maxwell Payne]

GFIW,

I've been following GFI and Devildice's posts for a while and want to say good luck to you.

GFIW, what is GFI's truck number? I live and work near Everson,WA and will keep an eye out for him in this area as I do see System trucks quite often. If GFI, Devildice or any others are in my area and e-mail me (I can't send/receive PMs yet) I'll see if I can make the time to meet for coffee or a meal (my treat).

Once I retire from my present career I plan to work as an O/O for a flatbed company in Everson doing flatbed work and would like to talk to you about your experiences in that line of work.

Stay safe.

Max

[married to the road]

Originally Posted by Goin Fer It

Welcome married to the road!

It is probably is otr all 48. That division usually will pay less but get more miles. What company do you work for? How bad is the miles for flatbed? I know I heard it gets bad but last year Davis Transport kept my husband moving even through the winter months. That was a nice surprise for us.

Goin Fer It's Wife

I drive otr for Arrow in tulsa. Things have been a lot worse this year than last year, at least for me. They told us that the runs were going to get shorter but it would help us keep moving. But I am still waiting for a day a lot of times between loads, but now instead of getting a 800-1500 mile run, it is 500-800, 2-3 loads a week. 1500 miles a week is not worth my time... I took a leave of absence, but plan on going back in a month or so and hopefully things will have picked up some.

[Orangetxguy]

Originally Posted by Goin Fer It

:cry: My husband did not sound to happy tonight when I spoke to him! He was fine earlier in the day but tonight he sounded tired and disgusted.

He said it took a while to get unloaded because of the amount of trucks in Seattle. Then he got a load to pick up in Everson Washington near the Canadian Border.

It was extremely windy there and he said his tarp blew off twice while he was attempting to tarp. I guess he has not had to tarp before in those conditions.

By the end of the day he only made it back down to the Seattle area. He is going to Smelterville, Idaho with this load.

I know tarping and going almost daily or every other day for pick up and drops is a new deal for him. I am sure it will all come to him as he gets the new routine down.

This trip is 480 miles.

He parked next to a System Driver last night that use to be a Davis Transport Driver also. This driver began a week before my husband did and was in the Northwest Division, I guess he was Canada eligible :?

Hopefully tomorrow will go smoother for my husband and by next week the routine will go smoother were he can pick up his loads early and drop sooner!

Goin Fer It's Wife

GFIW...I would suggest that GFI try parking his truck headed into the wind, when he is tarping in wind that is that strong. The tractor will break the wind a bit, and give him a better chance of getting the tarp on.

[Goin Fer It]

Hey Everybody!

I don't get to post much (hardly at all, in fact) but I had some time, so I decided to give some shout outs! :wink: First, I want to say thanks for all the "tarping in the wind" advice. I'll definitely put it to good use! Yeah, in all my time with Davis I never ran into such strong winds while tarping. Needless to say I was not a happy camper. :x

This gig with Systems is already different in a lot of ways than Davis. First, I'm home on weekends, yeah! This is my first weekend home since I've been with Systems. I had no qualms with Davis, they were very good to me. I had been thinking about finding trucking job that brought home more and when Davis decided to go O/O and I didn't want to go that route at the present time, it seemed like the time to make the switch. With Systems I'll be making a lot of short runs as opposed to the long ones I had with Davis. Which means tarping more, but that's okay, once you get a routine down it's not that bad. Also, with Systems being in the Maxi Division, I'm dealing with a 53' maxi trailer with the drop axles. Which means that I'm dealing with a lot more weight (105,00 gvw, 102,000 in OR). I had a load last week that was 63,000 lbs! You still have to watch how you get loaded even though you have more allowance on your trailer axles. The drives still have to weight out at 34,000 but with the drop axle on the tractor you can load heavier on the drives and the drop axle will shift some of the load to the steers. On the trailer with the three axles you can carry up to 45,000, with the drop axle, 50,000. This will vary a little depending on which states you're driving in (like OR). So this is a new twist to flatbedding that I'm being exposed to and I'm enjoying the learning experience. Knowledge is power! :wink:

Shout out to DD! Give me a call dude and let me know how you're doing. Once again thanks to everyone for your thoughts and advice. Travel safe and God bless.

GFI

[tootie04]

Hey the GFI...

Nice to see things worked out for DH. We have made our move back to OR so maybe we will run across your DH on our travels.

Getting used to a big company after being with a small co. SUCKS big time. I hope he does OK.

The idea about the straps is a good one. Bo was blown off of a 13 ft load way back when and he said to tell your DH "the older we get the less we bounce!!"

Good luck and be safe.

tootie

[devildice]

Originally Posted by Goin Fer It

Shout out to DD! Give me a call dude and let me know how you're doing. Once again thanks to everyone for your thoughts and advice. Travel safe and God bless.

GFI

The call will have to wait as YOU KNOW what time it is (playoffs :wink: ) :lol: I'll call you next week.

On a serious note, I am glad you are liking your new adventure. Heavy Haul is what I ultimately want to get into some day. So I will definitely be following your journey. Take care and be safe out here.

[Goin Fer It]

:shock: :roll: :?: Man oh man! I have no idea what the meaning of a letter my husband received from the doctor regarding hearing loss means! I pray it is nothing bad and merely protection against any future actions against System Transport.

I just opened it last night! When my husband took his short physical for Systems Transport they signed off on everything that he could drive.

The letter stated that my husband could be eligible for a workmans comp claim against his last employer where he felt he was exposed to hearing damage. It said he should contact the employer more or less to file a workmans comp claim and that they would be forwarding the letter to System Transport.

While we new my husband had some hearing damage (he use to be a sound man and once upon a time was in a band) it was never anything that would prevent him from working as truck driver. I mean he passed three test before this one and we believed he passed this one as they did sign off when he went in.

He is going to call the doctors office today and attempt to find out what is going on. If they say his hearing is so bad we will seek a second opinion. I did not like the looks of the letter and I am praying it was nothing! We just don't need anything to go wrong at this point.

I did not sleep a wink after reading that letter last night. I drove my husband to the truck we left the house around 2:30 am as he is going to deliver around 7:00 am this morning.

Goin Fer It's Wife

[Goin Fer It]

Originally Posted by devildice

The call will have to wait as YOU KNOW what time it is (playoffs :wink: ) :lol: I'll call you next week.

:roll: You men and your football! You are two peas in a pod when it comes to football :lol:

Goin Fer It's Wife

[Goin Fer It]

Originally Posted by married to the road

I drive otr for Arrow in tulsa. Things have been a lot worse this year than last year, at least for me. They told us that the runs were going to get shorter but it would help us keep moving. But I am still waiting for a day a lot of times between loads, but now instead of getting a 800-1500 mile run, it is 500-800, 2-3 loads a week. 1500 miles a week is not worth my time... I took a leave of absence, but plan on going back in a month or so and hopefully things will have picked up some.

How big of a company is Arrow? It does not sound so good that the loads are shorter and the wait is the same. I hope it picks up for you soon.

Goin Fer It's Wife