Thanks guys!

Hey everyone!

Hope y'all are doing well. I'll update all of my numbers later, just stopping in to say hi. Just doing the usual running back and forth between Indiana to 'Bama and back, and even went out to CO and back a couple of times since my last post. Everything's still going great here, making plenty of $$$ and even better, taking far more time off than I imagined doing this. Obviously besides myself, the wife and kids are loving it as well! Speaking of time off, I'm finishing up my second day of vacation and not returning to work 'til much later in the month, so I'm not going to be around much, if any. I hope everyone stays out of trouble and is safe. Take it easy y'all, off to slack I go...

:wink:

Week one of training done, phew. Still have a job. Gdamn im rusty. My shifting can use lots of improvements but im doing leaps and bounds now versus day one. I havent driven a truck on the road for probably two months so its a given id say. My backing, oh boy. Once again its been awhile, and last time I was backing they were single axle day cabs. Not dual axles w/ sleepers. I feel good, I have improved in the single week. Seven weeks to go, I should be fine by then. First week I did 9hrs, 11.5, 12.25, 13.25, and 9 today. Apparently ive been babied because its the most Ive worked in a week.

I have to admit, I was thinking I made a mistake the first few days. I think ive gotten over that though. No matter what its better then my last job, and I think I have to just get used to the lifestyle. I think ill be better once I get my own truck also.

Paperwork, damn I still have a lot to learn. Once again I still have seven weeks so I think ill be fine. Its all repetative so once I have it, ill have it.

Saw a new Volvo today at our terminal. Mmmmmm. Apparently were also the only terminal that pulls three axle trailers?! Im sure I have more to say but im drawing blank right now.

Questions?

Yes Maine is the only t erminal that pulls tri axels

Well...since the 27th of june, I have run out my hours every day. Have only spent 4 nights at home since the 27th, have had, counting tonight 5 motel rooms, and have traveled across the country, coast to coast twice, delivered 4 loads on the gulf coast 5 loads in the midwest, 1 load into Canada, 1 load into Kalifornia, 2 loads into North Carolina, both on the coast, and am now under a load headed to Bayonne NJ, from the Gulf Coast.

I'm going to head home after next weekend...and slack just like that "Young" guy who started this thread !!!!

My "To the Truck" is at $34,000 on 11,900 miles. Fuel had pretty much stayed consistant across the board, at $4.649, until the last 2 weeks. This july has been way better than last july, and august looks like it might kick ass too.


Even with the drop in fuel....I'm thinking the rate to NJ ($3,839.40) is kinda low.....just because I gotta cross into NJ. :|

bayonne
 

stan.......... where in bayonne....???

new hook rd.......22nd st.........port jersey blvd.....????? :idea: :idea:

Re: bayonne
 

Oil terminal on 22nd.

Don't forget, we can always warm up a 1/4 cab for ya Stan! :wink:

Cavi! Sounds like it is all coming together for ya. Glad to hear it! BOL

Re: bayonne
 

ya a buddy of mine works @ the cement plant there(duramix)..........

what do you take into bayonne....14 a (njtpk)....or staten island and over
the bayonne bridge.....

Welcome to my life. 8)

Thanks!

BHG, yea its a WHOLE new lifestyle for me. Something Ive never done and will have to get used too. Monday starts at 4:15am. I luckily have a very supportive girlfriend.

Re: bayonne
 

I camped out at the Grover Cleveland Service Plaza,sunday night, then hopped into Bayonne over the "Bayonne Bridge". What a tight mother those are(2-bridges)!!! No room for error. Terminal I delivered to was called IMTT. Now camped out at the TA in Maybrook. Load wednesday morning in Danbury CT, for Sauget IL.

Had my best week since going solo. Ran out my 70 in 7 days and am in a company hotel getting paid to reset. Slacked 3600 miles from Monday-Sunday.

Seems we all have a little of that Cyanide slacker in us. I just got back from 2 weeks off. Before I left I had a week of Cananda where I got 1800 miles for the week along with 8 hrs waiting at the boarder, 2 lay overs and a 10 hr. lab sample delay. $$$$$$$$ Got 600 miles in yesterday and back to Canada today after I get the customs invoice. Shipper didn't have it ready uh oh! more $$$ I mean delay. hahahaha

wsyrob wrote;Dammit man, nice! Are you sure you're still driving a Superior truck Rob? :lol:


Harleypiper wrote:I have absolutely no idea what you may be referring to there! :roll:

I'll be saying the same in a few days. Been having a blast!!!

Slack azz cheapskate!

$679.50 = 1,800 x .3775 (presuming 50% empty miles)
$108.10 = Border delay (First hour $15, 13.30 x 7 hours)
$212.80 = Two full paid layovers ($13.30 x 16 hours)
$133.00 = Lab delay ($13.30 x 10 hrs)
$40.00 = Live load/unload (presuming you only did one load and no drop-and-hooking)
$50.00 = Sleeper berth pay (presuming only five full days worked away from domicile terminal)
$1,223.40 Gross estimate (.679/mile)

:D

Now, now we've had this talk before Harley, you and every other driver here at Superior are supposed to give all of that extra money back for sitting around not doing a damn thing. You all should be ashamed of yourselves; getting paid for all of that On-Duty, Not Driving stuff, much less being paid to sleep!!!

:roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll:

[quote="Cyanide"]
Harleypiper wrote:I have absolutely no idea what you may be referring to there! :roll:

I'll be saying the same in a few days. Been having a blast!!!

Dammit BOY!!! Are you STILL on vacation???? :shock: :shock: :shock: :P

$679.50 = 1,800 x .3775 (presuming 50% empty miles)
$108.10 = Border delay (First hour $15, 13.30 x 7 hours)
$212.80 = Two full paid layovers ($13.30 x 16 hours)
$133.00 = Lab delay ($13.30 x 10 hrs)
$40.00 = Live load/unload (presuming you only did one load and no drop-and-hooking)
$50.00 = Sleeper berth pay (presuming only five full days worked away from domicile terminal)
$1,223.40 Gross estimate (.679/mile)

:D

Now, now we've had this talk before Harley, you and every other driver here at Superior are supposed to give all of that extra money back for sitting around not doing a damn thing. You all should be ashamed of yourselves; getting paid for all of that On-Duty, Not Driving stuff, much less being paid to sleep!!!

:roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll:[/quote]

Your figures are pretty close Cyanide. I decided to take them up on the hotel instead of the sleeper, so take off 20 for sleeper. hahahaaa so thats all I'm giving back. Well 2600 miles last week, 1600 as of tonight and see another run to Cleveland and back to end the week, I think I need another 2 weeks off soon. Now that they bought me a new truck, I'll have no choice but to take the money and sleep in it.

Damn 2600 miles. That is too much work for me :lol:


If you are ever at the Springfield terminal, stay at the company hotel, it is a damn nice one. Free breakfast buffet, kingsize bed, pool, jacuzzi, bar, and restaurant.

:lol: ???Guess who finally decided to come back to work??? :lol:

Damn, if you guessed me then you're right! Finally back after almost three weeks off. What a great time it was. Wife, kids, and I had a blast! But have to work eventually...hahahahaha. Just doing my first load to 'Bama, then heading back to Indiana and grabbing one going to Colorado next week. Time to get busy. Y'all be safe and have fun, more later :wink:

Week 26
N/A (time off)

Week 27
-Jacksonville, FL (hook clean tank)
-Jax, FL to Savannah, GA (live load)
-Savannah, GA to Greenfield, IA (customer unload)
-Greenfield, IA to Westville, IN (drop dirty tank, hook preload.....this load actually carried over into next week hence why it will be such a higher pay amount)
Gross: $2,530.85
Miles: 1,835
Avg.: $1.370/mile

Week 28
-Westville, IN to Valparaiso, IN (hook preload...from prior week)
-Valpo, IN to Huntsville, AL (customer unload)
-Huntsville, AL to Valpo, IN
-----Repeat this same run 3x this week
Gross: $6,682.37
Miles: 4,466
Avg.: $1.496/mile

Week 29
-Valpo, IN (hook preload)
-Valpo, IN to Elizabeth, CO (driver unload w/truck pump)
-Elizabeth, CO to Westville, IN (drop dirty, flush pump)
Gross: $3,386.64
Miles: 2,250
Avg.: $1.48/mile

Week 30
-Westville, IN (hook preload)
-Westville, IN to Huntsville, AL (customer unload)
-Huntsville, AL to Valpo, IN (drop dirty, hook preload)
-----Repeat this same load 2x
Gross: $4,787.21
Miles: 3,340
Avg.: $1.433/mile

Week 31
-Valpo, IN (hook preload)
-Valpo, IN to Elizabeth, CO (driver unload w/truck pump)
-Elizabeth, CO to Westville, IN (drop dirty, flush pump, hook preload)
-----Westville, IN to Huntsville, AL (customer unload)
-----Huntsville, AL to Valpo, IN (drop dirty)
Gross: $5,297.43
Miles: 3,434
Avg.: $1.542/mile

Weeks 32 and 33
-N/A (time off)

Superior Carriers, (Dedicated Account) Independent Contractor Totals, January 01 to Aug. 17, 2008:
Gross Revenue: $97,675.34
Hub Miles: 72,779 (ALL ODOMETER miles off-duty and on-duty.)
Loaded Miles: 39,125 (54%)
Empty Miles: 33,654 (46%)
Avg. Revenue: $1.342/mile
Total expenses: $63,036.94 ($18,176.48 Fixed and Variable Costs, $44,860.46 Fuel for 11,545.826 gallons.....6.3 m.p.g. and $3.885/gallon)
Taxable Net: $34,638.40
Avg. Taxable Net: .475/hub mile
Days Working: 135 (59%)
Days Off: 95 (41%)

Compared to what I did as a company driver...

Superior Carriers, Company Driver Aug. 05, 2006 to Oct. 07, 2007 (Training status July 31 to Aug. 4, 2006)
Gross Pay: $61,343.70 (All training pay, mileage pay, orientation pay, hourly pay, holiday pay, personal day pay, vacation pay)
Hub miles: 115,898 (ALL ODOMETER miles off-duty and on-duty.)
Avg.: .529/mile
Days Working: 318 (72%)
Days Off: 124 (28%)

Superior Carriers, (Dedicated Account) I/C Totals, Oct. 08, 2007 to Aug. 17, 2008:
Gross Revenue: $129,481.06
Hub Miles: 100,463 (ALL ODOMETER miles off-duty and on-duty.)
Loaded Miles: 53,942 (54%)
Empty Miles: 46,521 (46%)
Avg. Revenue: $1.288/mile
Total expenses: $84,694.22 ($23,085.78 Fixed/Variable Costs, $61,608.44 Fuel for 16,104.866 gallons.....6.239 m.p.g. and $3.826/gallon)
Taxable Net: $44,786.84
Avg. Taxable Net: .442/hub mile
Days Working: 187 (59%)
Days Off: 126 (41%)

:wink

:shock: :shock:
It's about TIME you young PUP!!!

Now..where is that old guy....SKYWALKER????

Is he out floating around on that derelict barge he calls home, drinking MiaTia's and pretending to be catching fish or something, while his better half slave's away????

One of ya has to be out there churnin and burnin...cuz I am tired and pooped out and parked for a few dayz!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

skywalker...........rob...........where are you................ :?: :?: :idea: :idea: :arrow: :arrow: :idea:

Stan.... I'm around 8) Still doing my thing with Superior. :D Just had some other priorities of late....

"My better half slave's away"?? :lol: :lol: You mean the "ADMIRAL"? Me drinking Mai-Tai's?.... The Admiral has me on a "skinny" ration of grog, she says the bilge isn't nearly clean enough!!! Me, I think she's been watering down the grog of late.....

I've spent some time on the boat....mostly in the bilge working on things, got two diesels down there....and a whole of other stuff. Lots of wires and cables and hoses....fun stuff. Been working on some projects and getting the boat ready for hopefully some cruising here before too long. Got vacation coming soon.

Had to jump through the proverbial hoop though recently to get home and get the boat stripped and triple secured.... I live right where Charley hit and we were forecast to take it on the nose from Fay.... except they expected her to power up to about a 3 before hitting us. Worked like a real bilge-rat 2 days straight.....wore me out, then hunkered down. Fay came ashore south of us, leaving us on the less dangerous side, but we still got 31 inches of rain and some serious winds.... the boat got a couple of small scrapes from "FOD"....but other than that we just discovered a leak or two.... Oh boy :roll: more work.....

Been back out here on the road a little of a week, and my freakin' turbo or EGR has gone on the fritz. In Memphis now.... oh well. Had to come back to work to get some rest..... 8) 8) 8)

HA Likely excuses from the Slackerside of life!!!


Well..It's good you checked in there Rob!!

LOL....and looks like you get to breath easy....Gus and his girlfriend are gonna miss your floating money pit!!

:lol: :lol: Hey, thats my story and I'm sticking to it!! :lol: :lol:

Yep...it looks like Gus is headed up into your part of the country.... Hopefully it won't get any more powerful than it is and it will lose some steam before it gets up in your neck of the woods. I'm at the Cummins shop in Memphis....(good dudes!! Replacing my turbo on Saturday!!) and I'm watching the weatherchannel and it looks like the people in NO aren't going to wait until the storm passes to admit there's a threat. About time they "got a grip on reality"!!

Hopefully that front will move south faster and keep Hanna down low, or turn her back out into the Atlantic. 8)

"Money pit" is right.... but hey, its home!! 8) I'd rather spend the money on the boat.... than living in Home Depot spending money all the time..... even though I do spend some money there..... :?

I wouldn't like being in Grand Isle, Port of fourchon..Morgan City or Intracoastal City....them places are likely to get hammered pretty good..from recent track up dates.

National Weather Service has us getting lot's of rain, winds to 30 mph...but not much else....so far.

Have a generator...have 40 gallons of gasoline...have a bag packed and ready to run!


Was supposed to load for Charlotte NC sunday...but yesterday...AFTER the shop had called and said my truck was ready..when I walked up to the counter to pay the bill....Stacey the service gal I work with...she frowned and told me "Bad news Stud!"


:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

2 bearings about gone on the drive axles. 1 right front, 1 left rear. They took me out to the shop and showed me. One had 3/4" of play with the tires and brakes mounted...the other had more than 1" of play....so I sit until it's fixed...Wednesday if the storm skips us. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Nothing like the present time to kick back and enjoy the break.... 8) Sorry to hear about the truck and the $$ to fix it.

My day turned out ok....two Cummins mechanics worked 4 hours this morning and pulled the turbo off my truck...broken fan shaft, and put a new one on it...so I'm back in service. Heading for Savannah in the AM. Then I'll probably head for home....gotta keep an eye on Hanna, and they say there's two more out there that they are watching already :roll: :!:

Here's a picture of the "barge".... 8)

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...oat_id=1780153

Ai Ai Skipper...when do we set sail??


Nice barge there Rob.

From 8/20-8/28, I ran 4010 miles.

ATL to MIA

MIA to SAV

SAV to Des Moines

D-Moines to Chicago

Chicago to Greesboro NC

Greensboro to High Point

High Point to ATL (home)


Man I was tired when I got home. With a nice four days off.. cant beat it
8)

Leavin for Aberdeen MD Tuesday at 9am.

Month one down. So far so good, no major learning mistakes. Backing is still a slight issue, shifting is coming along nicely. Training, well so far I feel it is sub-par unfortunately. I have two trainers, one im with 75% of the time and the other 25% of the time so. Of course the one im with most of the time I feel is slacking, and will harm me in the long run. Ive only driven loaded maybe 4 times. I drive empty about 50% of my days. So not only am I losing driving experiance, I never have to back into the damn mills. The only time I back is basically dropping dirties which I still suck at from lack of experiance. Paperwork, TONS of paperwork. Have I been involved? Nope, barely. I guess its my fault for not pushing the subject more, its my personality. He did say we'll start more this week. My other trainer is the opposite, but of course Im with him 25% of the time.

The first two weeks I only did 5 days, but the last two weeks Ive been working 6 days. In a stressful point in my life, my girlfriend decided she didnt want to be with me. So now Im left with a home, all bills and an empty oil tank to pay for. $365/week wasnt cutting it, $435 isnt much better but beggers cant be choosers. Also im just a newbie. Now I have a roller coaster of emotions at all times, but I try and stay on-topic at work and focus at succeeding.

I guess if I end up running the system, its a good point in my life to do it. Although I have a terrifying fear of not finding my way around, which makes me leary of going in the system. I can read a map, but it seems Im not the greatest at picking routes. Lack of experiance Id say. I dont know, I have no choice but to make this work.

Sorry to throw my sob story in there, just had to get it off my chest.

Garmin

Any specific model number? Price? Once again Im in a bad situation money wise right now. Dont know if ill make it through the winter, but if its that good of an investment ill do it. Anything to relieve my mind, its pretty much the only thing that scares me off from long driving.

Garmin's run about $145 I guess. Mine was given to me as a B-day gift..and I haven't really priced them Model ?...cheap one!


I thnink your fretting to much DD. Doesn't Superior have directions to each of the loading spot's and each of the unloading spot's they run? Miller does....I bet Superior does to.

If you need t make decent money...then running the system is definately a better option than local. Especially when your making miles. Couple 2100-2400 miles a week with hourly pay, and you knock down a decent living.

To bad about the GF. If it was the job that chased her off...your better off without her.

Give yourself time to learn..give yourself time to earn.

DDCavi,

Look at your local pawn shop for an el cheapo
until you can afford a better model.
Or you can sign up for a discover card and
activate it with a small purchase. This offer
get's you a nuvi for Free.
http://www.mygpsoffer.com

You obviously have a computer. Is it a lap top by chance?

You can get MS Streets and Trips cheap. I have an old copy I can send you if you PM me. I use it for routing. Also look at Truckmiles.com. There is also an online hazmat routing link I have on my laptop. I will link it when I get back out in the truck.

Right now you should be compiling a card file or notebook of directions to places you go. I usually write the directions the company gives me on a 3x5 index card. I then route it on MS Streets and Trips using company directions and have that map on the computer screen. I don't run GPS because it is too distracting. Occasionally I will look at Google Maps online. They have some street level views and zoom able satellite views. Some times you can see the racks and which roads to take at a plant.

You will get lost sometimes. Everyone does. I just pull over turn the 4 ways on and figure out where I am on the computer map and find a way to get where I need to be.

Nice barge, who says truck driving doesnt pay......

DD this is a highly complicated and secret method for finding your way that will never fail. Get the best 29.95 road atlas (the laminated one) at your nearest truck stop. When you are given your dispatch open to the US map at the beginning of the map pages. Take a straight edge and connect the city you are leaving with the city you are going to. Pick the biggest roads that are the closest to your straight edge and follow them until your directions on the travel order guide you in. This is the best method until you learn the system. You will find that you often go to the same places over and over again so it will not take you long to figure things out. Just don't get complacent out there and trace your connections a couple of times before you open any valves and you'll do fine.

MUD you old dog...Where you been Puddling up at ??

Friday 08/29/2008 was a very sad day in Baltimore. Larry Bixler passed away due to an apparent heart attack. Many of you may have known him he was simply the nicest guy you would ever hope to meet. Larry was with Conoco, then Vista, then Superior. He was with this company for thirty one years (Superior bought out Vista). He will be truly missed and he was admired.

I've been prepping my new super secret truck. Pictures to follow.

Didn't know him....but sorry to here about Larry Bixler!