As the Wheels turn with Goin Fer It and Family!
 

For any new people I would like to Welcome you to this new thread!

As my husband began his new career in trucking he went to Sage in Post Falls Idaho. A very good school but all trucking school does is teach you enough to obtain your CDL.

Because of May Truckings higher training pay that was $500.00 a week at that time he choose to go with them.

So off with his brand new class A CDL he began orientation at May Trucking on July 24, 2006.

He went out with his trainer but spent time off with his trainer at his house and actually was only trained for approximately twelve days driving. After his training was over he told me he was not shown allot of things on the list that the trainer was given for him to be taught.

Still he was anxious to get into his own truck and begin making money. He tested out on August 19, 2006.

He finally got his truck and his first load on Tuesday August 22, 2006. He left the yard late and he did not have his map book showing truck stops so he was looking for them more or less in the blind. He stopped at one it was full then he saw another one off the freeway but took a wrong turn. He knew he had to turn around and saw a parking lot he thought would be big enough to turn around in. Once he was in the parking lot he saw all the landscaping everywhere and knew he was in trouble. He ended up taking out a tree and a light pole on his first solo load. May Trucking kept him on but when they found out the amount that the BLM was demanding for the accident they were upset. Within two or three weeks he had a small fender bender. He only bent up another drivers fender but he was terminated on Wednesday September 20, 2006.

For all the details it is on the May Trucking thread my husband began! There was much legal hassle and much more involved.

http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...er=asc&start=0

With less than two months experience and only three weeks solo, having two preventables on his record things did not look good for him. Will at Sage said his career was not over and began to help us look for a new company. We had filled out an application on CAD and Davis Transport had known Will and contacted him for a reference for my husband. They believed that his training was not adequate and were willing to retrain him and give him a second chance. Will also had spoken to people he knew at Central Refrigerator regarding a position for my husband. With two offers my husband went with Davis Transport.

He began his job with Davis Transport on Monday October 16, 2006. Davis Transport stood behind my husband every step of the way through all our troubles and gave him a second chance as a truck driver. They put him in one of their nicest trucks around June of 2006 and always treated us well.

Although my husband was happy with Davis Transport I know that being out 6-8 weeks at a time was beginning to get to him as he missed the children and home. The Davis Transport family grew on CAD as new drivers began with Davis Transport.

On November 28, 2007 we were the last ones to hear that Davis Transport was going all O/O and L/O by January 1, 2008. Being a small company they were hit hard with the slow Lumber industry and for other financial reasons. We were not going to take the leap into being an L/O.

On Monday December 17, 2007 my husband made his final drop for Davis Transport. Tuesday December 18, 2007 he turned in his truck. We wish those at Davis Transport well and sincerely hope that they can overcome their financial difficulties and become a prosperous company again in the future.

The Davis Transport thread!

http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...er=asc&start=0

On December 26, 2007 my husband began orientation with his new company Systems Transport. And so our journey in this industry continues but it begins the new year with a new company and a new routine which should be different from the other two companies.

For those of you who have followed our journey through the good and bad Welcome to the new thread and thank you all for the wonderful support here! :P

Goin Fer It's Wife

My husband is now employed with System Transport out of Spokane Washington. System Transport has approximately 1,100 units, this includes their sister companies units. They have different divisions even within the flat bed side which runs under System Transport. The refer division is run under TWT and the bulk/tanker division is a sister company called JJ Williams.

Under the System Transport side they have

1. Marine Division
2. OTR all 48 states Division
3. Pole Division
4. Northwest Division
5. Heavy Haul Division

There are other divisions for other areas but these are the ones available in the Northwest.

In the Northwest Division and the Heavy Haul division drivers are home on the weekends and sometimes throughout the week.

My husband is on the heavy haul division. He is not eligible to go into Canada because of our legal hassles over the accident he had when he was first employed with May Trucking. While the heavy haul and the northwest division both go into Canada we were told that in the Heavy Haul division they can work around people who are not eligible to go into Canada.

My husband with a years experience will be paid 38 cents per a mile. Tarp pay will be $40.00. He has been told he will get 2000-2400 miles a week. He will also receive $15.00 pick up and drop off pay for each load.

My husband will be receiving a $1,000 sign on bonus since he is now an experienced driver with more than a year. The bonus will be paid in the following manner. Thirty days $250.00, sixty days $250.00 and ninety days $500.00.

My husband chose to stay in flatbedding because he likes the hours they are more normal drop times usually day time hours whereas dry van hour drop times can very and even be in the middle of the night. With flatbed the receiver will usually take the load when you show up vs. waiting until your exact appointment time.

With the System Transport Heavy Haul division it will be far different than his experiences with Davis Transport as he will not have a trailer issued to him. He will not be running all 48 states.He will do drops and pick up different trailers. He will be going to Seattle allot and will stay in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana and sometimes Nevada. He was thrilled to here he will not be going down to California at all, as their laws are different regarding heavy haul!

With System Transport he does have a qualcom or something comparable under a different name. System Transport is a much bigger company and will not have the family type atmosphere that was found at Davis Transport, but the big plus is that my husband will see home much more! Hopefully the miles will be more consistent.

And so my husband and our family new adventure begins with the new year at System Transport!

Goin Fer It's Wife

I wish you all the best of luck in your new adventure, I have an acquaintance who is an O/O for System, he has a cabover and lives in Spokane and has told me he is quite happy with them, it’s not uncommon for me to see his truck as I drive by his home, he says he gets good miles and home time.
I had considered them once but for whatever reason chose my current company, my wifes boss was a dispatcher for System for 12 years and says it’s a good company to drive for, So will GFI be getting one of those comfy new Eagles they have?

I drive a flatbed and things are slow right now. One of our drivers said he was leaving for system transport because they guaranteed him 12,000 miles a month pulling a flatbed.(not sure what division,probably otr-all 48) It sounds like a good company. Good luck!

Day 1 Orentation Wednesday December 26, 2008

The new journey at System Transport began on December 26, 2007 with my husband being 45 minutes late to his first day of oreintation. There was a bad accident on the freeway and they had routed all traffic off the freeway he had to take side streets for a while.

Anytime we have some snow up here anymore in Coeur d' Alene Idaho there are many accidents. System Transport had made the offer to pay for a room for husband so he would not have to get up and drive in but he would rather be at home and in his own bed.

The first day at the oreintation was a typical day other than being late. Lots and lots of paper work for medical and health insurance. Saftey videos, and test.

Day 2 Thursday December 27, 2008
On day two of my husbands oreintation he ran into a snafu with his medical card. We had given System Transport the Medical card long form from Sage but his actual card was the one from May Trucking. The doctor's office that performed his physical from May Trucking said they would not release the long form to him since May Trucking paid for the physical when my husband called May Trucking they no longer had the form on file.

My husband called the doctor in Idaho that performed the physical for Sage and got a copy of the card so that the long form and the card would match.

My husband went in on day two for a quick physical and drug test at the end of the day two oreintation.

He did a road test and it was a breeze for him. He tested out in a Kennworth which he had been driving a Kennworth for Davis Transport previously. He said it was the easiest driving test he has ever taken.

At the end of day two my husband was told to bring his things to outfit his truck on Day 3 of oreintation.

Day 3 Friday December 29, 2008

My husband's truck was not ready! It had not been detailed. They finished up test, log book reveiw and all the typical oreintation stuff.

They told my husband he would not get his first load until January 2, 2008 because of the New Year holiday and that he could go in on Monday to outfit his truck.

Monday when got there his truck was still not detailed yet he told them just to vacume it out and wipe down the inside and he would call it good.

He has a Kennworth with 385,000 miles I am uncertain of the year. He can stand in his cab but he said it does not have much storage space. He said the sleeper is about as big as his last sleeper minus the storage space. He does not have a place to put the ladder on his truck. He was told to call in on Wednesday morning to see if there was a load.

Wednesday January 2, 2008

This morning my husband just went in because he needed a couple locks and things ckecked out. He got his first load today from Spokane to Seattle. He did not pick up until the afternoon. He said there was another System Transport driver there picking up also. He gave him a hand and a few pointers regarding the tri-axle trailer. The place he is going to deliver to is right on the docks. He stopped this evening in Ellensburg Washington as they were requiring chains over the pass and it was already dark. He will get up in the morning and continue with his delivery.

This trip is 280 miles with $30.00 drop and pick up pay.

One bummer is that System Transport pays every two weeks and it will take getting use to. Plus our last check from Davis Transport was on December 21st and the last two weeks with Davis were not high miles as I think they wanted to keep the drivers close to Missoula for the switch. Our next check will not be until January 18, 2008 :cry:

The timing of my working through the temporary agency at the County Auditor's office for those three weeks was just perfect. The assignment is complete and I will be talking with them tomorrow when I go into pick up my check and see if there is anything coming up soon.

Goin Fer It's Wife

Thank you Rotts! My husband also has a friend that is an O/O with System Transport he use to work for JJ Williams and was actually the one who talked us into trucking.

Do you ever see the Sage trucks on the I-90? Every time I see one I think about how long ago it was since those days! How long do you have in now Rotts? I know time sure does fly!

Keep in touch!

Goin Fer It's Wife

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

Re: As the Wheels turn with Goin Fer It and Family!
 

you meant 2 preventables right?

anyway good luck,sounds like a good company.

Re: As the Wheels turn with Goin Fer It and Family!
 

:oops: :oops: Oops your right I guess that must have been wishful thinking on my part. I will fix that! Thank you for the well wishes!

Goin Fer It's Wife

And the saga continues........(all the best in 2008 to you and GFI !) If he gets down to I-80 here in Reno, I'll be looking for him. I'll be in the Savage Transport tanker (well at least 2 days a week).....

Hi GFI'w,

I'll be watching this thread closely....

I am still at home and had my Bone Scan today. Now just waiting for the results to be revealed to us on Jan 16th.

Good luck, Jen and I will talk to you soon...

pb

It’s good to hear GFI is back on the road again, I saw a Sage truck twice, a quick wave was all the time I had, I just spoke to Will last week (just checking in) I’ve been with W&S almost 9 months now, wow has time flown.
Freight has definitely NOT been slow for me, I’ve had pre-plans all month with most runs about 1800-2000 miles, I drove in all that terrible winter weather last month and finally got a good South/West run, now I’m in L A and see nasty weather just to the North, Drive safe everyone!

Thank you very much feederfred! And the best to you the Mrs and rest of your family for 2008!

If he is headed down your way I will let you know! There sure are allot more System Transport trucks than there were Davis Transport drivers.

I hope you like your new driving gig!

Goin Fer It's Wife

I am hoping everything is alright with you and you will be able to get on the road soon! Please keep us updated on everything!

Tell Jen hello and happy new year! Hope 2008 goes smoother for you two!

Goin Fer It's Wife

Will is a good guy! My husband stops in every once and a while! Now it will be longer for stopping in as he will not be parking his truck there anymore!

:shock: :shock: Nine months wow were did the time go? It is great to hear they are keeping you busy and you like the company! I am glad for you! Are you in there flatbed division now? If so how do you like it compared to the van?

Goin Fer It's Wife

: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

Hey GFI & W, :lol:

Glad to be along for the new adventures. Hopefully, things will smooth out for GFI. A new venture is always a little nerve racking in the beginning.
Looking forward to future posts.
I hope you all had a great Christmas and a great New Years day.

DD - also looking forward to the pics - after all it has been 2 days since you left, lol

Dewers - Prayfully hoping all is working out for you as you heal.

Stay safe everyone,

Al

Thank you Truckpreacher, we are glad to have you along to share our new adventures. It is a different operation and many things will be done differently because of the short runs and it is heavy haul. I know he will be glad when it smooths out also!

Goin Fer It's Wife

Regarding yesterday and the tarping my husband said he has tarped in wind but nothing like what he had yesterday. He said he actually had to lay flat on top of the load when the gust came up just to keep the tarp from flying off again. :shock: Does not sound like fun to me.

It is around nine in the evening and he is just now on his way home. After his drop in Smelterville Idaho he dead headed into Spokane. He said there was a trailer there waiting for him for a Monday morning delivery. He had to hook up to it and secure the load. He said it was a hard load to secure and he had to do some shifting as it was not loaded right.

The bill for the load was suppose to be in the truck but it was not. He looked for it for a while. He said another driver came in and showed him another place to look when that happens and sure enough it was there.

As he gets to know the ins and outs of the company and the way things are done I am certain he will adapt and things will get easier! :)

The load for Monday will be going to Boardman Oregon miles for this trip are 240 miles. I do not know if he will leave Sunday or not I will have to talk to him tomorrow when he is not so tired and HUNGRY! I told him we ate already he said that was okay because he is hungry and was going to stop on the way home. I talked him out of it by telling him I saved a big steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli and salad! He said he wait until he gets home to eat! :D

Goin Fer It's Wife

I’ve been flatbedding for about 4 months now, I do like it much better than vans, OK other than tarping in bad weather, or good weather for that matter, speaking of which, I don’t know if your husband has tried this but it works for me…
In windy conditions I roll out my tarp over the load and then throw 2-3 straps over the tarp but leave about 8 inches of slack in them, then I can unfold the tarp and not have it blow off, the straps restrain the tarp but still allow you to unfold and straighten it out.

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:

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

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.

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.

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! :D 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

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

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.

: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

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

Goin Fer It's Wife

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

Thank you tootie! My husband knew not to expect the family type atmosphere he received at Davis Transport so he was not disappointed when he did not get it. I can tell he really misses the truck he had at Davis Transport also but he knew what to expect and has not set his expectations high in those aspects.

He really enjoyed coming home for the weekend and I think that and hopefully steady miles will be the big trade off. Time will tell and hopefully this hearing letter thing is nothing!

Goin Fer It's Wife

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[/quote]

Arrow has about 1300 trucks I believe, maybe a little more. It is one of the larger totally flatbed companies. I am sure it will pick up, but it seemed that we slowed down earlier this year, I hope that means it will pick back up earlier in too!

GFIW. Best of luck with System. My ex-girlfriends dad worked for them as an O/O for quite a few years and really enjoyed it. Worked there until he retired.

Arrow has about 1300 trucks I believe, maybe a little more. It is one of the larger totally flatbed companies. I am sure it will pick up, but it seemed that we slowed down earlier this year, I hope that means it will pick back up earlier in too![/quote]


Arrow usually slows up in Aug and picks up in March-April. we have been gone from Arrow for over a year now. Bo usually ran East to West and avg about 3000+ miles a week

tootie

I wouldn't worry about the letter, it sounds like a CYA move on Systems part, documenting a pre-existing condition to protect them from future litigation.
Did GFI even do a hearing test, y'know the official kind, or was this based upon a comment he may have made to the doctor?

I hope you are right Rotts! This was an official test the letter was from the Occupational Health Solutions and it was the doctor who reviewed the test. The hearing doctor.

But that night they did sign off on him so I am hoping that is all it is!

He called and left two messages but she did not return his call today. Hopefully she will call tomorrow so he can find out exactly what her letter means.

Goin Fer It's Wife

Wow! Four or five months of good miles that would be scary :shock: I hope it super good and can sustain most through eight or nine months of the year!

Goin Fer It's Wife

My husband got a load today I will post the details tomorrow as I attempted to go up Nana's hill tonight I got stuck. Her hill is worse than ours :shock: but I had to try it tonight as tomorrow we are expecting seven more inches of snow. My van is still stuck there and hopefully it will not slide off the side of the mountain :shock: I was there for six hours attempting to get it unstuck.

Tomorrow I will see if my mom or step-dad have quick fit chains and if they do I will borrow them. My broke a few years ago!

I will need a set as if winter stays here I will have to chain up as the four wheel drive and studs will not get me up her hill and she will want to go shopping and need to do errands if winter stays until March.


Goin Fer It's Wife

Thank you so much for your well wishes! We really hope things go well with System Transport for us!

Goin Fer It's Wife

I was one beat puppy yesterday! Being on Nana's hill really made me sore and tired so I did not update.

The snow did come up our way and the kids had a snow day today :D They liked it.

My husband after he made his drop in Boardman, Oregon was told to dead head to Portland to pick up a load. He picked it up in Washington just over the border. He is headed for Ephraim, Utah. He is suppose to drop tomorrow.

In Oregon he waited until almost noon today and then chained up right after he chained up they lifted the restriction. If he would have chained up in the early morning instead of waiting he would have had some miles in by noon.

I told him with System Transport he will have to get use to chaining up as he will mainly be in the NW states and there are going to be allot of times when he is not going to be able to wait out the weather since his runs are much shorter.

:shock: I think he was annoyed with me for telling him he is going to have to chain up and do whatever it takes as these loads are short and if he waits it will hurt him or he will not be back by the weekend. I know that System Transport does allot of runs to Seattle and that goes through the Snowqualmi (SP) Pass which is bad allot of times if there is any snow.

It is all a learning experience hopefully the right lessons are learned!

This load is 160 DH miles and 880 miles for a total of 1040 miles. It is a load that had had to be tarped and I believe he will get pick up and drop off pay!

Goin Fer It's Wife