Three Months and Two Feet

It's been about three months since I last posted anything. My bad. I've actually been really busy with my new Dedicated Account with my company. I recently started making store deliveries for a certain membership warehouse (not Sams Club...It rhymes with "Tostco") in the Washington, DC area. Occasionally I get to go to other exotic places such as Dedham, MA and Colchester, VT just to keep me on my toes. It's not too bad of an account. Most of the places are pretty decent, so it's nice to see the same faces every day. One nice part of the job is that I get to drive I95 through New York City occasionally. I know that most truckers avoid this area like the plague, but I kinda like it. I like being in the gritty city. I also like the fact that you usually drive it at about 3 miles per hour, so there's plenty of time to take in the scene. It also affords me the chance to check out some of the weird things people do in their cars in traffic. (Yeah, they do EXACTLY what you're thinking... and most of the time, it's not something you want to watch, trust me....)

There is one thing though, that I see more and more frequently both in traffic and on the open highway that really, REALLY grinds my gears.

Feet.

Most specifically, feet propped up on the dashboard. Apparently, it's become the travelling fashion for (mostly) women to ride down the highway with their feet up on the dashboard instead on the floor where they belong. I'm sure it's just the latest "trendy" thing and eventually it'll go away, but I think it needs to be nipped in the bud now for two reasons.

1) When you prop your feet up on the dash, they usually end up right up at the "A" pillar of the car. Where the air comes out. I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't want to smell your toe cheese blowing all over my car. My feet stink. I know they stink, so I keep 'em in my shoes. Any of you ladies that may be reading this and think "My feet don't stink" should think again. Also, no one else on the highway wants to see your corny, nasty, dirty feet.

2) It's dangerous as hell. Consider what's directly under your feet. An airbag. Now I know you trust Dopey McHusband, but consider that there are many many people on the highway who are complete morons. Now consider one of those people hit your car. That airbag is going to blast your knees right back through your face in 1/100th of a second, probably smashing your "bug-eye" faux-ghetto Paris Hilton sun glasses right into your eyes.

So, got your nasty feet back on the floor where they belong before you end up hurting yourself, you idiot.

Peace!

Old Fart and The Tropics

I often wonder if I'll survive getting older. I have been told that old age is terminal, so I doubt it. It's just that I am constantly finding myself getting more and more crotchity and less tolerant. Let me explain...

Early in the spring, my wife and I were discussing what to do for a vacation this year. She mentioned that she'd like to go on a cruise or go to the Carribbean. My thoughts immediately drifted to me sitting on an adarondac chair and sipping something with liquor in it and other than my "drink-to-mouth" excercise routine, doing little else. When asked (still in my thoughts) what I wanted to do that day, I reply "I'm fuckin' doin it right now! Then I thought of just my wife and I walking down one of those sandy beaches together just taking it all in and enjoying the sunset. All those thoughts, however, were brought to a spincter clenching halt when my wife suggested-

"Let's go to Beaches!"

Bull Shiiiiiit. 

For those not well versed, there are two types of resorts in the Carribbean. Places like "Sandles", which caters to couples. These places are full of good looking people (ok, so maybe I don't belong there either, but that's besides the point!) and are basically designed for couples drinking, couples walking on the beach, couples relaxing, and couples doing what couples do when the sun goes down... It's all inclusive and there are buffets, so it's my kind of place!

The other kind of place is a lot less appealing. Places like Sandles counterpart, "Beaches" Beaches is all inclusive and has buffets, but it has something that makes them wholly unappealing to me. 

Children. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate all children. I've got a child of my own and on a case-by-case basis, I generally don't have a problem with them. En masse, however, little baby Junior sonofabitch really gets on my nerves. The one thing that gets under my skin the most is some little shit having a meltdown and his fruity ass granola eating yuppie parents trying to bargain with him for silence. 

But back to Beaches. 

NO FUCKING WAY am I going there on a family vacation. Now before you think I'm a mean, horrible, asshole, ogre of a Dad, let me explain. I love going on trips with my family and I really wish that I could do it more often. I think it's fun to take wifey and the kiddo to places they'll like. Florida, for instance. We go, we have a good time, and all is well. I refuse, however, to go somewhere where small children congrigate. Disney World, Day out with Thomas, Beaches, etc.  

I refuse to go to Beaches mostly because when parents go on vacation with small kids (under age 10), they seem to think that the vacation is for them. It's not. Unless your kids are very independent, you need to keep your kids entertained and happy on a vacation, which is often more like work than a vacation. About 40% of parents, however, get to somewhere like Beaches and let their demon spawn run amok with little or no supervision witht the thought that it's a contained area and there are lifeguards, staff, etc that will do all the work. They completely ignore their kids and eventually, the little fuckers and crying and peeing their pants. Two completely unacceptable situations for me. 

If we do get to go on a vacation this year, it will be somewhere with a better kid/adult ratio and more room to spread out to avoid the trouble children. Of course, I'll still get sat next to the screaming meltdown kid at the restaurant, but that's another rant...

Russ

How does it work, exactly?

One of my readers (I have readers!) sent me an email asking how exactly the whole system worked from start to finish on a load. Ask and ye shall receive.....

The first thing that happens after I deliver a load is that I will send in a pre-programmed message (called a "macro") on my onboard computer system (Qualcomm) to my Driver Manager in Jonestown (home terminal) letting her know how many hours I have left within the federal limits. Now I'm ready for my next load.

The next thing to happen is my Qualcomm will beep and let me know that I have what's called a "pre-plan". The pre-plan tells me the shipper and shipper's city, receiver (or consignee) and their city, the type of trailer needed, the weight of the load, the pickup and delivery windows, and whether the trailer is already loaded or whether I will have to wait for it to be loaded. Pre-loaded trailers are usually easiest as I just have to unhook the trailer I have and hook up to that one and off we go, whereas if it's not pre-loaded, I have to wait for the shipper to load me up.

Once I get the pre-plan, I review it and make sure I can complete the trip legally in the time allotted and make sure that the trip doesn't interfere with getting home, getting sleep, etc. Once I've determined that I can take the load, I send a "Accept Pre-Plan" macro to my driver manager to be dispatched on it.

Again, my Qualcomm will beep and let me know the shipper info including address, loading time and date, company phone number and contact, Bill-of-lading (BOL) and pickup numbers, and any special instructions. Then I get the same info for the receiver.

Next I get a "fuel route". The fuel route tells me where Swift wants me to go get fuel and show me a recommended route to take between the shipper and receiver.

Once I get all of this, I have to send in a macro 23, which is directions to the shipper and receiver. These also contain any special instructions that must be adhered to at either locations. These might include certain types of trailers (ie only Wabash trailers, no roll-up door trailers, etc).

Now that I have all this info, I plan my trip. I check my Rand McNally trucker atlas and plan which routes I'm going to take and write it all down on sticky-notes which I stick to the side of the windshield. These are invaluable for truckers as our Qualcomms shut off when we're driving as a safety measure.

Then comes the driving. I drive to the shipper. Upon arrival, I check in with security and/or the shipping office and get my BOLs and send in a macro 1 (Arrived at shipper). They will also tell me where the load is on their yard. Lets say for the sake of saying that this is a drop and hook (trailer swap) load. They will then tell me where to park my empty. I park the empty trailer, and drive over to the loaded one. Then, I back under the new trailer and hook up the airlines and electrical lines. Once I pre-trip inspect the trailer and send in my macro 2 (loaded at shipper) we're ready to go!

Now comes the fun part. Driving! I drive until I'm tired, until I run out of hours, or until I arrive at my destination. Let's say that I can't make it in one day. When I get within 2 hours of the end of my legal hours, I consult my truckstop book. It's an invaluable book that contains every truck stop in the US. Best $4 I ever spent. Once at the truck stop, I've gotta find a space, which is sometimes very easy, but sometimes very hard. Often if you arrive at a truck stop after about 6Pm or so, you won't be able to find any spots at all, in which case it's on to the next one.

Once I arrive at the receiver, I send in a macro 5 (Arrived at final destination). Then check with the guard shack/receiving area to find out what to do with it. Once the trailer is unloaded, I send in a macro 6 (Empty at final) and find the nearest truck stop to fill out my paperwork and get it scanned in to the company so I get paid. The truck stops scan the bills into a system that sends them into Swift so that I get paid.

There it is folks. That's the whole thing. It isn't all that terribly hard, but there's a lot to do in a certain order.

If you have any questions about trucking, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Russ

The Day

I should scold myself and tell my self that I'm not sticking to the program as far as this blog is concerned, but I really am just too tired to beat myself up about it. Since my last post, I've upgraded to solo status, which means they've turned me loose on the highways of this country with my own rig and no-one to get me out of trouble (should I get into any...more on that later). My truck is a 2006 Volvo VNL670. I've taken some pictures and will get them up soon. I had to do a lot of housekeeping on this truck to get it into servicable condition as the goofball that had it before me not only smoked, but also was lacking personal hygene skills (as was noted by the foul odor in the truck when I got it). Several bottles of Clorox and Fabreeze later, it passed for acceptable and I then proceded to put it in the shop to have the rest of it fixed.
What was wrong, you ask? Well...
Bald tires (Fixed...Actually got 10 new tires on this thing!)
Driver side seat belt (Fixed)
Driver side mud flap (Fixed. May not sound like a big deal, but DOT says it is, so it is)
Hood latch (Fixed. Hard to check the oil with the hood unable to open!)
Drivers side mirror trim (Still missing. Not getting one. Looks ghetto)
Glad hand holder (Not getting one of those either. Got a bungee cord instead)

Eh, so not too bad. This old warhorse has almost 300K miles on her, so I should have it for about another 100K, then it'll get turned in and I'll get a new truck (International ProStar!!??)

Now that I've gotten a few runs under my belt, I figured I'd tell you what a typical day was like for me. The Story starts yesterday (2/10)....

I was in Pottstown, PA yesterday at 11:30 AM. I had just dropped a trailer at Sears, and picked up an empty trailer.

11:30a - Empty Call. Lets my dispatcher know my trailer is empty and I'm ready for another load.

2:30p - Still no instructions. Still sitting in mall parking lot. I decided that it was time to go in and use the bathroom (BP meds make you go about once every 2 hours).

2:34p - I just got into the mall and my cell phone beeps to let me know I have a pre-plan (new load)

2:45p - Got back to the truck after quick bathroom break. Accepted pre-plan. Got all the load specifics. This load was going from Sayerville, NJ to Columbus, OH with at stop in Fredericksburg, PA to pick up 12,000 lbs of crayons. Yep, crayons. Load picks up today at 7AM.

4:45p - I arrived at the Woodrow Wilson travel plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike. As my load didn't pick up until the following day (today, 2/11), I had some time to kill, bathroom/eat dinner/read/

8:45p - went to bed.

Now to today (2/11)

6:00a - Got up and sent a message to my dispatcher. Sometime during the night, the load was cancelled and I was instructed to call my disp. As I didn't have her home number, I had to wait till morning. Went and got milk for cereal.

6:50a - dispatcher cancells my load in the computer. Now I'm without a load and stuck on the Turnpike.

8:30a - Got a new pre-plan. Picking up in Philly, drops off in Columbus, OH. 9,000 LBs of lightbulbs. Who would trust me with a load of lightbulbs anyway?

10:00a - Arrive at shipper in North Philly. Miss enterence gate. Back up. Park on street. Check with shipping. Pull into lot only to find that the lot isn't big enough for my trailer. Finally get parked with truck at a 90 degree angle to trailer just to get it to fit.

10:45a - Loaded. Got paperwork. Send load info to dispatcher. Back out of lot. Nearly flatten a Camry load of Mexicans who thought they could scoot behind my trailer as I was backing up.

12:45p - Arrive at Lawn service plaza for a break and lunch.

1:15p - Depart Lawn plaza after dropping drink refil on the ground and kicking empty cup under my truck in my anger.

1:16p - Get cut off as I was exiting by some Asian fuckhead in a Honda mini-van. Slam on brakes, blow horn. Watch as my maps/log/jacket go flying off the passenger seat onto the floor. Wait for sound of smashing lightbulbs. No sound. Good.

2:45p - Hear strange air "hissing" sound

2:48p - Sound getting louder. Pull over to check it out. Find nothing. Get back in truck. Hear nothing. Keep going....

2:51p - Sound is back. Louder now. Sounds like it's coming from the airbrake control knobs.

2:52p - Low Air Pressure warning alarm comes on (should be 125psi in the tanks, alarm coms on at 60) IMMEDIATELY pull over. Check over truck and trailer. No audible leak. Get back in truck. We're back to 125psi and I hear no leak. Pull out keep going.

2:58p - Low Air alarm again. 60psi again. Falling fast. Pull over. Set Brakes. Pressure re-builds to 125. Hmmm..... Release tractor brake but not trailer. No air leak. Still 125psi. Set tractor brake and release trailer brake. Yureka! Now I can hear air hissing -outside-! Find problem. Turns out my emergency air line is melted (From where I know not). Duct-tape problem. Continue to Breezewood, PA for repair.

3:20p - Into Breezewood. Buy new hose ($40). Get shower.

4:45p - Leave Breezewood.

7:15p - Arrive at Claysville, PA, seconds ahead of a major storm that blew through the area.

8:30p - Parked and got on internet.

11:59p - Sleepy time!

So as you see, your days as a trucker can be quite busy, interspursed with long periods of boredom. I'll post more later, but for now, It's sleepy time!
Russ

11 Hours

11 Hours

11 hours may not sound like much. When you think about it, we are usually awake for 12-18 hours every day at work or at home or somewhere in between. So what is the significance of eleven hours? Not much to most people, but to a truck driver, 11 hours is the rule of the land.
The Federal Government imposes rules on employees that work on the transportation industry. Whether you drive a bus or truck, run a train, or fly a plane, you have to abide by a specific set of rules that relate to your training, fitness for duty, and as will be covered here, hours of service.
“Hours of Service” refers to the amount of work you can do in a day legally. As a truck driver, there are four different times I must observe daily. Type one is called “Off Duty” and is basically anything I do away from the truck. I can be at home, on vacation, sitting in a terminal, etc and the hours of service do not apply. Once I get to my truck though, things change a bit. The next kind of time is called “Sleeper Berth”. This is time I spend (as the name implies) back in the sleeper of the truck. Usually this time is spent sleeping, but it can also be spent reading and relaxing. The Fed requires that I have certain amounts of “Off Duty” and “Sleeper Berth” time between driving shifts as I will outline below.
The last two kinds of time are, of course, my working time. First is “Driving”, which is pretty self explanatory. This is any time I spend behind the wheel. Finally, “On Duty, Not Driving” rounds out my day and usually consists of things like loading or unloading trailers, fueling, and time spent doing company required tasks at Terminals (simulator, etc).
So what’s all the fuss about 11 hours? 11 hours is the maximum amount of time I can drive in a 14 hour window. That’s where the money is. That’s where I cash in. Basically I can drive up to 11 hours (split up however conditions warrant) in a 14 hour period. After 14 hours, I am required to take a 10 hour break (in the sleeper or off duty) before I can drive again. Now, I know that 11 hours doesn’t sound like much, but consider that in 11 hours, I can drive approximately 650 miles. That’s like driving from Philadelphia, PA to Chicago, IL or from Harrisburg, PA to Savannah, GA….Everyday.
Not many truckers drive straight 11 hours every day. We stop, take breaks, eat meals, get showers and do laundry. That’s where the 14 hours come in. Lets say I drive for 6 hours, then I stop and eat some lunch, get a shower and watch some TV for 2 hours, then I drive another 5 hours…. Still legal, but now I have to stop and take that 10 hour break.
Complicated huh? Well folks, that’s your tax dollars at work. It actually gets a bit more complicated (It’s called the split-sleeper rule) but I won’t go into that here. If you have any questions about Hours of Service or being a trucker, just drop me a line!

Concar - The Automotive Solution

Johnathan Broder, who works for the railroad "Conrail", coined the name "Concar" in his Philadelphia Daily News article about how the current auto industry situation is smilier to how the northeast US railroads found themselves in the mid 1970s.

His full article can be read here: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20081211_Remember_Conrail__Think_Concar.html

For those with ADD, the upshot is the government "bailed out" the railroads of the northeast who were losing 1 million PER DAY and created the Consolidated Rail Corporation or Conrail. Conrail took a rag-tag bunch of decrepit rail lines and by 1983, pared the lumbering giant into a lean, mean, profitable machine. There is a picture on www.thecrhs.org of a $200 MILLION dollar check given to the federal government to pay off the last of the money owed to make Conrail "free and clear". All the tax-payer money was paid off with interest. In 1999, Conrail was sold off to two other railroads for $10.5 BILLION. Not too bad for a company that was hemorrhaging cash just 30 years ago.

Now that the history lesson is over, on with the "plan" for "Concar"

So GM, Ford and Chrysler are in the midst of taking a big shit. They have been circling the toilet bowl now for some time and soon one of them (GM, most likely) will go down the hole. With this in mind, let's not bail it out, let's fix it. Here's how.

1) Ditch the Unions. - Yeah. I'm gonna get all kinds of hell for that one. There are two things in this world you don't scorn. Women and Unions. Both throw a hissy fit when you tell 'em to go take a hike. Fact is that the Unions had their place and helped the workers get better treatment. They got greedy though, didn't they? Yup. They are also some of the most resistant to change. Auto Unions try to do business like it was 1950 all over again. When you look at the numbers, Union pay, benefits, and retirement are bleeding the already injured companies dry. So lets change that.

2) Make a better product. - Lets face it, the Chevy, Ford and Chrysler cars can't hold a candle to the likes of Honda and Toyota. Go see for yourself. Go check out a Chevy Impala and then a Honda Accord. Better Construction, nicer interiors, better paint jobs, stronger components, and more reliability will be found in the Accord.

3) Make cars people actually want to buy. - The Big 3 are truck makers. Can't fault them for that. If you want a work truck or a good pickup, you get a Ford, Chevy, or a Dodge. (I don't know who makes the best one. The answer to that will keep rednecks arguing for years to come....) If you want a good, efficient car, however, you go elsewhere. Impalas, Fusions, and Intrepids, 300s, Cobalts and Focuses are bland and boring. I don't know of too many people who get excited over the Fusion they way they get excited over something like a Subaru WRX or Civic. While non of the aforementioned cars can be considered "flashy" cars, the domestics are just so Goddam boring.

4)Cut back on SUVs already. - Nobody wants the fuckin things already. The age of the SUV is as dead as a truckstop hooker. People who are ditching their Trailblazers and Expeditions are going for CRVs and RAV4s and Pilots and things like that. The Big 3 are lacking in that area BIG TIME, and what they do have is as boring as waiting at the dentist's office.

5) Get designers heads out of their collective asses. - I have a theory that Domestic car designers are all clones of Ben Stein. (Bueller? ..... Bueller? ...... Bueller?......)(If you know not of what I speak on the subject of Ben Stein, watch the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It's a classic and must be watched!) They all have no sense of what's "in" now and have had the corporate lobotomy. Fifty years ago, if a car didn't sell well, they added chrome. Kinda like today, isn't it? Hey, that Ford Fusion isn't selling too well, by God, let's add some chrome! Give it some stick-on fancy bits and those suckers will buy it! Don't see much chrome on Hondas or Toyotas, do ya? Hmmmm.....

6) Cut overhead from overhead. - Management. Nobody wants it, nobody needs it, but the Big 3 have plenty of it. Heck, they built a SKYSCRAPER in Detroit to house it all. Do we really need that much? Nope. Fire 'em! And while you're at it, don't pay 'em as much. It's not like they earn it or anything, I mean come on...are they REALLY doing that good of a job to deserve millions of dollars every year? Get real. It's just a bunch of greedy grab-asses doing what they do best. If I worked that poorly at something, I'd have been fired long ago.

So what to do about it? Well, here's the plan-

Let's say Boober here takes over tomorrow and is given control of "Concar", which a merger of the 3 failing auto makers. First thing is inform the work force that ALL company facilities will be henceforth Non-Union shops. Period. They have the option of keeping their jobs (with new conditions to be outlined in a minute), or leaving. That's it. Simple as that. You can keep working here under the new rules, or you can go piss up a rope. Your choice. If the employees stay on, they will be paid a competitive salary to other non-union workers. Pensions will be gone (although there will be a sliding scale for older workers and pensions of retired workers will stay in effect. It's not fair to stop income on retirees who have no other source of income. I'm not a complete asshole.) If workers decide not to work and/or picket the plant, it will be closed down and production moved to another plant. The Big 3 could stand to lose a couple plants anyway. The new regime will have no tolerance for greed in employees or management. If you don't want to live by the new rules, you won't have a job. It's that simple. New Management has a set of balls. Learn to adjust.

Next on the chopping block is Management. I'd go through corporate like a dump truck through a nitroglycerin factory. It would not be pretty. Jobs would be cut, salaries lowered, positions eliminated. I would most likely be the most hated man in Detroit. Perhaps old managers could be offered positions in the plants where Union holdouts used to be. Along with Management would go a good bit of the designers and engineers. New blood is essential to the process, and we'd definitely get us some of that. Middle Management would be completely obliterated.

Next in line, Dealerships. Dealerships would be shed to make the process more streamlined. If Harrisburg, PA has 7 Domestic dealers, half would go bye-bye. The remaining ones would be the best for customer service and facilities.

Pricing is also something that would be re-vamped. One-price pricing would be the order of the day. No more rebates and incentives, no more shell games at dealers. The price on the sticker is the price you pay. Period. Dealers would be paid a flat rate per car and sales people would also be paid a flat rate. No more commission. Some folks won't like that, but tough shit. Don't like the music? Go to a different concert.

So what do you get as an employee? Well, I, as CEO, get a salary of $150K per year with no bonuses. (I know it sounds like a lot, but believe me, it's a fraction of what the guys get now) Management below CEO would get proportionately less. Most Plant Managers would get some were around 85K, while supervisors would get 60K. As an hourly employee, you'd be looking at about $25-$29 per hour. Benefits would be smiler to other industry. Concar would offer 401(k) as a retirement plan. No more pensions. No other company paid retirement benefits. You gotta earn it. Nothing will be "handed out"

I think all this, coupled with an increase in quality in the cars along with streamlining the manufacturing process, revising the way dealers act and do business, and cutting workforce blunders of the past would keep Concar on the forefront of the Auto Industry.

Run Russ Run

I haven't posted for a while. I apologise for that. No, wait...I don't really. lol. I'm currently sitting in Portland, Oregon at a truckstop waiting for a load. Since my last post, I was sent from Harrisburg, PA to Bakersfield, California with a load of pretzels. (If I only could have found a beer truck!) Then from Fontana Terminal to Portland with a truckload of dog food. Along the way, I got to check out the Mojave Desert (Which was really cool), along with the Tehachapi area (Great train stuff) as well as the fertile valleys of California. I also discovered that every decent sized grain elevator in CA has it's own switcher! I really wish I could have gotten some pictures, but it's hard to take pics while driving. I did take a few pics, but they're all of the desert and the Front Range Mountains.

http://s281.photobucket.com/albums/kk229/rswinnerton/fromthetruck/

Heading up to Portland yesterday, I got to tackle the Cascades, which is FREAKIN BEAUTIFUL, but with 79,700 GVW and 6% grades (for up to 8 miles at a time), I was a bit busy for pictures. I really wouldn't mind living in Northern California (Yereka area) as it has rolling hills and awesome snow-covered mountains as a back-drop.

No rants today as I'm getting tired, but I'll be in Canton, OH in seven days for 48 hours, so I'm sure by then, something will have pissed me off! Everyone keep safe and keep it rubber side down.
Russ