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