We dropped our load from Chicago to Fountain Inn this morning about 10:30. That was easy, again. Then we picked up a trailer and headed to a drop lot in Beech Island, SC, right across from Augusta. GA. This load is headed to New Milford, CT, but we ain't going to make it.
We reached Winslow, SC at the end of our 14 hour work day. While doing our logs and figuring the next step we both said - "aw shucks" or something like that. We don't have enough hours available to get to CT and back to Gary. Much as I would like to run through the eastern seaboard I really want to get back to Green Bay for my SQT and CDL and get my own truck.
Freight is a bit slow around the country but it's got to be better than what a student driver makes.
Adding to the mix is a new fact that Bill's needs to get home for a few days so he would really like to unload me and go home. If I'm not careful I bet he would leave me right here - and he hasn't finished my evaluation yet. I guess I still have to watch myself a couple more days.
Oh, by the way, Teresa is having a blast. Not that her training is so much fun but the class room environment that she's in. It's a group of 16 and 17 year olds and a 20 something instructor. Teresa is getting a perspective of life from an entirely different angle, and still liking the results.
Me too, for sure.
During one of Bill's and my early chats I challenged him that he couldn't over work me. Well, he still hasn't, but by golly he's giving it a go. I think it's going to be one of those WWF things... the last one standing wins - go Bill.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Notes to Ron and crew in Charlotte...
I got a note from my good friend Ron F, in Charlotte with some questions he wanted some answers to.
Here’s a bit of background on our trucks… I thought they were supposed to ride like Caddy’s, well, far from it. The seats are adjustable in so many ways they have a 1 hour class on how to do it and if you do it correctly, they will fit and support your body pretty good. Of course, for those who know me (at 5’6” stretching !!!) that’s going to be tough. And the steering wheel adjusts up and down and forward and back – for some people… for me the seat and steering wheel are all the way down and forward just so I can reach the peddles. Then the seat has this oscillating function that lets it slide forward and back so that when you hit a heavy bump it doesn’t jar your kidneys loose. It works pretty well, but it can slide enough to pull my arms off of the steering wheel. Now that’s not a pretty sight.
A small number of the 17,000 trucks that Schneider runs are automatics, but not ours. I have asked Bill for a name for his truck… we’ll see what he comes up with soon. Anyway, since he’s Bobtail Bill I’ll go with Ponytail Billie Jean (PBJ). So, PBJ has 10 gears 5 in low speed and 5 in high. You NEVER use 1st gear, so you start out in 2nd and go through 5. You can skip some if you’re not too heavy. That’s called skip shifting, you can get up to speed faster that way. Then between 5th and 6th you have to, at the same time, flip the range selector switch to high and slip it into 6th. Then off you go through 10th. But again, you can skip some gears depending on load and grade. Then you do the same thing on the way back down.
In general PBJ gets about 5 MPG in town and out on the road if you are “working it” you can get it up to a bit over 7 MPG and Schneider likes that. They have some statistics that say if all drivers can increase their MPG just .1% the company saves millions a year in fuel costs. The trainers work hard to impress upon the trainees the importance of that. Schneider’s trucks are governed (controlled) to not run higher than 65 MPH. They are very focused on safety and efficiency and that is one way to ensure it. Overall, they want you their safe and sound.
As everyone knows the prime mode of communication is still the CB. Some shippers even use them to tell you when and what dock to load to. So it’s important. But it’s also a pain. Folks, men and women get on them and can get pretty racey… but all in all they can be very helpful. The keep all of the HYPO’s posted as BOLO ( be on look out) for everyone. As far as handles go, I haven’t heard any being used most refer to the “jerk in the red truck that cut me off” or some similar expletive deleted.
Here’s a bit of background on our trucks… I thought they were supposed to ride like Caddy’s, well, far from it. The seats are adjustable in so many ways they have a 1 hour class on how to do it and if you do it correctly, they will fit and support your body pretty good. Of course, for those who know me (at 5’6” stretching !!!) that’s going to be tough. And the steering wheel adjusts up and down and forward and back – for some people… for me the seat and steering wheel are all the way down and forward just so I can reach the peddles. Then the seat has this oscillating function that lets it slide forward and back so that when you hit a heavy bump it doesn’t jar your kidneys loose. It works pretty well, but it can slide enough to pull my arms off of the steering wheel. Now that’s not a pretty sight.
A small number of the 17,000 trucks that Schneider runs are automatics, but not ours. I have asked Bill for a name for his truck… we’ll see what he comes up with soon. Anyway, since he’s Bobtail Bill I’ll go with Ponytail Billie Jean (PBJ). So, PBJ has 10 gears 5 in low speed and 5 in high. You NEVER use 1st gear, so you start out in 2nd and go through 5. You can skip some if you’re not too heavy. That’s called skip shifting, you can get up to speed faster that way. Then between 5th and 6th you have to, at the same time, flip the range selector switch to high and slip it into 6th. Then off you go through 10th. But again, you can skip some gears depending on load and grade. Then you do the same thing on the way back down.
In general PBJ gets about 5 MPG in town and out on the road if you are “working it” you can get it up to a bit over 7 MPG and Schneider likes that. They have some statistics that say if all drivers can increase their MPG just .1% the company saves millions a year in fuel costs. The trainers work hard to impress upon the trainees the importance of that. Schneider’s trucks are governed (controlled) to not run higher than 65 MPH. They are very focused on safety and efficiency and that is one way to ensure it. Overall, they want you their safe and sound.
As everyone knows the prime mode of communication is still the CB. Some shippers even use them to tell you when and what dock to load to. So it’s important. But it’s also a pain. Folks, men and women get on them and can get pretty racey… but all in all they can be very helpful. The keep all of the HYPO’s posted as BOLO ( be on look out) for everyone. As far as handles go, I haven’t heard any being used most refer to the “jerk in the red truck that cut me off” or some similar expletive deleted.
Double Catch UP
So Bill and I headed out of Green Bay and headed for Dekalb. We knew we did not have enough hours left on our work day ( you can only work 14 hours in a given day) to make it all the way so we picked the Wal-Mart ( Bill picked it !!!) in Beloit, Wi. I know this is beginning to sound like a restaurant guide, but oh well - We stopped at HOBO's at exit 107 on I43 north of Milwaukee. Another good find and priced well.
Bill is a 135 pounder and can't eat much, to my benefit. We brought his leftover pork tenderloin with us and made three sandwiches for lunch the next day... MMMM good.
Anyway we made it the the Wal-Mart Bill picked to spend the night. Of course we went in and got some staples and a book for me. When we got up at 5:00 we had a $20 parking ticket on our windshield. Thanks, Bill and Wal-Mart.
So yesterday ( Tuesday ) was a tough one. We dropped off our load at the Target distribution center in Dekalb. "That was easy." Within an hour we had our next load.
Three pick-ups ( Bedford Park, Buffalo Grove and Batavia ) and a drop off in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.
Two of the pickups were very tight to back into --- Bill did the first one and I did the last two.
I'm getting a bit better.
We had lunch will Bill's brother in Shelbyville, KY, and I met Bill's 91 year old mother... Bill's brother (retired) is giving a go a writing country songs. He sang three while we were there.
All were good, but I really like the one I think he called "I Never Thought." Really good, and sang well too. I think he has a chance - of course you know what my opinion means...
So back to Wagner Farms in Oconto Falls, WI, for a bit. When we got there two trucks were ahead of us. Now figure this... we each had about 40,000 pounds of cottonseed.
They have 550 milking cows and quite an operation, for a city boy. The process works just like Great America..
First, they are ready, and they come into this area and back up to the rail. Then the head bar comes down and the workers clean the udders and attach the milkers. They stand there for about 5 minutes and when each of them stops giving milk their respective milker detaches and they wait. When they are all done the head bar goes up and they go out making ready for the next group.
That's a lot of teat...
And then they raise most of their own calves. Cute little suckers, literally.
Now we're done for the day... We're in Corbin, KY. We'll make our drop around noon tomorrow and then hope for a load back so I can get to Green Bay by Monday.
I think I'm all caught up.
Bill is a 135 pounder and can't eat much, to my benefit. We brought his leftover pork tenderloin with us and made three sandwiches for lunch the next day... MMMM good.
Anyway we made it the the Wal-Mart Bill picked to spend the night. Of course we went in and got some staples and a book for me. When we got up at 5:00 we had a $20 parking ticket on our windshield. Thanks, Bill and Wal-Mart.
So yesterday ( Tuesday ) was a tough one. We dropped off our load at the Target distribution center in Dekalb. "That was easy." Within an hour we had our next load.
Three pick-ups ( Bedford Park, Buffalo Grove and Batavia ) and a drop off in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.
Two of the pickups were very tight to back into --- Bill did the first one and I did the last two.
I'm getting a bit better.
We had lunch will Bill's brother in Shelbyville, KY, and I met Bill's 91 year old mother... Bill's brother (retired) is giving a go a writing country songs. He sang three while we were there.
All were good, but I really like the one I think he called "I Never Thought." Really good, and sang well too. I think he has a chance - of course you know what my opinion means...
So back to Wagner Farms in Oconto Falls, WI, for a bit. When we got there two trucks were ahead of us. Now figure this... we each had about 40,000 pounds of cottonseed.
They have 550 milking cows and quite an operation, for a city boy. The process works just like Great America..
First, they are ready, and they come into this area and back up to the rail. Then the head bar comes down and the workers clean the udders and attach the milkers. They stand there for about 5 minutes and when each of them stops giving milk their respective milker detaches and they wait. When they are all done the head bar goes up and they go out making ready for the next group.
That's a lot of teat...
And then they raise most of their own calves. Cute little suckers, literally.Now we're done for the day... We're in Corbin, KY. We'll make our drop around noon tomorrow and then hope for a load back so I can get to Green Bay by Monday.
I think I'm all caught up.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Catch Up Time
Bill and I woke up Saturday morning and it was still snowing, and HARD. I would guess there were about 6 inches on the ground by then and still going at it. We headed out and it continued to snow all the way across Kentucky and into Indiana. Havoc e erywhere. Going at 30 mph and running almost 80,000 pounds is quite a trick. But we made it up to Gary and had time to shower and do laundry. Nice facility.
We left Gary Sunday morning and headed for Green Bay. If you're on I43 I can recommend a Danish restaurant in Denmark, WI called Lorrie's. Great food and congenial folks.
We spent Sunday night in a truck stop casino in Green Bay. They are everywhere up here!!!
This morning we headed to Wagner Farms...
Hold on... Bill just called and we have a load headed to Dekalb, IL so I have to close up shop and head out.
I want to tell a bit about Wagner Farms, really cool operation, for a city boy.
We left Gary Sunday morning and headed for Green Bay. If you're on I43 I can recommend a Danish restaurant in Denmark, WI called Lorrie's. Great food and congenial folks.
We spent Sunday night in a truck stop casino in Green Bay. They are everywhere up here!!!
This morning we headed to Wagner Farms...
Hold on... Bill just called and we have a load headed to Dekalb, IL so I have to close up shop and head out.
I want to tell a bit about Wagner Farms, really cool operation, for a city boy.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Bustin' Butt
I've got 15 minutes free wifi in Kentucky to see if I can catch everything up.
Tuesday morning, bright and early we headed for McCook, IL to pick up a trailer then off to Family Dollar in West Chicago. We picked up 44,600 pounds of stuff, I say stuff, cause the bill of lading isn't specific, and headed for Marianna, Florida. We stopped in Gary and dropped off the truck then off we go. The road to Indianapolis was tough, one of T-nets favorites - SNOW, and lots of it. Cars all over the road and a couple of roll overs. We made it to Indianapolis and spent the night. Wednesday turned out better, a little sloppy but OK. Spent the night in Huntsville, Al and made it all the way to Fl on Thursday.
We dropped our load and tried to get another, to no avail. We got our orders to go to a Cotton gin and pick up 44,000 pounds of cotton seed to take back to Wisconsin. So what do you think they want cotton seed in WI for ? They feed it to the cows. The guy drives a skip loader tractor right onto the truck and dumps it - about 40 times. We got our load and are going to spend the night in Franklin, KY. By the way if your coming up 65 through Tennessee stop at exit 22 and go the the Tennessean restaurant. Great food.
Looks like I'm scheduled for SQT testing in Green Bay on the 19th, but Bill wants to dump be out before then. I think he thinks I'm growing into this job nicely.
For the record, it's still pretty fun. More work than you might think, but still fun.
Tuesday morning, bright and early we headed for McCook, IL to pick up a trailer then off to Family Dollar in West Chicago. We picked up 44,600 pounds of stuff, I say stuff, cause the bill of lading isn't specific, and headed for Marianna, Florida. We stopped in Gary and dropped off the truck then off we go. The road to Indianapolis was tough, one of T-nets favorites - SNOW, and lots of it. Cars all over the road and a couple of roll overs. We made it to Indianapolis and spent the night. Wednesday turned out better, a little sloppy but OK. Spent the night in Huntsville, Al and made it all the way to Fl on Thursday.
We dropped our load and tried to get another, to no avail. We got our orders to go to a Cotton gin and pick up 44,000 pounds of cotton seed to take back to Wisconsin. So what do you think they want cotton seed in WI for ? They feed it to the cows. The guy drives a skip loader tractor right onto the truck and dumps it - about 40 times. We got our load and are going to spend the night in Franklin, KY. By the way if your coming up 65 through Tennessee stop at exit 22 and go the the Tennessean restaurant. Great food.
Looks like I'm scheduled for SQT testing in Green Bay on the 19th, but Bill wants to dump be out before then. I think he thinks I'm growing into this job nicely.
For the record, it's still pretty fun. More work than you might think, but still fun.
This is the loader...
Here's shot of Bill, my TE...
Monday, March 3, 2008
We're Off to Florida !!!
Made it back to Elgin tonight. Picked up mail and went to storage to get a few things.
My TE, Bill, called and said we're going to Florida.
I checked into the Comfort Inn in Dixon and we're headed out at 0630 in the morning. We have to make a few circuitous stops to get an empty trailer to drop where we are ultimately picking up and then down to some warmer climates. Hurray.
Now for some sleep and then the fun begins.
My TE, Bill, called and said we're going to Florida.
I checked into the Comfort Inn in Dixon and we're headed out at 0630 in the morning. We have to make a few circuitous stops to get an empty trailer to drop where we are ultimately picking up and then down to some warmer climates. Hurray.
Now for some sleep and then the fun begins.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
ALL DONE !!!
Presenting the Schneider Class of Leap Year 2008. That's me in the front row in the orange shirt. Finished about 3pm on Friday and by 9 am on Saturday I was 1 thousand miles away in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Since I don't have to meet my driver trainer until Tuesday morning I thought I would come all the way down and be able to spend 2 days and nights here with Teresa and family.
Whoops, got to go help Joe take up a toilet. Be back after bit to finish.
Teresa's brother Joe and his wife Beth have graciously agreed to let Teresa stay with them for awhile. I think that's going to work out pretty well for everyone. As I have said before, Teresa is a horse and Beth has mesothylioma (sp) and is not very healthy. She has to get transfusions twice a month to clean her blood. Her immune system is shot. Joe does his best to keep her under control but it's tough. He's got a heart condition and is not supposed to lift over 20 pounds. They live in a big two story house and want to move to a one story. So Teresa and I were able to help move a bunch of stuff out yesterday. Got to earn your keep.
Today I made lasagna and Grandpa and Grandma are coming over soon for dinner.
Got the call from my driver trainer(Bill) yesterday and we made plans to meet up at 7 am Tuesday morning in Dixon, IL. Not sure where we are going to leave my truck yet. I'll have to wait to see if I can leave it at the truck stop in place of Bill's Schneider truck.
I have a bit of sinkiness in my chest knowing I have to leave tomorrow morning. But Teresa is doing fine and we're going to make it.
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