Truck driver b.s.

5 days this week for me, weather is supposed to be nice. Enjoy the ride drivers.

 

Man it's really busy at work lately and we have 1 driver off this week and then another next week.
Worked almost 12 hours yesterday, long day for an old man.
Be safe drivers and enjoy the ride.

 

I clocked just a little over 11.5. I also granaded the gear box on my transfer and ripped an airline 5 minutes afterwards. I’m somewhat lucky because whenever I breakdown it’s always been at the end of the day *knock on wood*

 

I work 4 day week but 14 hr days. Been doing it for 20 years so I don't know any better. Actually this is a reduction in hours. They used to push me the full 70.

 

Half way done...

 

Looks like it will be around 10 for me today.

 

Fedex just delivered another package today, hard to get them to deliver anything out here. They never came last week when all packages were there by Wed. at terminal. Last package till new leaf springs come.
Then I can get suspension installed.

 

I retired in 2014 as an engineer, and after retirement I said there were a few things I'd like to try (car salesman, civilian truck driver, and something honest retail). Went in and tested for my CDL, Doubles/Triples, tankers, and since I was on a streak I said I'd take the HAZMAT. While this was not my job while I was in the Air Force, when we were not training, I went over the Green Ramp and became friends with the Air Cargo guys and got just about everything on my license. When I got out in 83 I was given a Chauffeurs license in MT, and kept that until they came up with the CDL in 86. I was already in my JR year at the U of M so I had no use for a CDL. After taking the road test, and doing all of the background/fingerprint crap for the HAZMAT, I was picked up by a local company called Mathews Heavy haul, and ran a very short route between two warehouses. Then I went to work for Sleep Number, again, between two even closer warehouses. Finally I got on with Precision Building Systems delivering prefab housing walls, trusses, and supporting lose lumber and other required parts. Those deliveries were from Tooele Utah to all over the Wasatch Front (Ogden to Orem UT). That was the nail in the coffin, and I all but swore off the moronic population of road buddies, brake checks, cut offs, flip offs, vulgarities, et al. When I moved to FL I went ahead and kept the CDL, but the State of FL does not recognize the FEDERAL HAZMAT CERTIFICATION that I got in Utah, so they pulled HAZMAT and wanted me to take their program, and I said no, just pull that endorsement. This year I'm reverting to a regular license, and telling Uncle Sam to stick his yearly medical kickback scheme.

While I think Housewife/Mother is the most under appreciated career a human can endure, truck driver is a close second.

I am in no way able to be considered a trucker, but if you want a trailer (28' - 53' - over-sized, wide load, etc) backed up in the ugliest locations where no one thinks you can back a rig, I was up to the task. When you deliver to construction sites you learn how to do the impossible. After years of driving a desk and a computer, I have to admit, working in the labor market was not only eye-opening, but rewarding for its requirement of hard work, and there were not a lot of people willing to put in the work.

Sold Cadillac for 4 months and was salesman of the month for the last 2 months (because I told my customers everything that was said in the managers office, and coached them on getting the lowest price the pit would sell the car for). I also told them to avoid anything the finance manager attempted to up sell them. When the business found out I was frozen out, so I resigned. Lessons learned - The only money to be made by sales persons is in the used car market at a new dealership. Service will break your car when they fix the problem you brought it in for, if they even fix it. Service will also tell everyone that whatever you want them to do is NOT covered by warranty, when 85% of their work is service related, but they will file a service claim and have you pay for it too, so they double dip. Parts are at least 2x the cost of the same part in the OEM market. If you find an honest salesperson, they won't be there if you ever return to that dealership. If you find an honest Sales Manager you had better play the Lotto. If you ever find an honest Finance Manager you should wake up, because you are obviously dreaming, because at that level an honest finance manager is the same as a Unicorn, a Leprechaun, or Cthulhu. The document they show you as the price they paid is NEVER the price they paid, those sheets are not even seen by the Sales Managers. The MSRP has a give (an amount the dealership will reduce the price) of somewhere between 7-12% built in, and they won't ever go below that give, unless they are stealing your used car, and they might show more off the MSRP, but it will be taken from you and your trade value. When a dealership tells you they are only making $50-100 on the car, that translates to the salesman is only making $50-100, the dealership is making at least 10% or they could not stay in business. Service is the financial backbone of any dealership. No matter how good your trade value looks on paper, know that you are going to lose 20-30% of the value, and they mask it well with the OVERLY SIMPLIFIED BIG NUMBER/SIGN HERE gimmick. Never buy vehicle unless every dollar is accounted for in detail. The dealer document fee is NOT required by the government - What is required is that if a dealership has a document fee, they must charge everyone the same fee, or no fee, and you can negotiate the doc fee away, but you can't negotiate it down. It literally is a all or nothing proposition, and the dealership will fight that fee to the death, because that pays for administration.

Worked at O'Reilly and Home Depot. I bought from O'Reilly and HD so both made sense. Home Depot was a fantastic opportunity because I was relatively knowledgeable having been working everything on out by then 4th and previous homes, so I had mostly fantastic customer interactions. The stores mid level managers (ASM's) would give assignments and disappear. The general manager was infrequently there. And support often came in the form of go look it up on the computer. I PK'd (study and past tests for each individual department) in 5 departments in my first 2 months, and your given 6 months to PK in your assigned department. When the ASM's found out I was doing self-study and coming in on my weekends to study and test, they threw a fit. After I completed those proficiency's the ASM's would 'punish' me with as many as three radios for different departments. From my perspective it was fantastic, because it kept me busy, helped me learn more than most managers knew (or at least let on), and I had repeat customers coming back too, and asking for me.

While most of this is way off topic, you got me thinking back and rekindled some good and bad memories, so I word vomited.

 

Great post! I'm still a truck driver, local heavy haul 4 axle 53'. I worked at a home depot for 8 years, mostly as a tool rental technician. I taught classes in the store, I was departmental trained but turned it down. Cashier certified and skilled in every department. Then the company sold and went Downhill so I moved on.

 

We don't have one in our town, but were they to build one, I'd apply in a heartbeat. The pay is crap, and I'd set aside the hours I'd work, but when I left my store 4419 I was given a strong rehire recommendation. I spent the last two years rebuilding and remolding our new home, and have only recently seen some time freed up. I'm not one for sitting around (as I type diatribes on the Internet), so time spent at Home Depot would be as a time filler, and to get a leg up on any amazing in store deals, or returns marked down before someone else snagged them.

 

I worked for them when the founding fathers of the company still owned them. The pay was great, and so where the raises. Lots of bbqs and food to say thank you to the employees, all gone now and it's just a crap company run by bean counters. When I retire I'll work part time too, but not at the home depot.

 

In the "you see everything" department:

Coming in from my last pickup today, driving down a very busy 4 lane. Traffic is very heavy, about 4:45. The oncoming lanes are a mess as there is major construction behind me, made worse by a cop with someone in an SUV pulled over. I get up there, and until I was almost beside the SUV, I couldn't see but there's a scooter behind the SUV. OK, I'm thinking that the SUV cut off the scooter but no! Dude on the scooter is holding a rope. A rope that is tied to the hitch of the SUV...stupid bastard was being pulled down a busy-assed road (35 MPH speed limit, but almost nobody is under 45) by his buddy in an SUV.

Someone stop putting the stupid in the water, you've way over-done it.

 

HUMPDAY!
Have a great day drivers.

 

For years I have been asking the wife how is it that there's nearly seven billion of us?

 

Last I heard it’s been updated to 8+

 

Wishing you the best. I hope they are truthful and don't just tell you what you want to hear. I really do hope it's what they promissed.

 

Just picked up my truck from repair. Ac is fixed, window regulator is fixed, low air alarm is still going off, grrrr. Looks like I'll be playing musical trucks again for awhile. The rental truck k I had has a charging problem so I'll be driving the trucks of the guys that are on vacation. I hate this part of trucking.
Old wore out trucks!

 

Went to the FL DMV office yesterday morning to convert my Class A to a Class E, or in other words drop my CDL. When I told the lady what I wanted to do she spent some time trying to talk me out of it. She said your CDL does not expire until 2029, and that I should keep it, because if I ever decided to drive again I''d have to start all over. I told her I was tired of having to take the same physical every year, and that it felt a bit more like a partnership/kickback that a safety check of drivers health. Then she offered me something I had no idea existed, and that was to drop the class to a B (Interstate) or D (Intrastate) , neither required the annual physical, and if I ever did decide I wanted my class A back I'd just have to get another physical. That made sense, and I chose Class B.

 

What do drivers think of the new attempts to get rid of AM radios in vehicles? I think it has a specific intent, and attacks a certain mindset or broadcast type. I read yesterday that Ford withdrew their April 6th decision to remove AM from their radio designs, They masked their initial decision under the guises that people are moving to POD Casts and other forms of media content providers (many of them subscription based - think revenue). AM and FM are free and Ford derives zero revenue benefit from either. Some head (radio) manufactures have jumped on board, and want a share of the benefit$$$$$ of a subscription model. If Ford received enough backlash to have them reverse course in less than a month, will this trickle down and re-stabilize band availability?

 

I won't purchase anything that requires a subscription!!!