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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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211222 MN-MN 3 tankers to Lake Elmo MN (staged) ... spending the night at home No calls for work Tuesday, but before 8 AM this morning dispatch calls us about doing local/metro trips today. Short notice so we say we can be there by 10 AM. 9 AM would have been better, I forgot how long each trip takes and how early it gets dark. When I pick up my paperwork the dispatcher starts to ask ... and I cut them off. "My rule of thumb is I don't accept work over six hours before I can leave with it. Talking about Monday is five days away." But they still wanted to tell me about the St Louis trip. Maybe Monday??? Even without my life as it is, just based on the weather so many things can change in five days ... Three drivers I remember from today The 1st one was right along side of me in the left lane, then he wasn't. As fast as he stopped with no one ahead of him I'm guessing someone was tailgating him and he locked up his breaks ... a few minutes later he was making use of all three lanes to get out of there. 2nd one was sitting on the side of the road with a 10 foot piece of rope between his car and his trailer. It looked like he was planning on pulling it down the shoulder that way. 3rd person tried to pass me as I was driving into McDonalds, they thought they could drive in the exit lane and get to the drive thru first but I kind of cut them off before I realized what they were doing. 4th person was holding their paper plate in one hand and using a fork with the other to eat their rice as they were 'driving' down the freeway. We get to the shipper, someone tells me to knock on the closed door of the office I'm looking at. They were just down with a meeting ... but still all in there when I walked in. Everyone seemed to know part of what was going on but no one seemed to know everything so I had to show them my paperwork to get the right trucks. One of them thought these trucks were getting flatbedded out, another person thought I was only getting two trucks today - so that is all they had setting out. But before I had the first two trucks inspected they pulled up the third truck. I was surprised walking through their building, today they had the radio on and when I left the last time something was playing that was 'F.. this, F... that, F.., F..., F...' and it wasn't disguised with loud background music. ??? It took us 45 minutes to check out the three trucks. All have enough fuel and the paperwork doesn't say to fuel them but it is cold this AM and they will be sitting, maybe over the weekend so I am going to leave them all on full. (I'm just that kind of guy, usually) When I got to the fuel station with the first one I called dispatch to see if they wanted me to purchase a jug of anti-gel for each truck, they did. I also told them that one VIN was wrong on the paperwork, I do check them. The first round trip too two hours but I thought the next ones would go faster, they didn't. We drop the 1st truck at the lot and stop at the closest McDonalds ... Some people still need to look at the menu at McDonalds ? After getting the second truck I get back to the same fuel station and realize that I forgot to get my receipt for the first truck's fuel. Opps, no receipt, no pay. But luckily I did not get one of those staff that just shrugs their shoulders and walks away. This guy was able to pull up two receipts that were not mine before asking someone for help. All the help did was pull up the third receipt that the first person had already told me was there ... and it was mine. Whew.
The third trip was as un-eventful as the first two, until I got to the fuel station. Declined. I had bought fuel at this station twice already today, plus BB filled the car and I bought three jugs of anti-gel, one jug on each receipt. :) That is why we carry more than one card ... and some cash. When I was coming to the lot with the 2nd truck there had been a truck that passed with with our placards on it. One of the street painters from Billings. It was in the lot and the driver was gone by the time I fueled and got there. When I got to the lot with the 3rd truck there was a second street painter truck there. This time the driver was still there. The trucks are Autocar but they have a new build. They look like the new Freightliner cab overs. The driver said they ride nice, not like the CCC. Well the Autocar used to be as bad as the CCC that is why I wouldn't go to Billings when they asked. Now maybe I will.
The new Autocar looks a lot like the new cabover Freightliner. Two of today's trucks are Mack's. They seemed a lot like the Hino's. Not sure what is changing or why. Three trucks, six hours. Different dispatcher, different pay. It is also more miles but pay wasn't bad. Load board - Tuesday US - 300 IA - 60 MN - 4 WI - 16 Load board - Wednesday US - 319 IA - 69/67 MN - 3 WI - 12 Nothing good at the end of the day. Everyone at both companies is supposed to be closed the next four days so not likely there will be anything. We could do a short RV or auction truck trip if anything had come up. So we are likely off until Monday.
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