Week 2 - The Fuel Shortage

Week Ending: 8/26/06

Loads Delivered: 2

Total Miles: 1642
* Loaded: 1104
* Empty: 538

Gross Pay: $602.60
* Mileage Pay: $492.60
* Accessorial: $110.00

Hours Logged: 51.5
* Driving: 41
* On-Duty: 10.5

$/Hour $12.09

Off-Duty - Not Logged: 28
* @ Customer: 19.5
* In Laurinburg:
* Waiting Assignment: 8.5

All Hours: 79.5

Actual $/Hour: $7.83
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Load 1:

Deadhead: London, ON Saturday, August 19, 2006
Shipper: Ottawa, IL Sunday, August 20, 2006
Consignee: Etobicoke, ON Monday, August 21, 2006
Commodity: Glass

The weight on this load was 45,082 and limited the amount of fuel I could run with and still pass scales. This created a very real problem getting out of Canada. (See next load.)

This load was completed at noon, and I waited until 4:00 before receiving a work assignment from Dave. When I asked about detention pay, I was told it was not paid for waiting for work assignments, but only at CERTAIN customers that agreed to it in their contracts.
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Load 2:

Deadhead: Etobicoke, ON Monday, August 21, 2006
Shipper: Tillsonburg, ON Monday, August 21, 2006
Consignee: Ravencliff, WV Thursday, August 24, 2006
Commodity: Steel Pipe

After receiving work assignment, I drove directly to Tillsonburg, since I needed to be there by 7:30 the next morning. After arriving, I did trip plan, and called Extended Shift to advise that because of prior (heavy) load, I came into Canada with just enough fuel to get me into and out of Canada. With additional 200 miles and heavy load, I would need fuel to get out of Canada. Extended said I needed to talk with Dave the next morning.

Dave told me that if I went through Buffalo, I would have enough fuel to make it out. Since I would have to backtrack 40 miles to London to scale, I convinced him that Monroe, MI was actually closer, but I still didn't think it would be close enough. I knew from experience not to count on the last 50 gallons in a Freightliner.

The scale was 40 miles away, and showed 900# heavy on tandems. Dave told me to move the 5th wheel. I told him that wouldn't solve the problem - that moving 5th wheel affects weight on steering, not the tandems. He disagreed, so I tried anyway. It made the tandem scale worse. So, I returned to Tillsonburg to have the load shifted 2 feet forward. Scaling and returning is now an additional 80 miles, so I called Extended again and told them I would need fuel. They again referred me to Dave.

Again advised Dave that with a heavy load and now another 80 miles for rescaling, I would definitely need fuel. He stated reserves should be sufficient. AGAIN, I disagreed. He wanted an ETA, I told him it would depend on when I ran out of fuel. I ran out of fuel a half hour later at 8:30 AM. The tow truck driver brought fuel, but we couldn't get truck started. It had to be towed to the closest truck stop. It was 1:30 before I was fueled and running again.

The load was already a day late and the size of trailer further complicated delivery. The road, 20 miles back in the West Virginia mountains required an escort. The Escort said he didn't believe they had ever taken a trailer like this one up that road before. The wrong load was put on the wrong trailer. Fortunately I have had experience driving heavy construction equipment in mountainous conditions. On leaving, due to double-drop clearance, I could not make it through the exit, and had to go back through the entrance. Even that was so tight it required a fork lift to move the back end of the trailer over to get out.

At this point I was 5 hours from home, with 6 hours remaining on my 70, and only 4 hours remaining on my 14 for the day. I had been on the road for 9 days with no tools, and only what I could stick into an overnight bag. But I was given a work assignment to DH to LRBG, and be there the next morning at 8:00. I explained that LRBG was 6 to 7 hours from Ravencliff, and would put me over my 70, as well as the 14. Dave told me not to worry, because I would "pick up another 8 at midnight".

I made it into LRBG that night, only to find myself waiting until almost 11:30 AM before I received the first load assignment. The first 2 assignments had schedule deliveries so tight, it would be almost impossible for me to complete 34-hour reset, and both of them would not be ready for several hours, leaving me an even longer wait. Finally on the 3rd try I received a load that had already been loaded, and allowed me 2 days at home. Why wasn't I given that load earlier?

Logged hours by the time I took reset were 80.5.

Arrive LRBG: Thursday, August 24, 2006, 11:30 PM
Leave LRBG: Friday, August 25, 2006, 2:00 PM
Hours LRBG: 14.5

Arrive Home: Friday, August 25, 2006, 9:00 PM
Leave Home: Monday, August 28, 2006, 1:30 PM
Hours Home: 64.50
Days Home: 2.69

Week 1 – The Omen

Week Ending 8/19/06

Loads Delivered: 1

Total Miles: 525
* Loaded: 440
* Empty: 85

Gross Pay: $212.50
* Mileage Pay: $157.50
* Accessorial: $55.00

Hours Logged: 13
* Driving: 10
* On-Duty: 3
* $/Hour $16.35

Off-Duty - Not Logged: 0
* @ Customer: 0
* In Laurinburg: 0
* Waiting Assignment: 0

All Hours: 13

Actual $/Hour: $16.35
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Load Details:

Deadhead: Gary, IN Thursday, August 17, 2006
Shipper: Ottawa, IL Thursday, August 17, 2006
Consignee: London, ON Friday, August 18, 2006
Commodity: Glass

My first week with Maverick actually began on August 12th (Saturday), when I made it home sometime after midnight, and parked truck and trailer at a Loves 10 miles from home, where Ollie’s Gal picked me up. Sunday morning I received a call that there had been a hit and run involving my truck.

The load was due in Jeffersonville, IN Monday morning, but I felt the damage to the truck would make it unsafe to continue delivery, since I would be taking it over Jelico Mountain on the TN/KY border with a front end damage. I offered to email photos to Extended Ops, but they weren’t interested in them. They did, however, insist I complete the delivery. When I refused, I was told to drive it to the Pilot station (5 miles away) to make it roadworthy. The mechanic said because of the damage to the front end and steering mechanisms, it couldn't be made roadworthy in time. Extended advised me to leave truck there and contact my DM, Dave, Monday morning.

Monday morning Dave had me leave the trailer at the Pilot for a Relay and drive the truck to the Schneider drop lot in Knoxville 25 miles away. Several weeks later I saw the truck at the Laurinburg yard, where it had been brought with a wrecker. The mechanic was making repairs in the yard, rather than the shop, because the tie rod was in such bad condition, he refused to drive it from said yard to shop (100 yards). But I was forced to drive it 30 miles (5 under a heavy load) by pressure from Extended Ops and Dave. They did not trust my opinion of the condition:

Broken Tie Rod:


I called Dave several times over the next couple of days to remind him the load was still at the Pilot and that I needed a truck. But he did not have any answers for me until Wednesday when he called early afternoon, instructing me to be at the Knoxville bus station by 6:00 pm to catch a bus to the Gary. IN yard, where I would pick up another truck. I questioned if it would not be better to rent a car, so I could load the tools and stuff I was required to carry. He told me not to worry about that because I would be routed immediately home to restock the new truck. In Week 2 you will see that it turned into 9 days, 2 trips to Canada and 10.5 hours over my 70, before I was finally routed home. When I got to the bus station there were no tickets waiting for me. Fortunately I arrived before 5:00 and was able to call Dave about the tickets before he left for the day. He told me hadn't gotten to them.

When I arrived in Gary, I picked up the truck at the Schneider yard. There were no keys, so I had to do creative locksmithing to obtain entry. There was no securement equipment, and Schneider wouldn't even give me water for the radiator. I drove it to the Maverick yard, where I met Steve, the VP of Logistics. After several phone calls, unanswered faxes from Dave, and six hours, Steve was finally able to arrange for me to go back to the Schneider yard to get the securements. By now I had been awake almost 48 hours (have you ever tried to sleep on a bus), and Dave accused me of wasting too much time in the lounge.

Rather than route me home, as promised, he assigned me this load to Ottawa and into Canada. This was my first trip to Canada and the only Canada trip I had no problems.