dr_lizardo

We occasionally joke P.O.H.L. is an acronym for "Pulls Only Heavy Loads". It's not entirely true... we have plenty of variety. But there are undoubtedly a lot of 40k ++ trips. I've got 44k of tomato paste in the trunk right now. All out pet food loads from Hills are in the 40s. We carry a fair amount of Bunge cooking oils as well and those are generally on the heavy side. My Poland Springs load was 46k (frankly that's just about the upper limit of what's acceptable).

Heavy loads make me love the auto-shift. I spent years driving various manuals, but at this point I would hate going back to one.

Yeah, it's like "If it were that easy, everyone would do it".

Positive and fluid... that's a good way to think of it. That's what I strive for.

I haven't really heard anything negative about Werner. Then again, I imagine that any other company is likely to be a step up from your current situation. Werner uses electronic logging... I assume on the Qualcomm in some manner. I'm a bit afraid of such a prospect, but I also recognize that sooner or later it will be mandated for all of us. I'm not sure what it means that I am so used to cheating my log book (mostly in little ways), that it seems difficult to imagine doing this job with GPS tracked hours logging. I guess the bigger issue is that the laws don't accurately accommodate the reality of the logistics business. The method of logging on paper just makes it easier to circumvent those restrictions.

I can understand the desire for some variety and lack of limits about where you can travel to in this job. Back when I first started with Pohl in 2003 I used to get more frequent trips to places like Florida, Texas, Colorado... whatever. Lately it seems like all I do is go back and forth between the mid-west and east coast. It is difficult to complain too much because I get more miles than I know what to do with. It does become monotonous though. If I had a dedicated run it'd be easier to accept. But the whole issue of waiting around for loading and unloading is still a big part of my routine. I've occasionally tried to plan out a dedicated route for myself based on known regular customers we have. But it always seems to be either too few or too many miles to conveniently fit into a week.

One of my SG friends "steven" is really into bikes too.
America has always had a romance with its highways and right now you're steeping yourself in it. It must be good in many ways. Certainly a period of your life that you will not regret.

I'm personally in awe that Swift is still in business. A company that big should always have more work than they know what to do with... and be brokering it out to other companies when they can't cover it all.

In your shoes, I'd hop over to US Express whenever it seemed prudent. First impressions are important, and you're getting just about the worst first impression of trucking that anyone could get. I wince when I read your blog.

Some folks like living out of a van (down by the river?) doing expedite work for companies such as FedEx Custom Critical or Panther II. Just an FYI if you like being on the road but would prefer to do it in something smaller.

I've thought about it from time to time.

Something like that happened near New Haven Connecticut a few years back I think.

I like not carrying haz.

I'm reading you. Don't worry if you dont get too many responses. I don't either. But I sense your blog is a bit like mine - a diary that you would keep anyway. Sometimes I think SG is all about everybody writing and very few reading.
At least you have recognised "The Can't" Now you can call the bastard to account. Some folks have a "Can't" or "Shouldn't" inside themselves and don't even know it.

That's just about the longest bobtail that I've ever heard of. Most companies wouldn't waste so much money on an unprofitable trip. Seriously poor planning indicative of an "I don't give a shit" attitude by someone in an office.

Pushing in your trailer brake supply while bobtailing will do that. You're essentially opening up a valve on the system without it being a closed circuit. No big deal.

I enjoy going down to Laredo. Pohl used to send me every couple of months or so. I'm thinking the customer who provided the trips must have switched to a cheaper carrier of the JBH or Swift variety however, since I haven't seen that run in a long time.