 |
Phil Madsen's BlogLearning Something New Every Day |
Truck drivers Phil and Diane Madsen live, work and play on the road; transporting expedited and critical-shipment freight in their custom-built truck. Phil's blog is a blend of travelogue, brain dump and commentary on road-inspired topics.
Most Recent Blog Entry • Monthly Trip Maps
Jul 2007 Aug 2007 Sep 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2007 Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 May 2008 Jun 2008 Jul 2008 Aug 2008 Sep 2008 Oct 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2008 Jan 2009 Feb 2009 Mar 2009 Apr 2009 May 2009 Jun 2009 Jul 2009 Aug 2009 Sep 2009 Oct 2009 Nov 2009 Dec 2009 Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Mar 2010 Apr 2010 May 2010 Jun 2010 Jul 2010 Aug 2010 This Month
Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, February 1, 2010 I learned today one of the reasons I had the feeling of well being described below. Learned by thinking through the experience.
We're on the road again! At least we soon will be. After spending a pleasant weekend at the very nice Pechanga RV park in Southern California, we will soon fire up the truck and go to pick up a load that will keep us running until Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning, depending on the delivery confirmation.
Diane and I have a phrase, "Secure for running." After we have been sitting for a while, the time comes to move again. One or both of of us will say "secure for running." That means play time is over, get ready to roll.
Around sunset last night the words were said, secure for running. Diane wrote up the load. I serviced the toilet and water tanks. We worked together to do a thorough pre-trip inspection of the truck. We updated our log books. I put away the lawn chairs. We took showers and put away anything that was loose in the sleeper.
Secured to run, we next walked to the nearby casino for a light meal. On the way, we held hands and noted a feeling of well being. We have been in a safe place and decent weather for a few days. The truck is in great shape. We used our down time well to both relax and get some good business and trading work done. We are dispatched on a load that provides a great financial start for the month. We felt good being together and free on the road. It was a nice walk.
That was last night. Later this day it came to me why I felt so relaxed and free. In a word, the time and effort I have put into my Operation Streamline is paying off. New habits are taking root. My mind is less cluttered.
One of the things I did yesterday was go through the ten pounds (actual figure) of trucking magazines that had piled up. We don't get home often. When we do, I bring the stack into the truck with the intention of reading them later. Yesterday was my day to do that but this time was different.
No longer serving as the editor of a trucking magazine, it is no longer important for me to try to keep abreast of everything that is going on in the industry. Being committed to narrowing my mental focus, it was easier to go though the stack than ever.
For example, truck engine changes for 2010 and beyond have injected two new acronyms into the industry vocabulary; SCR and DEF. It struck me yesterday that while these items are of great importance, they are not important to Diane and me because we won't be buying a new truck anytime soon. I could be SCR and DEF ignorant and it would not affect us in any way.
I used to read nearly every word in every trucking magazine that came my way. No more. Getting better at maintaining a specific mental focus, I now ask myself if a magazine article actually matters to Diane's and my business before reading it.
Last night's peaceful moments came not from just finishing off a stack of magazines. It came from letting a whole bunch of trucking topics evaporate out of my mind. More specifically, it came from letting go of the need to know. If something important develops, I can research it then. I don't need to keep up with everything that is going on in the trucking industry.
Things have changed. I have changed. I'm not here to break the news. I'm not here to be the first to know. I'm not here to demonstrate or share my industry knowledge among truck drivers at meetings and the dinner table.
I'm here to run a one-truck expediting business with my wife and co-driver Diane, efficiently and profitably. The more efficient and profitable we are in expediting, the more time I will have for trading.
A while ago, someone researching the expediting industry asked me a question online. When I replied, he said he was thrilled to hear back from "the celebrity expediter." Diane and I have never sought to be celebrity expediters but as active and outspoken as we were, it was an inevitable consequence.
A year from now, there will be hundreds if not thousands of new people in the business. Shifting my focus and behavior as I am, I'd be surprised if two percent of them even know Diane and I exist. That's perfect.
A celebrity expediter I care not to be.
Success in business is for me.
Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 I learned today that the trip to Hawaii Diane and I were planning is off. Learned when we could not bring ourselves to pull the trigger and book the trip.
Touring the Hawaiian islands on a cruise ship at deeply discounted rates sounds nice, especially in the winter. But with air fare for two and extras, the cost comes to about $10,000. That is money we would rather add to my trading stake or put toward a house in in Florida. We don't feel rich enough to stop working for 10 days and blow $10,000 on tourist fun.
In the truck, we get all over the country and have all kinds of tourist fun. It is a hotel on wheels and the shippers pay us to go here, there and everywhere. When having tourist fun on the road, we are never further than the truck away from a cheap place to stay and the opportunity to return quickly to work. Spending $10,000 on a 10 day trip and having nothing to show for it but the trip itself is too much for us. It's a great trip that we would love to take someday, but not just yet.
• We picked up freight in San Diego, California yesterday morning and are hauling it now, driving and sleeping in shifts. The delivery has not yet been confirmed. We expect to have the freight off the truck by Wednesday afternoon. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 I learned today that it is possible to set up a Wi-Fi connection between Diane's and my laptop computers and then have both computers share the internet connection that one of them uses. Learned by reading the Windows help pages.
Diane and I each have our own computer in the truck. Several months ago, we got Diane her own wireless internet account. With me spending more and more time online for trading and downloading financial podcasts and eBooks, I'm pushing the limit on my internet account. I need to use her account to download the big stuff to my computer and leave my bandwidth free for trading; thus my journey into into the help pages. I haven't got our little in-truck network running yet but I will.
• We drove overnight last night and continued the run that began in San Diego, California on Monday morning. We delivered the freight in Virginia this afternoon, just before close of business. We went next to a retail area to settle in for the night and wait for load offers. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, February 4, 2010 I learned today that the Volvo trucks dealer in Ashland Virginia offers a five percent discount on labor if you return for service within a certain period of time. Learned by receiving the discount.
On the way to yesterday's delivery in Virginia our truck developed a troubling noise. We pulled over at the first safe opportunity and popped the hood. The noise did not happen when the truck was stationary, only when moving. I looked and looked and noticed nothing amiss. Except for the noise, the truck ran normally. There were no trouble codes. No warning lights appeared on the dashboard display.
We decided to continue driving and the noise did not return. Having driven to Virginia from California and having only a couple hundred miles left to go, we wanted to complete the delivery. With the truck seeming to run normally, we continued.
We then stopped for fuel about 60 miles from the delivery the noise returned as we left the truck stop. Diane noticed a Volvo dealer nearby and we headed there. These people deserve a favorable mention; Colonial Truck, Ashland Virginia.
The service manager pulled a mechanic off another job and sent him out to ride with us to hear the noise. The mechanic asked me to pop the hood before he got in the truck. It took him one second (literally) to diagnose the problem. It was a broken EGR pipe. They had the parts. It was an easy fix made in the parking lot. Diane and I were on our way to the delivery in less than an hour.
(Please permit me a moment of ego service. I like to think I did not see the broken pipe because the break was not as large when I looked. The break was easily seen after the noise returned and the hood went up a second time.)
• We woke up this morning in a retail area about an hour away from this dealership. Our expediting day consisted of turning down one bad load after another, six in all, and accepting but not receiving the one good load that was offered.
As hope for more offers faded with the daylight, we decided to return to Colonial Truck to have a windshield wiper motor replaced. There was nothing wrong with the present motor but a factory recall was in effect and Volvo wanted to replace it at no charge. We also had some scheduled maintenance work done while we were there. The night crew was as pleasant to deal with as the day crew was yesterday.
• I also learned today that Diane and I will be going home for ten days later this month. Learned by setting the schedule.
Diane worked as an attorney before we took up life on the road. She needs to complete a certain number of continuing legal education courses to keep her law license current. She completed a bunch last year. We are going home soon so she can complete the rest and visit the dentist.
The pass she purchased to take an unlimited number of courses expires at the end of this month. With these courses costing $250 to $350 each, the more she can get done under her pass, the better. Since she had a dental appointment already scheduled, taking the courses doubles the value of this trip home.
• I have never looked forward to a trip home more than this one. Diane will be in class most of the time. Nothing of consequence is scheduled for me. The truck will be safely parked and needs no work. If there is any business paperwork to do, it won't be much. We are mostly caught up on that thanks to Operation Streamline.
This gives me the better part of ten days for full-time trading. That is very good news. I am eager to get home and immerse myself in the trading game. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, February 5, 2010 I learned today that Virginia state law now bans smoking in truck stops and presumably other public places. Learned by seeing the sign on the door.
It is a sign of the times, I guess. A tobacco state now outlaws smoking. Who woulda thunk? While the logic of the ban may be sound, it shows yet again that the land of the free ain't so free any more. I recently read of several places where rules or laws have been proposed to ban fat people from restaurants. Sound logic lies behind that too. Would things go that far? It could. Virginia tobacco farmers of a generation or two ago would never have imagined that their product would be deemed evil. Bad smokers. Bad eaters. Ban them all!
• 
Diane and I woke up this morning at the TA truck stop in Ashland, Virginia, still waiting for freight. Today's weather map is "colorful" as Diane put it. A winter storm warning is in effect for this area through 6 p.m. tomorrow. It is 10 a.m. now and the snow is beginning to accumulate. Ten inches or more are forecast, as are sleet and wind gusts up to 30 mph. More severe conditions are forecast for cities further north.
At this time of day on a Friday, it is normally unlikely that we will be dispatched to pick anything up today. More common are load offers for Monday pickups. The weather may change that. Extraordinary weather disrupts ordinary freight patterns. Expediters are sometimes called in to get important loads through when common carriers are delayed or hang it up for the day.
The best possible scenario would be a load that picks up today and takes us south out of the winter storm. The most likely scenario is that we will sit out the storm where we are and have something to haul on Monday. Expecting that, we moved up the road to a Petro truck stop where I can enjoy the free movies they play in the small theater there.
Update 1: Minutes after posting the above, an offer came in that we accepted and got. It is a short run that picks up and delivers on Monday. The pay per mile is OK but because the load is short, the money is not so good for the time the load ties up the truck. Taking the load means we won't have to drive in the winter storm, which is a plus. It also means we will be spending time at a less than exciting place until the rotten weather clears.
Update 2: We got dispatched late in the day on a load that also picks up and delivers on Monday. The two loads combined turn Monday into a good moneymaking day and make the weekend easier to bear. Still, we are sitting out a winter storm and that's no fun at all. Lots of Florida thoughts here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, February 6, 2010 I learned today a little about Florida vacation rental properties. Learned by looking at them on the web.
I was not kidding yesterday when I said lots of Florida thoughts here. We are laid over for the weekend in Ruther Glen, Virginia while a big winter storm hits. The only thing worse than sitting through it would be driving through it. In that regard, we are in good shape. The storm will end tonight and we don't pick up freight until Monday. We are keeping warm and cozy in our nice truck but I'd rather be in Florida. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, February 7, 2010 I learned today how the winter storm we sat through affected the area around us. Learned by looking out the window and reading news reports.
The Washington Post photographers got busy during and after the storm and produced some magnificent photos that can be viewed here. We did not get hit as hard in Ruther Glen, Virginia. We have a few hours of driving to do today to get near tomorrow's pickup. The storm ended last night so we expect the roads to be clear and the driving to be fine. Today's blog photo was taken yesterday. It is sunny now and the trucks at the truck stop are beginning to move. Tomorrow is a work day. I'm glad we don't have to go into Washington or Philadelphia as thousands of truckers must.
We were glad to get the parking spot we got on Friday and settle in to wait out the storm. That is until Saturday when a truck next to us left and another pulled in. Like many trucks at the truck stop, our new neighbor idled his engine the whole time. That was not a problem. The problem was his engine was out of tune and produced acrid, sooty fumes that we breathed all day and night. We did not move because there was no place to move to. The storm kept us in place.
Parking a straight truck like ours is much easier than parking a big rig. The big rig drivers rely heavily on truck stops for parking. We avoid truck stops when we can, for air quality reasons and a host of others. There are a few truck stops that we like and go to when we are near them. Otherwise we seek out cleaner, quieter and safer places to park.
Update: "... we expect the roads to be clear and the driving to be fine?" ... NOT!
Holy Moly, what a day! We have never seen roads like this in seven winters of truck driving. What a mess! I am talking about the part of our drive that took us north on I-95 from Quantico, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland.
We finally got where we are going, hours later than planned. We unwound with a hot, sit-down meal and a cup of cocoa at a Perkins restaurant. After a quick stop at a Walmart to re-supply the truck, we found a place to park safely for the night and settle in for the sleep we need. I'll write more about today's drive as time permits. It is not one we will soon ever forget.
Tomorrow is a two-load day that begins early. The first load picks up at 6 a.m. The second load delivers at midnight. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, February 8, 2010 I learned today the status and company views of expediter friends of ours after they changed carriers some time ago. Learned by visiting with them by telephone.
Today was a busy day as expected. After spending the night in a retail area 30 miles away, we arrived on time at our 6 a.m. pickup. The usual routine was followed.
The pickup is at 6 a.m. Thirty miles of driving is 30 minutes. That puts us at 5:30. Thirty minutes to get out of bed, get ready and get the truck ready puts us at 5:00. Build in one hour of sluff time to react to unexpected traffic delays, truck surprises or whatever. That puts us at 4:00, the time at which we set our alarms to go off.
That's alarms, as in more than one. We use our cell phones. Diane sets hers. I set mine. That way if one of us makes a mistake, the other alarm will go off at the right time.
Today's first run was only a couple hundred miles. It picked up and delivered in Pennsylvania. We proceeded next to New Hampshire, arrived after sunset, and picked up a load that goes west and delivers tomorrow morning. The original delivery time was for tonight but it bumped to tomorrow as no one would be there as late as we would arrive. That is fine. Either way we will sleep overnight in a non-moving truck.
We are already pre-dispatched to pick up the next load. With that one, we did something we almost never do. We took freight that is not profitable to run. We took it because it takes us closer to home, where we need to be on Sunday. It pays less than the price we normally require to put freight on our truck but far more than what we would get by booking a backhaul load and hauling really cheap freight.
The load will put us just 700 miles from home on Wednesday. We have hauled loads from that area to locations near home before. It would be really nice to score one of those and have the freight pay our way home. Otherwise we will do the usual thing and drive home on our own dime. We have the time to set up a backhaul load but having done that before, it is more trouble than it is worth. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 I learned today a new way to write up a bill of lading for the freight that goes on our truck. Learned by doing it.
I mentioned yesterday that Diane and I are making an exception to our usual practice by hauling cheap freight. We are doing so because the freight takes us closer to home, where we need to be, and it is better than driving entirely on our own dime.
Lots of truck drivers say they don't haul cheap freight. In our case it is true. This load was written up in a way that cheap freight often is, but with our inexperience with cheap freight, it was a way new to us. With help from dispatch we figured it out, much to our dismay.
I say to our dismay because it is depressing to see how this freight actually works and how commonly used it is. There is more to learn and know about cheap freight but I am not going there. If all the freight we hauled was cheap freight, we would soon leave the business. There is no need for me to know about how cheap freight works because it is not something we will do as a regular practice.
• I also learned today what a new (to us) stretch of road looks like in the back woods of New York and Pennsylvania. Here is the link to the Google map that shows the route. Click it and see the back-woods route we took.
As we drove it, we thought it would be a scenic and fun route to take in the summer. Even in the winter when everything is dead the road was of some interest. When day turned to night, we wanted one thing only, to be done with that road. Narrow, winding mountain roads can be fun, but not at night. It felt like it took forever to finally get onto a freeway.
Our freeway relief was short-lived as it started snowing as soon as we got onto westbound I-80. We had snow on and off for the rest of the night. It was unpleasant but nothing serious. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 I learned today that a large California insurance company raised its premiums on self-insured people by 39 percent. Learned from news reports.
Diane and I are self-insured because we are self-employed. We have watched premiums steadily rise over the years but nowhere near 39 percent in one shot. The company justified the increase saying that with so many healthy people dropping their insurance, they have no choice but to raise rates.
The concept of insurance is that a large group of people pay premium dollars into a pool and a smaller number of people in the pool will file claims that are paid from the pool. For it to work, there have to be enough healthy people in the pool to subsidize the unhealthy ones. While everyone does not file a claim, everyone pays because each pool member knows he or she may need to file a claim one day.
The economy has contracted, making it more difficult for self-employed people to stay in business. To cut costs, it seems many are letting their health insurance lapse. That leaves paying people like Diane and me to foot the bill if we want to remain covered.
This is a California development. Diane and I will be watching with great interest to see if it spreads to us. A 39 percent health insurance rate hike would be paid but not enjoyed. We will not be without good health insurance.
• Our morning delivery was made between Dayton, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. We took the load to get closer to home in Minnesota. With getting home now in mind, we said to heck with trying to find more freight and decided to deadhead the rest of the way.
We received a bunch of pre-dispatch offers last night, some offering very good pay. We would have jumped on them in normal circumstances. The trouble was, every one of them took us further from home, not closer. Not wanting to rack up a bunch of refusals on loads declined because they went the wrong way, we went out of service and are now heading toward home on our own dime.
• Before we reached Indianapolis, we heard on the CB radio that the road was closed ahead because of two wrecks in two locations. Traffic was being detoured onto secondary roads. The freeway was still closed when we got to that point. There was little to do but slow down and go with the flow. That is, until just before I exited and the state police car moved to re-open one lane of the freeway.
All drivers continued to exit, afraid to proceed ahead alone. I went for it and ended up being the first in line behind the patrol car that kept traffic moving slowly in a single lane several miles to the crash scene. Ahead was the patrol car and then an empty freeway as far as I could see. Behind was a string of cars and trucks that also went as far as I could see.
I joked on the CB that I felt pretty darned important being escorted like this and asked if the governor and marching band would be along to fill in the parade. The joking ceased when we drove by the wreck. It was one of several semi crashes we saw last night and today. I said yesterday that the snow we drove in was unpleasant but nothing serious. For at least one semi driver it was deadly serious.
We never know what causes the wrecks we see but I can't help thinking that following too close and driving too fast for conditions are contributing factors. I'm getting tired of seeing one winter wreck after another. It's another reason to look forward to spring. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, February 11, 2010 I learned today that there is a DQ inside the Petro truck stop building in Portage, Wisconsin. Learned by seeing it.
We spent the night there last night as we have done before. I never noticed the DQ before. For a DQ lover like me, it was an important observation and mental note to make.
• Waking this morning not to the alarms but on our own, we headed toward home in Minnesota and arrived early this afternoon. It was fun driving a clean truck for a change. We ran it through the truck wash last night.
We topped off the fuel near home and poured a good dose of anti-gel additive into the tanks. We will be home for almost two weeks and do not know how cold it will get. Sub-zero temperatures this time of year are nothing out of the ordinary.
We are home because Diane has a dental appointment and also needs to finish up a block of continuing legal education classes to keep her law license current. Her last class is on Tuesday, February 23. We plan to be back in service early the next day.
With the truck parked safely in our driveway, on the concrete pad we built years ago for that purpose, and with the shore power plugged in, we moved stuff into the house for a two-week stay. I then cleaned the sleeper to truck-tour standards. It will serve as my office and trading room while we are here.
• Regular readers know of my interest in trading and the time I have poured into it since October 2008. I am delighted to have two weeks off the road in which I can focus uninterrupted on trading. I am going to immerse myself in the game and use this time as productively as possible.
That means spending full-time days, six days a week, on trading. Our truck business work, including 2009 income tax returns, will be done outside of Diane's class time and my trading time.
This does not mean I will be staring at the screen and making trades 10 hours a day. It means I will be doing a mix of practice trading, live trading and studying in that time. I have not yet reached the the point where I am regularly and consistently making significant money as a trader. That will come when it comes.
The days ahead are not about making money. They are about making me into a consistently profitable trader. I am eager to immerse myself in trading and grateful for this opportunity. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, February 12, 2010 I learned today that our truck rides quieter than a Honda. Learned by driving a Honda.
Diane and I are home through February 24. We drove a borrowed car on an errand today (we don't own a car of our own). I found myself raising my voice to be heard as we drove over some rough pavement. I would not have had to do that in our truck.
There is no question about it. If you we going to be in a vehicle for any miles at all, it is easier and more comfortable to be in our truck than a car. Some four-wheelers (car drivers) are shocked to hear that we routinely drive 10 hours a day. They have no idea and no way to know how much easier a truck is to drive than a car. A 10 hour drive in a big truck usually puts you on the open road, making things easier still. Ten hours in a car is a pain, except when it comes time to park. Parking a car is much easier than parking a truck, because in a car, you can easily find a parking space.
The errand was a trip to two offices. One stop was to apply for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), which is becoming widely used. It is basically a fancy ID card for which a background check is done before it is issued. The other stop was at a state office to update our truck registration, an annual task.
Except for those two hours, the rest of my day, starting well before sunrise, was dedicated to trading. I'm not sure what Diane has been up to today. I have been in the truck sleeper with my mind on trading. I'll go in for supper around 6:00 p.m., watch some TV to relax, go to bed early, and be up bright and early tomorrow to hit trading again. The market I trade is now closed until Sunday night. Tomorrow will be a trading study day. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, February 13, 2010 I learned today more about trading. Learned by studying.
Diane and I are home until February 24. As planned, I hit the books early this morning and have been at it all day, except for the occasional stretch break. It is 4:00 p.m. now. I plan to get in a half-hour of exercise and at least a couple more hours of study before turning in for the night.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Diane and I will be spend it together. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Today's Topics: National Commodity Futures Exam • The Love Chapter • RV Show
• I learned today what the the examination subject areas are for the Series 3 National Commodity Futures Examination are. Learned by looking them up.
Diane and I are home until February 24 so she can complete a dental appointment and a block of continuing legal education classes to keep her law license up. That gives me a block of time for trading. However, today is Sunday and Valentine's Day. We took the day off and spent it together.
I woke at 5:00 a.m. and hit the trading books to pass time until Diane got up and we went to church. While I learn something new every time I read or re-read one of these books, they are becoming superficial and redundant. Studying for the national commodity futures examination would add direction breadth and depth to my studies.
I was a Series 7 (General Securities License) registered representative ("stock broker") back in the day. Having passed that exam, I know the commodity broker exam is something I can pass too. Reviewing the requirements, the Series 3 seems to be an easier exam. The Series 7 exam covered stocks, bonds, options, limited partnerships and mutual funds. The Series 3 exam focuses on commodities and futures contracts.
As a happy and successful truck driver, I have no reason, need, desire or intention to become a registered commodity representative ("commodities broker"). I can order the study materials and leave it at that. But studying for an actual test provides discipline. It would force me to dive into topics I might otherwise ignore. Whether I take the test or not, the first step is to order the materials.
The cost is $175, a fair price I think. It will do me good to learn what the various professional players in the commodities and futures industry are expected to know to enter the business. The players include sole proprietor futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, commodity trading advisors, commodity pool operators, floor brokers and registered commodity representatives (associated person); all of whom must pass the Series 3 exam.
• I also learned today about 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible chapter known as the love chapter. It is familiar to many as it is often read at weddings. With today being Valentine's Day, our pastor preached on that text at church. He offered a new way of looking at what he called "God's description of love."
As I listened, it occurred to me that the chapter is not so much a description of how you should love others as it is a description of how God loves us. That's a lot to take in.
Truck drivers regularly keep their defenses up against all kinds of threats. There are road hazards, safety threats, over-zealous law enforcement officers, errant dispatchers, new regulations, policy changes, financial challenges; not to mention the challenges that come from being away on the road for long periods, living and feeling like a street person at times.
Then along comes the love chapter as a description of how you are loved. It takes your mind off the threats and opens your eyes and heart to the love that is also out there. It is easy to fight your way toward the goals you set and overcome the challenges that stand in your way. It is not so easy to see and let in the love in that is there for you from God and the people around you.
• I also learned today about a line of motorhomes that caught our eye. Learned when Diane and I attended an RV show in the Minneapolis convention center. That was our Valentine's Day date, the RV show and dinner after. We have no plans to buy a motorhome but it was fun to check them out. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, February 15, 2010 I learned today more about trading. Learned by doing it.
Diane and I are home until February 24 so she can complete a dental appointment and a block of continuing legal education classes to keep her law license up. Today's topic was advanced concepts in estate planning. She spent the day in downtown Minneapolis attending class. I spent the day at home trading. Our church has a Bible study on Monday nights which I also attended.
As we got ready for bed, we talked about the life we used to live. Today brought back the memories. We would get up early and go to our separate jobs, sometimes see each other in passing at home around supper time as one or both of us got ready to go to an evening meeting, watch a little TV together later in the night, go to sleep, and get up the next morning to run the same script.
It's better living and working together in a truck. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 I learned today more about trading. Learned by doing it.
Today was the same as yesterday except there were no evening meetings. Diane spent the day in a class named Advanced Employment Law Topics. I spent the day trading.
A friend I talked to by phone asked if I was getting bored yet. YES! was the answer before he even finished asking the question. It is not even Wednesday of this week. It will be a full week from Wednesday that we go back on the road. Home is a nice place to be, but not for long.
I am glad I have trading to keep me busy. I am also glad to be sitting out these days of winter driving. Look on the bright side, right? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 I learned today more about trading. Learned by doing it.
Diane and I are home until February 24 so she can complete a dental appointment and a block of continuing legal education classes to keep her law license up. Today was her dental day. She also ran an errand and spent time in the house. She'll be back in class tomorrow. I spent the day in our truck sleeper where I am set up to trade.
It doesn't sound like much of a day but to us it is a very good day. We are getting done what we came home to do. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, February 18, 2010 I learned today what the study material is for the Series 3 National Commodities Futures Representative (commodities broker) exam. Learned by receiving and previewing it.
I ordered the material a few days ago to help me learn more about trading. It arrived today. While previewing it I quickly decided to take the exam. Putting a real-world test out in front of me will help me concentrate when my mind might otherwise drift.
Passing the exam will not make me a commodities broker. I would need to pass the exam and then be hired by a member firm to do that. As I said before, I am a happy and successful truck driver. I have no reason, need, desire or intention to become a commodities broker. The study material will help me learn more about trading. The exam will help me focus on the material. That's as far as it goes.
• Diane is in another continuing legal education class today. The topic is How to Start and Build a Successful Law Practice, Part One. Part Two is presented tomorrow. I am studying trading but not looking at the markets today. I can only do that for so long before needing a break. My eyes are in the books today, not on the screen. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, February 19, 2010 I learned today more about trading. Learned by doing it.
Today was the same as yesterday. Diane spent the day in class in downtown Minneapolis. I spent it in my trading study books and on the computer. Diane has more classes on Monday and Tuesday. We will go back in service Wednesday morning and hopefully haul some freight. We have not yet made weekend plans but I hope to spend the major portion of it trading.
It was my intention to immerse myself in trading for most of the time we are home. I have done so and am delighted with the trading education and skill development progress I have made. If I had ten more uninterrupted days to pour into trading like this, I would eagerly and happily do so. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, February 20, 2010 I learned today more of what I need to know to know to pass the Series 3 National Commodities Futures exam. Learned by studying.
Diane and I have been home since February 11 and will be until February 24 for the reasons explained above. I have been using the time to learn more about trading and develop my trading skills.
Having decided to take the Series 3 exam, I am now studying for it. I woke at 4:15 this morning without an alarm clock and eagerly hit the books. I figure it will take me less than 100 hours of study to master the material such that I can pass this 120 question, 2.5 hour exam.
The exam is administered at testing centers nationwide. When the time comes to complete it, it won't matter where we are. I can find a nearby testing center, make an appointment, sit at one of their computers pass the test. I expect to pass it on the first try as I passed the more-difficult Series 7 exam back in the day and other professional exams completed over the years. My reasons for taking the exam are explained here.
Diane and I have not yet made weekend plans. We'll figure it out when she gets up. The alarm clock woke her every morning this week. Today is her day to sleep in. We will probably spend some time together doing trucking business paperwork and finishing our 2009 income tax work. There is a movie we both wish to see. We may go to the afternoon matinee to take a break from the paperwork.
Being home like this is reminding us of how life was when we lived in a house and each worked jobs that were more traditional. Even when we are doing boring paperwork chores, it's better to be making a living together in a truck. It's better because we are doing it together.
Our old jobs took us in two different directions every workday morning. Our trucking business keeps us together all day (and night) long.
Update: I estimated above that it would take me less than 100 hours of study to prepare for the Series 3 exam. After spending several hours in the material today, I'm thinking 200 hours is more realistic. This stuff is more involved than I first thought. That's OK. Passing the exam is something I want to do. It will take what it takes. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, February 21, 2010 I learned (relearned) today the wisdom of accepting that I am not smarter than my wife. Learned by experiencing and then quelling a round of counterproductive emotions.
Regular readers know I am studying for a test. Think for a moment about tests. When you are tested, you undergo an evaluation or ordeal designed to prove or disprove your abilities or qualifications. You go through a formal process that proves or disproves that you are good enough.
Notice how we talk about tests. We pass or fail. In most other things it is no big deal when we pass something. We pass cars on the road. We pass up the opportunity to do something. When asked to speak, we may politely say "I pass" and remain silent instead. We pass things on to others. We sometimes use the word to smooth things over, saying he passed away instead of saying he died.
In business, we do not pass or fail. We succeed or fail. People don't return from Las Vegas and boast that they passed. They boast that they won. It means something to say "I'm a winner." It means nothing to say "I'm a passer."
We talk about test results in an emotionally unbalanced way, minimizing success and maximizing failure. Adding unbalanced self-esteem self-talk to the mix raises the stakes as we prepare for a test.
If we pass a test, we pass. If we fail a test, we don't tell ourselves and others that we are non-passers. We go more naturally to saying we failed, and then tend to continue the downhill slide by saying "I'm a failure." Some go further down the slope saying "I'm not good enough" and further still to "I'm no good."
Weeks or months before we take a test, we raise the stakes by anchoring our emotions to the results and skewing things such that the pain of failure greatly outweighs the pleasure of success. We inject into our studies the weight of a gloomy future that offers offers a heap of pain and only passing gain.
So how does this tie into Diane being smarter than me? In my case, it's not enough to struggle with the pass-fail self-talk that rises when studying for a test. I complicate it by comparing my test results and myself to others. When doing that, I have a major problem. The problem is my wife is smarter than me. I live and work with her nearly 24 hours a day, every day, and she is smarter than me.
Diane has a college degree and a law degree. I have a college degree and only one year of graduate school. She types 100 words per minute, I type only 60. She does math in her head faster than me. She reads faster than me. When it comes to tests, she not only studies less, she out-scores me every time.
We have taken three important tests together; the written test for our CDLs, the written HAZMAT test and the (intense) written test we took as part of a national truck driving contest we once entered. Each time, she studied less, finished sooner and scored higher.
Diane is not alone in heaping the test pain on. Satan himself seems to get involved. He fills the test room with evil beings who grind my soul into the ground. One by one, they rise from their seats and hand in their tests 30 minutes and even an hour sooner than I can even think of doing. I'm never the first to leave the room and often near the last. The departing beings don't say a word. They don't even look at me. They don't have to. They make me feel stupid and shamed by doing nothing more than completing their test and leaving me behind in the room.
With tests, in relationships and at work, the desire to avoid emotional pain leads many people to make decisions and take actions that help them feel better but also work against their best interests.
Have you seen workers tell someone to slow down because that person's good work makes the others look bad? Do you know of husbands who discourage their wives from going back to school because they did not want their wives to be more educated than them? Do you know people who quit school and took menial jobs to avoid the pain and shame of failed tests?
The negative emotions of tests welled up in me today as I sat quietly in a comfortable chair and read the study materials. It's not fun when Diane and I are looking at a route plan together and she can figure out the time and miles in her head faster than me. I don't like it when we are both adding up our log book hours at the end of the day and she finishes ahead of me. I feel bad when we are reading a web page together and she scrolls down before I have read what is there.
I do not like it when other people finish tests ahead of me. I do not like it when other people score higher than me. If I let those feelings run, it would hurt me in spiritual, relational and occupational ways.
Notice that I said if I let those feelings run. It took some doing but I have learned how to get past these negative emotions when they well up. I do it not by trying to change my feelings but by changing the thoughts that give rise to them.
It is nothing at all to say there are people out there who are smarter than me. If I accept the fact that Diane is one of them, it becomes OK for her to be exactly that. If I get down on myself for being less smart than others, the bad feelings kick in, feed on themselves and affect my perceptions and motivation. If I let those feelings run, I don't see myself as a test passer. I see myself as disadvantaged because I have to study harder than others. I don't see others as equals blessed with with different gifts. I see other people as better than me (and by extension, myself as no good).
There are many internal conversations I could have about Diane's and my brains. One is, she is smarter than me and I am a loser. Another is, she is smarter than me and I am blessed. She is a smart woman and she picked me!
Maybe it's not true that the first people out of the testing room are smarter than me. Maybe some of them are so defeated by the test that they give up and quit. Maybe they beat themselves up the instant they exit the room for not being more thorough and using all of the available time. Maybe I am brave because I'm willing to stay in the room and take the pain through the last possible moment.
Thoughts precede emotions.
The thoughts I have about my test results influence how I feel while I study. How I feel while I study influences how motivated I am to study. How motivated I am to study influences how well I learn. How well I learn influences how well I do on the test. The whole thing starts with my mindset — the thoughts I create (or let run) weeks or months before I take the test. One set of thoughts — one mindset — gives rise to bad feelings, another gives rise to good.
As with tests, so too with money, looks, kids, vacations, cars, toys, sports teams, political leaders, career, or anything else external that you become emotionally vested in and use to define yourself as a winner or loser.
If it is about money, there will always be people who have more than you. If it is about politics, there will always be people in power who disagree with you. If it is about toys, there will always be people nearby who have bigger, better and faster toys than you.
What do you do about those people? Do you invest time and effort to make them wrong? Do you gather evidence that proves the errors of their ways? Do you put your "shoulds" on them and form carefully crafted opinions about why they should not have so much money, be in public office, or spend so much on toys?
If so, what are you doing really?
Are you serving the greater good by running such thoughts, or are you just trying to avoid the pain that comes when you compare yourself to others and judge yourself deficient?
Personal power does not come from changing other people. It comes from changing your mind.
My wife is smarter than me. What am I to think of that? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, February 22, 2010 I learned today nothing worth reporting.
I'm not very happy with myself as today draws to a close. I had the whole day free and accomplished little. We are set to go back on the road on Wednesday. That means getting my head out of the ten days I dedicated to trading and getting it back into our trucking business. It was not the smooth transition I thought it would be. I ended up doing a little of this, less of that and a whole lot of nothing.
Diane's day was boring but more productive in that she completed another continuing legal education class and earned more credits toward keeping her law license up. Today's topic: Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Credit Agreements. It was not a total waste of time. Next time we need a $150 million loan, Diane will be that much more prepared. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 I learned today the FMCSA's rule interpretation regarding the use of our truck for personal conveyance. Learned by reading it.
• Our carrier is moving from paper log books to electronic logs. The personal conveyance question has risen in that context. Namely, if you are off duty and laid over, and drive your truck a few miles in the same town to say a movie theater or grocery store, is that a loggable event that starts your 14 hour clock? With paper logs it was never an issue. With electronic logs it may be because the new device would sense the truck moving and automatically log the time, even if the truck moves just a mile. At least that's what Diane and I are hearing from our fellow contractors who are now using the new devices. I don't want to go into it in depth here. Suffice it to say this is an issue Diane and I are following.
• We had planned to go back in service tomorrow morning but that will be delayed. With Diane's class schedule such as it has been, tomorrow is the earliest we can get back to an office to pick up the TWIC cards we ordered on February 12. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that they came in as fast as they did. Had they not, we would have had to wait until we next got home to pick them up or arrange to pick them up somewhere out on the road. They must be picked up in person.
• Today has been a truck business administration day. After being totally unproductive yesterday, I turned off my computer last night, put away the books and deliberately watched TV for a couple hours to shift into a mind-off, near-drool state. I then got a good night's sleep and work up refreshed this morning. Diane is finishing up her last continuing legal education class. I'm worked on Operation Streamline and truck stuff most of the day.
We are not done with our income tax work because we did little of it the whole time we have been home. We procrastinated and are kicking ourselves for it. That procrastination may cost us an extra day or two off the road. On the other hand, I made great progress with the time I spent trading. Every minute was time well spent.
It will feel great to get back on the road and haul some freight again. We have been sitting in one place far too long. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 I learned today additional information about shingles (the illness). Learned by reading the information when I got immunized against it.
Shingles immunizations are recommended for people over age 60. I'm not that old but got one anyway after talking to my doctor about it. The motivation is fear. Some people I know have gotten ill with shingles. One friend's tale was especially bad. He lost a lot of work and suffered intense pain for extended periods. Paying $200 for the injection seemed like a bargain compared what the illness would cost if I got it.
That errand and one other took longer than I expected and we did not get as much truck book work done as planned. That's OK. We got everything done that we needed to do at home. The rest can be done on the road.
We will be in service tomorrow morning. There are a couple trucks in town now. That is common. Trucks seem to be moving in and out of town at a normal rate. We expect to be dispatched tomorrow. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Today's Topics: Home Fuel Cell • Truck Fuel Cell
• I learned today about the Bloom fuel cell. Learned from news reports. (Info here, here and here.)
As much as Diane and I love the road, we know that age and health considerations will eventually force us off. We plan to build a house one day and now enjoy dreaming it up. Fuel cell technology has found its way into our heads and dream house.
I would love to have a house that produces all of its own power and allows us to be energy independent; that is, live in a home that is powered totally free from oil, gas and electric companies; and to do so in a way that does not require me to turn down the heat in the winter.
Solar power could provide some of the solution and perhaps all of it in the future as that technology progresses. What I don't like about it now are the government grants that help offset the cost. Using them forces you into that mess. We have been there and done that, and don't want to do it again. The grants also require you to interact with the existing power grid. That creates a vendor relationship I would prefer to avoid.
Enter fuel cell technology. The Bloom Box currently runs on natural gas and is not yet the cost-efficient, clean-energy power plant that will fit in your basement and power your home. The company and others are making important strides in that direction. Diane and I have time to wait. It will be many years before we build our house.
• More near-term, I am interested in replacing the generator on our truck with a hydrogen fuel cell. That product does not yet exist but we are getting close.
As you read this, fork lift operators are moving tons of freight in warehouses with electric fork lifts that are powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Replacing the battery packs that were previously used to power fork lifts, these fuel cells are not much bigger than the generator we have on our truck. Plug Power manufactures the fork-lift power units and a residential product too. Walmart, Bridgestone and others are using fuel-cell-powered fork lifts in their warehouses right now.
Where would you get the hydrogen to power a fuel cell on a truck? You would make it. At least that is the dream I have. You would use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas and use that gas to power the fuel cell. People at MIT are doing it and have big ideas for the application (info here). A number of high school students have done the same thing as their science projects, though not with commercial applications immediately in mind.
Solar power could be used on a truck to provide the electricity needed to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. See this piece I wrote for Expedite NOW about a solar powered van that doing its thing in the real world.
You get a lot of time to think when driving on the open road. I believe Diane and I will have fuel cells on our truck and in our home in the future because of the thinking we are doing today and the technology strides that are being made
• Speaking of the open road, we have not seen much of it lately. I said yesterday that we expected to be dispatched. It did not happen. We are in service and still waiting for freight. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, February 26, 2010 I learned today that I need to strategically rethink the trucking industry and Diane's and my place in it. Learned as I read the February edition of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine.
I return to a new stack trucking magazines every time Diane and I come home. The February edition of Heavy Duty Trucking stood out this time. It touches on several major issues facing the trucking industry and presents meat that is sometimes passed over by other articles on the same topics.
Diane and I constantly skim the trucking news from sources ranging from truck stop rumors to trucking magazines to white papers published by various players. Personal conversations with people who are in the know are also helpful.
However, with my focus on trading and with Diane and I settled comfortably into what we hope will be an ongoing trucking career, I have not been thinking as deeply about trucking issues as I once did. That does not stop the trucking world from moving on. As the magazine cover story suggests, "The times they are a-changin'..."
I have yet to sit down with this magazine for some deep reading and thought. The question is not so much how are things changing? The question is, how are we going to react and adjust to the changes?
When we first entered the industry six years ago, we were thrilled to have the expected fun and earn the expected money from the first day. When I expressed my confidence and optimism I was lambasted by a number of seasoned truckers who said I had my head in the clouds. They said I was unrealistic. They were bitter about and enthusiastically bemoaned the changes they felt made trucking something less desirable than it used to be.
Fast forward to the present day. With six years of trucking under my belt, I do not have the benefit of 20-plus years of experience these truckers claimed as their source of wisdom. I do, however, better understand the bitterness they let fester and loudly expressed.
As I read Heavy Duty Trucking, I heard a voice inside of me saying "they took from me..." and the voice is not wrong. In the time Diane and I have been in the business....
"They" took from us the freedom to drive and sleep in five-hour shifts instead of the ten-hour shifts we drive now. We would love to have that freedom back.
"They" took from us the ability to run our truck as intended for the years we planned. They instead shortened the truck's useful life with retroactive environmental regulations that will either force the truck off the road before its time or require upgrades that cost thousands of dollars.
"They" took from us the ability to work the Ontario and Quebec freight markets without placing a speed limiter on our truck that keeps us from driving the legal speed limit in many U.S. states.
"They" took from us the robust freight market that made it possible for Diane and I to do better financially than we are doing today.
"They" took from us a significant number of rest areas in several states that used to be open but are now closed, thereby reducing our safe parking options and diminishing our quality of life on the road.
They took, they took, they took.... I'm just an honest Joe trying to make an honest living, but every time I turn around, "they" are there to take, take, take. It is an ongoing battle to keep other people's hands out of my cookie jar, and I am losing.
Now, this is where I part company from the embittered old salts. I let that voice run for about 30 seconds before interrupting it. I did not get on the phone to have an "ain't it awful" conversation with like-minded friends. I did not get on the CB or head to the truck stop lunch counter to validate my "they took from me" views by commiserating with others who also feel beat up, unappreciated and left behind.
While it is true that they did indeed take the above-mentioned things from me and the times are a changin', the greater truth is that I remain free to choose how I will feel about it, how I will view it and how I will react and plan for the future.
Optimism, the expectation of success, business skills and a strong work ethic produced six successful years in this business. The same things will produce six more. That said, it remains true that the times are a-changin'. Diane and I need to research expediting anew; not dwelling on what what we used to have in the years behind, but thinking about what we will have in the years ahead.
That means focusing less on trading and putting serious thought into today's trucking industry and our place in it. The best way to do that is to update the strategic analysis section of our business plan.
I continue to learn how to balance our trucking business with my trading activities. Having written plans for both makes it easier to do. It is simply a matter of putting my eyes on one or the other as is appropriate.
• We came home on February 11 so Diane could complete a block of continuing legal education classes to keep her law license up. I used the time to immerse myself in trading. We went back into service yesterday morning. Now, on a Friday morning, we are still waiting for freight. If we do not get dispatched soon, we may get dispatched on a Monday pickup which would keep us home over the weekend.
I called some of our expediter colleagues yesterday to see how the freight has been moving. Every one of them was thrilled with the work. They have been running well and at good rates. Sitting at home while waiting for freight is not the end of the world but we would prefer to be the road and in the revenue stream.
Our next trip home is scheduled for July. Diane has dental appointments then. With her braces now off, she will have some crowns and cosmetic dental work done. That will bring Diane's dental journey to an end. Almost all of the work is essential. It was braces now or surgery later. The crowns are essential too. The cosmetics are a small portion of the bigger job and put a nice finishing touch on it all.
This cost a lot of money paid to dentists, in time lost from work and in transportation costs to get Diane home for the dental appointments. When we think about it, we feel OK about the money and great about being expediters. Expediting provided the money to pay for all this and the freedom to get it done.
The next load we pick up will begin what we hope will be five uninterrupted months of expediting work. With the freight running strong, no truck payments to make, no other debt, most of the dental expenses behind us, and no need to come off the road until July, we hope to move a lot of freight and bank a serious pile of cash. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, February 27, 2010 I learned today what a tsunami in action looks like. Learned by watching online the live coverage of the tsunami that hit Hawaii today.
We finally got dispatched and will leave home on Sunday evening to get near our Monday morning pickup. That gives us most of the weekend to fill before we leave. My immediate projects include trading, updating our truck business plan, finishing our taxes and hauling freight. Feeling no urgency to do any project work today, I dabbled a little on some of it and spent three hours watching the tsunami coverage. Diane and I will work more seriously on projects tomorrow and then hit the road.
Because we spent so much time at home, February was a financial bust. We have no regrets because we got done what we came home to do, and what was done was important. It was a bonus to sit out the winter storms that hit the East Coast while we were off the road.
Monday's pickup begins what we hope will be five months of uninterrupted and lucrative expediting work. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, February 28, 2010 I learned today the whereabouts of the hair stylist Diane and I used to go to. Learned from other stylists in the salon.
We have been home since February 11 and finally got back on the road late this evening. Haircuts were on the to-do list before we left. We learned at the store that the stylist we both like took an administrative job with better pay across the hall in the same mall. We would have followed her if she was still cutting hair. She is very good.
Packing for the road was easy. Operation Streamline continues to pay dividends. We brought more out of the truck when we arrived at home than we brought into the truck when we packed to leave. We're traveling a little lighter and have more cupboard and drawer space than before.
The truck had not moved since we got home. When firing up the beast and doing the pre-trip inspection I found a lighting repair that needed to be made. Road salt takes an ongoing toll. The circuit worked fine when we drove home and parked. It did not work when it came time to leave. The repair delayed our departure by an hour.
We were further delayed by a truck that did not seem in the mood to run after sitting for two weeks. It started and idled OK but had no power under load. With the pedal on the floor, it would go 5 mph and pour out a huge amounts of white smoke. We backed it up the driveway to troubleshoot the problem.
(Oops! the modern term is issue. We did not back the truck up the driveway because we had a problem. We backed it up because we had an issue.)
I called a friend to think this through together. While I spoke and after the truck ran a few more minutes, everything cleared up on its own and we were on our way. There are lots of theories. Once the truck resolved it's issue I stopped thinking about it. Notice I did not say problem. We would not want to damage the truck's self-esteem, would we?
Tomorrow's pickup is in Iowa, three hours from home at 11:00 a.m. Liking to be closer than that when a pickup draws near, we left home this evening and spent the night at freeway rest area closer to the pickup. It felt good to settle in. We are back in the truck and back home on the road.
• One of the reasons we have few service failures (very, very few) is the lead time we build into pickups and deliveries. Had we waited until tomorrow morning to leave, we would not have discovered the issues tonight. The delays would have made us late for the pickup, and that would be a real problem involving not just us but our carrier and customer too.
Our carrier and customers do not care about our self-esteem. In their eyes, if we miss a pickup, it is not because we had an issue. It is because we failed. That's failure, as in service failure, as in negative points that are added to your record and money that may be docked from your pay in certain circumstances. In expediting, few things are more important than on-time pick-ups and deliveries.
Note to expediter wannabees: If you have a day or more before a pickup, don't linger in your present location. Move toward your customer and layover there. If anything goes wrong on the way, you will have time to deal with it well before your pickup time.
By way of example, let's say the truck problem did not resolve itself on its own. That would leave us in a broke down truck about 14 hours before the pickup. In that case we would have advised dispatch of the breakdown. With that much lead time a dispatcher could put another truck on the load. Because the customer was properly served, no service failure would have been charged to us.
It is better to advise dispatch early of any truck problems you are having than it is to stay quiet about it in hopes of somehow making the pickup on time. If there is any doubt that you will make a pickup on time, let dispatch know and ask to be taken off the load so another truck can be put on it. The more you work with dispatch, the more dispatch can work with you. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
February Trip Map • Monthly Trip Maps
Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page