I am betting you get a choice between '07 Volvo 760 VN and the Columbia. I hope you get a chance at your Kenworth :thumbsup:

 

The T2K's that I drove had a great deal of WIND NOISE in the doors and windows. Makes me question DOT's hearing standards. I could hear the noise perfectly even without hearing amplifacation. The T-600s that I drove were very good trucks. Wouldn't mind one now, but I don't know about any advantages in the new T-660s. I'd take a T-600 over the Columbia I'm drving now. But, even with the room and the rest, I'd take a Columbia before another T2K because of the noise level.

I'd say your DM's intuition is pretty good. A new truck and you've forgotten about the $50 for 19 hours. Short memory???? The truck might be newer, but the dispatching won't change.

Driver "manager"... Who the bloody blazes ever came up with that one? I know my job, and I do it. What I need is LIASON between the shipper/receiver and myself. I need "DRIVER SUPPORT", not a manager.

 

Well i havent forgot about $50 an hour, but getting a 1100 mile load helps. Really dont care what i get, as long as it is not a volvo. It has a TON of storage, but i would prefer the ROOM. Think i might take my dog on the truck with me (approval or not) for a week and see how it works out. =)

 

I would like to tell all driver managers, that just because you have that word "manager" in your title, dont make you anymore important than me. that dont give you 'authority' over me. what "manager" means....is alot like in Junior High, or High School, football or basketball 'managers', were just gophers. they were simply SUPPORT for the players

Same holds true here. DRIVER MANAGER is another title for DRIVER SUPPORT.

 

wow i couldn't agree with you more Syncrosonix... hell i want is a Pro Star or hell even a Cascida!! is that to much to ask for??? lol..

but on the real tip i heard schneider wouldn't got to no other truck besides the century due to the aerodynamics and fuel consumption... i think there's a few million milers who has Pro Stars and those things are sweet!!!

 

Glad to see you got the new truck. Hope you like it.

Lets get back to the miles. 1100-1400 miles per week? Did I read right?

I know you just got a 1100 mile run....that a good run, but still. An average of 1400 miles per week is never acceptable, even for new guys.

I can understand 1500-2000, being new and all. I didn't like it when I got those miles from JB, but damm...

To me, being away from my home deserves at least 2500 miles per week, and that's without kissing ass to get it. For 3300 miles, I'll consider kissing a little tail....but 1400 miles?

That was my first surprise. The fact that so many drivers are telling you to stick it out is the second one.

Are you jokers kidding me? Have you notice the amount of average miles per week keep going down? Would you like to know why?

Because when a driver gets crap like this for miles, they are given the WRONG ADVISE. No way in hell should he be putting up with that crap. It's f**king insulting for all of us that dispatchers think that drivers would just take that kind of ***** for miles. And you know they wouldn't try that crap with you, or would they? And what would you do about it? Would you tell yourself to put up with it?

To the original poster. Never settle for crap miles like that. When you do, dispatchers not only will continue to give you 1400 mile weeks, but will also continue to give them to others like yourself.

1100-1400 mile in a week average. Damn insulting, if you ask me. I would leave their truck in the bottom of a lake. But that's just me.

You do what you want....but please at least jump their asses until they give you more miles.

Good luck.

 

Disptchers usually are paid a base pay ,But they make much of their income off of fleet production ,So the more miles the drivers run the more the DM earns ,So why woud a DM "want" the drivers in his fleet running 1400 miles ?

 

The structure of most companies do place the "driver managers" over the driver. In most cases the "driver managers" is a supervisor. And many "driver managers" can terminate a driver.

kc0iv

 

Thanks Big Jeep for your reply on the Columbia. As for the one I'm driving, it has zero body roll but that cn have a lot to do with the fact it's a mid roof with no top fairing.

As for ride, I'll stick to it rides better than the the 389 Pete. I can set a cup of coffee in the cup holder and it stays put. On the Pete it would wind up out on the floor a dozen times a day or more.

And for the comments about transmission, jakes, engine and all that. That has absolutely nothing to do with the brand of the truck. A driveline is a customer spec item ('s) and as such poor engine performance, crappy transmissions or weak jakes are the fault of your companies equipment manager who spec'd them in the first place. The Pete I came out of had the big cat but was equipped with a 10 speed and geared for light loads on flat roads. It couldn't pull itself out of a wet dream. My columbia on the other hand has the big Detroit and an 18 speed and is geared for heavy haul. It doesn't get the fule mileage the Pete got but it's designed to pull and thats what it does, pulls. When you have a truck geared to turn 1300 rpm at 65 your making the mileage but your already at the bottom of the power band as soon as you have to start pulling. And, the jake is more effective the higher the RPM so it's already out of it's range. Take a truck thats set up to pull and it's turning 1550 at 65 so as soon as you get into a hill you have a good share of the power band before you have to shift. Same with the jake, it's making more braking horsepower at 1550 than 1300 so it appears to be more effective. Granted the fuel mileage suffers but when you run around with oversized loads, the mileage is not nearly as important.

And yes, the roof leaks on my Columbia whn the ice melts but from everyone I've talked to, that's a standard with the Columbia. As for the insulation, again, that's you comapany. I have the arctic insulation package and staying warm at 20 below is not a problem.

Just my $.02. Now the for is lifting so I gotta roll.

 

I had two different Columbia's at my last company, and have NEVER had a leak. One mid-roof, one condo.

I have to say that my '06 KW does seem to be built a little better. Things don't seem to feel as cheap, and it seems quieter going down the road.

But then again...I've never had a Columbia catch fire before....:cry: