I know the day is coming for a load like that, it's not a matter of "if"....but "when" :eek:

 

I think you will do fine. Equipment is more fun then lumber anyday.

 

I'll agree with ya' on the lumber.....hate that stuff with a passion. Nice thing about this company is that that do not haul it!!!

 

I haven't posted for a couple of days so here's an update.

I made my drop in Laredo first thing Monday morning. I then deadheaded a whole 3 miles to our Laredo yard. I sat there for several hours waiting on a load of pick-up truck frames to come across the border from Mexico going to the Chrysler plant in Warren, MI. After about 4 hours, they called me to load and as it turned out, the load I got was sitting in the yard the whole time. I was not a very happy camper because I wasted all that time. Needless to say I got it loaded and and started my journey north.

They informed me that if I can deliver it legally by Wednesday, there is a $725 bonus. So I kept the left door shut and trucked on up the road. I ran my log out Monday and Tuesday and made it to the plant on time. I must say, and no offense to anyone that's from that area, but if I never go back up there it will be too soon.

When I accepted the load, I was told there would be a backhaul lined up going back to Laredo. So when I called in my empty status, I was not too pleased when they (L.S.) told me that there were 25 other trucks in the area and they over booked so the Laredo load was gone. Not too happy about that either. However, less than 30 minutes later my dispatcher called called to tell me he went ahead and booked me a load out of South Point Ohio going to Springfield, MO just to get me out of the area so I wouldn't be waiting for ever. The bad part is that it is a 350 mile DH!! The good part is that even with the DH it still pays decent. So I high tailed it out of Warren as fast as I could and ended up shutting down in Monroe, MI just before my log ran out.

Got up early and started making my way south and stopped in Brander, OH to call the shipper for an appointment time and final directions into their facility. Well the guy tells me that they WERE supposed to be ready with my load around 3pm local but the truck that has most of my load on it never showed up the night before as planned. So now they will not be ready for me until Friday morning. I called into my dispatcher to let him know and now I am waiting on him to call me back to inform me if I am still going to load there or cancel it.

So far I have hauled only 2 loads for Lone Star and although the pay per mile has been decent, in fact better than any load I hauled for my previous company, I am still stitting on the fence with my opinion about their organization. Seems to be a lack of communication between the terminals and dispatchers at this point. But it just may be a fluke, still kind of early too tell.

I'll post an update later when I find out whether I am still loading in South Point or getting a new load elsewhere.

 

Be gentle now...your new...and need to understand their "system"!

 

Yeah I know I'm keeping an open mind but at the same time my patients are wearing thin.

Anyways, I ended up getting the load from South Point, OH and delivered it this afternoon in Springfield, MO. I am sitting at the TA in Stafford waiting to hear back from dispatch. If I get stuck here over the weekend, I think I'll bounce over to Joplin and drool at all the chrome and chicken lights

 

Talked with my terminal manager this afternoon and was surprised :eek: when she told me that I will receive a couple of hundreds extra buck for the deadhead I made on that Ohio load which by the way, was 12k of aluminum walls and floors for railroad cars. So far i have been getting light loads and my mpg went from about 6.5 to 7.7!!!!!!! The other thing that was kind of funny, was she apologized for such a hectic week (there is a lot that I choose not to post on here about what's been going on....sorry) stating that this is not the way things at L.S. normally operate. I was relived (at least for the moment) that she said that because I was beginning to wonder. We'll see if week 2 gets any better.

She then offered me 2 choices......one was a load from (forgot the name of the place) about 300 miles away (again, would be paid deadhead) going to Houston and was loading Saturday. The other one is loading on Monday at our Tulsa, OK terminal also going to Houston. Both are paying about the same. I normally would say Saturday because I don't like to sit any longer than I have to, but after taking 6 weeks off, this past week wore me out so I choose the Monday load. I only put in about 3,000 miles this week but it felt like a million. Really need to build my stamina back up and get into the swing of things again.

So I bounced over to Joplin and will reset my log here. It'll give me a chance to clean the truck, get a PM done, and tie up a few loose ends I've been putting off for some time now. More than likely I will move over to Tulsa Sunday so I will be ready bright and early for the load transfer.

Well it's time for a hot shower, fill my belly, and relax for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow will be "chore day"

 

3000 miles???? :eek::eek::eek: I get upset if I do more than 2300!! This week I'm turning 2180 with revenue to the truck of $6,280 with the fsc. 2 loads.

I'll do a few 3 load weeks..but not to often..I don't like working THAT hard!

 

2968 miles to be exact. I know the name of the game is to run as few miles for as much $$ as possible......that unfortunately was not the case with my previous company, you had to run a lot to barely make it. It still is "early in the game" here, and although my rates have been higher here then the previous company, I still only grossed with fsc $5,200 this week Part of the problem is that I have refused a couple of loads that would require me to drop my trailer and haul theirs. If I am going to do that, then I'll drop my trailer at home and not in some terminal that I may not see for who knows how long. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

 

That right there is why I like Tanking. Never have to worry about where your trailer is...because you don't own one!!