Rev did have a tendency to stir things up a bit. He just doesn't have the interest in the forum any longer. It is interesting that so many have expressed an interest in him coming back. When he was a moderator, some felt that he had too heavy of a hand at times.

 

I bet he's watching right now.

.................................................

 

Kind of you Solo, thank you. I wasn't faultless but I wasn't worse than I was those 15 years, either. Actually, I was much better than in the beginning, well past that stage where you weren't sure if you could get in there, weren't sure if you could make that turn, past that stage where guys sometimes try to force things so that they don't hold up traffic or force things because they don't want to look like they don't know what they are doing. I was perfectly content setting the cruise at 58 or 59, camping out in the granny lane, watching Billy Big Rig blow my doors off. Didn't care.

But, the truth of the matter is, oftentimes I improved AFTER I made a mistake, after I paid the price for doing something wrong. It would be after I cut a corner too short and got my trailer tandems stuck in a ditch that I decided the President himself could sit in traffic and wait if I had to take up the whole intersection to make a turn. Bet I don't forget to pull my dump valves anymore. Not sure what to think about my logbook seeing how I pulled in there specifically because I wanted to catch up, and then I walked off without it.

Really though, that rash of incidents was too uncanny, too unusual, makes me wonder what I'm missing. Hopefully we'll see here soon because the money really has run out.

 

Yep. Bad things can happen to good drivers. But sometimes good drivers get sloppy. We had a guy that got a ticket for 79 in a 55, and a flat tire and a loose strap (flat bed) in the span of a couple of months. He is a good driver but he got sloppy for a while and forgot his good habits. Basically he got in a hurry.

I think the system is set up to operate under the assumption that bad things don't happen to good drivers often. Good drivers will take measures to reduce the likelihood of bad thing happening. Doesn't mean it won't happen, but it shouldn't happen often.

 

79 in a 55?! Either he's a former pilot or he was smoking something.... Unless he was rolling downhill with a heavy load...

 

>Bet I don't forget to pull my dump valves anymore.
I don't get this part. Is this a 3 legged trailer that you were hobby horsing across an axle scale to make the weight appear legal?

>Not sure what to think about my logbook seeing how I pulled in there specifically because I wanted to catch up....
Might wanna try drawing those lines (in the truck) when you change duty status so you don't have to catch up.

Anyway, good luck when you get back out here again.

 

I have a friend who had 4 moving violations until last year. One dropped off, but he is having a difficult time because no one will hire him with that many moving violations. The other three were close together and will drop off next year. He blew the engine in his truck and didn't have the funds to have it repaired and wound up losing it. He is a good driver who got careless. None were all that serious, but collectively. they look bad when a carrier pulls up his MVR. He has over 30 years experience, mostly running his own authority. He was hospitalized and needed surgery a couple of years or so ago. He has nearly lost almost everything since. I believe that he will come back. He has a plan and is making progress on getting his authority back where he can start earning a decent paycheck.

The reason that I mention my friend is so that you can understand that you are not alone, lowrange. I think that you can turn things around. Much of what happened to you was not provincial. It was your actions that caused the problems. You can make a few changes and be a little more careful and turn your 'luck' around.

 

Neither one Tracer. Just careless. Rolling empty with a 475 Cat. He responded well tho. He took the truck in and had the speed limiter set to 105 the next trip.

 

The dump valve lets the air out of the trailer air bags. Looking at it, it isn't all that obvious on a tanker, particularly at night which is when I picked it up. So, one trailer axle will be way heavy and the other trailer axle will be light.

Draw the lines at change of duty status, huh? I think I'm doing good keeping my logbook up before I come to a scale. I don't just jump in my truck and drive for eleven hours, I like to mosey along. I need a brief nap in the afternoon. I could start out driving at 8:00 in the morning and take until midnight doing however many miles, let's say 450. That's the way I like to do it, drive a little, post to message boards a little, drive a little...just taking my sweet time. I salute you 'by the book' types. Me, I'm neither a cowboy nor a robot, so I just try to make things work.

 

I'll think about that, providence or not. I keep expecting to do something with and for God before I die, I keep looking for the opportunity to use the gift he has given me. So far, it seems all I do is pull knives out of my back...:cry:

Nah, I haven't always been a trucker, didn't get my CDL until I was 32. I could be doing this when I'm 70, or I could be done even now. I just don't know.

I managed to take care of my batteries all winter long, I've had my tractor, pump and air compressor running this spring. But then, something happened, and now I can't get the truck started. I'll probably monkey with the batteries again tomorrow, maybe take them in for a load test. Got to get it started whether I drive it or sell it. There was one guy who called earler looking for owner operators, I guess we'll just see.

Regardless, I appreciate hearing about your friend. I once talked to a driver, said he'd been in the business 30 years, himself. Said he had totalled 3 trucks during that time. Oy vey! That takes some stones to get back in the saddle that many times.