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Old 04-29-2012, 11:39 AM
 
477 posts, read 1,504,406 times
Reputation: 246

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JanND View Post
Robione, I so appreciate your taking the time to explain and answer some of my questions, it does help a lot. I see that as I have always suspected, you are a cut above the rest no matter what you are up too. Go to it....You'll be fine. Wish there were more like you up here. Really enjoy your newsy and informative posts.

Seems like most of the people that come here looking for info or help are decent, normal, nice people just looking for the right help to get them going to a better life. I would suppose it's the others that come here looking, just coming straight up to ND without researching that can be a bit difficult to appreciate. There are so many trucks and equipment in the area that should never be in use or on a traveled road. I hear the horror stories everyday, but just hoping and praying that things will be able to even out where the LE can be able to do their job without being run ragged like they are right now.

Hell, I can drive a grain truck and pull flat bed trailers, but I would never want to be on the road for a living doing that, lol, I don't trust myself that much let alone some of the newbies who have never done it in their lives. Guess that is how it works though, those that can will do just fine and those that can't will end up showing it thru their skills.
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Old 04-29-2012, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Minot, ND
175 posts, read 458,968 times
Reputation: 173
4/27, 4/28 and today are going to be mixed together. Not much happened on any day. As I mentioned rain put a damper on things. I ended up putting in one hour in 4/27, 4:15 on the 28th and probably zero today. We were just doing miscellaneous stuff to help move the shop over to the new location and clean up the bathrooms and break area. Unlike fishing where it's work first and play later, over here it's been this hazy grey area... maybe there is work... maybe not. I was going to head to Minot on Saturday and see if I could grab a full day's work from the Command Center but then I caught a message on the dry erase board saying this, that and the other has to be done by the end of Sunday, "or else." So I did a bunch of work... not sure if it was more or less than other people as me and my roomie were the only ones on the property yesterday for most of the day. But when I ask one of the senior staff if I can help with something else and he has no response, I just head back to my room and come out later and see if the answer is different.

So time off has been real boring. I can't say I lead an exciting life anyway. At least it doesn't seem like it to me (as I'm looking into IRT for the winter if things will be as slow as people are saying, lol). Being stuck in a perpetual "on call" mode is not particularly fun. I may start counting the bumps per square inch on my ceiling for fun. I don't particularly want to leave the property for many reasons...
  • I have wifi here. It's a waste to go to Minot just to use the wifi in B&N... although that place has kind of become my Cheers, where every... employee... knows my name.
  • Drinking costs money, has a high $/unit-time cost as far as entertainment value goes, and I've found it to be generally be a waste of time. (Don't get me wrong... still do it. Just doesn't have the draw it use to and I'd rather go with good company than trying to find it at the bar... and when I have disposable income.)
  • Nothing too exciting to do in Minot to warrant the spend on gas.
  • The previous item an be expanded to include this town and surrounding area.

Although right now I'm the only one here and will probably go for a walk to stretch out my back.

I was quite surprised at the number of trains that run through the area. There must be at least half a dozen or more at night I've heard while I'm awake. I think they run fewer during the day so there isn't much congestion at crossings... just my assumption though.

Some of the stuff I've helped with:
  • Cleaning the carbon powder off the toilets, sinks, washing machines and other fixtures/appliances.
  • Sweeping out the bathrooms. I swear no one has swept underneath anything based on the amount of stuff that came out, lol.
  • Consolidating scrap metal onto palettes for the move.
  • Disassembling a few items so the mechanics could work on them. I think they were kinda surprised I have my own tools with me. Brought two jack stands too. My car is my home and I need to be able to take care of it.
  • Moving some trucks around for the mechanics.
  • Being the hole-monkey and crawling in some tight spots to setup a line to prop up a tarp.

Nothing too exciting... speaking of exciting, I had a mysterious FB friend request. Usually I don't accept them from peeps I don't know but I decided to be different this time. Turns out she's a fan of this thread.
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Old 04-29-2012, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,212,158 times
Reputation: 2454
Quote:
Originally Posted by robione View Post
Yes that is right I told the owner I learned how to shift an 18-speed on Youtube.
This cracks me up! lol
Quote:
He also said we should see some of the equipment being run "out there." I can't imagine what he's referring to... cracked leaf springs? , cracked frames?
Yes. The oil field (and nat'l gas) destroys trucks. Five years is an old truck in oil/gas. Wait til you get out and drive more. Some of the roads have potholes in them you could lose entire cars in...

Quote:
Just doesn't have the draw it use to and I'd rather go with good company than trying to find it at the bar...
In small towns, the local bar is just the place where you go to sit and chat. Obviously some guys go to get schnockered, but I would venture to guess that in your town most go to drink a beer or two, shoot a little pool, and shoot a lot of BS. It's a good way to get to know your co-workers and neighbors. It's more like the local coffee shop than anything...

Quote:
Originally Posted by JanND View Post
I've also heard some negatives about jake brakes....scares the cattle alot. Would sure like to hear some experienced truckers thoughts on this.
Most cattle in this part of the world (that is, the western plains) aren't phased by jakes. Obviously if you're a cattle pot driver, you don't want to run the jake when you pull into the corral where you're loading out, as everything is stressed at the moment anyway. But, turning at an intersection, or slowing for a stop sign or something? Nope. No big deal.
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Old 04-29-2012, 12:45 PM
 
49 posts, read 125,855 times
Reputation: 113
You're in a tough spot. As soon as you get a few months experience, try to switch to a more reputable company. Stay with these guys too long, and your CDL might not be worth squat after DOT is done with you.

A lot of guys rack up serious equipment violations driving crappy equipment, preventing them from getting hired by the good companies.
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Old 04-29-2012, 12:59 PM
 
477 posts, read 1,504,406 times
Reputation: 246
Quote:
Originally Posted by misc1972 View Post
You're in a tough spot. As soon as you get a few months experience, try to switch to a more reputable company. Stay with these guys too long, and your CDL might not be worth squat after DOT is done with you.

A lot of guys rack up serious equipment violations driving crappy equipment, preventing them from getting hired by the good companies.

That is a very good point! Of course some just don't give a crap about it as they are just out for the easy buck...time will weed those out.
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Old 04-29-2012, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,212,158 times
Reputation: 2454
Good advice.
I've heard some less-than-stellar comments about your company. Could be nothing more than gossip (as so much of it is), or, it could be that it's a good place to get established and get some experience and jump off from.
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Old 05-06-2012, 03:27 AM
 
Location: Minot, ND
175 posts, read 458,968 times
Reputation: 173
[4/29/2012] The owner is Catholic and Sunday is a day of rest, for the most part. I figure it is a good day to do the 24/34 hour reset to "keep legal." *cough* I don't really remember what I did the first half of the day. Probably slept in a little and mosied around 'til I was bored then hoped online to check out the cinema's schedule. I went to see the "super matinee" for the 5-Year Engagement. I have to say movie prices are a little outrageous... over $9 normally and even more on weekends. $10.25 Man I really like the prices in Dartmouth, MA near my home town, $4.50 1st showing Monday 'til 5pm Thursday. Kodiak, AK was even $5.75! Luckily for me "super matinees" (shows beginning 4pm - 5:30pm) are more my price range... $5.50.

It was a good comedy. Nothing too silly. I got a call from work half way through so I quickly walked into the hallway to answer my phone. Looks like I'll be going to Canada tomorrow! So I walked back in and finished the movie. When I got back I packed a bunch. I was told pack like your going for a week. I guess some people have had problems at the border. So I brought enough food for a couple of days, my computer in the event I got bored and a few misc. other things. My coworker (CW) that I was to follow and I fueled up our trucks, we both did a quickie pre-trip as nothing would get fixed at 05:00 if something was wrong, and then I headed to bed. (Tail light was fixed and found a gash on the interior wall of the inner tire on the first trailer axle... Not fixed. Not our trailer. ) So I put in ~1.5 hours today. Bed time.

(I have yet to do a pre-trip and find everything in working order. Applicable CFR Title 49 Sections: §392.7 §392.8, §398.4 (f))

[4/30/2012] Woke up at 04:00. Started up the truck and covered some of the items missed on the previous pre-trip. This my third day driving? Already getting lax because nothing seems to get fixed anyway. (More to come. Just wait, LOL.) CW and I are bringing up empty containers to Indianhead, SK, getting them loaded and bringing them back here to be dropped off. Not 30 minutes into the drive a deer scares the daylights out of me... bolts right across the road not 10' from the front of my truck. No CB radio, no cell phone contact with each other... LOL, preparedness in action.

The ride up was fairly uneventful. We saw "Big Lou." Some huge earth-mover in, I guess, a coal mining operation not far from the border. I was trying to figure out what times we needed to be there, how long the load time could be, and how long the drive back was for log purposes. This was my first day I was required to run a log. I wanted to make sure everything was kosher. At some point we pulled over and I put in our destination into CW's GPS. It had him go down some road in less than fair condition. Pot holes were scattered here and there and probably 5x the number of patches from repairs. Eventually the road got so bad we had to turn around. There was a large sign that read, "Local Traffic Only. Water rises through road." So out in the middle of nowhere I got to practice my backing, LOL, to make a 90 degree corner. Took a few tries but I did okay.

The GPS brought us to Regina, SK. I think we were going to get there anyway on the route CW originally planned. Then it had us stop at our final destination in Regina. We got directions and continued on to Indianhead... troublesome computers. We were loading bulk canary seed as depicted below. We weighed in and the workers built a bulkhead, then shot the seed behind it. After CW weighed out he was about ~1,000kg overweight. I asked for 700kg less than him. I figured it would cut it close (and I couldn't remember his exact number at the time. The machine loading the seed also had a +/- error of ~200kg, so I was told.) It took a little over an hour to load each of us, with the timezone difference factored in and a shorter route back, I figured we be pretty much right at 11 hours of driving in 14 hours. I also did another walkaround inspection after I weighed in. What I though was a minor cut in the middle of the night was a little different. (This was on another tire... so 2 cuts down to the fabric. Tires, BTW, are one of the items listed in the CFR)


http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/563187_10150751997578059_644193058_9585365_3470926 46_n.jpg (broken link)

I got on the scale... 34,300kg! Not only could they have given me the full load... they could've added another 700kg! The magic number is 36,363kg (80,000 lbs). Oh well. I don't have to worry about being overweight, just wish it was a little closer. That weight (80k) is only needed on the interstate system or traveling interstate. Intrastate in ND, the weight limit varies by road but most major (non-interstate highways) are rated to 105,500 lbs. So we sat and waited for our manifests to be faxed over so we could get back into the U.S....

[Final Jeopardy theme playing.... continues.... 1 hour later... continues...]

The shipper calls the port to figure out what is going on. The vehicles aren't registered to get back in. CW cell doesn't work in Canada. All the conversations go through my phone with the office to straighten this out. Every minute... $0.39 , every text $0.25 . Final cost ~$11. Having just refilled my phone yesterday it was already more than half gone! IDK what to do about the log... stop driving? CW thinks I'm silly for worrying and comes up with a quick solution since I'm being so silly, we started driving at 06:00.

[Final Jeopardy theme playing.... continues.... 2 hours later... continues...]

Oops the vehicles aren't registered either to enter the U.S. We get to run around and collect numbers that should be in a file somewhere. I think with some more creativity the log can still be legal.

[Final Jeopardy theme playing.... continues.... 2 hours later... continues...]

Okay, log is screwed. Joy! First day I'm required to keep one and I already have violations. I am suppose to follow CW too. His solution, since none of the pages are numbered, when we're over the border rip them out. WTH? Finally our manifests arrive and we're off. We take a nice scenic route back with nice smooth pavement the whole way... specifically avoiding any scales. In Canada, they're inspection stations and we probably wouldn't pass safety. (part of the conversation CW had with owner... who seems fine with this and seemed to like CW's creativity with log)

I was a little nervous at the border but we got through. We get to switch trucks with two drivers that came up right across the border in Portal, ND. They're bringing the full ones back and CW and I are taking these two empty ones back to Indianhead tomorrow. Time... ~23:00. 18.25 hours on-duty/driving. 14-hr rule violation. Joy. Bed time.
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Old 05-06-2012, 03:41 AM
 
Location: Minot, ND
175 posts, read 458,968 times
Reputation: 173
[5/1/2012] I get up at 04:00 and notice CW's truck is still off and reset my alarm for 05:00. Even though we're closer, our boss wants us there at 08:00 when they open. I like being a good little doobie despite the conflict it creates within me, still not that confident yet in truck either so I'd rather be next to another driver.... 10-hr break violation. Oh wait I don't have that page in there anymore.

We take 47 all the way up. It turned into a gravel covered road at some point with potholes everywhere. And we're still going like 50mph! It looked like we were going through the quagmire in Lord of the Rings or something, dead calf here and there in the road, crooked fences, water everywhere with grass growing through... our trucks were covered in mud by the time we got up to Rt. 1. When I inspected my truck after we arrived in Indianhead I heard an air leak. Great. It's small but we're being loaded with bags today. It's two hours per person to load and CW is first because he's picking up another empty at the border. By the time I'm done it'll be flat. I call the mechanic. Response, "You'll have to ride on it. We don't have an action plan for repairs in Canada. If it blows out on you we'll figure something out." Me, "That's great. I don't have triangles either!" Silence... "Thanks, SC2. I'll TTYL."



So my partner finishes up and is on his way in short order. I finish up... 36,200kg. Couldn't be much closer.

[Final Jeopardy theme...]

Oops my vehicle isn't registered. What a surprise. The office person is not happy with us and tells me to relay a message that he will not help us one bit if this ever happens again. (Yesterday was not the first time either.) It'll be real close for my log today.

[Final Jeopardy theme... total of 2 hours]

Another day of the 14 hour rule violated (and of course the 10 hour break later). I took a slightly different route than before. It shaved off 50 miles or so of road and was all highway still. Sometimes the GPS is a good thing. I got a call from some strange number that I ignored in case something bad happened to me and I needed help. After I crossed the border and checked my voice mail it turns out it was the driver that was suppose to drop off the container for CW. Now he had me all confused because how he spoke it sounded as though it may have been for me. Luckily it was not the case but CW had to have waited a while for him... with no cell phone to talk to anyone, LOL. It's sad but makes me laugh. Apparently the trailer brakes had a difficult time releasing and overheated several times on the way up.... and he hit a deer.

I ended up going straight to Minot to drop off the container. It said Magnum on the paper so I went there after getting a little lost. I couldn't remember if it was on Rt. 52 or Rt. 2. There was one guy in there and it turned out he was confused. Now I was too. After phoning my boss it seemed like I was in the right spot... but no. The lone person at Magnum (~20:50 now) told me I had to go to the rail depot... that's the "port." Here I am thinking ports have ships and boats.

Luckily it was very close. I got there at almost 21:00. I hopped out and asked some truckers how things worked here as it was my first time. I was instructed as soon as that truck left the scales to go in there and put such-and-such paperwork in a tube similar to a bank drive-thru. I thanked them and thought "Okay, no problem!" I hop in my truck and get to the head of the line and wait. The truck finally leaves the scale and... the door closes right behind him! I go in and talk to the ladies and they say I have to come back in the morning at 06:00. So back to the yard I go. Several people think I'm silly for worrying so much about the log... oh yes can't forget (rip). 17.25 hours today! Good thing I took out the time from Sunday. At least I got a reset from that... otherwise I'd have 70-hr violations just about everyday I worked this week. ARGH! WTH! Bed time.

[5/2/2012] I decided to go ahead and get the truck to the port at 06:00. So I actually slept in the sleeper. I figured it'd be a little easier for me to wake up in the cooler air there... at 04:30. I fueled up the truck as it was rather empty from the Canadian trip and headed to the port. I got there about 05:40 and was the second truck in line. I dropped off my container and bobtailed (traveling without a trailer) back to the yard. I was hoping to make the morning meeting but I did not. I called the office for an assignment... 2 hours later I got one. I also found out in this time I had no idea where my computer power cord was. That's like my lifeline LOL. I wasn't too thrilled about that.

I would be running frac sand containers to/from the port. Apparently my boss was not thrilled with my decision to drop off the container as I had. This is contrary to what I had though... and what others had thought too, as I was trying to figure whether or not I should do this the night prior. Two things: I took an extra trip and I came back empty. Amazingly, despite the fact that I got lost and drive slower than the speed limit, if all the paperwork was in order from the office so I could get back in the country none of this would be an issue.

So I did my first trip. I ended up waiting ~80 minutes to drop off my load. I was then suppose to switch tractor units and bring back the empty. This seemed odd to me. My boss wanted to use the unit I was driving for oil. That's what its purpose is. I called the port and asked if this was okay. After all the tractor units have different weights and they seemed to make a big deal about truck numbers the last time. They say I can't. I call my boss and relay the message. He seems confused and decides to call them himself. I think he thinks I'm slow... so I sit and wait for a response. About 30 minutes later I get one. I'm going to use this tractor unit until the end of the day and bobtail back if I can.

After so much waiting around I only have time for one more load and the unload finishes at 18:30. I might be able to make it back. I might not. I text the big cheese I'm going to fuel up and go to the yard and play it safe. No useless extra trip I figure. Apparently the port closes at 19:00 today and not 21:00 like yesterday... I tried calling but no answer. Apparently calls are routed to a machine after 17:00. Oh well. Can't remember what I did the rest of the night. Can't imagine anything to exciting, proabably checked more thoroughly my car, room, and trucks I used for my computer cord. At the end of today I had $0.61 left on my phone! Since Monday, quite a few things have erked me. That's one of them.... essentially requiring the use of my personal phone. I don't get unlimited talk/text/data because it takes me more than a month to spend $20 in minutes... sometimes 2 months! Now I'm suppose to spend $40/month to make it convenient for them? Whatever happened to supplying things like cheapo company phones? Well that's just one thing piled onto a heap of others.
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Old 05-06-2012, 04:26 AM
 
Location: Minot, ND
175 posts, read 458,968 times
Reputation: 173
[5/3/2012] I don't get up early to do anything today. I'm up for the 06:30 meeting. I drop off the container and come back. With the 6 minutes of talk time I had left I was to drop off the tractor at another of our yards and "talk to BB to get help hooking it up." He must think I'm slow. How difficult can it be? But I do as I'm asked when I arrive. BB is on the phone and I wait... and wait... and wait. I stop waiting. How different can it be? As I walk out RY pulls in from the office. Apparently he feels SC1's request was as silly as I did and said BB would've laughed and probably stay seated in his chair. He came over just so SC1 was at ease.

I backed in, checked the trailer/5th wheel height, coupled with ease, and attached the glad hands and electrical line. There were two hydraulic lines that needed to be attached and the electrical and air lines were suspended by a hanger of sorts. It was a little different. Of course... if people actually did a real pre-trip they could correct any mistake I would make (let's assume I ignored the empty connection points, asked no questions about them, and didn't end up connecting the hydraulics or suspending the lines).

Off to the main yard to be reassigned. I'm suppose to use one of the red units to haul containers today. So I start my pre-trip and go through 4 trucks to move the necessary missing safety gear to it. Then I'm instructed to pre-trip another for a task I can't remember... probably hauling clay. But then the trucker boss comes back and tells me to use the double-bottom belly dump. Okay, so I start my third pre-trip. Rear dumper doesn't work. Surprise! "Just wait for the pressure to build up," I was told. I felt like whacking him in the head. Already has dumby! So I look at the trailer, he's off in his pickup talking with someone. Looks like there is no valve on the tank. I bring this to his attention. Eventually he checks it out and then goes off to get the part. As I have no minutes on my phone (and I'm purposefully not refilling it as I have little credit left) he instructs his friend to standby. Half hour later he returns. I'm to pre-trip another truck! So I bring the necessary safety equipment over to that one. WTH? I talk with him briefly. I think he could just see it in my face and asked if I wanted the rest of the day off. "Yes. Thank you."

This could be my Portuguese hot blood in action. First thing I did grab my little notebook and netbook and goto UCP and ask about the water hauler in Dickinson. Unfortunately the person I had seen my 2x prior was not there and the two ladies had no clue. He was in Dickinson. So off I went to MSU to use the computers there. I got the number and talked with the woman at the Dickinson UCP office. Apparently she knows of the company I spoke of and their contract had been pulled. Bummer. Oh well. Onto SOS Staffing's site. Hmmm. Equipment Operator in Dickinson. I'll try calling the office here and see what happens. Well apparently the position is actually in Minot! They want me there pronto!

So I walk in. I didn't give my name over the phone so they had no idea who was coming. But they both remembered me. One remembered me from setting me up with Rain for Rent. According to her apparently she wanted to hire me. Oh well. Some how the topic of housing came up... oh yes, I'm staying with my employer now and have no place to go after. She said, "I thought you said you were staying with someone. What's 3900 S. Broadway?" I tell her Walmart. See, LOL, this is why I don't lie. Then I recovered by telling another one. Gets too complicated. The branch manager somehow remembered me from just a brief meeting about a month ago. She thought of a second position I might be good for.

I went off in the back and filled in a bunch of paperwork electronically[Mod cut]. Then while filling out a few paper forms out front for a subsidiary of Haliburton I got a call from Cross Country Couriers. Apparently the interview had gone well after all... it just took them over two weeks to get back in touch with me. I told him, "At this time, my general impresssion, is a 'no.'" He wanted me to call him back tomorrow. Both [Mod cut] jobs paided much better. I'd still get to use various parts of my CDL for both positions (Class A or Class C/X) but nothing like where I am now. So I had an interview scheduled for 15:00 and another for 16:00.

They let me surf the web for a bit in the back. I checked my credit. Almost laughed. $3 available on one card, $18 on another, $180 on the last. Looks like I'll be using that one for a bit. The two week pay period is no fun for sure. My check is already 100% spoken for. I need to cover a $700 overdraft I took to cover my bills. At least ING is cheap compared to the other banks as far as fees go. The rest... next month's bills.

I thought the interview went well. He asked if I had housing... the look appeared on my face.

Quote:
HL: "Sorta. Kinda?"

Me: "You could say that... Is it a requirement?"

HL: "No, not really. As long as you have direct deposit..."

Me: "As long as I'm presentable..."

HL: "Exactly."
The one bad thing about Haliburton is that it could take as long as a month to get back to me. There was one other problem... what am I to do with two vehicles and no driveway? Yes, that's right. I get a brand new Ford F150 with gas paid for, including personal use w/i 150 mile radius. After, the manager asked if I thought it went well... I said I don't really have any expectations. (Only reason I mentioned it above is that her coworker had said so while speaking with someone on the phone.) I went back to surfing the web. Apparently the boss [Mod cut] had said on speaker phone, "My ass is in a pickle." and wanted to reschedule. This was not really an option so something had to be worked out. Although I may be looking I'm not going to actively take time off to find something. Based on the results I got from one day. Today was it. He probably jokingly mentioned 19:00 but he told me to come by at 17:15. And so I did.

This interview began with introductions as usual. I apologized for being persistent on having it today as from my understanding a lot was going on over here. And then it seemed I was on the defensive for almost the whole time. I think he thought... TBH I have no idea what he thought. He seemed to constantly say things to push me away and emphasized career not job. At the end he said he would be up to giving me a chance because, "I'm interesting." Although he thinks I shouldn't quit my $100k job (LOL, I wish) and I wouldn't fit in. I also had a homework assignment.

He began wondering why I wanted to leave my job. I think he thought my response was a bunch of baby whining. Yet the very things I mentioned about the problems I have with safety equipment, etc. he follows religiously. Log books, follows religiously. He requires his employees to wait 24 hours before moving the truck offsite and would have "words" with anyone punching in even 10 minutes early! Trucks are cleaned after their assignment. The whole thing looks great... and it is a $100+k job when "average" (85+) hours are worked. The position has the "normal" benefits. My current one has none. (Okay, 1 week vacation.) The position has overtime... mine now... none. Between the three, I want this one, LOL, and it by far went the worst.

On the way back to the yard I bought a power supply and discovered the wifi is dead. Oh well. I'll have to do my homework tomorrow.

[Friday] Rain. No work... well we had the drivers' meeting anyway. SC1 came down and gave us all a little speech. Some was addressed at me. Saying I had to get use to disorganization and change. That's how things are here. That is one reason I wish I had ended up in water or sand.... of course there's the safety violations, hours of service violations (mine are minor sadly compared to others), trucks that don't get repaired and general disorganization on top of that. (Did he think nothing would ever go wrong in Canada... someone would magically register the drivers and trucks for the company?)

There is one project for the day, we will be going to Bismark to pickup two new oil tankers. Since they're $360,000 a piece, I'm reassigned from driving one of the trucks to driving the drivers down to pick them up. $7/hr less... C'est la vie. I got in just in time to go to CCC and speak with the manager there in person. Except he was gone. Oh well... I tried for the more personable approach but ended up calling him. He likes me and will keep my application on the "top of the stack" for a while. I explained to him some other things had come up in the meantime and wasn't really available. He figured that might be the case. Off to B&N to do my homework.

[Saturday] Rain. No work.
[Sunday] Well the day is only a few hours old but it's still raining.... and it's the day of rest. Although I did tell Command Center I would work today when I saw them Thursday. (Yeah, they called me too, LOL.) They never called me with details afterwards. I didn't think they could use me for one day but the four they wanted (Fri-Mon)

***************************
Part of me feels like I'm copping out... persisting on a CDL job, getting one and wanting to leave so soon. I can't take it. I know leaving this one the chances of getting another similar job at a better company are small and I don't want to wait. With everything that has happened this week I would actually be happy just leaving and not dealing with the added stress.

Violations ultimately rest on my shoulders. Pretty sure waiting for paperwork can't be spun into an emergency to get the time extension. If I avoid them [HOS violations] at this company I won't get as many hours given to me (I'm "avoiding work" and others are more than willing to take up any slack because... they just don't care.) It isn't like I'm getting a lot either. (~37 hrs and ~57 hrs so far) I actually will be avoiding trips to Canada from now on... although if the paperwork was done everything would be fine! Everything else we do doesn't require a log... (Although they don't really agree with the oilfield exemptions either: §395.1 (g)(2) §395.1 (d). At least it's way more difficult for me to incur any HOS violations outside oil and Canada.) I'd rather work for a company that follows all the rules, takes care of their trucks and gives their employees hours for doing good work legally. Get the best of both worlds.

Last edited by ElkHunter; 09-28-2012 at 08:13 PM.. Reason: Removed company name
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Old 05-06-2012, 11:00 AM
 
443 posts, read 804,132 times
Reputation: 233
Make tracks out of that situation before you get points against your CDL or worse.
Are you one of those Portuguese from Somerville, Mass.?
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