Livin' the Long Haul

2006-09-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well, i am home after two weeks on the road. I did a couple of bullshit runs within a five hundred mile radius of the home terminal. They don't pay much, because you are paid by the mile and you spend half of your fourteen hour on-duty limit sitting around being loaded and then later unloaded. In the end you only end up making about ten bucks an hour to sleep in the company's truck. So, I complained, threatened to quit and got a nice triple delivery run out to Oklahoma, Lousianna, and Texas. I did those runs in good time but the company still laid me over for 48 hours in Houston, Texas. I sat in a truck stop there getting hassled by crackheads and Hurricane Katrina refugees in the sweltering southern heat until the company finally had me head empty to Memphis to switch my trailer for a pre-loaded trailer destined for the home terninal. This would have been great but for the fact that the trailer was not pre=loaded but took twelve hours to load and thus set me back another day of work. So after two weeks of driving long-haul for this company I have made no more than I would have if I had remained a local driver. I have expressed this disappointment to my dispatcher and he appears to be sympathetic. I will see tomorrow if they have something long for me to run for the week. If they do not, I will look for other work. Work that pays by the mile and gives lots of miles.

I don't mind the long haul. I love to drive, so the more driving the better. Its the deliveries that suck the fun out of the job. I will soon get myself the satelite radio, because I am sick of having to find a clear channel every fifteen minutes and there are just too many cheesey Christian and country stations in the South.

Well. I am beginning to have many adventures again on the open road and plenty of time to think, so next time I might have some interesting tales. So, for now, keep the shiney side up and see ya somewhere out there, Driver.

2006-09-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well, today was my first day of orientation with the carrier that I will now be working for. It was a very informative session. I was impressed by this company's provision of information regarding international transportation regulations, their stringent procedures for driver adherence to such regulations (not lip-service like some carriers), and....well, they're just so damb organized and safe it was simply impressive.

There were four of us in training. Three owner/operators (o/o's) and myself the lowly company driver. One of the o/o's had just bought new higher tires for his drive axles (8 tires at $500 each) and found out today that his fifth wheel (the device on the tractor that connects the tractor to the trailer) is two inches higher than this carrier will allow. The carrier wants to make sure that its trailers are not too high to pass underneath bridges deemed high enough for a regulation height tractor-trailer, so they will not allow a tractor with a fifth wheel higher than 47" from the ground to pull any of their trailers. This poor o/o now has to hock his new fancy tires for 8 less fancy ones. That is a real bother, but it must be done; dis compny's gots rules!

Today was also my day to 'piss in a cup'. I am passing into the U.S., so I have to take a pre-employment drug test. This would be unconstitutional if I was to 'run' only in Canada, but since I am goin' stateside I now have to comply with U.S. laws and their Supreme Court says that inspecting the chemical composition of my body as a precondition for employment is well within the jurisdiction of private companies.

Anyways, it still seems like a decent, safe, well-organized company, so wish me luck with the piss-test! See Ya!

2006-08-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the big day. I had a road test with the carrier of my choice and I passed. I start my three days of orientation on Wednesday Sept 5th and will probably have a load goin' somewhere over the following weekend. In the meantime I have a nice four day weekend to enjoy.

Why was it my choice carrier? First and foremost, it was recommended by a friend who has been driving for them for about six months. This friend had quit two other decent-looking carriers due to the two 'kisses of death'; layovers and low miles. Layovers mean that they keep you waiting for more than 24 hours for a load while paying you only a quarter of what you could earn if you were putting in the miles. Low miles mean that they are paying by the mile but not giving you long enough runs that you max out your legal limit on a daily basis. The potential for these death kisses are hard to catch over the phone or in person with a recruiter because, as much as one must learn to read between the lines of the renumeration details in this industry, recruiters generally lie though their f'ing teeth like telemarketers ( and I would know becasue I used to run telemarketing companies). So you can skip through all the BS by having a friend vouch for them. If you don't have a friend, ask a driver delvering at the same place as you "How is such and such treatin' ya?". Most drivers will be happy to give you a straight-up review of their carrier.

There were other reasons for my choosing this carrier. Second, they pay for orientation and FAST Card application ($80). A driver, especially a Long-Hauler (now a skilled tradesperson according to HRDC's National Occupation Classification) SHOULD PAY FOR NOTHING! It is a very good indication to me that if a company does not find it viable to pick up the tab for orientation and certifications then it must have a higher than average turn-over rate. A high turn-over rate in this occupation occurs for one or all of four reasons. First, too many layovers. Second, to little miles. Third, abusive dispatchers. Forth, unsafe and/or uncomfortable equipment. The carrier I have chosen provides a late model tractor, with a good sleeper containing a fridge/freezer (you are not going to make any money or to retirement age if you have to eat in truckstops everyday).

Third reason I picked 'em is benefits; dental, medical, and optical.

Forth reason is a sign on bonus after three months. This should be from $500 to $1000.

Oh and 'direct paycheque deposit'. You would be surprised how many long-haul carriers don't pay you until you can make it to the terminal to collect your cheque.

So that is about it for today. Saturday will be my big day for 'on the road again' supply shopping spree. I am making a list and checking it twice. Talk to ya then!

2006-08-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is an ideal sleeper berth. This is a Western Star 86" Stratosphere bunk (the lower bed flips into a dinette). Its sleepers like these that make livin' long haul more civilized.

2006-08-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is a Western Star

This is a Volvo 660 (I typoed it yesterday as a 670)

2006-08-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hi there Truckers and wannabe High Milers. Welcome to a Blog that will chronicle my life on the road as a long-haul trucker. I hope to be able to update this blog regularly but, as my fellow High Milers will know, getting one's hands on the trappings of our civilized world when one is "one with the road" can be quite challenging. I have this sneaking suspicion, however, that since I was last doing the U.S. Highway gig ( about 3 years ago) the world of the long-haul trucker, as determined by the facilities provided for our basic human needs and the laws made for our safety, have developed to a point where I may have the much more restful and social lifestyle that will allow me to communicate with my family and you, my friends.

At this point I am sitting in front of my computer in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, after a day of local pick ups and deliveries and some lumping (loading and unloading trailers by hand) drinking some red wine after a home cooked meal of breaded pork loin and brown rice. Yes, I am a health concious, fit, non-smoking, university educated trucker, that shatters most stereotypes of our creed. But they are just that; stereotypes. We are the largest and most diverse labour force in North America, except for the fact that 94.6% of us are men. We drive truck for a number of reasons, namely for love and/or money. I drive because I love it and I will drive long-haul because I love it and I need the money. So, I am presently looking for the right carrier (trucking company) to fit my needs for the next few years. The right carrier will have the right kind of 'runs', pay rate per mile, per border crossing, per delivery and pick up, and per lay over (time spent after 24 hours waiting for a load). Since I will be doing the long-haul (essentially this means I will be living in the 72" long sleeper berth of a truck for two weeks at a time with one Sunday off in a truckstop in the middle of nowhere and one Sunday off at home in Guelph), I will require a high-ceiling sleeper berth (condo bunk) with hopefully a bed that flips into a dinette and a built in fridge/freezer in order to maintain my civility and my healthy lifestyle. So basically I am looking for a company with a $.40+ per mile pay rate, $15 per pick and drop,$50 per layover (which should never happen or I will damb well quit) and full benefits that will run me to Texas or California in a Volvo 660/770 or a Western Star with a Stratosphere sleeper. I would take a Western Star over a Volvo any day but since I will not sleep in a 'coffin' (a sleeper berth smaller than a 63" midroof found on Peterbilts) I will probably be driving one of those damb automatic Volvos, since most companies do not seem to run Starcars or Petes these days. Mostly they run Frieghtliners and Internationals and I would take a Frieghtshaker over a Cornbinder in a heartbeat, but neither have the ever-elusive dinette/bed conversion.

As the shortage of long-haul drivers looms, I am, with my 5 years experience in the industry, at the centre of a feeding frenzy of trucking recruiters who respond to my ads as opposed to me theirs. But you learn very quickly in this business that you must read between the lines and avoid the shiney lure lest you be yanked hook, line, and sinker on board a ship so full of holes that you will throw yourself back in a month down the road. I have a variety of interviews and road tests in the coming weeks. Wish me luck!