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Me And My Freight

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im about to take a job over the road, the one thing im scared to death of are weight stations.

when entering a weight station do you stop? do you keep driving at a slow pace? what about if there are three different lanes open what one do you go to?

and assume there is no sign to walk you through the processes. then what?

It sounds like you are either a new driver or haven’t been OTR before, but don’t worry. If you are a new driver with a reputable carrier, you will have a trainer to walk you through the process, but if you haven’t been OTR, get to talking to other drivers to get more tips than I can give you.

Weigh stations will depend on the state. Each state has its own policy & methods for commercial vehicle enforcement above & beyond federal minimums, but start by keeping your log book current, permit book updated, & your vehicle in good working condition. Also, do some preplanning, so you can prepare for each weigh station (Rand McNally Truckers Road Atlas & the Truck Stop Directory has symbols where the scales are at).

Watch for the signs when you come up on a weigh station. If it is closed, have a green light on your Prepass (windshield mounted transponder for scales), or if weigh in motion sign gives you the bypass, you can keep trucking along. If you do see the open sign, have a red or no light on Prepass, or instructed by Weigh in Motion, you must comply & enter the weigh station. Follow all lights & signs when you enter. Go a little below posted limits to see what the scalemaster wants you to do. If you are light, you may recieve the bypass or creep across the scale at 3-5mph, but if you have a heavy or badly balanced load, they may want you to stop on the scale. As for the lanes, follow the lights or as in some scales, like WA & NC, choose the shortest or the line that exposes your best side, if both sides are opened up.

If they want you to go around back, follow their instructions. Have your bills, driver’s license, medical card, permit book, & log book with you when you go into the scale house. Be nice to the officer & they will be more lenient on you. Sometimes, like last week at the Kewanee MS scale, they red lighted all drivers for a license, registration, & IFTA spot check, but other times, it is your lucky day for a Level I DOT inspection, which checks paperwork, lights, brakes, etc. As long as everything is current, you won’t have any problems. if you push your luck or ignore problems, that will be a different story. Good luck at OTR!!

Voice, personality, the way they feel, intelligence, smell, charisma, other?

I’m not blind but I can tell you a revealing story that answers your question for me. 20 years ago I worked for a trucking permits company and spoke with truckers and permit companies all over the United States. People develop relationships over month and years of speaking to each other almost daily. The people I was most attracted to had deep voices, were well spoken and had a great sense of humor. I sort of assumed that if they were inclined to laugh that they had intelligence. Several men asked me fervently about myself and wanted to know where I was, when I was coming to their state and town, and was I single. They hadn’t clapped eyes on me but were turned on by the very things I liked in others. So I think on the initial meeting, I’d be influenced by those same things and only after I knew them for a while would I be interested in their smell (assuming that they do actually bathe regularly).

When the Russell Brand show that contained the ‘ Offensive ‘ Material was first aired there was 2 complaints. Now the press got hold of it theres 33,000 and the Jeremy Clarkson Truck drivers thing there complaining bout that now. Who agrees its just middle class Knobs and old people Jumping on the band waggon not even hearing or watching the show??

Totally
I watched Top Gear and laughed at his ‘Murdering Truckers’ quip and didn’t bat an eyelid, I carried on watching the programme. Is the UK becoming so cossetted by the fear of offending people and the litigous nature that we can’t laugh at silly jokes and quips?
heaven help us
I was away for the majority of the Ross/Brand contretemps and was amazed such a small story had erupted into a public discussion about the country’s decency. Do me a favour!
There are kids stabbing each other left right and centre on our streets, people can’t afford to pay their bills, people losing jobs and general annoyance with our inept government. But hey, if an old man who championed alternative comedy with John Cleese is offended by 2 highly paid entertainers slagging off the morals of his fame hungry grandkid, then I guess i’ve lost track of what’s going on in our part of the universe.

Pa-thet-ic!

I make over $60K at the job I have now. What kind of money can a team make?

A team with a *good* company can sometimes bring in 120-130,000 a year, combined income. Low end is 80-90,000….high end, as an owner operator hauling specialized/sensitive freight, it just goes upward depending on how hard you work. I run team with my husband (for a company) and 6 figures is not hard to do, but you do have to find the right company.

The big concern I’d have if I were you- is your boyfriend CURRENTLY an owner/op?? If so, consider how long he’s been at it, what kind of freight he hauls, how many miles he gets, and how much money does he regularly clear per month after fuel, repairs, etc??? If he’s not an established, experienced owner/op with regular, consistent, long-haul freight….(in other words, if ya’ll are going to be starting out as owner/ops together, or worse, getting on as lease-operators with a company…RUN!)…..this is not a particularly good time in the industry to do that. Fuel is ridiculous and freight rates are too low, except in the highly specialized end of things….not saying it’s impossible but I’m saying know your stuff and have your ducks in a row, and plenty of backup money.

The cash flow as an owner/op depends on how hard you work, and how well the truck performs. The truck breaks down and you sit on your butt, not making any money and sometimes having to pay to stay in a hotel, eat, etc….for what can turn into a week or 2, depending on the breakdown. Anytime the truck sits, you are not making money…..so the way to ensure maximum cash flow is to minimize unnecessary time-off, plan your vacations wisely, etc.

Also….lots of people’s relationships cannot handle the close proximity and having to function with each other under stress, anxiety, etc. I have heard the story too many times….of a husband and wife, happily married for years….decide to drive a truck, and either the marriage ends, or the trucking job ends . There are a lot of things that can go wrong out here, a lot of things that can make you mad…..lots of owner operators are having to deal with incredible financial stress….and that can really play havoc in your relationship.

I think you make a nice income, if you’re happy with your job…and you’ve never before had wild dreams of one day being a trucker….you are probably better off staying where you’re at. You really have to WANT the LIFESTYLE….not just the money.

I lent my car to my druggie friends while I drank at a bar picking up lonely men that would take me home. The cops pulled them over because my car had expired temporary tags. The driver had warrants out for his arrest so he fled and left my girlfriend in the passenger seat. The girlfriend told the cops she did not know the man who was driving, he was just some guy she picked up in the bar and was going home with him. What should I tell police when I go to pick up my car>? Do you think they will ask me who I lent my car to? Will the "I dont know his last name" story work for me too? I really need it to move to UTAH with me, otherwise Im stuck here in this party town.

HEY GILBERT… YOU ARE THREATENING TO SHOOT SOMEONE??? I THINK YOUR MOUTH IS WRITING CHECKS YOUR @SS CAN’T CASH!
if you can really DUMMY UP, you should be o.k., but you have to stick to your story!! you could also try to go for the INSANITY PLEA ( i see no problem here!). if i was you, i’d walk or hitchhike to the nearest truck stop, and catch a ride with a nice, unshowered, but crack showin’ trucker.

PALtv101http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/users/PALtv101GamesTrucker Stories Part 1

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I’ve booby-trapped it with a pine-scented gnome lure and an explosive charge.

do you have any idea what you have done? they are gone! all of them! i need to know how you overpowered the security codes on all our trap doors at once? i can’t let this happen again. it’s not just my job on line here. those guys from virginia don’t mess around. you saw what happened to jimmy hoffa? same dudes run the gnome search. i’m as good as toast unless i have some answers by the time they fly into lindburg in the morning. look, it’s not just me. i have noone. i won’t be missed. but there are others here, some have families. i have to protect them whatever my cost. i knew what i was getting into when i signed on a gnome search. i was getting so bored at cia. i wanted a chalenge. gnome opps sounded so good. get the cob webs out of my brain and do something dangerious again. ya, i know, national securety and all. but obviously you got around our security, so i know your a player. your with nsa, right? doesn’t matter? you could be a 4th grader playing fish frenzy on your dad’s lap top while he was in the shower, and hit the wrong keys in the right order? i warned them it was too easy. they can’t say i didn’t warn them. thank god lindburg is closed to until 6am. i still have a few hours? hell, i can see mexico from the lab, but they’d find me there. all my pall from homeland security would see me crossing over. bastards always wanted my job. they think this gnome thing was just another toco shop front for cia? boy were they wrong. damn, i forgot about miramar. they don’t have to wait for lindburg to open. damn navy will let anyone with with a military transponder land. fbi, cia, cid and those loonies assigned to lockness watch all have planes with military transponders on board. they could have grabbed a lear out of regan international hours ago. damn, i forgot that fact. no wait, it’s the weekend. most agency jets will be working that bigfoot trapping thing up near mt st helen. no, i forgot those dude from yetti watch. they always hold back a transport or two. ya, we got clout with the president ever since that gnome snatched that mut from barbara bush at christmas. if there is a plane left in dc, my guys got it and could be on the way? hell, they could be landing at miramar any minute! i have to think… clear my head. you got me into this mess… don’t you have anything to say? not even an i’m sorry? do you have any idea how many inocent gardeners will suffer because of what you did tonight? it may take weeks, months to round up all those you let escape tonight! every garden they hit will take manpower to cover up. relocate familys, erase memories, repair unexplained damage to nosy neighbors. it’ll cost the angency millions. and what about those who only think something is going on? what about all those empty classroom seats monday morning? we’ve always had trouble from teachers when little johnny doesn’t show up after a few days. more relocataions, more memories to wipe. then there is always the press. all it takes is one careless gnome crossing interstate 8 and get trapped in the headlights of some cross country trucker… they all carry cb raidos. the press hears a few stories and those liberal sons of … enough. i gotta get the rest of these files shreaded and plan an escape. i still have 3 or 4 good pass ports from cia and cash tucked away in poland and hongkong. i can run for awile. but where? my contacts changed when i left virgina. i know… you got me into this and you’re going get me out. good, my homeland security internet tracker has the exact location of your pc downloading on my palm already. got ya. closer then i hoped. im out of here. watch for me and signal it’s safe, okay? black crown vic. californa plates. red baseball cap on backwords. i’ll bring along some photos from the lab. other things too. bargaining chips. i even have a sickly gnome baby you missed when you sprung all the cage doors. he was locked in sickbay when you sprung the others. that lock is coded different from the cage door locks. if they know we have a live gnome as a hostage, they wouldn’t dare move on us, not when they know what we have? it my be our best chip at keeping us alive. okay, get the coffee pot heated up. you and i have a big night ahead. if we play our cards right we’ll be safe and out of the county by this time monday. pack light, we’ll buy all new stuff when we get clear of the states. but don’t go out side before i get there. i found you and they can too. gnomes think different… they’ll not look at you as haveing helped them escape. they’ll look at you as some threat and won’t think twice about doing you harm. crap, i here cars coming up the road. it’s them, i know it. if you don’t hear from me soon assume they got me? if they got me it’s only hours before their onto you too. they don’t care if you’re with the nsa or a 4th grade kid playing games. all they care about is making you gone. blame in on the little monsters you let escape tonight. i am on my way. need some warm beaver milk for the sicly gnome baby that’a coming with me. rememember, black crown vic, calif plates. we’ll talk when i arrive. no time for spell check, i gotta run…

Just wondered if anyone has taken a boy toy when husband wasn’t meeting physical needs and how it worked? My husband is a trucker so gone 6 weeks and home 1-2 days only and when he is, wham-bam takes more time to say than he keeps going so thinking other resources might be nice (responses only from those who have done this please). Thanks,

Yes, and I fell in love with him and wish I could be with him now. You’ll be fine since you’re husbands never even home so you guys could go to your house too and not have to worry about changing sheets and clothes right away, showering/ getting the guys smell off of you. He probably does the same thing (I’ve heard stories about truckers lol)

Jukebox makes a good point. As my feelings for ‘boy toy’ grew- my feelings for my husband lessened to the point that I feel like I’m cheating on ‘boy toy’ and not really my husband when we are intimate.

I’d love to hear your stories.

I think the economy is absolutely horrible. It is scary, in fact. My husband has looked for a job for months. There is nothing out there. He is actually taking a job as an over the road trucker.

My job has been somewhat stable, but I am an RN. But, there are not even healthcare jobs here. I am lucky I have my job.

My Father In Law never gets a check on payday. He gets it about one week later. His company is going under. Most would say, "screw that, quit! But if he does, where will he find work? He figures it is better to get a late paycheck, than no paycheck.

Look at all the HUGE companies that have went out of business. Circuit City, Caterpillar…etc…all the lay offs too.

Yes, it is bad. Very bad.