The Real Deal

Tuesday, November 15^th, 2011

      Today, for the first time since I've picked it back up, I feel like I'm driving trucks. Of course I've been driving on occasion, and other times not driving as breakdowns and rides occur. I've spent time in hotels (which is rarer than has happened to me thus far), and done all my pre-trip inspections. There were two things lacking, both of which happened today.

      To date, all of my loads have been short little jumps. Each preceding trip has been less than 500 miles, easily accomplished in the space of a day or an overnight. Turns out, that this is where the future of truck freight is going, towards more local hops. Gone are the days of ginormous hauls across the entire country. That's if you are a solo driver. Team drivers, on the other hand, get to deliver all sorts of things that need to arrive sooner than by train, like cigarettes, any drugs with pseudophedrine, and probably explosives I imagine. The first two I know for sure. As I mentioned, the train is certainly eating into the trucking experience, for no reason greater than fuel economy. If you've ever listened to a segment of NPR sponsored by CSX (the Chesapeake System for those who did NOT have trains as a kid like me) there is the tagline “moving 1 ton of freight 450 miles on 1 gallon of fuel”. I mean, dude. That would be face-meltingly awesome if our trucks got that kind of mileage, or even our cars. I suppose it has something to do with the economics of scale really. Back to the point, I finally got dispatched on a load today that delivers on Friday. At 0400 MST, but hey... it's not tomorrow... or even Thursday! For me this means that I don't need to deal with any kind of stuff other than my routine computer work. I can lay aside bothering my driver manager with phone calls because the onboard satellite went down today (it did). I can refrain from asking for more changes, since it looks all good (it didn't). Barring a disaster, I won't have to speak with him until Friday at the soonest, just before taking my home time at the latest. Imagine what it would be like if you didn't have to deal with your boss checking in on you for 3 whole days. To be fair, I check in on him. He usually doesn't say much and is a really cool guy, but that's beside the point. I'm free from The Man! (or at least temporarily on parole).

      Speaking of convicts, the other event was that I got to go into the shop today. No big deal, nothing broken. I was just missing some gator caps (also known as flow-through caps for the tire savvy) and wanted to pick up some diesel anti-gel fluid. I'm going to Canada again, Edmonton, AB this time and it is already way too cold for my taste up there. So, I go into the shop asking for this stuff, but I did not remember my mileage. The thing with company truck shops is, if you need ANY part... even those 35 cent gator caps... you've got to have your exact mileage and truck number at the parts desk. The fluid was free, so that's cool. Free from needing mileage, but since I was already there it was a moot point. Coming back after getting my mileage, both “parts guys” (is there some name for this job that I don't know about?) were on the phones. I waited patiently as the two guys behind the desk, and one other mechanic, on my side of the desk were shootin' the breeze. The older guy behind the desk asked the younger one if he called so-and-so. He didn't so Dan (older guy) called Bob and proceeded to give him some shit. If you've ever worked in a garage or other blue collar skilled trade, you'll understand that this is benign, akin to a roast. It may also be known as “busting someone's chops,” or “breakin' their balls,” to use the more colorful vernacular. Chances are if you are reading this then, yes, you understand. I couldn't help but thinking to myself that I'd almost rather be there working in the shop than driving to Edmonton. I certainly enjoy a close knit working group. Then again, maybe it is time to grow out of that kind of humor, where fun is had giving someone else some shit.

      It is nice to be on the road again. I didn't realize how much I missed that feeling. I'm fairly sure that the next load will bring me back into the States, because there's nothing up there to haul except bales of paper back State-side. Chances are that I'll probably bounce around on some more short runs because home time is coming up soon (next week!) I still hope to get some longer hauls in when I can, and if I can't then I may end up changing companies. More on that another time.