Dr Dave wrote:

Jacklpe wrote:

Dr Dave wrote:

--J-- wrote: I work for McDonald's:)

I'm sorry....


Just joking wish my kids had started there instead of trucks...

You're another freight relocation engineer like me, right? Your picture in the "faces" thread looked like you were in a freight shaker.

You ready for that 72 hr crap in June ?

. I'm very seriously considering staying home. Honestly that's what we should all do. There is no reason for all of that. I've got a couple of slightly wet wheel seals and 3 sets of shoes on the trailer that are just about gone (less than 1 year old. Top quality high end parts. The other one was a reman and it's still great ). They aren't down to a quarter though... Then, this truck being a freight shaker with a Detroit, u know it leaks a little oil. Right from the Bell housing. So... That's another 1000-1200 that needs to be spent to drop the tranny and do the clutch while I'm at it. It leaks less than a gallon between changes, but still an over zealous inspector would give me a hard time. If I do run, I will be washing the hell out of it first. So, those are the blues that I'm singing in my real life. Run like hell to make money to fix the truck, and wear out more stuff in the process. (Spent 500 on a tire this weekend..//)

How bout u? U ready for em?

I'm a company driver now so I don't have any say, so yep ill out here running but I'm thinking I may have enough write ups to keep me down a day or two so shes going in shop on the 2nd and a case of beer will keep her there till the 6th All this crap is a grab for money by the DOT and these Points.... That's a joke all in its self.

Could you explain these points and downtime to us non-rig civilians. I have always been curious how you guys do the job you do.

It is a phenomenal, thankless job and without you doing what you do there would be nothing to buy. Every time I see a truck on the road, I wonder what they are carrying and hope it gets there safely.

I was really made aware of this impact after Hurricane Sandy. Sad how it takes a disaster to make you aware of certain things. So thank you for getting us the goods that keep our daily lives moving as routinely/regularly as possible.

M4rtin wrote: Could you explain these points and downtime to us non-rig civilians. I have always been curious how you guys do the job you do.

It is a phenomenal, thankless job and without you doing what you do there would be nothing to buy. Every time I see a truck on the road, I wonder what they are carrying and hope it gets there safely.

I was really made aware of this impact after Hurricane Sandy. Sad how it takes a disaster to make you aware of certain things. So thank you for getting us the goods that keep our daily lives moving as routinely/regularly as possible.

Thank you very few people realize the job we do is work. Imagine your commute to and from work everyday lasting up to 11 hrs, that's how long most of us drive in that kind of traffic everyday, even Sundays. Then there's the time away from our loved ones, As a truck driver you miss out on almost all the good stuff as your kids grow up and become men and women. One day your bouncing them on your knee and the next their asking for the car keys, the whole while your dealing with a public that doesn't respect you or what you do and some will try and mess with you by cutting you off in heavy traffic not realizing by us braking hard so we don't hit your car we just saved your life, worse yet in most of these cases your life and your children's life's sense their in the back seat.... As to the points. Ok ill try, the DOT (ie. Gestapo ) charges you points against your Driver License (and your ability to work) for every thing they find on your truck thats not up to code ie lights,tires,brakes ect. Now yes some things such as brakes and tires need to be well maintained and in good working order, but when they hit you with up to 10 points for a light being out, and I might add lights burn out all the time. But 10 points is excessive. If a tire is low 80psi or lower thats considered flat. That's anywhere from 20-30 points alone. And depending on the state up to $300 for a tire thats gone flat. Now how often have you had a blow out that was planned? And the list goes on and on. And your only allowed so many points in 3 calendar years and you lose your license, maybe for life. If that happens late in life you can lose everything you own just months before its paid off. House cars land anything you owe money on. Im sorry if I tend to babel but this stuff really pisses in my wheaties.

Wow. Do not even know what to say to that type of screwed up system.

That somehow just does not make sense. Surely road enforcement (DOT) or whatever they are called can see that type of point system does not make sense and give you guys some slack when pulling you over? I understand the system is in place to keep roadways safe due to the size and weight. But Man O' Man it definately needs an overhaul.

The traffic thing I am quite aware of and how much longer it takes for a truck that size to come to a stop. I try to give you guys lane change preference when I see some of these numbskulls pull their idiotic moves. Barring of course I do not sideswipe the vehicle next to me.

Just do not know how you guys do it. Kudos to you and your fellow haulers!

hmm i want to bring this thread back on track.
for $10k i can give you mod status for about 30 seconds. I give special discounts of 1 minute for only $15k and 5 minutes for $30k

there are the occasional guys that are just too nice and i have to give them mod status, but those are few, most of them have paid that sum

contact me for details on wire transfers, don't worry, it's a nigerian account, very very safe

zuperman wrote: hmm i want to bring this thread back on track.
for $10k i can give you mod status for about 30 seconds. I give special discounts of 1 minute for only $15k and 5 minutes for $30k

there are the occasional guys that are just too nice and i have to give them mod status, but those are few, most of them have paid that sum

contact me for details on wire transfers, don't worry, it's a nigerian account, very very safe

How much for a faster plane!!!

zuperman wrote: hmm i want to bring this thread back on track.
for $10k i can give you mod status for about 30 seconds. I give special discounts of 1 minute for only $15k and 5 minutes for $30k

there are the occasional guys that are just too nice and i have to give them mod status, but those are few, most of them have paid that sum

contact me for details on wire transfers, don't worry, it's a nigerian account, very very safe

I paid 1,000,000 and i sent it in an envelope that said HANDLE WITH CARE, ONE MILLION DOLLARS ENLOSED IN ENVELOPE on the front. I sent it U.S. post office did you get it?

Dont reply back. After paying that much i don't have a house you could reply to

snidleywhiplash, you've forgot to store your credit card info the last time. Please re-register it and i'll submit a quote for the plane

dixie, now i understand why my gf has been missing from home for the past month

All I have to say is LOL . That was funny guys!!!

zuperman wrote: hmm i want to bring this thread back on track.
for $10k i can give you mod status for about 30 seconds. I give special discounts of 1 minute for only $15k and 5 minutes for $30k

there are the occasional guys that are just too nice and i have to give them mod status, but those are few, most of them have paid that sum

contact me for details on wire transfers, don't worry, it's a nigerian account, very very safe

Have you been drinking again Zup?

zuperman wrote: dixie, now i understand why my gf has been missing from home for the past month

She took my million dollars and left you???? I don't have another million dollars so you better find her

now i can say she is worth a million dollars
she didn't leave me, she said she will come back when she is done. I didn't know what she meant until now...

zuperman wrote: now i can say she is worth a million dollars
she didn't leave me, she said she will come back when she is done. I didn't know what she meant until now...

She aint comin back.... But there is billions more out there lol

Hey you guys are making me feel bad I only have $10

zuperman wrote: now i can say she is worth a million dollars
she didn't leave me, she said she will come back when she is done. I didn't know what she meant until now...

She'll end up buying the company if you don't act fast!

Zup quick I think I found her

SnidleyWhiplash wrote: Zup quick I think I found her

Go for it zap

zuperman wrote: hmm i want to bring this thread back on track.
for $10k i can give you mod status for about 30 seconds. I give special discounts of 1 minute for only $15k and 5 minutes for $30k

there are the occasional guys that are just too nice and i have to give them mod status, but those are few, most of them have paid that sum

contact me for details on wire transfers, don't worry, it's a nigerian account, very very safe

Ok, never mind the moderator question.

SnidleyWhiplash wrote: Zup quick I think I found her

I wonder where she is going next and she has one weird outfit to be in Canada

Martin. The fed govt maintains a separate registry of those "points" from your state issued drivers liscense. Even if you take a violation to court and beat it, the separate points still remain on that registry. You have to do a separate process to try to have them removed. The process goes something like this. I contest the violation to the Fed authorities. They contact the agency who issued the violation. Govt:"Was he really speeding?" Issuing agency:"Yeah, sure he was! " Govt to me "denied".

This crap is completely handled outside of the criminal justice system. There is no due process. It is unconstitutional, but yet it remains because we are so divided and cutthroat as an industry that we can't stick together to even say no to something like this. I'm not a big union fan, but we need another charismatic sort like Hoffa was to somewhat tie us together. We could end this stuff by the end of the week, but we don't.

Unfortunately, what I just described is the tip of the iceberg. It's really bad. We are a favorite whipping boy and shakedown target because we make it easy for anyone with a big line of bullst to lobby new rules into effect against us. Mandatory sleep apnea testing is one of the current ones making its way through. Mandantory electronic on board recorders are another. Medical and tech companies stand to make millions and even billions from our industry being forced by law to buy their products and spend our money on their products and services. Yeah, it's a game. And we are losing it badly.

Oh yea... And the points. A loose or disconected pigtail (light power cord to trailer) costs more points than a DUI. It's not even serious, yet it's what we deal with.

I have a lot of respect for cops, but very little for DOTs. They are shakedown artists for their state piggybanks.

...

Wow, that is criminal. I can not believe there is no organization in place to help you guys make it more of an even or protected system. How do those big outfits handle it? How the heck as an independent can you survive? I know competition for haul rates is bad, but to have this hang over your head as well, ridiculous in my opinion!

The big outfits are the ones lobbying for it. The American Trucking Association is their voice. They would be more aptly named the Anti American Trucker Association. They do this stuff to drive out competition. Repairs and parts are more affordable for them b/c they have their own mechanics, and get deeply discounted pricing on things like tires b/c of the volume they purchase. Small companies and owner operators do it better and faster. The guy running the truck has real skin in the game, so he takes each load personally. Some company guys do too, but that's just because they have good personal character. The big companies prefer cheap labor new hires. They offer their services for prices that are so cheap that shippers will overlook a certain amount of service failure in exchange. But, some things require a driver that has his stuff together. Produce, oversize loads, and many other markets are still dominated by the little guy, because he cares about each load and each customer.

The big boys don't appreciate this, and use their big money to try to push us out. Simple as that.

The only lobbyist for the individual driver is a group called OOIDA (Owner Operator Independent Driver Assoc.). They aren't always perfect, but they do a hell of a lot of good on a very tight budget. I am a member...

Most of the big outfits can't keep a guy very long anyway, cause if he is any good, he'll go somewhere else that will pay him more. That's ok with them b/c their training programs are federally subsidized. If a new hire has an accident, they'll slap his wrist and put him back on the road. If a more experienced guy crashes, he's gone. He was costing them too much anyway. That's the way they do business, and that's how they can do it so cheaply. JB Hunt back in the day used to have a subsidy where the govt matched them so much per dollar on every dollar they made in turn for them to hire inexperienced drivers and put them to work. They in turn slashed their prices to their customers and were able to underbid their competition.

Ok... They are calling me to come get my paperwork now.

I can go on and on

Once again, thanks Martin for your kind words.

See Ryan? I go onto a thread that's labeled for one thing and write volumes about an unrelated subject... Definitely not the path to moderaterdom. Stick with me man, don't do what I do, and Zup will be blowing up your inbox in no time!

I think I liked more my conversation

zuperman wrote: I think I liked more my conversation

Me too honestly. I have never written much about all of that on here, although trucking and the trucking industry is actually the subject I know the most about. It just kinda happened. I play this game and chat on this forum actually to get away from all that. But, it came up, and I said about as much as I think I should. Any more might contaminate my pretend world here with my real one.

Hey, can I be a mod? Hahahahaha. I would only abuse it once or twice a day! I promise!

Just kidding.

Later all!

Sorry Jaoquin Last time I will post on this subject in here ;)wanted to respond to Jack, so I will PM him instead.

So to continue on How Do You Become A Moderator:

Point #1 - You have to give your undying loyalty to Joaquin in a blood oath. Secret Ceremony involving a lot of scary things
Point #2 - Your bank account in DogFight must match that of your own bank account in non traceable bearer bonds signed over to Joaquin, which has to be co-signed by all current moderators, in case you don't survive the ceremony
Point #3 - Once you past that, there will be more to come