Runaway Truck Ramp

I've gotten a few emails from people asking what a runaway truck ramp is and what one looks like so my husband and I took a video of one that we saw recently in Colorado. The gravel that you see is there to make the truck slow down and eventually stop (hopefully before you hit the end of the ramp). 

Here's another cool video that we took as we drove through a tunnel in the Rockies. 

Best Truck Stop Shower

I have seen heaven and it is the inside of a Petro truck stop shower room in the middle of Kansas (1-70 x 252 Salina to be exact). I must say that Petro/TA do tend to have some of the nicer showers on the interstate (as long as they are not a dealer owned travel center) complete with ceramic tile, marble, granite, hair dryers and full sets of towels; but this shower ladies and gents was no ordinary shower!

As I opened the door I saw a room easily 4 times the size of our truck sleeper (probably 2x the size of a typical at-home bathroom) and I laid my eyes upon a gigantic mirror above a double sink vanity with granite top. Inside that mirror (yes, inside!) was a TV! Of course I have seen such spectacular things on HGTV and in magazines but I have never actually seen one in person and all for my own use! I about died right then and there. But not before snapping some shots to share on Facebook with all of my friends and acquaintances, naturally. 

Then I make my way over to the shower area and seriously, you could have knocked me over with a feather... there was a rain shower head in the ceiling! AND a wall-mounted/handheld sprayer head. My first thought was "Did I slip in a puddle of water when I came in and hit my head? I must be dreaming, no truck stop shower looks THIS nice!"

After that I unpacked my various shower necessities and flipped the channel to Men In Black on TV Land and proceeded to put on a face mask and just sit and watch a good 30 minutes of the movie before I eventually peeled myself from the granite bench and turned on the rain shower head and got down to showering. I am officially in love with the rain shower head and absolutely must have one of these when I grow up and have a place of my own. 

In addition to the awesome TV and shower set up there was also a million (ok probably 6 or 7) hooks for clothes and things when usually there are only 1 or 2 and as always with Petro/TA they include a full set of towels (2 large, 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth & 1 bath mat) whereas Pilot/Flying J only give you a bath mat, 1 large and 1 washcloth.  I can't tell you how much of a difference an extra large towel makes when you have long hair! I usually end up having to hunt down a janitor to accost him into giving me an extra or use the bath mat :-/ 

When I finally emerged about an hour and a half later I reached back to grab the door handle and gave one last longing look back at the TV as I clicked the door closed.  Salinas Petro Shower... I do not know when we will meet again but I will be looking forward to it. 

** As it turns out my husband had a similar shower but his was not nearly as big as mine (bwahahahaha) but he did think to take a video of his while I just managed pictures of mine whilst in my awesome shower trance. Enjoy!

Fresh Fast Food in Cali!

We recently had a load that delivered in Chino, CA and between picking up the next load in City of Industry, CA we were desperate to find some good Mexican food. I was also desperate to do some much needed shopping stress relief so we bobtailed on over to the nearest TJ Maxx and what did we find in the same outdoor mall?! 

Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill! Color me happy! Fish tacos and shopping all in the same spot? I'm there! We quickly check out the reviews on Yelp (as always, we like to know what we're getting into) and they had great reviews and a good looking menu. We went inside and I ordered the Original Fish Taco (corn tortilla, battered fish, salsa and cabbage) and the Chicken Grilled Gourmet Taco (corn tortilla with toasted cheese, chicken, bacon, avocado, cheese & two different sauces). Both were really amazing and the Grilled Gourmet Taco was just as sinful as it sounds. Sadly I ate both of them before I thought to take a picture of them so the pics below are courtesy of Rubio's website. 

After we picked up our next load in City of Industry we headed on over to our company terminal to do some laundry and shower. We were thisclose to ordering Domino's for dinner when we walked by a woman eating a really good looking burger. We asked where she managed to get that stunning sandwich and she told us "oh just up at the Farmer Boys right over there" as if everyone knows about Farmer Boys. Well I now know that if you don't, you NEED to know about them! We borrowed the terminal van and hightailed it up the street as it was 9:51 PM and Farmer Boys closes at 10 PM. EEK! We parked and raced into the joint huffing and puffing but we made it! We both got burgers & fries and I got a chocolate shake for good measure. The burgers feature a thin patty (think Steak N Shake) which is cooked to order so you can go well or medium whichever you like and the bacon is thick-cut and delicious. The shake tasted like it was made from fresh ice cream and real cocoa and best of all... it had fresh whipped cream (not from a can!). 

We liked it so much that we went back the next morning before we headed out so that we could get some breakfast. George got the 3 Meat Breakfast Burrito (with sausage, bacon, ham, eggs, chili, hashbrowns and salsa) and hashbrowns with chili for us to share. I got the Chicken Go Bowl (hashbrowns covered with white sausage gravy topped with scrambled eggs and generous chunks of cubed chicken strips). Needless to say, their breakfast is just as good as their lunch/dinner options. And this time I did remember to get a photo of our breakfast at Farmer Boys :) 

Both of these SoCal options are chains but are quite a few steps of quality above your typical McDonald's or Taco Bell. If you're in the area you absolutely must try one or both of these places! 

Road Videos

Here are a couple of videos we took from the road.  The first one is from Donner Pass in California.  We're going down a 6% grade.  The background is beautiful. Lindsey is driving.

Next video is from the Columbia River in Washington state.  George is driving.

DIY Truck Stop Guide!

If you drive a truck or even just travel a lot you need this! We tend to only stop at the 5 major truck stops (Pilot, Flying J, Petro, TA & Loves) and each of these places has handy location guides for free which is great except it’s inevitable that they will get all messed up in a matter of days.

Hence, the DIY truck stop guide!

All you need is a 3-ring binder, about 50 sheet protectors and your truck stop guides.

Simply tear out each page from the books they provide at the TS (make sure to keep them in order) and then insert each page into a sheet protector, 2 pages each for Loves. Put all of your sheets into your binder and voila!

Cheaper than a big truck stop guide book and the pages are now protected so if you spill your coffee or get crunchy coconut donut crumblys on it (guilty!) it’s no biggie. Just simply wipe off with one of the Wet-Ones or Clorox wipes that you (should definitely) have in your truck/car. 

Daily Grind

Wanted to update everyone on our progress. USX has been running us hard since our first week. We are doing 5500+ miles a week. Only a few states so far we haven't been to. Traveling so much has given us opportunities to eat at some great places. Most days it doesn't feel like a job. More like a vacation. lol. The hardest part about living in a truck 24/7 is trying to get some sleep when the truck is going thru bumpy roads. I can sleep thru anything but not so much in a truck. Taking melatonin has helped. 

The part about the job that I don't like so far is the long waits when I need an answer from the company. We've had some breakdown issues and each time it can take several hours for a response. The other day we delivered our load in Seattle around 8am. Our next load was supposed to be picked up at 7pm. The shipper was USX Global. I called to see if I could pick it up early. The woman on the phone said it wouldn't be ready till 7pm. No problem. We went to the truck stop. Showered and slept. Headed back over there to pick it up around 7pm. When I get there...they tell me the load was canceled and wasn't going out till Friday morning and that a different company got the load. This had been decided earlier in the day and USX was sent an email. I send a Mac 11 informing USX. They had no idea. I ask what should I do since I'm supposed to pick up a load in Anaheim, CA after deliver this load. After several hours...I'm told I can deadhead from Seattle to Anaheim so I can pick up my next load. 

It gets more fun. I called the place I'm picking up from to find out if their open 24 hours since I'm running late. The woman on the phone says yes. I confirm with my FM. He's like "oh yeah !!!! 24/7". Awesome. Get there at 2am to find out their closed. lol

Response time and misinformation are the two biggest problems at USX. We deadheaded 1,132 miles. I'm not complaining but at the same time wish the company I work for made some money for sending me so far. 

Overall though, we enjoy working here. Happy with our miles, the places we get to see & the food we get to try. Like I said earlier....most days it feels like we are on vacation.

The Lady & the Truck

US Xpress - Take 2

You may remember my wife and I had a bad experience with US Xpress. We joined the company and went out with our trainers. I had problems with my trainer and was unable to get a new one so my wife and I quit. When I got home, I sent a letter to corporate explaining my experience. Surprisingly, someone from Chattanooga called me and apologized. We were invited to come back. I had my reservations but we agreed. 

I'm happy to report things went well with our new trainers. Lindsey(my wife) & I upgraded at Tunnel Hill on Thursday. Picking up our truck at the Markham terminal Monday. Excited about this new journey in our life. 

We look forward to meeting all of you who post on the Truckers Report forum. Thanks for all your help with our past questions. You made this new career choice less intimidating.

US Express - Run

Wanted to give you guys an update on how things went for my wife and I.

BAD !

Orientation at Markham, IL terminal went well. My wife and I passed everything. Everyone at the terminal from the staff to fellow drivers was so nice. We felt like we were part of a family. The end of orientation is when things went bad.

My trainer was already at Markham. The finishing coordinator called my wife and informed her she had to take a bus to Atlanta to meet up with her trainer. When she asked him if she could get a trainer that could pick her up at Markham or if she could take a plane to Atlanta...the guy on the phone replied back "I'll take that as your resigning from US Xpress". What a POS ! Couldn't believe he spoke to a woman that way. My wife told him she needed to speak with me then she would call him back. We spoke with our orientation manager who informed us that they would pay up to $150 of our plane ticket if she flew down to Atlanta. We started to look on price line for a ticket. The finishing coordinator calls back now saying that due to my wife being 5'3....she is too short to drive a Peterbilt and would need to change trainers. My wife did her road test on a Peterbilt the first day of orientation. They had no issue then. My wifes new trainer is 300 miles south. We rent a car so she can drive down there to meet up with her trainer. When she gets there....what does she discover ? Her trainer has a Peterbilt and its an automatic. UGH ! She sucks it up and goes with the flow. Her trainer is a super nice guy. Unfortunely, the truck blew a drive tire, air bellows cracked, ABS went out & hood wouldn't latch all on the second day. Due to this, the truck was in the Springfield, OH terminal for 5 days. No information during the whole time when the truck would be repaired. No hotel to sleep. Vending machine food and delivery.

As for me, I was given a trainer who hated his job. Only reason he was a trainer was because he had 20 years of experience so US Xpress promised him he would be home more often and not have to do a dedicated account that required him to unload. He hated trucking, US Xpress, life......you get the picture. The first time we got in the truck....he told me "if we're late to our appointments then i'm going to be very upset". The five days i was in the truck, all I did was drive forward. Never let me couple,uncouple, deal with shippers,dock, fill up at truck stop, touch the e-log or my paper log. My days were spent in silence because this man was moody. After day one, I told my finishing coordinator my issues and he refused to help. Just kept telling me that if I had to switch trainers then I would have to either be bused back home or sit at a terminal for a week or more. The tone of voice he used made it clear that if I did go thru with the switch, he would not make things easy. This is the same guy who talked to my wife so poorly. 

After 5 days of all of this. No one in Tennessee wanting to help. My wife and I left our trucks and drove back home to Chicago. We were really excited to work for this company. I know our experience isn't everyone's but I wanted to share to get out my frustration.

We've Graduated! The Journey Begins!

At long last, after four long months of studying, learning and driving we have finally graduated from CDL school!

We talked to US Xpress today and have scheduled our orientation for Monday March 18th in Markham, IL. It will last three days and if all goes well we will be assigned separate trainers and will go out on the road for about three weeks of training.  After we successfully complete training we will be brought back together and assigned our own truck! 

Check out our pics below of testing day

Inside the Volvo 780!

The Volvo is said to be the Cadillac of trucks and after today we can definitely confirm that!  

We wanted to go check out some truck interiors to see what types of configurations are out there. We checked out a pretty standard International ProStar single bunk sleeper and then stumbled upon this little beauty! 

What doesn't this truck have?! Seating area/booth? Check! Tons of storage? Check! Plenty of headroom to stand? Check! Sunroof? Heck yes! 

Check out the pics and enjoy! 

Journey Begins Soon

Welcome to our Journey

Coming soon . . .