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.