No good deed goes unpunished

TJ959 · Jul 15, 2005

I took my travel trailer to a church camp for my niece to use, thus loosing all of that friday for taking any loads. Now here I am again. I deadheaded from Columbus to Grand Rapids to get my pickup and drive 90 miles to pick up the trailer and bring it home. Someone please shoot me. So far in July, well, july is July. Between the shutdown and my relatives I'm about to go broke. I sure wish it was someone else's fault. Top it off I've been doing poorly on the load department for 3 months or more. So what do I do. I sent an E-mail to my company and really unloaded on them. Now they're probably mad at me too. Anyone want to buy a real nice older truck. How about some cheese with my whine. I sure hope I'm not the only irratable old fat guy out there.

tec1959 · Jul 15, 2005

TOM: Chill buddy,I don't know you but hey you taking your trailer to your neices camp that was a good thing.As far july and the shutdown it almost always SLOW.Now for the relatives i guess its good to help out family.Now for emailing your company maybe that will help and they will try to get you moving with a great load I hope...But hey man it sounds like you do everything you can to help others,And also as you know this is a tough business to be in.I hope you keep doing what your doing because it sounds right to me.Good Luck Tom...

Tec1959....

Tennesseahawk · Jul 15, 2005

very simple... truck is business. You want help moving? Fine. Rent a truck and tell me when you're loading it. I've helped a couple of times, but when someone EXPECTS my truck to be used for favors, that usually means money out of my pocket... so they can just ask to borrow money

terryandrene · Jul 15, 2005

One of my favorite bumper stickers: "Yes, it's my truck; no, I won't help you move"

TJ959 · Jul 15, 2005

Hey, I got back home with my trailer and it's back in the yard. After a while it started to get a little funny. Got there and it rained on me while I hooked up and then I got stuck in the mud. Strange how things build up until it becomes funny. I must be warped. Now all I have to do is get busier. I honestly think it's luck. I know my company trys to keep me loaded.

raceman · Jul 18, 2005

Tom, let me tell you this. You will only be hit with what you can bare. No more. You are also right in seeing that at some point you have to just laugh because it gets to the point where you realize none of this is very serious but it sure does drive one nuts.

Also keep in mind that no good deed goes unnoticed. When you give of yourself it all comes back in time in a very good way. Most of us just never se it coming back. The bad always sticks out but in reality many things go our way everyday.

Keep giving and keep laughing at yourself. Think of all the smiles you most likely brought to the faces of others as you tried to get that trailer out of mud in the rain. I been there done that and got the T shirt. People have a good time laughing at us big ole boys having trouble while putting on a wet T shirt contest for all those watching.

I was at Ford one day outside the dock in pouring rain and climbed in the box to undo a load bar and some straps. Normally would have done that at the dock but I knew the guy working at that time hated me doing it there.

When I went to climb down out of the box, I came down the left side where there is only one bar on my ICC. In other words I was used to the right side where there was a middle bar I could step on first like steps. Well because of the long stretch before my foot hit the lower portion my leg in the box was very compress or bent and it then caused my foot to slip on the wet metal and my hand was in a E track opening and when I slipped I ended up hanging out the box by one hand and shirt sleeve on a hinge. Very painful but some guys in a construction trailer right there had the best laugh of their week. I hurt but they felt good.

Raceman
OTR O/O

miko · Jul 19, 2005

Tom, I am very sorry to hear of your dilemma. It is slow for me too since a few weeks and it seems it is not really picking up for me this year. I am busy tho, but not enough. I am averaging 1 load less a week, plus a hefty insurance rate, since my old company quoted me wrong for too long. Thanks god nothing happend in that time frame, I would have been screwed. On top of that, gas prices are killing me and I wish I had some decent FSC like other folks do. My efforts to lease on to another carrier have failed so far. Even I have other experience, I don't really want to leave the transportation field. But it sucks big time to worry week after week about loads and income. I am sick and tired of it too, and wish one good alternative came my way. Seems, this year I have no luck whatsoever. You see, you are not the only one who feels bad.
Lets just hope things will go better in the near future.

JohnMueller · Jul 20, 2005

TJ;
I never feel like you "unload" on the company - you know that some fat, old, chubby guys who work at some of these companies have very large shoulders and can handle it.
When a driver approaches the company in a professional, business like manner, as you always have, - here, or at "some other company", no one is offended. Quite frankly I feel like we've let YOU down when the freight is not there. If you're not making money then we're not making money. Unfortunately even the best efforts are to no avail if there is just simply no freight out there being offered. Our company calls, emails and faxes available equipment, "partners" with other carriers. I can't think of any other way to produce the business. It's just plain slow in July.
Keep your chin up and rest assured we all do everything possible to move you and all of the contractors. It is disappointing that when a great driver like yourself wants to work, there is no work. Other drivers, from other areas get load offers and spend more time getting out of work, refusing runs.
Keep me informed of what's happening. I will always try to help you.
Thanks,
HotFr8Recruiter

SHADY · Jul 21, 2005

I'm like you if I can help I do it. I've been burned to. Once when I was young anouther couple needed help. No job little money and a baby. My wife and I took the wife and baby into our small apartment and he stayed downtown at the Y to look for a job. When he got a couple of paychecks I moved their belongings from Ft Worth to Dallas. Sounds like I was a real do gooder. If there is ever time travel...I will go back and be an even better do gooder be killing him. His name was Lee Harvey Oswald. Now how serious was your bad week? My life was hell, and in my mind I can only wonder that god put anyone in that position. The guilt that was put on me by association was and is bad. No security clearance probably no passport even today.

TJ959 · Jul 23, 2005

Shady.. The 60s was an other time. Much was good about it but folks were a little short on tolerance. You didn't do anything wrong or have anything to feel guilty about. Man.. You must be the only person on here older than me.