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Phil Madsen's BlogLearning Something New Every Day |
Truck drivers Phil and Diane Madsen live, work and play on the road; transporting expedited and critical-shipment freight in their custom-built truck. Phil's blog is a blend of travelogue, brain dump and commentary on road-inspired topics.
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Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area or the load is delivered. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 1, 2012, New Year's Day
I learned today how the NFL football playoffs are shaping up. Learned by watching football with relatives today.
Diane and I woke up this morning in Wisconsin where we are visiting relatives. We stayed overnight last night, departed after the game and got back home in Minnesota just after dark. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 2, 2012 I learned today more about trading. Learned by studying.
Diane and I woke up this morning at home. We are home for the holidays. Today ends the Christmas/New Year's stretch and we will be on the road tomorrow.
The destination is our vacation house in Florida but having discovered a water leak in the truck sleeper, we will be stopping in Indiana first to get some truck work done. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 I learned today more about trading. Learned by studying while Diane drove.
We woke up this morning at home in Minnesota where we spent the holidays. That stay ended today when we packed up the truck and left. Our next stop is Shipshewana, Indiana, where we have a Wednesday appointment to get a water leak in the sleeper repaired. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 I learned today more about how our truck is put together. Learned by visiting with the people who repaired it and viewing components.
Diane and I woke up this morning in the ARI parking lot in Shipshewana, Indiana. ARI is the company that built our truck sleeper. We left home in Minnesota yesterday morning and spent the night in Shipshewana. We went to ARI to have a water leak in the sleeper and a generator exhaust component repaired. The water leak turned out to be the sleeper water pump which was easily replaced, as was the exhaust flex pipe on the generator.
We got out of there early afternoon and headed next to the Volvo dealer in Fort Wayne. I am sometimes able to replace the air dryer filter myself but it was on too tight this time. It took longer to move the truck in and out of the bay and wait on the paperwork than it did to replace the filter. That done, we resumed our journey.
• We had planned to go in service on Tuesday at home and try to find some freight that would take us to or toward Florida, but discovering the sleeper water leak changed that. The priority became to get that fixed so off to Indiana we went. Since Fort Wayne was close and the Volvo dealer had time, we stopped in to get the filter replaced.
We could have then tried for a load taking us to or toward Florida but we were now within a day's drive if we went straight through. With a nice vacation on our minds, hauling freight held far less appeal than getting to Florida.
We called Landstar and asked them to change our back-in-service date to February 1 and headed south. We'll call them again on February 1 and extend that date to mid-month at least.
We have some stops to make on the way down (showers, groceries, truck wash and fuel) so we won't be driving straight through. Doing that would put us in the community late at night and we don't want to disturb the neighbors with a loud truck on quiet streets after bedtime.
Our ETA is Friday morning. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 5 , 2012 I learned today about the TV and internet options that are available at our Florida vacation house. Learned by researching them online.
Diane and I woke up this morning at the TA truck stop in Florence, Kentucky. We spent the night there while working our way from Minnesota to our Florida house.
We have in the truck a brand new 46-inch LED high definition TV for the house. Cable service is provided free by the gated community in which the house is located. Internet service and premium channels are available but not free. We have internet now through our laptops in the truck. I don't know yet what we will do for the house, if anything. What we have now worked OK the last time we were there.
We'll get the TV working, figure out what all it will do and take it from there. It has been decades since Diane or I purchased a TV. Things seem to have changed a bit since cable TV was the breakthrough technology. We have some catching up to do.
Today, the cable TV company wants to provide our telephone service, the phone company wants to provide our internet service, and the landscape is littered with failed companies that tried to be our internet company. The TV can work as a computer monitor, the computer can stream programming from the cloud and my old box of VCR movies has been replaced by digital files that can be stored in and stream out of my pocket.
Watching TV is not as easy as it used to be. If not for football, we might not have bought a new TV at all. The free hand-me-down that sits in the house now was simple. Plug in the cable, turn it on and watch the shows. This new TV will be great for the games but I wonder how much time it will take to figure out that I don't want or need most of what the TV does.
• The closer we get to the house, the more excited I get about the time we will spend there; and the more I hope we make it there safe. Diane and I always do our utmost to drive safe but you never know what will happen in the very next second.
We have seen two wrecks on this trip, which is not unusual. Wrecks are part of the landscape out here. I seldom mention them because they are so common.
The first wreck looked bad. One big-rig appeared to have rear-ended another on the freeway at highway speed. It did not look good for the driver in the cab that piled into the other truck's trailer. That driver probably just celebrated Christmas and was beginning a new year. He may not have lived through the wreck.
The other wreck I watched happen. I was southbound on I-75 in Kentucky. A Budget rental truck was northbound at highway speed. For no apparent reason at all, the truck sideswiped the concrete jersey barrier that divided the northbound and southbound lanes. The driver struggled to maintain control as the truck bounced off and slammed two more times into the barrier, lunging upward each time because of how the barrier is built.
I did not see what happened next as we passed each other going opposite directions and I concentrated to keep my eyes on the road ahead. Had the barrier not been there, that truck would have certainly crossed into the northbound lane and into oncoming traffic.
Diane and I would have been OK because I saw this developing far enough in advance to slow and take the evasive action that would have been needed in the absence of the barrier. I was very pleased to see the barrier there. Median crossing accidents are frequent and deadly. It is a very good thing that median barriers are being built more and more. And for Diane and me, it was a very good thing that this barrier stood where it stood today.
As all truckers do, we live every day with the danger of getting into a serious wreck. With a great vacation planned, that always-in-mind notion is more in mind than usual. I want to complete all trips in one piece, of course, but I really, really want to complete this one safe. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 5, 2012 I learned today how to set up a modern TV. Learned by reading the instructions and doing it.
Diane and I woke up this morning at the Love's truck stop (former Pilot) in Brunswick, Georgia. We were on our way to our Florida vacation house and stopped at the Blue Beacon truck wash in Brunswick. Spotting an open parking place in the truck stop across the street, we stopped there to spend the night.
We arrived at the house around noon today and, profiting from the house setup work we did last year, were out of the truck and settled in by 2:00. The TV was out of the box and hooked up by 3:00. A quick inspection of the house revealed no serious problems. Diane got the rental car that we will use this weekend to run errands. We're pleased. The house is working like it is supposed to. It was easy to get this place up an running again and settle in.
On the way down we talked about vacations we have taken in the past and were surprised by the realization that we have never taken a true vacation together. I've been self-employed most of my life so vacation time is whatever I give myself. Diane became self-employed for the first time when we became expediters in 2003. We used her vacation days before to take trips together but they were always work related; like taking time off to go to a truck show to research the trucking industry or going to national political conventions or meetings back when we were politically involved. This is the first time in our 17 years together that we are taking time off for the purpose of taking time off.
Because of the travel and freedom to take time off at will, expediters sometimes call themselves paid vacationers. It's a good description. If you love the road, the job does not feel like work and you get to make money too. But a true vacation means a full break from the work you normally do. For us, that means getting out of the truck.
Our Florida house enables us to do that, but while we are here I I will put a great deal of our "vacation time" into trading. That's OK. If I did not have that to do, I would probably want to go back to work on the road before long. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 7, 2012 I learned today nothing new. Learned by doing nothing.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. We had no specific plans for the day when we went to bed last night. Today turned into a me-time day as we call it. Diane took the rental car and spent the day shopping and running errands. I stayed home and played couch potato.
One of reasons we got into the expediting business was to spend time together. After eight years that continues to be important. However, when we are out on the road and in the truck together 24/7, it happens every so often that we want and enjoy some time apart. We call it me time. It is usually accomplished by one of us going out while the other stays in the truck or by both of us going out but in separate directions. Today it was done by Diane going out with a rental car (a rare treat since we don't own cars) and me passing time at home.
We spent some time home in Minnesota for the holidays but it is different there. We rent space in a relative's house. It's a great arrangement overall, but we do not have there the privacy, solitude and control over our surroundings there that we do here. Each place is good in its own way. Today I enjoyed being a couch potato all day, alone in my own house.
We were missing each other by the time Diane returned in the early evening. It was nice to see her arrive safely home. She returned with groceries, a few house supplies and plans to take me out tomorrow to look at drapes. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 8, 2012 I learned today yet another way that the Great Recession and subsequent slow recovery are changing things in America. Learned by shopping for drapes.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Ours is one of over 700 houses in a gated community. The community has a name but people who live here call it the park for short. One of our trips out of the park today was to J. C. Penny's in Daytona Beach to look at drapes.
Diane shopped for drapes yesterday and discovered that some of the department stores that used to sell drapes do not do so any more. It seems that the housing market crash that hit Florida especially hard also affected the home interiors market. The number of stores that sell drapes has declined as has the quality of drapes on display in stores that still offer them.
With fewer people buying drapes and spending less money when they do, you can't just walk into a department store today (at least not in this area) and find something nice. Diane found only one style that might work. I disliked it the instant she showed me.
New to drapes after the recession (at least new to me) is the shower curtain look. The clerk told Diane yesterday that the style became "popular" a few years ago. In a pig's eye! It's not about popular, it's about cheap.
We are accustomed to drapes that open and close when you pull a cord on the side of the window. All Penny's had on display were drapes with large grommets on top that thread through a decorative curtain rod. You open and close these drapes like a shower curtain. Valances and the mechanism to open and close the the drapes are eliminated with this design, thereby reducing the price. The fabric choices and quality were disappointing too. The cost savings are nice but I don't want to hang cheap-fabric, shower curtains in our living and dining rooms.
Since department stores can no longer meet our needs, stand-alone home interior stores were next on the list. Those are closed on Sunday. That venue has also been affected by the recession. Looking online after we got home, Diane found only a couple home interior stores in the area.
One of those is now operated by the owner out of her home. This was once a high-end custom home interiors store, operated by the same family for generations. Like many businesses, that one has been through several recession/expansion business cycles but the Great Recession forced this family to let the employees go and give up the store.
Our drapery search continues and may now involve travel to a pocket of prosperity where people are still spending money on drapes and vendors offer more than fancy shower curtains.
I have not checked out home prices since we got back to this house that we bought two years ago. My sense is that home prices in this area are still declining. I seriously doubt that we could sell this house for more than we paid for it two years ago, even after putting in new carpeting and making other improvements. That's not a problem. We knew that going in and we have no need or desire to sell this lovely place in a lovely park setting.
If you happen to be looking for a house and are open to moving to Florida, houses can be found here that are selling for 1/4 to 1/3 of the price they would have sold at a few years ago. As I said, Florida housing was hit especially hard by the Great Recession. That's what made it so easy for us to buy this house. The previous owner's pain was our gain. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 9, 2012 I learned today that buying drapes for a house is not as easy as Diane and I thought it would be. Learned by striking out over the weekend and visiting a home interiors store today.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Still having a rental car, we continued our drape shopping. We learned there that we have not done enough background work to successfully shop for drapes. There are many options and we do not know clearly what we want. It takes a while to get drapes in once they are ordered. It looks like we will be shopping for drapes as time permits in the coming months and maybe buy some for the house next year.
We ran a couple more errands and returned home. I got to trading. Diane returned the car later in the day. The nice people at the rental car office gave her a ride back. We'll be renting a car later this month for a week to run around and go to Landstar's BCO days in Jacksonville. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 I learned today more about trading and plumbing. Learned by trading and watching a plumber repair our leaky kitchen sink.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. We have not been here since last February. The house is in good shape but a leak developed under the kitchen sink when we turned on the main water supply. That got fixed today and we got a new faucet installed too.
Diane and I call such things quality of life enhancements. It's odd how they work. Having a vacation house in Florida is one thing. Having one with a kitchen faucet that works is at least as good. A new faucet is a small thing but it adds a great deal to routine kitchen tasks. You turn on the water and there it is! You turn it off and there are no leaks! That is soooo cool!
We believe we are living a good life together but still take pleasure in the small stuff; a kitchen faucet that works, that cold drink of water that is oh-so-good when you are thirsty, a walk in the park, a quiet hour of reading, and other such things. We are goal-oriented and money-motivated, but no matter how much money we may one day have, the pleasures found every day in the small stuff bring at least as much joy and satisfaction as the big stuff. The great thing about the small stuff is that it's easily obtained and available every day.
But even these are not available to everyone. As I write this I am mindful of a neighbor we have not seen when we returned to this retirement community. This elderly woman is in the hospital because she is having trouble breathing. She is quite old and may not leave the hospital alive.
Diane and I know of an expediter who has a terminal illness. He is our age and was hauling freight not long ago. Today, he would absolutely love to take a drink of water with his own hand and swallow on his own.
Our time is coming.
So is yours.
Cherish what you have today. Goals for the future are good but it is better to enjoy what you have today. You can prove that to yourself right now. Go ahead and try it.
Let everything else be for just a moment and go get a drink of water. Make it a point to enjoy the walk, enjoy the faucet and enjoy the drink. If you can take pleasure in that simple, everyday experience, what more is there to want or need? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 I learned today more about our Florida house, TV and trading. Learned by talking to an electrician, checking out Google TV online and trading.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. We are settling into a pleasant routine now. I'm putting large blocks of time into trading at the desk in my office that is set up for that purpose. There is spare time to exercise, relax and enjoy the Florida weather. Winter has been mild up north so it's not such a big weather deal to be down here. But it is still wonderful to open the windows and let the wind and ceiling fans move fresh air through the house.
The electrician is needed to run a 220 volt circuit for a new hot water heater (actually, it is a water heater, a home inspector once told me, there is no need to heat hot water, but everyone calls it a hot water heater so I will to). The one we have now works fine but it is too small (19 gallons). The previous owner, a widow who lived alone, needed nothing more and went for the low price when her older and bigger one gave out.
That job will get done in a few days and since the electrician will be here we'll have a few other small improvements made too.
The new TV we got has a great picture but I see little need to connect, combine, or otherwise use it to do all the other things the instruction book says it can do. I have been reading some about the big Consumer Electronics Show now going on in Las Vegas. It's where makers of the latest and greatest present their wares and reporters spread the news.
I've been reading about all the gadgets that we can connect to our new TV but nothing clicks. A TV remains for me a device on which to watch football and with which to veg out. For that it is already delivering full value. I'm sure other people feel different but it seems unimportant to me to get online and chat with other people about whatever I am watching at the time.
I mean, would the world really be a better place if I tweeted my opinion of Olivia Benson's hair style? Would I be a better person or would my TV viewing experience be enhanced if I heard that a number of people out there in cyberspace think the TV show's plot sucks?
TV time is meaningless time. It is for me a break from things that are productive and require the use of one's body and/or brain. Trying to make TV into something more than that by integrating it with games, chat and all things internet seems like barking up the wrong tree.
That's pretty much it for today; pleasant chats with some of the neighbors, lovely weather, a little attention to home improvement and a lot of time put into trading. Expect more days like this ahead. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 12, 2012 I learned today that a major trucking magazine wants to include my daily blog on its web site. Learned when someone from the magazine called to discuss it.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was the kind of day we came down here to have; quiet, safe, beautiful weather, in nice surroundings. I spent a good part of the day trading. Diane started a project on staining an oak bookcase.
We bought it last year at an unpainted furniture store and ran out of vacation time before we could get to it. It will go in my office when it is done. Diane has her work space set up in the car port and is loving working outdoors in this weather. She helps with trading too.
• Physical fitness is an ongoing challenge for truckers. You sometimes hear the phrase "trucker tough" or "tough trucker" but the fact is that many of us are a bunch of fat blobs who sit most of the day to drive and eat poorly because unhealthy food is the easiest to get. The irregular hours and many other variables of life on the road make it difficult to eat well. So too with exercise. Flatbedders are a notable exception. You don't see many fat flatbedders. Those people work hard securing and tarping their freight on flatbed trucks.
Committing to a good diet and exercise routine requires both a commitment and a routine. It is stressful in many ways on the road and when you find yourself with free time you don't want to create more stress by eating rabbit food in small portions and walking laps around a noisy, dirty truck stop. It's easier to go to a restaurant for a hot meal and veg out in your familiar and comfortable truck sleeper until it is time to drive again.
It is different where we are now. A shower is immediately available after we exercise. We have bicycles here and quiet streets on which to ride them or walk or run. On rainy days, there is a free gym just a few blocks away that we can use. We can easily find the time to exercise and have been doing so.
But talk about fat blobs! I'm walking and biking now but it will be a while before I will be running again. Muscle strength has degraded from last year. That can be helped by doing sit-ups, push-ups and using free weights which I am doing, but it is disappointing to find myself able to do only a few at a time.
Physical fitness is a mental challenge before it is anything else. I'm down on myself because I cannot run a mile and can only do a few push-ups and sit-ups now. But the standard I am comparing myself to is the school-record distance runner I was in high school and the U.S. Army infantryman who maxed his PT tests. Never mind that that was decades ago and I am an older man now.
I want to be in that shape again, even though it is almost an impossible dream. I also want that easy fast food meal and, when home, easy snacks and big meals three times a day.
It takes a conscious effort to put those desires out of mind and think instead about the good feelings that come with good health. When walking, I try to think about how I will feel when I can run again (it will happen while we are here). Instead of berating myself because I cannot leave other runners in my dust, I try to focus on the good I am doing on the walk.
On the road or off, Diane and I feel better about ourselves after any workout we do. It's easier here and we are taking full advantage.
• About that magazine and my blog, when the call came I immediately expressed concern about keeping my ability to speak freely. I am not always happy with carriers and vendors and have often explained why on these pages. I don't blog for money or to build an audience or to impress and attract sponsors but trucking magazines are very concerned about such things.
The caller said there is no pay but my blog will get more exposure if it is included on the magazine's web site. That's OK, I guess, but it is OK to not have it too. As my regular readers know, this blog is an exercise in self expression. It is also a day-to-day archive of our experiences on the road that I write so Diane and I can better remember what we did when we get too old to do it any more.
I directed the caller to some of my more heated entries and encouraged him to read the blog more to make sure the magazine actually wants my words on their pages. If I continue to write freely, it is almost certain that I will ruffle a feather or two in the magazine's audience and sponsor community.
I also told the caller that it was an honor to receive such an invitation. He said the magazine wanted to include my blog on their web site because the writing quality is good. If this happens, I will feel pressure to write better. There are some very good professional writers on staff at this magazine. To be included in their company is humbling and embarrassing.
I mean, these people know how to spell and use commas and do grammar good and everything. I enjoy writing this blog in my own little unaccountable corner of the internet. If this magazine thing happens, I will feel pressure to get better at such things. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 13, 2012 I learned today about a new company rule regarding truck equipment. Learned from a fellow contractor who told me about it on the telephone.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was mostly the same as yesterday; a lot of trading, some minor household projects, some time doing nothing (relaxing) and a bit of exercise.
Different today was getting haircuts. The gated community our house is located in is filled with retired people. One enterprising woman is a retired hair stylist who will come to your house and give you a haircut in your kitchen. She came to our house today. At the appointed time, she put her wicker basket of hairdressing gear in her golf cart and drove from her house to ours. The total cost for both of us was $22 and the haircuts were as good as any we have gotten on the road.
• There are not many down sides to taking an extended vacation like we are doing (beyond the obvious of not making money because the truck is not hauling freight), but one of them is being out of touch with our carrier and colleagues. I got on the phone today to catch up with friends and on one of those calls learned about a new rule our carrier has announced via a Qualcomm message.
I'm not going to mention it here because I have not confirmed the information yet. The carrier's web site says nothing about it yet and we have not been to the truck to see if such a broadcast message gets stored in our Qualcomm unit when the truck is parked for an extended period and the unit is turned off.
For the most part, this carrier leaves you alone when you are out of service, which is a good thing since out of service should mean out of service. Since we have been here, we have received one incoming call from one agent who had a load going from Florida to Portland, Oregon. He asked if we were planning on coming back in service anytime soon and if so he would offer us the load. We declined because we are here until mid-February.
When we are not in the truck hauling freight, we don't talk to fellow drivers as much, and we almost never talk to agents or our carrier. The longer you are off the road and out of service, the more isolated you can become.
It is a distinct advantage to remain at the top of agents' minds. They dispatch your freight and you want them to think about you. But if you are tucked quietly away on vacation, they have no reason to think about you and you will fade from their minds.
When we go back in service, we will make an extra effort to reestablish contact with them to get back on their radar. I can see now that we will also have to make an extra effort to comb though our carrier's very informative and useful web site for new information and simply to get our heads back in the trucking game.
• Diane's mother plays piano at church. She has been playing piano for decades. I have seen her practice for an upcoming Sunday and she always begins by playing scales. She is a good pianist. She has thought many people how to play. But when she sits down to play, she does not do songs before doing scales.
No one plays football better than the professionals you see in the NFL. They are known for great plays and great feats but they constantly practice the fundamentals. When they encounter a losing streak or get ragged around the edges, a return to the fundamentals is often the cure.
There are core competencies to being a truck driver — the fundamentals. When Diane and I go back in service, it won't be by hopping in the truck and driving happily along. It will be by taking time to get mentally back in the game. We'll call our friends to see what's up. We'll call agents to let them know we are back and ask them if anything is new. We'll call our carrier to do the same and review their web site in detail.
We'll review the fundamentals by doing things like using the printed checklist to do pre-trip inspection steps that we have memorized long ago. Before driving, we'll talk for a few minutes about safe driving and focusing on the task at hand. When we get behind the wheel, we don't want to be thinking about the last month and a half in Florida. We want to be thinking about everything that is going on inside and outside of the truck so as to keep things safe.
In each other's company, truck drivers love to talk about the years they have been trucking, the unusual things they have done and the great plays they have made. But it is the fundamentals — the basic skills — that get you down the road and keep you in business.
I have never seen or written a basic skills list for truck drivers. If you were to develop one, what fundamentals, what basic skills would you include? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 14, 2012 I learned today more NFL football trivia. Learned by watching the playoff games.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was mostly the same as yesterday; a lot of trading, some minor household projects, some time doing nothing (relaxing) and a bit of exercise. Different today was football. The NFL playoffs were on and I enjoyed watching them on our new TV. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 15, 2012 I learned today how the NFL football playoff picture is shaping up. Learned by watching the playoff games.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. I spent a good part of the day on the couch, watching football. Football is fun to watch and even more fun when your team is winning. My team lost today. Bummer.
• Have you ever looked at people's identification with sports teams to learn how a driver might identify with and/or relate to a trucking company and how an owner-operator might make business decisions?
Only one NFL team will win the Super Bowl this year. The teams that don't leave thousands of disappointed fans in their seats. Most will get over it quickly and move on with their lives but the hard-core fans, who bleed team-color blood, have a different experience. They emotionally connect with their team. It feels fantastic when they win (they and the team being nearly one in the same) and it hurts when they lose.
If you have ever been to a NFL game, you have seen all types. There are people sitting in the stands who would enjoy themselves more at the symphony. And there are those whose lives are so wrapped up in the team that little else comes through. Their houses, cars and work spaces are decorated with team paraphernalia. Their schedules, budgets and conversations with friends and family are wrapped around the team. Even their newborn children soon find themselves dressed in team colors.
Why do people identify so closely and thoroughly with a football team? Lots of reasons could be offered but the best one, I think, is because it feels good. People identify with sports teams because it feels good.
For someone who usually feels bad, team identification can keep their demons at bay. A lonely person can find friends among like-minded fans. A busy professional can put the cares of the day out of his or her mind while losing one's self in the team. If you live an unsatisfying and routine life, it's fun to feel the rush that the intense competition (waged by others while you sit comfortably in your seat) and unknown outcomes provide. If if you want to feel like a winner, the closer you identify with the team, the more you can make the high score your own when the clock ticks down to zero.
Shift to trucking. Why some drivers go home every week when others go home every month or quarter? Why do some focus on miles per day more than miles per gallon? Why some watch football instead of doing one's weekly book work? Why do we choose one carrier over another? Why do we prefer to drive in some states but not in others?
As with sports, there are many answers to these questions. An important answer to consider but one that is often overlooked is ... because it feels good.
Feeling good is important — even vital many would say — but in your truck driving work and business, has it become so important that you don't even consider how the desire to feel good is driving you? You drive a truck. What drives you? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 16, 2012 I learned today more about trading. Learned by studying.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was the same as most of days here. We're still truckers and will get back on the road next month as planned, but it is quite something how much we like this place. This quiet, safe, friendly, low-stress and beautiful location is hard to beat. Buying this house in this gated community was one of the best decisions we have ever made. We just love it here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 I learned today more about the mechanics of our Florida house. Learned by talking to the plumber and electrician who came to the house today.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. We bought this house in May, 2010. It came with a small water heater, too small for our needs. It worked fine for the single woman who lived here before us but we replaced it today so we can take showers one after another or run the dishwasher and shower at the same time.
The plumber also ran some water pipes to a utility sink I bought last year when we were setting up the house. I now have a workshop with hot and cold running water. Nice! There is more to do in the shop but it is all low priority stuff.
• We truckers complain regularly about over-regulation. As a homeowner, I have cause to complain too. The electrician came because we needed to run a 220 volt line to the new water heater. The old one used 110. When he installed a strange box near the water heater I asked him what it was. He explained that it is a disconnect device required by code and that it is not needed at all because power to the water heater can be shut off at the breaker box in another room. He was required by law to install the box because special interests lobbied government officials to include the device in the code so electric component makers can sell more disconnect devices and electricians can make more money installing them.
Presumably, the bureaucrats and rule writers who write the code are there to protect the public. They don't write code requiring gold plated wires or redundant breaker boxes but they either got conned into believing an unnecessary disconnect device was necessary or they succumbed to the temptations of listening to lobbyists who cultivate cozy relationships.
If the device had not been added to the code one year, you can be sure the lobbyists would come back year after year after year to try again and again and again. That's how it works. In day to day government work, rule writing is an insider's game. Citizens don't turn out to protest details of the electrical code and the insiders take full advantage.
It has nothing to do with protecting the public interest. It has everything to do with special interests using the public process and their political power to feather their own nests.
We see the same in trucking where rules are continually being written that are cloaked in language about trucker and highway safety but do far more to advance the interests of special interests than they do to make a real difference for people like me and you who drive cars and trucks.
There is no end to it. I became active in politics in 1992 and tried to make a difference. I poured my mind, body and soul into this effort for ten years and actually made history in doing so (see my bio). Diane got involved later and ended up working at the State Capitol in an office just three doors down from the governor, serving as his general counsel. We made a positive difference but also burned out. Most of the differences we made were reversed by the career politicians and bureaucrats in a few years after we and the third-party governor we helped elect left.
Our easy way out these days is to support OOIDA. That organization represents owner-operators like us and stands as an important voice in government. They keep track of what's going on inside the system and work inside as best they can. They may not be totally effective in what they get done but at least they help slow down the perpetual drive of government to grow and regulate citizens more and more and more.
Note that government writes the rules but the drive to do so often comes from special-interest insiders who use the process to advance their agendas or feather their nests. Citizens also advocate laws for the same reason. You don't like the noise the neighbor kids make when they gather across the fence? Get a rule written that prohibits swing sets that have more than two swings. Do you think your neighbor plumber's truck is ugly? Get a rule written that prohibits commercial vehicles from parking overnight in private driveways.
That's politics; the ongoing push and pull between people who want to impose their agendas on others or use the system to feather their nests. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 17, 2012 I learned today, in a new way, how important good service is to the shippers, consignees, agents and carrier we serve. Learned when receiving good service from a flooring company.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was the same as most of our days here. Different today was the carpet people who came to the house to re-stretch the carpeting we had put in last year. It loosened up and ripples formed. The company cheerfully sent two men out to take care of it at no cost to us.
Letting service people into your house and relying on them to do a job is a worrisome event because you never know how good of a job they will do and how careful they will be. It is a time of vulnerability where the outcome depends on someone other than you, and if the outcome is bad, your future will include a hassle, if not a fight, to get things right.
The carpet guys did a great job. They were courteous. They were careful when moving our furniture around. They took no shortcuts. Indeed, they took extra steps to make sure the ripples went away and everything was good with the carpet before they left. I thanked them for a job well done and was surprised to feel a sense of relief when they left. Many things could have gone wrong but nothing did.
At that moment it occurred to me that the people Diane and I serve with our truck may feel the same way. We show up with professional attire and confidence-inspiring equipment. We communicate and conduct ourselves well. It's no big deal. It's just what we do.
We don't worry about the freight because we know it will arrive safely and on time. Today, the worry shoe was on the other foot. The carpet guys did not worry about doing a good job. They knew they would long before they got to our house. But I did not know that, which is why I felt relieved when the job was done and done well.
I never thought about it much until today but I wonder if customers get the same feelings when truly professional truckers show up and serve them well. We regularly hear good words about our work. I wonder now if some of our customers experience feelings of relief too that they don't talk about. Perhaps professional truckers do more to put people at ease than they know. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 19, 2012 I learned (remembered) today that I have a promise to keep. Learned when I came across three books in my office closet.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. One of the great things about this place is the neighbors. This is a gated retirement community and the residents know each other well. It is easy to get acquainted because people are often sitting or working outside as you walk by, or walk by as you are outside. And if you don't get properly acquainted fast enough, they will come knocking to introduce themselves and get the skinny on you.
When we were here last year I visited with a neighbor who had written three books. I promised I would read them but did not take them with us when we then went back out on the road. I know he is interested in my feedback and looking forward to the discussion. It falls to me to get those books read.
Other than that, today is mostly the same as the other days we have spent here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 20, 2012 I learned today that Diane and I will be getting new windows for our Florida vacation house. Learned when a sales rep came to the house and we made our decision.
Diane and I woke up this morning in that house. We are here on vacation. I wrote a few days ago about getting new drapes. After thinking about it, it made sense to get new windows first. We bought this house in May, 2010. It's in good shape but as any homeowner knows, there are always improvements to make. New carpeting went in last year. A new water heater went in last week. New windows will be in before Valentine's Day.
Other than that, today was mostly the same as the other days we are enjoying here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 21, 2012 I learned today that I will be learning about WordPress. Learned when I found out that I'll be posting my blog on a WordPress-powered web site.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was the same as most days here ... perfect! The weather has been great the whole time we have been here and was especially wonderful today. It was one of those days where we opened every window in the house and enjoyed the gentle sea breeze blowing through.
Driving a truck in winter roads seems a long, long way away. That's one of the main reasons we bought this place, to avoid that crap. It's working!
• A few days ago I mentioned that a trucking magazine wants to include this blog on their web site. I learned today that they use WordPress, which means I will too. Their site is already designed and run by others. I'll just be posting content on part of it. Thus I need to learn how to use WordPress. Posting content is simple but I am pleased because learning WordPress has been a back burner project of mine for a long time. This nudges me in that direction, if only a little.
• Diane and I have been exercising regularly since we got here and it is getting easier. It took a few days to limber up. It's good to get loose and get some exercise. It's sad how easy it is to get out of shape when living and working on the road, and how we let that happen to us. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 22, 2012 I learned today that I feel intimidated in the presence of the masters. Learned when I began to write this blog entry, the first of many that will appear on Overdrive magazine's web site.
Greetings to my new readers. My name is Phil Madsen. I am a truck owner-operator who has been blogging elsewhere on the web since July, 2007. I was surprised and honored to receive a phone call from Overdrive, inviting me to include my daily blog entries on their web site. It seems that they want to expand their content by including certain truck driver blogs. It was easy for me to say yes since I blog anyway, and since the magazine is agreeable to posting my content unedited.
I have been known to let it fly at times in ways that might offend certain players and sponsors in the trucking industry. The understanding is that if the magazine deems my content to be too off-base or too inflammatory, that day's entry will simply not be published. Those are the rules. My content will not be edited but it must be approved. If it is not approved, it will not be published on the Overdrive site.
That is not only fair, it is ideal. My blog is entitled "Learning Something New Every Day." I started it as an exercise in self-expression. I also blog to create a record of the experiences my co-driver wife Diane and I have together on the road. We love it out here. One of my biggest fears is that we will forget the good and bad times we had when we get too old to drive and have to come off the road. Blogging every day is a way to keep the memories alive. It is also fun to share our experiences with anyone who cares to read about them.
Overdrive publishes its magazine and web content for different reasons. When I post my daily blog entries on the Overdrive site, I am playing in their sandbox by their rules. I am a guest in their house and it is right and proper that what they say goes. I remain free to post whatever I want on my web site and will continue to do so.
Who are the masters that are intimidating me today? They are the professional truckers who read Overdrive and the professional writers, journalists, editors and publishers who bring the magazine fresh into the world each month.
Diane and I are not heavy haulers with 30 years of trucking experience. We have never even driven a truck with a standard transmission, and the truck we drive is not even a big rig. We are expediters driving a straight truck. I am not a writer who majored in English in college. I still wince when I think of my eighth-grade grammar classes. I don't have the time to delve deep into important trucking topics and develop sources like the Overdrive journalists do. I'm just a guy who happens to drive a truck and write a blog.
The Overdrive community is filled to overflowing with truly great masters of their respective trades. I am humbled and honored to be invited to share my words in the Overdrive space.
• Note to my readers here: The above is my first post for the Overdrive site. It will take them a day or so to set up my space there now that content has been submitted. For the most part, what I write here will go over there but since the audiences and ground rules are different, I may leave parts out over there. Because of Overdrive, I will be writing something about trucking every day, instead of some days like I did before.
I intend to continue blogging about anything and everything here as I always have. Everything I post on the Overdrive site will appear here too. Not everything I post here will be posted on the Overdrive site. For example, notice the bullet paragraphs in today's post. They appear here but not on the Overdrive site. I'll post a link to my blog space over there when they get it up and running.
• Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was mostly the same as the other days we have spent here. Different today were the NFL playoffs which were on TV but my interest has trailed off since my team lost last week. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 23, 2012 I learned today how to take a passenger for a ride in our truck. Learned when Diane and her passenger completed the paperwork and went for a drive.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. We have been here since early January and the truck has been parked for more than two weeks. To keep it limber and make sure everything is still in good repair, we will drive it for an hour or so every couple of weeks. Diane took it out today and took an eager neighbor along for the ride; her first ride ever in a Class 8 truck.
We have leased our truck to two carriers in eight years. We were with FedEx Custom Critical most of the time and moved to Landstar Express America in June, 2011. Our former carrier prohibited passengers in the truck. Our present carrier permits them but a form must be completed in which the passenger names a beneficiary and to which a copy of his or her driver's license or other acceptable ID is attached. (A similar process existed at our former carrier but we were denied every time we asked.)
We are thrilled to be now able to give friends a ride in our truck. It's not something we expect to do often but having the ability to do so gives us a greater amount of freedom which we deeply appreciate.
However, the thought comes to mind; why should anyone have say over who gets to ride in our truck? I mean, it's our truck, isn't it? If we want to take a friend for a ride, that's our business, right?
This is where your view of and relationship with authority comes in. When prohibited from giving a friend a ride, you can comply or cheat. When allowed to give a friend a ride, you can follow the process to make it all legal or ignore it and give the friend a ride anyway.
What direction do you go and why? Truckers are burdened with rules every time they move, and even when they don't. On duty, off duty, passenger authorization, enter scale or bypass, log every minute of every day, don't use frayed straps to secure a load even if they are extra straps, do your pre-trips, do your post-trips, fax in your paperwork, don't park here, don't drive there, don't recap your steer tires; the list is endless.
People react in a wide variety of ways to authority. Some become cheerleaders of and collaborators with the authorities. Some rebel. Some cheat. Some comply. Some could care less about the rules and do what they want to do. Some explain the rules away. Some dive into them and make them their own.
Much depends in the situation. When asked, most law-abiding, taxpaying, good Christian people say they would not hesitate to steal food to feed their starving children. Yet they will name the faults and urge the prosecution of a stranger who does that very thing (lazy, lack of respect, does not try hard enough to find a job, bad parent, etc.).
Think about the trucking rules you comply with without even thinking about it. Then think about the rules that upset you. What's the difference? When presented with a rule, is it your nature to buck the system and rip into the rule makers? Are you one who feels powerless to do anything about it and resolves to adapt as quickly as you can so as not to be threatened by the authorities? Or do you react in a different way?
These are more than theoretical questions. As owner-operators, Diane and I have a business to run and we actually try to make money out here. I'm a self-reliant, independent sort and generally dislike it when someone tells me what to do. Yet I've placed myself in an industry where there is no end to new rules, often from questionable sources, written for questionable reasons.
I have to be careful. When a new rule comes along, do I rebel because I don't like it when people tell me what to do? Do I go home for a week to stew about it? Do I inject myself into the process and try to change things? Or do I keep my cool and consider my business goals first?
It sucks when rules are imposed on us. It may suck more and cost a great deal in lost business and future opportunities to give free reign to our inner rebel. It is better to give free reign to your inner business person. That's the one who will see not only what is lost but also what might be gained when a new rule is encountered.
For us today, it was not the loss of freedom because Diane and her passenger had to comply with a process. It was about the gain of freedom because a process exists at our new carrier that did not exist before.
• This blog is now live on the Overdrive site. See this. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 I learned today the history of the ExpeditersOnline.com Open Forum. Learned by interviewing its founder.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. The above mentioned open forum topped 15,000 members this week and EO head Lawrence McCord asked me to write a story about it. He is the founder so I interviewed him for the piece. It will be published in the next edition of Expedite NOW.
Other than that, today was mostly like the other days Diane and I have spent here. Our minds are shifting to an upcoming trip to Jacksonville for Landstar BCO Appreciation Days.
At our former carrier we were called contractors. At this carrier we are BCOs (business capacity owners). The upcoming event is hosted by our carrier every year. We have heard it is quite the shindig and are looking forward to it.
Because we are on the road so much, we do not own a car. The rental car we had reserved was canceled when a neighbor offered to let us borrow her car instead. Nice neighbors we have. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 I learned today more about the community in which our Florida vacation house is located. Learned by interacting with our neighbors and other people there.
Diane and I woke up this morning in that house where we plan to stay until mid-February. One of the great things about the place is the people. Three neighbors have offered to lend us their cars. Our lawn care guy lives in the park. A long visit with him today brought us up to date on park and area news from that source. The more time we spend here and the more we learn, the more we like it here.
Today was mostly the same as the other vacation days we have spent here. Different were the phone calls to and from a number of truck driver friends who are out on the road. We are leaving for Jacksonville, Fla., tomorrow to attend Landstar BCO Appreciation Days. Drivers are checking in with each other to see who can make it and who will stay out on the road. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, January 26, 2012 I learned today more about our carrier, Landstar Express America, and its parent company, Landstar Systems, Inc. Learned by attending Landstar BCO Appreciation Days in Jacksonville, Fla.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. BCO Days is an annual event. Being new to this company, we are attending the event for the first time. We left the house early this morning to arrive at 8:30 a.m. We will stay at a hotel, courtesy of Landstar, tonight and tomorrow night.
The biggest question on our minds this morning was, is it worth the time and trouble to attend this event even when free food and lodging is provided? Is it worth interrupting our vacation for three days? We had our answer by the end of the day. The answer is yes.
I'm not good at estimating crowd sizes but I think over 1,000 BCO's (Landstar's name for contractors) are attending.
Diane and I are pretty good at keeping up with company news, policy changes, developments and scuttlebutt. We already knew most of the info that was shared today in the general sessions.
Part of the event is a mini truck show in a large tent set up for that purpose. We have attended truck shows before and learned little new there.
The afternoon breakout sessions were more informative. We went to the expedite session that was led by the two top men at Landstar Express America; Landstar's expedite division and the carrier with which we run. Their talks and the discussions that followed with the dozen or so BCO's who were in the room were very interesting and informative. Visiting informally with a group of BCO's at the hotel this evening was also interesting and informative.
Overall, learning small bits about the company and industry that we did not know and picking up good information about Landstar Express America made the event worth attending. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, we got the chance to visit with a number of fellow BCO's and pick up insights from them.
While today was mostly meetings, the event was upbeat and the atmosphere was festive. People are happy at Landstar and it shows.
Most impressive to Diane and me was the openness and honesty of the corporate leaders — residents of the glass palace as one BCO called them. One of the general sessions was an open forum where the vice presidents of various divisions sat on stage and took questions (no holds barred) from BCO's.
Truck drivers don't hold much back and they held nothing back here. Unlike the "suits" at our former carrier, Landstar executives did not try to evade driver questions, gloss things over, change the subject or make a promise to look into something when that was actually a ploy to make the question go away. The same was true in the breakout sessions.
Customers were talked about by name. Confidential information was shared about the company. New company strategies that are being considered were announced and discussed. If a vice president knew that a particular answer given to a question asked would be unpopular or difficult, it was given anyway.
Diane and I have only been with two carriers in our eight-year trucking career so I do not have a broad base of experience from which to speak. But I will say the executives at Landstar are cut from a different cloth than most we have met before.
In the presence of truck drivers, Landstar executives were open, honest, friendly, confident, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, intellectually engaged, focused and tough. They don't mince words and they don't disrespect the best-of-breed contractors who they know (really, really know) they need to make Landstar's business model work.
• I also learned today how to properly punctuate and abbreviate state names. Learned by looking it up in a style guide. Notice the great job I did with Jacksonville, Fla., above. My eighth-grade teacher would be proud (finally).
The new blogging I am doing at the Overdrive magazine web site is motivating me to get better at such things. Overdrive is one of many publications that a large publishing company puts out. At least one of my new readers is a professional writer and editor. That's scary. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, January 27, 2012 I learned today today that American Truck Business Service has a new version of their owner-operator book out. Learned by seeing and picking up a copy in the exhibitor tent at Landstar BCO Appreciation Days. I also learned more about Diane's and my carrier of choice.
We woke up this morning at a hotel near Landstar headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. Like all other BCO's here, we are hotel guests courtesy of the company. We spent the day at the Landstar event.
The schedule was the same as yesterday. When it came time to go to the breakout sessions Diane and went to different ones and shared our notes when we got back to the hotel. I went back to the same session we both attended yesterday. It was for Landstar Express America people.
The speakers covered the same information as I expected they would. I did not go to hear that. I went to hear the questions and comments of the BCO's who were there but were not at yesterday's session. I took a seat in the very back and privately resolved to keep my mouth shut and ears open.
I actually managed to do that with one exception when I offered a brief comment. The strategy worked. I learned a good deal of new information by listening to the questions asked by BCO's who have been with the company longer than me, and to the answers given. With different people in the room, different information came out.
• I have recommended the ATBS book to my blog readers before, and to people in the audience at events where I am one of the speakers. It is the single-best introduction to running a one-truck business that I know. The current title is, Build Your Business: An Owner-operator's Guide to Success. The cover price is $14.95. You can order a copy by phone. Call ATBS at (888) 640-4829.
If you are thinking about getting into trucking or are in trucking and want to improve your business practices, spend the money and get this book. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, January 28, 2012 I learned today more about the reactions of some of drivers who have won the free truck (tractor) that is given away each year at Landstar BCO Appreciation Days. Learned by swapping stories with a friend.
Diane and I woke up this morning at a hotel in Jacksonville, Fla. Two free nights at the hotel (one night for solo drivers) were provided by Landstar to BCO's who attended BCO Days. Prizes are another feature of this event ... lots and lots of prizes. Diane and I sat in the big tent with all others Thursday and Friday night as tickets were drawn and prize after prize was given away. They included $25 gift cards for restaurants, $50 gift cards to Target and Walmart, jackets, toy trucks, flatbed trailer accessory kits, Amazon Kindles, laptop computers, a flat screen TV, $100 and $500 fuel card loads (money credited to your fuel card), and much more.
The biggest prize of all was a brand new Peterbilt tractor. It was given away Thursday night in a ceremony that resembled a game show with five finalists (YouTube video here). When we got back to our Florida house today, I called friends who did not attend BCO Days to tell them about the event. One of them leases his truck to another carrier but knew all about BCO Days because he attended many times when he was with Landstar many years ago. I told him my story about this year's truck winner. He told me others that he remembered.
Diane and I won no prizes and it is OK that we did not win a new tractor. The rules prohibit its sale for one year. A Class A CDL is required to drive a tractor/trailer. Because we have only been straight truck drivers, we only have Class B CDL's. We could legally drive the tractor but would become illegal the minute we hooked it to a semi trailer. We are not big-rig drivers; never have been and never want to be.
• On the way back to our Florida house, we stopped at an art fair in New Smyrna Beach. We are still learning the area in which the house (purchased in 2010) is located. New Smyrna Beach is a beach and arts town featuring surf shops and a number of galleries. Their annual art fair is a juried show, meaning the exhibitors are screened in advance to ensure that high quality works are displayed and offered. We enjoyed this outdoor show and picked up a large watercolor painting for the house.
• Diane and I became truckers (expediters) in 2003. When we still loved it after a year, we sold our house, cars and most household goods. Being on the road most of the time, we saw little need to keep them. It felt good to get rid of our stuff and live what I then called a property-free life.
Something clicked inside me in 2010 and I developed a seething hatred for winter. The housing crash made Florida houses easily affordable and we picked one up in May of that year. We call it our vacation house since we still spend most of our time on the road.
It can also be called a safety valve. When winter gets to be more than I care to put up with, we can turn it off as with a switch by going out of service and deadheading to the house. Diane likes the security of having a place of our own to go to if something forces us out of our truck and off the road.
We are still moving into the house and setting it up. When we returned today, the bookcase Diane stained and polyurethaned was dry and ready to move into my office. That meant I could unpack precious-to-me books that survived our 2004 property purge and have been boxed up since. Another purge is in order, it seems, because I have more books than space in this small house.
Stuff. When was the last time you thought deeply about yours? Getting rid of most of our stuff in 2004 was one of the most freeing things we have ever done. You have energy on everything you own, including your papers and files and every single thing that is pack-ratted away or sitting someplace to do something with later. Remembering our freeing property purge of 2004, I am absolutely determined to keep the crap from building up again.
Don't laugh or think, "yeah, right." This is a true commitment. When this book project is done, the closet space where the boxed books were kept will be free. My most valued books will be accessible in the bookcase and the others will be given or thrown away. When the project is done, Diane and I will own less stuff and have more free space than before. The closet will be more pleasant to enter because it holds either good stuff or no stuff at all. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, January 29, 2012 I learned today the contents of the current Michelin Truck Tire Data Book. Learned by reviewing the book.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Just back from Landstar BCO Appreciation Days, I spent some time going through the bag of stuff we brought back with us.
I was especially glad to have a new tire data book in my hands. We bought 10 new tires a few months ago from a dealer in Arizona. He did not have a book to share. I was surprised that he seemed to be unaware that the book existed and was given away by dealers. I tried to view one on the Michelin web site but was unsuccessful after several attempts. I finally scored a book at a dealer's booth at BCO Days.
Of immediate interest in the book are the inflation charts for truck tires. Tires change. The next-generation tires we bought replaced tires that are no longer available. The inflation tables give Diane and me the information needed to match our tire psi to the weight of the loads we typically haul.
The difference can be huge. When we first bought our truck in 2006, we conscientiously kept our tires inflated to the psi stamped on the side of the tires. When I mentioned to a tire dealer that we were not getting the miles out of a set of steer tires that were expected, he showed me the tire inflation tables and gave me a tire data book. When we adjusted our tire inflation to what the table showed, our steer tire life increased by 50 percent!
Steer tires are expensive. There are many things you can do to extend their useful life (shocks, alignment, proper selection, etc.), most of which cost money. Tire data is available free of charge. So is air. All major tire manufacturers make their tire data books available to their customers. Use this free resource and free air extend your tire life.
It may also be a good idea to keep a copy of the tire data book in your truck. It has never happened to Diane or me, but I know of one driver whose tire inflation was questioned by a scale cop. The driver avoided a ticket by showing the cop the proper psi in the tire inflation table, thereby proving that his tires were correctly inflated.
I like to think that scale cop learned something new that day from a knowledgeable driver who offered up the lesson. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, January 30, 2012 I learned today a little bit more about the new hours of service rules that will go into effect on July 1, 2013. Learned by reading about them in trucking publications.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was the same as most other days we have spent here; a nice vacation day.
Most people having anything to do with trucking know that new hours of service rules were recently announced and that most of them will not take effect until mid-2013. Because of the distant effective date, I have not paid close attention. I thought Diane and I would hear more about this at Landstar BCO Appreciation Days last week but company people there barely mentioned it. When they did, it was only to say that the rule makers will be sued (yet again) and the rules may very well change (yet again).
The trucking industry press has covered this topic in depth. There is one thing, however, that no one has mentioned; at least no one I have heard or read. That is the environmental impact of the new rules.
The new rules require truck drivers to take a 30 minute break during their work day. Non-truckers may not understand this but that is not good news for someone who gets paid by the mile, is frequently delayed by shipping and receiving departments, often gets delayed by traffic, commonly faces a challenge when finding a legal parking place large enough for a truck and is given a limited number of hours to work each day.
People have talked about the productivity aspect of this required break but not about air quality. Most truckers will take their legally required break in their trucks. They will run generators or idle their truck engines to remain safe with the doors locked and windows closed in a parked truck, and comfortable when outside temperatures necessitate use of the truck's heater or air conditioner (which is almost always).
I have no way of knowing what amount of diesel engine emissions will be added to the atmosphere because all truckers are now required to take a 30 minute break, but I do know that hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of drivers will run their diesel engines while doing so. Under the old rules such breaks were not mandated and were not taken to the extent they will be next year.
Some people are suggesting that the productivity decline may be significant enough to prompt carriers to add more trucks to their fleets so they can move the same amount of customer freight as before in the same amount of time. If that happens, there will be more trucks on the road, burning more fuel to move the same amount of freight.
Even without such an addition of trucks, most drivers will park and burn fuel 30 minutes a day, not because they are required to burn fuel but because they are required to park and they will burn fuel to stay safe and comfortable in their trucks.
The EPA claims to have improved air quality by regulating diesel engine manufacturers and operators. Harmful emissions coming out of truck exhaust pipes have been reduced because of legally required and very expensive engine add-ons. I'm wondering, to what extent do the new FMCSA regulations counteract the air quality effects of the EPA regulations?
In other words, is the FMCSA putting back into the air what the EPA is taking out? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 I learned today more about the lives and times of two neighbors. Learned by dining with them. I also learned where our carrier ranks among others by quarterly revenue. Learned by reading carrier revenue reports.
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we plan to stay until mid-February. Today was the same as most other vacation days we have spent here. New today was dinner out with two neighbors.
One of the neighbors let us borrow her car to drive to Jacksonville last week. To thank her for the favor, we took her and a friend out to dinner. Both are widows who live in this retirement community. They have lived long lives and had interesting stories to share.
• Curiosity motivated me to learn more about large carrier revenue numbers. Diane and I lease our truck to Landstar. Their revenue numbers were discussed at Landstar BCO Appreciation Days last week. I have never paid close attention to such numbers before but lately grew curious about them.
I was not curious before because the numbers were not disclosed by our former carrier. That carrier was a tiny component of a much larger company so its numbers were impossible to dig out of the annual report. It did no good to ask because executives there kept their numbers secret. They did not have to but they did.
Landstar is more open about such things. Knowing now what their quarterly numbers are, I satisfied my curiosity about other companies by reading up on them. This knowledge means little when it comes to finding good loads to haul at good rates. Knowing the numbers does not make one a better truck driver. It's just an item of curiosity.
A number of large carriers are publicly held. They announce their numbers to shareholders and the public every quarter. In general, the big names you see on big trucks identify big companies whose third-quarter, 2011, revenues range from $100 million to $1 billion and more.
That's a lot of money. The top executives who run these companies have a lot more to think about than Diane and I do in our business. They go to work thinking about thousands of trucks and hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter. Diane and I go to work thinking about one truck and tens of thousands of dollars per quarter (gross revenue).
Many truckers like to describe their company leaders as "suits," occupiers of the glass palace, overpaid college boys who have never driven a truck in their lives, penthouse poobahs, golf course gurus, top brass, ivory tower types, big cheeses and other such names that suggest a gap exists between high-ranking company officials and ordinary truck drivers. But when you think about it, a gap really does exist.
Drivers know that if you pulled someone out of the office and put him or her in a truck for a month, things may not go well for that person. So too if the roles were reversed. If you pulled someone out of a truck and put him or her in the executive suites for a month, things may not go well either. Both would probably be eager to return to the jobs that match their preferences and skills.
I'm thinking about the gap — the difference between us and them — because of things that happened at last week's event. Diane and I had no expectation of doing so but we ended up interacting with three company vice presidents.
First, Diane approached a VP after the open forum in which company executives sat on the stage and took questions from BCO's. The two had a meaningful discussion about an issue Diane raised. They agreed to continue their conversation via e-mail.
Second, I started a conversation with a VP after one of the breakout sessions. We had a meaningful discussion about an area of the business I brought up. He and I will continue our discussion at a later meeting, after certain information is exchanged via e-mail.
Third, during a break at the event, I went to the restroom while Diane waited for me outside. She next saw me exiting the restroom with yet another VP. We did not have a long conversation with him but did have some feedback to share by e-mail. He asked us to wait a moment while he went to his office to get us a card with his e-mail address on it. It only took a moment because we happened to be on the floor where his office and those of other vice presidents were.
The free access we have to the company building and leaders continues to amaze Diane and me, as does the openness of the people with the titles. It is a 180 degree change from the carrier we were with before. It has me thinking more sympathetically about these people and the work they do.
It's one thing to read the quarterly report of a large corporation. It's a different experience altogether to read one when you have met and had meaningful discussions with the people quoted therein, have been able to take your company input straight to the top, and when you take a moment to appreciate the fact that these folks and us operate in different domains; each doing their own thing in their own way to help the company succeed.
• This month's truck trip map is not published. We're on vacation. If the map was published, you would see a single dot in Florida where the truck has been parked for the month; except the day Diane took a neighbor for a ride 30 miles up the road and back. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck when we are under load. Entries are updated to include location information after we leave the area or the load is delivered. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page