First 2 weeks Part 2

**OntarioVanMan** · 01-04-2004, 05:23 PM

Rabbit...yeah dead here for now, got back in town Thursday making 6 and still 6 to-day but as the companies get over the holiday blahs and most shutdowns are over on the 5th, things should pick up alittle. And did ya read my crossing tips??? Good to hear your van is covered and wasn't serious down time. Hope we hit the road soon the wife spotted some paintbrushes that have my name on them...YIKES!!!

guest · 01-04-2004, 05:23 PM

Hey guys, I just caught this in the old thread and wanted to toss it into this new one:

>Just a note here , lost several bids in prior weeks due to so many >expediters being out there , markets being flooded , aint like the >good ol days , wish i could have been there...here abouts we got >alot of newbie immigrant types

I've heard that we were getting a lot of immigrant drivers into this country. I've mainly heard this with the OTR trucks. Does there seem to be an over-supply of trucks out there? This is something any newbie should really check out before committing to a trucking career.
Supply demand always has and always will determine price and wages.

**Whiterabbit** · 01-04-2004, 06:37 PM

Ont, yup aint done a thing , to make a buck,still,on my downtime i put some running lights on the rear end ,got a outside Temp. gauge ( traded in some christmass gifts , shirts ,had plenty of those )...Ive been tellin the better half, well the half anyway,wink , that things will pickup shortly, but all shes lookin at is the house payment , insurance . Shell get used to it ( or not);) ,heck by this time next year we will have some savings in , i havnt turned down a run yet . Now as i sit here, im thinking about spiking her coffee with some Valium , she dont take this stuff ( money shortage ) to easily. Knew it was a 'bad" time to git in but things are workin out so far Exactly as planned . The 5th eh? well we shall see how quick things turn around on this end... was hoping that someone somewhere would "dis" a run cause of the storm brewing here and id grab her . guess not tho...DID get to spend time with my new grandbaby, nothing like that feeling,well, no amount of money could replace that action! Hey thanks for the encouragement... ARKY...as i was lookin to get into this biz for the last 5 mo ,or so i did run into a few foreign types tryng to form companys, wanted to hire me on etc, etc . They try to skirt the regs. big time tho,no ICC permit showing etc. had to say no thankyou! ( the same ones that bought all the party stores , gas stations etc.) hereabouts. One said " ill bid whatever thats why i pay only percentage " I really dont think that theyll make it in this biz tho. they "need" to be home to bad , hmmmm , probably has something with losing control on the home front seeing how they are....fwiw ...welp time to settle back with a good book......;)

**OntarioVanMan** · 01-04-2004, 06:52 PM

Rabbit..I know whatcha mean about that grandbaby feelin nuttin like it!
The Trucking Assoc. in Canada is projecting a shortage of drivers like nobodys seen before, literally thousands of idle trucks with no drivers. They're even going into high schools now trying to recruit selling the kids on the idea of PROFESSIONAL driver as good career choice. Seems everyone now is getting an educamacation*LOL* and driving truck is below them.
Dispatch called got my 1st trip for 2004, P/U in Rochester 9am coming back to Guelph, they are paying the deadhead miles even!

P.S. do you see all them garbage scows coming from TO into MI?...they are all mostly them immigrant types your talking about.

**Whiterabbit** · 01-04-2004, 09:25 PM

Ont...good for ya !...oh yeah i remebered the other part to your question and yes i did take you up on your advice about the "crossing"...plus i get real hungry for a burger everytime i get near "that" place..LOL :) , and need to turn in paperwork , a fringe benefit?... and yes ive seen em also

**Whiterabbit** · 01-15-2004, 10:27 AM

welp,got my second ck...900 us ,
( 2nd-2 weeks),had two runs one decent 600 miles last week..."they" "forgot" to add my deadhead mileage and my sign on bonus to the ck wouldve been ok then...but, oh well..,my next two week ck will be "didlysquat"...due to the shutdown... NOW as reality would have it my mom went critical... hrs or days to week or so to live...as no one knows the time of christs next arrival no one can predict the arrival of my mom into his caring arms...so here i sit again , i was going to go back on the board but after shoveling "her" out the power steering and brakes went out as i pulled out into the street ARRRRGH...odd very odd ,maybe it wasnt time yet for me to leave the home situation just yet...The lord works in mysterious ways

**Whiterabbit** · 01-15-2004, 11:03 AM

GMC called and i guess the extended warraty i bought doesnt cover the problem...a broken power steering pump shaft...hmmmm the belt was tight when i looked at it last...told em when it was serviced last that it had a mettalic squeel they replaced the belt...now by adding tension by installing the new belt and retensioning her it seems to me that might have taken care of the mettalic sound i heard untill now...of course...so now they want 675 bux to fix her...told em welp ya just bankrupted my a**...when i told the salesman that i had only put 10000 miles on her brnging the total mileage to 36623...he said yeah but you put 11ooo miles on her in three months thats a lot...YEAH RIGHT....hmmm i just got disconnected by a incomng call GMC said theyd replace her for my 100 deductible because shes not that far out of warranty...so my attitude has muchly improved good for GMC...now well see how many miles till the next "failure"...:) jeeeeeesh...the part will be in tommorrow

**OntarioVanMan** · 01-17-2004, 02:44 PM

wabbit..sorry to hear about your mom. Wish you the best.

Man your having a rough start to your expediting career, WHEN you make it through this, you'll be alot stronger for it! To have survived! Just hold in there things have to get better!:)

**Whiterabbit** · 02-02-2004, 01:04 PM

Ont ...thx , she went peacefully. I took care of her for 3.5 yrs living in her basement. Im glad i made the "sacrifices" i can hold my head high...looking forward to some miles had a good run last week,back to pacing the floor......" there are good times an bad times and eventually an end of times " thx "ma" for being there ! ,you were the best ! :) ~

**OntarioVanMan** · 02-07-2004, 05:59 AM

Wabbit...sorry I missed your post

At least your mom went peacefully. She's with the BIG GUY now watchin you run those long trips.
BTW hows things REALLY going? Talked to a driver Roger from your Co. said things are so-so. He gave me some #'s from last settlement. I was say not so surprised. For what it's worth after more experience I personally would be looking at other companies. With your hustle you could do better.:)
Wish your companies sales people would get off thier butts there is more then automotive out there. Ex: out of the last 21 trips out of country only 2 have been Auto.

Remember on the 401 between mile marker 60 - 120 RADAR! they'll give you 118-119 but NOT 121 KPH. I see it every day If ya get greedy you'll pay the piper! *lol*

**Whiterabbit** · 02-07-2004, 09:00 PM

10-4 on that...thx again,Last Ont run a O.P.P. followed me for like 10 miles,bought those mile markers you were talking about ! Didnt know he was a "trooper" till he passed me..:) Was doin the upper limit too! got lucky i guess!?!...to use to runnin the states where 75 is fine...yeah i hope i dont have to move on, as the personel ,( yes even the dispatchers,LOL ) at my place are great folks ! Gotta be worth sumthing ya know?...plus im big on loyalty i owe them something, they took a chance on me when no one else would give my sorry A@@ a glance , ( now ive got offers from fed ex,and numerous others )...havnt refused a run yet ! Have had to go off board for obvious reasons several times, and no static at all bought that, or anything else for that matter. Things will pick up soon,fingers crossed,actually just a few more runs every two weeks ,(state runs that is ) would be ok ! Dont need much to cover my bills thru good planning,an US gas prices,i live quite simply,called "minimalism" see i learned eons ago ,seems like it anyway, that possesions tend to possess oneself... My plan was to enter into the biz when it was slow to ease back into the swing of things , been eyein some nice flatbed rigs,always liked the flatbed rigs i ran, tarpin keeps ya somewhat in shape for what thats worth :) ...also seen some nice Sterlings ( st rigs) out thier...but then ya got h.o.s. cr@polla, paperwork up the yinyang,diesel bears hasslin ya,major maintenance costs ins etc. etc. With the little bit i carry most times i can outfit the back of my van really nice, with good designing of course like fold down stuff, ya know? ...WORKWISE , ive had three good runs, ( could have had two more, but i deadhead a lot back home, once again due to circumstances, that WILL be changing in a few mos when things are sorted out) since the first, all states stuff, love that! Canadas gas prices are OUTRAGIOUS but one beautifull country yall got there. ( im "thinkin", so anyway,as i cant see much as ive gotten all night runs, payin dues i guess, or, the other drivers are wimpin out, guess theyre afraid the boogie man will get em ) Wife is givin me some static as she thought they had a rider policy,nope, I wish they did to, but "saylavee", My people say i can qualify her, she stowed away on one run, she popped out after i was to far into it to turn back, on the way to pickup my "load" ( 35 lbs), and scared the livin bejeezuz out of me...did drop her off as my "loaded" run part took me by the house...man im still cut off , arrrrghhh...Bummer!...LOL... Dont mind the slow thing right now as i got houses to sell and clean out etc. etc. My gosh the stuff my parents collected on thier vacations ! Holy moly bro, got stuff from the N.Y. worlds fair !, and mags from the sixties,Look, Life,and the best , National Geographics...talk about ubangies !!! ( use yur imagination)..LOL...this stuff actually sells ! (ebay) The old advertisements are a trip, like the cigarette one,pall mall, its got a football star hockin the cigs and saying how much they improve his performance ! Some of this stuff i could frame and sell im thinkin... Welp time to walk the cat ,thx agin to you an the misses for your "words" and "encouragement"....only two auto runs outa 21 ya say ?...Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Later then, an Many blessings,W.R.

**Whiterabbit** · 02-12-2004, 05:33 AM

Just got back from a run to southern Kaintucky...55 degrees was hard leaving that state! tookin a cave tourist trap...while waiting for a load back didnt get one so deadheaded back, not bad start of the week ,sunday night got a run to buffalo NY area ...lets see 470 miles last run, yeah ran straight thru with mandatory 6 hr layover 940 total miles in twentytwo hrs, something i couldnt do with a straight truck due to the obvious hos rules etc.with the help of the ol 30 minute catnap routine..sundays run of 300 miles + 470 yesterday (today) so that 770 total miles at 70 cts a mile minus 130 in fuel $1.59 gallon ( yikes!,but better than canadas price fer sure,Death to OPEC ! )...409 dollars after fuel, U.S. funds, minus 10 dollars for food ( PBJ sandwiches and pepsi ) ok for 3.5 days, i figure for a " Rookie"...so its "ok", not great, by a long shot,itll get better as things pick up, really need those return runs, oh yeah for got 20 cts a mile deadhead return pay so thats 567 bux thats a little bit better ...met a coupla other expediters at fuel stops got some good info...thx Dan from Express1 !...lots of drivers idlein their time a way at the detrioiter, very bored lookin they were, with the ol 1000 mile stare, like NINE of em in the expediter "lot" to be exact tues, 530 am...hmmmmmmm welp thats my story an im stickin to it ! now for some z,s (well deserved),dang its good to back on the road ,get to see the wife tommorrow, or this A.M., now wheres that cat !... Yawn... sorry if this post makes no sence but ya know what miles will do to ya :) later !

**OntarioVanMan** · 02-14-2004, 10:54 AM

Wabbit...Great to hear things are pickin up fur ya! I was talkin to yet another of your brethren but a Canuck one he said hes not really stopped for the last couple weeks! Not bad for Feb. I guess,

Funniest thing last week at the Detroiter, I was sitting jawing with a Conway Now van driver when my Qualcomm goes off and lo and behold It was a pickup from Conway CCX on Middlebelt there going back to Canada! Well you shoulda seen his face! Needless to say he muttered a few words about that!!
So far for Juju and I things are really hopping here January was better than expected and the first 2 weeks of Feb. have been extremely busy But some of that can be attributed to van breakdowns and a couple of quitters and a couple guys switching to dedicated runs!
They have one I am trying to nose around and see what it pays from Hamilton here to Cleveland area that runs everyday loaded both ways no less!
On the mileage end when we started with this place the odemeter read 217,000kms and change and this morning it reads 424,000 and change! that equates to approx. 129,000 miles in about 10 months comes the 17th of Feb.
The Dodge I got hasn't coughed yet ( crossing my fingers ) running pretty smooth nothing mechanical ceptin for wear parts Original rear brakes still and one set of fronts rotors and pads! and a water pump! and of course tires! oops and a part tranny rebuild last year.
This past week seemed to be my turn in the barrel! 3 times X-rayed and once to the dock no less! The Lewiston crossing has been really bad of late checks. checks and more checks!
keep it rolling...Ken and JuJu

**Whiterabbit** · 02-15-2004, 09:33 AM

400.000 on your dodge! ...dang bro thats a heap of mileage on a "gasser". Yeah i got a two runs since last post totaling 740 miles , got some downtime (sleep) ahhhh ,24 hrs, felt good . Havnt had any trouble with customs to talk about been, us, runs lately :)...so things are good on this end for sure! ...well im looking forward to the dropping of the flag for the Daytona 500,watch ill get the call for a run about then, it would figure... welp goin to spend some time with wife an stepson ...yup thats a heap of miles, dedicated run ya say? that might work, figure in your time at the border if i read it right ...bet your time in the barrel was comin into the states..EH ? ..:) ok gotta enjoy this fine day...many blessings to you an the misses, W.R.

**OntarioVanMan** · 02-15-2004, 06:30 PM

Wabbit! I just did the usual watched the flag drop and first 40 laps and woke up and seen the checkered flag drop! Way to go Dale Jr.!

Yep all the barrel time was coming into your country...I'll betya the next security alert will be just in time for the May longweekend Ole Tom Ridge hasn't missed too many holidays yet! All but one last year.
Have a local P/U in the morning to start this week off.

I was around the Detroiter last Tuesday...whats your unit #? mines 1133