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Sitting at home at the moment, in the process of deciding whether to take a run that sounds like a really bad idea. It has to be kept below 65 degrees, in my van, for a ten hour drive on one of the hottest nights we've had this year. The low for tonight is forecast to be 78 degrees. I'm barely...

I'm thinking the engine size won't bother you too much for a while, but-- what series is your van? Is it a 1500, 2500 or 3500? That's important, a 1500 or a lightweight 2500 might not be able to handle the heavier van loads. I have a heavy 2500-- GVWR on the door sticker is 8600 lbs-- and that...

Given that the next couple of days in the Chicago area are gonna be blistering hot (for this area-- 103 to 108 heat indexes aren't pleasant anywhere) I don't know that moving from a cool air conditioner is such a wonderful idea anyway. I've been with the outfit I'm with now since I started...

It sounds like you're with a local courier. Depends on what they're charging the customer, but IF they're playing straight with you and IF they're paying enough week to week on the average, it's not a bad deal. 1200 every week if you can keep that up AND be home every night AND have weekends for...

I might be able to answer that one. Sounds like a courier company, and it's a 60/40 commission with the company he's contracting for. When I hired on way back when Dinosaurs roamed the Earth at the courier company I was with for 20 years, it was a 55/45 split and I got the 55.

If you're in a cargo van, making 1200 a week and home every night, don't knock it. It's not GREAT, but it's alright for what appears to be relatively local work.

I can't be absolutely certain, of course. I am reasonably sure, though. When you call a man who can wield the mighty "Ban Hammer" a fool you do yourself no good. Especially when the man you're calling a fool not only has that hammer in his tool kit, he also has a well-deserved reputation in the...

For securement, I have a couple of load-bars and several ratchet-straps, with places to hook the straps to. They work, when I employ these things cargo doesn't shift. A large, relatively thick piece of cardboard serves as a "bulkhead", the idea here is to put the cardboard up against the front...

One real quick cure for this sort of thing is when you get to the receiver and either the receiver rejects the load outright, or marks your bill with "Damaged due to load shifting". You can bet the rent that will go up the pipeline, not too many companies can stand for that.

Severity of an unsecured load.... Hmmm, let's think about this. How about "It could kill you" for starters. If the load is heavy enough, and shifts sharply enough, it could cause control problems up to and including roll-over in extreme cases. It could hurt or kill somebody else. Especially in...

I had to look it up. Having done so,--- I think a little time in an anger-management class would be time well spent. By the time you get to the point of felonious assault, things are pretty well out of control and police are deeply involved to keep you from physically harming/killing your...

It depends on the company, of course. Most all of the larger carriers require hazmat endorsement and a CDL even though LEGALLY you aren't required to have this IF the load doesn't have to be placarded. The companies are covering their rears, and if you DO get offered a heavy hazmat load you'll...

I have a standard Chevy CV. It's rare to get so much freight that you can't use the reclining seats, so most times when I have freight I use the reclining seat and a neck pillow. That neck pillow is a definite must, it saves no end of problems from having your head roll in an unfortunate...

Jenny mentioned something about that huge coffee that bears thinking about. Too many people-- whether driving big rigs or Toyota Priuses-- think drinking a huge coffee will help when you've been awake for way too many hours already and you're trying to fit in those last few miles. I know, I used...

Driving 8 hours without rest. Driving 11 hours in good conditions, 13 in hard conditions--- and you're complaining that the government makes you take a break??? Most of the working world only gets one weekend every week, so you might have a hard sell trying to make other folk think you're...

+1. The same thing applies to those of us in vans, who do not keep logs nor pay any attention to HOS. When you're tired, you're too dangerous to drive. You have a responsibility to others to get the necessary rest, and anybody who would argue that needs to consider that (a) the load won't get...

It still has to be able to fit the vehicle. I lose out on a lot of loads because I can't handle 10,000 lbs payloads. That's heavy straight and tt territory, and the new HOS rules won't change that. Physical dimensions of smaller weight loads can be a stopper too. It may weigh only 1,500 lbs, but...

FWIW, the outfit I run with pays FSC for every loaded mile. Presently, it's .16 per mile, it varies with the price of gasoline. Someday they may have to raise the base per-mile, since it's obvious we're never going back to under 2.50 a gallon gas again, but until they do get that idea we have FSC.

I'm going to stand down from these HOS fights for a bit. Since I'm under 10K and will stay that way for a spell this doesn't concern me directly-- at the moment-- anyway. I will say that what I'm seeing in this makes me kinda glad we in the vanning sector don't have this fight. I get fuel when...

I was just about to mention that. "Six days shall you work, on the seventh day you shall rest". I think some would go 24/7/365 if they could get away with it.