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EagerBeaver asked, "Anyone else finding that you are being routed around the toll roads even when the toll would have been the shorter route?" No. We are not finding that. On a recent run from Los Angeles to Chicago, FedEx paid us more in tolls that we actually paid. While toll avoidance was...

I don't know what you drive or if it is solo or team, so this is probably not apples to apples. Like layoutshooter, Diane and I have had our second-best month; not only this year, but in the three years we've been hauling WG fright. And the month is not over yet. September started slow for us...

Put in tinyurl to keep post within screen width. That is a cool concept in hand trucks. WG trucks are required to have a four-wheel padded dolly, two-wheel padded dolly and a pallet jack, among other things. Many WG drivers, on their own, carry a tripod dolly, also known as an appliance...

Whatever kind of truck or van you have, you spend a lot of time on your matress. Allow me to share a discovery that has made a profound difference in the quality of sleep Diane and I get in our truck, both when moving and not. With minimal installation effort, it can be used in any truck or van...

The trouble with "sources" is anyone can fabricate anything and attribute them to a source, and then defend the unfounded statement as if it was credibile by cloaking it in the virtue of not revealing sources. Just five minutes ago, I spoke not with one, but two high-ranking officials at UPS...

>Any truths to a UPS buy out of or merger Panther expedite? >Have heard enough rumors now any one in authority know any >thing about this? > >Before any one denies any thing was in contact today with an >UPS official and was told its some thing they are looking at >but would not say any...

Someone, I don't remember who, once wrote on EO about packing. He or she said, lay out everything you plan to take with you in the truck, and leave half of it behind. Right on! Diane and I made the same mistake. We took too much stuff. The misconception was that what we did not take from home...

There has been questions raised here about Hino's hill-climbing ability. I've now talked in person with two drivers of Hino expediter trucks. Based on their comments, I don't believe Hino is a hill-impared truck. I asked both drivers about their Hinos and hills. Both said their trucks did just...

While I was born and raised in Wisconsin and have always called Wisconsin or Minnesota home, I've never been a big fan of winter. When the snow falls, I'm more of an indoor sports and entertainment guy than outdoor. Driving truck is great for a Northerner like me who dislikes Winter. Every day...

As Diane and I spend time on the road, we find ourselves losing touch with our old friends back home and staying in touch with new friends we make on the road. That is not for lack of communication. It's because our at-home friends have a difficult time relating to our life and work on the road...

Three and a half years ago Diane and I were in your shoes; white collar people with no previous trucking experience considering the expediting opportunity. Why quit so-called good jobs for expediting? In our case, we would rather try and fail in our 40's than sit around at age 70 and regret...

>Well the grass may look greener on the other side of the >fence,but it's still gotta be mowed.:7 :7 Good one!:)

As others have said, the shipper provides the placards. That said, some drivers like to carry extras with them. If the shipper happens to be out of placards, haveing some of your own can save the load and avoid a canceled run. That has happened to us, but we also take an extra close look at...

>I believe there have been many good points made heree, both >for and against a nationwide satellite log book. >Either way, I do feel we must do something to increase the >burden of responsibilty on the driver AND the companies. >The MAIN and sometimes only excuse I hear from some is that...

I'd say the owner of the first van may have learned a bit about the competition he faces in recruiting and retaining drivers. He'd probably regard the other owner as a poacher. If you turned the first van in with a full fuel tank it might help.

That's good thinking, Layout. I've read articles about exactly that. People are working on a fuel-cell replacement for truck generators. I think some prototypes are already made, but I don't recall where I heard or read about them.

>Most of the negativity I portray here is to counter the >rose-colored view some claim the industry is all about. I trust you are not talking about me. As you know, I write stories about our experiences on the road and publish them on the Internet (see "Writings" link in my signature). As you...

It's 03:30 Sunday morning. Do you know where your freight is? I sure do. Diane and I are on a weekend run where the shipper wants the freight physically checked and readings taken every three hours. That's every three hours from Friday pickup to Monday delivery. It's a reefer load too, cooled...

Interesting reading in this thread. Good tips to take to heart. One thing that has not come up is the other side of starting; namely, stopping the engine. A couple years ago, at the Louisville truck show, Volvo had on display a disassembled engine that had over 1,000,000 miles on it. The...

Like Thermo King, Carrier Transicold has been building cooling systems for many years. Carrier now has a line of generators but they do not build them themselves. The same may be true of Thermo King. I'm not saying it is, I'm just saying it's something to check before putting your faith in the...