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Never is a long time. We tend to forget about the positive changes that get made as time goes by. Remember when the settlements were far less user friendly than they are now? Remember when we did not have the great TA fuel discount we have now? I am not holding my breath for settlement...

Our truck and transmission is different than yours but consider this. We once had a problem with the truck not going into gear or going out of gear once it was in. This developed soon after we had new batteries installed. I checked the connections and found one seemingly tight but not really...

Unless the rules have changed, no they won't pay you to compete in the NTDC. They might pay you some money to cover the deadhead in getting home to compete. They might pay to fly you to an event but the rules strictly prohibit companies from paying people to compete. At least they did when Diane...

In normal circumstances, Bob would be one of the best pre-trip trainers any driver could hope to get, but keep in mind that the NTDC is not a normal circumstance. The pre-trip event is one in which you work against the clock to find planted defects. You need to work not only on truck stuff but...

Diane and I both drove a Freightliner M2 in the contest.

That's correct. You cannot stick your head out the window. Again, contact FedEx for support. Diane and I were surprised to be given access to any straight truck they had on the lot to practice in. All were day cab box trucks with two axles, similar to those used in the contest. We got the chance...

Have Michelle make the introduction. For us, she contacted the FedEx Express facility directly. When we arrived, people there wlecomed us with open arms and made us instantly part of the team. The competiton is individual but competitors chum together and help each other out. For reasons I do...

Additonal thoughts: - Be prepared for the unexpected. Diane and I trained for a pre-trip inspection that was to be six minutes long. When a larger number of contestants arrived, a last-minute decision was made to cut the event by one minute. - As with any human competiton, cheating has been...

I presume that settlement information is in a centralized database before it finds it way into individualized .pdf flies. How hard could it be to make the same information available for spreadsheets by putting it also in .csv format? For those of us who use spreadsheets, and for accountants...

Husband/wife team here.

Carrier suggests that the useful life of a reefer is seven years, but most of their customers run big reefers on big trucks in applications where the reefers are run almost as often as the truck engine. A reefer less used would be expected to run longer. Far more important than the brand name...

Diane and I competed at the Yellow/Roadway terminal in Burnsville, MN.

Diane and I competed in the National Truck Driving Championships in June, 2008. My report about it is published on my web site. Comments in response to your post: - Don't rule out winning at the state level and advancing to the nationals. First-time contestants have done so before. -...

Expediters love talking about what they won't do (take loads that don't pay, chain up, go to Canada, take short runs that tie the truck up for too long, etc.). What about the other side of the coin? When you receive what you consider to be good or excellent pay for services rendered, what does...

This article from Heavy Duty Trucking magazine (reprinted by truckinginfo.com) will give you some insight into the rumblings.

69 Degrees Scattered clouds Southwest winds @ 5 mph At our Florida vacation home, 9:15 p.m. No sign of snow yet but we'll keep our eyes open as we take an evening stroll down to the pier.

I'm not so sure that EOBRs mean the end of the road for drivers who regularly cheat on their log books. Could it be that they cheat because they learned how early on and developed that as a habit? How many of these people have even tried to run legal? Same question for carriers that encourage or...

Full story here Posted here so expediters from all carriers can comment. The services named FedEx Freight Priority and FedEx Freight Economy are an interesting transportation industry development. Expedite carrier FedEx Custom Critical is a component of FedEx Freight. FedEx Freight is one of...

If you are going to build showers, build them well, such that they are big enough to move around in, have a place to sit, have plenty of coat hooks, and have doors and locks that leave you a measure of privacy and safety. Private showers seen at truck stops fill the bill. Common areas should...

Diane once served as general counsel to the Minnesota governor. She says that for an appeal to be made, people in the state Attorney General's office must agree to make it. The decision to appeal rests with them. The State Patrol could lobby the governor and others to encourage the AG to appeal...