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Waiting on parts, slick roads, and baby food. Way back when one of my delivery addresses was on this block in downtown Rogers, Arkansas. Problem was that I was trying to preplan a delivery with a 7000 gallon tanker truck. After a half hour of near panic studying satellite maps trying to figure...

How much fuel do we really want to carry around with us? Our 2015 Cascadia has the customary two fuel tanks with the big difference being one tank on the drivers side is 120-gallons and the tank on the passenger side is 80-gallons. Our former truck had three fuel tanks with one tank dedicated...

Want to see the inside of my EGR cooler? Cooler was replaced and then there was an oil leak—waiting on more parts. This is what an original EGR cooler can look like beyond 600,000 miles. I’ve seen much worse below 200,000 miles. On Friday, I picked up the van and ran around town. After parking...

When a Motor Carrier has inadequate insurance on themselves or their Owner Operators, their insurance costs are lower so their overhead costs are lower. This gives some Motor Carriers the ability to continue to lowball bids on loads. Shippers, 3PLs and Brokers are learning and adapting to...

Awaiting parts and helping with chores. The van is getting to the point that I’m contemplating an engine swap. In the last month, oil consumption has gone from one extra quart between oil changes to a quart every 1000 miles. The van still runs great. The shop is reluctant to touch anything...

We just left the Texas Motor Speedway Freightliner Pit Stop Tour and we had a blast. Thank You to all of you that came out for this event and I am sure all of you enjoyed the free tickets to see the races. There were plenty of parking, showers, and bathroom facilities to make this a fabulous...

Happy Halloween! READ MORE...

Part 5 – Signage, Permits, Fuel/Mileage and Miscellaneous Property Taxes This post of Looking Both Ways should assist in complying with signage requirements, some permitting requirements and most fuel/mileage/property valuation type taxes imposed on trucking companies by the federal and some...

Accepting Certificates of Insurance directly from the Motor Carrier versus the Insurance Agent opens the door to fraudulent Certs that can include nonexistent “Any Auto”, “Hired Auto” or “Blanket Cargo” coverage. READ MORE...

Freightliner Pit Stop Tour October 31st through November 2nd Texas Motor Speedway Tailgating: Weekend filled with fun, food, games and fast cars! Stop by and see the Team Run Smart Pro's Bob & Linda Caffee and Henry Albert. The Caffee's will have their truck on display and their sleeper...

I ran a couple months of data for my weekend work. There was a discussion about a carrier’s level of weekend staffing in dispatch, so I ran some of my weekend numbers for September and October. Of the eight weekends, I was available for seven. READ MORE...

The nicest Laundromat with truck parking. Wildwood, Florida at the 75 Chrome Shop is one of the nicest that I have found Laundromats in the United States; it is also not the cheapest. When we are in this area of the country I usually wash all of my bedding as the dryers are huge and fluff...

Did you know that 3PLs and Brokers are establishing “Gold” and “Platinum” Tiers of preferred Motor Carriers to better protect themselves from the risk exposure of unpaid claims, vicarious liability and Negligent Entrustment? READ MORE...

Why in the world did you order ORANGE SEATBELTS? Those are so uglyyyy. These are a few of the questions we are asked. We ordered orange seat belts for one reason and one reason only: they are highly visible. Our carrier has a zero tolerance policy and this is a policy we have no trouble...

So much for doing my laundry in Rock Hill, South Carolina. I had my plans for wasting through a weekend in Rock Hill, South Carolina, but there was work to do instead. Saturday night at about bedtime I got the call. Hot freight 90 miles away (back roads, no direct route) that needed to go 850...

We found a nice quiet place to park and I had to laugh with what I saw out the window. I was sitting in the front seat working on the computer and I saw what I thought was a dog go running by at a mile a minute. A car came next and I thought it was someone trying to catch his or her dog. Next...

The Women in Trucking Association Inc. Facebook page is a learning tool for men and women In the past year this page has exploded with users that are willing to share their knowledge of the trucking industry. The questions asked are all over the place from how to become an owner/operator to...

It’s hard to write when I’m driving. I’ve written a couple articles in my head during the last couple weeks. Those stories have come and gone, because all I’ve had time for is driving, sleeping and eating. So far this month, contrary to end of month, end of quarter principles, I’ve had ten...

Skinny or slim hangers can double the closet space. We found these hangers several years ago and have found that they work great in the small sleeper closet. The hangers practically doubled the usable space and they are slip resistant. We found the slim hangers at a chain store and I have...

What happens when trucking consumes our lives. When we first started expediting in 2005 we immersed ourselves in our new profession and we learned all that we could. As we pulled into a truck stop or to a customer we scanned the area looking for expediters. If an expediter was there we...