Search results

  1. B

    I think we're gonna like it here

    We haven't left the house yet for our first load with our new carrier, but we're already seeing a difference that makes us feel "warm and fuzzy." We've had two messages come across the Qcomm in the past 2 days. One was a request for prayers for a driver's family which had experienced a death...
  2. B

    So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, goodbye...

    We submitted our termination notice to FDCC today, effective 7/9. We've been with the company for over 7.5 years, but have finally arrived at the point where we feel it is in our best interest to move on. Kathy in Contractor Relations did seem genuinely interested in why we were leaving, and...
  3. B

    A quick "tech" related question

    Recently had a request from dispatcher to send a needed document to me via fax or email. I wasn't anywhere near a fax machine, and have no provision in the truck to print out an attachment to an email. It set me wondering what other drivers do or have in this regard. Do you have the ability...
  4. B

    A Re-Branding Question

    Just got to wondering if, as the rebranding process goes forward, the dispatch system will rate "brand standard" trucks higher than "non-brand standard" trucks. In other words, all things being equal, will the truck next to mine be dispatched in preference to me just because he has a white cab...
  5. B

    Somebody out there owes me a "thank you."

    Got an "opportunity" message this afternoon for a run tomorrow from NC to CT. Price came in under my target for the number of miles, and since I don't particularly like running into the Northeast anyway I was disinclined to discount my services. I turned the load down, but gave them an...
  6. B

    Things that make you go, "What?"

    Date: 8/2 Time: 1707 PM Place: Westbound on I-10 east of Lake Charles, LA, scheduled for delivery on 8/3 in Tucson AZ, approximately 24 hours away. Scene: Q-comm announces a load offer. Upon examination load is for pickup 8/2 at 18:10 PM, in a Los Angeles CA suburb, going to near the LAX...
  7. B

    Flashing lights behind me in AZ

    I passed a Highway Patrol car on the shoulder of I-10 east of Tucson yesterday. Pulled over a lane, Check. Speed well under posted, Check. No problem, right? Wrong. A minute or two later he's right behind me, straddling the stripes, flashers going a mile a minute. It seems my mud flaps...
  8. B

    A Visit to Dispatch

    We had to be at Green earlier this month for our Rad/Exp Hazmat Training renewal, and decided to go in a day early to visit the dispatch center. It is often suggested here on the forums that one can gain a good perspective by sitting with the dispatchers and watching them work for a bit. This...
  9. B

    New C-Link Question

    If a message/load offer comes in while the truck is moving, does the new C-link system require that the truck be stopped before the message can be seen at all? With my old system I can see if the message is a fleet message which can be ignored for the time being, or an offer which requires...
  10. B

    Now for something completely unrelated

    I recently had a conversation with another FDCC driver that caused me to ponder something I thought I already understood. I received an "opportunity" paying me $1.01/mile. I turned it down, as well as the follow-up offer on the same load at $1.11. A dispatcher called me and we came to an...
  11. B

    Some Preliminary Thoughts on Garmin Nuvi465t

    We upgraded from a Garmin c330 to a nuvi 465t GPS unit for trucks and have a few early observations after just one week. There is a very annoying design flaw regarding the clock. You cannot specify your working timezone (aka "yard or terminal time") The unit wants to automatically change and...
  12. B

    Changes at Flying J

    reading the now moved posting about the temporary closing and changes of the restaurant at the Flying J in North Houston reminds me that I haven't seen info on here regarding the general nature of that change. I've been told by managers at some that the J is getting out of the restaurant...
  13. B

    Truck Friendly Wal-mart

    I recently stopped at the Wal-Mart in Hope AR and found it to be a truck friendly place. While they do have some barricades to keep trucks out of the main parking lot, there is a special place right next to the "Murphy Express" gas station which is set up especially for trucks. Instead of the...
  14. B

    Things that make ya go: hmmmmm....

    So often the dispatch system doesn't make sense to me. I'm sitting (at home) in Florida a little west of Tallahassee, and just got a run from Baton Rouge, LA. Even given that it is a liftgate, pallet jack, and inside pu/del, I can't believe that I'm the closest and best qualified truck sitting...
  15. B

    Question for Leo Bricker on fuel cost analysis

    I just read your analysis of diesel price vs cost distributed in the weekly bulletin from FDCC, and if you haven't posted it on the forum here someplace, you should. However, it seems to me there's a missing component. Your example is based on a particular truck run and does calculations...
  16. B

    OOPS! It's "4" to Decline

    There's more than one way to make yourself feel dumb in this business. In addition to going the wrong way or to the wrong city (as a recent thread disclosed) how about accidentally accepting a load you didn't want, for example. We're at home, but as of noon 10/1 back in service available. I...
  17. B

    The Current Crisis

    Financial "experts" tell us that about 2 weeks ago the economy nearly seized up and shut down. The Secretary of the Treasury and the head of the Fed ran to the President in a panic warning of immanent collapse if emergency measures weren't taken. Since that time the government pumped $85...
  18. B

    How to legally cheat your drivers (modified "for the children")

    How to cheat your independent contractor owner/operators in two easy steps: Step 1: Create a freight brokerage company separate from your freight transportation operations. Step 2: Take all orders for shipments through your brokerage company, charging as much as you can get; ship all...
  19. B

    FECC's Kennedy Space Center Rip-off

    I just wanted to pass this along to other FECC drivers who are offered loads going to or from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Because KSC gets their mail through a post office zip code in Orlando, all load information related to their location is wrong. Following the city to city routing to...
  20. B

    Changes at FECC

    Anybody else heard the broadcast message that says we can now find our own loads, and the company will only keep 15% if the load/customer meets their qualifications? They say we no longer have to cover signs and get our own authority/insurance this way. Any thoughts? BigRed32771
Top