Swamp Quarantine Movie Night - Over The Top (1987), Thursday, 4/10 9 PM ET

[brian]

That may have sounded harsher than I intended but the truth is I don’t care what goes on in other trucks as long as it’s legal and consensual. That said I DO enjoy watching new drivers try to park. That’s 100 times more interesting and entertaining to me.

[sancarlos]

I remember an old joke - What do you get when a JB Hunt driver vacates his parking spot?
Three new parking spots!

[rass]

Assuming that even accounting for the difference in um class(?) that years in Vegas honed that sense?

[brian]

Assuming that even accounting for the difference in um class(?) that years in Vegas honed that sense?

Maybe. The God’s honest truth is this job is so hard that when I’m done doing it I’m focused on trying to relax not caring what other people are doing.

[brian]

When I managed a software team I used to joke with them that no matter what the customer thinks that nothing we can do - our software or support - we can’t hurt anyone. “This isn’t fuckin’ NASA” I would say, usually to a laugh

But now I can kill people, including myself, if I’m not careful.

[brian]

Well, waiting for my stupid truck to be fixed so I have some time to answer these.

Brian:

A bunch of questions have come to mind about the logistics and practicalities of your new job …

1. Do you have to pay for your own fuel, or does Knight cover that? Do you or Knight have special deals with certain companies?

The company provides a fuel card so they pay it. They pre-purchase millions of gallons at the beginning of the year so they steer us towards certain truck stops to fuel there - typically Love’s or Pilot Flying J. Since those two have the best rewards programs and free showers for fueling it works out well.

I’ve noticed that Love’s is consistently 40 cents a gallon higher than Maverik for diesel – how do they make that work? Do they give discounted prices for certain trucking companies or drivers?

2. What kind of gas mileage does your truck get?

It varies based on the weight of the load and topography, but generally about 7-7.5mpg. We get a .01 bonus per mile each month if we hit 7.2.

3. On these 80mph freeways out here, how fast do you tend to go? Does the company impose limits on driver speed, through governor or monitoring? Do you consider gas mileage in deciding how fast to drive?

Knight’s trucks are limited to 63 on the pedal and 65 on cruise. I don’t worry about fuel and try to go as fast as I safely can.

4. How does the gearing work on your truck?

It’s a 12-speed automatic but I trained with a manual so my CDL allows me to drive either.

5. Do you have a backup camera? Do other semis?

Some do I think but we don’t. I think it’s pretty expensive because they’d have to be attached to the trailers which we’re swapping all the time.

6. Would you ever make deliveries to an individual retail store? I’m asking because last week when we were leaving Zion, we passed two Knight trucks heading the other way. As far as I know, trucks going that way have to turn around in Springdale. But it seems that there’s only small stores there.

So far I’ve delivered to a Lowe’s, Home Depot, four Costcos and two flooring stores. So it’s possible they were doing a store delivery. We also have dedicated routes for Dollar General I think.

7. Do you have a reliable source that you can consult to see where rest stops are? What is it?

I pay $99 a year for an app called Trucker Path. Its main feature is a truck route friendly GPS but shows truck stops and will estimate parking space availability based on what drivers report and historical trends. It’s pretty invaluable.

8. Is there any place with fewer rest stops than Utah?

So far the worse place by far is central California between Bakersfield and Sacramento. There’s almost no parking in that stretch. Utah (at least the I-15 corridor I usually drive) isn’t that bad.

If you’re around town and want to take a break for a meal, it’s on me. Let me know.

[brian]

Not allowed to discuss our loads but my next pickup is in suburban Denver and would make a certain fictional “bandit” proud.

[Steve of phpBB]

Not allowed to discuss our loads but my next pickup is in suburban Denver and would make a certain fictional “bandit” proud.

In the general vicinity of Golden?

[sancarlos]

Brian can play the Jerry Reed character in the re-make. Not sure which Swamper is the best Bandit.

[brian]

Brian can play the Jerry Reed character in the re-make. Not sure which Swamper is the best Bandit.

Gonna try to shut down in Grand Junction tonight if I can ever get my signed bills of lading here in Denver so I can pick up this load. Albertsons/Safeway is the worst. (Actually Amazon is the worst but Albertsons is horrible.)

[Giff]

Brian can play the Jerry Reed character in the re-make. Not sure which Swamper is the best Bandit.

I mean I've done several solo road trips from Texas to California without a single ticket, so I'll volunteer.

[Nonlinear FC]

Dammit, you snooze you lose. I was gonna put up my multiple road trips from MD-CO and back without a ticket for my resume.

[Steve of phpBB]

Brian can play the Jerry Reed character in the re-make. Not sure which Swamper is the best Bandit.

Gonna try to shut down in Grand Junction tonight if I can ever get my signed bills of lading here in Denver so I can pick up this load. Albertsons/Safeway is the worst. (Actually Amazon is the worst but Albertsons is horrible.)

There's a Fresh Market distribution center in the SLC area - driving past it last weekend I saw probably two dozen semis waiting on a side road. They looked to be from various trucking companies. Were those drivers waiting to pick up loads?

[brian]

Brian can play the Jerry Reed character in the re-make. Not sure which Swamper is the best Bandit.

Gonna try to shut down in Grand Junction tonight if I can ever get my signed bills of lading here in Denver so I can pick up this load. Albertsons/Safeway is the worst. (Actually Amazon is the worst but Albertsons is horrible.)

There's a Fresh Market distribution center in the SLC area - driving past it last weekend I saw probably two dozen semis waiting on a side road. They looked to be from various trucking companies. Were those drivers waiting to pick up loads?

Most likely. Not sure how they distribute to their stores but could have been mostly trucks delivering to the DC. We make a lot of deliveries to DCs like Wal-Mart, Target etc from big companies like P&G but the deliveries to the stores are usually from their internal fleet. Though we do deliver to warehouse stores like Sam’s for some reason. For example my delivery to the Safeway DC today was 20 tons of Maruchan ramen from their factory in Irvine. But the delivery of that (broken down into much smaller chunks of course) is done by Safeway/Albertsons trucks.

[mister d]

I don’t believe a single 18 wheeler could transport more than like 30 pounds of dried maruchan.

[brian]

I don’t believe a single 18 wheeler could transport more than like 30 pounds of dried maruchan.

The pallets were probably a ton of it but I just checked and it was 15 tons, my math was off.

[Steve of phpBB]

I don’t believe a single 18 wheeler could transport more than like 30 pounds of dried maruchan.

Right? It’d take one of those endless coal trains.

[Steve of phpBB]

Brian can play the Jerry Reed character in the re-make. Not sure which Swamper is the best Bandit.

Gonna try to shut down in Grand Junction tonight if I can ever get my signed bills of lading here in Denver so I can pick up this load. Albertsons/Safeway is the worst. (Actually Amazon is the worst but Albertsons is horrible.)

There's a Fresh Market distribution center in the SLC area - driving past it last weekend I saw probably two dozen semis waiting on a side road. They looked to be from various trucking companies. Were those drivers waiting to pick up loads?

Most likely. Not sure how they distribute to their stores but could have been mostly trucks delivering to the DC. We make a lot of deliveries to DCs like Wal-Mart, Target etc from big companies like P&G but the deliveries to the stores are usually from their internal fleet. Though we do deliver to warehouse stores like Sam’s for some reason. For example my delivery to the Safeway DC today was 20 tons of Maruchan ramen from their factory in Irvine. But the delivery of that (broken down into much smaller chunks of course) is done by Safeway/Albertsons trucks.

Makes sense. Thanks.

Are you going to be in the neighborhood any time soon? I need to move a large table and don’t want to rent a U Haul.

[Shirley]

Not allowed to discuss our loads but my next pickup is in suburban Denver and would make a certain fictional “bandit” proud.

I'm gonna punch your momma in the mouth

[brian]

Just read the manifest and my load is actually mostly Keystone and Keystone Light but don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.

[The Sybian]

I didn’t realize they still made Keystone

[GoodKarma]

…my load is actually mostly Keystone and Keystone Light…

Maybe try drinking something else? I hear pineapple juice is good for that sort of thing…

[sancarlos]

…my load is actually mostly Keystone and Keystone Light…

Maybe try drinking something else? I hear pineapple juice is good for that sort of thing…

Whoa! GK coming in off the top rope!

[Steve of phpBB]

…my load is actually mostly Keystone and Keystone Light…

Maybe try drinking something else? I hear pineapple juice is good for that sort of thing…

Lol

[rass]

When I saw one of these still on a truck this weekend I remembered they seemed to be super popular 5+ years ago and wondered what happened.

Drivers…

[brian]

Thank god I don’t have to deal with them. Seems like a pain in the ass in a job where I have a dozen different dumbs pains in the ass.

[wlu_lax6]

Brian..How was the Iowa 80? In 1996 while driving cross country, my buddy and I ended up there eating after the Davenport Riverbandits game. Saw a brawl between a bunch of truckers. It was a fantastic stop.

[brian]

Brian..How was the Iowa 80? In 1996 while driving cross country, my buddy and I ended up there eating after the Davenport Riverbandits game. Saw a brawl between a bunch of truckers. It was a fantastic stop.

It’s a trip. But because it’s summer travel season it’s mostly a bunch of little brats running around everywhere being ignored by their white trash parents.

But this is the first time I saw a bonafide lot lizard. So worth it if for that alone.

[The Sybian]

Brian..How was the Iowa 80? In 1996 while driving cross country, my buddy and I ended up there eating after the Davenport Riverbandits game. Saw a brawl between a bunch of truckers. It was a fantastic stop.

It’s a trip. But because it’s summer travel season it’s mostly a bunch of little brats running around everywhere being ignored by their white trash parents.

But this is the first time I saw a bonafide lot lizard. So worth it if for that alone.

How much did she charge and was it worth it?

[Shirley]

Thank god I don’t have to deal with them. Seems like a pain in the ass in a job where I have a dozen different dumbs pains in the ass.

I feel like 90% of the time when I see those, they aren't opened.

[brian]

Parked next to the semis (there are three) transporting Morgan Wallen’s stage and equipment etc. Looks like he’s playing Vegas later this week so guess they’re heading there.

(I’m in Gallup NM heading west myself to San Diego.)

[sancarlos]

Parked next to the semis (there are three) transporting Morgan Wallen’s stage and equipment etc. Looks like he’s playing Vegas later this week so guess they’re heading there.

(I’m in Gallup NM heading west myself to San Diego.)

I’d have been tempted to let the air out of one of his tires.

[brian]

Parked next to the semis (there are three) transporting Morgan Wallen’s stage and equipment etc. Looks like he’s playing Vegas later this week so guess they’re heading there.

(I’m in Gallup NM heading west myself to San Diego.)

I’d have been tempted to let the air out of one of his tires.

If it was actually him in it sure but not gonna screw over my fellow truckers. I’ve seen the company that contracts most of these big tours. It’s based out of Nashville and they’re actually hiring but you need two years experience and the backing you’d have to do in a stadium or arena would probably scare the piss out of me.

[mister d]

I’m pretty great at parallel parking multiple different Toyotas so if you need any tips, let me know.

[wlu_lax6]

Brian,
Now that you have put some serious miles in this job.

1.) How are you handling nutrition. Are you fully fueled on truck stop food? How has the impacted the overall health?
2.) Any interesting or great meals while on the road? Is there a truckers guide to places to grab a good bite?
3.) Any ability to exercise?
4.) Gotten stopped by the fuzz yet or with GPS tracking that just does not happen as much?
5.) Random searches?

[brian]

Brian,
Now that you have put some serious miles in this job.

1.) How are you handling nutrition. Are you fully fueled on truck stop food? How has the impacted the overall health?
2.) Any interesting or great meals while on the road? Is there a truckers guide to places to grab a good bite?
3.) Any ability to exercise?
4.) Gotten stopped by the fuzz yet or with GPS tracking that just does not happen as much?
5.) Random searches?

1) I buy snacks and some staples before a run and try to split 50/50 between eating “out” and in. Bread, lunch meat, PB&J, jerky, etc. I’ve lost about 40 pounds since I started driving though sadly some of that is because I don’t/can’t drink alcohol on the road.

2) Nothing TOO memorable but I’ve found some diamonds in the rough here and there. There’s no guide I’m aware of but something like that could be a million dollar idea.

3) Yes and no. I’ve been trying to get out and walk a little bit it’s hard when you have little down time and it’s 115 out. This job is a little more physically demanding than some people think (sometimes) so that helps. Honestly sometimes it’s a 1/4 mile walk from my truck parking spot to the truck stop. Do that three times to eat, bathroom, shower, etc and that’s a mile and a half.

4) Got a BS ticket back in February for being in an illegal lane on Cajon Pass in CA. (I was in 3rd of 5 lanes going up but doing the speed limit bc I was empty). Didn’t think that lane was illegal, thought about fighting it but just paid it.

5) It’s VERY rare to get the actual load searched bc it’s sealed at the source and expected to still be sealed at delivery so highway patrol, INS etc will only force you to break seal if they’re 100 percent sure they’ll find something. I have gotten a couple random DOT inspections of the actual truck (airlines, brakes, lights etc and fortunately passed both times)

[Steve of phpBB]

What percentage of Weigh Stations are open at a given time? Is it over fifteen percent?

[The Sybian]

What percentage of Weigh Stations are open at a given time? Is it over fifteen percent?

From my experience driving past closed weigh stations in the Northeast, I’m taking the under.

[brian]

What percentage of Weigh Stations are open at a given time? Is it over fifteen percent?

In CA/OR/WA it’s like 75 percent. Everywhere else yeah about 15-20 percent. Though the I-15 UT/AZ POE in St George is basically always open.

[P.D.X.]

Just listened to this interview and it's pretty fascinating. Former FBI guy wrote a book about the intersection of serial killers & truck drivers.