The Source for Trucking News, Opinions and Trucking Jobs

This is the same driver shortage story, but with a different twist – It’s hard work and you’re away from home and why would anyone want to do it? I did like this one line -

HoustonChronicle.com – Working: It’s hard for homebodies to go out on the road again

Maybe the trucking companies need to take some tips from sophisticated headhunters who are used to wooing and coddling candidates in exclusive lunch clubs.

Are the trucking companies wining and dining job candidates at the Outback Steakhouse or other dining establishments that appeal to truckers?

“No,” laughed Qualls, of the Truck Driving Academy. But one recruiter did bring doughnuts once.

Maybe they should. But instead it’s the same ‘shotgun’ approach as usual.

Originally posted 2004-08-01 02:40:00.

A spreadsheet is essential. OOIDA has a cost per mile spreadsheet already setup and ready for download. Most modern spreadsheets allow for multiple layers. For example in my own personal spreadsheet that I made up.

The main sheet takes numbers from sheets that I assigned by month. I have all the totals split by per day and per mile. I update a particular month and the numbers are transferred to the main sheet and become year to date numbers. Broken down by month, per day and per mile and averages for everything. I can tell at a glance how I’m doing this year, what month was the slowest or best. How many gallons I bought in a month, mpg, cost per mile, cost per day, totals for the month and year to date. But I still feel broke!

I also use Microsoft Money Standard and use it for all my bank and credit card accounts. I also set up an account for the truck that I balance from the settlement statements I get from my company. Until I get a statement from the company, my numbers are just an estimate of what I’m getting in and spending on fuel. After I receive the statement I balance it against what I have just like a checkbook to make sure they didn’t miss anything. Quicken would work just as well. I have several trucking specific catagories in Money that I keep track of the truck expenses. As long as you use something to keep track of you expenses. For taxes and knowing where you money is going is essential.

There are several truck specific programs available like Hammerlane, Prophesy and Promiles. I tried several and most were more than I needed. My company takes care of fuel tax filing so I didn’t need those parts and I prefer to keep track of my expenses in Money where I can track credit card, bank and cash. And it interfaces easily with most online banking. Money was a little more flexible then trying to make the truck specific programs work to reconcile my particular settlement statement that I get. All of the programs have downloadable trial versions you can download and try before you buy, which I definitely recommend you doing before you buy anything.

That’s what works for me and my situation. Your situation is different, but you’ve got to have something to keep track of things and a computer makes things easier. I still keep receipts, but they are in one big pile. But I can find anything I’ve done or money I’ve spent much easier on the computer even if the paper receipts were filed in some kind of order. Plus using the totals, averages, costs per mile and everything else make that alone worth the price of a computer. No matter what you use, make sure it’s something that you will use. The most expensive computer in the world won’t input the information for you.

Originally posted 2008-05-25 08:35:21.

The Mexican truck issue isn’t over yet.

Effort to slow cross-border trucking moving  forward
Friday, April 20,  2007 – The first legislation to slow the Bush administration’s push to open
the border to 100 Mexican motor carriers – with an unlimited number of
trucks – could be one step away from hitting the president’s desk.
 

Section
4001 of the U.S. Senate’s supplemental appropriations bill, passed in
early April, was added by Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA.

  The
amendment proposing to delay the program was submitted to the Senate
Appropriations Committee after it was cleared with Sen. Christopher
“Kit” Bond, R-MO.

Don’t forget to call your Congress People. At the end of this same article is a list of committee members for both House and Senate and phone numbers to the switch boards.

Originally posted 2007-04-23 17:35:24.

The Texas State Government finally comes to its senses.

Senate OKs temporary toll ban
The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill Thursday, April 19, that
is intended to buy the state more time to review the effects of handing
over roadways to private groups. It now heads to the House.

Perry has condemned the moratorium concept because of concerns about
congestion and the complications it could create for attracting
business. The governor has championed public-private partnerships to
build toll roads since 2003 when his support was instrumental to
passage of a bill to finance the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor for
nearly $180 billion.

Governor Perry is clearly in the pocket of the Spanish consortium that wants to building the NAFTA Super Corridor.

Check out the latest over at Trans-Texas Corridor blog

Originally posted 2007-04-24 05:47:00.

Back to stuff I know about. I wrote a post about WIFI on the road in Nov ’04 and not much has changed. TA is still so-so, Flying J’s are the best.

Two months ago I had to get a new laptop.  The power socket was loose and flaking out. I nursed it enough to do a backup and made a mad dash to the store and bought another HP. This laptop has a built-in WIFI card / antenna. The built in antenna seems to have a much better range than using the card that fits in the PC slot.

I was never one to go driving around neighborhoods looking for somebody’s unprotected network. But I have noticed, when I’m sitting in an industrial park, a lot of business networks are running completely unsecured. Even I was able to figure out how to secure my parents’ wifi and Cindy’s sister’s network, so I know some "IT Pro" can figure it out. I’m not there to steal company secrets or cruise other people’s hard drives, just use a little bandwidth for a few minutes.

One company I was connected to had a T1 connect both ways. That was sweet! We live in an apartment complex and you should see the unsecured networks.  I know, "technically" it’s stealing. We’re only home a couple of days out of a month and I don’t want to pay for broadband when I’m not even home to use it. And a couple of days a month, no one in the neighborhood is going to notice. It’s not like I’m spying on them, just borrowing a little bandwidth and taking advantage of the uninformed.

Take right now for instance, I’m connected to the Days Inn WIFI from the Wal-Mart parking lot about 1/4 mile away. A lot of motels are switching to free wifi and parking close by will get an excellant connection.

There’s so many hotspots and free hotspots around, it’s possible to get a connection when not in a truckstop if you don’t have an air card of some kind. I still renewed my Flying J subscription because it’s always a great connection and always working unlike others.

Originally posted 2005-08-02 07:10:00.

As if we don’t get enough press already.

Utah Trucker Surrenders, Ending Three-Hour Standoff

OREM, Utah (AP) — A truck driver who had been fired earlier in the day
refused to leave the company’s truck for three hours in a standoff on
an Orem Interstate 15 onramp.

There are pictures of the truck and the SWAT Team. It’s kind of a sad story. This one line jumped out at me.

Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Kenneth B. Peay said Wilson had a history of barricading himself in California.

Which goes to show they’ll hire anyone.

Here’s an update from another article. The good news… Another bad apple out of the industry.
Driver Involved in Standoff Had a History
Jun. 15, 2005 John Hollenhorst Reporting

Gordon Lambert, VP, C.R. England, Inc.: "He had been easy to work with, very compliant, had no safety issues."

But something evidently snapped in the mind of truck-driver Bruce
Wilson. Last night in Orem he barricaded himself inside the cab of his
company truck, tying up traffic until he finally surrendered to a SWAT
team. Investigators say the trucker appeared to be high on meth. And he
had a history–a separate police standoff incident in California a few
months ago.

Come on, a few months ago??? England hauls Hazmat what happened to their background check of this guy?

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally posted 2005-06-15 14:08:46.