My entire rig and my first load (pics).

[Tobin S.]

I got loaded up on Saturday morning in Cincinnati with three stops, two in Houston and then a final in Dallas. Good paying load and we have a terminal right in Dallas and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get loaded right out of there possibly heading for California.

The entire rig. Tractor- 2007 International 9400i. Trailer- 2005 Wabash. I own the tractor and the trailer is a rental. I'm going to buy a trailer if this works out, and I'm thinking it will.


This is why they pay me the big bucks. Hazmat.


Actually, hazmat loads only pay an additional 4 cents a mile, which on this load equals about $60. Not really a good deal considering what you have to do to qualify for and obtain the hazmat endorsement. You have to be cleared by the Department of Homeland Security now days to haul these loads. But a lot of companies don't give you anything extra at all to haul hazmat so I guess it's better than nothing.

I'm sitting in Little Rock, Arkansas now. It's 7:30am central time and I have another hour to kill before I'm legal to drive again. Someone do me a favor and give this a kick later today if it's sinking.

[lost-in-nj]

1. Good Luck Tobin!!

Sounds like things are falling into place!

Drive Safe


lost

[Tobin S.]

2. Thanks lost

Yes, things are shaping up. Things are a little more complicated at the new company, but I think that might be a good thing. I think it filters out the crappy drivers. That might sound insensitive, but I won't make any excuses.

[In_The_Wind]

3. Lookin good!

I know it must feel wonderful to be on the road again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7yOccqdxI

[Tobin S.]

4. Yes, it feels excellent

I drove 645 miles yesterday and I felt like I could have gone another couple of hundred, but as you know the D.O.T. man frowns on that. :)

I feel like I slept walked through the last 3.5 years at my former job and I just woke up. I'm very happy with my decision right now.

[Brickbat]

5. Right on, Tobin!

Thanks for the photos. You sound happy and free. Your pride in what you're doing is a joy to see.

:)

[mix]

6. You are an inspiration..be safe. nt

[mzteris]

7. Great!!

Sounds like things are starting off on a good note.

I'm sorry we couldn't get together when you were in Milwaukee. Brad won two silver medals - shotput and discus. Not bad for his first meet and about 6 "lessons" in how to throw. The boy who beat him in shotput was almost a year older and about 4 inches taller who'd been competing since he was 8 - and he only beat him with one of the three throws & only by 3 inches!! His coaches were pretty happy. They said with more training/practice he's going to be really good.

The other thing was his dad showed up back in town last weekend unexpectedly - he'd quit his job in TX - and things got pretty freaky and hairy around here. Fortunately - MIRACULOUSLY - he was offered another job on Thursday and left yesterday for Arkansas. this past week was crazy, though.

Again, I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you this trip to WI. Next time for sure!

[MrsBrady]

8. I'm enjoying reading your threads

when I catch them.

Stay safe out there :hi:

[elleng]

9. GREAT to see this, Tobin S., think of you whenever I see such now!

:thumbsup:

[femmocrat]

10. Safe trip, Tobin!

:hi:

[abq e streeter]

11. Not sinking but will kick it anyway....I'm really happy for you

that things seem to be falling into place .:thumbsup:

[auntAgonist]

12. Happy trails Tobin!

Best wishes on your new venture.

aA and G.

:hug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. My dear Tobin!

Wow, what a great rig! I know you're happy...

Stay safe, and enjoy your life! Make the most of it, and I know you are.

I'm looking forward to hearing how your day went!

Congrats on this great new job!

:hi:

[mike_c]

14. lookin' forward to blowin' yer doors off on the road someday....

:rofl: Just kidding. I know how much truckers LOVE aggressive automobile drivers! :rofl:

Seriously though-- lots of western highway out there. Enjoy every mile of it. Ride in beauty, my friend!

[Phentex]

15. Fun!

Keep the updates comin'! :hi:

[GCP]

16. Holy crap! That's a big one

Happy trails and good luck to you.

[Haole Girl]

17. You'll be in Dallas? When?

You, mwdem, Skittles & anybody else who could make it should have a meet-up! Let me know...

[Tobin S.]

30. I'd love to hang out with you guys, but I don't think I'll be there long enough

to do it up right, have a few drinks, and kick some ass with Skittles. I'll be rolling into town late Monday night and heading back out Tuesday night. That's the curse of being a trucker. You see lots of great places and meet a lot of cool people out on the road, but unless you really plan ahead or get lucky you don't get to spend much time with either of them.

[Haole Girl]

34. Ok

Maybe another time. Be careful out there! :hi:

[foxfeet]

18. Oh. From your headline, I expected black leather and a happy ending.

Congratulations and safe travels!

[jobycom]

19. Thanks for the warning. Now I know when not to go to Houston or Dallas.

:)

Congrats! It's looking good, visually and otherwise. :thumbsup:

ANd let us know if you ever wind up in Austin for a few hours with nothing to do.

[zabet]

20. Hey...

I recognize those placards! :hi:
I loaded and unloaded chemical tankers and cylinder trucks at a chemical plant. Had to have Hazmat certification among other things.

[zabet]

21. Hey...

I recognize those placards! :hi:
I loaded and unloaded chemical tankers and cylinder trucks at a chemical plant. Had to have Hazmat certification among other things.

[A HERETIC I AM]

22. You got all the weight in the nose of that trailer?

I ask because your trailer tandems are so far forward. Your 5th wheel looks all the way up as well.

I'll never forget the first time I had to struggle shifting the tandems and the 5th wheel around trying to get the steers and the tandems right. Had real close to 80K lbs gross (Like 79,500 + kind of close) and every change I made I over did it one way or the other.

Taught me a big lesson, though. Always start with the trailer tandems all the way to the rear and if you think the load to be picked up is going to put you real close to max weight, don't top off the fuel tanks. If you have ever tried to move a set backward with a lot of weight on the tail, you'll know why you want to start off with the trailer set back, especially if the slides haven't been greased in a while.

Best of luck, driver.

Keep the dirty side down.

[Tobin S.]

31. I don't have a heavy load, but I did scale it just to make sure

The pic was snappped before I hit the scales, but it turned out alright and I left it the way it was. I like to have the trailer tandems slid up there to make it easier to maneuver the rig. My scale ticket reads 12,240 on the steer, 25,520 on the drives, and 31,400 on the trailer. I suppose I could slide the fifth wheel back and take some of the weight off of the steer axle, but I'm legal the way it is. Gross weight is 69,160. Tare weight with the tanks full is about 32,000. I only need to be able to scale a load of 42,500 to be cool with the company I'm leased to.

[A HERETIC I AM]

42. Fair enough.

I don't know how many years you have behind the wheel, so please excuse me if I am telling you something you are well versed on.

Having said that -

As I mentioned in my previous post, I found it much easier to start out with the trailer tandems all the way back. The reason is because if you get a load on that dry van of an item that is equally heavy for each pallet or whatever, the tail end of the trailer will literally sag down to the rear of the tandems. Think heavy rolls of newsprint paper for instance or pallets of canned soup. If the trailer tandems are all the way forward and you need to move them back, the effect is basically dragging the tail of the trailer up a hill. It might be very slight, but the tail can hang down enough to make it difficult to drag the trailer over the top of the tandems.

I was always told by the "old hands" that moving the tandems forward was MUCH easier than moving the backward when your trailer is at or near gross. Less wear and tear on your clutch and less shock to the brakes and suspension of the trailer.

The way I was taught to move tandems was, once the pins are free, if you need to move them back, release the clutch and roll the truck forward at idle speed and then grab the trailer brake, stopping the trailer tandems and thus making them slide. Move the truck backward the same way and grab the trailer brakes if you need to move the tandems forward. This method reduces the wear on the clutch and the universal joints in the drive shaft. The trick is to clutch it and stop when you have moved the tandems enough pin holes to do the job!

I've seen lots of drivers lock the trailer brakes and move the tandems by letting out the clutch and making the clutch and the drivetrain absorb all the force. Using the trailer brakes to absorb the force saves lots of wear and tear on your tractor.

Again, I don't mean to speak to you like you are a rookie by any stretch. I've no idea how long you have been driving. I am merely trying to provide some info you might not be aware of, or at the very least, enlighten those readers who are not truckers.

All the best, Tobin.
You deserve all the best luck and good fortune as an owner operator.
I know it isn't easy out there these days.

[jmowreader]

36. I like my tandems all the way forward, like his are

It gives the truck a shorter wheelbase and makes it turn sharper.

[A HERETIC I AM]

37. I'm with ya on the manouverability...

but you strike me as someone with a few miles under his belt and if you're like me, you've noticed the ride on the big road is much nicer the further away those trailer wheels are from your seat.


I cut my teeth as a truck driver doing mostly city driving and having that jitterbug wheelbase sure comes in handy, but going down the interstate, I always wanted that truck as long as I could legally get it, just for the smoother ride.

[jmowreader]

44. The ride IS nicer with tandems back, that's true...

but to me, the maneuverability in the scrunchy loading docks I kept getting sent into made up for the rougher ride.

[MiddleFingerMom]

23. Looks and sounds FANTASTIC!!!

.
Congratulations on living a dream.
.
.
.
.
.
People are fascinated by your posts (as am I).
.
.
.
.
.
Please keep 'em coming.
.
.
.
.
.
Stay safe and happy (safe all the time -- happy as often
as you can).
.

[MissHoneychurch]

24. So you are finally on the road again

driving through that beautiful country of yours.

You take care of yourself and I hope you continue your stories of the street, as I know you will.

:loveya:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. Kickin' it for Tobin!

:kick:

[Parche]

26. you had to go thru 'fatherland' security?

:rofl:

good drivin....stay safe...

:hi:

[Paper Roses]

27. Happy Trails to you!

[lillypaddle]

28. I'm watching Ice Road Truckers right now

And though you aren't on the ice, I see how dangerous your work is! Good luck to you, and stay safe.

[auntAgonist]

32. my first husband trucks the ice roads ...

I never got a chance to do that. It's something I'd really enjoy though.

aA

[blue neen]

29. Here's hoping you had a good day on the job.

Your rig looks great. :)

[Curmudgeoness]

33. With all the owner/operators I have seen come and go, I wish you luck.

All the luck in the world. It is do-able.

[Tobin S.]

35. You have to get a better deal than 90 cents a mile, that's for sure

And that means you have to dig around a little while to find a decent company to lease to if you aren't going the independent route. This is an LTL company. I have three stops on. The load pays $1.52 a mile (all miles) after accessory pay. I've heard of owner-operators making more than that, but usually with a tank or maybe a reefer during produce season. It beats the hell out of the $1.10 for book miles that the big guys are paying right now.

[A HERETIC I AM]

43. The good ol' Household Goods Movers Guide.

They should burn that crap.

Worst way to get paid if your pay is per mile.

( = "book miles" for the unfamiliar)

[Curmudgeoness]

54. What and where do you haul? Or since this is the first load,

what and where are you looking to haul? I am not in dispatch, but work for a trucking company (we haul mostly steel on flatbed trailers but do have some other customers). I can't tell you rates, etc. right now, but I know we do have agents around---I could look into it for you.

[burrfoot]

38. Fuckin' A man, Fuckin' A.

Stay safe and congratulations- that's a hell of a thing you've done. :)

[Flaxbee]

39. Congrats! Nice lookin' outfit!

:woohoo: Way to go, Tobin!

[jmowreader]

40. Tobin, do you have a truck stop guide yet?

If you need a really nice one, send me your email address and I'll send you the PDF of the one I was keeping for myself when I was on the road.

[Tobin S.]

41. I've got one

That was the first thing I bought when I hit the road. Thanks anyway.

[Odin2005]

45. YIKES, whatcha haulin' in there, man?

Good luck!!!

[Tobin S.]

53. The actual proper name would probably be meaningless to you

The green placard indicates non-flammable gas; something like helium or whatever they put in car air bags. The red placard indicates some type of flammable liquid; something like gasoline or industrial cleaning solvents. The black and white placards indicate corrosive material; something like battery acid.

The placarded substances are all different; it's not just one substance that requires all three placards, although there might be some hazmat that's like that.

[hibbing]

46. Fantastic!

Hi Tobin,
I along with many others find your posts awesome, so I thought I would be another that tells you so. I appreciate you sharing your progress from buying the truck and now your first job. The pictures are fantastic. I wish you the best, and again, keep posting!

Peace

[KT2000]

47. These are fun posts!

You are really gettin' it done!
Nice looking truck too.

[Crystal Clarity]

48. Thats great

I'm so happy for you Tobin! :hug:

[old mark]

49. Keep it going - stay legal - have a great time...take time off when you need it

I am so glad you are doing this - I am sure you are enjoying it and you have every right to be proud of yourself.

All the best, T!!!

mark

[av8rdave]

50. Congrats on your first trip!

Safe travels. Can't wait for some "road stories!"

[AngryAmish]

51. Question: Do you poop in the truck?

Is there a little porta-potty in there?

[Tobin S.]

52. No

I usually don't have much of a problem finding a bathroom.