Monday, May 4, 2009
Sliding Tandems
Howdy all! I have been telling all of you a lot about my travels lately, but I thought maybe you might be getting a little tired of that. So, in this episode of “The Travels of Jill Adkins” I will tell you a little bit about some things a truck driver has to do in regards to the truck.
First, here are a couple pictures of my qualcomm. It is a device used to communicate with my fleet manager. A fleet manager is a person who assigns loads to the drivers. We also ask for time off from the fleet manager. This person is not a drivers boss. This person is a team mate of the driver and it is a really good idea that the two get along. I have had 4 fleet managers in my 8 months of driving. The one I have now is in training. I might get to communicate with her this week.
This is the qualcomm. When a message comes in I am alerted with a bird chirping sound. It is a loud sound and startles me every time it goes off. There is a voice mechanism with this so that when a message comes in while I am driving I can listen to the message instead of having to pull off to the side of the road and read the message. The voice is computer generated and it does not always pronounce the words correctly. But, it does a pretty good job.
Here is a message telling me to update my fleet manager of my fuel level. If we are getting low on fuel we can get directions to nearby fueling locations. I always put my fueling locations into my trip plan so I don't need to ask for directions.
Something else I have talked about a bit is sliding tandems. On the truck we have steer tires (front) and drive tires (back). The tires on the trailer are called tandems.
Each state has rules on how many pounds an axle is allowed to have on it. The drive axles and tandem axles are allowed to have 34,000 lbs of weight on them. When the trailer is loaded there is no guarantee that the load will weigh exactly right for each axle. So, after we leave a customer we go find a truck stop that has scales. We are able to weigh each axle to determine how much weight is on each. If the drive axles or tandem axles have more than 34,000 lbs on them then we have to adjust the weight. We do that by sliding the tandems.
Under the trailer, above the tires, are rails with holes in them.
There is a metal pin that goes into these holes to lock the tandems into place. We have to use a handle to release the pins so that the tandems can slide. Sometimes it is a real pain trying to get the pin loose. A couple times I have had to ask other drivers to help me get the pin loose. Most drivers have to do that on occasion.
When the pin is loose, the driver gets back into the truck, releases the brakes to the truck, leaves the brakes engaged on the trailer, puts the truck into first gear or reverse, and slowly moves forward or backward. The trailer tires do not roll, but the trailer will slide on the rails. When we believe the tandems are in the correct position we set all the brakes, take the truck out of gear, get out of the truck and go back and put the pin release handle down. Then we go back to the truck, release the truck brake, put the truck into gear, and move the truck until the pin goes back into a hole. That locks the tandems in so the trailer cannot slide anymore. If we need to put more weight on the tandems we slide the trailer backwards. If we need more weight on the drive axles we slide the trailer forward. If we go to a weigh station and a set of axles are overweight we can get a severe fine. I have heard as much as $100 a pound. That can get real spendy. After we get the tandems into place, we will go reweigh the rig to make sure the weight is good. We get a form from the truck stop certifying that the weight is accurate. At times the scales will be off and say the weight is good. Then we get to a weigh station and are told there is too much weight on an axle. We produce the form for the weigh station officials and we don't get fined for the problem.
Now, you may notice that many times we do not turn our trucks off. We will sit and let the truck idle all night or all day. That is because we either need air conditioning or heat while we are sleeping. There has been a lot of complaints about this because of the noise, smell and pollution put out while the trucks idle. But, we drivers have to be comfortable so we get the rest we need to be safe drivers. One thing a couple truck stop franchises are doing are installing “Idleaire.” This is a way to have air conditioning or heat in the truck while stopped for the night or day.
As you can see, there are rails put up with these yellow hoses that can be installed into the passenger window. The trucks have to pull into a parking place nose first. This means they have to back out to leave and so we all have to watch so we don't run into each other. It is very difficult to see in back of us.
The hose is installed into the passenger side window. There is a controller attached to this hose and we can slide a credit card through a slide in the controller and can turn on air conditioning or heat. That way we do not have to run the truck to stay comfortable during our rest time. We are also able to plug in a TV and watch cable television, use internet service, plug in a telephone. It is a very nice service. Except it can be expensive, like $3.00 an hour. Also, the controller weighs about 35 lbs and can be difficult to install. I ask the attendant to help me. When it is not too hot I try to leave my windows open and not use this service. But, in the summer the service is very nice to have.
I have a membership with Idleaire, but have not used it yet. I do not like idling my truck and do not do it unless it is absolutely necessary. I have a fan in my truck that helps, but, when I get down into Texas or Southern California where the temps get up into the 100's it is not possible for the fan to keep me cool. There are several states that only allow a driver to idle the truck for 5 minutes an hour. That is definitely not long enough to keep the truck cool. These rules make it so the drivers cannot get quality rest and so can lead to unsafe drivers. Not good to fall asleep in a vehicle that weighs 80,000 lbs. There are exceptions to these rules, though. If a driver has a pet onboard then they are allowed to idle the truck all night and all day. I don't know if that is the reason some drivers get a pet, but it would not surprise me. I want my Millie dog for company. And boy she is going to be great company.
Well, that is all I have for now. Be safe and be happy!!!
First, here are a couple pictures of my qualcomm. It is a device used to communicate with my fleet manager. A fleet manager is a person who assigns loads to the drivers. We also ask for time off from the fleet manager. This person is not a drivers boss. This person is a team mate of the driver and it is a really good idea that the two get along. I have had 4 fleet managers in my 8 months of driving. The one I have now is in training. I might get to communicate with her this week.
This is the qualcomm. When a message comes in I am alerted with a bird chirping sound. It is a loud sound and startles me every time it goes off. There is a voice mechanism with this so that when a message comes in while I am driving I can listen to the message instead of having to pull off to the side of the road and read the message. The voice is computer generated and it does not always pronounce the words correctly. But, it does a pretty good job.
Here is a message telling me to update my fleet manager of my fuel level. If we are getting low on fuel we can get directions to nearby fueling locations. I always put my fueling locations into my trip plan so I don't need to ask for directions.Something else I have talked about a bit is sliding tandems. On the truck we have steer tires (front) and drive tires (back). The tires on the trailer are called tandems.
Each state has rules on how many pounds an axle is allowed to have on it. The drive axles and tandem axles are allowed to have 34,000 lbs of weight on them. When the trailer is loaded there is no guarantee that the load will weigh exactly right for each axle. So, after we leave a customer we go find a truck stop that has scales. We are able to weigh each axle to determine how much weight is on each. If the drive axles or tandem axles have more than 34,000 lbs on them then we have to adjust the weight. We do that by sliding the tandems.
Under the trailer, above the tires, are rails with holes in them.
There is a metal pin that goes into these holes to lock the tandems into place. We have to use a handle to release the pins so that the tandems can slide. Sometimes it is a real pain trying to get the pin loose. A couple times I have had to ask other drivers to help me get the pin loose. Most drivers have to do that on occasion.
When the pin is loose, the driver gets back into the truck, releases the brakes to the truck, leaves the brakes engaged on the trailer, puts the truck into first gear or reverse, and slowly moves forward or backward. The trailer tires do not roll, but the trailer will slide on the rails. When we believe the tandems are in the correct position we set all the brakes, take the truck out of gear, get out of the truck and go back and put the pin release handle down. Then we go back to the truck, release the truck brake, put the truck into gear, and move the truck until the pin goes back into a hole. That locks the tandems in so the trailer cannot slide anymore. If we need to put more weight on the tandems we slide the trailer backwards. If we need more weight on the drive axles we slide the trailer forward. If we go to a weigh station and a set of axles are overweight we can get a severe fine. I have heard as much as $100 a pound. That can get real spendy. After we get the tandems into place, we will go reweigh the rig to make sure the weight is good. We get a form from the truck stop certifying that the weight is accurate. At times the scales will be off and say the weight is good. Then we get to a weigh station and are told there is too much weight on an axle. We produce the form for the weigh station officials and we don't get fined for the problem.
Now, you may notice that many times we do not turn our trucks off. We will sit and let the truck idle all night or all day. That is because we either need air conditioning or heat while we are sleeping. There has been a lot of complaints about this because of the noise, smell and pollution put out while the trucks idle. But, we drivers have to be comfortable so we get the rest we need to be safe drivers. One thing a couple truck stop franchises are doing are installing “Idleaire.” This is a way to have air conditioning or heat in the truck while stopped for the night or day.
As you can see, there are rails put up with these yellow hoses that can be installed into the passenger window. The trucks have to pull into a parking place nose first. This means they have to back out to leave and so we all have to watch so we don't run into each other. It is very difficult to see in back of us.
The hose is installed into the passenger side window. There is a controller attached to this hose and we can slide a credit card through a slide in the controller and can turn on air conditioning or heat. That way we do not have to run the truck to stay comfortable during our rest time. We are also able to plug in a TV and watch cable television, use internet service, plug in a telephone. It is a very nice service. Except it can be expensive, like $3.00 an hour. Also, the controller weighs about 35 lbs and can be difficult to install. I ask the attendant to help me. When it is not too hot I try to leave my windows open and not use this service. But, in the summer the service is very nice to have.
I have a membership with Idleaire, but have not used it yet. I do not like idling my truck and do not do it unless it is absolutely necessary. I have a fan in my truck that helps, but, when I get down into Texas or Southern California where the temps get up into the 100's it is not possible for the fan to keep me cool. There are several states that only allow a driver to idle the truck for 5 minutes an hour. That is definitely not long enough to keep the truck cool. These rules make it so the drivers cannot get quality rest and so can lead to unsafe drivers. Not good to fall asleep in a vehicle that weighs 80,000 lbs. There are exceptions to these rules, though. If a driver has a pet onboard then they are allowed to idle the truck all night and all day. I don't know if that is the reason some drivers get a pet, but it would not surprise me. I want my Millie dog for company. And boy she is going to be great company.
Well, that is all I have for now. Be safe and be happy!!!
# posted by Jill @ 7:43 AM 
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