No Tractor Tuesday

104Feeder

Phoenix Feeder
For a while now, every Tuesday has been "No Tractor Tuesday" meaning they don't have enough tractors to handle the overflows. Some weeks they have rentals, but then some bean counter cuts that off and so they start 'rolling tractors'. Nearly all of our tractors are double utilized, meaning assigned to two drivers so there is little downtime. Handing out an assigned tractor just puts the next assigned driver behind the eight ball from the start. Sometimes drivers are sitting 3-4 hours in the "Truckers Lounge" (conference room) waiting for a tractor. To make matter worse, about half of our tractors are not allowed to go to into California. Once your tractor is rolled, you are lucky to get it back by Thursday or Friday. Are any other Feeder operations experiencing such mismanagement of our resources? Why wouldn't they just 1) buy more tractors and 2) only have tractors that can go to every State we service in our District, especially the one that gets the most volume. Most of this we can blame on Scott Davis' decision to utilize more 53' trailers when California has a law about the maximum distance between axles so they require twin screw tractors, and part on California's unique emission requirements, but neither is an insurmountable problem. It just boggles my mind the way they run the Company sometimes....
 

BigUnionGuy

Got the T-Shirt
The company is in the process of implementing Orion in feeders.

Mileage Drivers.... will be paid "as the crow flies". :biggrin:



-Bug-


We have rentals in the yard.
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
One of the hubs out this way just got their cng fueling station intalled and they are supposed to be getting 80 brand new cng tractors. The rest of us will get the hand me downs.
 
For a while now, every Tuesday has been "No Tractor Tuesday" meaning they don't have enough tractors to handle the overflows. Some weeks they have rentals, but then some bean counter cuts that off and so they start 'rolling tractors'. Nearly all of our tractors are double utilized, meaning assigned to two drivers so there is little downtime. Handing out an assigned tractor just puts the next assigned driver behind the eight ball from the start. Sometimes drivers are sitting 3-4 hours in the "Truckers Lounge" (conference room) waiting for a tractor. To make matter worse, about half of our tractors are not allowed to go to into California. Once your tractor is rolled, you are lucky to get it back by Thursday or Friday. Are any other Feeder operations experiencing such mismanagement of our resources? Why wouldn't they just 1) buy more tractors and 2) only have tractors that can go to every State we service in our District, especially the one that gets the most volume. Most of this we can blame on Scott Davis' decision to utilize more 53' trailers when California has a law about the maximum distance between axles so they require twin screw tractors, and part on California's unique emission requirements, but neither is an insurmountable problem. It just boggles my mind the way they run the Company sometimes....
Because logistically that makes sense.
 

MaceFremonti

Well-Known Member
We have no tractor Mondays....the key to avoid getting a nice snub nose 243xxx tractor is to bring the dispatch supe who hands keys out Chik Filet breakfast every few days....:cool:

Sent using BrownCafe App
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
I miss my 204 MH Mack with no ac no defrost and the battery operated heater!! This beast was built for speed, I actually passed two turtles one night up on a hill on the Mass pike
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
Funny. The more things change, they more they stay the same.

Company-wide problem ever since they started USING tractors.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
A fine run organization, this is.

I could care less what tractor I get. I wish they waited 3 or 4 hours to get me a tractor. What bugs me is that I've seen contractors pulling loads out of yards around here. I asked a steward about it, and he just shrugged his shoulders and said they can use contractors to make service. I guess we don't need Teamsters to make service.

On the bright side, I just got a neat brochure from the International saying how important it is that we enforce our fine new contract.
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
For a while now, every Tuesday has been "No Tractor Tuesday" meaning they don't have enough tractors to handle the overflows. Some weeks they have rentals, but then some bean counter cuts that off and so they start 'rolling tractors'. Nearly all of our tractors are double utilized, meaning assigned to two drivers so there is little downtime. Handing out an assigned tractor just puts the next assigned driver behind the eight ball from the start. Sometimes drivers are sitting 3-4 hours in the "Truckers Lounge" (conference room) waiting for a tractor. To make matter worse, about half of our tractors are not allowed to go to into California. Once your tractor is rolled, you are lucky to get it back by Thursday or Friday. Are any other Feeder operations experiencing such mismanagement of our resources? Why wouldn't they just 1) buy more tractors and 2) only have tractors that can go to every State we service in our District, especially the one that gets the most volume. Most of this we can blame on Scott Davis' decision to utilize more 53' trailers when California has a law about the maximum distance between axles so they require twin screw tractors, and part on California's unique emission requirements, but neither is an insurmountable problem. It just boggles my mind the way they run the Company sometimes....

It amazes me how many drivers carry 100% long boxes with single axle tractors. That is an easy way to spot a sheep. Who do they think gets the ticket for being overweight, Scott Davis?
 
It amazes me how many drivers carry 100% long boxes with single axle tractors. That is an easy way to spot a sheep. Who do they think gets the ticket for being overweight, Scott Davis?

You mean the vast majority of drivers at CACH? Most that have no clue what overweight is? Or that the State police don't even look twice at?
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
It amazes me how many drivers carry 100% long boxes with single axle tractors. That is an easy way to spot a sheep. Who do they think gets the ticket for being overweight, Scott Davis?
How is a driver to know if their load is overweight?(aside from Covemasters explanation) 100% long boxes here on single axle is routine. Granted there aren't any weigh stations where our guys run local/railyard runs. DOT Po-Po?
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
It amazes me how many drivers carry 100% long boxes with single axle tractors. That is an easy way to spot a sheep. Who do they think gets the ticket for being overweight, Scott Davis?


Used to do that all the time. Company didn't care. Just hand ticket (after I made copy of it for future reference after they hadn't paid for over 3 months) over to mangler and told him to add it to collection. Although one of our drivers got held at weigh station a few years ago for O/W. Said they weren't gonna let him go til past tics were paid. Local company had to call up credit card # to get him released.

Had one scale man make me roll window down (and let all the A/C out, the bastard!) to let me know single drive axle was about 50 lbs from being over. I might want to tell my company honchos. "Yeah, I'll jump right on that and let you know how that's gonna go".
 

Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
Most of us won't go on a road run with a full long box without a twin screw. I've waited for a few hours on more than one occasion for a twin. The highway patrol here will definitely pull us over and ticket us.
 
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