Simple hacks for the UPS driver - On topic please

[OrioN]

When I drove a p700 step van, the box of dog biscuits (1lbs) fit exactly on the channel... ripped off the top, taped the back of the box against the wall & the front lip.

Lined up a few boxes on that channel to store gloves, etc

Single layer was still too bright.

Had to add another layer & direct more light to the bulkhead

 

[OrioN]

One of my pet peeves about the newer backup monitors is that they are too bright at night and the glare interferes with my night vision.

Weird, no adjustment to the screen?

On my "voyager" monitor, I have brightness & for some reason, volume adjustment buttons

 

[OrioN]

If you're going to be driving a box truck, extend the rear pull down strap... keep your feet on the ground instead of hopping up on the rear bumper.

Fords have a higher bumper height than the gmc counterparts of the rental trucks & having no pass thru to the cab is bad enough...

 

[burrheadd]

View attachment 219314 I bought these plastic crates at my local Fred Meyer (aka Krogers) for $1.50 each.
They are basically milk crates, only half sized.
On the newer package cars, the rail above the door has holes drilled in it. So I set the crates on top of the rail and threaded zip-ties up through the holes in the rail and through the holes in the bottom of the crate to secure them. I also tightened them down with a bungee cord.
These are perfect to store supplies in and they utilize what is otherwise wasted space in the package car.

Good lord

You’ve got pkg car rigged up like a Mexican taxi

All you need is a Virgin Mary statue on the dash

 

[OrioN]

Good lord

You’ve got pkg car rigged up like a Mexican taxi

All you need is a Virgin Mary statue on the dash

You've never been a rural route driver???

P.S. add some zip ties between the holes on the crate to the bungee... that's not secure enough from my view

 

[soberups]

Weird, no adjustment to the screen?

On my "voyager" monitor, I have brightness & for some reason, volume adjustment buttons

It has adjustment but even the dimmest setting is way too bright for me at night. I miss the old CRT monitors, you could dim them down to the point where the screen was black unless you put it in reverse and turned on the backup lights.

 

[Future]

It has adjustment but even the dimmest setting is way too bright for me at night. I miss the old CRT monitors, you could dim them down to the point where the screen was black unless you put it in reverse and turned on the backup lights.

Ummmm your Orion hack did not work .... still came up 0 compliance and over the miles by what I drove

 

[soberups]

Ummmm your Orion hack did not work .... still came up 0 compliance and over the miles by what I drove

All the hack does is give you RDO so that you can function.
You do want to click on the little “release EDD” box after switching back to ODO, and then remember to get EDD again when you return to the building, in order to give Atlanta their little green check mark.
Actual compliance is irrelevant because even if I am forced to view the manifest in ODO order I wont be following it.
And the mileage is irrelevant because I always come in under ORIONS estimate.

 

[Future]

All the hack does is give you RDO so that you can function.
You do want to click on the little “release EDD” box after switching back to ODO, and then remember to get EDD again when you return to the building, in order to give Atlanta their little green check mark.
Actual compliance is irrelevant because even if I am forced to view the manifest in ODO order I wont be following it.

When returning 2 the building ... I down loaded again ... it stated ... route was changed on route ....

 

[1989]

When returning 2 the building ... I down loaded again ... it stated ... route was changed on route ....

Down loading EDD. That is so 2017. We have drivers standing around for 10-15 minutes waiting for it to get released. What a waste of time.

 

[soberups]

When returning 2 the building ... I down loaded again ... it stated ... route was changed on route ....

Yes it does that sometimes, I dont know why.

 

[Future]

Yes it does that sometimes, I dont know why.

I will try again ..lol... I do what I do

 

[Poop Head]

View attachment 219309 View attachment 219310 One of my pet peeves about the newer backup monitors is that they are too bright at night and the glare interferes with my night vision.
One day I was in the auto shop and noticed a cracked sun visor in the trash that a mechanic had replaced out of a package car. So I repurposed it by cutting it into a 4 1/2” x 9” rectangle that I put over the monitor with rubber bands. It works great to cut the glare down. I have made a few of these for other drivers by removing the sun visors out of ADA cars before they get towed away to be crushed.

That's freaking brilliant. Totally gonna do this.

 

[Poop Head]

It has adjustment but even the dimmest setting is way too bright for me at night. I miss the old CRT monitors, you could dim them down to the point where the screen was black unless you put it in reverse and turned on the backup lights.

Gonna try to make something for the diad screen too. I hate looking at it at night, way too bright for me. Was thinking of putting some brakelight tape on it, but your idea with the sun visor seems like a better avenue

 

[rod]

View attachment 217011 A DIAD holster hung from the registration pouch with a bankers clasp makes an excellent tape gun holder that will keep your tape roll clean and intact and prevent the teeth from getting bent and beat up.
I have used this hack for awhile and it works, it keeps it accessible and I have never once had it fly out.

I had pot holes and bumps on my old route where you would be lucky if that fire extinguisher stayed connected to the bulkhead. That tape gun would have never lasted a day.

 

[rod]

View attachment 217011 A DIAD holster hung from the registration pouch with a bankers clasp makes an excellent tape gun holder that will keep your tape roll clean and intact and prevent the teeth from getting bent and beat up.
I have used this hack for awhile and it works, it keeps it accessible and I have never once had it fly out.

It does kind of serve a dual purpose. When you get rear ended and that tape gun busts your skull open -----you can tape it back together.

 

[soberups]

I had pot holes and bumps on my old route where you would be lucky if that fire extinguisher stayed connected to the bulkhead. That tape gun would have never lasted a day.

I have a rural route with tons of potholes and crappy washboard roads, and I have never once had it fly out.
There is a little lip on the handle of the tape gun that is slighly wider than the opening of the holster so when you shove the tape gun into it, it holds it pretty tightly.
Try it, you will be surprised.

 

[soberups]

You've never been a rural route driver???

P.S. add some zip ties between the holes on the crate to the bungee... that's not secure enough from my view

The bungee is just to keep it from shaking. It already has 75lb. breaking-strength zip ties holding it down to the rail, you can see them on the bottom. It isnt going anywhere.

 

[rod]

I have a rural route with tons of potholes and crappy washboard roads, and I have never once had it fly out.
There is a little lip on the handle of the tape gun that is slighly wider than the opening of the holster so when you shove the tape gun into it, it holds it pretty tightly.
Try it, you will be surprised.

My tape guns are in my house and in my workshop. I don't have access to a UPS truck anymore-----thank god.

 

[soberups]

I really like the new 2018 Freightliner they gave me, but now that it gets dark early I have discovered an annoying flaw; the LCD display on the instrument cluster is bright, and positioned such that it reflects on the inside of the window and blocks my view of the bottom mirror.
I fixed this problem by putting a wire bankers clasp on the little visor and then sliding a square of cardboard between the wire and the flat part of the clasp. It’s easy and it works perfect.