D7X - New Equipment

As always we are striving to excel, and have recently replaced older equipment and added new equipment to our fleet.  The most recent are a 2013 Volvo, a 2014 Volvo with a Volvo Engine and i-Shift transmission(s) as well as a brand new state of the art 2014 Refrigerated Utility trailer with the brand new 7300 Carrier x4 Reefer Unit with instant download and display features.  This unit puts out 21000 BTU at -20 deg F.  In lei mans terms "It gets cold fast!!"  We are excited to present this new equipment to our drivers for ease of use and peace of mind, as well as to our customers that can rest assured their product(s) will arrive in a good, clean, new, and reliable equipment.  All our trailers are now equipped with e-Tracks, Straps, e-Bars, Load Bars, Bulkhead(s) for multi-temp loads, and Satellite Tracking.

The Daily Grind

I find myself working harder and harder every day, and the folks working for me seem to be ever unhappy.  I pray to God I can keep everyone satisfied, but need to make sure my priorities are straight and family comes first.  Sometimes, I give it all my heart and soul, when it comes to work, and it doesn't seem to do me justice, because my family is the ONLY one that really cares what happens to me and how we go on.

I honestly say that I really strive to be fair in my dealings and many times I find myself convincing my drivers that I really am fair, as if I was trying to convince an old girlfriend that I'm not cheating on her.  I don't like to do it, but seem to always be doing it.

How does that saying go?  God give me the wisdom and patience to be able to go on?  Something to that nature.

The other thing I find trend-full, as time passes, is that more and more shippers and receivers are not allowing me, or my drivers on their docks.  It is as if we are going to get onto their docks to get in their way, not what we are actually there for, which is to help them make the correct decisions in how they need to load the equipment we very well go to know over the years.  It seems their time is not even valuable to them, because there is no communication between the driver and loader any more.  If the freight is being loaded incorrectly, it then has to be unloaded and reloaded properly, when this step could be eliminated altogether, just by communication. "Hey driver, how do you want this loaded?"  If the driver doesn't know, he will just say that; "I don't know.  Do what you think you need to do."

Anheuser Bush is very interesting along with some other shippers, which load the freight in the trucks using pallet jacks and forklifts, yet they do not allow us to have our own pallet jack, which helps us in the long run to be able to be flexible in the type of freight we book.  According to some of these places, you can't even have a bulk head in the trailer when they load the trailer.  Don't they know this is part of the equipment?  There's nothing harmful about this equipment if it is in the trailer with their product.

We'll continue this later...