Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

I could have told them so. I’ve been writing for the longest time that it wasn’t going to work. Bad idea. Stupid. Waste of space. Dumb. Shame on T/A and all the other truck stops that erected this junk. Any trucker with an APU, cell phone, laptop or TV just didn’t need IdleAire. The better fleets wouldn’t pay for it. Arrow gave IdleAire to their drivers and now they’re gone and IdleAire is too. From their website: “IdleAire has closed operations effective 12 noon eastern time Friday, January 29. Truckers will not be able to use the service after today. Due to the economy, our customers had less freight to haul, resulting in reduced truck traffic and we have had extremely mild weather across the nation, reducing the demand for our climate control service. We continued to stay ahead of the financial issues and make adjustments as needed, but time and operating capital simply ran out.” That statement is absurd. This past summer was brutal and this winter is no better. The ice caps might be melting but we’re having as much snow and ice and frigid temps as ever. And I personally want to thank the suits at IdleAire for making my trucker life miserable when they made 25-100 spaces disappear in truck stops in their feeble attempt to make the planet greener.

The Big Rig breakfast was good at the T/A the other night. I need some eggs despite the 9 PM hour. There was the usual “special forces in Nam” chatter amongst the older saltier drivers. The waitress decided to chime in and said that if you have a CDL with a HAZMAT endorsement and you drive a car the law requires you to stop at all railroad crossings. Well, you’d think someone said Dale Earnhardt wore pantyhose under his racing coveralls or something. OMG. I thought there was going to be a food fight – flying sausage patties, pancakes and orange slices. Chill drivers, chill. And, somehow the question of just who runs the world was brought up. Just who is calling the plays? Interesting question.

And so, just who does run the world? Some people think the United States does. Is the President really the leader of the world? Some believe the Chinese do. The Russians thought they did. Others think Jews pull the levers. My Jewish trucker buds say laughingly they never got the memo. Some think the power is in the hands of the Vatican. I can’t imagine who Glen Beck thinks run the world. Dick Cheney and Sara Palin, I’m sure have an idea.  Is it the FBI or CIA or the maybe the Mossad?  Did you ever hear of the Trilateral Commission? Many used to think they ran the world. Some think they still do. Does big business – the Fortune 500 – call the shots? I used to work for the old Chase Manhattan Bank in NYC. We thought our chairman, David Rockefeller, ran the world. How about Wal-Mart or Halliburton or Blackwater – do they run things? What about the Bilderberg Group? I bet you never heard of them, right? Google them – do they run the world?

We all know truckers have a lot of time to think. Some say too much time. And no, I’m not smoking anything “funny” and decided to make this all up. I have nothing to do with it. As I said, out of the blue, around the counter at this T/A, this question was brought up. And I might add, one driver said something very interesting. It was that it seems one minute we’re all doing fine and the next minute, just like someone or somebody or some group pulls a switch and things go bad. And just as fast, when, let’s say six months or a year or more goes by, that same someone or group pulls that switch again and things get better. Do you follow this so far? I believe the theory has merit. Things sure went to hell in a hand basket real quick during the last Presidential election – right?

Does anyone find it interesting that when our auto industry is trying to recover, Toyota and Honda, after decades of manufacturing near flawless high quality automobiles, have massive recalls? What about some big banks near collapse one minute and the next earning billions. Investment firms almost going under and months later paying out millions in bonuses? One month, the country is going belly up, the next the economy is on the move again. Just like the clapper – clap on, clap off, clap on, clap off. Doesn’t it all seem kind of weird? Like there are “other” forces in play beyond what is being reported.

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I was hoping Steve Jobs – that’s him in the photo – was going to announce that the iPhone would now be available through Verizon. And better yet, service would be offered on their 4G network. No such luck. I have a Blackberry now and while it’s a useful device, I almost prefer to go back to a “regular” flip phone. I over did it on the e-mails, apps and do-dads and right now the “thing” is more stressful than useful. Upgrading to a Droid or Nexus 1, really wouldn’t be beneficial to me. They represent kind of a technology overkill as far as I’m concerned. Whatever cell phone I use shares prime importance with a GPS as far as tools I must have as a trucker. The IPad is not on that list.

So, this past week, Apple announces the iPad. Some folks like the name, I hear many women hate it. I have no opinion. What I do want to say is that I personally don’t need another device that does something while not eliminating something else. What I mean is that unless you’re a true first adapter or techno geek that must have the latest thing Apple or Google comes out with, I can’t get rid of my camera, Blue Tooth and laptop by spending $499 on the IPad. There is no built in SSB CB on the iPad. That’s a joke, but supports my point. The $499 model has 16 gigs of memory + WiFi – there is also a $899 model with 64 gigs of memory, Wifi and 3G cellular, through AT&T, which I detest. Those latest AT&T commercials by the way are outright lies, if you believe what just about everyone says about AT&T’s horrible service, specifically all the drop-calls. If I wasn’t an OTR trucker and had a much higher disposal income, then I’d say whatever, sure, the iPad’s a fun thing to have, I’ll pick one up on the way home from my salaried suit job and be the first guy at the club to have one.  Be advised folks, there are still truckers that don’t have a cell phone or a laptop and sit in those old wooden public telephone booths at the Flying J.

I was listening to the Tech Guy – Leo Laporte – on Sirius/XM today and this is his take on the whole iPad phenomenon. He says the iPad is the new Kindle or a Kindle Plus. Kindle, if you don’t already know is the electronic book reader that some people seem to love and others hate. I don’t have a Kindle and wasn’t planning on buying one. Kindle is black and white – the iPad offers a color screen. Laporte calls the iPad a “content consumption device. It’s not a phone, not a computer, not a movie player – it’s an “appliance” – great for reading books but without Flash and 720p not much else.” Laporte plans on buying one, but then that his business. He was, by the way, present at the Apple iPad launch and had the opportunity to actually “touchy-feely” the new “revolutionary” device.

According to The New York Times, “The half-inch thick, 1.5-pound device will feature a 9.7-inch multi-touch screen and is powered by a customized Apple microchip, which it has dubbed A4. The iPad will have the same operating system as the iPhone and access to its 140,000 applications. The device lacks a camera, the ability to make phone calls and does not work with the ubiquitous Flash software that runs many Web sites.

David Pouge, the Times’ tech guru/reporter says: “Overall, the iPad seems like a dream screen for reading and watching-at some loss of convenience in creating. True, there’s an on-screen keyboard, big enough to type on with both hands in the usual way. And Apple will offer a specialized multitouch word processor, spreadsheet and presentation app for $10 each. But I’m guessing that, with no mouse and no physical keys to feel, writing and editing will be more effort than on a laptop. Apple will also sell an external keyboard that holds the iPad upright as you type. Then again, if you need to carry all that around, maybe a laptop would make more sense.”

I agree. If I want to read something – a book – I’ll just buy one. I don’t need an electronic reading device. I prefer to buy a “hard-copy” of The New York Times – reading it “on-line” is just not the same. And I do a tremendous amount of typing. I need a keyboard. The iPad just doesn’t offer me anything that is going to make my trucker or writer life more productive or more efficient. Just having something that would let me watch a YouTube 6 minute vid in less than 30 minutes would be great. There are many truckers that do the audio tape book thing and an iPad wouldn’t make any sense. Besides, and at some point soon I’ll need to “invest” that $499 in a new laptop – one that will, in fact, make me more efficient and productive. The iPad to me is a pricey toy – a gadget – and I’ll wait until it does more for less or just ignore it.

Listen, I read Jimmy Dawson’s well thought out piece on becoming a successful owner-operator. Running the truck as a business, etc. Great advice. But quite frankly, I would rather own and operate a hot dog stand on some corner in NYC than be a owner-operator in the trucking business. A Subway fast food restaurant, a house painting business, something or anything to do with computers would all be better choices than to go buy a truck and be an owner-operator. Trucking will kill you. Yesterday, I almost turned into a human popsicle. I was fortunate to spend the night in a warm motel room. I was overtired and didn’t sleep well. At 3 AM I was wide awake watching Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I took a long very hot bath and washed away 4 weeks of life on the road. Then it was time to get roll’n. Today’s temperature was, by the way, four degrees. That doesn’t take into account the wind chill. I could have remained in the motel several more days just “listening” to the quiet.

I walked across the ice and snow and got into the truck. Key in – and what else is new – it didn’t start. Low voltage warning. I know it wasn’t the fuel. Maybe the oil’s a little thick? The inverter began whistling, so I disconnected the frig. I had lights, radio and CB running with the little juice that was left in batteries. I started the APU to try and charge the batteries. No luck. They were gone. It wasn’t that long ago that they had been replaced. The temperature then was about 85 degrees. The company bought used batteries – junk. Talking to the T/A road service guy, he confirmed what I already knew – that carriers are operating in a “patch and drive” mode. Whatever can be done as cheaply and quickly to get the truck up and running will be authorized and nothing else. Forget what might happen a week or a month down the road because an alternator or some other part is not replaced – patch it, get it running and get down the road. Preventive maintenance at its worst. Thank goodness these MBA suits are not running the airlines – or are they?

The “national” hourly rate for a T/A type repair is about $96 an hour. Here at the Thermo-King dealer in downtown Chicago, the rate is $106 an hour. Some truck dealers can go as high as $120 an hour. T/A might have done drivers a big favor by offering free seconds and all-you-can eat meals, but the truck repair business is as expensive a rip-off as ever. And as we all know, “they” are never in any hurry to do anything. Customer service is terrible and parts always seem to have to be flown in from Madagascar. Couple that with manufacturers who sell trucks with electrical flaws and hurriedly and poorly designed necessities like APU’s, well, just thinking about being an owner-operator, let alone a company driver – scares the hell out of me. I think Dawson should have recommended you get your ASE diesel certification before you go out and buy that truck.

So my company authorizes changing out two of the four batteries. About an hour of charging along with a can of ether and the truck starts. It has been three hours since I was in the nice hot tub. But my day is not over. The APU heater still doesn’t work. Time to head to downtown Chicago to deal with that. Amazingly Thermo-King, as busy as they are – you should see this cash cow gold mine – said they’d get to me in an hour and they did. As I write this, the truck is still being worked on. The customer waiting room doubles as the tech break room. There is a Sunflower (now Shaffer aka Crete) driver sitting across from me and his cologne is so potent my nose hairs are straightening. I wish he would go away or take a shower. He has told me three times what’s wrong with his truck and I just don’t care. I grunt and don’t engage him. The Simpson’s just came on the TV – he seems enthralled and it should take all of his brain power to follow what’s going on.

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No I did not listen to the State of the Union. Why? I don’t care right now because I’ve got a whole bunch of my own problems to deal with. Trucker problems. Problems from being out on the road for four weeks. Problems from not being at home. Am I in the truck right now? Heck no! I’m in a quiet, warm and king sized bed equipped room at the Super 8 motel off I 90 very west of Chicago. It even has a bathtub – imagine that! I forgot how to use one. And the rig, the one with the APU heater that doesn’t heat, is parked outside in the 15 degree frozen Illinois tundra next to a humongous sparking clean Atlas Van Lines truck. Those van line guys are always sleeping in motels – must be nice.

So I just got back over the border from Canada. Got stuck in traffic outside Toronto on that miserable 401. I turned on the CB. It’s illegal to drive and talk on the CB in Canada now – but what the hey. And guess what? I “participated” in a twenty minute “conversation” with other Canadian drivers and I never heard the “f” word, not one driver questioned another driver’s sexual identity, no mention of 4-wheelers – in fact – everyone involved was quite friendly with the goal of trying to pass the time until the traffic opened up. What a concept! I’m pretty much convinced that if I wanted to seriously lower my blood pressure, I should just move to Canada. All I have to do is drive from one end to the other and I’ll make good money – there is socialized medicine and everyone says hello and thank you. And let’s keep Pilot OUT OF CANADA! Independents only – ey!

By the way, this morning after I thawed myself out, I went into McDonalds for breakfast. There was some punk yelling at the scared Mexican American employee behind the counter. Seems he wanted some special order burrito that is found on whatever planet he’s from. Great to be high on Meth or Crack at 6 AM.  No one else behind the counter comes to her aid. So I walk in. My head already aching from my night, which I’ll tell you about in a second. And this punk is saying the worst things – wetback, speak English and worse. Unfair, stupid and cowardly. No other customers around. And he’s doing what I called the Ghetto dance. A Caucasian jerk swaying back and forth insulting this poor woman like a horny caged parrot. So I walk right behind him – all 300+ lbs. of me – and just stand there looking at this dumb SOB. And he moves closer to the exit. And I move right right behind him. Anyway, he leaves dancing and ah scream’n with the woman shaking trying to dial 911. I told her to forget it and get me some coffee – please – emergency! It was on the house. I had to pay for the sausage, egg and cheese McGriddles. Chivalry only gets so much these days. She made a great cup a Joe. And I’ve only been up about fifteen minutes.

Ok, so here’s the skinny – last night in the bunk it was 14 degrees. I had on two pairs of heavy socks, sweats, a vest, two t-shirts, a jacket and a ski mask. I found an extra fuse for my electric blanket and got that working. Over me was a sleeping bag and three blankets. And I was freezing. My nose was the coldest part of me and I kept waking up trying to cover it. Now you ask just why was I doing this to myself? Well, here’s the list – two weeks ago in Baltimore where my GPS was stolen they didn’t know how to repair my TriPak APU – day after day goes by and the thing gets “more broken” – worse and worse smokey-er and more toxic. My company says drive drive drive. Can you get this load – can you get that load. Do us this favor and that favor. Oh, please we can fix it better there and do that somewhere else. And the heater gets colder and colder. Boom, we’re in Canada where apparently no one repairs trucks – right. BS. Ohhh, please please can you rush something from Cambridge – that’s Ontario – to Chicago. Better to fix the thing in Chicago – right? What a idiot I am. And the header dies – dead – poop – no heat.

It was about 35 degrees in Canada. Remember what I just said? 14 degrees last night. By first light it was colder inside my truck than outside. And no, you cannot disengage the auto engine shutoff in this Freightliner despite there being a toggle switch that is labeled to do just that. Did I say that I’m an idiot? Oh, yeah it’s cold, but I can stand it – no problem. Did I say that I’m an idiot? At about 5:30 AM I open my eyes. OMG! I think I’m frozen. I just can’t move. But nature calls – badly – really badly – and the smoke or steam or whatever is puffing from my mouth like I’m a angry bull about to gore a matador. I have to think where I am. My hand comes out from under the layers. It’s sooo cold. The top blanket is sopping wet. No not from me – it’s like some kind of icy dew that has formed on top of all the layers of blankets. And my poor nose is – no BS – frozen. Just what the heck am I going to do now. After being on the road for four weeks, I have no more fresh winter clothes – everything is short pants.

I make my way into the front seat with the electric blanket around me. It’s still plugged in but doesn’t even feel warm. Oh please, start engine start. Come-on baby go go go – roar to life – pleeease! Chugga chugga stooo stoo chugga chugga stoo stoo grrrrrrr YES YES it’s happening – it’s starting – varoooom – go baby go – YES and the heater is going from blowing freezing air to heat. And I’ve got to 10-100 so badly. I need food. I need COFFEE. Screw the fact that all my inner clothing layers are soaked. I put on another down vest that I’m to fat to zip up and creep out of the truck into the McDonalds. And how was your life on the road today? Oh, yeah, the company is still not sure where they’re going to get the thing fixed. Will I get reimbursed for the room? Two weeks ago I washed my trailer – a company trailer – it was full of grease and Alabama mud. The company wouldn’t pay the $37.50 for the wash. An e-mail to the company CEO went unanswered. $70 for the room. At least I’m warm.

This is the weekend and I just completed 625 miles of driving. I’m headed to Brampton, Ontario and still have about 590 more miles to go before I shut down tomorrow night at the 5th Wheel Truck Stop in Milton. I’ve got to watch my fuel closely as I’m about 400 lbs. shy of the 80,000 lbs. legal limit. The load is 48 ft. long “strips” of lumber going to what was an American company bought out by a Canadian company. Doesn’t matter to me as long as I get the miles. I’m spending more and more time these days in Canada. It’s far better than spending any time in NYC or California. By the way, do you have your 2010 IATA sticker on your truck? Time is running out. It’s past midnight, but I wanted to file this post so Life On The Road readers can know what’s going on. At the beginning of the week there was the Republican surprise victory in Massachusetts and now this.

Flipping around the Sirius/XM dial today, there was a lot of talk about Friday’s Supreme Court decision and how it will effect big business and the election process. The Tech Guy was talking about the rulings effect on the electronic/computer industry and Evan Lockridge on the Road Dog was angry about its impact on trucking. And trust me, this will effect the trucking industry as the ATA and the big money carriers will now be allowed to support candidates who support their “agenda” with far less restrictions than in the past. Here’s the deal - the Court ruled that the Federal Government MAY NOT ban political spending by unions or corporation in elections. According to The New York Times: “The states that explicitly prohibit independent expenditures by unions and corporations will be most affected by the ruling. The decision, however, has consequences for all states, since they are now effectively prohibited from adopting restrictions on corporate and union spending on political campaigns.”

The Associated Press reports that: “President Obama sharply criticized the decision, saying he couldn’t “think of anything more devastating to the public interest. He also suggested “the ruling could jeopardize his domestic agenda. This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy,” the president said in his weekly radio and Internet message. “It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way — or to punish those who don’t.” The President said that means public servants who stand up to Wall Street banks, oil companies, health insurers and other powerful interests could find themselves under attack when election time rolls around. “I can’t think of anything more devastating to the public interest,” he said. “The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections.”

Slate Online says: “The majority’s ruling unleashes a new wave of campaign cash and adds to the already considerable power of corporations. The court’s main rationale is that limits on using corporate treasuries for campaigns are a “classic example of censorship,” as Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. To get there, Kennedy depends on two legal theories – money is speech and corporations are people. Both theories are strange, if not simply wrongheaded – why, according to the Constitution or common sense, would money be speech or corporations be people? The court has also employed theories not uniformly but, rather, as constitutional cover for dominance of the electoral system by corporations and by the wealthy.

Again due to the late hour, I have tried to be brief, citing three reliable sources to give you an overview of the ruling – The New York Times, the Associated Press and Slate. I’m exhausted and going to bed. But, I would appreciate your comments.

I would like to pin this post on the foreheads of the wind-bags at OOIDA, the ATA, the FMCSA, CVSA and the DOT. This happened at the beginning of this week and I was going to just pass it off as another stupid incident in my life on the road, but this type of unfairness – this arrogance by both the shipper and receiver – needs to be reported by all drivers. The only way it will ever change is if we keep talking about it.

I had a 7 PM pick up appointment at a steel company in Ambridge PA. It was one of those don’t be late deals – a load of steel pipe headed to Baytown TX right off I-10. So I get there an hour ahead of time, which by the way, the shipper strongly tells a driver not to do. I have no clue why since there is plenty of truck parking outside the guard shack. I might add that this same shipper tells drivers not to “loiter” around after loading – they say to get your securement on quickly and GET OFF their property. Just how neighborly is that?  They don’t even allow you to tarp there. I’m surprised this company even allows trucks inside to load the way they treat drivers. The wacky, I mean Wackenhut security clown they’ve hired to “police” truckers demands you shown her/him a photo ID before you’re allowed into the plant. From the street to the spot where they load you is less than 100 yards. That’s 100 yards of misery for the driver. This place, for the record, used to be a large ARROW TRUCKING account. That should tell you plenty.

I park the truck and walk to check in. I guess they can’t afford a CB. Just as well, since I deplore sitting in the truck hour after hour waiting on a call on the CB. Take my cell number and call me for heavens sake. But that’s asking too much for the typical rent-a-cop and a company of this kind. Why pop for a $69 CB and a $29 antenna? I see that there are about six other trucks ahead of me – TMC, Mercer, BT – Builders Transport, etc. Well, I come to find out that this place is running five to seven hours behind. Yes, I said FIVE TO SEVEN HOURS behind. When they’re ready, someone will come and get me. Great, don’t you love when you’re in a deep sleep snuggled in the bunk nice and warm – dreaming about fishing or something – and someone bangs on the side of your truck. It’s why, when I get home, I’m nervous sleeping the first few days.

No apology or excuse was offered – it’s just said very cavalierly -  like it’s rainy now or do the dishes or honey, take out the garbage. The security guard you’re dealing with is clueless as to what is going on – couldn’t care less – and most likely will be working somewhere else next week. Now what if you went to the dentist and was told you had to wait five to seven hours to remove that painful tooth, or please take your seats ladies and gentlemen, but the movie tonight will start five to seven hours later – you’ll just have to wait. What about this – you go to start your car and a voice says “sorry, I’m you’re car and we will not be starting for five to seven hours.” Could you imagine that? So please understand readers, I was very angry, and if you drive a truck, I know you’ve been in the same situation many times before. And you blood pressure goes up and you have to decide how to kill the time. Some drivers live nearby. I live 1,128 miles from my front door – I guess I’m stuck here.

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I had to clean this up, but here’s the joke one driver told me today – President Obama, the First Lady and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, were flying somewhere on Air Force One. Pelosi says: “if I tossed a $100 bill out the window down to the ground someone would be really happy.” The President responded by saying: “If I threw ten $10 bills out the window, a lot of people would be happy.” The First Lady, Michele, said, “if I threw out one hundred $1 bills, more people would be happy” Up front on the flight deck the captain overhearing the conversation on the open PA system says: “If I threw all three of you out, millions would be thrilled.” And so, the other night, Scott Brown, a Republican, was elected to fill the seat left vacant by the long term Democrat, Edward Kennedy from Massachusetts, who passed away from brain cancer.

If you think truckers are an unhappy bunch, check with everyone else around you. There are so many regulations about to go into effect in so many industries and professions from teaching to medicine to  drugs, it’ll make your head spin. No one knows if  Bush or Obama called out the government against the people. We are being choked by the folks were elected to office to help us. The health care reform “deal” is a disaster. And although I voted for Obama – I did not vote for Pelosi or Reid – the way “they” handled this important legislation was disgraceful. Sending more troops to Afghanistan is wrong. Withdrawal from Iraq is taking too long. The promise of transparency has never become a reality. Unemployment is high. Credit is still tight. Businesses are failing. People are defaulting  on their mortgages. Banks and investment firms are doling out million in bonuses. The other promise – change -  is nonexistent. Someone is running this country, but it isn’t us.

It has been a year of let’s go round and round the maypole. The Congress – both Republicans and Democrats along with Harvard and Yale MBA’s and lawyers in the Executive Branch have shown to us that they are nothing but whining spoiled children. If you are a truck driver, you know what it’s like when your drives get stuck in the mud – how can something so large, so powerful and heavy just not be able to move forward? That is the government of the United States. Bureaucratic, bloated and costing trillions, the time for change is long overdue. President Obama’s promise has not seen the light. I see the President – he’s looks Presidential – BUT – I want to shake him and say: “What the heck are you doing ? Are you listening to the people? Do you have any clue about how we feel? Where did you go? Where’s the guy from the campaign last year?

It is absolutely no surprise about what happened in Massachusetts. Trust me – hold on to your seat belts – because it is only the beginning. I think the entire Senate and House needs to be thrown out. Tagging along with them should be the DOT, FMCSA and every other government agency that should be seeing that citizens get greater compensation, jobs, health care COST reduction, and a military that doesn’t police the world. We must stop them from hiding under the petticoats of everything we don’t need right now because we simply can’t afford it. Taking the trucking industry as one example, drivers can’t afford their truck payments or insurance, but the government wants them to pay more for health, more for safety, more taxes, more fines and greater fees. It’s absurd.

The government right now is in crisis. Why? Because “we” the voters hate them. We’re not going to wait for Obama to change things. The President – well – a nice young smart man – but its time to call a time out, huddle and come out fighting. We need a leader, not an organizer or compromiser. We need a bunch of touchdowns. This dropping back every other week to punt just isn’t working. The last year of this Presidency has been one big Oprah style photo op. One year – 12 months – and where are we? Nowhere. There’s been no change – it been a hodge podge of utter inefficiency, childish fighting and partisan politics. The President says change is never easy and takes time. But just when is some – any change going to begin? American has run out of patience.

Hey Garmin, Rand McNally, Cobra and the rest of you, listen up. I want to say this to a GPS – no pushing any buttons – “from where I am right now, I want to go to the nearest large truck stop with a CAT scale and a restaurant – compute.” And I want the answer fast. I want to see the results on a 5″ inch screen that has a rubber knob to turn the brightness up or down. I want another knob to the adjust the volume. I want to turn off the screen at night and just listen to the audio directions. I do not want the route color in pink, magenta or some other “girly” color. I want to see as much detail as possible. I want to know where weigh stations are, a wide variety of voices that give me the directions and will not take me down dirt roads where truck don’t belong. And I also want to be able to say this: “take me to EXIT 65 on I-10.”  I have not seen any GPS units that enables you to enter interstate exit numbers.

Rand McNally has their recently introduced truck GPS. They should have sent me one to try out and review. They didn’t. Everything I have heard about this unit is bad. The price is too high. And it simply doesn’t work. The folks in the truck stops tell me they’re not selling. So, until Rand McNally shows me otherwise, don’t bother putting it on your Valentine’s Day gift list. If you have this product and it works for you, please post a comment and tell me about your experience. I’ve tried to Google as much as I could on what Rand McNally calls the IntelliRoute TND 500, but I’m not getting much to report on. Same goes with other trucking blogs, website and forums.

As you know my Garmin was stolen at a truck dealer in Baltimore last week. I’m back to using my old Invion GPS, which is really for cars and does not work in Canada. My wife bought it from QVC where they offer 3,4,5 or even 6 “easy” payments on many of their electronics. I have decided not to replace it, because I really want a truck specific unit. Garmin has one, but after reading the user guide online, it just isn’t what I want. Quite frankly, I feel Garmin units are great for women. Sexist? Absolutely not. The display has a variety of cute little cars and the route is highlighted in magenta. It is feminine and I don’t want it on my windshield.

I’m interested in the Cobra unit, but the darn display is as large as an IMAX movie screen. It’s like having a television sitting on your dash. Did they think we needed a screen so large when most GPS units are about 15 inches from a truckers eyeballs? But despite the super sized display, it seems to have the features I want. Again, I went on line to read the users manual. I see the cost has come down to around $399, which is still pricey for me – I wish QVC would sell it so I could take advantage of “easy pay.” I also need a new Bluetooth headset and some other stuff and the miles just aren’t there right now for me to support such “extravagant” purchases. Cobra supposedly was going to come out with a 5″ unit, but I haven’t seen it. Again, if you have this unit please post a comment.

There are truck GPS units made by PC Miler, Goodyear, World Nav and others. These units are sitting on the truck stops shelves with cobwebs. I don’t have the time or financial resources to “mess around” with manufacturers other than Cobra or Garmin. Returning any electronics to a Flying J or Pilot is difficult and time consuming. No that’s not really true – it is next to impossible. I bought something PC related at FJ and it didn’t work. I ended up having to send it to FJ corporate headquarters in Utah for a refund. I was lucky to finally receive a check.

So, although I have my old GPS back, I need an upgrade as soon as possible. I don’t want to go back to using MS Streets & Trips again. That never really worked for me having my laptop out and on all the time, despite Microsoft’s claims that the 2010 version is the “cats meow.” And all in all, I believe the manufacturers need to do a better job of getting more feedback from drivers (they say they do, but they really don’t) and send some test units out to the media for review and comment. I’d really like to try one of these units for 60-90 days before I have to commit to laying out $499 for one. Consumer Reports.org has rated 4 of these units, but you need to subscribe to read the results. It would really be a plus if OOIDA would buy 1000 Cobra units and sell them to drivers at a great discount along with a year’s membership. But we know that’s never going to happen.

I didn’t know what else to call this post. Its about Haiti. As you know, there was a terrible earthquake there last week – another one this morning. Many thousands have lost their lives. People are in need. The entire country appears to be destroyed. And day after day on the front page of every newspaper you view the images of devastation. Today was the first day I didn’t see anything about Haiti above the fold on The New York Times, due to the coverage of the special election in Massachusetts. But Haiti will be in hearts and minds for many years to come.

Or will it? Pat Robertson, the popular televangelist, says that the destruction of Haiti was a result of a pact it made with the devil. “They” brought “it” upon themselves. A big trucker favorite, Bubba The Love Sponge, says we should forget “them” and take care of our own here. Rush Limbaugh, another popular entertainer with truckers, has advised the American people not to give aid/money to the Haitian people because President Obama is using the Haiti disaster to improve his standings with blacks here in our country.

I would say this – based on my own very unscientific poll of truck drivers from Windsor to Detroit to Baltimore to Pittsburgh down here to Baytown TX – that 70% of “us” have an extremely negative (angry) opinion of Haiti and will NOT contribute to its relief. 20% will do “something” to help out and 10% just don’t care at all. Drivers have a lot of VERY disparaging things to say about a country that is only about 700 miles from our shores. Corrupt, violent, disorganized, poor, uneducated, lazy, etc. are some of the words being used to characterize the country and its people. The vile CB chatter refers to Haiti as “Voodo” land and Godless where criminals and drugs thrive.

I must admit, personally, that I reacted negatively as well when I heard the news. Haitians? Sorry. I am human. One night I prayed to God to please forgive me for my callousness toward Haiti. I thought of Katrina and all the suffering I’ve seen driving around the United States now and in past years. I thought of what I’ve been hearing – that maybe $.40 out of every dollar that anyone contributes to “relief” agencies might get to those who are suffering. And I reminded myself of our own severely strained financial and military resources – and the failure of other nations like Communist China and Russia to offer assistance to Haiti or anywhere else in need.

But, I can’t stop being an ethical and moral man. What happened in the past is the past and I feel we must offer help where help is needed. And I see the faces of the Haitian children. They should not have to suffer – pact with the devil or not. It doesn’t matter what color people are, what language they speak or what flag they live under. I know that some Haitian father, like me, who drove a truck around Haiti delivering stuff, just like we all do, has a family that is in great need right now. He doesn’t care about politics – he was just trying to get along paycheck to paycheck, like us. He needs help and his family doesn’t care where it comes from as long as they get it.

I can’t go a few hours without food – I hate not having a soda or juice or water near me all the time  24/7 – and these people have lost everything. It’s a nightmare. They need basics – food, water, shelter and medical care. So I ask that you do this. Yes, Americans need help. I agree, we must take of our own. But, for those working, like us, we can match dollar for dollar what we give. Two birds with one stone kind of thing. Win-win. Send $5 (more, if you can afford it) to the organization of your choice that you feel confident will help Haiti – maybe your church is the best place – but then also give $5 to your local homeless shelter, meals on wheels – it doesn’t matter – to help our folks here. But now is not the time to turn away- forget what Limbaugh, Bubba and Robertson say, and do the right thing, please. Because that’s what truckers – Americans – do. Close the great divide.

A great resource for taking at closer look at the charities involved can be found here: http://www.charitynavigator.org/ – Life On The Road is NOT recommending any charities to donate to, but suggests you contact the following for additional information: UNICEF, the University of Miami’s Project Medishare, American Red Cross, and Save the Children.