Roundtable with the Shop: Mechanics Talk Trucks & Repairs
Released 05/27/2026
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Episode description
Drivers and shop techs speak two different languages and Episode 16 of Always Pneumantic, Never Static is here to fix that. Host Marcus brings five members of Bulk Transit's shop team together for a roundtable that covers everything from what drivers should be watching for on their pre-trips to the repairs that cost the most when they get ignored for too long. Brad DeWolf, Owner and Maintenance Director, joins Jeff Horsley, Jeremy Hall, Junior Taylor, and Shawn Earlywine from the Plain City, Saginaw, and Foster terminals for a conversation that is equal parts practical and entertaining. Steer tires, drive tires, trailer maintenance, shop trends, and the kind of war stories that only come out when you get five mechanics in a room together with a live microphone. This is the episode every pro driver needs to hear because the best way to keep your truck on the road is to understand what keeps it off the road. And the best way to understand that is to ask the people turning the wrenches. New episodes every Wednesday at podcast.bulktransit.com.
This week on Always Pneumatic, Never Static, host Marcus opens with a very happy heavenly birthday to Ron DeWolf, the man whose vision built Bulk and Spur Transit into what it is today. Then the episode turns to one of Marcus's favorite things to record. The roundtable with the shop. Five members of Bulk and Spur's maintenance team from three different terminals join the show for a conversation about what they see every day, what drivers can do to help, and what they have found in trucks that they still cannot fully explain. This is the episode every pro driver needs to hear and probably the most entertaining one yet.
Episode Highlights
A heavenly birthday to Ron DeWolf: Marcus opens the episode with a tribute to Ron DeWolf, the founder of Bulk and Spur Transit, whose birthday falls around the time this episode releases on May 28th. From everyone under the Bulk and Spur umbrella, thank you for the company you built and the opportunities you created for so many people.
The shop is hard to get: Brad DeWolf organized the whole thing and Marcus is quick to acknowledge it. These guys are not hard to get on a podcast because they are unwilling. They are hard to get because they are genuinely that busy. Jeff Horsley has been at the Plain City terminal for 37 years. Junior Taylor has been at Foster for 18. Getting an hour of their time is not a small thing and it shows.
What drivers can do to help, landing legs: Across all three terminals the number one preventable issue is bent or folded landing legs from drivers who do not check trailer height before hooking up or who forget to raise the legs before pulling out. Jeremy Hall from Saginaw described a driver who completely folded a full set of legs driving off the yard. Brad nearly threw out his neck nodding when it came up.
Stow your airlines: Jeremy also called out drivers leaving airlines on the catwalks in wet weather. Water in the air system is not a small problem. At Saginaw alone an ABS replacement from water damage runs around five hundred dollars. The fix is simple. Put the airlines away.
Tires are expensive and patience is free: Foster terminal's Shawn Earlywine and Junior Taylor flagged drivers not letting air ride trailers fully air up before moving. Dragging tires off a trailer because you were in a hurry costs seven hundred dollars for a drive tire and over six hundred for a steer. Junior's advice is simple. Take five minutes at the fuel stop to check your tires. It is better than sitting on the side of the road for four hours waiting for a service call.
Dome lids and the cement haulers: Brad recalled cement, fly ash, and lime haulers specifically to wipe the buildup off the top of their dome lid lips. Keeping that surface clean makes dome lid seals last significantly longer and prevents expensive leaks.
The attitude that fixes everything: Brad closed the preventable issues discussion with something that the whole shop agreed on. Ask yourself one question before you leave the yard. What can I do better that would make somebody else's day easier? His words were: the answer is always yes. There is always something. And if everyone across the company took that attitude the ripple effect would prevent more repairs than any policy ever could.
The craziest things ever found in a truck: Marcus kicked off the most entertaining segment of the episode by describing a 48 ounce industrial tub of Vaseline found in a door panel at another terminal. The shop guys did not disappoint with their own stories. Shawn found weeks worth of old lunches stacked on the seat and a half eaten bag of dog treats of unknown purpose. Junior found Playboys under a bunk with a Bible on top and something in the fuse panel that technically made it to air after some deliberation. Jeremy found what he described as an entire outdoor setup including a portable grill and a folding chair strapped behind the bunk.
Pre-trips are not optional: Every tech at every terminal comes back to the same thing. Slow down on the pre-trip. Check the obvious. Tires, lights, air hoses, landing legs. The things that cause service calls and breakdowns are almost always the things that a thorough pre-trip would have caught. Jeremy put it best. Do it enough times and it becomes muscle memory. Then you stop having to think about it.
Brad's final word on drivers: Brad was clear that this episode was never meant to be a gripe session. Bulk and Spur has drivers who go above and beyond what is asked of them every single day. The shop team knows it and appreciates it. The goal is simply to find the small things that make everybody's day a little better and reduce the time trucks spend off the road.
From The Host
“I have said it before and I will say it again. The shop guys are the offensive linemen of the trucking industry. Nobody sees what they do. Nobody calls to say thank you when the truck runs perfectly. But the moment something goes wrong they are the first call and they bend over backwards to get you back on the road. Brad said it best today. What they are doing out there is saving lives. A detached axle does not just affect the driver. It affects everyone sharing the road with that truck. So the next time you are doing your pre-trip and you are thinking about skipping the tire check or leaving the airlines on the catwalk, think about the five guys you heard from today. They are out there for you. The least we can do is make the small things a habit.” — Marcus Bridges, Host
Have a story to tell or want to be a guest? Email us at podcast.bulktransit.com
Transcript
Expand to read the full episode transcript.
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Normally on these cold opens, I use the minute or so that I have to set up what we're going to talk
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about here on the podcast today, but today's cold open is a little bit different. Well, actually it's
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a lot different. It's a very special cold open that's very near and dear to all of us here, not
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only at always pneumatic, never static, but at bulk and spur at large. Uh, there's a man that is
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instrumental in this entire thing that we've all been given this opportunity to work for this
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great company in one capacity or another. Uh, and that man is Ron DeWolf. Of course. You guys, uh, if
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you didn't get to meet him, um, I know that those of you that did would tell so many great stories
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about the person, the leader that Ron DeWolf was. And on May 28th, which is around the
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time that this episode will release, we hear it always pneumatic, never static, and everyone at
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Bulk and Spur would like to wish Ron DeWolf A very happy heavenly birthday and say thank
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you for this fantastic company that you've built that we all get the opportunity to work for. Um, it
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is such a fantastic group of people, and it comes through every single time that we have
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employees for Bulk and Spur on this podcast, and you're going to see it again in the podcast
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episode that we are bringing you today. But this was a very important thing that we wanted to do
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here. So from everyone under the umbrella of Bulk and Spur, including us here at Always Pneumatic,
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never Static Ron happily happy Heavenly Birthday and thank you so much for all these opportunities.
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You are listening to. Always pneumatic, never static. The Totally Pressurized podcast brought to
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you by Bulk Transit, where we keep the lines clear, the tanks empty, and the conversation anything but
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dried. Whether you're running powder pellets or anything in between. Pull up a seat, crack the
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windows and let's hit it. How's it going out there? Balkan Spur.
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Welcome into always pneumatic and never Static. Thank you so much for being here for our episode
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this week. Uh, as always, we appreciate every single one of you that clicked download. Your listens are
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the reason that we do this. Uh, so we are committed to keeping you entertained and informed out there
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on the road as you deliver, uh, with those beautiful pneumatic trailers and that awesome
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equipment. Uh, and I do say that for a very poignant reason today. But first, let's get to some
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homework before I tell you why that reason is so poignant. Uh, podcast.bulktransit.com is the
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website. Now, I want to drive this point home to you guys today, because it's been a little while
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since I've heard from any of you. Uh, there is a link up on that website once again,
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podcast.bulktransit.com that will send an email directly to me. do directly. I don't know why
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I went ahead and just changed that word, but directly to me, it'll come right to my pocket. I
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carry my phone with me everywhere and that's where I check my email. So if you want to be on
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this show, if you want to come on and talk about something that you see every day, something that
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is a part of the job, I'm always open for suggestion. And you can ask some of your other
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drivers out there. Uh, we have turned multiple ideas that have been emailed to us into episodes
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already, and we will continue to do that. If you work for Bulk or Spur, uh, we want to talk to
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you if you want to talk to us. So please utilize that link on the website, which once again you got
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a book market podcast.bulktransit.com. Send me a message and we'll get you on the show. We will
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get your idea turned into an episode. Uh, it doesn't matter. Hey, you can just, uh, shoot me a
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message and ask me how my day is, too. I'll definitely start up a conversation with you via
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email. So make sure to head on over there. Bookmark the website because that's not only a place where
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you can get in touch with me. That is a place where you can go to find every single episode
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we've ever produced, all of the information about what we're talking about and who joined us on
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that episode. And on top of that, the quizzes that you can take that'll make sure that you're paying
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attention out here on the road. And of course, those quizzes are a conduit to win some prizes
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sometime later on in the year. Uh, we will tell you later on in the year, at a later episode, that, hey,
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make sure you take the quiz for this one, because that is your entry to get into our giveaway. And
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we've already given away two really great cooling vests. Uh, and I'm sure that those guys are putting
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those to use right now as the weather starts to get warmer here. So podcas.bulktransit.com
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is your website. Make sure to throw a bookmark on that thing and visit it once a week for a new
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hour plus of content from us here at Always Pneumatic Never Static. I really feel like we're
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developing a lot of momentum with this podcast right now, and today's interview segment is going
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to be proof of that. Um, this is one of the most special episodes to me, if I may be
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so self-indulgent. Uh, because this episode is one where we might get one of these a year and you'll
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hear that come through later on, uh, because of how busy these guys are. But today is our roundtable
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with the shop. I'm so excited. Applause party horns.
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Oh, that was the wrong button. But, uh, uh, that's my loser buzzer. I did not mean to play that. Uh,
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that's the price is right. Uh, you got it. Wrong button. It's near and
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dear to all of our hearts, right? We all spent a sick day at home in elementary school watching
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Bob Barker and The Price is Right, so I had to have that button, but excuse my oversize fingers
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from hitting it. It's all party horns and applause today because we get to talk to not one, not two,
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but five guys that are involved in the shop, uh, or the shops at large, I should say, in bulk
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and spur. And these episodes are not easy to get. Okay. And it's at no fault
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whatsoever to the guys in the shop. None of them. Because the reason they're so hard to get is
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because they are so busy and they work at such a high level that they just can't pull away for
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an hour just to wag their chin at me very often. And, uh, today we're very lucky to have five
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guys in here, including Brad DeWolf, kind of, uh, the leader of the pack here. And, uh, listen, I
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understand sometimes podcasting isn't the thing that you guys signed up to do here. So even when
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you're a little bit, uh, standoffish about coming on and you agree to do it, we greatly appreciated.
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And that's what we have here today. We've got guys that are busy. They're literally keeping you guys
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safe out there on the road. You drivers, and they're doing the best job that they can to keep
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the equipment up to date. We've had a lot of drivers on this show talk to us about how they
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love the equipment at bulk, and they love their job at bulk. Well, let me tell you something. After,
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uh, about four years of making podcasts for truck drivers and for trucking fleets, I can tell you
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that is not always par for the course across the industry. If drivers have a problem with the
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equipment, they are very vocal about it. And that's one of the reasons that we wanted to bring some
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people in here from the shop to talk to us about issues that they're seeing and how drivers can
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help prevent those. And also, uh, just how you can make everybody's day a little bit better. That's a
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theme that will come through in this interview, and I can't thank these guys enough. Had them for
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almost an hour, uh, which is really big when you think about the amount of work that they can get
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done on any given project in that amount of time. So without further ado, I want to welcome our shop
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guys in here. We've got guys from three different terminals today and we're going to cover a lot of
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info. So if you're a driver, you're listening to this right now and you're wondering, man, I wonder
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if there's anything I can be doing that would help the shop out, make their day a little bit
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better. This is your episode. Uh, these guys are going to give you a lot of really great
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information about the things that they see from their perspective. And as you might imagine, it's a
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lot different than your perspective out there on the road. So let's bring these guys in here and do
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our roundtable with the shop from Bulk and Spur.
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You know, one of my very favorite types of episodes to make when I'm making podcasts for
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trucking fleets is the episode when we finally get to talk to the shop. And that can be anybody
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from the shop now. Obviously we've already had Brad in here. Uh, just shortly. But, uh, this is
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something that we don't get to do that often because the shop is a very, very busy part of the
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business. But today we're very fortunate to have not one, not two, but five members, uh,
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covering three different terminals for bulk and Spur. And I'm very excited to welcome these guys
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in here today to talk shop with me quite literally. So let's welcome first in Brad DeWolf.
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Brad, thank you so much for being here today, my friend. You kind of organized this whole thing for
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me. And I greatly appreciate the effort, man, because you came through. Oh you're welcome Markus,
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I, I'm really trying to save me from having to talk so much. So I wanted to get as many people on
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the podcast as possible. Uh, so, you know, you originally said for. So I got at least five. You
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did, you did, man. And I really appreciate it. And I will also thank you for organizing, uh, the lunch
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that we got to have with the guys from the shop at the Plane City terminal when we were out there.
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I've referenced it multiple times on this podcast. Uh, we got all a bunch of people in the room. We
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all got filled up on some awesome barbecue, and it was one of the most entertaining hours that I
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spent at the Plane City terminal. So I'm really looking forward to this. Well, you know, unfiltered
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shop discussions can be pretty entertaining sometimes, but we'll try not to go there today on
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this podcast too much. We don't want to go over the line. All right, I hear you. Well, let's welcome
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some of these other guys in here. In fact, let's welcome them all in here. Uh, first off, joining us
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also out there at the plane city terminal, we got Jeff Horsley on the line. Jeff, thanks for being
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here. No problem. Now, Jeff, how long have you been working out there at the plane city terminal?
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Uh, about 37 years. Oh, only 37 years, huh? Yeah, well, welcome in,
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man. Uh, you told me when we were talking, you said, well, Brad's gonna probably make me do it, but, uh,
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we appreciate you being here, man. We really do. I promise I'll take it easy on you today. All right.
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I hope so. Thanks for being here, Jeff. Uh. No problem. Next up, let's welcome from the Saginaw
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terminal, Jeremy Hall. Jeremy, welcome, my friend. Thanks for being here. No problem. Now, Jeremy, how
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long have you been out there at the Saginaw terminal in the shop? I've been with the Saginaw
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terminal just a little over a year and a half now. And how do you like it out there? It has its
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ups and downs, but we make do with what we got. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I think you just, uh, that you just
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personified every job that you can have. It's got its ups and downs. Uh, we understand that very well.
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Uh, thanks for being here, Jeremy. We appreciate the time. Uh, coming up next here, we've got a couple of
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guys from the foster terminal. Uh, let's welcome first Junior Taylor to the show. Junior, thank you
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for being here, my friend. And how long for you on board out there at the Foster Terminal
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Shop 18. 18 years. 18 years. Wow. We got a couple of
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long timers here with us so far today. I don't think anybody's probably going to beat Brad, but,
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uh, you know, 37 and 18 is a pretty good chunk, man. Uh, how do you like it out there at the foster
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terminal, junior? Uh. Great, man. It's, uh, it's a good place to work.
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Amen to that, man. Uh, thank you for being here, junior. Uh, next up, also from the foster terminal
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and our final guest today, we've got Shawn Earlywine on the show. Shawn, thanks for the time, man. How you
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doing out there? Hey, I'm good, man. That's it. Uh, okay. No, I say
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it's it's a privilege to work here. I've been here for be 16 years. August the
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23rd. That's wild. So just on the phone here, uh, not including Brad's time. We've
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got something like 30 plus years of experience. Uh, just with the guys that are outside of Brad and
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Brad. I'll ask you for your time, too. How long has it been since you first put on the shoes and went
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to work at Bulk and Spur for dad? Oh, well, I'm not going to date myself, but I was. I was not able to
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drive, and I didn't really know how to drive the mower that he had me running, so I was about 12.
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It's been close to 40, but actually. That's. Amazing. Just got more seniority in me because I quit and
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came back. So he just the longest tenured guy on this call. Okay, Jeff. Well,
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uh, do you ever do you ever flex that muscle over Brad? Jeff. Does he ever get lippy with you? No, I
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don't use it. No. Sure don't. Well, better man than I am. Better man than I am for sure. Fellas.
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Well, listen, I, I really appreciate your guys's time here. I want to jump right in, because one of
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the reasons we don't get to talk to the shop guys often, as I said, is because you guys are busy and
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rightfully so. Without you guys, this company doesn't move forward. We got to keep these trucks
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safe and on the road. So, uh, I'm gonna ask a question here and kind of go around the room and
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let you guys all give your take on it. And I think the first thing that I want to ask and, Brad, I'm
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going to start right off the top here with you, what is something that drivers probably don't
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realize about the shop side of the business from your perspective? Brad?
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Oh, well, I have to think about this one for a minute. Marcus. Um, I guess they don't, uh, they
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probably don't take into account. How much of a
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distraction it is sometimes for, uh, for you to walk up and and just start a
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conversation with a mechanic or asking to do even the smallest task. And the reason why I say that
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is because the mechanics are in the middle of the job, and what you don't want them to do is quit
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doing something when they're in the middle of it, because that then they forget, you know, you forget
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to tighten this up or talk that bold or check that, you know. So what I think the drivers, the
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biggest thing we want to make sure is we don't distract the mechanics from finishing important
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safety tasks before, uh, proceeding to help whatever their need
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is. I totally understand that. You know, I know you guys probably know this about me, but I'll. I'll
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give you a peek behind the curtain. I'm a bit chatty. Uh, and, boy, can I get distracted very
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easily. I imagine doing the things that the mechanics have to do, uh, is a very detail oriented
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job. And somebody coming up, tapping on your shoulder, asking you what you thought about the
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most recent college football game, uh, can be a real hindrance. Is what you're saying there, Brad?
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Or even if they come in and say, hey, I need a I need a wiper blade replace, which obviously that's
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something we want to run out and do right now. We're not going to make them wait for that, but
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just to. Just to make sure that they know to not just expect us to just drop everything right in
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the middle of it, run out there and do the wiper blade. We need to finish our task to where we're
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at a safe quitting point before we move to another task, and then we can come back and we'll
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be able to finish both jobs in a very safe manner. Great insight there. I love that answer. Jeff, we're
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going to you next. With all that experience, what would you say is something drivers might not
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understand about the shop side of things? I'd say Brad hit it pretty good. You know, I mean,
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sometimes we just can't stop and just run straight out. Absolutely. You know, we got to go
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through the channels. You know, we gotta, you know, instead of stopping what we're doing. So.
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And out and we work on everybody's stuff too, you know. So we sometimes we get busy.
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Absolutely. And I can imagine it's easy for a driver to, uh, sort of be focused in on, on their
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own truck and keeping that thing safe. And it's sort of hard to understand that, hey, we've got a
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lot of trucks that are coming through here. So sometimes it's probably it's not intentionally
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kind of, uh, self-centered, but it's like they have to be self-centered. They want to keep their
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trucks safe, so they're worried about it at the top of their priority list all the time. But you
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guys have, right, just a litany of priorities to get to, right? Well, they always say it only takes a
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minute. An hour later, you're still working on it. I get that, man, I get that. That's why my mechanic
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bills so high on my Silverado. Every time he tells me three hours, it's six. But I think you guys are
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better mechanics than they are for sure, so. Well, uh, that's. That's Marcus says as they ask for a
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wiper blade. And then once you get out there on their truck, they need this. That's an overhaul as
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well. You know, the the list keeps growing. Yeah, right. It goes from a from a wiper blade to the
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top half of the engine needs to be replaced. Right. Sometime. Yeah. And that's only because we haven't
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looked at the bottom half of the engine yet, so. No. Uh, look, our trucks here are maintained very well,
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and that's one of the reasons we wanted to get on with you guys. All jokes aside. Uh, you guys run a
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really tight ship out there, and the drivers, uh, they comment on it when I'm talking to them. Uh,
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they're very happy with the way the trucks are maintained. They love the equipment. Uh, trailers as
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well. Um, let's go to Jeremy here for the answer to the same question. Jeremy, from your perspective
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out there in Saginaw. Uh, what's something you think the drivers might not fully realize about
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the shop side? Uh, honestly, the biggest thing is that
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they don't realize that not everything's going to happen, like, right then and there. Like, for
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instance, if they're having an AC problem or if they're having an exhaust leak, you know,
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it could be something that's a bigger job that's going to take more than, you know, an hour or two
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hours. Especially, you know, being here in Saginaw where we have to do everything pretty
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much either we have to have an outside vendor come and help, or if I've got to order a
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part and the lead time is, you know, a day or two and they just feel like it has to be done,
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like right then and there. And sometimes it's trying to get them to understand that it's not
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always going to be right then and there. Then it's just trying to get them to understand it and be
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calm about it. Sure. Now, is that something that's sort of unique to the Saginaw terminal, or is that
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is that more than just the Saginaw terminal? Does that apply to all of them? And maybe Jeremy, you
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could comment too. But Brad, I'll come to you on this after. Oh, oh go ahead. I think it's just
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something across the industry as a general idea is that sometimes, like, for instance,
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if a a truck loses a driveline, you know, they may be out of that truck for, you know,
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a week, maybe more, depending on how much damage was done. And then they keep coming back to you
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everyday when my truck is going to be done with my truck going to be done, you have to explain to
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them it's at the shop. This is the update. Once I have something new then I'll tell you.
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Copy, Brad, your thoughts there? Yeah. I mean, he nailed it. What what? I mean it and we all do it. I
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mean, we do it with our own cars, right? When you have a problem with your car and you take it to
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the dealership and you're like, why is it taking so long? My truck's at the dealer right now. I'm
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waiting on them to call and tell me when it's going to be fixed. You know what I mean? I want to
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call them up and say, where's my truck going to be done? But I do this job every day, so I don't call
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them. I just wait for them to call me. But that, I mean, he nailed it. Um, it just looks easy, you know?
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Everything looks easy, but. Yeah. And in Jeremy's case, where he is dealing with mainly outside
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repair facility. So Jeremy is more of a maintenance coordinator, more than a direct hands
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on mechanic, even though he does some work. He does some of that too. But, uh, he does a lot more
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coordinating than he does mechanical stuff, I would say. And so he got the he's at the mercy of
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all the outside vendors, uh, repair facilities. And they're parks people, right? So he doesn't always.
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He's not always in charge of getting the park sometimes that he's relying on them to do that. So,
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um, we have a little more control when our own shops when it comes to parks and scheduling. But a
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job still take time. You know what I mean? Just because we have a truck that's broke and a
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mechanic that's there doesn't fix it, you got to still put the four hours in to do the whatever
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the job is and to put it out there, put out, you know, we want to put out a product that it that
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that drivers don't have to come back. You know that's our goal. Sure. It's always absolutely. It's
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impossible to attain that 100%. You know what I mean? But it's our goal. When we send a truck out
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of here that doesn't have to come back. I mean, that's our goal. Jeremy, you were going to jump in
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there. Yeah, I was going to say, you know, like this morning before I got on my phone call with
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you, I was over at our vendor's shop putting a warranty, landing leg on this morning, just trying
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to make sure that it got done. And then we didn't have to pay so much on the bill. So
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there's something there are things that I can do, like simple stuff, but then like the bigger stuff.
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Brad's right. Because we did. We send it out to our vendor and I do try to coordinate. And that's one
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of my biggest things about here being in Saginaw, even the Sherman office is just trying to make
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sure we coordinate everything. So I don't have, you know, three trailers in the shop at one time.
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Right. It's kind of, uh, it's kind of a, uh, just a, a numbers game there. You're trying to play all the
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time, and and the numbers are, uh, always fighting you to try to add up, aren't they? Right. They
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always. If I don't let them add up, then I know I can expect a phone call from Brad. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
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All right, well, that's great insight there. Uh, a little bit of, uh, of a unique situation at the
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Saginaw terminal. Makes me curious about the foster terminal. So let's bring in Junior Taylor
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here real quick. Junior, what's something drivers probably don't realize about the shop side of
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things? From your perspective, my friend? Uh, pretty much same thing. What they said. And, uh,
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they expect stuff to be done right then. Never. You know, it doesn't always work that way.
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So, I mean, we got spare trucks, put em in. Never really give em like you try to get it done as
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soon as possible, but it doesn't always work out that way for sure. Shawn. And for the most part,
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they're pretty good. Okay. All right. Shawn, anything to add there since you're out there at foster as
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well? Um, yeah. I mean, I was just going to kind of piggyback off of the other guys. I mean, the
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the one small thing always turns into three things or five or, I mean, and and they don't
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seem to have a lot of patience. You know, they, they, they want their stuff done and then they want it
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done in a timely manner. And most of the time we can get it done in that timely manner. But there's
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always that issue that comes along that we have to take them from their truck or take their
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trailer from them. And, and, you know, in a perfect world, everyone keeps their own truck and their
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own trailer. But but this world ain't perfect. This world. Isn't perfect. We try the best that
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we can, you know. And then. Yeah, for the most part, they just. They don't have a lot of patience. You
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know. I hear, man. And they do like to talk. Well, yeah, of course they do. That's why we got them
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a podcast, right. They do like. Yes, they I mean they these guys will follow you around the shop and
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everything just to try to have a full on conversation with you. Oh, it's. The wrong mouth.
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Though. Yeah. Well, it's lonely out there on the road, fellas. Right. John's the peacemaker. Yes,
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I'm the one that runs them off. Okay, listen to everything everyone has to say. We we got enough
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time with each other. We know each other, what we need and. And and all the drivers. The fence here,
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everybody's impatient. They they want to get there. Everyone go. Home. Yeah, we. Know they only they want.
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Like. 30. So, uh, we understand, we understand. But it doesn't make it doesn't make it any
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easier. So. But we totally understand it and and everyone's that way. Um, so for sure.
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Junior. Go ahead. You were. You were getting in there underneath Brad, and he kind of the the way
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our recording works is he's going to kind of, uh, jump on you guys here. So I'll make sure and come
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back to you if I hear you jumping in, but please go ahead. Yeah, yeah. You need to stop him from
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doing that. I'll tell you what. I'll put that on. I'm going to put that on Jeff today since Jeff
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out, out seniority is him okay. Yeah. You'd be nice. Yeah, man. Yeah. Like if they come in just for like
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a break or something like that. Why? Why it's in here. You want to look over other stuff too. But, I
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mean, it's hard to catch these guys. Sure. They're rolling, you know, they're they're gone most of the
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time. So when you can, even if you got to go out to, like, the fuel pump and look at their trailers or
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trucks whenever you get a chance, just look them over. Yes, sir. Now, uh, this that first
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of all and foremost, that's great insight. I think the drivers can really learn something from all
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of these questions that we've gotten. You guys just went through a bevy of things that. That you
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see every single day, that maybe the drivers don't have the best frame of reference for. And that's
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why we're here today. Um, this next one is very much the same. And, Brad, I think this is going to
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be your favorite question that I ask all day. So I'm going to start here with you. What are the
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most common preventable issues rolling into the shop right now? Uh, something that you guys are
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seeing a ton of that maybe the drivers can help out with preventing or at least understand better
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why these things are going down. What are you seeing? Well, 100%. I think this will
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foster maybe the one exception, because they don't drop and hook as much as most of our terminals,
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but it's definitely the most preventable. Damages that we see
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are mainly due to coupling and decoupling. Trailers, loaded trailers. So we do a lot of
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landing legs that are bent. And we do a lot of, uh, um, fifth wheel cushion
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rings. Um, we also if it gets really egregious,
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then we have to put a rear crossmember in the truck. Oh, um, all these are preventable because we
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we spec in our all our all of our tractors, all of our equipment has a suspension dump valve.
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And if they would just take a little bit more time, be a little more patient, and properly use
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the dump valve. Uh, we prevent most landing gear problems and
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all cushion ring problems. Okay. That's. I mean, very straightforward there. Jeff. I'm coming to you
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next, man. Uh, same thing, something different. Uh, obviously Brad's got a really good eye on it, but,
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uh, what are you seeing? No, that's our biggest problem, right? There is a cushion ring and stuff
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like that. And the dolly legs and. Are any of those? Can you maybe just give me a
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representation of how hard something like that is to fix how long or how much time it's going to
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take? Uh, being a preventable thing, that's obviously something we're looking at is, hey, if
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we're if we're doing the job, uh, the best that we can, we're going to prevent some of this time. But,
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Jeff, give me an idea. How much time does it take to repair a bent leg or any of the other things
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you brought up here? Well, the legs might take some time, you know what I'm saying? Um, it might take a
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few hours, but, you know, the the cushion. You can change that in 15 minutes, but it's
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the cost that goes with it, you know, for the part. I mean, it adds up. I mean, if you got to do it
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every 30 days, you know. Sure. I mean, that cushion ring ain't.
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Interesting stuff there. And and listen, that's one thing we want to bring into the conversation. Here
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is the cost of this. That's one of the things we're trying to cut down on, right? We can cut down
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on maintenance costs. Everybody's going to make more money. That's a rising tide. Lifts all ships
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things. So, uh, great stuff there. Jeremy. Let's talk about Saginaw real quick. What's the most, uh,
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preventable issue that you see rolling into the shop out there? Is it the same thing? Uh, a lot of
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it is the landing legs. Um, we I've tried to get these guys to understand that if
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if you just take the time to gauge the height of the trailer before they try to hook up to it, then
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yeah, it could it would save a whole lot of time and problems. The, uh, the only other really
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bad thing. And it's nothing that thankfully we haven't had any issues, but I've been working on
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trying to get these guys back in the habit of doing the basic thing and just putting the
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airlines away at the end of the day, and the reason I said get on them so hard about it is
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because we're in the rainy season down here in Texas right now, and if they keep leaving their
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stuff on the catwalk, well, you know, water gets in the lines and then that water can push through
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the air system. And the next thing I know, I could be out of an air tank, a whole airline, or I may
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end up having to replace a whole set of air lines and cables. ABS. Wow, $500
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ABS. Those dry air dryers. That's a that's yeah, it's just a lot of the simple stuff. I'm trying to
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get my guys here back in the habit of, like, you know, draining your air tanks for your airlines, uh,
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making sure that you have everything you need. But that and yeah, landing legs are
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one of our biggest things. And some of them is really preventable. There's some times where it's
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just completely dry over here. Uh, I want to say, I think it was about a year ago, I had a
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guy completely fold a whole set of legs because he forgot to raise his landing legs up before he
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left. Oh, no. That that's that. That sounds like a big one now. It's funny, I, I can see Brad right now.
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He's on the screen. And, uh, Brad, I will say you just about threw a muscle out in your neck
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shaking your head that. Yes, the the same problems that Saginaw are the ones you're seeing at Plain
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City. Yeah. I'm really glad. I'm glad he brought up the airlines. I mean, that that that's, uh, something
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that we probably don't, uh, press enough around here, you know, because that can
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be, you know, you just don't want water in your air system, period. And. Sure. And it's became it's
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become so more it's so much more critical to have a dry air system now than what
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it used two years ago. So and it's always been kind of critical, but it's real critical now. Sure.
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Jeremy, did you have anything to add there before I head down to the foster terminal, fellas. Other
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than that, I mean, it's just trying to get people back into the bare, basic things that they should
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be doing. As you know, professional driver and just making sure that they do the do it right. And then
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if they keep doing it, it becomes muscle memory. And then they don't have to worry about
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overthinking. Oh, did I put this? No, I know I put it up because I went through my steps before I
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walked off the yard for sure. Now that's, you know, developing good habits, uh, can really help the
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shop. That's something that I can tell you from just my experience in talking to drivers, dealing
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00:32:41,419 --> 00:32:45,699
with other terminals. That's one thing the shop guys say. And we're going to get to a question
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about pre-trip inspections here in just a second. I think you guys are really going to love that
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one too. But first, I want to go down to the foster terminal and talk to Junior and Shawn, uh, about the
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the most common preventable issues that they're seeing at foster. Is it the same, uh, as we've
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already been talking about, guys, or is there other stuff. You want to do over here? Um, well, I mean,
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yeah, it kind of is the same, but I think the biggest thing here would be, uh, tires are like, I
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00:33:12,620 --> 00:33:19,539
have changed so many tires down here that I still have life left in them. You know, they
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00:33:19,699 --> 00:33:26,299
a lot of guys don't seem to have the time to let their trailer fully air up. They are air ride
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00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:32,258
trailers, most of them now. I think they're used to the spring ride trailers, so they don't let them
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air up properly, and then they will drag the tires off. Interesting. How, uh, junior, what from your
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perspective? Uh, I would say patience. And like Shawn said, tires, if they just
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00:33:45,620 --> 00:33:51,299
took the time while they're getting fuel, pick their tires. It's going to it's going to save on
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service calls and but I'd go like the cushions. I change a lot of those because every
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time if a trailer is hooked to the truck, whenever I bring it in, I drop the trailer. When I started
347
00:34:04,819 --> 00:34:11,819
was. So I've been finding a lot of cushions. Okay, cushions and tires. And listen, we know tires
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aren't cheap. Brad, I don't know if you got a number off the top of your head there real quick
349
00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:21,698
for, uh, drive tires or steer tires, but, uh, not a cheap thing to have to put on. No, they're not.
350
00:34:21,699 --> 00:34:28,699
They're way up there nowadays. Yeah, man. You're seven. You're 700 for a drive tire a little bit
351
00:34:28,699 --> 00:34:35,339
under that. And you know the steers are there over 600 and the trailer tires are 400. So
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00:34:35,459 --> 00:34:41,820
all tires are super expensive in this business. Uh, we don't run retread and trailer tires due to the
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aluminum fenders that we have. We do run some retread dry tires. Um, but for the
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most part, they're they're just expensive, you know? And I think one thing I would like to interject
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00:34:53,459 --> 00:35:00,219
here is virtually every, every item that we've touched on. And I'll touch on one more,
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00:35:00,580 --> 00:35:07,459
uh, for especially like the cement haulers, fly ash haulers, and lime haulers. Uh, if you wipe
357
00:35:07,459 --> 00:35:12,739
the top of your dome lid off and keep that, keep the build up from building up on top of that lip.
358
00:35:13,060 --> 00:35:19,499
It helps. Our dome lid seals last a lot longer. And you have much, much, uh, a lot fewer dome lid
359
00:35:19,499 --> 00:35:25,458
leaks. Um. Interesting. Aside from. That. Totally. Right. Aside from that,
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00:35:25,860 --> 00:35:32,779
um, one of the things that that I think every single item that we've hit on as far as what we
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00:35:32,780 --> 00:35:39,779
think can be preventable or all preventable by taking just a little more time because
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00:35:39,780 --> 00:35:45,179
most everything here is caused by being in a hurry. You know, definitely the cushion rings,
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00:35:45,219 --> 00:35:51,659
definitely the dolly legs, you know, everything's. And again, we understand everybody wants to get
364
00:35:51,659 --> 00:35:57,819
home. Everyone wants to spend at least. But one thing you know that what can you do to help
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00:35:57,820 --> 00:36:04,739
yourself have a better day? You know, and then I like to look at it sometimes as if.
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00:36:04,780 --> 00:36:11,020
What can I do to do my job better to make somebody else's job easier? You know, I think if
367
00:36:11,020 --> 00:36:17,299
everyone took that attitude and I take that attitude or try to. Sometimes you get in bad
368
00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:23,299
attitudes. Everybody does. But I try to look at it from that attitude and, and I think the answer
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00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:28,179
when I ask myself that question, the answer is always yes. There's something I can do better that
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00:36:28,179 --> 00:36:34,539
would make somebody else's job easier. And I think if everyone across the entire company looked at
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00:36:34,540 --> 00:36:41,378
it kind of in that way, we would prevent some of these. Uh, you know, we get sometimes a driver, a
372
00:36:41,379 --> 00:36:46,978
drop a trailer and didn't write up a bad product hose or a leaky product end. And then the next
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00:36:46,979 --> 00:36:53,659
driver gets a hold of it and he's got a problem. So, you know, what can I do better to help
374
00:36:53,659 --> 00:36:59,939
somebody else have a better day? And I think, uh, you know, that would help everything run smoother.
375
00:37:01,100 --> 00:37:06,259
100%, 100%. It's got a big ripple effect when you just do one little thing that can make somebody
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00:37:06,259 --> 00:37:11,300
else's day better, because then they're going to do one little thing and just on and on and on
377
00:37:11,300 --> 00:37:16,819
down the line. Uh, junior, I think I cut you off there a bit ago. Did you have anything else to add?
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00:37:16,820 --> 00:37:23,459
Before we move on to the next question, you or Shaun? Um, like Brad said there, you know, everybody
379
00:37:23,459 --> 00:37:29,939
wants to get home. But if they just took that 5 or 10 minutes here, you know, wherever at the
380
00:37:29,939 --> 00:37:35,939
shop, it's better than four hours down the road waiting for somebody to come fix a tire or
381
00:37:35,939 --> 00:37:42,779
something. For. Sure. So therefore, you're way behind now. Okay, I got it. Well, listen, fellas, uh, far be it
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00:37:42,780 --> 00:37:48,299
for me to not have a little bit of fun in here on the show. And I had an experience once I was at a
383
00:37:48,300 --> 00:37:53,378
terminal. Uh, a driver had just dropped his truck off the shop. Guys were in it. They were cleaning
384
00:37:53,379 --> 00:37:59,819
it out because he was getting into a new truck. And out walks the tech with a
385
00:37:59,820 --> 00:38:06,698
industrial sized tub of Vaseline. I'm talking 48oz. Uh, just it
386
00:38:06,699 --> 00:38:12,699
was in the. It was in the door panel. And he when he saw it, he went and gloved up and he grabbed
387
00:38:12,699 --> 00:38:19,340
Ahold of it, and he came out looking at me like he'd seen a ghost. So glad he gloved up, for sure.
388
00:38:19,340 --> 00:38:25,100
So I gotta ask you guys, uh, because you guys are constantly seeing it, and we'll leave names out of
389
00:38:25,100 --> 00:38:30,780
this. Don't tell me whose truck it was. But, uh, starting with you, Shawn, what is the strangest
390
00:38:30,780 --> 00:38:37,499
thing you've ever found in a truck that you were working on? So, I
391
00:38:37,500 --> 00:38:44,378
mean, I I've seen a lot of stuff in these trucks. Yes, but I think the strangest
392
00:38:44,379 --> 00:38:50,860
thing that I've seen would be, um, by far, uh, a guy had
393
00:38:51,139 --> 00:38:57,549
all of his lunch. It looked like maybe from weeks ago that was stacked in the side of
394
00:38:57,550 --> 00:39:04,509
his truck on his seat, like instead of throwing it away. And at one point at the same truck, there was
395
00:39:04,510 --> 00:39:11,509
a half eaten bag of dog treats in there. Now I hope that he was feeding this to someone's dog
396
00:39:11,550 --> 00:39:18,509
and not eating it himself. Oh man, you know, it is, uh, it is federal law that all
397
00:39:18,509 --> 00:39:24,188
dog food has to be human grade in the United States. So he could have been eating it. Maybe he
398
00:39:24,189 --> 00:39:29,869
grabbed a quick snack himself. You know, I don't know. You never know. You never. Know. You never know,
399
00:39:29,909 --> 00:39:36,229
man. You never know. That's great. Junior. How about you, man? Uh, where do you want me to start? At the
400
00:39:36,229 --> 00:39:43,228
best one. Oh. Well, I was under somebody's
401
00:39:43,229 --> 00:39:50,110
bunk once. Had a whole pile of Playboys with a Bible on top. Well, I mean,
402
00:39:50,149 --> 00:39:54,870
at least at least their priorities are straight. They had the Bible on top and not underneath.
403
00:39:54,950 --> 00:40:01,788
Right? Right. Right. Are you straight? Hey. Like I said, it's lonely out there on the road. Man.
404
00:40:01,830 --> 00:40:08,549
Gets lonely out there on the road. Um, second, I would have to go in the fuze panel
405
00:40:08,549 --> 00:40:15,109
and found a bunch of. I don't even want to say it. I don't even know if I'm allowed to say it.
406
00:40:15,589 --> 00:40:20,389
You're allowed. We could. Add. It. Oh, there you go. You just got clearance. We can always edit it out
407
00:40:20,389 --> 00:40:27,349
if it's too much. Okay. The condoms. Okay. Prophylactics. Stuff like that. I gotcha. Okay.
408
00:40:27,509 --> 00:40:32,069
Uh, well, you know, uh, we'll we'll put that one in for review and see if it gets to stay in. But
409
00:40:32,070 --> 00:40:36,950
let's just say something that you're right. Something that definitely shouldn't have been in
410
00:40:36,950 --> 00:40:43,749
the fuze panel. All right. That's what we can say was. You asked. I delivered man. Puffs. Absolutely.
411
00:40:43,749 --> 00:40:49,229
That's great. Well, see, I asked this question for a very specific reason. And that's why you can't
412
00:40:49,230 --> 00:40:55,628
guess what you're going to find in these trucks sometimes. Uh, Jeremy, let's go to you out there at
413
00:40:55,629 --> 00:41:01,869
Saginaw. Man. You found anything crazy in a truck you were working on out there in Texas? Thankfully,
414
00:41:01,870 --> 00:41:08,189
the worst that I found in any of these trucks are. Um, I had one person that had a
415
00:41:08,190 --> 00:41:15,109
literal pyramid of piss bottles. Oh, jeez. Okay. I'm
416
00:41:15,110 --> 00:41:20,789
not like. I'm not kidding. It was legitimately stacked in a nice, neat, organized pyramid.
417
00:41:22,310 --> 00:41:27,310
Well, I hope that you've only had that happen once. I'll just put it like that. And we can move right
418
00:41:27,310 --> 00:41:34,149
past that one. Because I think we all know the Lord that goes behind those things.
419
00:41:34,149 --> 00:41:39,989
And truck driving, especially over the road. Truck driving. Uh, the rule is you don't you don't touch
420
00:41:39,989 --> 00:41:44,269
any Gatorade that you find on the side of the road. That's just the rule on the highways and
421
00:41:44,270 --> 00:41:50,829
byways of America. Um, crazy stuff there. Uh, anything else, Jeremy? That, uh, that maybe, uh,
422
00:41:50,829 --> 00:41:57,148
surprised you a little bit. Thankfully, I haven't seen anything wild. I've
423
00:41:57,669 --> 00:42:04,509
just mainly P bottles and old. Old. Well, I did find there was one guy
424
00:42:04,510 --> 00:42:11,388
about six months ago. I did find like a full lunch bag from McDonald's, and it looked
425
00:42:11,389 --> 00:42:17,069
like it had been in there for like three weeks. Oh, wow. Just like he like he bought lunch and then
426
00:42:17,069 --> 00:42:21,149
forgot to eat it and then just forgot that it was in the truck and then just, you know, let it sit
427
00:42:21,150 --> 00:42:26,669
there and rot. And nice thing about fast food is it can go, like, what, 4 or 6 months before it even
428
00:42:26,669 --> 00:42:33,549
looks like it's rotting, right? It just stays the exact same. All right. Uh, Jeff, you got tons of
429
00:42:33,550 --> 00:42:39,069
experience, man. You've been doing this for a long time. Three decades. Plus, I'm sure you've come
430
00:42:39,070 --> 00:42:44,949
across some questionable things. Uh, what stands out in your mind? I mean, about the same as what
431
00:42:44,950 --> 00:42:51,668
they had, you know, pee bottles and trash. You know, that's about it. Well that's good.
432
00:42:51,710 --> 00:42:57,109
I mean. I try not to go in there looking for it, right? Right. And that is something we should
433
00:42:57,110 --> 00:43:02,309
establish is these guys aren't out there playing detective. It's just what they come across when
434
00:43:02,310 --> 00:43:07,149
they're going to make the fixes. Uh, Brad, I know you've been you've been heading this up for a
435
00:43:07,149 --> 00:43:11,749
long time. Is there anything off the top of your head that you didn't just hear? Uh, reference that
436
00:43:11,749 --> 00:43:17,789
you might want to bring up before we move to our next question? You know, if I thought really hard,
437
00:43:17,790 --> 00:43:21,869
Mark, as I could probably come with something, something off the wall, but I. I don't think we
438
00:43:21,870 --> 00:43:27,749
need to go there. Okay, I like that. Let's see a little bit of being being judicious here with our
439
00:43:27,749 --> 00:43:32,829
stories. That's always a good thing. So. All right, uh, like I said, just a little bit of fun here to
440
00:43:32,870 --> 00:43:38,629
break things up. But the next question I have gets right back on the serious track here. Um, and it's
441
00:43:38,629 --> 00:43:43,669
something that is so important throughout all lanes of trucking. It doesn't matter whether
442
00:43:43,669 --> 00:43:48,709
you're driving a box truck, a school bus, or whether you're hauling pneumatic or flatbed or
443
00:43:48,709 --> 00:43:54,359
any of the rest of it. And that is our pre-trip inspection. And I always want to ask mechanics and
444
00:43:54,360 --> 00:43:59,799
guys that work in the shop. Uh, Brad, I'll start here with you. If you could stand behind or beside
445
00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:05,320
every driver during a pre-trip tomorrow morning, what would you make sure they checked and double
446
00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:11,759
checked and then checked in triplicate, just to be sure. We only ask them to. I mean,
447
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:17,839
I know when you asked me a very simple question, I'm going to give you a long answer. And I make
448
00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:24,600
fun of people that usually do this, but I'm going to do it anyways. So if you choose to go to your
449
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:31,159
driving school to get your CDL, the pre-trip that they want you to do in order to pass a CDL
450
00:44:31,159 --> 00:44:37,198
is much more in depth than what we're really asking our drivers to do. We're making the we want
451
00:44:37,199 --> 00:44:44,159
to make them responsible for basically two big items tires, tires,
452
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:50,999
tires, lights, Light. Lights. That's three. That's the two things. Tires of light.
453
00:44:51,560 --> 00:44:58,439
Okay. Um, obviously, you know, if they noticed the frames broke
454
00:44:58,439 --> 00:45:03,918
in half, we wouldn't want them taken off down the road. You know what I mean? But. Right. But we really.
455
00:45:03,959 --> 00:45:10,239
We really don't. They're inspection, pre-trip inspections. But we really need them to catch is
456
00:45:10,240 --> 00:45:16,839
the things that can happen at any time, which is tires and lights, you know. And
457
00:45:17,319 --> 00:45:22,359
so I mean that's it. Tires and lights. That's that's it. Tires and lights I like it. You you said
458
00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:27,559
it was a long, drawn out answer, but I think just very simple tires and like you said them both
459
00:45:27,559 --> 00:45:34,280
three times. So I got it. All right, Jeff, how about you, man? Standing next to a driver. Is it the same
460
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:40,479
thing? Uh, tires and lights? Yeah. Tower of lights. And at least glance at your lug nuts. Make sure
461
00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:45,839
you ain't got nothing to lose. You know. That's an easy one, right? That's real quick. Especially, you
462
00:45:45,879 --> 00:45:52,718
know, we run aluminum wheels. I mean, it's real easy to tell. Okay, so along with tires, lug nuts.
463
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:57,839
Jeremy, how about for you, man? You're standing next to me. I'm doing a pre-trip. What are you drilling
464
00:45:57,879 --> 00:46:04,679
down there in Saginaw? Other than what's already been said, is making sure that they
465
00:46:04,679 --> 00:46:11,520
open their hood and they check their their fluid levels. And you see a lot of guys running out with,
466
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:16,159
uh, with low fluid or anything like that, or just maybe some, uh, some maintenance issues that can be
467
00:46:16,159 --> 00:46:23,039
prevented if fluids don't get low. It's mainly just making sure, because I get, uh, we, we've
468
00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:30,039
got a station where they can get, you know, cooling oil. But I know I've gotten on to a couple of
469
00:46:30,039 --> 00:46:35,360
guys because I see them doing their, their quote unquote pre-trip, but they won't open their hood
470
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:41,239
and they'll go over there and I'll be like, you know, hey, uh, what's what's your oil level at? Oh, I
471
00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:46,799
don't know. Okay. Well, what what's your the transmission of all that? Well, I don't know. All
472
00:46:46,919 --> 00:46:51,038
right. Well, don't you think you ought to probably check those and make sure that you don't seize
473
00:46:51,039 --> 00:46:57,719
the damn engines, drive it down the road. Good point, man. So we're checking dip sticks out there
474
00:46:57,719 --> 00:47:04,319
at Saginaw and and very thoroughly. Right? Yeah, absolutely. Got it. How about down at
475
00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:10,719
foster? Uh, junior, go to you first. Um, other than tires, lights. Uh, checking our fluid levels. Are you
476
00:47:10,759 --> 00:47:17,159
seeing anything that you would like the drivers to pre-trip a little better? I mean, like, uh,
477
00:47:17,679 --> 00:47:24,359
like they said, tires, lights. Of course, I'm mainly trucks, but, like, um, for example, like lug nuts and
478
00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:31,320
stuff. I just happen to be pretty nosey down here. I am, uh, I was walking out, parked a
479
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:38,120
truck, and, uh, walked by this trailer. The whole axles busted away from it, and the driver did not
480
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:43,639
even know it. Getting ready to go get loaded. And that would, uh. I mean, Brad can tell you that it
481
00:47:43,639 --> 00:47:49,639
would have been. It would have been a long night. I imagine so, I imagine so lots of phone calls to
482
00:47:49,679 --> 00:47:56,159
clean that one up. It would have been good phone calls. Yeah. For sure. Don't tire sites in the
483
00:47:56,160 --> 00:48:02,918
obvious. Tires, lights in the obvious, I like that. That's good. Yeah. The obvious. You know
484
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:09,280
how the driver did not see. I mean, the wheels are, you know, whatever. A foot up, you know, foot out
485
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:15,839
from the back axle. I don't know how it even went down the road. Wow. That's amazing. It made it here.
486
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:21,639
And we we got her tagged out of service, and it'll be the next one to get in here and get fixed. Gosh,
487
00:48:21,639 --> 00:48:26,360
how how fortunate that you caught that man. And that's one thing you want to draw attention to
488
00:48:26,399 --> 00:48:31,319
here is your mechanics. Are they got a very keen eye for stuff like this. But that doesn't mean
489
00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:37,479
that drivers can't catch it first. Right? Correct. Saving lives. Shawn Marcus saving lives. That's
490
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:43,199
what I tell you guys out in the shop is saving lives when they do that stuff. Absolutely. That
491
00:48:43,199 --> 00:48:50,039
could have been a catastrophic accident with an issue like that. Um, and yeah, I'm bad. I mean,
492
00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:54,959
saving lives is a really good way to put it. And you guys do that work every single day of the
493
00:48:54,959 --> 00:49:01,399
week. Um, Shawn, uh, question. Same question to you, man. Anything that stands out to you that you would be
494
00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:08,040
harping on as far as the pre-trip is concerned? Um, so yeah, like they other guys were
495
00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:14,878
saying tires like. But a big thing that I have noticed is that their product hose, their unload
496
00:49:14,879 --> 00:49:21,079
hose. A lot of guys like to switch trailers, and they take their hose with them and put them in
497
00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:26,799
the trailer that they switch to. Well, that leaves that trailer with an empty hose. And whenever they
498
00:49:26,799 --> 00:49:31,479
get to their customer, they can't unload because they don't have a hose. They didn't check while
499
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:38,039
they was at the shop. So again, that sounds like one of those things in the obvious, uh,
500
00:49:38,479 --> 00:49:43,449
tunnel that Brad was talking about there? Yeah, right. Just go. Just flip the host door. Open. Look
501
00:49:43,489 --> 00:49:49,009
up in there and pull it out. Look, you know. So you're kind of getting to something here that
502
00:49:49,009 --> 00:49:54,569
came up as a as a pretty big theme when I was having, uh, lunch with the, the shop there in Plain
503
00:49:54,570 --> 00:50:00,450
City Brattle. I'll start with you here. But you said, I think, uh, get out and look. Of course. Goal!
504
00:50:00,450 --> 00:50:07,009
We all know that one. Get out and look is a lot faster than fixing something. Um, and you kind of
505
00:50:07,050 --> 00:50:13,250
alluded to, Brad, how the get out and look can, can basically keep us from having a 20 minute repair
506
00:50:13,289 --> 00:50:19,929
turn into a three day problem. Can you speak to that a little bit? Well, absolutely. I mean, if you
507
00:50:19,930 --> 00:50:24,289
if you get out and look like it'll be a thing, it all goes back to what we've kind of been saying.
508
00:50:24,330 --> 00:50:30,169
Is it just take the extra five minutes to make sure that that everything's going to go well
509
00:50:30,770 --> 00:50:37,569
and, uh, you know, again, getting out and look at it saves saves
510
00:50:37,610 --> 00:50:44,129
us time in the shop, but not necessarily the driver time. So I think this goes back to the the
511
00:50:44,490 --> 00:50:49,369
earlier scenario of what can I do to make look, how can I do my job better to make somebody
512
00:50:49,370 --> 00:50:56,330
else's job easier? Get out and looks one of those things. Absolutely. Well fellas,
513
00:50:56,370 --> 00:51:01,689
this has all been great here. And the reason that I'm you guys have listened to this show or if you
514
00:51:01,689 --> 00:51:06,369
haven't, one thing that we do on every single interview as we clear some time for what we call
515
00:51:06,370 --> 00:51:11,490
final thoughts and the reason that I'm stopping this a little bit short and I'm leaving a lot of
516
00:51:11,490 --> 00:51:16,009
time for our final thoughts today, is because I think the final thoughts may vary, and they might
517
00:51:16,009 --> 00:51:22,489
be a little bit long. So what we intend our Final Thoughts segment to be about is a anything that
518
00:51:22,490 --> 00:51:27,809
we left on the table. Anything I didn't ask you about or get to that. You guys see that something
519
00:51:27,810 --> 00:51:33,609
we can talk about here today shortly. Uh, that might save some time, some money, some effort, or
520
00:51:33,610 --> 00:51:39,129
even a life down the road. Uh, I want to make sure and talk about it. So the other thing you can do
521
00:51:39,129 --> 00:51:42,730
with your Final Thoughts segment, if you've covered everything you want to talk about here on
522
00:51:42,730 --> 00:51:47,849
the show today, uh, you can give us any shout outs. Anybody that might be listening, uh, the the floor
523
00:51:47,850 --> 00:51:54,849
is yours. That's the point here. Uh, so I'm going to start from, uh, the foster terminal and, uh, move my
524
00:51:54,850 --> 00:52:00,729
way up the list here. Shawn. Uh, Shawn Earlywine, thank you so much, man, for the time today. I know you
525
00:52:00,729 --> 00:52:05,969
guys are busy, all of you. And this is really cool that we get to spend 45, 50 minutes here with you
526
00:52:06,010 --> 00:52:11,049
chatting. Uh, final thoughts from you, Shawn, from the foster terminal today. Before we let you go,
527
00:52:11,049 --> 00:52:16,929
anything we left on the table here that you want to mention before we get out of here? Um, no, I
528
00:52:16,929 --> 00:52:22,610
don't think so. I think the main thing was, like, what? Uh, Brad was hitting on there. Just go. Just
529
00:52:22,610 --> 00:52:28,449
just get out there. Look, you know that that will save so much time for everyone.
530
00:52:30,090 --> 00:52:36,968
Junior are pretty much all the same stuff. I mean, it's a great place to work,
531
00:52:36,969 --> 00:52:43,488
man. 18 years close to home. Brad is family. All good people. And, uh,
532
00:52:43,729 --> 00:52:48,610
about it, man. Man, it's not the first time I've heard it on this show, and it definitely won't be
533
00:52:48,610 --> 00:52:55,569
the last. Uh. That is, it won't be good people. Yes, they are great people. Shawn Earlywine,
534
00:52:55,570 --> 00:53:00,929
and Junior Taylor from down there. Foster. You guys did awesome today. Stick with me for a second here
535
00:53:00,929 --> 00:53:06,169
as I go to Jeremy Hall out there in Saginaw. Jeremy. Final thoughts? Anything we didn't get on
536
00:53:06,169 --> 00:53:09,888
the table today or any shout outs or anything like that you want to give before I let you get
537
00:53:09,889 --> 00:53:16,889
back to it, my friend? I think the the biggest thing is I. I, at least from what
538
00:53:16,889 --> 00:53:23,729
I see, is just the making sure that the drivers do the little things. You know, it's always the
539
00:53:23,730 --> 00:53:30,250
small things. Like it has been said earlier, it's the small things that will add up in the long
540
00:53:30,250 --> 00:53:37,249
run. Uh, I just That's why I'd take so much time trying to reinforce the. Oh, hey, you know. Make sure
541
00:53:37,250 --> 00:53:43,849
you're checking ABC go by the book. You know, just give back in the muscle memory of things that
542
00:53:43,850 --> 00:53:50,290
should have already been there. As far as the shout out. Uh, there's so many. We have quite a few
543
00:53:50,330 --> 00:53:55,569
vendors out here, but I do want to give a shout out to the shop up the street. Um, accelerated
544
00:53:55,610 --> 00:54:02,529
tweet services, uh, specifically Mike, the mechanic that's on our account. He does a really
545
00:54:02,529 --> 00:54:08,689
great job. Uh, he's on. He's pretty much Johnny on the spot for when we need something done.
546
00:54:08,929 --> 00:54:15,569
Especially if it's like, uh, for example, we have two yard dogs here that are constantly
547
00:54:15,570 --> 00:54:22,409
running. So if one goes down and I'm off at a vendor picking up parts, or I'm
548
00:54:22,409 --> 00:54:28,449
on a roll call or whatever, I know I can call Mike and he'll come over here real quick and figure
549
00:54:28,490 --> 00:54:34,769
out what the problem is and get it back up and running so we're not having to split. One yard dog
550
00:54:34,809 --> 00:54:41,489
between, you know, two positions on the here on the the mill site. Sure. So I, I.
551
00:54:41,530 --> 00:54:48,329
Do. I do. They do a really good job for us and I really. Appreciate everything that they do. Well
552
00:54:48,330 --> 00:54:52,809
that's a great shout out. And I can tell you this I, I've just watching Brad over here. He's nodding
553
00:54:52,810 --> 00:54:57,249
his head. I looked like he was at a metal concert for a second. I think he's in agreement with you,
554
00:54:57,330 --> 00:55:01,849
uh, about those things that you just said, Jeremy. And, uh, thank you so much for the time. We
555
00:55:01,850 --> 00:55:07,529
appreciate it. Uh, you guys all have done such a good job here today. Jeff, I'm going to you for
556
00:55:07,530 --> 00:55:11,769
your final thoughts, my friend. Anything we left on the table you might want to talk about before we
557
00:55:11,770 --> 00:55:17,529
let you go? No. Not really. Well, not that I can think of, you know.
558
00:55:19,010 --> 00:55:25,849
Hey, Jeff. And we appreciate the time. We can be here all day. I. I won't keep you. I know
559
00:55:25,850 --> 00:55:31,740
you're a busy guy. We appreciate the time. Uh, Brad, on to you for your final thoughts here. You guys
560
00:55:31,740 --> 00:55:37,179
run such a tight ship out there. As I said earlier, the drivers talk about it. They like the equipment
561
00:55:37,179 --> 00:55:42,859
there. They're really happy with the way you guys keep them safe. They're on the road. Uh, final
562
00:55:42,860 --> 00:55:47,099
thoughts for you, Brad, or any shoutouts that you might want to give before we let you get back to
563
00:55:47,100 --> 00:55:53,379
it? Well, first of all, I wasn't agreeing with Jeremy. I was in here. Listen to AC, DC. Yeah, there
564
00:55:53,379 --> 00:56:00,379
you go. Okay. That's right. Uh. I mean, I got some, uh, ultimately what I want to shout out to a lot
565
00:56:00,379 --> 00:56:04,738
of our drivers. We got great drivers. We don't want to sound like we're sitting here having a gripe
566
00:56:04,739 --> 00:56:11,419
session. We have drivers that go beyond what we sometimes on and on and above what we ask, you
567
00:56:11,419 --> 00:56:17,020
know, and and sometimes we're in bad situations and we ask them to do things we know they don't
568
00:56:17,020 --> 00:56:23,499
want them do. And and they buckle up and they do it. So, uh, we. Like coming on the podcast, right? Brad?
569
00:56:23,620 --> 00:56:30,619
All our hard working drivers, um, they work hard, long hours. I mean, I think anyone that
570
00:56:30,620 --> 00:56:36,499
drives around the United States these days knows it's difficult. There's a lot of traffic in the
571
00:56:36,500 --> 00:56:41,979
world these days. It's not it's different than what it was 25 years ago. I mean, there's just a
572
00:56:41,979 --> 00:56:47,059
lot of traffic and and frustrating. I get frustrated sometimes driving from here to my
573
00:56:47,059 --> 00:56:53,579
house. So if I had to do it every day, I don't know. But so I shout out to the drivers, they do a great
574
00:56:53,579 --> 00:56:58,580
job. We don't want to sit here and pick and complain. That's that's really if that's what it
575
00:56:58,580 --> 00:57:04,859
sounded like. That's not our goal was we want to make, uh, have a scenario where
576
00:57:05,379 --> 00:57:10,179
it's better for everybody if we can, you know, make things a little bit better for everybody. Uh,
577
00:57:10,219 --> 00:57:15,979
that's where we want to get to. You know, that's always, uh, always our goal is to improve a little
578
00:57:16,020 --> 00:57:21,500
bit every day for sure. For sure. And, and, you know, sometimes you do have to ask people to do things
579
00:57:21,500 --> 00:57:28,339
they don't want to do, like coming on the podcast. Right, Jeff. That's right. I know.
580
00:57:28,899 --> 00:57:34,819
That's right. I oh. All. These guys, Marcus, all these guys are wanting. They got retribution. I got
581
00:57:34,819 --> 00:57:40,698
retribution to pay or, uh, whatever, you know, uh, they've all said. Yeah. We'll get him. Back at. Some.
582
00:57:40,699 --> 00:57:47,659
Point. There will be. Well, gentlemen, I appreciate the time. I know that this is a way
583
00:57:47,660 --> 00:57:52,138
out of bounds for what you guys are doing on the daily. Uh, but you did great here. And I hope that,
584
00:57:52,139 --> 00:57:56,779
uh, maybe here in six months, eight months, we can get another shop round table going and talk about
585
00:57:56,779 --> 00:58:01,699
the things that are going to arise as the winter months come in. I know that seasons are a big part
586
00:58:01,699 --> 00:58:07,378
of what you guys deal with there in the shop, so we'll get you back here again. But, uh, Brad DeWolf,
587
00:58:07,379 --> 00:58:12,739
Jeff Horsley, Jeremy Hall, Junior Taylor and Shawn Earlywine, you guys knocked it out of the park
588
00:58:12,739 --> 00:58:18,380
today. Thank you all so much for joining us here on Always Nomadic, Never Static. Have a great day. I
589
00:58:18,419 --> 00:58:22,099
normally tell the drivers, be safe out there, but I'm going to tell you guys, keep them safe out
590
00:58:22,100 --> 00:58:26,658
there. All right. Thanks, Mark. All right. Yeah. Thanks. Thank you.
591
00:58:34,340 --> 00:58:41,219
Huge thanks to Brad, Geoff, Jeremy, Junior and Shawn. What a great episode that was. Uh, one thing about
592
00:58:41,219 --> 00:58:45,419
getting in a room with a bunch of guys from the shop is you're going to have some laughs. All you
593
00:58:45,419 --> 00:58:50,059
got to do is get them talking. I learned that when I was out at playing city, eating barbecue with
594
00:58:50,060 --> 00:58:56,739
all the guys. Uh, what a fun group. And what a talented group of text that we've got here at
595
00:58:56,739 --> 00:59:01,340
Bulk and Spur. And there you heard it there. They're letting you know some of the things that
596
00:59:01,340 --> 00:59:07,419
we're seeing at large here, and some of the ways that you as drivers can help. And listen, I know
597
00:59:07,459 --> 00:59:14,419
that drivers greatly appreciate what the shop does. And, uh, if we can put a put a point on it
598
00:59:14,419 --> 00:59:20,579
real quick here, Brad did really sum it up very well. The guys at the shop are quite literally
599
00:59:20,579 --> 00:59:27,499
saving lives. We heard that, uh, that story about the detached Axel. That's really scary. And
600
00:59:27,500 --> 00:59:32,740
that can not only affect the driver in a very grave way. If they were to get in an accident and
601
00:59:32,740 --> 00:59:38,539
get injured, but that could have affected the motoring public as well, which we all know. We want
602
00:59:38,540 --> 00:59:43,019
to be safe out there first and foremost for ourselves and so we can get home to our families.
603
00:59:43,019 --> 00:59:48,179
But we also want everybody else out there on the road to be safe and to get home to their families.
604
00:59:48,179 --> 00:59:55,179
And that is the core of what the shop is doing every day, day in and day out. All those hard
605
00:59:55,180 --> 01:00:01,978
hours, all those smashed fingers, uh, all all of those just engines that won't cooperate when
606
01:00:01,979 --> 01:00:06,499
you're in there wrenching on them. That's what they're trying to do is save lives and make
607
01:00:06,500 --> 01:00:12,300
everybody safer out there. And, um, I don't want to take anything away from that point, because I
608
01:00:12,300 --> 01:00:18,699
think it was the most poignant point that was made all day. Some of this stuff is little, but, uh,
609
01:00:18,700 --> 01:00:25,138
those of you that have blown a steer tire before, uh, or even blown a drive tire, you know? Uh, all of
610
01:00:25,139 --> 01:00:32,099
a sudden, things get really, really, um, hard to deal with really, really fast. And if we're just out
611
01:00:32,100 --> 01:00:37,099
there taking a little bit more time, uh, we're we're getting out and looking. We're checking on
612
01:00:37,100 --> 01:00:43,099
things like tires, lights and the obvious, uh, air hoses, making sure we're putting those away. Making
613
01:00:43,099 --> 01:00:49,859
sure that we don't, uh, take the hose, uh, with us to a different trailer and leave one without it. Or
614
01:00:49,899 --> 01:00:55,179
as long as we do do that, making sure that we're checking that trailer as the other driver before
615
01:00:55,220 --> 01:01:01,578
to make sure you've got the right hose so you can get unloaded. Um, so much good stuff. I would say
616
01:01:01,620 --> 01:01:07,579
take this one, listen to it, and in two weeks, go back and listen to it again to see if you're able
617
01:01:07,580 --> 01:01:13,178
to kind of, uh, see the difference that it makes when you just take a little bit more time and
618
01:01:13,179 --> 01:01:19,259
make sure that all the equipment is in shipshape, because, listen, if it's not, you just heard from
619
01:01:19,259 --> 01:01:25,028
five guys, that will make sure. And they will bend over backwards to make sure that it is in
620
01:01:25,029 --> 01:01:31,989
shipshape ASAP. Fantastic stuff again. Hats off to Brad, Jeff, Jeremy, Junior,
621
01:01:31,989 --> 01:01:38,470
and Shawn. I always enjoy my talks with the guys in the shop. You know, I worked in an auto shop for a
622
01:01:38,470 --> 01:01:44,149
while when I was in high school. I will be honest with you, I was the lowest man on the totem pole. I
623
01:01:44,150 --> 01:01:49,949
was the detail boy. But I was also the grunt that the mechanics asked to come over and help when
624
01:01:49,949 --> 01:01:56,069
they were pulling an engine out of an S-10 or, you know, pulling a transmission out of a Silverado.
625
01:01:56,070 --> 01:02:02,949
And let me tell you, those guys are skilled, talented beyond belief and doing a job that I
626
01:02:02,989 --> 01:02:08,789
can't even scratch the surface of the knowledge base that you need to be able to fix these trucks.
627
01:02:08,789 --> 01:02:15,429
And the guys that I saw, they were fixing Chevys and GMC's, and it was still incredibly
628
01:02:15,429 --> 01:02:20,830
difficult and incredibly complicated. I can't imagine what it's like when you scale that truck
629
01:02:20,830 --> 01:02:27,230
up to the size of the trucks that were driving here at Bulk and Spur. So, uh, I will never say no
630
01:02:27,230 --> 01:02:33,589
to another episode as a for a roundtable with the shop. That is so much fun for me. Every single time
631
01:02:33,589 --> 01:02:39,909
I get to do it, I will caution you. These guys are so busy, we probably won't get one for another 52
632
01:02:39,910 --> 01:02:45,548
episodes. And if you're counting, that means next year. But that's okay. We will wait with bated
633
01:02:45,549 --> 01:02:50,870
breath for when we get the guys from the shop back on. Uh, they're out there doing the Lord's
634
01:02:50,870 --> 01:02:56,509
work, keeping everybody safe as best as they can. And, uh, I think as drivers, there's a way to help
635
01:02:56,509 --> 01:03:01,869
them out just a little bit by slowing down, checking for the obvious. Kicking those tires when
636
01:03:01,869 --> 01:03:07,308
you're feeling up. And all the other great advice you heard from our shop techs today. And Brad as
637
01:03:07,309 --> 01:03:13,909
well. I want to thank you all for tuning in to our roundtable with the shop episode. As I said, one of
638
01:03:13,909 --> 01:03:19,549
my favorite episodes. Every single time we get to do it, I've got a soft spot for these guys in the
639
01:03:19,549 --> 01:03:25,149
shop. I feel like they are the offensive linemen of the trucking industry. They are the unsung
640
01:03:25,150 --> 01:03:31,869
heroes. Without them, we could not do the job safely or at all when you really think about it.
641
01:03:31,870 --> 01:03:36,870
So thanks for tuning in today. Remember that if you have any suggestions for something you'd like
642
01:03:36,870 --> 01:03:41,429
to hear on the show, or if you'd like to come on the show as a guest, please head on over to
643
01:03:41,470 --> 01:03:48,309
podcast.bulktransit.com and send me an email. Stay safe out there, bulk and spur. We'll be
644
01:03:48,310 --> 01:03:54,589
back next week with a brand new hour of content for you, 5 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
645
01:03:56,870 --> 01:04:02,669
And that's all she blows for today's episode of Always Pneumatic, Never Static. Your number one and
646
01:04:02,669 --> 01:04:08,589
probably only Pneumatic Trucking podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us
647
01:04:08,590 --> 01:04:13,389
today. Till next time, stay safe, keep those lines clear and keep it pumping.