Ask a Feeder Driver, Feeder Driver FAQ

[Made brown]

Btw I wasn't saying not to take a quick nap if needed I was just mentioning what we were told during a pcm once. Irony at it best.

 

[Feeder665]

Start in feeders tomorrow. Don’t have a ton of details yet but i think the first week is 40hrs of training and then I do 30 days on my own? I’ll find out tomorrow I suppose.

Anyways, I’ve got a pin puller and a set of gloves. I have an LED flashlight but going to upgrade that to a rechargeable one that one of our feeder drivers showed me that can charge via USB cable in the truck. Anything else I should acquire as feeder driver must-haves?

Not much else I can add from all the previous responses. The only thing I can reinforce is....
Feeder truly means safety first....
Safety of you, safety of the public, safety of the equipment. 80k+ lbs can do serious damage. Remember, you are the top paid by the hour driver, be the safest driver on the road.

Sleep at home, or in the passenger seat. I was taught to never get comfortable sleeping in the drivers seat. You don’t want that muscle memory....

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast...
When in doubt, get out and check...
Ask questions of senior drivers...

Best of luck, and welcome to the Club!

 

[meritocracy]

I'm in my mid-20s and started working as a package handler during the pandemic. It's not the best gig but I enjoy it and I want nothing more than to get paid a respectable salary to drive trucks for a living. Looking to the future, do you all think our union, UPS, and the profession are strong enough that by the time someone like me gets a job as a feeder driver that they'll be able to enjoy the same pay and benefits our current drivers have?

 

[silenze]

I'm in my mid-20s and started working as a package handler during the pandemic. It's not the best gig but I enjoy it and I want nothing more than to get paid a respectable salary to drive trucks for a living. Looking to the future, do you all think our union, UPS, and the profession are strong enough that by the time someone like me gets a job as a feeder driver that they'll be able to enjoy the same pay and benefits our current drivers have?

That is up to the president of the united states and his fiscal policy.

 

[Anthony1960]

Stick to the retirement forum buddy. There is nothing autonomous about a tesla

Obviously you know nothing about Tesla’s

 

[silenze]

Obviously you know nothing about Tesla’s

I know they crash and burn

 

[Yeet]

Cleaning supplies and some paper towels. Make a small medical baggy with some anti-diarrhea and some sort of tylenol. Band-aids. Some A&D for monkey-butt. Stuff like that. Small pair of pliers, adjustable wrench, screwdriver, hammer and some zip ties. You can buy these for a couple bucks, they don't have to be nice. I've found some of these on the side of the road. Trust me these will come in very handy and really are mandatory. Some things you can get from automotive most not. You don't want to be 300 miles from home and have the squirts.....or a headache. Throw a pair of underwear in there. Most guys have a backpack type deal...always carry a raincoat....the weather can be very different miles from home. It sucks to be soaking wet and sit in a soaked tractor seat for 12 hours.

You'll learn about glad-hand seals very quickly......I carry a few and know how to replace them. Ask around. Ask a mechanic. Breaking down is a loser all around.

Now, I'll get ripped for all this but it is a practical approach to everyday feeders. Thing is......being far away from home is very different than being local. Sometimes a little electrical tape or duct tape will get you home. Have 2 flashlights.

Be very aware of working on equipment and know what you are doing. Good policy to ask before you do anything. Get approval. I used to carry a spare headlight bulb for the Internationals....they went out pretty regularly.....new ones not so much (LED). Cops will stop you in a heartbeat for faulty lights.....they get to fish for other things like hours of service. You know you have to have a spare set of glasses with you.....all of this can lead to a Level 1 inspection....you don't want that...

If you know a piece of equipment is iffy....get it fixed before you leave....it's not going to be much fun breaking down.

If a clearance light is out, sometimes tapping on it with your puller will light it up. Always try jiggling things first. Apply a little fifth-wheel grease to glad-hands to stop air leaks.

Ask lot's of questions and know exactly where you are going before you leave. I carry a days worth of water everyday. 6 bottles. That way you aren't thinking of being thirsty all day. Healthy lo-cal snacks will help pass the time. Healthy....not chips and candy.

And if you think time isn't important in feeders...you couldn't be more wrong. Some feeder jobs are pkg car in a tractor trailer. You'll see.

Your life is about to change. Skipping details can get you or someone else killed.....easily. Don't cut steps of procedure.

Get as much sleep as you can. This is a absolute priority. If you feel sleepy. Find a place to take a few minutes and close your eyes. Let mgt. know. Don't drive with the nods.....this is ultra dangerous. Don't get caught up with sleep aids and energy drinks. Coffee in moderation. Feeders is tough on your mind and body not to mention your personal life. Good habits are good habits.

Amazing. A thoughtful and helpful post and not the slightest bit condescending or elitist. There’s hope for you yet.

 

[Yeet]

There are certain functions on the ivis that you will learn as you go such as delay for anything from late train to waiting for your bid tractor to arrive. The ivis doesn't have many bells and whistles, mostly you will use schedule edit and activities. I figured the ivis out in about a good week. But I learn new things all the time in situations that come up. Best of luck and be safe.

On a side note I once heard that we can take a nap anytime we feel fatigued enough to be a safety hazard. They said just put yourself on meal because you don't get paid for sleeping. The next sentence was unless you have a preload because the package drivers are counting on us meeting our commit times.

If you hit any kind of delay or “break” you will be explaining yourself here. If I’m waiting on a train, codriver, getting held on the door, whatever I just take the hit. They know these things happen and I’ve never been called into the office for on property time.
Activity->feeder->meal (for your lunch break), shift (for yard shifting)
Activity->non feeder->washer (for washing the tractor or sweeping trailers)
Schedule edit (to view or edit legs)
DOT log->hours summary report (to count the money)

Other than that and hitting arrive, leave, or punch out is relatively useless.

 

[whatcanbrowndo]

So if i had to move my tractor on my meal and i stay under five miles an hour to do so ( on property) will my ivis keep me on meal

 

[silenze]

So if i had to move my tractor on my meal and i stay under five miles an hour to do so ( on property) will my ivis keep me on meal

You can go as fast as you want. It records as using tractor for personal use.

 

[Yeet]

So if i had to move my tractor on my meal and i stay under five miles an hour to do so ( on property) will my ivis keep me on meal

You only have to keep it under 5 if you’re on road. If you’re inbounded somewhere, you can go as fast as you want. But yes, if you’re on meal on road, as long as you are under 5 it will keep you on meal.

 

[johnnyunion]

You only have to keep it under 5 if you’re on road. If you’re inbounded somewhere, you can go as fast as you want. But yes, if you’re on meal on road, as long as you are under 5 it will keep you on meal.

If you unpair the portable ibis and the tractor, you will stay on meal regardless of how fast you move.

 

[What'dyabringmetoday???]

Not much else I can add from all the previous responses. The only thing I can reinforce is....
Feeder truly means safety first....
Safety of you, safety of the public, safety of the equipment. 80k+ lbs can do serious damage. Remember, you are the top paid by the hour driver, be the safest driver on the road.

Sleep at home, or in the passenger seat. I was taught to never get comfortable sleeping in the drivers seat. You don’t want that muscle memory....

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast...
When in doubt, get out and check...
Ask questions of senior drivers...

Best of luck, and welcome to the Club!

And get a bigger wallet.

 

[What'dyabringmetoday???]

If you hit any kind of delay or “break” you will be explaining yourself here. If I’m waiting on a train, codriver, getting held on the door, whatever I just take the hit. They know these things happen and I’ve never been called into the office for on property time.
Activity->feeder->meal (for your lunch break), shift (for yard shifting)
Activity->non feeder->washer (for washing the tractor or sweeping trailers)
Schedule edit (to view or edit legs)
DOT log->hours summary report (to count the money)

Other than that and hitting arrive, leave, or punch out is relatively useless.

It's different everywhere. Obviously.

 

[over9five]

If you hit any kind of delay or “break” you will be explaining yourself here. If I’m waiting on a train, codriver, getting held on the door, whatever I just take the hit. They know these things happen and I’ve never been called into the office for on property time.
Activity->feeder->meal (for your lunch break), shift (for yard shifting)
Activity->non feeder->washer (for washing the tractor or sweeping trailers)
Schedule edit (to view or edit legs)
DOT log->hours summary report (to count the money)

Other than that and hitting arrive, leave, or punch out is relatively useless.

I'll disagree with you here, my friend.
We're paid to accurately detail our time for the day.

I routinely use:
Railyard Delay
Delay- Held by Customer
Equipment- Tractor not Arrived
Central Sort

Never been a problem.

 

[trickpony1]

They took "gate delay" out of our IVIS because, as we all know, feeder dispatch is so incredibly efficient that no one is delayed.

Fast forward.......now we all just blow through the gate with the advances in how well they can monitor us.

 

[Yeet]

I'll disagree with you here, my friend.
We're paid to accurately detail our time for the day.

I routinely use:
Railyard Delay
Delay- Held by Customer
Equipment- Tractor not Arrived
Central Sort

Never been a problem.

I honestly wish it was the same here but I’ve been told not to hit delays so WAD, I guess. My buddy used to use central sort if he was waiting at a CPU and his ORS called him and told him to stop doing it.

 

[over9five]

I honestly wish it was the same here but I’ve been told not to hit delays so WAD, I guess. My buddy used to use central sort if he was waiting at a CPU and his ORS called him and told him to stop doing it.

Yup, totally agree. We all work at different UPS's, you gotta do what your management team wants!

 

[Made brown]

If you hit any kind of delay or “break” you will be explaining yourself here. If I’m waiting on a train, codriver, getting held on the door, whatever I just take the hit. They know these things happen and I’ve never been called into the office for on property time.
Activity->feeder->meal (for your lunch break), shift (for yard shifting)
Activity->non feeder->washer (for washing the tractor or sweeping trailers)
Schedule edit (to view or edit legs)
DOT log->hours summary report (to count the money)

Other than that and hitting arrive, leave, or punch out is relatively useless.

I was using delay for everything when I first started, but was told that it raises a red flag if used too often. If im gonna be delayed very long I just call and ask if they want me on delay. I didn't know about delay for a month when I started because nobody told me. Everyone I talk to is told to do something completely different from what the last person I talked to told me. So WAD it is.
Most important function is the activity > feeder > break

 

[Made brown]

So if i had to move my tractor on my meal and i stay under five miles an hour to do so ( on property) will my ivis keep me on meal

Also if it asks if you want to stay in special driving mode I always hit yes.