When you’re on the Flex Board at Conway, it’s a repetitive routine. Yes, occasionally, the schedule might change, but I didn’t hold my breath for it. The most important thing I want to convey in this short chapter is that this routine can wear you out faster than a 25-mile mini marathon.
By the end of the week, you really don’t know if you’re coming or going. There were very rare instances when I might get lucky and be assigned a daytime linehaul load instead of an extra city run.
Now, for an unfortunate story. The rule is that no matter what truck you’re driving or where you’re heading, you must check the fuel tanks before departure. On one particular run to Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, I used a good friend’s tractor to make the trip. This friend was also a coworker at Overnite. He left Overnite a few years earlier and joined Conway.
I checked the driver’s tank before leaving and saw it was full, so I saw no need to check the other tank. However, these trucks operate on an even draw fuel system, which means when one tank runs empty, the system stops drawing fuel. This driver had only filled his driver’s side tank, and I ran out of fuel in the other tank, causing the truck to shut off on me.
The company had to make a service call to refuel the truck, and I received a chargeable incident and a letter of reprimand in my file. I was not happy about it at all. I told my friend about what happened, but from that day forward, I made sure to check both fuel tanks when I got into the truck and to refuel both tanks after completing my run. Lesson learned!
My Trucker Life 