Swaps
From passport -
I agree with TAPete, always best to give the other driver your number and take control of the terms of the swap as soon as you can.
A few of my ideas of proper swap etiquette:
1) If you have to wake a driver up, use the phone number. If you have to knock, do not go banging on the side of the sleeper like a crazy ape on meth. Tap lightly on the driver's side window and give the driver a little bit of time to respond before you knock a little bit harder the next time.
2) Don't park in the most congested part of the truck stop, get off to the back or side where you can be seen and have some room to drop trailers and execute a swap.
3) Once you arrive at a swap location, in addition to your 024, send a message to dispatch giving your location within the site (example: I am in the blue truck, back row, left side of the truck stop, near the tire shop). Include the color of your truck in the message. Ask dispatch to pass this info on to the other driver, an easy cut, paste, send for dispatch, do this even if you have exchanged phone numbers.
4) Do not park and wait for your swap partner on the exit ramp of a rest area (had this happen twice).
5) Swap info normally includes the truck and trailer number of your swap partner. Make note of this. Don't just go banging on the side of the first TransAm truck you see, wake up the other driver and ask if he is here for a swap (had this happen once). We tend to all run on the major highways and interstates, often more than one TransAm truck at a truck stop.
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For general etiquette, if you need TCH checks, trip sheet, etc. and you see me moving around in the truck, or in the driver's seat at a truck stop. I am your guy! I am always happy to meet another TransAm driver.
If you see my truck but not me and the sleeper curtains are closed and the truck is dark, please do not go banging on my truck like a crazy ape on meth to ask me for TCH checks, trip sheets, etc. (had this happen twice).
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Some of the most common places to swap are -
Effingham, Illinois
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nashville, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Atlanta, Georgia
Peru, Illinois
Gary, Indiana
A few of my ideas of proper swap etiquette:
1) If you have to wake a driver up, use the phone number. If you have to knock, do not go banging on the side of the sleeper like a crazy ape on meth. Tap lightly on the driver's side window and give the driver a little bit of time to respond before you knock a little bit harder the next time.
2) Don't park in the most congested part of the truck stop, get off to the back or side where you can be seen and have some room to drop trailers and execute a swap.
3) Once you arrive at a swap location, in addition to your 024, send a message to dispatch giving your location within the site (example: I am in the blue truck, back row, left side of the truck stop, near the tire shop). Include the color of your truck in the message. Ask dispatch to pass this info on to the other driver, an easy cut, paste, send for dispatch, do this even if you have exchanged phone numbers.
4) Do not park and wait for your swap partner on the exit ramp of a rest area (had this happen twice).
5) Swap info normally includes the truck and trailer number of your swap partner. Make note of this. Don't just go banging on the side of the first TransAm truck you see, wake up the other driver and ask if he is here for a swap (had this happen once). We tend to all run on the major highways and interstates, often more than one TransAm truck at a truck stop.
-------------------------------------------------
For general etiquette, if you need TCH checks, trip sheet, etc. and you see me moving around in the truck, or in the driver's seat at a truck stop. I am your guy! I am always happy to meet another TransAm driver.
If you see my truck but not me and the sleeper curtains are closed and the truck is dark, please do not go banging on my truck like a crazy ape on meth to ask me for TCH checks, trip sheets, etc. (had this happen twice).
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Some of the most common places to swap are -
Effingham, Illinois
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nashville, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Atlanta, Georgia
Peru, Illinois
Gary, Indiana
If you want to get rid of a load on a swap and are not near a “swap hotspot”. Find a truck stop near the the intersection of major interstates and highways. Go to where you see TransAm trucks pass.
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