|
|
Wired for the Road
Tools and Toys for Techy Truckers
By Paul Abelson
I can remember calling on fleets in the 1980s. I'd ask about their computer systems and get a strange look. A typical response would be something like, "We're truckers, not bankers. Computers? We don't need no computers."
Looking back a dozen or so years, I realize how far truckers and technology have come. Then, only the largest fleets had computers in their operations. There isn't a late-model over-the-road rig made today that isn't loaded with microprocessors. More and more drivers use computers regularly, most often right in the cab or sleeper.
The explosion in technology offers many choices – too many, especially for those just getting their digital feet wet. Should I buy X or Y? Won't everything I buy be out of date before I'm out of the parking lot? Some of this stuff sounds useful, or just cool, but do I need it for my business? Is it practical on the road?
Sometimes the latest is not always the greatest. Finding the right technology for the road comes down to planning ahead. Think about the kind of trucking you do, the kind of technology you need to do it better and, whether that technology will allow you to have a little fun and greater convenience, too.
In the following pages, we will introduce you to some professional drivers who have made those decisions. They'll tell you what they use in their cabs and why.
Information, please
Rob Homan of Port Charlotte, Fla., is a co-driver for CFI. The fleet supplies Park 'N View free as a driver benefit, and Rob was quick to take advantage of it. He connects his laptop computer to the pnv.com ISP to keep in touch with family and friends. He frequently posts messages as "Skywalker" on the Round Table discussion board at truck.net.
The laptop serves as a gateway to important business information, too. "One benefit of having Internet access is that you can download useful information," Rob said. "I've used Mapquest to download maps and directions through PNV. But you have to watch out for [road] restrictions when you use it.
"Whenever I'd get a new customer or delivery point, I'd go to Yahoo Yellow Pages or I'd look for 800 numbers on the web," Rob adds. "It's a lot cheaper than an information call. I think http://555-1212.com is the best directory on the web for accuracy and completeness. It also gives you maps and directions."
customerservice.com
Even though he doesn't compete, Charles "Chuck" Sullivan of Little Saumico, Wis., keeps his '97 Freightliner Classic XL in show-truck condition. His favorite piece of high-tech gear is his AT&T Wireless digital phone. He buys 1,400 minutes a month and says he can use it anywhere V&S Midwest Carriers sends him.
"I use it for customer service, if I'm caught in traffic or have to ask directions," says Chuck. "I also use it to call my wife, Barbara. She helped me get my truck. I owe everything to her," says this U.S. Air Force veteran who has been trucking since he left the military in 1960.
Although Chuck loves his phone, he says he won't use Qualcomm. "I'm an owner/operator, and I don't think I need to give out my location constantly. It costs money to have, and it doesn't do anything my phone won't do," he says.
"If you need to know where your freight is, call me. I just don't like the idea of Big Brother watching me all the time. I'm a big boy, and I know how to follow regulations." He's got proof: In 39 years of driving, he's logged more than 4 million miles without a serious accident, and only a few minor ones.
As an owner/operator, Chuck has outfitted his tractor with many comforts. A generator heats his cab, engine and fuel in winter, and keeps his batteries charged. The gen set runs its own air conditioning and powers his microwave oven, TV and VCR. He has a retractable satellite dish antenna behind the cab.
With all his techy tools and toys, Chuck relies on a dependable but decidedly low-tech security system. Shaker is a 12-pound Shih-tzu Chuck rescued from an animal shelter. "He was abused, and was just shaking like a leaf when I first saw him. Now he lives in the truck. The IRS ruled that he's part of my business as a security system, so his food and trips to the vet are all tax-deductible. He's great to have around, and he makes me get out and stretch every two hours or so."
Unload, download
Franklin "Frank" Workman of Florence, Ky., was an owner-/operator for eight years, but is now a company driver for Super Service out of Somerset, Ky. Super Service put a Qualcomm unit in the truck for emergency communication. He can use it for e-mail, but says he rarely does so. "I carry a laptop and a digital camera. With the laptop, I can plug in at any place I stop and get local Internet access through AT&T Worldnet."
With a dedicated run for Toyota, Frank is in the same shippers and receivers regularly. "Most places let us go into their employee cafeterias. I can usually plug in somewhere to use the laptop. My co-driver and I try to time our deliveries so we can eat while they unload. With two of us driving, I like the way they have the readout on our 1999 T-2000's dashboard. It's separate for each driver, and it tells each of us our fuel mileage, idle time and all that, so we know how we're doing."
From Commodore 64 to handheld
Lloyd Hayes of Sandy, Utah, is leased to Landstar Ranger. He started driving when he was 18, then learned photography in the Air Force. He was a photographer until 1996, when he decided to get back into trucking. Lloyd uses Park 'N View to access his Compuserve account. He's been with the online service a long time, and he likes being able to access it from any location, with or without PNV. Using PNV, Lloyd can pull up his company's load postings and bid on them through his laptop.
"I've been into computers since about 1980," Lloyd says. "My first was a Commodore 64. I started using GENIE, the General Electric Information Network, as soon as it became available." Later in the '80s, Lloyd switched to Compuserve and has been with it ever since. "In my truck, I have a Gateway Solo laptop and an HP Jornada hand-held computer. It's like a Palm Pilot and works with any device using Windows CE.
"I use DeLorme Street Atlas Version 7.0 several times a day," he adds. "I plot my route with it. It tells me where on a street an address is located. I can look up their phone number with it, and even what businesses are close to it. I also look up truckstops and restaurants which are en route, and I can transfer the information to my handheld computer."
Lloyd has loaded his tractor with toys. He has a Canon BJC printer with a scanner head. He uses it to scan documents into his 6.2 gigabyte hard drive. He makes backups with a Sony Spressa CD writer, which stores digital files on compact discs. "I store documents in my computer and transfer them to CDs."
Don't leave home without GPS
Rand-McNally's Tripmaker (not the more expensive Milemaker) is a favorite of Rod Chevrier, Atikokan, Ontario, Canada. Rod, who runs all 48 and Canada for Lake Shore Express out of Thunder Bay, says, "even though it [the software] doesn't have restrictions, my atlas does. I keep checking, and the miles and routes are almost identical to what my pay is. It's within 20 miles in two months."
Rod also uses a Street Pilot GPS unit built by Garvin. "I wouldn't be without it. If it broke tonight, I'd have a new one tomorrow. I like the way it leaves behind a ‘crumb trail' that I can follow back out to the interstate." He added, "You can buy discs for different cities if you want all the side streets, but every major route is included. I never bought anything extra. If I miss my highway, it recalculates another route. Being GPS, it knows where you are all the time."
Rod also told us about Voice It, a hand-held digital recorder, available at Radio Shack. It stores up to 20 messages; with a maximum total recording time of eight minutes. "I'll read in directions, then push the button to get the next direction, one direction at a time. It's also useful for recording miles and times at state or provincial lines."
Say it, see it
Electronics have come far since the days when Lloyd Hayes got his Commodore 64 and business computers filled rooms. One of the latest improvements, one this writer is still learning, is voice recognition software. I have Corel Word Perfect Office 2000, bundled with Dragon Naturally Speaking. It comes with a headset and microphone.
Although you have to spend time teaching it your voice, it keeps on "learning" as you use it. You start by reading prepared passages into the mic. The program knows the passages and relates your speech patterns to the text.
By the time you're done, it is about 90 to 95% accurate. Whenever you make a correction, Word Perfect communicates with Naturally Speaking, and bit-by-bit (pun intended) the error rate decreases.
I believe this technology holds so much promise, especially for ham-handed typists like me, that soon we'll be seeing drivers in truckstops wearing headsets and talking to their computers. Now, if we could only find a program that will clean up the language, especially on the CB, wouldn't that be great!
|
|
|
