Anyone who has hauled out of Phoenix sometime during 2002-2003 will probably have memories of Reckitt Benckiser in Tolleson.

Reckitt Benckiser (Wreck-It Ben-Keezer) is the parent company of AirWick, Lysol, Resolve, French's (Foods) and a couple of others. They are famous for their 40,000lbs+ loads going to central California and the Pacific Northwest. I don't know a pumpkin driver who didn't loath a load out of there on a Monday afternoon, or any other time for that matter.

Due to changes and competition, SNI is no longer the primary carrier for RB. RB loads are brokered to the lowest bidding carrier. Usually it's McKelvey, US Express, O&S Trucking or Werner. Occasionally a pumpkin will go outbound.

Since the middle of October, 2004, I have been the sole driver on the Reckitt Benckiser account. I run the Yard Goat and get to tell other carriers where to go and what to do with their trailers when they get there. It's great!

• 10/18/04 - An ORANGE Truck! Thank you Lord! Starting training/familiarization at Reckitt Benckiser. I'll be here for a week with the current yard hostler and then will start on my own next Monday. Friday is his last day.

• 10/25/04 - First day on my own! Whew, 5:00am start today. This is too early for me. I'm used to working later mornings and afternoons on the CSK account. This is going to take some getting used to.

• 11/01/04 - Oh my goodness, my first "End of Month rush." Wow. 11 hours of humping trailers around the yard isn't fun. That yard gets real small when there are 5 trucks waiting for doors to be "live loaded" as well as drivers picking up pre-loaded trailers trying to leave. Note to self: Check Job Description to see if "Traffic Cop" is listed.

• 11/25/04 - Happy Thanksgiving! I like this...weekends and holidays off. But, I have to work tomorrow! No fair!

  

• 12/01/04 - Another Month End out of the way. Whew. Yeah, vacation starts on the 23rd!

• 12/23/04 - Thanks to the fact that Christmas falls on Saturday this year, we get Christmas Eve off work. My week-long vacation starts early today! Don't have to be back until the 3rd of January! Rich, from CSK, is filling in for me while I'm gone.

• 01/03/05 - Happy New Year! An extra day off, thanks to New Year's Day falling on Saturday. Can't wait to get to work tomorrow and find out how Rich did, filling in for me last week.

• 01/17/05 - Bad News. I had to go in for a follow-up exam with my orthopedic surgeon. On my one-year checkup, back in December, the doctor found an "anomoly" on my leg x-ray. He sent me for a CT scan and today was my appointment to go over the results. I have a couple of bone fragments floating around in my knee. I'll have to go in for arthroscopic (sp) surgery to clean it up. Not good news!

• 01/28/05 - Found a USX trainee who had high-center his tractor on my curb today. We took pictures and made sure that a lot of others drivers saw him sitting there. Embarassing for both the trainee and his trainer. Oops. Check out the pictures here.

  Knee surgery is scheduled for March 7th. Not sure if I'll take vacation that week or have to go back on Workers Comp and lose my quarterly bonus.

  Another End of Month is upon me. Long day today and an even longer one on Monday. 0500 start on Monday.

• 02/03/05 - Survived month end just fine. Sitting down tonight to update the website with current pictures.

  Swift came in this afternoon and pulled a trailer out of one of our docks. Without checking with the Shipping office. We had just finished unloading the trailer about 10 minutes prior when we noticed it go sailing by and out the gates. When I left, the facility supervisor was on the phone with Swift Safety and Security giving them the "what for." Dangerous game to play. Idiot driver.

• 03/01/05 - McKelvey driver picked up a trailer and drove out the gate without checking to make sure the tandem slider was locked in position. He didn't get very far before he slammed the tandems into the rear stops on the frame. The driver tried to blame it on me...saying that I must have damaged it by backing into the dock too hard. The pictures changed their tune real quick...once they saw the type of damage. Pictures on Photo Page.

• 03/08/05 - Recovering from knee surgery. I'll be off for 4-6 weeks. Beautiful time of year in AZ. Lousy time to have to use crutches or a cane to get around.

• 04/17/05 - I'm off to Fontana tomorrow to take my "Return to Work" drive test. How exciting (NOT!) It's been a long 6 weeks. Will I still remember how to back a trailer?

• 05/26/05 - Oops. MAKE SURE YOU VISUALLY INSPECT YOUR COUPLING TO MAKE SURE LOCKING JAWS ARE ENGAGED! Swift Driver forgot to visually verify (he says otherwise). He dropped his trailer in the middle of the yard, just out of his door. Oops. Pictures...

• 6/28/05 - I know it's been a long time since I posted much to my journal. I've updated the picture directory with the new stuff I have. Hope you enjoy it!

• 09/11/05 - Went to the International Truck Show yesterday, over in Anaheim. We drove over after work on Friday and stayed for the weekend. I saw some interesting displays and picked up a LOT of literature. I also picked up a couple of job applications for companies with terminals in the Phoenix area.

• 11/08/05 - When you open the loading dock door and see this, you know it's going to be a bad day. Cartage driver had a major problem with backing a rail trailer into the dock.

• 11/24/05 - Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas!

• 12/18/05 - Merry Christmas! I'm leaving the Reckitt Benckiser account on the 28th of December. I'm starting with a new company on December 29th.