3-15-07 - Thursday - Running Hard!
Wow! It's been over 3 weeks since I have had a chance to update this blog. I will try to be more diligent in my attention to it.
I'm at the Bosselman's in Grand Island, NE this evening. I have until Saturday morning to deliver to a Walmart DC in Cheyenne, WY.
I started my lattest run last Monday by delivering to the Denver Pepsi distributor. My appointment was for 7:00 am. I didn't get to a door until 9:00 am. Oh well. I finally got unloaded and drove about 5 miles to pick up a load of pallets going to Whiteriver. I usually take the pallets to Whiteriver and get a load of baking soda going back to Denver. It's a good run that gets me about 480 miles for the day. Well, there was no load of baking soda waiting for me, instead my next load was out of Clearfield, UT. I got about half way towards UT and put it to bed in a little town just inside the UT border. There really wasn't a truckstop or rest area, I just stopped in a parking lot.
I got up on Tuesday morning really early. I usually try to start my day at about 6:00 am, but I needed to get about 150 miles out of the way and get to the customer by 7:00 am. I got up and started driving at about 3:30 am. OUCH! The pickup was pretty easy after I found the place. It was hidden in an huge industrial park and all the buildings looked the same and the street names and addresses really didn't make alot of sense. I did find the customer and they got me loaded in about 45 minutes.
I headed East and got to a truck parking area just east of Cheyenne, WY. Interesting note, I was on the phone with a guy I went to CDL school with. He is still driving for CR England, but is about to quit and find another company. He is getting further and further behind on his lease. Sucks to be an CRE driver.
I got over to my delivery in Smithton, PA on Friday at 12 noon. I dropped and went looking for an empty. They didn't have one. They had plenty of Roehl trailers, they just weren't unloaded. I counted at least three plus the one I brought. The customer just didn't have them unloaded.
I have family about 20 minutes from where I delivered, so I told my dispatcher that I would check back the next day for an empty. She was ok with that and it gave me a day to visit and hang out with my relatives.
On Saturday I again looked for an empty, but there still wasn't one. I called the weekend crew at Roehl and they sent me to another customer on the other side of Pittsburgh to look for one. There wasn't one there either. This was becoming really OLD! They finally just sent me bobtailing to Mogadore, OH to get my next load.
I picked up my next load at the Modagore, OH dropyard. I had to take it up to Westfield, MA. I had until monday to get there. I did most of my driving on Saturday and just rested on Sunday. It was the day that daylight savings time started, so it was good to have a day to get the body right with the clock.
On Monday morning I drove the last 20 miles to the delivery customer. I got there an hour early for my 9:30 am appointment. Well, they told me my appointment wasn't until 10:30 am. WHAT?!? They sent me away and told me to come back in an hour. Damn. There wasn't anywhere to go near the customer to just sit. They said I couldn't sit on their property. I drove around to the other side of their building, where the guards couldn't see me and waited. What's the worst that could happen. They could tell me to leave again. They never found me. I went back to the guard shack and finally got a door and got unloaded.
My next load was out of Ayer, MA. I had about 2 hours of drive time to get there and I had to be there in 1 hour. I called my dispatcher and she fixed the times. It really didn't matter. It was a preloaded trailer. I drop and hooked and headed south. I got down through MA, CT, and most of the way through NY on I-84 before I stopped and parked it for the night.
I drove West all day on Tuesday and Wednesday and stopped Wednesday evening in Concordia, MO. This morning I drove the last 125 miles to the customer in Lawrence, KS and delivered at 7:30 am. After I got unloaded I drove about 40 miles to the Kansas City drop yard and waited until about 12 noon for the trailer I was picking up to get there. I got the trailer and drove over here to the Bosselman's Pilot in Grand Island, NE.
I should be home by Saturday at Noon. Ahhh, a few days to do nothing around the house!
I'm at the Bosselman's in Grand Island, NE this evening. I have until Saturday morning to deliver to a Walmart DC in Cheyenne, WY.
I started my lattest run last Monday by delivering to the Denver Pepsi distributor. My appointment was for 7:00 am. I didn't get to a door until 9:00 am. Oh well. I finally got unloaded and drove about 5 miles to pick up a load of pallets going to Whiteriver. I usually take the pallets to Whiteriver and get a load of baking soda going back to Denver. It's a good run that gets me about 480 miles for the day. Well, there was no load of baking soda waiting for me, instead my next load was out of Clearfield, UT. I got about half way towards UT and put it to bed in a little town just inside the UT border. There really wasn't a truckstop or rest area, I just stopped in a parking lot.
I got up on Tuesday morning really early. I usually try to start my day at about 6:00 am, but I needed to get about 150 miles out of the way and get to the customer by 7:00 am. I got up and started driving at about 3:30 am. OUCH! The pickup was pretty easy after I found the place. It was hidden in an huge industrial park and all the buildings looked the same and the street names and addresses really didn't make alot of sense. I did find the customer and they got me loaded in about 45 minutes.
I headed East and got to a truck parking area just east of Cheyenne, WY. Interesting note, I was on the phone with a guy I went to CDL school with. He is still driving for CR England, but is about to quit and find another company. He is getting further and further behind on his lease. Sucks to be an CRE driver.
I got over to my delivery in Smithton, PA on Friday at 12 noon. I dropped and went looking for an empty. They didn't have one. They had plenty of Roehl trailers, they just weren't unloaded. I counted at least three plus the one I brought. The customer just didn't have them unloaded.
I have family about 20 minutes from where I delivered, so I told my dispatcher that I would check back the next day for an empty. She was ok with that and it gave me a day to visit and hang out with my relatives.
On Saturday I again looked for an empty, but there still wasn't one. I called the weekend crew at Roehl and they sent me to another customer on the other side of Pittsburgh to look for one. There wasn't one there either. This was becoming really OLD! They finally just sent me bobtailing to Mogadore, OH to get my next load.
I picked up my next load at the Modagore, OH dropyard. I had to take it up to Westfield, MA. I had until monday to get there. I did most of my driving on Saturday and just rested on Sunday. It was the day that daylight savings time started, so it was good to have a day to get the body right with the clock.
On Monday morning I drove the last 20 miles to the delivery customer. I got there an hour early for my 9:30 am appointment. Well, they told me my appointment wasn't until 10:30 am. WHAT?!? They sent me away and told me to come back in an hour. Damn. There wasn't anywhere to go near the customer to just sit. They said I couldn't sit on their property. I drove around to the other side of their building, where the guards couldn't see me and waited. What's the worst that could happen. They could tell me to leave again. They never found me. I went back to the guard shack and finally got a door and got unloaded.
My next load was out of Ayer, MA. I had about 2 hours of drive time to get there and I had to be there in 1 hour. I called my dispatcher and she fixed the times. It really didn't matter. It was a preloaded trailer. I drop and hooked and headed south. I got down through MA, CT, and most of the way through NY on I-84 before I stopped and parked it for the night.
I drove West all day on Tuesday and Wednesday and stopped Wednesday evening in Concordia, MO. This morning I drove the last 125 miles to the customer in Lawrence, KS and delivered at 7:30 am. After I got unloaded I drove about 40 miles to the Kansas City drop yard and waited until about 12 noon for the trailer I was picking up to get there. I got the trailer and drove over here to the Bosselman's Pilot in Grand Island, NE.
I should be home by Saturday at Noon. Ahhh, a few days to do nothing around the house!
posted by BigJohn at 6:29 PM
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