Bad Directions

Today I got up at 0600 and started driving and drove straight through for 9 hours to Carlisle, PA to get to my customer by the appointment time.

When I got to the customer I followed the direction that the customer gave me on the phone and took a right turn at the the third light I got to after exiting the highway. I counted three lights and turned right. Wrong. I guess they counted differently than I did. I got up a road with a 12'5" bridge on it. Not good. I ended up going through a residential neighborhood and turning around in a High School parking lot. I finally got to the customer and an hour later I was unloaded.

My next load picks up tomorrow about 140 miles north and delivers on Sunday afternoon in South Carolina.  My information says a 1700 pickup tomorrow, but I called the shipper and they said I could get there at 0800 in the morning and they would get me loaded. I hope that works out that way. I really want to get some driving out of the way tomorrow. It's about 630 miles to the Walmart Dist. center I'm going to in SC.

Time for sleep. That's three long days in a row.

Another 14 hour day,,,

I drove my ass off today. That's about all. I got to Chicago in the late afternoon so I got to enjoy the afternoon rush. Idling for miles and miles in bumper to bumper traffic.

I'm stopped in central IN on the turnpike for the night. Tomorrow I need to make Carlisle, PA by 1500. I can start driving at 0515. That will be close and I can't stop at all or I will be late.

Long Day!

I started at 0630 this morning driving north through WI and into MN. I stopped once and made it to my delivery at New Ulm, MN around 1415. That was a good quick delivery I was unloaded and ready to roll in under 30 minutes. That's awesome!

My Qualcomm MCP200 acts goofy once and a while and I have to restart it using control-alt-delete. It runs on Windows and I even get the "blue screen of death" once and a while. You would think that after nearly 20 years of the Windows operating system that Microsoft would have it figured out.

My next load was a live load about 100 miles away in Cold Spring, MN. I got there by about 1720 and tried to get checked in. The pickup number I had and the bill of lading number I had were no good with the shipper. They needed a number that wasn't one I had to get me loaded. I called dispatch and they didn't have any other numbers. Dispatch said they would have to contact customer service to figure it out. Nice. The office people at the shipper were planning to leave at 1800 and it was 1745. I called dispatch back and they said they still didn't have any info for me. I really didn't want to be stuck there until tomorrow. I asked if they had any info about the broker, maybe they could help. Dispatch asked me if I had called the broker. I said NO, I don't even have that phone number. Dispatch said I was supposed to call the broker for information when I got to the shipper. I said that I didn't get any messages on my Qualcomm saying that! Dispatch gave me the phone number for the broker and I called them. They had the number I needed and I got my paperwork from the office people 5 minutes before they went home. What a pain! Someone was supposed to send me a message telling me to call the broker, but they didn't. Little things like that can really screw a driver up!

I got loaded and drove about 20 minutes to a Pilot to scale the load and of course the Pilot was tiny and packed with trucks. I got weighed and found a place to park on the street while I went inside to pay for the scale. Luckily the load was just inside the limits for my tandems, so I didn't need to mess around at the Pilot anymore.

I drove another 10 minutes down the road and found a rest area and parked for the night. I have 15 minutes of drive time left, so I'm glad I got parked when I did.

Tomorrow will be a heavy driving day. My load goes to Carlisle, PA for Friday afternoon.  That's about 1150 miles. I have about 18 hours of driving and a full day tomorrow and until 1500 e.s.t. Friday afternoon to get there. I will be tight. I have two fuel stops tomorrow. One in Hudson, WI for 50 gallons, ( i\I don't know why they do that, they just do.), and the Gary terminal to fill up. Other than that, just driving tomorrow.

Finally unloaded,,,

This morning I finally got the Denver Mattress load delivered. I got 15.5 hours of detention pay waiting to get it unloaded, but I finally got empty around 1300.

I immediately drove about one hour south to Defiance, OH and got a live load going to New Ulm, MN for tomorrow afternoon. It's about 700 miles total so I don't have much of a window for anything to go wrong.

I drove through Gary and got fuel and scanned my last trip into the payroll system before driving up through Chicago around 1900 this evening. I stopped about half way across I90 in IL and found a place to park.

The weather today was weird. When I woke up it was in the upper 30's and pouring rain. The sun came out around mid-morning and when I checked the temp in the middle of IN, if was showing 81 degrees. Then, by the time I got to Gary, IN around 1815 this evening the temp had dropped back into the 40's. Crazy!

My right arm got longer!

I took a quick walk around the area where I'm stuck and found a Target pretty close. I used their facilities and got a case of Vitamin Water to restock the truck. Normally that's not a big deal, but I forgot until I was outside the store that I didn't drive the car and the truck was parked about 1/3 mile away. That case of water got pretty heavy by the time I got back to the truck. I think I stretched my right arm about an inch carrying it. I have to shop when I have the chance though. Now for some internet time since I have a fast connection where I'm parked.

24 hr delay,,,,,

Well, today started with me driving to the customer and bring ready to get unloaded for my 0900 appointment at 0845. I was there and ready. Unfortunately the customer says they called and rescheduled the appointment for tomorrow at the same time. Huh?

I told my FM this and he wasn't aware of the appointment being changed. I found a spot to park my truck in the corner of the parking lot and I'm stuck waiting until tomorrow to deliver. Oh well. I get detention pay. I'll take $120.00 to sit playing on the computer all day, but I would rather be driving!

This happens sometimes when driving a truck OTR. I have had other times when this has happened. As long as you document your times accurately and your log book reflects your detention, you get paid for sitting.

I think I'll take a walk and see what's in this area.

Sleeping In!

Today I slept in like a teenager! I think I slept until 1000. That's crazy!

I cleaned up and stopped by the driver lounge at the Gary terminal. I met a guy who posts on another trucker website. That was fun. Meeting someone in person who you met online is interesting. Good conversation and then I excused myself so I could scoot on down the road.

I drove about a half an hour and stopped for fuel in Burns Harbor, IN. I got some lunch there as well and then drove about 155 mile to where I'm stopped for the night. I stopped at a service plaza just inside the Ohio border on the Ohio Turnpike. I have about 37 miles from here to the customer. Tomorrow morning should be an easy drive to my delivery. I think I have been to the store I'm delivering to before. I think about three years ago I was there. Maybe. I guess I'll see if I recognize it.

It's been a slow weekend, but my hours are spread out pretty evenly so I won't run short on hours later in the week. I think tomorrow I'll confirm the date they have me scheduled to get home with my FM. Last time out he had it a week wrong. Oh well.