A week later,,,

It's been a while since I have posted, so here's the update.

I delivered in a suburb of Chicago and picked up a load just north of Chicago last Wednesday. It went pretty smoothly and I made a good start west by the evening.

I had an uneventful drive across towards Loveland for a Friday delivery. It rained really hard in western NE on Thursday evening. Glad my truck doesn't leak.

I did a live unload in Loveland at the Sam's dist. center. I got unloaded by 1300 and was home by 1430.

I enjoyed my hometime and left the house on Tuesday morning. I picked up my load at the Denver Pepsi distributor and started east for my delivery at the Pepsi in Ft. Smith, AR.

Today I left Colby, KS and made it to Ft. Smith, AR by 1630. I had tried calling Pepsi all day to find out if they would allow me to deliver this evening, but they didn't answer their phone. I got a maze of phone prompts and when I hit "0" to talk to the operator, that went to voice mail. STUPID! Anyway, I got to the gate at Pepsi and there was a sign saying their hours were 0700 - 1500. I would have parked and come in the morning if I had known that, but whatever.

I'm stopped about a mile away at a dump of a truckstop. It's a total wreck. Right out of the 70's. Oh well. I'll try delivering tomorrow.

Finally a short day.

I got to my customer last night at around 2330 and delivered this morning at 0700. The delivery went smoothly and I got a message to go to Gary, IN. I drove about 2 hours and parked at the Gary terminal by 1100 this morning.

I got a shower and a full tank of DEF in the truck. I also enjoyed a nice long nap this afternoon. It's good to recharge the body every few days.

My next load is a relay load that is supposed to be at the Gary terminal at 0400 tomorrow morning. It delivers only about 60 miles away at 0700. Then I have a load that picks up at 1100 about 70 miles away from that delivery. That load is supposed to deliver in Loveland, CO on Friday. I was scheduled to be home on Thursday, but I guess it will be Friday.

A few Days,,,

Saturday I drove north to Pittston, PA and did a drop hook at the customer. It was a pleasant surprise that the load was ready. It was scheduled for 1700 and I got it around 1000. Sometimes it works out like that.

I stopped at a Pilot in Scranton to get a shower and fuel. I really needed DEF so I asked and got permission to fuel at that Pilot. They had signs all over including an electronic price sign for DEF. When I tried to put DEF in after I fueled, it didn't work. They said they really didn't have DEF yet, but they would soon. What? Why the hell would you put up a price sign and signs all over advertising DEF at the pu[mp if you really didn't have it yet. Stupid! I had to buy DEF in the box and hail it out to the truck and pour it in manually. DEF in the box is three times as expensive as DEF at the pump. Oh, well. I tried.

I drove south on I81 into Virginia and stopped about midway at a Pilot. That Pilot parking lot was crammed. I got a spot and then spent an hour watching other trucks try to park around me. I really though one of them was going to crash into my front bumper. So close and drivers trying to put their trucks into spaces that they had no business trying to get into.

Sunday I drove south and stopped at a Loves for lunch at the Virginia border with NC. While I was eating I got a call from dispatch telling me to stay where I was. I was going to relay the load to another driver and get their load going to Wheeling, WV. So much for an easy weekend and knowing what I was going to be doing.

It took until 1830 for the relay to get to me and I had to be in Wheeling at 0930 Monday morning. I ended up splitting my logs and driving to Wheeling Sunday night. I got there at 0130 and did my delivery on time. To get out of that customer I had to have someone stop traffic while I backed across a four way stop intersection to get turned around. Fun.

My next load picked up in Youngstown, OH. I'm sitting at the shipper now waiting to get a dock to get loaded. I'm supposed to be in Elkhart, IN tomorrow morning at 0700. Hmmm, I need fuel along the way and if it takes longer than an hour or so to get loaded, I'm not going to make it on time. I will let my FM know as soon as I know.

That's all for now.

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.

Easy Weekend

I'm sitting in Gary, IN at the Roehl terminal. I knocked out 405 miles today and I have only about 3 1/2 hours to go to get to the customer. My delivery isn't scheduled until 0900 Monday, so I have plenty of time. I drove for about 4 hours and stopped in central IL and got my afternoon nap, then I drove about 2 more hours and got to Gary.

I washed the truck and trailer and got a shower. The trailer I picked up at Denver Mattress was really dirty. I think it had been sitting in their dirt lot for months.

Time to surf the internet for a while and then read a few chapters one of my books.

I think I'll sleep in tomorrow, if I can. The older I get, the less sleep I need. Oh well.

Rolling East

I left the house yesterday morning and picked up a load at Denver Mattress and took it to the BNSF rail yard about 10 minutes away. When I got to the rail yard I couldn't get in because the planners hadn't yet "billed" the load. So I called my FM and he said he would see what he could do. About 20 minutes later I got into the rail yard and didn't know where to drop my trailer. Why didn't I know where to drop my trailer? Because the guy in at the rail yard gate didn't tell me where to drop it. I asked. I asked again. He just pointed out the window and said, "over there". Whatever. I figured if he didn't care, I didn't care. I dropped the trailer and got the next load assignment.

My next load assignment was to get a load right there at the rail yard and take it 60 miles north to the Walmart Dist. Center in Loveland, CO. I found the trailer, but I couldn't leave the rail yard because the planners didn't send me the PickUp number. The guy at the gate wouldn't let me out with our that special number. Over an hour later, I got the number and headed north to Loveland.

I got dropped at Walmart in Loveland easily and my next load was back at Denver Mattress in Denver. I drove back to Denver and got that load and headed East on I76. I stopped last night in Big Springs, NE at the old Bosselman truck stop. The Bosselman is now a Flying J. There is a good restaurant there called Sam Bass Saloon. 

Today I drove east stopping in Aurora, NE for fuel. I caught a nap a little later and finished my driving day a little west of Des Moines, IA.

Tomorrow I should make it to the Gary terminal in mid afternoon. I'll get the truck and trailer washed and catch a shower. Sunday I will have about three and a half hours drive to get to Toledo for my Monday delivery.

Hometime!

I got rolling Sunday morning around 0600 and made it to the Walmart Dist. Center in Loveland, CO around 1430. The time change worked in my favor. On the way I stopped for fuel in North Platte, NE and for a quick bite to eat in Ogallala, NE.

I did the easy drop + hook at the Walmart and spent 35 minutes waiting on hold with the weekend dispatch crew. I needed them to tell me to roll home. I didn't want to just go because the one time I do that, they would have something else planned. I only had 1:35 hours left on my 70 for the week and I wasn't getting any back until Tuesday, but I always make contact with the company before doing anything. Just how I roll.

Anyway, got the go ahead to drive to the house and within an hour or so I had my trailer dropped at the Home Depot parking lot near my house and the king-pin lock and trailer locks installed. 3 minute drive to the house and I was home.

I'm leaving out again on Thursday sometime. I told the company I would be available at 0600.

I got some shopping done and changed the oil on both the family cars, spending time playing with my 9 year old boy and relaxing. One more day and back on the road. I should probably think about what I need grocery-wise for my next two week time on the road. I'll do that shopping tomorrow. I might even drag the shop-vac out to the drive way and give the cab a good cleaning. Depends on how I feel tomorrow. For now, the laundry is in and it's time to play some Call Of Duty on the Xbox.

Mudflap? I don't need a stinkin' mudflap!

Where did I leave off? Oh, yes. I was waiting to get loaded at the shipper. It took about 2 hours and I was loaded and on my way to the drop yard in Oak Creek, WI. I got to the drop yard in about 40 minutes. It is just south of Milwaukee. I dropped the load and grabbed an empty.

About five minutes after I sent my empty call my FM sent me a message that he wanted me to go to a shipper in Milwaukee and get an empty from there. I dropped the perfectly good empty I had and drove 30 miles north to get the empty that was extra special. At least that must be the case, I don't know. I do know that it rained all day and I was wet, cold, and tired!

My next load picked up in the morning about 30 miles south of the drop yard I was at earlier so I made it back there and parked for the night.

This morning I got to the shipper around 0500 and hooked my load and was ready to start west towards Colorado and home when I noticed that I was missing a mudflap on my tractor. The drivers side mudflap was gone. Not ripped off or mangled,, just plain gone. Bracket and all. The best I can figure is that while I was sleeping last night at the Pilot at the 122 exit on I94 in WI, someone needed a mudflap and took mine.

I called maintenance and they sent me to Gary, IN to get a new mudflap and bracket. Going the wrong direction! Damnit!

After driving south through Chicago to Gary I got a new, well used, mud flap and got on I80 west by around 0845.

I drove all day stopping once for lunch and got to the rest area at mile marker 431 on I80 in NE.

I'm parked here for the night and I have 9 hours to the Walmart Dist. Center in Loveland, CO tomorrow. I also only have 10:23 left on my 70 for the week. I have 1:15 drive to my house after I deliver. That leaves about five minutes for my pretrip and delivering. Gonna have to make it work! Electronic logs,,,, a new experience for me and they allow for no fudging. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I hope nothing goes sideways tomorrow.

Waiting to get loaded...

I got to my customer in Pleasant Prairie, WI at around 0830 and was unloaded by 1030. Then I was sent up here to Burlington, WI to get a load to relay at Oak Creek, WI. It kind of a waste of my day, but at least it's something. A real waste is not moving at all. This load is only about 60 miles total and will take me a total of about 5 hours. I do get short haul pay and the load planners told me they are working on my back to Denver load.

When I got to this shipper, Verallia, I turned into the wrong driveway. That sucked. I thought In was following the signs, but I guess not. The sign pointed left between two driveways. I guessed wrong. I got jammed up in their employee parking lot. Nice. I ended up backing up all the way out of the lot. That was a 10 minute waste of time.

I got around the building the correct way and got myself checked in and backed into a door. An interesting note. The tandems on Roehl's trailers seem to be in better condition than I remember them. A lot of shippers and consignees make you slide them before you get loaded or unloaded and I have only had one problem in the past month or so. I do use vise-grips often to keep the pull handle pulled out in the correct position, but other than that, not many issues with the tandems. Vise-Grips are a "must have" in your truck tool box! A decent sledge hammer is also very handy. I keep both under my drivers seat.

Now I'm just sitting waiting to get loaded. I can feel them loading me. I hope they get done within an hour or so.

Slow can be dangerous!

Just a quick note. When I left the Gary terminal this morning I was behind a Roehl flatbed driver who was going 18 miles per hour past the Schneider terminal. I know the railroad tracks there are really bad, but after he crossed them, he still went 18 MPH all the way to 912. Then when he got on 912 he was going 32 MPH on the highway! I got around him as soon as I could. Going that slow is crazy unsafe! I wonder if he was so new he was driving scared? Wow!