Good morning everyone! What a beautifu day it is down here in sunny Florida! I was lucky enough to get to sleep in until 0500 today so I am in a great mood!
Yesterday afternoon we finally got a load out of GA. I had to bobtail about 125 miles to a Walmart to get an empty trailer. You would think that would be easy enough, but you know me. It had to be difficult! When I pulled in, there were two other Prime bobtails that pulled in behind me. I checked in with the guard and he said they didn't have any Prime empties at their location. So I tell the other two Prime trucks and we headf bak to the small truck stop on the corner to call in to our FM's to see what the deal is. Turns out there is a communication problem between their shipping/receiving office computers and the computer at the guard shack. They sent all of us back and told us to go look for our trailers on the lot. I never did find mine, but I did find another empty which I was able to hook up to.
At this point, it is 1730 and J takes over and we head west across GA through some tiny roads to get to Perry,GA where we are picking up at Perdue Farms. We let them know that we would be a little late since we had issues finding an empty trailer. Seems that they already had an empty Prime at the location that they backed up to a door so they could start getting our load ready. That works for us since we won't be holding them up. I guess this place is usually a drop and hook anyway and we didn't know. We got there about 30 minutes late but still had to wait over an hour for our load to be ready so it all worked out for us in the end.
This was a short run from Perry,GA to Orlando,FL. We made our delivery up here this morning and now we are just sitting here at a rest area waiting for our next load. We are hoping for a flower load so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Atlanta,GA
Back out on the road tomorrow but first to catch you up to date!
We have spent the last week here in Atlanta working on our houseboat. We were so worried about all of the rain they had last week. We were wondering if we were even going to be able to get any work done. Since it has been a few months since we have been here to do any work, the tarp was not still completely covering the boat. It did help quite a bit, but the inside still got wet. We had previously put the new sub-floor down and cleaned the bottom inside of the hull. That helped water drain out which meant that the new floor was not standing in water. YES!
The first day we got here we just checked in to the hotel and chilled. By the time we dropped our load, fueled the trailer and dropped it off at a customers, then got to the hotel it was mid afternoon. Too late to get started by that time.
Friday we were up and headed up towards the boat to get started. We didn't do much but clean up from the storms. Friday night our son Justin came in so we were able to have his help on Saturday and Sunday. We were up at the crack of dawn on both days this weekend working our asses off! We were able to get the plywood up on the roof, most of the plywood up on the walls and about 4/5ths of the roof fiberglassed. We really wanted to get the rest of the lower deck roof done, but we were just too worn out to get it finished. That and we just flat ran out of time and money. LOL So we just put the tarp back up, added extra covering and called it good enough for now.
I'm not sure when we will be able to get back here but it is nice to see things take shape. This is only the second time we have been down since we bought the boat. The first time we completely gutted the whole lower level, got the sub-floor, wall studs and ceiling joists in. Now this trip getting the roof and walls done. Definitely making progress. Next trip we are going to try to replace the ceiling on the upper level where the deck, helm and living room is and then connect the new addition on the lower level to the remaining upper level that we didn't tear down during demolition. We have had a lot of fun on this. Hard work, but fun. We love working on projects. I can't wait to see the final finished product.
I sent a message to our FM today asking him about our lease. Our lease is a 3 year lease or X amount of miles. I can't remember the mileage and I don't have our copy of the lease with us. When our lease is up, we have 59 days to decide if we want to sign a new lease on another new truck. We also get our lease completing bonus. We are thinking that we will hit our mileage limit next summer. If that is the case, we are hoping to take close to the 59 days off and use the lease completion bonus to finish the boat and get it moved. Of course we are still going to try to get down here every 6-8 weeks to keep working on it. But you all know how much easier it is to finish something when you have the time and the money. And both at the same time!
So that is our update. Back on the road tomorrow! I am not sure where we will be heading from here, but we shall see!
We have spent the last week here in Atlanta working on our houseboat. We were so worried about all of the rain they had last week. We were wondering if we were even going to be able to get any work done. Since it has been a few months since we have been here to do any work, the tarp was not still completely covering the boat. It did help quite a bit, but the inside still got wet. We had previously put the new sub-floor down and cleaned the bottom inside of the hull. That helped water drain out which meant that the new floor was not standing in water. YES!
The first day we got here we just checked in to the hotel and chilled. By the time we dropped our load, fueled the trailer and dropped it off at a customers, then got to the hotel it was mid afternoon. Too late to get started by that time.
Friday we were up and headed up towards the boat to get started. We didn't do much but clean up from the storms. Friday night our son Justin came in so we were able to have his help on Saturday and Sunday. We were up at the crack of dawn on both days this weekend working our asses off! We were able to get the plywood up on the roof, most of the plywood up on the walls and about 4/5ths of the roof fiberglassed. We really wanted to get the rest of the lower deck roof done, but we were just too worn out to get it finished. That and we just flat ran out of time and money. LOL So we just put the tarp back up, added extra covering and called it good enough for now.
I'm not sure when we will be able to get back here but it is nice to see things take shape. This is only the second time we have been down since we bought the boat. The first time we completely gutted the whole lower level, got the sub-floor, wall studs and ceiling joists in. Now this trip getting the roof and walls done. Definitely making progress. Next trip we are going to try to replace the ceiling on the upper level where the deck, helm and living room is and then connect the new addition on the lower level to the remaining upper level that we didn't tear down during demolition. We have had a lot of fun on this. Hard work, but fun. We love working on projects. I can't wait to see the final finished product.
I sent a message to our FM today asking him about our lease. Our lease is a 3 year lease or X amount of miles. I can't remember the mileage and I don't have our copy of the lease with us. When our lease is up, we have 59 days to decide if we want to sign a new lease on another new truck. We also get our lease completing bonus. We are thinking that we will hit our mileage limit next summer. If that is the case, we are hoping to take close to the 59 days off and use the lease completion bonus to finish the boat and get it moved. Of course we are still going to try to get down here every 6-8 weeks to keep working on it. But you all know how much easier it is to finish something when you have the time and the money. And both at the same time!
So that is our update. Back on the road tomorrow! I am not sure where we will be heading from here, but we shall see!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Vernon,TX
Wow, how time flies! Let me see if I can catch you up.
After our foray into the NJ area, we got a load headed out to CA but we ended up dropping it at our yard in Springfield,MO. You got it, the A/C went out again. We ended up being there for 2 days but I have to say, a week later, the A/C is still working!!!
When we headed out of there we got a load to Amarillo,TX. We had to make a stop in Lubbock to pick up our snow chains so we were able to see family. After we delivered in Amarillo, we took a load from another driver that was broken down and made a delivery to Casa Grande,AZ. Out of there we deadheaded to Vi ctorville,CA and picked up a load and delivered it to Waco,TX yesterday afternoon. This morning, after playing the "find an empty trailer" game, we headed up to Vernon,TX which is where we are currently sitting. This load goes to Atlanta,GA where we will spend the weekend. We are hoping to work on the boat but they have had an unbelievable amount of rain so I don't know what we are going to be able to get done, if anything. Either way, Justin is driving over from Kings Bay Naval Base where he is stationed so we will get to see our son. That will make it all worth while!
After our foray into the NJ area, we got a load headed out to CA but we ended up dropping it at our yard in Springfield,MO. You got it, the A/C went out again. We ended up being there for 2 days but I have to say, a week later, the A/C is still working!!!
When we headed out of there we got a load to Amarillo,TX. We had to make a stop in Lubbock to pick up our snow chains so we were able to see family. After we delivered in Amarillo, we took a load from another driver that was broken down and made a delivery to Casa Grande,AZ. Out of there we deadheaded to Vi ctorville,CA and picked up a load and delivered it to Waco,TX yesterday afternoon. This morning, after playing the "find an empty trailer" game, we headed up to Vernon,TX which is where we are currently sitting. This load goes to Atlanta,GA where we will spend the weekend. We are hoping to work on the boat but they have had an unbelievable amount of rain so I don't know what we are going to be able to get done, if anything. Either way, Justin is driving over from Kings Bay Naval Base where he is stationed so we will get to see our son. That will make it all worth while!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Jersey City,NJ
Once again, here we are in our FAVORITE state, not! Well, J got me to the NJ state line this morning and that is where I took over at. I only had a short 59 miles to go and after checking Google Earth yesterday, I felt confident that we could make it to our destination without getting lost.
So I took off this morning feeling good about where I was going only to have my good mood turned bad. The directions were good, but unfortunately the bridge that we needed to cross was closed for construction. Now, don't you think it would have been a good idea for someone to let us know that a few miles before it was shut down instead of right at the bridge? ARGH!!!
So we exit as directed only to find that we can not go much further because there is a bridge clearance of 13'4". Now since we are 13'6" this is going to be a problem. :( Well, I stop and throw my hazards on (thank goodness I was paying attention and noticed the bridge clearance) and tried to figure out what the hell we were going to do. Luckily I could turn left and pull into a small parking lot. There were some people showing up for work I guess and J got out and asked them where we needed to go. After getting some help with our directions, J directed me so I could back out on the street and turn around. So back the way we came.
Luckily when they sent directions to this location, they sent them for coming in two different directions. One was from I-280 (which we were on) and the other was from I-78. So we headed back to I-95 via I-280 and headed south to get to I-78. From there we were able to hit US 1&9 and approach our destination from the southern end. Luckily after we decided to do this, I knew where we were going. Last night I had looked at directions on Google Earth and we had decided to come in on I-80 instead of I-78. Going I-80 we saved a ton on tolls. To get to I-78 we would have had to take I-70/I-76 through the southern part of PA which is a toll road and has a lot of hills. Going I-80 was less than 30 miles farther but well worth it in the money saved on tolls and fuel going over the larger mountains.
So since I had checked the route out for the last bit coming off of I-78, I had a feel for the layout. We were able to drive directly to our destination. We got here about an hour ago and dropped our trailer but they didn't have any MT's for us to take. So now we are just chilling here. They are in the process of unloading two our our other trailers that were here so they should have one emptied here in a few hours. Since it is a Sunday, and Sales isn't in yet, I didn't figure we would have anything waiting on us anyway. Once we do get an MT there is a small truck stop down at the end of the street. That is a rare occurance here in NJ, to have a truck stop, so I will head down there to wait when we get an MT trailer. I noticed a spot that was open when we drove by and I am thinking that when a few more drivers wake up and take off there will be a few more spots. Plus, it is Sunday so I am hoping that it won't be too busy there. Hopefully anyone that needs to park for the weekend is already there and I can grab a spot from someone that leaves.
So that is our daily update! Here is to hoping we get a load and don't get stuck here until tomorrow!
So I took off this morning feeling good about where I was going only to have my good mood turned bad. The directions were good, but unfortunately the bridge that we needed to cross was closed for construction. Now, don't you think it would have been a good idea for someone to let us know that a few miles before it was shut down instead of right at the bridge? ARGH!!!
So we exit as directed only to find that we can not go much further because there is a bridge clearance of 13'4". Now since we are 13'6" this is going to be a problem. :( Well, I stop and throw my hazards on (thank goodness I was paying attention and noticed the bridge clearance) and tried to figure out what the hell we were going to do. Luckily I could turn left and pull into a small parking lot. There were some people showing up for work I guess and J got out and asked them where we needed to go. After getting some help with our directions, J directed me so I could back out on the street and turn around. So back the way we came.
Luckily when they sent directions to this location, they sent them for coming in two different directions. One was from I-280 (which we were on) and the other was from I-78. So we headed back to I-95 via I-280 and headed south to get to I-78. From there we were able to hit US 1&9 and approach our destination from the southern end. Luckily after we decided to do this, I knew where we were going. Last night I had looked at directions on Google Earth and we had decided to come in on I-80 instead of I-78. Going I-80 we saved a ton on tolls. To get to I-78 we would have had to take I-70/I-76 through the southern part of PA which is a toll road and has a lot of hills. Going I-80 was less than 30 miles farther but well worth it in the money saved on tolls and fuel going over the larger mountains.
So since I had checked the route out for the last bit coming off of I-78, I had a feel for the layout. We were able to drive directly to our destination. We got here about an hour ago and dropped our trailer but they didn't have any MT's for us to take. So now we are just chilling here. They are in the process of unloading two our our other trailers that were here so they should have one emptied here in a few hours. Since it is a Sunday, and Sales isn't in yet, I didn't figure we would have anything waiting on us anyway. Once we do get an MT there is a small truck stop down at the end of the street. That is a rare occurance here in NJ, to have a truck stop, so I will head down there to wait when we get an MT trailer. I noticed a spot that was open when we drove by and I am thinking that when a few more drivers wake up and take off there will be a few more spots. Plus, it is Sunday so I am hoping that it won't be too busy there. Hopefully anyone that needs to park for the weekend is already there and I can grab a spot from someone that leaves.
So that is our daily update! Here is to hoping we get a load and don't get stuck here until tomorrow!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
New Lisbon,IN
Problems Problems Problems!!! ARGH!!! I swear I want to shoot this damn truck! Ok, so over the past 4 weeks, we have had the truck in the shop 3 times. Barely managing to make any money because without a truck, we can't work. The A/C is still not working correctly. We have to shut down in the afternoon and sometimes the evening for close to an hour for the lines to thaw out, because they are freezing up. But since we jut can't afford to put it back in the shop, we are having to deal with a temperamental A/C.
This past Wednesday morning we delivered in Ontario,CA. After sitting for a few hours we got a load picking up in Colton,CA going to Johnstown,NY that paid $4200.00. Finally a good paying load and it was only for 2700 miles. We were to pick up that night at 1900 local. I had headed to bed and J went to go pick it up. I woke up the next morning at 0600 to find out that we were back at the truck stop because they had cancelled that load. So I wait, again, and we get another load, same amount of miles but only paying $3200.00. Now, I know you are thinking, "Damn, that is still good money!" And it is, but because we lost a day, we will deliver this load on Sunday morning on the east coast and most likely will not get another load that will deliver before payroll cutoff of Tuesday. If we even get a load out of there on a Sunday. So when you figure around $1200 in fixed costs, then fuel.....well, it will be a paycheck, but not a great one.
AND, last night when J stopped in Springfield,MO to get fuel at the yard, he had to have them look at the truck AGAIN because we were losing air pressure. It was the truck that was losing air, not the trailer, and we lucked out that it was simply an airbag on the cab and was a very easy fix. But if you want to consider that time in the shop, that makes four times in four weeks. I am getting a little depressed here folks!! But I know this is the nature of the beast. And all the work up until now has all been warranty, so we weren't out of pocket any money, just the lost revenue. So I guess it could be worse. :)
This past Wednesday morning we delivered in Ontario,CA. After sitting for a few hours we got a load picking up in Colton,CA going to Johnstown,NY that paid $4200.00. Finally a good paying load and it was only for 2700 miles. We were to pick up that night at 1900 local. I had headed to bed and J went to go pick it up. I woke up the next morning at 0600 to find out that we were back at the truck stop because they had cancelled that load. So I wait, again, and we get another load, same amount of miles but only paying $3200.00. Now, I know you are thinking, "Damn, that is still good money!" And it is, but because we lost a day, we will deliver this load on Sunday morning on the east coast and most likely will not get another load that will deliver before payroll cutoff of Tuesday. If we even get a load out of there on a Sunday. So when you figure around $1200 in fixed costs, then fuel.....well, it will be a paycheck, but not a great one.
AND, last night when J stopped in Springfield,MO to get fuel at the yard, he had to have them look at the truck AGAIN because we were losing air pressure. It was the truck that was losing air, not the trailer, and we lucked out that it was simply an airbag on the cab and was a very easy fix. But if you want to consider that time in the shop, that makes four times in four weeks. I am getting a little depressed here folks!! But I know this is the nature of the beast. And all the work up until now has all been warranty, so we weren't out of pocket any money, just the lost revenue. So I guess it could be worse. :)
Friday, September 4, 2009
Franklin,IN
We made it up to NJ to drop the FedEx load off. This is the same place that we have been to once before where we got REALLY REALLY lost. I do believe this place may be the reason that several months ago I went off on a tangent about how much I dislike the northeast. :) Somehow we ended up with different directions this time, and with the help of Google Earth, I was able to drive right to it. Yay me!!
While we were enroute there, our damn A/C went out, AGAIN. We ended up getting a load back out of that same FedEx delivering to Dallas where we put the truck in the shop at Freightliner. That was this past Monday morning and we got it back and headed out on Wednesday morning. We ended up picking up a loaded trailer off of our drop lot in Saginaw and making two drops. One in Knoxville,TN and the last one in Dillon,SC. Wouldn't you know it? As soon as we made it to our last drop in Dillon, J wakes up and informs me that the back bunk is not blowing again. I swear I am going to run this truck off of a cliff!
Ok, so I call John, our FM, and he tells me to get with Road Assist. I do and find out where I can take the truck to. I give them a call, this was on Thursday, and they said that they couldn't get to it that day but they could on Friday morning. The only problem is that if they don't have a part to complete the repair, that it would have to wait until Tuesday, because they are closed over the Holiday weekend. Well hell! While we are trying to figure out what we want to do, the A/C decides that it is going to start working again. We then decided that instead of possibly being stuck over the whole weekend, that we will keep running and see how it works.
After we made our drop yesterday, our next pick up was about 120 miles away up in Laurens,SC at a Walmart and this one is going to Mt Pleasant,IA. We should be there tonight around midnight. Our FM hooked us up with our next two loads already so that we won't be sitting over the weekend. After we drop this tonight, we are going about 211 miles up to Mason City,IA to pick up a load in the morning that is delivering Sunday morning in Springfield,MO at the Kraft Caves at 0900. Then we are picking up a load at the same caves that is going to Ontario,CA to be delivered at 0400 on Wednesday morning. Because of the holiday week, our payroll has been pushed back to Wednesday afternoon so that means all of these trips will go on this payroll. YES!! Finally something that is working to our advantage.
Now if only the A/C will continue to keep working. It was starting to get warmer, the air out of the A/C as I pulled in here in Franklin. Last time it started working again after the truck sat turned off for a while. Dallas Freightline said that what they found was that the temperature was reading a constant 200 degrees so the A/C was running all the time and freezing up. It seems to be doing the same thing again. They said they replaced the sensor or whatever it was. Maybe they replaced it with a faulty new sensor. Sheesh! I just hope it works long enough for us to be able to run and make a little money before we have to put this piece of crap back in the shop!
While we were enroute there, our damn A/C went out, AGAIN. We ended up getting a load back out of that same FedEx delivering to Dallas where we put the truck in the shop at Freightliner. That was this past Monday morning and we got it back and headed out on Wednesday morning. We ended up picking up a loaded trailer off of our drop lot in Saginaw and making two drops. One in Knoxville,TN and the last one in Dillon,SC. Wouldn't you know it? As soon as we made it to our last drop in Dillon, J wakes up and informs me that the back bunk is not blowing again. I swear I am going to run this truck off of a cliff!
Ok, so I call John, our FM, and he tells me to get with Road Assist. I do and find out where I can take the truck to. I give them a call, this was on Thursday, and they said that they couldn't get to it that day but they could on Friday morning. The only problem is that if they don't have a part to complete the repair, that it would have to wait until Tuesday, because they are closed over the Holiday weekend. Well hell! While we are trying to figure out what we want to do, the A/C decides that it is going to start working again. We then decided that instead of possibly being stuck over the whole weekend, that we will keep running and see how it works.
After we made our drop yesterday, our next pick up was about 120 miles away up in Laurens,SC at a Walmart and this one is going to Mt Pleasant,IA. We should be there tonight around midnight. Our FM hooked us up with our next two loads already so that we won't be sitting over the weekend. After we drop this tonight, we are going about 211 miles up to Mason City,IA to pick up a load in the morning that is delivering Sunday morning in Springfield,MO at the Kraft Caves at 0900. Then we are picking up a load at the same caves that is going to Ontario,CA to be delivered at 0400 on Wednesday morning. Because of the holiday week, our payroll has been pushed back to Wednesday afternoon so that means all of these trips will go on this payroll. YES!! Finally something that is working to our advantage.
Now if only the A/C will continue to keep working. It was starting to get warmer, the air out of the A/C as I pulled in here in Franklin. Last time it started working again after the truck sat turned off for a while. Dallas Freightline said that what they found was that the temperature was reading a constant 200 degrees so the A/C was running all the time and freezing up. It seems to be doing the same thing again. They said they replaced the sensor or whatever it was. Maybe they replaced it with a faulty new sensor. Sheesh! I just hope it works long enough for us to be able to run and make a little money before we have to put this piece of crap back in the shop!
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