Another day with the truck in the shop! UGH! But as soon as we are done with this we will be back on the road again. We had to bring the truck into the shop Thursday night for an 0800 appt with the APU shop on Friday morning. It is too darn hot out here to be without an APU. Especially when we are at shippers/receivers that don't allow you to idle the truck while we are being loaded or unloaded.
We also had to get a PM done, which we are getting now, and get two new drive tires. Picked up a nail in one that must have had a slow leak because it never actually went flat. Just lost enough air that it caused both tires on that side to wear extremely fast. So now that we have that taken care of, I am hoping that we will be good and ready to roll.
We have a load that we broght with us and we will hook back up to that one and deliver it out to Apple Valley,CA on Monday. From there we aren't sure where they will send us. We are supposed to be in Lubbock,TX on Saturday July 24th. That gives us about 5 days. I don't know if they will send up to the east coast and then to Lubbock or maybe something to the Chicago or Midwest area and then on down to Lubbock. My birthday, the big 4-0 is Sunday the 25th so we are celebrating on Saturday the 24th. So we HAVE to be back for that!!
Not much else going on. We have been fairly busy. I just keep forgetting to blog. I have to tell J that he needs to start reminding me! After almost three years of daily posting, I have seriously fallen off the wagon!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
LasVegas,NV
Do you see my location?? Finally got the truck fixed and got the heck out of Atlanta. We were there a total of 20 days and only 9 of those were working on the boat I think. UGH! Small blessings though, I did find out that I was getting breakdown pay so we will about break even, even with the down time, so I am very thankful about that!
Once we had the truck back last Thursday evening, we picked up a load in Calhoun,GA and ran it up to Plainview,TX and dropped it off Saturday morning. We picked up a load in Plainview fron EXCEL but I had to make a stop in Lubbock because the reefer was having issues. Luckily that was a 2 hour fix and we were on the road again. We have two deliveries on this load. We delivered the first in Casa Grande,AZ on Sunday morning and now I am sitting in Las Vegas,NV waiting to drop the last of it here at Sysco which is about half a mile away from the Petro that we are parked at.
When we delivered in Casa Grande yesterday, they unloaded 32,ooo lbs of beef which left me with only 3 pallets weighing about 3,000 lbs. I am so glad things worked out that way and that I was super light, almost empty, because losing that weight saved me from being in an accident yesterday and most likely saved me from killing some people.
I was driving west on I-10 on the west side of Phoenix. It is a really long stretch of road for at least 60 miles I bet without a single curve in the road. There was a truck on the right shoulder that was broke down and he had his triangles out. There was a black Camry and a brown Toyota Tundra passing me in the left lane and as soon as they passed me, I got in the left lane to pass the broke down truck. As soon as I got passed the truck, I signaled to get back in the right lane and out of nowhere, a black Honda comes flying up to pass me on the right. So I stay in the left lane to let the idiot pass. I swear he was doing at least 90 mph. Anyway, he goes to the shoulder, even though I am still in the left lane, to finish passing me. Meanwhile, the Camry, which was in front of the Toyota, signals to come back to the right lane. As far as she can tell, the lane is clear because the idiot in the Honda is still on the shoulder. At this point, they are about 100 ft in front of me and I start to merge back to the right again. Well, as the Camry comes to the right lane, to let the Toyota pass, the Honda decided to swerve into the right lane behind the Camry, but he is going to fast. So he jerks it back to the shoulder to pass her on the shoulder! He gets a little loose and tries to get in front of her but he clips her on the right front quarter panel and he comes over. This basically means the Camry did a pit maneuver to the Honda which sent him spinning into the left lane. The Camry bounced to the left, and hit the Toyota, which then made the Camry go spinning onto the right shoulder down a ditch. The Honda was now spinnng in front of the Toyota and the push from the Camry into the Toyota had the Toyota and the Honda spinning, side by side, into the center median. And all of this was no more than 100 ft in front of me!
Anyway, I manage to get stopped and pulled to the right shoulder just past where they went off the road. In my rearview mirror, I couldn't even see the road because of all of the dust and sand from the wreck. I was sure that all three cars had rolled. I grab the CB and tell everyone to slow down and that the lanes were clear, even though they couldn't see, because of the sand, and that the cars had went off the road. Then I call 911 and jump out of the truck while I am still on the phone to go check for injuries. I don't know how, but the good Lord was watching over everyone, because none of the cars rolled and there were no injuries. Amazing. But like I said earlier, if I had not unloaded that 32,000 lbs earlier that morning, there is no way I could have stopped and I would have rammed right through those three cars when they got together. When I say the Honda slip in behind the Camry and slam on his brakes, I started shutting the truck down because I just knew this was going to be bad. Since I was almost empty I was able to get slowed down enough to not hit anyone.
So, lesson for the day. Don't be an idiot and try to pass on the shoulder!! Get your head out of your ass and pay attention. Slowing down for 5 seconds to let someone slower that you pass BEFORE you go around them, in the left lane, could save your life or someone elses life!
Once we had the truck back last Thursday evening, we picked up a load in Calhoun,GA and ran it up to Plainview,TX and dropped it off Saturday morning. We picked up a load in Plainview fron EXCEL but I had to make a stop in Lubbock because the reefer was having issues. Luckily that was a 2 hour fix and we were on the road again. We have two deliveries on this load. We delivered the first in Casa Grande,AZ on Sunday morning and now I am sitting in Las Vegas,NV waiting to drop the last of it here at Sysco which is about half a mile away from the Petro that we are parked at.
When we delivered in Casa Grande yesterday, they unloaded 32,ooo lbs of beef which left me with only 3 pallets weighing about 3,000 lbs. I am so glad things worked out that way and that I was super light, almost empty, because losing that weight saved me from being in an accident yesterday and most likely saved me from killing some people.
I was driving west on I-10 on the west side of Phoenix. It is a really long stretch of road for at least 60 miles I bet without a single curve in the road. There was a truck on the right shoulder that was broke down and he had his triangles out. There was a black Camry and a brown Toyota Tundra passing me in the left lane and as soon as they passed me, I got in the left lane to pass the broke down truck. As soon as I got passed the truck, I signaled to get back in the right lane and out of nowhere, a black Honda comes flying up to pass me on the right. So I stay in the left lane to let the idiot pass. I swear he was doing at least 90 mph. Anyway, he goes to the shoulder, even though I am still in the left lane, to finish passing me. Meanwhile, the Camry, which was in front of the Toyota, signals to come back to the right lane. As far as she can tell, the lane is clear because the idiot in the Honda is still on the shoulder. At this point, they are about 100 ft in front of me and I start to merge back to the right again. Well, as the Camry comes to the right lane, to let the Toyota pass, the Honda decided to swerve into the right lane behind the Camry, but he is going to fast. So he jerks it back to the shoulder to pass her on the shoulder! He gets a little loose and tries to get in front of her but he clips her on the right front quarter panel and he comes over. This basically means the Camry did a pit maneuver to the Honda which sent him spinning into the left lane. The Camry bounced to the left, and hit the Toyota, which then made the Camry go spinning onto the right shoulder down a ditch. The Honda was now spinnng in front of the Toyota and the push from the Camry into the Toyota had the Toyota and the Honda spinning, side by side, into the center median. And all of this was no more than 100 ft in front of me!
Anyway, I manage to get stopped and pulled to the right shoulder just past where they went off the road. In my rearview mirror, I couldn't even see the road because of all of the dust and sand from the wreck. I was sure that all three cars had rolled. I grab the CB and tell everyone to slow down and that the lanes were clear, even though they couldn't see, because of the sand, and that the cars had went off the road. Then I call 911 and jump out of the truck while I am still on the phone to go check for injuries. I don't know how, but the good Lord was watching over everyone, because none of the cars rolled and there were no injuries. Amazing. But like I said earlier, if I had not unloaded that 32,000 lbs earlier that morning, there is no way I could have stopped and I would have rammed right through those three cars when they got together. When I say the Honda slip in behind the Camry and slam on his brakes, I started shutting the truck down because I just knew this was going to be bad. Since I was almost empty I was able to get slowed down enough to not hit anyone.
So, lesson for the day. Don't be an idiot and try to pass on the shoulder!! Get your head out of your ass and pay attention. Slowing down for 5 seconds to let someone slower that you pass BEFORE you go around them, in the left lane, could save your life or someone elses life!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Atlanta,GA
Trying to be optomistic, this is our last day in the hotel. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will give us the release tomorrow so we can get the heck out of Dodge.
So for our last day, we are being extremely lazy. Went to bed last night around 0300 and got up around 1100 today. Had some coffee, warmed up some left over pizza and now we are enjoying and NCIS Marathon on tv. It is shaping up to be a great last day! Now to just get a nap in at some point. :)
So for our last day, we are being extremely lazy. Went to bed last night around 0300 and got up around 1100 today. Had some coffee, warmed up some left over pizza and now we are enjoying and NCIS Marathon on tv. It is shaping up to be a great last day! Now to just get a nap in at some point. :)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Atlanta,GA
Nothing much new to report. Unfortunately we are still in Atlanta waiting on the truck to be released. From what I can gather they have torn it apart and replaced the DPF (something to do with the regen system on the 08 and newer models) and are still waiting for Detroit Diesel to give them the ok to release it. After they replaced it, the had to run more tests and send the results to Detroit. Now we are just waiting to get a response back from them. The bad part is that Detroit is closed on the weekend. So here we sit for another two nights until they open back up on Monday. I am really hoping that we get a response back by then. We have got to hit the road. Now we will get going on two weeks without a paycheck and that means two weeks in the hole. It isn't looking good and I think I am about to start developing ulcers!! LOL
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Atlanta,GA
Hello everyone! We are currently stuck in Atlanta,GA. UGH!!
We took time off starting on May 29th so we could work on the houseboat. We got a LOT done this trip. We got the upper deck done, got it joined with the lower deck and we got the roofing material on. We also decided to go with aluminum siding, in 4x10 sheets and we got the siding on. Now the boat is completely dried in. YAY! Next trip we are hoping to get the electrical wiring done and get the plumbing in. We were exhausted and sunburned, but after over a week, we completed everything we could for this trip.
We were available this Monday for a load and then ran into problems with the truck. It started shaking real bad so we had new drive tires put on and that took care of the problem. It is still pulling to the right some so we need to get it in for an alignment as soon as we can before it starts wearing these new tires. After we got that done, we took it to Freightliner to have them look at the regen system. Our check engine light was on and the regen light was flashing, but it wouldn't let us do a manual regen. So bright and early Tuesday morning we got it to Freightliner and now it is Thursday and it is still in the shop. They have the regen system torn apart and have sent pictures to Freightliner (corporate I guess) and are waiting for them to look at the pics to figure out the next step. We also had an air leak, but they found out it was an airbag on the cab yesterday and have already gotten that fixed.
So, here we sit. Tomorrow will be two weeks that we have been off counting the vacation time to work on the boat. That means two weeks that we haven't been working. The first week wasn't bad because we got paid since we came in on Friday and had trips that we delivered after payroll cutoff. But now we aren't getting paid. So they need to get this fixed so we can get back on the road!
We took time off starting on May 29th so we could work on the houseboat. We got a LOT done this trip. We got the upper deck done, got it joined with the lower deck and we got the roofing material on. We also decided to go with aluminum siding, in 4x10 sheets and we got the siding on. Now the boat is completely dried in. YAY! Next trip we are hoping to get the electrical wiring done and get the plumbing in. We were exhausted and sunburned, but after over a week, we completed everything we could for this trip.
We were available this Monday for a load and then ran into problems with the truck. It started shaking real bad so we had new drive tires put on and that took care of the problem. It is still pulling to the right some so we need to get it in for an alignment as soon as we can before it starts wearing these new tires. After we got that done, we took it to Freightliner to have them look at the regen system. Our check engine light was on and the regen light was flashing, but it wouldn't let us do a manual regen. So bright and early Tuesday morning we got it to Freightliner and now it is Thursday and it is still in the shop. They have the regen system torn apart and have sent pictures to Freightliner (corporate I guess) and are waiting for them to look at the pics to figure out the next step. We also had an air leak, but they found out it was an airbag on the cab yesterday and have already gotten that fixed.
So, here we sit. Tomorrow will be two weeks that we have been off counting the vacation time to work on the boat. That means two weeks that we haven't been working. The first week wasn't bad because we got paid since we came in on Friday and had trips that we delivered after payroll cutoff. But now we aren't getting paid. So they need to get this fixed so we can get back on the road!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Carlisle,PA
Today we stopped in Carlisle,PA when I finished my shift. After we made the run up to Lathrop,CA and delivered our next load picked up in Salinas,CA and we are bringing it to Florence,NJ. They gave us two and a half days to go 3000 miles. Yep, as you can guess, it wasn't happening!
We have ran so many loads lately back to back that were rush rush rush to get there. I put my foot down on this one and decided I wasn't going to waste fuel to make the appointment when that just means more money out of my pocket and less profit. So we told our FM that we would need another appointment. It looks like this receiver is open 24 hours because they told us basically to get there when we could based on the eta that I gave them. So that worked out.
Of course we ran into the usual problems getting out of California. Rush hour traffic meant that J made a whopping 180 miles in about 6 hours. That included getting pulled into a scale house for a Level 1 Inspection. Passed with flying colors. Unfortunately, J wasn't as lucky earlier in the day when a box truck decided to go 50 mph in front of us. J jumped out in the left center lane to go around him and got pulled over for it. :( In California trucks have to remain in the right two lanes. This was a 4 lane road and he got in the wrong lane and got a ticket for it. Not sure how much it is going to cost yet as the court makes that decision and mails us the info. And knowing how strapped California is for money, it probably isn't going to be cheap. But I didn't give him a hard time about it. He was mad enough at himself. Lesson learned.
After all of that, he only made it to Sacramento since we got loaded around 2000 hours. I took over and it took me another 4 hours to go the next 120 miles. You gotta love climbing Donner Pass when you are extremely heavy. I had also heard on the news that the Rockies were expecting a foot of snow. I figured I better check the weather and see what it was doing. If you have kept up with me for any length of time, you know that Wyoming is my nemesis and always gives me problems. Sure enough, it was snowing across the WHOLE state, I-80 was a mess all the way across and was closed between Laramie and Cheyenne again. Thankfully by the time J made it there they had cleared up. When I took over in Rawlins, I only had a little ice on the top of the mountail between Laramie and Cheyenne so I was pleased.
The rest of this trip has been uneventful. Hit a little rain just as J was leaving Carlisle,PA. Pretty nasty looking clouds according to the National Weather Service radar. I think we are about to come out of it though.
We have our next load already. After we deliver this we are heading over to Phillipsburg,NJ which is about 100 miles away and we are picking up a hazmat load going to Chandler,AZ. This works out really well for us since J is almost out of hours. He can pick it up tonight and get it scaled and then he can park. Then I will get up and cover around 550 miles tomorrow and J will get the afternoon off. That will give him a reset on his hours. Then Sunday we can both cover around 550 miles each and that will leave me around 250 miles or so to do Monday morning. piece of cake since our appointment is at 1000 Mountain time.
Now for the SUPER FUN information! We have some friends that are going on vacation in October for her 40th birthday. J's birthday is just 6 days before hers. They invited us to go along and after pricing flights (which are running about $300 less per person than what they usually pay) we decided what the heck and bought the tickets!
Well now you want to know where we are going, right? Roatan,Honduras!! The couple we are going with is Misty and Riaan. Riaan worked on Roatan for about 3.5 years as a dive instructor and they were married there. This is their old stomping grounds. So it is going to be a LOT of fun! We are going to stay for 7 nights. Did you know that rentals are REALLY REALLY cheap there? We can get a 1 bedroom cabin, complete with kitchen and all the dishes and everything for $175 for the WHOLE WEEK!! Check out www.hiddengardencabins.com to see some pics.
We will finish getting our dive certification and then spend most of the time diving while we are there. We have been before when we went on cruises but you don't have to be "certified" for that. Riaan is going to finish getting us our open water certification and we are going to have a blast blowing bubbles!
So there is the fun exciting part! Now I just have to seriously get in shape so I can put my bikini back on!!! At least I know have good motivation. :)
We have ran so many loads lately back to back that were rush rush rush to get there. I put my foot down on this one and decided I wasn't going to waste fuel to make the appointment when that just means more money out of my pocket and less profit. So we told our FM that we would need another appointment. It looks like this receiver is open 24 hours because they told us basically to get there when we could based on the eta that I gave them. So that worked out.
Of course we ran into the usual problems getting out of California. Rush hour traffic meant that J made a whopping 180 miles in about 6 hours. That included getting pulled into a scale house for a Level 1 Inspection. Passed with flying colors. Unfortunately, J wasn't as lucky earlier in the day when a box truck decided to go 50 mph in front of us. J jumped out in the left center lane to go around him and got pulled over for it. :( In California trucks have to remain in the right two lanes. This was a 4 lane road and he got in the wrong lane and got a ticket for it. Not sure how much it is going to cost yet as the court makes that decision and mails us the info. And knowing how strapped California is for money, it probably isn't going to be cheap. But I didn't give him a hard time about it. He was mad enough at himself. Lesson learned.
After all of that, he only made it to Sacramento since we got loaded around 2000 hours. I took over and it took me another 4 hours to go the next 120 miles. You gotta love climbing Donner Pass when you are extremely heavy. I had also heard on the news that the Rockies were expecting a foot of snow. I figured I better check the weather and see what it was doing. If you have kept up with me for any length of time, you know that Wyoming is my nemesis and always gives me problems. Sure enough, it was snowing across the WHOLE state, I-80 was a mess all the way across and was closed between Laramie and Cheyenne again. Thankfully by the time J made it there they had cleared up. When I took over in Rawlins, I only had a little ice on the top of the mountail between Laramie and Cheyenne so I was pleased.
The rest of this trip has been uneventful. Hit a little rain just as J was leaving Carlisle,PA. Pretty nasty looking clouds according to the National Weather Service radar. I think we are about to come out of it though.
We have our next load already. After we deliver this we are heading over to Phillipsburg,NJ which is about 100 miles away and we are picking up a hazmat load going to Chandler,AZ. This works out really well for us since J is almost out of hours. He can pick it up tonight and get it scaled and then he can park. Then I will get up and cover around 550 miles tomorrow and J will get the afternoon off. That will give him a reset on his hours. Then Sunday we can both cover around 550 miles each and that will leave me around 250 miles or so to do Monday morning. piece of cake since our appointment is at 1000 Mountain time.
Now for the SUPER FUN information! We have some friends that are going on vacation in October for her 40th birthday. J's birthday is just 6 days before hers. They invited us to go along and after pricing flights (which are running about $300 less per person than what they usually pay) we decided what the heck and bought the tickets!
Well now you want to know where we are going, right? Roatan,Honduras!! The couple we are going with is Misty and Riaan. Riaan worked on Roatan for about 3.5 years as a dive instructor and they were married there. This is their old stomping grounds. So it is going to be a LOT of fun! We are going to stay for 7 nights. Did you know that rentals are REALLY REALLY cheap there? We can get a 1 bedroom cabin, complete with kitchen and all the dishes and everything for $175 for the WHOLE WEEK!! Check out www.hiddengardencabins.com to see some pics.
We will finish getting our dive certification and then spend most of the time diving while we are there. We have been before when we went on cruises but you don't have to be "certified" for that. Riaan is going to finish getting us our open water certification and we are going to have a blast blowing bubbles!
So there is the fun exciting part! Now I just have to seriously get in shape so I can put my bikini back on!!! At least I know have good motivation. :)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Gustine,CA
I actually have a day off! WooHoo!! Now what am I going to do with myself?? Let's see. Slept in? Check. Had breakfast? Check. Took a nap? Check. It has turned out to be a great morning so far!
While I was getting the truck washed yesterday our FM called with our next load. There wasn't any freight in SoCal so he had us pick up a load at the drop lot in Fontana that delivers today in Lathrop,CA at 1300 local. It was a short overnight run of about 350 miles. Since it doesn't deliver till this afternoon, that meant that J drove us up here and I get the day off.
I only had about 23 hours left on my 70. J got to reset his hours in Flint,MI so he has plenty. That worked out great for us. He is going to start about an hour early today and deliver this and then we are going to Salinas,CA to pick up our next load. This load will deliver in NJ on Friday and I would have been pushed on my clock to make that if I didn't get a restart.
I was looking at our next load and I am hoping that we can make it there on time. There is no pick-up time in Salinas, just today sometime after we deliver this. I sure hope that they get us loaded fast so that we can get out of there and on the road. It delivers in NJ, 2900 miles away, on Friday at 1500. So here is to hoping that we can get in and out of there quickly.
On a side note, there were so bad storms yesterday and a tornado hit the Love's Truck Stop in Oklahoma City,OK. I pray that no one was seriously hurt or injured. Our FM told us that we had a truck at the location that had all of the windows blown out of it. I sure hope the driver was somewhere safe. They said the tornado also ripped the roof off of the building. I am definitely keeping the people that were there in my thoughts and prayers.
I guess that is all for now. Have a great day!
While I was getting the truck washed yesterday our FM called with our next load. There wasn't any freight in SoCal so he had us pick up a load at the drop lot in Fontana that delivers today in Lathrop,CA at 1300 local. It was a short overnight run of about 350 miles. Since it doesn't deliver till this afternoon, that meant that J drove us up here and I get the day off.
I only had about 23 hours left on my 70. J got to reset his hours in Flint,MI so he has plenty. That worked out great for us. He is going to start about an hour early today and deliver this and then we are going to Salinas,CA to pick up our next load. This load will deliver in NJ on Friday and I would have been pushed on my clock to make that if I didn't get a restart.
I was looking at our next load and I am hoping that we can make it there on time. There is no pick-up time in Salinas, just today sometime after we deliver this. I sure hope that they get us loaded fast so that we can get out of there and on the road. It delivers in NJ, 2900 miles away, on Friday at 1500. So here is to hoping that we can get in and out of there quickly.
On a side note, there were so bad storms yesterday and a tornado hit the Love's Truck Stop in Oklahoma City,OK. I pray that no one was seriously hurt or injured. Our FM told us that we had a truck at the location that had all of the windows blown out of it. I sure hope the driver was somewhere safe. They said the tornado also ripped the roof off of the building. I am definitely keeping the people that were there in my thoughts and prayers.
I guess that is all for now. Have a great day!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Rancho Cucamonga,CA
Yesterday I couldn't get a signal after J started driving across Iowa, so you had to wait until today. So far this has been an uneventful trip aside from the wind that we have had to deal with. We picked up this FedEx load from Flint,MI and headed out with it around 0930 on Wednesday. We made good time and I got here about an hour early. That includes stopping for a nice Mother's Day lunch yesterday where I got to use real utensils and drink out of a glass that wasn't a "to go" cup. I also got wished a Happy Mother's day from the kids, J, my mom whom I also wished a Happy Mother's day, along with many well wishes from all my friends on FB.
On top of that, I was able to enjoy an absoultely beautiful drive across I-70 in Colorado. I started driving up on I-80 in Kearney,NE then cut down I-76 and hit I-70 in Denver. The I-80 and I-76 part is really boring, but once you hit I-70 and start the drive through the Rockies, it is simply breath taking. I took some pictures with my phone but for some reason I am having problems sending them to my e-mail. If I can get it to work, I will come back and post some pics.
Right now I am just sitting here waiting for them to get me unloaded. From here I am going to go get the trailer washed out and get the truck washed also. With all the storms and snow and salt we have been through lately, it looks like I have taken this truck mudding! I will let ya know where we are headed next. Until then.....
On top of that, I was able to enjoy an absoultely beautiful drive across I-70 in Colorado. I started driving up on I-80 in Kearney,NE then cut down I-76 and hit I-70 in Denver. The I-80 and I-76 part is really boring, but once you hit I-70 and start the drive through the Rockies, it is simply breath taking. I took some pictures with my phone but for some reason I am having problems sending them to my e-mail. If I can get it to work, I will come back and post some pics.
Right now I am just sitting here waiting for them to get me unloaded. From here I am going to go get the trailer washed out and get the truck washed also. With all the storms and snow and salt we have been through lately, it looks like I have taken this truck mudding! I will let ya know where we are headed next. Until then.....
Friday, May 7, 2010
Grand Rapids,MI
Well, no, I didn't forget to post the last two days. See! I actually remembered, I just didn't post! You know we team drive and work 12 hour shifts. The past two days I have went to bed pretty much as soon as my shift was over. They have been LONG days, and I managed to barely cover a combined 640 miles. Slacking you say? Nay I say! It all has to do with the weather.
Now, I know this is May, because I have consulted my trusty calendar on my dash and double checked my BlackBerry and both are saying that it is indeed May. I am beginning to think that somehow Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming have all somehow misplaced the memo, that I am sure they have received, stating that it is Spring and not winter. Or as another driver calls that part of the country, Southern Canada.
We enjoyed a nice night off in a hotel to reset our hours and when we were available Monday afternoon, we got our next dispatch. We headed out to Yakima,WA to pick up a load of frozen french fries for Buffalo Wild Wings that was headed to Grand Rapids,MI. Wouldn't you know it that when I woke up that morning I saw on the local news that Snoqualmie Pass, just outside of Seattle on I-90, had received 7 inches of snow and they chain law was in effect. Now keep in mind, this was Tuesday, MAY 4th. Luckily by the time we got there, they had removed the chain restriction and it was just wet and slushie. Thank you Lord! From there J makes it to Yakima,WA and gets us loaded with no problems. He woke me up around 0430 and I signed the paperwork and headed out.
My route for that day was to take I-82 down to I-84 and head across Oregon and Idaho. Of course it started snowing in Oregon and that made for slooow going and I only managed to make it to Boise,ID a mere 311 miles from where I started. Not one of my best days out here, but hey, I can't control Mother Nature. I wake J up and he jokingly gives me a hard time about how I suck at this job :) and he heads out.
J did great and got across Idaho, through the top part of Utah and picked up I-80 and got me to Rawlins,WY. It was raining, but I figured if it was raining, that is better than snow. I take off and about 30 miles down the road it turns to snow. That is what I get for figuring, huh? I hit the rest area at Wagonhound (Yes, I couldn't make that name up) and decide to take a nap for an hour until the sun comes up so I can see better.
A short 50 minutes later I wake up and see that it is getting light outside so I take off again. The roads are mainly wet, with a little slush, but the important thing is that I can actually see the road now. I make it a short 100 miles further and stop at the Petro in Laramie for Smokey and I to both take a restroom break. Got that done and on the road again and before I get out of Laramie I start seeing a bunch of brake lights. Hmm Time to turn the CB on. About that time I see one of the WY DOT overhead signs advising that I-80 is shut down. Sure enough, I get another 1/4 mile up and they have the arms across the road shutting it down and traffic is turning around. Sheesh! There is a pass between Laramie and Cheyenne and aparently it was snowing pretty bad up on the hill and trucks couldn't make it up. They were spinning out and coming to a stop either blocking the lanes or actually wrecking. So, I turn around with the other traffic and head back to find a place to park.
Luckily they had just shut it down and there was plenty of room to park. When I took the exit I saw that the Pilot had a ton of room so I pulled in there instead. I talked to my mom on the phone for a few and checked the map to see if there was a way around. I was planning on taking US287 down around the south way but there was a guy on the CB that had just came that way and he said that way was completely ice covered. Okay then.
At that point I ran into the Wendy's to grab something to eat to kill some time. Finally we get word that they have opened the road. I was surprised to hear that they weren't advising chains. I guess once they got the trucks and wrecks removed that gave the salt shakers (plows with sand or salt) room to get up the hill and get the road in better condition. It worked because it was mainly slushie when I went over along with a convoy of other trucks that were waiting for it to open.
That was Thursday and I managed to get to Big Springs,NE. That was right at another 300 miles. I woke J up and he REALLY gave me a hard time about sucking at driving, in a joking manner of course, and then he headed out. When I was on my way to Big Springs I called our FM to see if we could get more time to deliver since we had been held up by the weather and the road closure. He got us until 1300 today and that worked good. I got there around noon which was still later than the original appointment of 1000 but earlier than the new appt time.
Today all I had to deal with was rain across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Rain isn't so bad as long as it isn't a torrential downpour. The only thing I really hate about driving in the rain is when other trucks pass and they get back in the lane right in front of me. There is so much spray coming up from the back of their truck it makes it difficult to see. I usually slow down and let them get some distance on me. I just wish they would give me at least a truck length before coming back over, any little bit would help. When I pass someone, if no one is behind me, I give them probably two truck lenghts before I get over. They probably don't know why, but it is just my way of being nice so that it is easier to see.
Anywho, I delivered and am now sitting at the 76 St Auto/Truck Plaza on US131 at x75 here in Grand Rapids. Our next load picks up tomorrow morning at 0730 in Flint,MI and it is going to Rancho Cucamonga,CA (I probably spelled that wrong). It is a FedEx load. Doesn't pay great, but at least gets us in a good freight area for produce and it is a dry load so I won't have to pay for reefer fuel.
That is my happenings for today! What are all of you doing??
Now, I know this is May, because I have consulted my trusty calendar on my dash and double checked my BlackBerry and both are saying that it is indeed May. I am beginning to think that somehow Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming have all somehow misplaced the memo, that I am sure they have received, stating that it is Spring and not winter. Or as another driver calls that part of the country, Southern Canada.
We enjoyed a nice night off in a hotel to reset our hours and when we were available Monday afternoon, we got our next dispatch. We headed out to Yakima,WA to pick up a load of frozen french fries for Buffalo Wild Wings that was headed to Grand Rapids,MI. Wouldn't you know it that when I woke up that morning I saw on the local news that Snoqualmie Pass, just outside of Seattle on I-90, had received 7 inches of snow and they chain law was in effect. Now keep in mind, this was Tuesday, MAY 4th. Luckily by the time we got there, they had removed the chain restriction and it was just wet and slushie. Thank you Lord! From there J makes it to Yakima,WA and gets us loaded with no problems. He woke me up around 0430 and I signed the paperwork and headed out.
My route for that day was to take I-82 down to I-84 and head across Oregon and Idaho. Of course it started snowing in Oregon and that made for slooow going and I only managed to make it to Boise,ID a mere 311 miles from where I started. Not one of my best days out here, but hey, I can't control Mother Nature. I wake J up and he jokingly gives me a hard time about how I suck at this job :) and he heads out.
J did great and got across Idaho, through the top part of Utah and picked up I-80 and got me to Rawlins,WY. It was raining, but I figured if it was raining, that is better than snow. I take off and about 30 miles down the road it turns to snow. That is what I get for figuring, huh? I hit the rest area at Wagonhound (Yes, I couldn't make that name up) and decide to take a nap for an hour until the sun comes up so I can see better.
A short 50 minutes later I wake up and see that it is getting light outside so I take off again. The roads are mainly wet, with a little slush, but the important thing is that I can actually see the road now. I make it a short 100 miles further and stop at the Petro in Laramie for Smokey and I to both take a restroom break. Got that done and on the road again and before I get out of Laramie I start seeing a bunch of brake lights. Hmm Time to turn the CB on. About that time I see one of the WY DOT overhead signs advising that I-80 is shut down. Sure enough, I get another 1/4 mile up and they have the arms across the road shutting it down and traffic is turning around. Sheesh! There is a pass between Laramie and Cheyenne and aparently it was snowing pretty bad up on the hill and trucks couldn't make it up. They were spinning out and coming to a stop either blocking the lanes or actually wrecking. So, I turn around with the other traffic and head back to find a place to park.
Luckily they had just shut it down and there was plenty of room to park. When I took the exit I saw that the Pilot had a ton of room so I pulled in there instead. I talked to my mom on the phone for a few and checked the map to see if there was a way around. I was planning on taking US287 down around the south way but there was a guy on the CB that had just came that way and he said that way was completely ice covered. Okay then.
At that point I ran into the Wendy's to grab something to eat to kill some time. Finally we get word that they have opened the road. I was surprised to hear that they weren't advising chains. I guess once they got the trucks and wrecks removed that gave the salt shakers (plows with sand or salt) room to get up the hill and get the road in better condition. It worked because it was mainly slushie when I went over along with a convoy of other trucks that were waiting for it to open.
That was Thursday and I managed to get to Big Springs,NE. That was right at another 300 miles. I woke J up and he REALLY gave me a hard time about sucking at driving, in a joking manner of course, and then he headed out. When I was on my way to Big Springs I called our FM to see if we could get more time to deliver since we had been held up by the weather and the road closure. He got us until 1300 today and that worked good. I got there around noon which was still later than the original appointment of 1000 but earlier than the new appt time.
Today all I had to deal with was rain across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Rain isn't so bad as long as it isn't a torrential downpour. The only thing I really hate about driving in the rain is when other trucks pass and they get back in the lane right in front of me. There is so much spray coming up from the back of their truck it makes it difficult to see. I usually slow down and let them get some distance on me. I just wish they would give me at least a truck length before coming back over, any little bit would help. When I pass someone, if no one is behind me, I give them probably two truck lenghts before I get over. They probably don't know why, but it is just my way of being nice so that it is easier to see.
Anywho, I delivered and am now sitting at the 76 St Auto/Truck Plaza on US131 at x75 here in Grand Rapids. Our next load picks up tomorrow morning at 0730 in Flint,MI and it is going to Rancho Cucamonga,CA (I probably spelled that wrong). It is a FedEx load. Doesn't pay great, but at least gets us in a good freight area for produce and it is a dry load so I won't have to pay for reefer fuel.
That is my happenings for today! What are all of you doing??
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Ferndale,WA
I'M BACK!!!! Did you guys miss me? I feel like all I have been doing on here lately, when I post, is to apologize for not being on here. I told J yesterday that he just had to remind me to get on here and start blogging again. I really enjoy it. Things have been so crazy for us lately with other stuff that I just haven't been on here. I have gotten e-mails from some of you and Iwant you to know I really appreciate the concern. I sometimes forget that I actually have people that read this and follow me and may start to worry when I don't post. :) I will try to do better from here on out.
We have had so much going on that I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will start with what is going on now and work my way back. Right now we are in Ferndale,WA taking a night off. Last Monday we left Clackamas,OR and picked up in Yakima,WA. We delivered that load to Norfolk,VA and then went to Miami,FL and picked up a load that we delivered yesterday to Blaine,WA. That load was actually going to Canada but we dropped it with a driver that was able to go to Canada. So in this past week we have travelled 7500 miles. We were worn out when we delivered yesterday so we decided it was time for a night out of the truck. The last day we took a week off was two weeks ago, so we were overdue.
On our way up to Blaine,WA we had to drive through Nashville,TN and deal with the torrential rains that they were having this past week. I am sure that everyone has seen the news coverage of the flooding. I am also sure you saw the picture of I-24 in Antioch just south of Nashville where all the cars and trucks were submerged and where the portable building was floating down the road. What a mess! Well, we drove right through that. When we got to that part of I-24, traffic was stopped because of water over the road. Several cars had tried to cross and stalled out. Some of the drivers of the stalled vehicles got out and were helping each other push the cars out of the way. By this time, the water was about 3 feet deep and about 500 feet across. There were 3 other semi trucks in front of us. When they got one of the cars out of the way and cleared a path for us we decided to attempt to cross it. We only had two choices. Try to cross, or end up on the news with the other vehicles. The water was just rising too fast. So the first truck took off, then the second, then the third and then us. We were pushing water with our hood and water was coming up over the wheel welds. That is some deep water. Thank God that our trucks sit up higher and our engines are higher so we didn't stall out. We managed to make it through and then got the heck out of dodge. Looking back I wish that we had maybe stayed to help some of the other people. But then again, other people were out helping and there is no way that we could have known how bad it was going to get.
The next time we have off will be at the end of May. Our anniversary, thirteen years, is at the end of May. So we will spend a nice romantic week off working on our boat in Atlanta. LOL! We are hoping to get the top deck rebuilt and then get it comletely dried in and get an exterior put on. We aren't sure what to use on the exterior though. Ideally we would use the filon panels that are used on boats and RV's, but at a cost of close to $7500 that is out of the question. We are looking at aluminum because it is weatherproof and can be painted. Plus, I don't want seams on the exterior. We just need to find a manufacturer so that we can get sheets of aluminum that we can cut down to fit. But I am having a problem finding those places. What we need is something that we can get in any length but with a height of about 6 feet. Anyone have any suggestions?
I got to thinking that we have been driving now for three years. By the time that we finish our lease it will be four years. I can honestly say that we have enjoyed 99.9% of the time we have been driving. Of course that .01% of the time we didn't enjoy would have been the times that we have had to drive in the snow, throw chains, deal with extremely high winds and other extreme weather conditions. All in all, it has been a very enjoyable experience. But we are thinking that we will not drive any more once this lease is up. We are missing having a normal schedule, sleeping in the same bed and eating home cooking. We are looking at what our next adventure is going to be after this last year is over in the truck. We are currently looking at going to massage therapy school. We have been thinking of that for a while. We have decided that we really don't want to work for someone else after being our own boss the last few years. So our plan right now is to get the boat finished before our lease is up. Then we will go to school and then probably work for someone for maybe a year. At that point we are wanting to open our own spa. Something small with maybe 4-6 massage rooms. Our son's girlfriend is a massage therapist and she wants to come work for us. So we are hoping we can start a small spa and kind of keep it as a family business. We shall see, but that is what we are looking at now. We are actually really excited about it. :)
But, until then, I will continue to keep you updated with our adventures and I will continue to vent when need be! Like having to drive through the worst wind yesterday that I have driven through since we have been driving. They were even talking about it on the news this morning. So until I post next time, take care out there!
We have had so much going on that I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will start with what is going on now and work my way back. Right now we are in Ferndale,WA taking a night off. Last Monday we left Clackamas,OR and picked up in Yakima,WA. We delivered that load to Norfolk,VA and then went to Miami,FL and picked up a load that we delivered yesterday to Blaine,WA. That load was actually going to Canada but we dropped it with a driver that was able to go to Canada. So in this past week we have travelled 7500 miles. We were worn out when we delivered yesterday so we decided it was time for a night out of the truck. The last day we took a week off was two weeks ago, so we were overdue.
On our way up to Blaine,WA we had to drive through Nashville,TN and deal with the torrential rains that they were having this past week. I am sure that everyone has seen the news coverage of the flooding. I am also sure you saw the picture of I-24 in Antioch just south of Nashville where all the cars and trucks were submerged and where the portable building was floating down the road. What a mess! Well, we drove right through that. When we got to that part of I-24, traffic was stopped because of water over the road. Several cars had tried to cross and stalled out. Some of the drivers of the stalled vehicles got out and were helping each other push the cars out of the way. By this time, the water was about 3 feet deep and about 500 feet across. There were 3 other semi trucks in front of us. When they got one of the cars out of the way and cleared a path for us we decided to attempt to cross it. We only had two choices. Try to cross, or end up on the news with the other vehicles. The water was just rising too fast. So the first truck took off, then the second, then the third and then us. We were pushing water with our hood and water was coming up over the wheel welds. That is some deep water. Thank God that our trucks sit up higher and our engines are higher so we didn't stall out. We managed to make it through and then got the heck out of dodge. Looking back I wish that we had maybe stayed to help some of the other people. But then again, other people were out helping and there is no way that we could have known how bad it was going to get.
The next time we have off will be at the end of May. Our anniversary, thirteen years, is at the end of May. So we will spend a nice romantic week off working on our boat in Atlanta. LOL! We are hoping to get the top deck rebuilt and then get it comletely dried in and get an exterior put on. We aren't sure what to use on the exterior though. Ideally we would use the filon panels that are used on boats and RV's, but at a cost of close to $7500 that is out of the question. We are looking at aluminum because it is weatherproof and can be painted. Plus, I don't want seams on the exterior. We just need to find a manufacturer so that we can get sheets of aluminum that we can cut down to fit. But I am having a problem finding those places. What we need is something that we can get in any length but with a height of about 6 feet. Anyone have any suggestions?
I got to thinking that we have been driving now for three years. By the time that we finish our lease it will be four years. I can honestly say that we have enjoyed 99.9% of the time we have been driving. Of course that .01% of the time we didn't enjoy would have been the times that we have had to drive in the snow, throw chains, deal with extremely high winds and other extreme weather conditions. All in all, it has been a very enjoyable experience. But we are thinking that we will not drive any more once this lease is up. We are missing having a normal schedule, sleeping in the same bed and eating home cooking. We are looking at what our next adventure is going to be after this last year is over in the truck. We are currently looking at going to massage therapy school. We have been thinking of that for a while. We have decided that we really don't want to work for someone else after being our own boss the last few years. So our plan right now is to get the boat finished before our lease is up. Then we will go to school and then probably work for someone for maybe a year. At that point we are wanting to open our own spa. Something small with maybe 4-6 massage rooms. Our son's girlfriend is a massage therapist and she wants to come work for us. So we are hoping we can start a small spa and kind of keep it as a family business. We shall see, but that is what we are looking at now. We are actually really excited about it. :)
But, until then, I will continue to keep you updated with our adventures and I will continue to vent when need be! Like having to drive through the worst wind yesterday that I have driven through since we have been driving. They were even talking about it on the news this morning. So until I post next time, take care out there!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Springfield,MO
Well, we have had a nice couple of days off here in Springfield,MO. We had to get back here and get our drivers side windshield replaced due to a small chip that had decided to run. We also had to get our Hazmat recertification done and our annual review done. Now the only thing we need to get done by the end of this month is our DOT physical. We just ran out of time here so we will have to get it done somewhere else. We had planned on being in Atlanta this coming weekend to do some work on the boat, but there is rain in the forcast so we are going to go to Lubbock instead and see the family for a few days. Hopefully we will be able to get the DOT medical done while we are there and then that will be all taken care of.
Not much else to report. Now that we are back moving again, hopefully I will have more to blog about!
Not much else to report. Now that we are back moving again, hopefully I will have more to blog about!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Ontario,CA
Howdy folks! Been busy, busy, busy! Not so much work related, but busy with personal stuff. We are super excited to get back to work on the boat and get it finished. While we were taking out time off, we found the perfect marina to put the boat at there on Lake Lewisville. Now I have to figure out what to buy for our 14'x18' deck! FUN!!
Anyway, we did have a productive time off and then unfortunately we had to get back to work. We headed out Monday with a produce load out of Garland,TX and we had two stops. One in Los Lunas,NM and the other in Temecula,CA. We hit a snow storm in the Texas panhandle all the way to Albuquerque,NM. The road was probably the worst ice I have driven on, except for maybe when we picked up in Schuyler,NE after being stuck for three days over Christmas this year. We shut down and because of that both of our appointments were rescheduled. Because of that we didn't deliver our last drop until this morning.
On a positive note though, we did have our next load before I could make it to get the trailer washed out. I can't say where we are heading, it is top secret, but it does look like we will be dealing with snow again. Thankfully this is a drop at the receiver and we have until Monday at noon to get there. It definitely won't take us that long, but we won't have to push it if the weather turns nasty on us. We technically should be able to be there by Saturday night, and that is what we are going to push for, but it nice to have that cushion.
Not much else going on right now. It will probably be a few days before I post again since I can't really tell you much about this load or where we are going. So everyone take care and I will be back in a few days! Keep your fingers crossed that we have good weather!
Anyway, we did have a productive time off and then unfortunately we had to get back to work. We headed out Monday with a produce load out of Garland,TX and we had two stops. One in Los Lunas,NM and the other in Temecula,CA. We hit a snow storm in the Texas panhandle all the way to Albuquerque,NM. The road was probably the worst ice I have driven on, except for maybe when we picked up in Schuyler,NE after being stuck for three days over Christmas this year. We shut down and because of that both of our appointments were rescheduled. Because of that we didn't deliver our last drop until this morning.
On a positive note though, we did have our next load before I could make it to get the trailer washed out. I can't say where we are heading, it is top secret, but it does look like we will be dealing with snow again. Thankfully this is a drop at the receiver and we have until Monday at noon to get there. It definitely won't take us that long, but we won't have to push it if the weather turns nasty on us. We technically should be able to be there by Saturday night, and that is what we are going to push for, but it nice to have that cushion.
Not much else going on right now. It will probably be a few days before I post again since I can't really tell you much about this load or where we are going. So everyone take care and I will be back in a few days! Keep your fingers crossed that we have good weather!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Miami,FL
Sunny Miami! As I sit here I can hear someone playing Tejano music, which I can't understand a word of, but it makes me think of Cancun and that makes me happy. :)
So here is the deal. We dropped this morning at UPS. We actually made it directly to the place, no thanks to anyone helping us. Prime did not have directions on file and the receiver didn't open until 0900 so we couldn't call them for directions. Streets and Trips showed the street but didn't recognize the address on that street. So that was no help. Thankfully a while back I downloaded Google Earth and that is what saved us. It actually showed the address and showed semi's parked there so we figured there was a good chance that was correct.
J stayed up with me to make sure I got there and so he could give me directions off of the computer. At one point I had to pull over because it looked like the road dead-ended. I couldn't go any farther because there was a runway there. Yes, a runway with planes! We were adjacent to Miami Int'l Airport. But I went ahead and went down the street because there was a sign showing the road turned. Thankfully it did and once we made that turn we were only a block away from our destination. When we got there the first Prime truck was there that left UPS in LA before us. We were both there at 0700 (him earlier) because we were told our appt was at 0800. Come to find out they didn't even open until 0900. Sheesh! Anyway, they finally open, I get a dock and by 1130 local I am unloaded and pulled away from the dock.
After I pulled out of the dock I parked along the side out of the way so that I could shut my doors and sent in my depart call. I planned on staying there as long as possible since I didn't know where I was going next and there is basically no where in Miami to park a semi if you are not at a shipper or receiver. I took time to take Smokey for a walk and when I got back, I had my next work assignment. I had been hoping for a flower load and not a juice load, but I actually got both.
As I was reading the work assignment, my FM called and told me the plan. I need to take the flowers up to Prime Floral in Pierson,FL and drop them there but there were no other flower loads. After that, I am to head over to Bradenton,FL to pick up a juice load going to Los Angeles for Monday morning. I'm not happy with the juice load, because I know it will be heavy. BUT. It does deliver in Los Angeles on Monday and that will put me in a good position to get freight out of there. And it does give me good revenue for the week and I-10 is a good road as far as not many pulls on it. Oh, and it keeps me out of the northeast where all the storms are at.
But here is the funny part. I just checked the weather and there is a 90% chance of snow in New Orleans tomorrow and an 80% chance in Mobile,AL tomorrow with accumulation of 2-4 inches! What the heck??? You go any farther south than that and you will be in the Gulf of Mexico!! It isn't supposed to snow that far south! Ahhhh I guess that is why they call me the Snow Queen. If it is snowing, then that is where I am going to be going!
So here is the deal. We dropped this morning at UPS. We actually made it directly to the place, no thanks to anyone helping us. Prime did not have directions on file and the receiver didn't open until 0900 so we couldn't call them for directions. Streets and Trips showed the street but didn't recognize the address on that street. So that was no help. Thankfully a while back I downloaded Google Earth and that is what saved us. It actually showed the address and showed semi's parked there so we figured there was a good chance that was correct.
J stayed up with me to make sure I got there and so he could give me directions off of the computer. At one point I had to pull over because it looked like the road dead-ended. I couldn't go any farther because there was a runway there. Yes, a runway with planes! We were adjacent to Miami Int'l Airport. But I went ahead and went down the street because there was a sign showing the road turned. Thankfully it did and once we made that turn we were only a block away from our destination. When we got there the first Prime truck was there that left UPS in LA before us. We were both there at 0700 (him earlier) because we were told our appt was at 0800. Come to find out they didn't even open until 0900. Sheesh! Anyway, they finally open, I get a dock and by 1130 local I am unloaded and pulled away from the dock.
After I pulled out of the dock I parked along the side out of the way so that I could shut my doors and sent in my depart call. I planned on staying there as long as possible since I didn't know where I was going next and there is basically no where in Miami to park a semi if you are not at a shipper or receiver. I took time to take Smokey for a walk and when I got back, I had my next work assignment. I had been hoping for a flower load and not a juice load, but I actually got both.
As I was reading the work assignment, my FM called and told me the plan. I need to take the flowers up to Prime Floral in Pierson,FL and drop them there but there were no other flower loads. After that, I am to head over to Bradenton,FL to pick up a juice load going to Los Angeles for Monday morning. I'm not happy with the juice load, because I know it will be heavy. BUT. It does deliver in Los Angeles on Monday and that will put me in a good position to get freight out of there. And it does give me good revenue for the week and I-10 is a good road as far as not many pulls on it. Oh, and it keeps me out of the northeast where all the storms are at.
But here is the funny part. I just checked the weather and there is a 90% chance of snow in New Orleans tomorrow and an 80% chance in Mobile,AL tomorrow with accumulation of 2-4 inches! What the heck??? You go any farther south than that and you will be in the Gulf of Mexico!! It isn't supposed to snow that far south! Ahhhh I guess that is why they call me the Snow Queen. If it is snowing, then that is where I am going to be going!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Cantonment,FL
Whew! What a day! I didn't get much sleep night before last so last night, or rather yesterday afternoon, when I was finished driving, I went straight to bed. How wonderful over 10 hours of sleep felt last night! This morning I woke up ready to face the world.
When I woke up this morning, J had stopped at a Petro in San Antonio,TX and that is where I took over driving. We usually go fairly slow, depending on how heavy we are, so we can get the best possible fuel mileage. This trip we are fairly light, at only 22,500 in the box, so we have been able to kick the speed up some and still manage to get over 6.8 mpg. Now that isn't as great as we like, and we usually do better, but if we can go 65 and still get 6.8 then I am going to go 65.
Today was a good day and I was just driving along, admiring the beautiful sunrise and the scenery of East Texas and Louisiana when I realized that by going 65 all day, I was going to get some serious miles. The most I have done in a day to this point is 689 miles. It was one of those rush rush rush jobs only to find out about 150 miles out that they can't get us until Monday (that was on a Friday) so at that point I called it a day. So as I was driving, I thought, hmmm, I wonder if I can get 700 miles today. Well, I had a good rest so it was something to shoot for. J has done 714 in a day, driving 72 all day basically with just one restroom stop. I knew I couldn't beat that, but I was going to strive for 700.
Off I go and make it close to the 300 something miles I had left to go in Texas. Damn that is a big state! Then I cruised through Louisiana. Next came Mississippi and then Alabama. Wow! I am moving today! Next comes Florida. Well, you know that is about as far east as I can go on I-10! I actually only made it to the Welcome Center right past the Agriculture Inspection Station and the Weigh Station. But that was good enough for me. That was 702.9 miles from my starting point this morning! And right as I pulled into the rest area, my Qualcomm beeped that I was officially out of hours. Talk about cutting it close! On paper logs, you can fudge a little here and there. Not on electronic logs though. But, as Larry the Cable Guy would say, Git 'er done! And that is what I did!
Now J is driving and we have about 695 miles to go. When we left Los Angeles, we didn't have a delivery time. We have been driving for two days and still hadn't gotten one. Of course about 1430 this afternoon I get a message asking if we can be there by 0700 in the am. Thank goodness I did over 700 miles today or it wouldn't happen. Not that we can't get that far by tomorrow morning at 0700, but we are talking Miami here. Rush hour traffic on I-95 that goes for about 100 miles through all the Beach cities. But we should make it.
So that is where things stand right now. We are hoping for a flower load coming out so we will see what happens.
When I woke up this morning, J had stopped at a Petro in San Antonio,TX and that is where I took over driving. We usually go fairly slow, depending on how heavy we are, so we can get the best possible fuel mileage. This trip we are fairly light, at only 22,500 in the box, so we have been able to kick the speed up some and still manage to get over 6.8 mpg. Now that isn't as great as we like, and we usually do better, but if we can go 65 and still get 6.8 then I am going to go 65.
Today was a good day and I was just driving along, admiring the beautiful sunrise and the scenery of East Texas and Louisiana when I realized that by going 65 all day, I was going to get some serious miles. The most I have done in a day to this point is 689 miles. It was one of those rush rush rush jobs only to find out about 150 miles out that they can't get us until Monday (that was on a Friday) so at that point I called it a day. So as I was driving, I thought, hmmm, I wonder if I can get 700 miles today. Well, I had a good rest so it was something to shoot for. J has done 714 in a day, driving 72 all day basically with just one restroom stop. I knew I couldn't beat that, but I was going to strive for 700.
Off I go and make it close to the 300 something miles I had left to go in Texas. Damn that is a big state! Then I cruised through Louisiana. Next came Mississippi and then Alabama. Wow! I am moving today! Next comes Florida. Well, you know that is about as far east as I can go on I-10! I actually only made it to the Welcome Center right past the Agriculture Inspection Station and the Weigh Station. But that was good enough for me. That was 702.9 miles from my starting point this morning! And right as I pulled into the rest area, my Qualcomm beeped that I was officially out of hours. Talk about cutting it close! On paper logs, you can fudge a little here and there. Not on electronic logs though. But, as Larry the Cable Guy would say, Git 'er done! And that is what I did!
Now J is driving and we have about 695 miles to go. When we left Los Angeles, we didn't have a delivery time. We have been driving for two days and still hadn't gotten one. Of course about 1430 this afternoon I get a message asking if we can be there by 0700 in the am. Thank goodness I did over 700 miles today or it wouldn't happen. Not that we can't get that far by tomorrow morning at 0700, but we are talking Miami here. Rush hour traffic on I-95 that goes for about 100 miles through all the Beach cities. But we should make it.
So that is where things stand right now. We are hoping for a flower load coming out so we will see what happens.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Los Angeles,CA
Yay! We finally made it to California! We did drop down from I-80 to I-40 to avoid the snow over I-70 in Colorado only to run into snow in Arizona. It snowed off and on from just east of Flagstaff to Kingman. But it was a wet snow and the roads were in good condition, so I am thankful for that.
We delivered last night in Apple Valley,CA and were told we wouldn't have a load until this morning. We were liking that news so we headed to the Motel 6 in Hesperia, which has truck parking, so we could catch the highlights of the Super Bowl. What a great game! We listened to it on the radio which was a lot of fun. Reminded me of when we were kids and would listen to the games on the radio. I had a feeling of nostalgia. :)
Anyway, we woke up this morning and had a load picking up down in Los Angeles at UPS so we took off to get the trailer washed out and then J headed to the bunk to get to sleep and I headed to go pick up. I got there right on time, noon Pacific, but it took them about 4.5 hours to load us. I think they were waiting on stuff from LAX or something. But we are not loaded and fighting rush hour traffic to get out of here.
This load delivers in Miami,FL and I can't even explain how happy I am that we are going somewhere warm that doesn't have snow! I have been hearing on the news that the New England area is going to get socked again with another storm. Yep, thankful to be headed to Miami! This is also finally a good paying load and our FM said that we will probably get a flower load out of Miami after we deliver. That rocks also because those pay well also, other than the fact that they are physically tough loads. All hand unloads with multipls stops. But I don't mind the work. It is good for the body after sitting basically all the time!
We delivered last night in Apple Valley,CA and were told we wouldn't have a load until this morning. We were liking that news so we headed to the Motel 6 in Hesperia, which has truck parking, so we could catch the highlights of the Super Bowl. What a great game! We listened to it on the radio which was a lot of fun. Reminded me of when we were kids and would listen to the games on the radio. I had a feeling of nostalgia. :)
Anyway, we woke up this morning and had a load picking up down in Los Angeles at UPS so we took off to get the trailer washed out and then J headed to the bunk to get to sleep and I headed to go pick up. I got there right on time, noon Pacific, but it took them about 4.5 hours to load us. I think they were waiting on stuff from LAX or something. But we are not loaded and fighting rush hour traffic to get out of here.
This load delivers in Miami,FL and I can't even explain how happy I am that we are going somewhere warm that doesn't have snow! I have been hearing on the news that the New England area is going to get socked again with another storm. Yep, thankful to be headed to Miami! This is also finally a good paying load and our FM said that we will probably get a flower load out of Miami after we deliver. That rocks also because those pay well also, other than the fact that they are physically tough loads. All hand unloads with multipls stops. But I don't mind the work. It is good for the body after sitting basically all the time!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Peru,IL
Well, my tire fiasco was not over! I thought I was finished with the situation, but it again reared its ugly head down in Crossville,TN!
After we left Pittston, I took off and got us down to Strasburg,VA and then J took over and got us to Knoxville,TN. This left me with about 180 miles to go to deliver in Murfreesboro,TN. After we switched, I made a it stop about 40 miles down the road in Crossville,TN. J got out to guide me into a tight spot and when he did, he noticed that the same tire had gone flat again. UGH! So he heads to bed and I hang out till 0700 when a shop on the opposite side of the highway opens. I head over there and tell them what I need and they get on the phone with Prime who tells them to put a trailer tire on it! Ok, now didn't the Prime shop in Pittston tell me to get the trailer tire off and get a matching drive tire put on??? So why is Prime in Springfield now telling me to put a trailer tire on it? I could have just blown a gasket!! If that is the case, then why was I told to take the trailer tire off, that I had just purchased less than a week ago? So this makes three tires I have had to buy all in the same week because of differing opinions on what is best. Now, stay with me just a minute. Wouldn't you think that a company would have all of their employees on the same page when it comes to what information is given out. Shouldn't the advice they give us be based on FACTS, what is best for the performance of the truck, versus each persons personal OPINIONS? Or does that just make too much sense and would be too easy?? Anyway, I am not happy about it and I am going to see what can be done about it on Prime's end. Because of their differing opinions, from Road Assist and the Shop, I have spent over $1000 on tires and labor this week. Yeah, you read that right. Over $1000. I realize that I need to do what is best for my truck and my "business", but I am the person that DRIVES the truck. I am not trained as a mechanic or on tires. That is what the shop is for and what I assumed that Road Assist was for.
So, on to something more pleasant before I put myself back in a bad mood again! :) We finally made it to Murfreesboro and delivered that load and then got our next assignment. I headed to Cleveland,TN where we picked up at the Mars Plant and delivered that this morning to Manteno,IL. (I love that Mars Plant. The air smells like chocolate there. It is heavenly!) After delivering in Manteno,IL I went and had the trailer washed out and then we got another load assignment. We picked up this afternoon at a Walmart DC in Spring Valley,IL and are taking it to Apple Valley,CA. It has to be there by Monday and we figure we will have it there sometime Sunday afternoon. It is Friday and it is only 1800 miles so we should make it there easily.
It has been snowing outside here in IL today, but so far the roads are just wet. Even though it was coming down pretty hard earlier, the roads are just wet. Actually right now it has quit snowing. According to the radar we will be fine once we get out of Iowa. Iowa has some storms and showing some possible snow, but it doesn't look like there is going to be any accumulation. I just really hope it has stopped raining in CA when we get there. I could really use some sunshine right about now!
After we left Pittston, I took off and got us down to Strasburg,VA and then J took over and got us to Knoxville,TN. This left me with about 180 miles to go to deliver in Murfreesboro,TN. After we switched, I made a it stop about 40 miles down the road in Crossville,TN. J got out to guide me into a tight spot and when he did, he noticed that the same tire had gone flat again. UGH! So he heads to bed and I hang out till 0700 when a shop on the opposite side of the highway opens. I head over there and tell them what I need and they get on the phone with Prime who tells them to put a trailer tire on it! Ok, now didn't the Prime shop in Pittston tell me to get the trailer tire off and get a matching drive tire put on??? So why is Prime in Springfield now telling me to put a trailer tire on it? I could have just blown a gasket!! If that is the case, then why was I told to take the trailer tire off, that I had just purchased less than a week ago? So this makes three tires I have had to buy all in the same week because of differing opinions on what is best. Now, stay with me just a minute. Wouldn't you think that a company would have all of their employees on the same page when it comes to what information is given out. Shouldn't the advice they give us be based on FACTS, what is best for the performance of the truck, versus each persons personal OPINIONS? Or does that just make too much sense and would be too easy?? Anyway, I am not happy about it and I am going to see what can be done about it on Prime's end. Because of their differing opinions, from Road Assist and the Shop, I have spent over $1000 on tires and labor this week. Yeah, you read that right. Over $1000. I realize that I need to do what is best for my truck and my "business", but I am the person that DRIVES the truck. I am not trained as a mechanic or on tires. That is what the shop is for and what I assumed that Road Assist was for.
So, on to something more pleasant before I put myself back in a bad mood again! :) We finally made it to Murfreesboro and delivered that load and then got our next assignment. I headed to Cleveland,TN where we picked up at the Mars Plant and delivered that this morning to Manteno,IL. (I love that Mars Plant. The air smells like chocolate there. It is heavenly!) After delivering in Manteno,IL I went and had the trailer washed out and then we got another load assignment. We picked up this afternoon at a Walmart DC in Spring Valley,IL and are taking it to Apple Valley,CA. It has to be there by Monday and we figure we will have it there sometime Sunday afternoon. It is Friday and it is only 1800 miles so we should make it there easily.
It has been snowing outside here in IL today, but so far the roads are just wet. Even though it was coming down pretty hard earlier, the roads are just wet. Actually right now it has quit snowing. According to the radar we will be fine once we get out of Iowa. Iowa has some storms and showing some possible snow, but it doesn't look like there is going to be any accumulation. I just really hope it has stopped raining in CA when we get there. I could really use some sunshine right about now!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Pittston,PA
Here we are back in Pittston,PA again. J took off last night from the service plaza that we had stopped at and had plans of getting further than he did. However, we didn't plan on snow! He came across the tail end of a storm that dropped over 6 inches in parts of MD, or maybe it was MA. I'm not sure. LOL Either way, when it started getting bad he decided it was time to call it a night when he got to our yard here.
We got up this morning and grabbed a shower and some breakfast, which was pretty darn yummy, then got ready to head out. As we were walking back to the truck we got a call from the trailer shop wanting us to bring the trailer in so they could do the annual inspection. What the heck, no biggie. We have plenty of time on the load.
I dropped the trailer in the bay for them to do the work and then decided I would go check with the shop so that we could get the drive tire fixed. This is the one that went flat on us when we were in IL but they didn't have any drive tires so they put a trailer tire on. It got us by, but it is a different tread pattern and a different tread depth. That means that if I don't get the right tire on there ASAP that it is going to eat up my good tires. So now I am sitting in the tire shop while they change out the tires.
I can tell you that Smokey isn't liking this one bit! There are too many people walking entirely too close to his truck and he is letting everyone of them know it by barking and growling. I have to admit that he does a wonderful job of protecting the truck. It just isn't a good thing when J is in the back trying to sleep!
Hopefully we will be done here in short order and I will be able to hit the road so that we can get on down to Murfreesboro,TN. We will get there sometime in the middle of the night as it stands. I figure we will end up parking until morning after we drop while we wait for our next load. I just hope that they have an empty trailer for us when we get there. They are always behind on getting our trailers unloaded. That means that there are a ton of loaded trailers waiting to get unloaded but none of them are empty yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have to play the "hunt and empty trailer" game in the middle of the night.
We got up this morning and grabbed a shower and some breakfast, which was pretty darn yummy, then got ready to head out. As we were walking back to the truck we got a call from the trailer shop wanting us to bring the trailer in so they could do the annual inspection. What the heck, no biggie. We have plenty of time on the load.
I dropped the trailer in the bay for them to do the work and then decided I would go check with the shop so that we could get the drive tire fixed. This is the one that went flat on us when we were in IL but they didn't have any drive tires so they put a trailer tire on. It got us by, but it is a different tread pattern and a different tread depth. That means that if I don't get the right tire on there ASAP that it is going to eat up my good tires. So now I am sitting in the tire shop while they change out the tires.
I can tell you that Smokey isn't liking this one bit! There are too many people walking entirely too close to his truck and he is letting everyone of them know it by barking and growling. I have to admit that he does a wonderful job of protecting the truck. It just isn't a good thing when J is in the back trying to sleep!
Hopefully we will be done here in short order and I will be able to hit the road so that we can get on down to Murfreesboro,TN. We will get there sometime in the middle of the night as it stands. I figure we will end up parking until morning after we drop while we wait for our next load. I just hope that they have an empty trailer for us when we get there. They are always behind on getting our trailers unloaded. That means that there are a ton of loaded trailers waiting to get unloaded but none of them are empty yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have to play the "hunt and empty trailer" game in the middle of the night.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Hopkinton,MA
Aren't you guys lucky! You get to read two of my posts on the same day! LOL
After sitting for a few hours this morning, we finally got a load assignment around 0830. I was surprised to see that they were sending us down to Methune,MA instead of up to Easton,ME which is what I was figuring they would do. I guess that is what I get for figuring, huh?
As soon as they sent the info to me, I knew that there was no way I could make pickup on time since I still had to get fuel, send in our trips to be paid and I had to find a washout. Now I know what you are thinking. Why didn't I do all of that stuff while I was just sitting around this morning doing nothing? Well, I will explain that to you. The little truck stop, the Circle K with truck parking, is not a fuel stop and they don't do the Transflo scanning which we use for our payroll. Now, there was a Pilot about 60 miles north, but you know my luck. If I go north, I will get a load where I needed to have went south. Or if I headed south, I would have gotten a load that would have sent me north. Then the 60 miles one way would have turned into 120 miles out of my way once I back-tracked. So, I have learned, the hard way I might add, that I don't get EITHER direction until I have my next load assignment.
It turned out that it wasn't a big deal though because my trailer was already pre-loaded. When I saw where we were picking up at, I figured it would be pre-loaded since it has always been that way whenever we have picked up there. Knowing that, I didn't have to stress about getting there on time. Since we are in the Boston,MA area there are basically no truck services or trailer washouts anywhere close. I had to go south about 40 miles past my pick up to get a washout and then drive the 40 miles back to pickup. That made for an extra 80 miles that I didn't need to drive, but that I had to since our previous load was a meat load and those HAVE to be washed out before the trailer is loaded again.
I got there with no problems and went inside to get my paperwork then set out to find my loaded trailer. I was picking up trailer 26538 and wouldn't you know that particular trailer was parked right next to trailer 26358. How confusing is that?? Of course when I started backing up I went to the wrong trailer, since I was looking at it in reverse in the mirror. Figures, right? LOL I knew something was wrong as soon as I got out because the reefer wasn't running like it should have been. I glanced at the trailer next to it and that is when I actually realized the two trailers 26358 and 26538 were parked next to each other and I had hooked up to the wrong on! And of course the pin got stuck so I had to have J get up and pull the pin to unhook while I had the truck in reverse taking the pressure off of the pin. I hate when I have blonde moments like that!
It is a really heavy load at over 43,500 lbs. I am stopped at this Service Plaza but as soon as J takes over, we will hit a Pilot about 40 miles down the road where we can hit a scale and make sure we are legal. I think we should be, but we may be a little heavy on our steers since we have a full tank of fuel. But we definitely should not be over gross weight. We shall see.....
After sitting for a few hours this morning, we finally got a load assignment around 0830. I was surprised to see that they were sending us down to Methune,MA instead of up to Easton,ME which is what I was figuring they would do. I guess that is what I get for figuring, huh?
As soon as they sent the info to me, I knew that there was no way I could make pickup on time since I still had to get fuel, send in our trips to be paid and I had to find a washout. Now I know what you are thinking. Why didn't I do all of that stuff while I was just sitting around this morning doing nothing? Well, I will explain that to you. The little truck stop, the Circle K with truck parking, is not a fuel stop and they don't do the Transflo scanning which we use for our payroll. Now, there was a Pilot about 60 miles north, but you know my luck. If I go north, I will get a load where I needed to have went south. Or if I headed south, I would have gotten a load that would have sent me north. Then the 60 miles one way would have turned into 120 miles out of my way once I back-tracked. So, I have learned, the hard way I might add, that I don't get EITHER direction until I have my next load assignment.
It turned out that it wasn't a big deal though because my trailer was already pre-loaded. When I saw where we were picking up at, I figured it would be pre-loaded since it has always been that way whenever we have picked up there. Knowing that, I didn't have to stress about getting there on time. Since we are in the Boston,MA area there are basically no truck services or trailer washouts anywhere close. I had to go south about 40 miles past my pick up to get a washout and then drive the 40 miles back to pickup. That made for an extra 80 miles that I didn't need to drive, but that I had to since our previous load was a meat load and those HAVE to be washed out before the trailer is loaded again.
I got there with no problems and went inside to get my paperwork then set out to find my loaded trailer. I was picking up trailer 26538 and wouldn't you know that particular trailer was parked right next to trailer 26358. How confusing is that?? Of course when I started backing up I went to the wrong trailer, since I was looking at it in reverse in the mirror. Figures, right? LOL I knew something was wrong as soon as I got out because the reefer wasn't running like it should have been. I glanced at the trailer next to it and that is when I actually realized the two trailers 26358 and 26538 were parked next to each other and I had hooked up to the wrong on! And of course the pin got stuck so I had to have J get up and pull the pin to unhook while I had the truck in reverse taking the pressure off of the pin. I hate when I have blonde moments like that!
It is a really heavy load at over 43,500 lbs. I am stopped at this Service Plaza but as soon as J takes over, we will hit a Pilot about 40 miles down the road where we can hit a scale and make sure we are legal. I think we should be, but we may be a little heavy on our steers since we have a full tank of fuel. But we definitely should not be over gross weight. We shall see.....
Auburn,ME
Since I posted yesterday, I really don't have much to add. LOL :)
Last night I got us to Hazleton,PA and got hooked up to our load of beef that was going to the Walmart DC in Lewiston,ME. I sat there until 1800 and then woke J up. He didn't get much sleep yesterday since he was up to help me find our drop in Pittston. But he got a good nap so he was ready to roll.
He had a really nice run up here to Lewiston since our load was only 7,500 lbs. I LOVE a light load like that. We got well over 7.5 mpg on the way up here and that is money in our pockets. He made it to Lewiston around 0300 and it was a drop and hook which is a rare occurance at a Walmart.
After hooking up to an empty we headed about 5 miles back south to exit 75 where there is a Circle K truck stop and that is where we are currently sitting. I figure they are going to send us up north to Easton to pick up but you just never know what they are going to do. So we just sit and wait.
Last night I got us to Hazleton,PA and got hooked up to our load of beef that was going to the Walmart DC in Lewiston,ME. I sat there until 1800 and then woke J up. He didn't get much sleep yesterday since he was up to help me find our drop in Pittston. But he got a good nap so he was ready to roll.
He had a really nice run up here to Lewiston since our load was only 7,500 lbs. I LOVE a light load like that. We got well over 7.5 mpg on the way up here and that is money in our pockets. He made it to Lewiston around 0300 and it was a drop and hook which is a rare occurance at a Walmart.
After hooking up to an empty we headed about 5 miles back south to exit 75 where there is a Circle K truck stop and that is where we are currently sitting. I figure they are going to send us up north to Easton to pick up but you just never know what they are going to do. So we just sit and wait.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hazleton,PA
This past week has not went like I was hoping. Well, other than the fact that we stayed north and avoided the messy storm that hit I-40 from New Mexico to the Carolinas.
When I last blogged, we were in Ontario,CA getting a restart after delivering in Carson,CA. We were available Wednesday morning and didn't have a load right away. Our FM finally calls and says for us to head towards Salt Lake City because they were WAY short on loads in Southern Cal. So I said sure, just pay me some fuel money. Off we go and we get a dispatch to pick up by 1700 on Thursday in Rigsby,ID almost 800 miles away. No problem since we are all rested.
Off we go and I head to bed that afternoon and J wakes me up leaving me about 400 miles to go. He ran into snow and after watching a FedEx truck go off the road, he decided he better stop. So he stops for a few hours and gets me up and I decide to take off and see how the roads are. They actually weren't bad since J seemed to get out of the worst of it, but the fog was very very heavy. I make it about 80 miles and decide that is enough until the sun comes up. I stopped for a few hours and took off again when the sun came up and I made it into Salt Lake City where I stopped at our yard to get fuel. Boy was that I bad decision!
I pull into the yard and then go to the inspection bay before heading out because I needed a windshield wiper. I got my wiper but it appears that there is some damage to the roof of my trailer that they want to fix. I didn't know it was damaged since the interior on the top was fine and it isn't like we carry ladders and check the roof of the trailers when we pick them up. Anyway, they have an empty for me so I just switch trailers and go BACK through the inspection bay because I now have a light out on the new trailer I picked up. Ok, get that fixed but they dropped the trailer dirty so now I have to go through the wash-bay to get a washout. Would you believe that I pulled in there at 1100 and wasn't done with all of this until 1430??? Three and a half hours to get all that done. Mainly it was waiting in line to get INTO the inspection bay and wash bay because of the trucks in front of me.
By this time I realize there is no way I am going to make it by 1700. No problem since I have four days to deliver this load a whopping 2200 miles. I notify dispatch and they let them know we will be there Friday morning. We go ahead and head out and stop about 80 miles short for the night on Thursday night. Friday morning I get up and drive the rest of the way in with no problems, get loaded, get scaled and I am heading out of town by around 1130. I get back to north of Salt Lake City and J takes over and off we go to Pittston,PA.
We are doing find driving across I-80 until J gets to the west side of Chicago to get fuel and he realizes that one of our drive tires is flat. He calls it in and they send us to a repair shop where we have to wait for the oncal person to come out since it is around 0300. We get that fixed and I head out from there and then later that evening around 2000 hrs J gets us to the yard in Pittston where we spend the night. That left me getting up this morning at around 0800 to go grab a shower and BS with the drivers until I had to leave to deliver which was a 1200 appt about 5 miles away. We managed to get that done and head back to the yard where we grabbed some lunch and then we got out next load assignment.
Right now we are sitting in Hazleton,PA where we are picking up at Cargill and we are making a short overnight run up to Lewiston,ME. My FM gave me a choice of this run or a run to California but I picked this one. I prefer the California load normally, but with only having the one load that we delivered this morning on our check so far, I decided to take the overnight run because that would get on our check when our payroll cutoff is tomorrow afternoon.
Other than that, we are still plugging along. I can't believe the complete mess that the storm created down south this week. I normally HATE running up north in the winter, but I sure enjoyed it this week. Beautiful days, a full moon at night and clear roads the whole way. That doesn't happen too much up north in the winters!
When I last blogged, we were in Ontario,CA getting a restart after delivering in Carson,CA. We were available Wednesday morning and didn't have a load right away. Our FM finally calls and says for us to head towards Salt Lake City because they were WAY short on loads in Southern Cal. So I said sure, just pay me some fuel money. Off we go and we get a dispatch to pick up by 1700 on Thursday in Rigsby,ID almost 800 miles away. No problem since we are all rested.
Off we go and I head to bed that afternoon and J wakes me up leaving me about 400 miles to go. He ran into snow and after watching a FedEx truck go off the road, he decided he better stop. So he stops for a few hours and gets me up and I decide to take off and see how the roads are. They actually weren't bad since J seemed to get out of the worst of it, but the fog was very very heavy. I make it about 80 miles and decide that is enough until the sun comes up. I stopped for a few hours and took off again when the sun came up and I made it into Salt Lake City where I stopped at our yard to get fuel. Boy was that I bad decision!
I pull into the yard and then go to the inspection bay before heading out because I needed a windshield wiper. I got my wiper but it appears that there is some damage to the roof of my trailer that they want to fix. I didn't know it was damaged since the interior on the top was fine and it isn't like we carry ladders and check the roof of the trailers when we pick them up. Anyway, they have an empty for me so I just switch trailers and go BACK through the inspection bay because I now have a light out on the new trailer I picked up. Ok, get that fixed but they dropped the trailer dirty so now I have to go through the wash-bay to get a washout. Would you believe that I pulled in there at 1100 and wasn't done with all of this until 1430??? Three and a half hours to get all that done. Mainly it was waiting in line to get INTO the inspection bay and wash bay because of the trucks in front of me.
By this time I realize there is no way I am going to make it by 1700. No problem since I have four days to deliver this load a whopping 2200 miles. I notify dispatch and they let them know we will be there Friday morning. We go ahead and head out and stop about 80 miles short for the night on Thursday night. Friday morning I get up and drive the rest of the way in with no problems, get loaded, get scaled and I am heading out of town by around 1130. I get back to north of Salt Lake City and J takes over and off we go to Pittston,PA.
We are doing find driving across I-80 until J gets to the west side of Chicago to get fuel and he realizes that one of our drive tires is flat. He calls it in and they send us to a repair shop where we have to wait for the oncal person to come out since it is around 0300. We get that fixed and I head out from there and then later that evening around 2000 hrs J gets us to the yard in Pittston where we spend the night. That left me getting up this morning at around 0800 to go grab a shower and BS with the drivers until I had to leave to deliver which was a 1200 appt about 5 miles away. We managed to get that done and head back to the yard where we grabbed some lunch and then we got out next load assignment.
Right now we are sitting in Hazleton,PA where we are picking up at Cargill and we are making a short overnight run up to Lewiston,ME. My FM gave me a choice of this run or a run to California but I picked this one. I prefer the California load normally, but with only having the one load that we delivered this morning on our check so far, I decided to take the overnight run because that would get on our check when our payroll cutoff is tomorrow afternoon.
Other than that, we are still plugging along. I can't believe the complete mess that the storm created down south this week. I normally HATE running up north in the winter, but I sure enjoyed it this week. Beautiful days, a full moon at night and clear roads the whole way. That doesn't happen too much up north in the winters!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Ontario,CA
We made it in last night and are now about to enjoy a well deserved day off. :)
When we picked up the load we delivered last night we were worried about the weather across Arizona and New Mexico and it turns out we were worried for no reason. Yesterday as I drove across the western part of New Mexico and all of Arizona it was a beautiful day. I did run into some fog in western New Mexico and the road signs said "WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS AHEAD. DRIVE WITH CAUTION." It turns out the roads were 100% clear. I think they forgot to change the signs from the last stor. that rolled through.
We were worried about making it on time so I kept on going and used all but 30 minutes of my allotted time yesterday to get as far as I could. When we stopped, J only had 230 miles left to go to the receiver so I knew that we would make it on time. We actually got there a few hours early. This receiver was supposed to have three of our empty trailers so that we could drop and hook. I don't know what happened, but they didn't have any empty trailers so we had to wait for a door. Once we did get a door though, they must have had another Prime trailer emptied out in the mean time because I felt J unhook the trailer and hook up to another one. Sitting in the drivers seat typing this, I just looked in the mirror and sure enough, the trailer we are attached to is a different one than we delivered in. At least we didn't have to wait around to be unloaded once they had a place to park our trailer.
After that was done, J headed back over to the TA here in Ontario,CA where we will spend the next 24 hours or so. Actually 34 but we have already been here for a while. We were both really low on hours so we decided to do a restart here and get our 70 hours back. This place was packed when J got here. At first he just parked anywhere he could find a space and security ended up having us move a total of three times. This place is just a mad house right now. I have never seen this many trucks before. When I got up this morning though, there were finally trucks heading out to make their morning deliveries so there were actual spaces open. After some maneuvering, I finally got into a space. Anyone that has ever parked here will tell you that the rows are extremely close together and backing in can be very difficult. But hey, I AM a professional truck driver, so I managed to get backed in. :)
Oh, that reminds me. When we delivered up in Danvers,MA before we picked this load up, it was an EXTREMELY tight back. J got out of the truck to guide me in. While he was doing that, there was a car waiting to get by but I had the road blocked. This was one of those days where I was on my game and I have to admit, it was a beautiful backing job. As I got backed in, the car went past me and gave me a "thumbs up" and them parked in front of the truck that I had just backed into. Turns out that was his truck and he must run locally for that company. He was old enough to be my father, or a little older, and he came over and told J that he had an excellent chauffeur. LOL Meaning that I did a great job backing in there. It is kind of funny, because I can almost guarantee that if I was a guy driving, he wouldn't have said a thing. It is nice getting compliments from guys like that because he looked like one of the old timers that had been driving for decades. Most of them, not all, but most think this is a mans profession and that a woman has no business doing a mans job. He was very sweet though and it is nice to get complimented like that.
Anyway, we are just chilling out here in Ontario and will be available again for a load at 0600 tomorrow. I guess today I should do the domestic stuff like laundry and cleaning out the truck. *sign* If I must.......
When we picked up the load we delivered last night we were worried about the weather across Arizona and New Mexico and it turns out we were worried for no reason. Yesterday as I drove across the western part of New Mexico and all of Arizona it was a beautiful day. I did run into some fog in western New Mexico and the road signs said "WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS AHEAD. DRIVE WITH CAUTION." It turns out the roads were 100% clear. I think they forgot to change the signs from the last stor. that rolled through.
We were worried about making it on time so I kept on going and used all but 30 minutes of my allotted time yesterday to get as far as I could. When we stopped, J only had 230 miles left to go to the receiver so I knew that we would make it on time. We actually got there a few hours early. This receiver was supposed to have three of our empty trailers so that we could drop and hook. I don't know what happened, but they didn't have any empty trailers so we had to wait for a door. Once we did get a door though, they must have had another Prime trailer emptied out in the mean time because I felt J unhook the trailer and hook up to another one. Sitting in the drivers seat typing this, I just looked in the mirror and sure enough, the trailer we are attached to is a different one than we delivered in. At least we didn't have to wait around to be unloaded once they had a place to park our trailer.
After that was done, J headed back over to the TA here in Ontario,CA where we will spend the next 24 hours or so. Actually 34 but we have already been here for a while. We were both really low on hours so we decided to do a restart here and get our 70 hours back. This place was packed when J got here. At first he just parked anywhere he could find a space and security ended up having us move a total of three times. This place is just a mad house right now. I have never seen this many trucks before. When I got up this morning though, there were finally trucks heading out to make their morning deliveries so there were actual spaces open. After some maneuvering, I finally got into a space. Anyone that has ever parked here will tell you that the rows are extremely close together and backing in can be very difficult. But hey, I AM a professional truck driver, so I managed to get backed in. :)
Oh, that reminds me. When we delivered up in Danvers,MA before we picked this load up, it was an EXTREMELY tight back. J got out of the truck to guide me in. While he was doing that, there was a car waiting to get by but I had the road blocked. This was one of those days where I was on my game and I have to admit, it was a beautiful backing job. As I got backed in, the car went past me and gave me a "thumbs up" and them parked in front of the truck that I had just backed into. Turns out that was his truck and he must run locally for that company. He was old enough to be my father, or a little older, and he came over and told J that he had an excellent chauffeur. LOL Meaning that I did a great job backing in there. It is kind of funny, because I can almost guarantee that if I was a guy driving, he wouldn't have said a thing. It is nice getting compliments from guys like that because he looked like one of the old timers that had been driving for decades. Most of them, not all, but most think this is a mans profession and that a woman has no business doing a mans job. He was very sweet though and it is nice to get complimented like that.
Anyway, we are just chilling out here in Ontario and will be available again for a load at 0600 tomorrow. I guess today I should do the domestic stuff like laundry and cleaning out the truck. *sign* If I must.......
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Marengo,OH
Good afternoon folks! Today was a LONG day for me. I didn't get to bed until around 2200 last night after all the messing around we had to do in Boston and I really didn't want to get up this morning. But with the help of a 5-Hour I made it awake and hit the road.
I started off at a service plaza up on I-90 in New York around Danube I think. The weather was really nice today other than being overcast the majority of the day. The sun came out for a while but luckily while it was overcast there was no moisture. I was thankful that when I hit the Buffalo,NY to Cleveland,OH area that there wasn't any lake effect snow. The way the sky was looking I thought I would hit some snow, but turns out it was just cloudy.
We are really pressed for time on this load and I don't think we are going to make our appointment time. We are going to try though. If we don't run into any delays then we should be fine, but I am still worried about road conditions over in Flagstaff. I just looked at one of their traffic cameras and it looks like it is still snowing. Hopefully by the time we hit that area around 0300 on Monday that storm will have blown on out and the roads will be clear. I am also wondering about our hours. It is going to be cutting it close for us on hours also. I think if we can make it that we will have to do a restart on our hours once we make this delivery.
You would think with a team you could run all the time and not run out of hours. But that isn't the case. And we have run hard this past week. We left out of Springfield last Friday morning and delivered in San Bernardino. Then we headed over to Brawley,CA and picked up a load that we delivered in Shelbyville,IN. Then we picked up in Paris,KY and delivered in Danvers,MA and then we picked up in Haverhill,MA and now we are heading back to Carson,CA. That is 8089 miles since last Friday evening, January 15th. And that isn't counting the excess miles we have driven trying to find trailer washes. No wonder we are tired!
On that note, I am hitting the bed. Now that I have seen exactly how much we have done, I am pooped!
I started off at a service plaza up on I-90 in New York around Danube I think. The weather was really nice today other than being overcast the majority of the day. The sun came out for a while but luckily while it was overcast there was no moisture. I was thankful that when I hit the Buffalo,NY to Cleveland,OH area that there wasn't any lake effect snow. The way the sky was looking I thought I would hit some snow, but turns out it was just cloudy.
We are really pressed for time on this load and I don't think we are going to make our appointment time. We are going to try though. If we don't run into any delays then we should be fine, but I am still worried about road conditions over in Flagstaff. I just looked at one of their traffic cameras and it looks like it is still snowing. Hopefully by the time we hit that area around 0300 on Monday that storm will have blown on out and the roads will be clear. I am also wondering about our hours. It is going to be cutting it close for us on hours also. I think if we can make it that we will have to do a restart on our hours once we make this delivery.
You would think with a team you could run all the time and not run out of hours. But that isn't the case. And we have run hard this past week. We left out of Springfield last Friday morning and delivered in San Bernardino. Then we headed over to Brawley,CA and picked up a load that we delivered in Shelbyville,IN. Then we picked up in Paris,KY and delivered in Danvers,MA and then we picked up in Haverhill,MA and now we are heading back to Carson,CA. That is 8089 miles since last Friday evening, January 15th. And that isn't counting the excess miles we have driven trying to find trailer washes. No wonder we are tired!
On that note, I am hitting the bed. Now that I have seen exactly how much we have done, I am pooped!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Boston,MA
Well, when it rains it pours! Things have been so hecktic for us lately. Too much to go into to catch you up so I will give you the very abbreviated version.
After coming out of Lubbock for our late Christmas/New Year's vacation we have had nothing but problems with the truck. We got a PM done, had an alignment done, two new steer tires were put on, the drive axle seal was replaced where it was leaking, our temperature sensor was replaced, the drivers side road lamp was re-wired and the assembly replaced from corrosion and som other wiring underneath was replaced due to corrosion. It seems like we have been sitting more than we have been moving. We spent two days in Laredo waiting on a load and having work done and them another two days in Springfield getting more work done. My momma always said that if I didn't have anything nice to say to not say anything at all. I suppose that goes with blogging!
But I am back and I am hoping things are starting to turn around. Luckily today we got paid, although a VERY small amount, but after being in the shop it was nice not to be in the hole. This next week is shaping up to be MUCH better. We are currently up in Boston after we delivered in Danvers a few hours ago. It was a hazmat load, so now we are having to drive about 50 miles the wrong direction to get a trailer washout and then driving back about 80 miles up to Haverhill to pick up our next load. Decent paying one considering we are hauling out of this area.
The one thing I am worried about though is the weather. I-40 is currently shut down in Arizona and with all the rain in California, I am sure that means more snow. I am going to look at the map and see how far out of route it would be to drop down to I-10 to get into Carson,CA with the load we are picking up. I drove through some snow a few days ago in Arizona on the trip out here and I figure driving in it once in a 7 day period is enough! haha
But that is where things stand with us. To the people that e-mailed me checking up on me, I would like to say "Thank You". I sometimes forget that people out there that I don't even know in person read this and that they are concerned when I go MIA for a while. So again, thank you for worrying about me. It is really nice to have you wonderful people out there watching over me!
After coming out of Lubbock for our late Christmas/New Year's vacation we have had nothing but problems with the truck. We got a PM done, had an alignment done, two new steer tires were put on, the drive axle seal was replaced where it was leaking, our temperature sensor was replaced, the drivers side road lamp was re-wired and the assembly replaced from corrosion and som other wiring underneath was replaced due to corrosion. It seems like we have been sitting more than we have been moving. We spent two days in Laredo waiting on a load and having work done and them another two days in Springfield getting more work done. My momma always said that if I didn't have anything nice to say to not say anything at all. I suppose that goes with blogging!
But I am back and I am hoping things are starting to turn around. Luckily today we got paid, although a VERY small amount, but after being in the shop it was nice not to be in the hole. This next week is shaping up to be MUCH better. We are currently up in Boston after we delivered in Danvers a few hours ago. It was a hazmat load, so now we are having to drive about 50 miles the wrong direction to get a trailer washout and then driving back about 80 miles up to Haverhill to pick up our next load. Decent paying one considering we are hauling out of this area.
The one thing I am worried about though is the weather. I-40 is currently shut down in Arizona and with all the rain in California, I am sure that means more snow. I am going to look at the map and see how far out of route it would be to drop down to I-10 to get into Carson,CA with the load we are picking up. I drove through some snow a few days ago in Arizona on the trip out here and I figure driving in it once in a 7 day period is enough! haha
But that is where things stand with us. To the people that e-mailed me checking up on me, I would like to say "Thank You". I sometimes forget that people out there that I don't even know in person read this and that they are concerned when I go MIA for a while. So again, thank you for worrying about me. It is really nice to have you wonderful people out there watching over me!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Lubbock,TX Still...
Today is our last day here in Lubbock. We are set to head out tomorrow depending on when we get a load. Today we have spent the day doing laundry and just getting ready.
My mom is looking for a new place to live so we are waiting for a guy to call us back about a house we saw for rent yesterday. We went and looked at it and it coud be fixed up real cute. It is a small 2/1 with a nice big back yard for Bandit. Right now we are just waiting on him to give us a call back so we can go look at it again. When we went yesterday it was just mom and I and J didn't go. So we would like for him to go over today and have a look at it and see what he thinks. They guy renting it seems very accomodating and even asked if there was anything that we didn't like that he could change that would make us like it more. We mentioned the tile in the bathroom and he said he could fix that without a problem. So I think if we look at it one more time with J that Mom will probably go ahead and rent it if he hasn't rented it by the time we can get ahold of him.
I am not sure where we will be heading next. I am guessing that they will probably send us up to Plainview,TX or to Amarillo,TX to pick up a load, just not sure where we will be taking it to. I am anxious for us to get off to a good start to this new year. We have a lot of things planned this year. We want to get our boat finished and moved to Texas. We will finish our lease on the truck this year, probably around July or August and we are deciding whether we want to sign another lease or whether we want to come off the road and find a local driving job. We have been talking about a lot of options. It has been great fun out on the road and it has been a wonderful adventure that we have shared together, but we have seen all 48 of the lower states and been places we never thought we would go. It is turning into more of a job than the adventure that it was the first few years. Plus, we really miss sleeping in the same bed at the same time. LOL We have worked different shifts now for three years. We don't really know for sure what we are going to do, but we are mulling things over. You can guarantee whatever we do decide will be something fun!
My mom is looking for a new place to live so we are waiting for a guy to call us back about a house we saw for rent yesterday. We went and looked at it and it coud be fixed up real cute. It is a small 2/1 with a nice big back yard for Bandit. Right now we are just waiting on him to give us a call back so we can go look at it again. When we went yesterday it was just mom and I and J didn't go. So we would like for him to go over today and have a look at it and see what he thinks. They guy renting it seems very accomodating and even asked if there was anything that we didn't like that he could change that would make us like it more. We mentioned the tile in the bathroom and he said he could fix that without a problem. So I think if we look at it one more time with J that Mom will probably go ahead and rent it if he hasn't rented it by the time we can get ahold of him.
I am not sure where we will be heading next. I am guessing that they will probably send us up to Plainview,TX or to Amarillo,TX to pick up a load, just not sure where we will be taking it to. I am anxious for us to get off to a good start to this new year. We have a lot of things planned this year. We want to get our boat finished and moved to Texas. We will finish our lease on the truck this year, probably around July or August and we are deciding whether we want to sign another lease or whether we want to come off the road and find a local driving job. We have been talking about a lot of options. It has been great fun out on the road and it has been a wonderful adventure that we have shared together, but we have seen all 48 of the lower states and been places we never thought we would go. It is turning into more of a job than the adventure that it was the first few years. Plus, we really miss sleeping in the same bed at the same time. LOL We have worked different shifts now for three years. We don't really know for sure what we are going to do, but we are mulling things over. You can guarantee whatever we do decide will be something fun!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Lubbock,TX
Happy New Year everyone!! We FINALLY made it to Lubbock for a late Christmas celebration and to ring in the new year.
We ended up being stuck up in Elm Creek,NE for three days while we waited out that bilzzard that hit the midwest. Once we were finally able to get on the road on this past Sunday morning, with I-80 opened back up, the roads were fine up until we had to get off an hit US30. I think that road on US30 was by far the worst ice covered road that I have ever driven on. My trailer got away from me a few times and the lady following me got a little sideways also. Her trailer swung far enough around her that I could see the Prime logo on the side. The road was extremely greasy to say the least. I really think they should have kept that road closed because the conditions were really too bad for them to have it open.
I persevered though and made it to our pick-up in Schuyler,NE and then took off towards Springfield,MO where we were dropping this trailer. I stopped just north of Kansas City where J took over and got us into Springfield,MO. As soon as he dropped the trailer there he was given a load to Terrell,TX and he took off. Since we were trying to get to Lubbock, this paid for us to get about half way there. I got us into Terrell on Monday afternoon and then we just had to worry about getting to Lubbock.
We lucked out and were able to get a load out of the Sam's Club in Dallas to deliver in Lubbock but first we had to run by the Saginaw drop lot and do a local delivery at 2100 that night. We were running behind since our drop in Terrell took forever to unload. But we got it all done and J got us almost all the way to Lubbock on Tuesday morning. I took over around 0800 and got us the rest of the way in. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us deliver until 2100 on Tuesday night so we just parked at the Sam's Club and had my mom come get us and J went back that evening to make the delivery.
We had a great Christmas with my mom, our daughter Jessica and my brother and his family. We surprised my mother with a laptop which she is super excited about. I am really happy that we were able to pull that off. She is in the process of moving to a different apartment so now all we have to do is to find an apartent with wi-fi and she will be all set.
Last night for New Year's Eve we went right down the road from my Mom's house to a little neighborhood bar that we used to always go to when we lived here. It was just J and I and we were really surprised to see a familiar face there. Actually 3 of them. They were all people that we worked with at the police department when we were living here. So we had a really nice time ringing in the New Year with old friends.
We ended up being stuck up in Elm Creek,NE for three days while we waited out that bilzzard that hit the midwest. Once we were finally able to get on the road on this past Sunday morning, with I-80 opened back up, the roads were fine up until we had to get off an hit US30. I think that road on US30 was by far the worst ice covered road that I have ever driven on. My trailer got away from me a few times and the lady following me got a little sideways also. Her trailer swung far enough around her that I could see the Prime logo on the side. The road was extremely greasy to say the least. I really think they should have kept that road closed because the conditions were really too bad for them to have it open.
I persevered though and made it to our pick-up in Schuyler,NE and then took off towards Springfield,MO where we were dropping this trailer. I stopped just north of Kansas City where J took over and got us into Springfield,MO. As soon as he dropped the trailer there he was given a load to Terrell,TX and he took off. Since we were trying to get to Lubbock, this paid for us to get about half way there. I got us into Terrell on Monday afternoon and then we just had to worry about getting to Lubbock.
We lucked out and were able to get a load out of the Sam's Club in Dallas to deliver in Lubbock but first we had to run by the Saginaw drop lot and do a local delivery at 2100 that night. We were running behind since our drop in Terrell took forever to unload. But we got it all done and J got us almost all the way to Lubbock on Tuesday morning. I took over around 0800 and got us the rest of the way in. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us deliver until 2100 on Tuesday night so we just parked at the Sam's Club and had my mom come get us and J went back that evening to make the delivery.
We had a great Christmas with my mom, our daughter Jessica and my brother and his family. We surprised my mother with a laptop which she is super excited about. I am really happy that we were able to pull that off. She is in the process of moving to a different apartment so now all we have to do is to find an apartent with wi-fi and she will be all set.
Last night for New Year's Eve we went right down the road from my Mom's house to a little neighborhood bar that we used to always go to when we lived here. It was just J and I and we were really surprised to see a familiar face there. Actually 3 of them. They were all people that we worked with at the police department when we were living here. So we had a really nice time ringing in the New Year with old friends.
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