Long Day/Night

DATELINE: TOMAH, WI.

Gentle readers. Remember yesterday how I was rejoicing in the fact that I'd be able to run during the day rather than overnight? Well, naturally, by writing that I jinxed the possibility. It seems that I had ANOTHER glitch with my fuel card, and by the time it was straightened out, it was 5:30 p.m. and dark already. But I had to go get my load and start the long haul from Kansas City to here in Tomah. And, of course, I had USA Truck calling and messaging me (did I mention we have a satellite messaging system in the truck? I'll have to detail that in a future post) that this was an important load and it was critical to get it to the receiver by 8:00 a.m. OK, the mileage was just enough for me to get it there in under my 11 hour driving limit, so that wasn't a problem. Here's where it gets interesting (and by "interesting", I mean "stressful").

1. When I fueled up in KC, I only got a little more than 1/2 a tank full. Reason: In case I get a heavy load, I don't want the weight of any excess fuel to put me over the 80,000 pound gross vehicle weight limit. So that's OK. I made the run from Milwaukee to KC--a little longer than last night's run--with just under a 1/2 tank. The twist: last night's load was rather heavy (thought not overweight), which burned up the fuel quite a bit faster. Anyway, the route from KC to Tomah is rather sparse in fuel stops on USA Truck's network list. So as I was approaching the Minnesota state line (from Iowa), my fuel gauge was heading downward quickly. So I had to message dispatch to get them to authorize an out-of-network fuel purchase. So there was a touch of stress there.

2. As I was heading east across lower Minnesota, I looked back in my driver's-side mirror and saw orange sparks behind my trailer's back tires. WHOA! That could be possible if the spacer between the pair of tires broke and the tires/rims were rubbing. So I pulled over by the side of the highway to investigate. On my way back along the side of the trailer, I noticed raindrops (did I mention it was raining during this run?) reflecting the amber glow of the marker light at the bottom of the middle of the trailer. Hmmm. Same color as the "sparks" I saw. When I got to the tires in question, nothing was smoking, looking hot, or out-of-place. So putting two and two together, I was the victim of a cruel visual trick. The marker lights on the trailer were reflecting off of the rain and road spray, making it look like sparks. I'll need to remember that for future rainy runs. So that was stress point #2.

3. When I reached my destination, I had to endure another set of bad directions. They said the company was on the right side of the road. So after turning right at a "RECEIVING ->" sign and not finding the proper company (name withheld for privacy reasons, but it's a big, well-known company), I found it on the left side of the road. Grrrr.

4. Upon reaching the gate at the destination, I had about 1/2 hour left of my allotted drive time. I was early, well before the 8:00 deadline (I think it was about 5:30 when I got there). USA had told me that early wouldn't be a problem, since my 14-hour limit would run out before 8:00. Well, the guy at the gate at first said they wouldn't take me 'til 7:00. When I told him that I was running out of driving time, he made a call and got me right in. THEN he informed me that I would dock the trailer at a door, unhook it, park my tractor in a certain spot, then have to wait 'til the trailer was unloaded and take it away when done. Well, that was definitely going to run me past my legal limits. I contacted dispatch to see if they could get another driver to come get the trailer, but that was a no-go. So I have now run afoul of DOT regulations. Nobody better give me a hard time about it 'cuz I busted my tail to get the load here after my fuel card problems (which were NOT my fault). Without them I would have had plenty of time to complete the run with a break before delivery so I would have had time available to wait for and drive after unloading.

Anyhow, I did park and wait for the unloading to complete, managing to get a couple hours of sleep (they gave me a time to expect it to be ready) before I had to grab the trailer and run. Fortunately there's a good truck stop just 2 miles up the highway (I-94) from the receiver's site, so I didn't have to go far. I got here (I'm still at that truck stop taking my 10-hour break) at about 10:30 this morning, so I'll be legal to drive again at 8:30 p.m. On the other hand, it's new year's eve and my next assignment isn't 'til I have to pick up a load on Tuesday, 1/2 at 11:00 a.m., 100 miles west along I-94. So I think I'll spend the night here to get PLENTY of rest (more on that in the next paragraph, if you can endure more of my rambling). I'll drive those 100 miles tomorrow so I'll be right close to my pickup point Tuesday morning.

Regarding rest in the truck, I found during my training period that when I come off my on-duty shift and head into the sleeper, I can usually fall asleep fairly quickly. However, what's disturbing is that I'll then usually wake up 3, 4, or 5 hours later and not be able to get back to sleep. That happened again today, which is why I'm composing this now instead of sleeping some more. I'm hoping this activity will tire me out so I can fall back asleep. But we'll see. I hope I can lick that problem soon so I won't be a perennially fatigued driver. Fortunately, I do have the whole night tonight yet to get more sleep and don't have any time-critical appointments tomorrow (and can therefore rest most of that day, too. 'Cept for watching the Rose Bowl. GO BLUE!)

Well, that's enough for this update. Happy New Year to all, keep those comments coming, and keep on truckin'.

Maiden Voyage

DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO. Hello again, readers. My apologies first for not posting yesterday; I was too tired from my overnight run. That started when I picked up a trailer in Milwaukee (actually Wauwatosa) at 10:00 p.m. (all times CST) bound for the KC area. I took it as far as Des Moines, IA before I had to stop at 10:00 a.m. for my 10-hour break (see my previous post about hours of service regulations). I did have a 3-hour power nap in the middle of that drive when fatigue set in, due to my overnight bus ride the previous night. Then I got back underway at 8:00 p.m. to complete the run.

I arrived at the delivery site at just after midnight after a brief struggle with a wrong turn (bad directions headed me into the wrong "truck entrance"). After dropping off that trailer, I needed to find some gas--er, we call it "fuel" in the industry; gasoline goes into cars and trucks use diesel fuel--so I headed up the road to an authorized truck stop. (USA Truck maintains a "Fuel Stop Network" of truck stops where we're authorized to fill up.) That's when the 2nd glitch regarding my fuel cards hit.

OK, back up, when was the first glitch? And what are fuel cards? Background info: At Pilot and some other truck stop chains, we have one card to use, Comdata. It's a combo debit card and company fuel credit card--USA pays our wages into our Comdata accounts (unless we set up direct deposit into our own bank accounts), and we use them to pay for fuel at the pumps, which then gets charged to USA. At one chain, Flying J, we have another fuel card to use, TCH, which is just for charging fuel to USA. Anyway, back to the glitches.

Remember when I stopped in Des Moines? I was going to fill up there at a Pilot truck stop. But the pump there wouldn't accept my Comdata card. I still had enough diesel to complete my run to KC, so I didn't sweat it (too much, though I was slightly concerned about my calculation that I had enough fuel to get to KC). I did call in to my dispatcher to get the problem resolved, though. He messaged me back later that it is resolved, but I haven't tested that yet. So after completing my run, I headed to the authorized Flying J in KC. There (actually, here, since I haven't left yet--more on that in a sec.), I tried to use my TCH card, and the pump told me that it's inactive. USA hadn't activated it yet since I started. AARGH! Since my fuel gauge was just about on E, and after waiting on hold on the phone for a 1/2 hour trying unsuccessfully to get connected to dispatch, I decided to park in the lot and wait there 'til dispatch could get that problem sorted out. So I fell asleep. That was at about 2:00 a.m. When I woke up after 9:00, I finally had a message that my TCH card is now active. Along with a message giving me my next load assignment.

Well, since I slept so long, my previous 14-hour shift was just about over (at 10:00 a.m. it would have been 14 hours since I went on duty yesterday), and I would need a new 10-hour break. OR I could count my time sleeping since 2:00 as the start of a 10-hour break and go back on duty at noon. So that's what I'm doing. Hallelujah! I've found the way to convert back from the overnight driving shift to daytime! Awwwwriiiight! So once noon rolls around in another 42 minutes from now, I'll bop back over to the fuel island and try to fill up. Then I'll head 2 miles up the highway from here to pick up my next load. Speaking of which, it's back to Wisconsin, though to Tomah this time. I'll try to post again when I stop for the night after today's drive.

By the way, here are my driving stats so far:
Thursday: 72 miles (well, I did start late at night)
Friday: 525 miles

Thanks for reading, and keep those comments coming. I love to know someone out there is reading this drivel.

It's Real!

Well, readers, all this talk about becoming a trucker has finally become a reality. I'm composing this post from the sleeper berth of my very own truck! (By "my very own" I mean that USA Truck assigned it to me, not that I've bought it) If you see USA Truck unit #7630 rolling down the highway somewhere, that's me!

Right now I'm in the latter stages of my sleep/rest period before I go on duty for my first load assignment with the truck. I need the sleep 'cuz my bus ride to Milwaukee (from Ann Arbor) to pick up the truck was an overnighter, from a 4:15 p.m. (EST) departure to a 2:15 a.m. (CST) arrival at the Milwaukee Greyhound station. That includes a 3-1/2 layover in Chicago, then 6+ hours in Milwaukee waiting for my dispatcher to get in to work to arrange a ride for me to the truck's location. So with only 1 or 1-1/2 hours of sleep on the bus ride, I was a bit too tired to take my new rig out on the road.

Anyway, a bit about this rig--it's a mess. The previous driver did not keep it clean (the interior, that is) and he was obviously a smoker (cough, cough). First truck stop for me, I'll be getting some cleaning supplies and Febreeze. Plus, since the truck had been sitting for a couple of weeks (it's been at an International dealership for service), its battery was dead. So I had to have them jump start it. But it runs fine now, and has warmed up the cab plenty to make it comfortable to sleep. (In case you didn't know, trucks nowadays have idling systems that start and stop the engine automatically to maintain the temperature inside the cab as well as keep the engine warm and battery charged. I set that system once I got it started so I'd have a comfy "bedroom" for my afternoon of sleep. I'm "camping out" at the dealership's lot, which they're used to since they're in the truck biz.)

So now I'm getting ready for my first load. I pick it up at 10:00 CST tonight just a few miles from here, then haul it to the Kansas City area. Imagine, after all my complaining about my overnght driving shifts with my trainer, my first one has to be an overnighter, too, because of my odyssey getting out here. Figures. Oh well, I just hope the Denver snowstorm hasn't stayed viable and reached eastern Kansas before I get there. We'll see about that in a few hours, I guess.

OK, so I need to get back to sleep a bit before heading out on the road. Keep those comments coming, and keep on truckin'.

It's Almost Real

Good day, fans, ;-)

Just a short update today. I completed orientation yesterday, then got my truck assignment. Unfortunately, my new ride is somewhere in or around Milwaukee, WI. USA Truck will buy me a bus ticket to go get it. Fortunately, they let me come home for Christmas first. So upon completion of orientation I hopped in my car and headed home. I'm looking forward to a wonderful holiday with my family, then starting my career as a solo driver.

That's it for today. I'll post again when I get to my truck sometime next week. Have a merry Christmas, and keep on truckin'.

Tribute

Although I've finished another day of orientation today, and have some to report about that, I feel the need today to lay that aside and pay tribute to a great friend we lost recently. Dr. Leonard Riccinto, better known to those who knew and loved him as "Len" and "Doc", lost his battle with cancer early last week. Len was a talented musician, devoted family man, and just a tremendous human being.

I first met him 18 years ago (in 1988 for the mathematically disinclined) when some friends and I were in the process of launching a men's chorus, "Measure for Measure, a Men's Choral Society" (MfM), in the Ann Arbor area. One of us had learned about Len and invited him to meet with the rest of the founders about the job of director. At our meeting at a local pub, Len's enthusiasm for the position--and for having a men's chorus for "mature" men in the area--was obvious. So Len directed our group for the next 18 years, leading us as we grew to musical prominence far beyond what we had ever hoped.

Coincidentally, at our initial meeting we discovered Len had something in common with the rest of the founders--we were all alumni of the famed University of Michigan Men's Glee Club (although Len was a "few" years ahead of the rest of us). The saddest irony of the timing of Len's passing is that he died one day after we finally realized an 18-year dream, that of MfM sharing a concert with the U-M Glee Club. And due to his illness, Len was unable to attend that event for which I'm sure he longed.

I'm not intending to write Len's obituary here. The preceding information was just some helpful background before I mention a couple personal remembrances, things about Len or that he did that will always mean a lot to me.

Len gave me my biggest thrill in music, that is besides guiding MfM to such heights. In 1996 Len had the opportunity to direct at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and I joined the choir he would bring along with him (to be joined by several other choir groups from around the country). We were to perform two or three numbers, the names of which I can't remember right now. One of the pieces included a small "solo" choir (3 people on each of 3 or 4 parts), and Len asked me to be one of the tenors in the solo choir. To make a potentially long story short, let me just say that singing a "solo" (albeit with several others) at Carnegie Hall (yes, we did practice, practice, practice beforehand) for someone with my limited musical talents is about as thrilling as it can get. And I have Len to thank (and I did afterwards) for that memory that still thrills me when I think of it. Thanks, Doc!

The other thing I want to mention is not something that Len did, or even knew about. But it's an interesting symmetry in my life. My own dad died when I was 18 years old. He, too, was a music teacher all his adult life, although he taught instrumental music--mainly strings--rather than vocal. But he started my musical education with violin lessons in the 3rd grade. That he started me down the road of music for the first 18 years of my life, and that Len led the way for the most recent 18, seems somehow profund. We lost both dedicated music educators far too early.

Thanks, Len, for your devotion not only to MfM, but for bringing music to so many people. And for doing so with such grace, enthusiasm, outright joy, and love. We will all surely miss you. The only explanation I can come up with for your early departure from this life is that God needed a good director for His choir of angels. Lead them well.

And thank you, readers, for allowing me this moment of tribute. I will resume my mundane musings about my new career tomorrow. Keep on truckin'.

Almost There

Well, gang, this truck driving thing is close to reality now. I did complete my training period with Bruce last week, then got to go home for the weekend. I drove back down here to Dayton late Sunday night for testing and orientation this week. Well, today I went and did it! I passed my road and classroom tests, so there's no washing out now. I guess USA Truck's gonna have to give me my own truck soon. I just have to go through three days of orientation Tuesday through Thursday, then they'll assign me a truck. (Whether or not they'll give me a load to pick up and/or deliver right away remains to be seen. I'm hoping that they'll give me some time off for Christmas before I have to hit the road.)

Anyway, the good part of being here for orientation is the chance to sleep in an actual bed here at the hotel each night (not to mention during the sessions each day). And NOT have to try to stay awake through the overnight hours. Or sleep during the day in a bouncing sleeper berth. Whew! Glorious rest!

I'm going to cut this short here 'cuz I'm getting hungry and tired (I did mention the late drive back here last night, didn't I?). I got to bed around 1:00 this morning and was back up at 5:30 to get to my testing, so I'm ready for some rest.

Thanks for reading. Post some comments for me, and keep on trucking.

Finally, An Update Opportunity

DATELINE: TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS. Well, I finally have some free time (AND a Verizon signal) to post an update. We are parked at a Flying J truck stop just east of Texarkana and the Texas border. Bruce is taking the opportunity to use their shower facilities, so he'll be a while. (In case you were wondering, I took my shower when I finished up my driving shift this morning at USA Truck's terminal in West Memphis, AR.) So what's a good blogger to do besides take the opportunity to post? (What do you mean, "How would you know?")

This morning's shift covered 561 miles from 8:30 last night (starting in Tipp City, OH) 'til 6:45 this morning. This is likely my last week of training, and we're repeating my first week, four weeks ago. On Monday and Tuesday we made a round trip to Opelika and Auburn, AL from Tipp City. We had a few hours off at the Vandalia, OH terminal after that trip 'til we picked up the trailer for this run, which will take us to McAllen and Los Indios, TX. Then it's back to Tipp City with whatever we pick up down there (auto parts of some sort), finishing up Friday evening. Then I'll likely have the weekend off before starting orientation and road testing at the Vandalia terminal on Monday. After that, I'll get a few days off, which will happily include Christmas at home with my family, before USA assigns me my own truck. Then I'll be able to take time almost daily to update this blog.

Well, I'm still behind on sleep and face another long overnight drive tonight (and one more tomorrow night), so I'll sign off here. Happy trails to all, and keep on truckin'.

Texas, Take 5

DATELINE: MARSHALL, TX. Today we started our fifth trip to southern Texas (Bruce has a regular route down here.) He picked me up at the hotel at 11:30 last night and we bobtailed (drove with the cab only, no trailer attached) to our pickup site in Tipp City about 9 miles up the road. There we hooked up an empty trailer to haul down to Brownsville for loading. After Bruce hooked up, I took over the wheel to begin the drive down at just about midnight. (All times in these posts will be in Eastern time.)

An aside about "the hotel" I mentioned above: USA Truck puts up its drivers waiting for their assignments at a Howard Johnson's hotel in Vandalia. Wave as you drive by at about mile marker 60 on I-75; it's on the east side of the highway. But back to our story.

We seem to be following our usual script on this trip. I start out and drive the overnight hours to somewhere near Memphis, TN. Bruce then relieves me and drives across Arkansas and into northeastern Texas, often to right here in Marshall. We're parked in a Wal-Mart lot that we've stopped at every single time so far, even though I haven't always taken over the driving here. I don't know what Bruce does here, but I'm usually asleep when he stops, and by the time I wake up to check out the situation, he's outta' the truck and disappeared. So I then put on my shoes (and coat if it's chilly) and amble into the store to use the facilities and grab a sandwich from the deli if it's about time for my driving shift to start. Today we're making really good time, and at the time we stopped I still needed 2 more hours of legal break before I can start driving again. I don't know if Bruce is planning on staying here that long, but we have been parked here for as long as 1-1/2 hours before (and I still don't know what for).

This might be a good time to briefly explain the Department of Transportation's (DOT's) regulations regarding driving hours for commercial drivers. They have 4 basic stipulations:
1. 11-Hour Rule: A driver can drive no more than 11 hours during any shift before s/he must take a 10-hour break before s/he can drive again.
2. 14-Hour Rule: Once a driver comes on duty, s/he can only work 14 hours--whether driving or doing any other work activity--before s/he must take a 10-hour
break before s/he can drive again. (S/he can work beyond 14 hours, but s/he must take the break before driving again.)
3. 70-Hour Rule: A driver can only work (all on-duty time, whether driving or not) 70 hours in any 8-day period.
4: 34-Hour Restart: If a driver takes 34 consecutive hours off, his/her 70-hour counter restarts.
Simple enough, no? Now back to our story again.

I was planning on sleeping some more during this stop, but I kept composing this post in my head, so I gave in to actually type it up. Anyway, I was explaining our normal "script" for this south Texas run before I sidetracked. After Bruce's (daytime) shift into NE Texas, I run overnight down US-59 to Victoria (100-ish miles south of Houston), then down US-77 to Brownsville. By then, morning is usually breaking (or broken fully, as it was last time) and I pull into a small truck stop in town. Bruce then takes over and drives to our 2 pickup sites for loading while I sleep (or check e-mail while the truck's not moving and bouncing around). After we're all loaded up, Bruce starts the trek back north along 77 to 59. Somewhere north of Houston he'll use up his 11 hours and I'll get back behind the wheel and drive through the dark back to somewhere past (east of) Memphis, where Bruce will take back over and finish the drive back to Vandalia.

Well, this post is getting lengthy, so I'll stop here for today. I hope it's enlightening to you. We're still in the Wal-Mart lot after 1-1/4 hours, and still no sign of Bruce. So I'll check my e-mail. Hope all is well with you, and keep on truckin'.

What a Ride

My apologies for not posting any updates any sooner. I'd intended to update my progress every day, but I've learned that won't be possible just yet. I'm in the middle of my company training period, team driving with my trainer. What "team driving" means is we take long trips, and when one of us is driving, the other is sleeping--or trying to sleep--in the bunk of the noisy, bumpy tractor. So there's no down time to compose elegant road updates. However, I have this weekend off, so I'll do a little catching up. First of all, here's my background and how I got into truck driving.

I was a computer programmer for 15 years before I was downsized in early 2004. I tried self-employment/entrepreneurship/real estate investing for a couple years, but nothing worked out and it became clear I would need a job. Unable to find a "real" (stay-at-home type) job, I opted for Plan B, which was to go to truck driving school and go on the road. That led to a 3-week stint at the C1 school in Ft. Wayne, IN, at which I earned my Class A Commercial Driver License (CDL) at the beginning of November. My tuition for C1 was paid by USA Truck, with whom I now have a 1-year commitment as a driver.

For the past 3 weeks now I have been doing my USA training with my trainer, Bruce. I have one more training week before testing to determine if I'm ready for my own truck, or if I need any more training. Let's hope Bruce's training pays off so I can get on the road earning the big bucks (right!). Anyway, during the training we've gone to Opelika, Alabama; deepest, darkest Texas (McAllen and Brownsville) 4 times; and Lexington, Tennessee twice. I've been doing A LOT of driving, obviously, (more on D.O.T. regulations regarding driving restirctions in a future post) so I know I can get a big rig from here to there. And most of my driving has been during the overnight shift, hence my exhaustion and inability to post to this blog. What I know I need practice on is backing into loading docks and between parked trailers. That training has been sorely lacking, so I'll make it a point with Bruce to do as much of that as possible this coming week. Which will start shortly after midnight Monday morning for another trip to Brownsville.

OK, that's enough for this post. I need to shut down and get to sleep. Thanks for your readership, and comment at will.

Brand-Spankin' New

Hello, world! I've no time to write a lot today, because I need to prep (sleep) for a trip that'll start around midnight tonight. But I did want to take the time to get this blog set up so I'll be able to start posting from the road tomorrow. Be sure to check back here every day for updates on my travels and thoughts about life as an over-the-road big rig driver.

Thanks for your interest. Enjoy, and keep on truckin'.