DATELINE: PRESCOTT, AR, 10:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 238
Not a lot happenin' today. I had to wait around the West Memphis terminal for my load to arrive. It was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., but I didn't get word it had arrived 'til after 3:00. I hooked up the trailer and hit the road at about 3:45. Four hours later, as the sun was setting, I arrived at the TA here and parked for the night. I'm headed to Marietta, OK, and this town is just short of halfway for this trip. My delivery appointment is at 6:00 tomorrow evening, so I have plenty of time to get there. However, I'm sure I can drop it there early (this will be a drop-and-hook delivery instead of a live unload), so I'll get up and moving early in the morning, 6:00 or 7:00 or so.
This load is a new commodity for me to be hauling...pork rinds. I don't know why it's not classified as a Hazardous Material load. ;-)
Well, I want to get to bed, so I'll wrap this up now. Thanks for taking a look, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Everybody's Keeping Me Waiting
DATELINE: WEST MEMPHIS, AR, 9:00 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 549
OY! What a long day. I'll tell you all about it, but first I'll answer reader hrr's questions, "What is your favorite stretch of highway so far? What is the worst?"
Those are good questions. The worst is the easier to pin down: That stretch of US-35 in West Virginia that I railed about some months back. It's a narrow, two-lane, winding, shoulder-free, 55-MPH blacktop snaking around the base of the mountains through the countryside. Fortunately it doesn't rise and fall much in elevation, so it doesn't have any gravity consequences to add to the turmoil of driving it. But at night with its blind and near-blind tight curves facing oncoming traffic, much of it other big rigs, it is an attention-grabber. And it's probably 30 or more miles long (I don't know exactly how long a stretch it is, but it's not a short jaunt), so staying focused for that long is mentally draining.
You know, a close second worst would probably be I-75 through the length of Ohio. It's just dreadfully flat and boring, much of it is only 2 lanes in each direction and heavy with traffic, making passing (or dodging merging traffic) difficult.
As for my favorite stretch of highway, well, I don't know if I can name one. Perhaps I-40 on either side of the TN-NC border. The mountain scenery is stunning, even if driving a heavily-loaded semi up and down the steep grades can be a chore. Now back to how today went.
L-O-N-G. I woke up at 4:00 so I could be on the road at 4:30. The Pilot truck stop where I spent the night has a McDonald's, and to my delight they were open and serving breakfast at that hour. So I indulged my weakness once more and had a Steak, Egg, & Cheese Bagel meal. (Put the hash browns on the sandwich, too...DEE-lish! Try it!) Once on the road, the drive to my delivery (in a small town just east of Evansville, IN) went without a hitch--except for the rest area stop I tried to make but found the parking lot completely full. Oh well, I could make it to the delivery and use facilities there.
I reached the delivery company early and had to wait a little while for their gate to open. I waited behind a few other trucks also waiting for entry. After checking in at the gate, I proceeded to the Receiving Department at the building to which the guard directed me. (This was a large complex of a major company.) I negotiated the narrow roads and turns within the complex and easily found the specified destination, then went in to check in at that department. When signing the sign-in sheet, I noticed the clock--they are on Central Daylight Time! I hadn't realized that part of Indiana was not on Eastern time, so I was there 35 minutes before my appointment. But that was OK; no other trucks were there so I assumed they could unload me right quick.
Nope. The receiving staff were filing into an office for a department meeting. That didn't break up 'til I had been there for 50 minutes. Then they directed me to yet another building where I would actually dock and get unloaded. That meant squeezing around another couple of tight corners and narrow roads. And the dock I had to back into was one of those inside docks with a narrow door to fit the trailer through. PLUS I had to make my initial backing approach from the blind side, angled towards the passenger side instead of the more visibility-friendly driver's side. But I kept things slow and all went well and I managed it without incident.
Once I was finally docked, the unloading went pretty quickly, and I was soon on my way out of there--after winding my way back through the maze. It was now around 9:00 a.m. CDT, and I had first arrived there just before 6:00 CDT. Not long after I left, my next assignment came in: Pick up a load in Evansville, IN at 10:00.
Now, the load assignment messages always include directions to the pickup site. In this message, the directions said, "No directions available." It did have the address of the customer, so I consulted my Motor Carriers' Road Atlas. The Indiana map page has a close-up map of Evansville, and the address turned out to be on a major road that was shown in the close-up. So I didn't have to call the company for directions.
I arrived right on time for the pickup appointment, found the shipping office, and was directed to a dock door. The docking area was relatively wide open, compared to the previous site, and backing up to this dock was a breeze. After parking, I went in to the dock to check on how long it'd take. It's not a good sign when the loading clerk suggests you climb into the truck and take a nap. It turns out they still had to "pick" the order, or pull the necessary items from their various hiding places in the warehouse. Places that have their act together will have the orders ready and staged at the dock when the trucks arrive for them. Anyway, to shorten the story, it was nearly noon before they started loading my trailer, and they finished up at 12:20.
Next consideration: This load is destined for Fort Smith, Arkansas, about a 600 -mile trip from Evansville. Delivery time is 6:00 a.m., 17-1/2 hours after I was setting out with the load. I had known when I got the assignment that there was no way I could make the whole trip legally, including the mandatory 10-hour break along with the 12-hour drive. So I had sent my fleet manager a message asking if I should just make the whole trip and be late, or relay it to another driver somewhere so it could arrive on time. The most logical place was the West Memphis terminal, and my FM set it up for me to drop it there.
So I spent the rest of the day hauling asterisk to get to West Memphis. Unfortunately I somehow missed one highway junction as I was heading south through Kentucky and added probably an extra hour to my trip to get back on track. Anyway, with the long waits at both customers today and the extra mileage, I wound up arriving at West Memphis about 16-1/2 hours after first hitting the road this morning. Yikes! Please don't tell the DOT. At least I still only drove for 11 hours total.
And that's the end of my long day, except for reporting on it to y'all. I get a break of sorts tomorrow: my next assignment is to grab a loaded trailer here at 2:00 p.m. and haul it to Marietta, Oklahoma for delivery Saturday evening. So I'll get to sleep in a bit and relax before starting work tomorrow.
Thanks for checking in today. Be a dear and submit a comment or question, and be sure to keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 549
OY! What a long day. I'll tell you all about it, but first I'll answer reader hrr's questions, "What is your favorite stretch of highway so far? What is the worst?"
Those are good questions. The worst is the easier to pin down: That stretch of US-35 in West Virginia that I railed about some months back. It's a narrow, two-lane, winding, shoulder-free, 55-MPH blacktop snaking around the base of the mountains through the countryside. Fortunately it doesn't rise and fall much in elevation, so it doesn't have any gravity consequences to add to the turmoil of driving it. But at night with its blind and near-blind tight curves facing oncoming traffic, much of it other big rigs, it is an attention-grabber. And it's probably 30 or more miles long (I don't know exactly how long a stretch it is, but it's not a short jaunt), so staying focused for that long is mentally draining.
You know, a close second worst would probably be I-75 through the length of Ohio. It's just dreadfully flat and boring, much of it is only 2 lanes in each direction and heavy with traffic, making passing (or dodging merging traffic) difficult.
As for my favorite stretch of highway, well, I don't know if I can name one. Perhaps I-40 on either side of the TN-NC border. The mountain scenery is stunning, even if driving a heavily-loaded semi up and down the steep grades can be a chore. Now back to how today went.
L-O-N-G. I woke up at 4:00 so I could be on the road at 4:30. The Pilot truck stop where I spent the night has a McDonald's, and to my delight they were open and serving breakfast at that hour. So I indulged my weakness once more and had a Steak, Egg, & Cheese Bagel meal. (Put the hash browns on the sandwich, too...DEE-lish! Try it!) Once on the road, the drive to my delivery (in a small town just east of Evansville, IN) went without a hitch--except for the rest area stop I tried to make but found the parking lot completely full. Oh well, I could make it to the delivery and use facilities there.
I reached the delivery company early and had to wait a little while for their gate to open. I waited behind a few other trucks also waiting for entry. After checking in at the gate, I proceeded to the Receiving Department at the building to which the guard directed me. (This was a large complex of a major company.) I negotiated the narrow roads and turns within the complex and easily found the specified destination, then went in to check in at that department. When signing the sign-in sheet, I noticed the clock--they are on Central Daylight Time! I hadn't realized that part of Indiana was not on Eastern time, so I was there 35 minutes before my appointment. But that was OK; no other trucks were there so I assumed they could unload me right quick.
Nope. The receiving staff were filing into an office for a department meeting. That didn't break up 'til I had been there for 50 minutes. Then they directed me to yet another building where I would actually dock and get unloaded. That meant squeezing around another couple of tight corners and narrow roads. And the dock I had to back into was one of those inside docks with a narrow door to fit the trailer through. PLUS I had to make my initial backing approach from the blind side, angled towards the passenger side instead of the more visibility-friendly driver's side. But I kept things slow and all went well and I managed it without incident.
Once I was finally docked, the unloading went pretty quickly, and I was soon on my way out of there--after winding my way back through the maze. It was now around 9:00 a.m. CDT, and I had first arrived there just before 6:00 CDT. Not long after I left, my next assignment came in: Pick up a load in Evansville, IN at 10:00.
Now, the load assignment messages always include directions to the pickup site. In this message, the directions said, "No directions available." It did have the address of the customer, so I consulted my Motor Carriers' Road Atlas. The Indiana map page has a close-up map of Evansville, and the address turned out to be on a major road that was shown in the close-up. So I didn't have to call the company for directions.
I arrived right on time for the pickup appointment, found the shipping office, and was directed to a dock door. The docking area was relatively wide open, compared to the previous site, and backing up to this dock was a breeze. After parking, I went in to the dock to check on how long it'd take. It's not a good sign when the loading clerk suggests you climb into the truck and take a nap. It turns out they still had to "pick" the order, or pull the necessary items from their various hiding places in the warehouse. Places that have their act together will have the orders ready and staged at the dock when the trucks arrive for them. Anyway, to shorten the story, it was nearly noon before they started loading my trailer, and they finished up at 12:20.
Next consideration: This load is destined for Fort Smith, Arkansas, about a 600 -mile trip from Evansville. Delivery time is 6:00 a.m., 17-1/2 hours after I was setting out with the load. I had known when I got the assignment that there was no way I could make the whole trip legally, including the mandatory 10-hour break along with the 12-hour drive. So I had sent my fleet manager a message asking if I should just make the whole trip and be late, or relay it to another driver somewhere so it could arrive on time. The most logical place was the West Memphis terminal, and my FM set it up for me to drop it there.
So I spent the rest of the day hauling asterisk to get to West Memphis. Unfortunately I somehow missed one highway junction as I was heading south through Kentucky and added probably an extra hour to my trip to get back on track. Anyway, with the long waits at both customers today and the extra mileage, I wound up arriving at West Memphis about 16-1/2 hours after first hitting the road this morning. Yikes! Please don't tell the DOT. At least I still only drove for 11 hours total.
And that's the end of my long day, except for reporting on it to y'all. I get a break of sorts tomorrow: my next assignment is to grab a loaded trailer here at 2:00 p.m. and haul it to Marietta, Oklahoma for delivery Saturday evening. So I'll get to sleep in a bit and relax before starting work tomorrow.
Thanks for checking in today. Be a dear and submit a comment or question, and be sure to keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Time Crunch
DATELINE: PENDLETON, KY, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 468
Well, I missed another day, didn't I? Sorry 'bout dat, but I was taking a 34-hour break and didn't have any trucking news to deliver. I did play a lot of online poker tournaments, mostly single-table sit-n-go's, with mostly disappointing results. I did win once and took second another time. But except for one 6th place finish, I took 4th place--one spot out of the money--all the other times. Sheesh! My best success was in a dollar-buy-in tournament that attracted 743 entrants. I took 17th place in that one (the top 72 places hit paydirt), more than tripling my investment.
I did get a call from my fleet manager in the morning, so he could express displeasure and/or disappointment that I had to sit out a day with no hours available to work. Never mind that I had worked long and hard for 8 days straight, and that it is driver appreciation week. I wouldn't mind a, "Thanks for the hard work, you deserve a rest" from him, but that's not really the company's orientation towards drivers. Not that I'm complaining...OK, I am. But let's move on to today's tale.
I woke up to my alarm at 4:00 this morning so I could send in my "Back to work" message to trigger dispatch to send me my next assignment. After sending the message,I went back to bed, knowing it'd be a while before an assignment came across. It took me some time to fall back asleep, but I eventually did. The message with my assignment came in just before 6:00: Pick up a load at 9:30 a.m. in western PA, roughly midway between where I was and Pittsburgh along state highway 68, and take it to extreme southern Indiana for a Thursday morning (7:30) delivery.
This is another assignment in which the math is rather tight: nearly 600 miles (12 hours) of driving, a 10-hour break to include in there, and 22 hours between pickup and delivery times. Ah, the job's joys continue.
Anyway, after getting the assignment and plotting my route, I got up and readied for the workday, then grabbed breakfast at the McDonald's across the street (gotta have those Steak, Egg, & Cheese Bagels whenever I can) before hitting the road. I got to the pickup about 45 minutes early, checked in, yadda, yadda, and was loaded and on my way at about the time I was supposed to arrive. So that bought me 30-45 extra minutes for my trip. The balance of my workday was drive, drive, drive, stop for fuel, and drive some more. If you want to plot my route on a map, I started on I-80, followed PA68 (with a brief trip up and back on PA268 to my pickup), then over to southbound I-79, to westbound I-70 to the loop around Columbus, OH, to southbound I-71, to where I am now, at a Pilot at exit 28 just east of Louisville.
Tomorrow I'll get up at 4:00 again to hit the road at 4:30, when my break reaches its 10-hour mark. It will probably take most of the 3 hours I'll have to get to the delivery on time, but at least I'll be scooting through Louisville before anybody else is awake and clogging the roads.
So that's today's tale. I hope you've found it enjoyable and insightful. Thanks for your curiosity, and keep on truckin', right after you send me some comments and questions.
Miles Today: 468
Well, I missed another day, didn't I? Sorry 'bout dat, but I was taking a 34-hour break and didn't have any trucking news to deliver. I did play a lot of online poker tournaments, mostly single-table sit-n-go's, with mostly disappointing results. I did win once and took second another time. But except for one 6th place finish, I took 4th place--one spot out of the money--all the other times. Sheesh! My best success was in a dollar-buy-in tournament that attracted 743 entrants. I took 17th place in that one (the top 72 places hit paydirt), more than tripling my investment.
I did get a call from my fleet manager in the morning, so he could express displeasure and/or disappointment that I had to sit out a day with no hours available to work. Never mind that I had worked long and hard for 8 days straight, and that it is driver appreciation week. I wouldn't mind a, "Thanks for the hard work, you deserve a rest" from him, but that's not really the company's orientation towards drivers. Not that I'm complaining...OK, I am. But let's move on to today's tale.
I woke up to my alarm at 4:00 this morning so I could send in my "Back to work" message to trigger dispatch to send me my next assignment. After sending the message,I went back to bed, knowing it'd be a while before an assignment came across. It took me some time to fall back asleep, but I eventually did. The message with my assignment came in just before 6:00: Pick up a load at 9:30 a.m. in western PA, roughly midway between where I was and Pittsburgh along state highway 68, and take it to extreme southern Indiana for a Thursday morning (7:30) delivery.
This is another assignment in which the math is rather tight: nearly 600 miles (12 hours) of driving, a 10-hour break to include in there, and 22 hours between pickup and delivery times. Ah, the job's joys continue.
Anyway, after getting the assignment and plotting my route, I got up and readied for the workday, then grabbed breakfast at the McDonald's across the street (gotta have those Steak, Egg, & Cheese Bagels whenever I can) before hitting the road. I got to the pickup about 45 minutes early, checked in, yadda, yadda, and was loaded and on my way at about the time I was supposed to arrive. So that bought me 30-45 extra minutes for my trip. The balance of my workday was drive, drive, drive, stop for fuel, and drive some more. If you want to plot my route on a map, I started on I-80, followed PA68 (with a brief trip up and back on PA268 to my pickup), then over to southbound I-79, to westbound I-70 to the loop around Columbus, OH, to southbound I-71, to where I am now, at a Pilot at exit 28 just east of Louisville.
Tomorrow I'll get up at 4:00 again to hit the road at 4:30, when my break reaches its 10-hour mark. It will probably take most of the 3 hours I'll have to get to the delivery on time, but at least I'll be scooting through Louisville before anybody else is awake and clogging the roads.
So that's today's tale. I hope you've found it enjoyable and insightful. Thanks for your curiosity, and keep on truckin', right after you send me some comments and questions.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Workin' Overtime
DATELINE: BROOKVILLE, PA, 8:15 p.m.
Miles Today: 525
I'll start today by coming up with an answer for reader Jim the Baritone's query, "I am curious as to what you consider the best part of being a trucker."
Well, JtB, I'd have to say it's being able to drive all around this big, beautiful country of ours. I've always wanted to have lots of time to see every corner of the ol' U.S. of A., but budget and circumstances have always precluded that. So now I'm getting some of that opportunity, and drawing a near-steady paycheck doing it to boot! Today's drive, for instance, through previously unexplored areas (for me, anyway) of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, was gorgeous, what with all the mountains. But all in all, the travelling would be much better on a vacation basis, having time to stop and explore wherever the mood struck, and sharing it all with my wife and kids. So it's definitely a mixed blessing. And now, back to your regularly-scheduled programming.
As I mentioned above, my jaunt today was mostly along highways I haven't travelled before: I-79 from Huntington, WV up to the junction of I-80 in PA, then I-80 from there to the town of Du Bois, PA (at mile marker 101). The drive took a little longer than I expected, because of my heavy load and the steep mountain grades. I spent a good bit of time chugging uphill at 30 MPH, sometimes even slower. I started out this morning at about 7:15, and didn't reach the delivery site 'til 4:45 p.m., 45 minutes late, unfortunately. But I didn't make any lengthy stops--just quick pit stops every couple of hours--so I was moving pretty much the whole time. Besides the uphill chugs, I was also slowed down by quite a few construction sites. So there really wasn't much of anything I could do about getting there any sooner. But it didn't seem to bother anyone at the delivery, anyway, so no damage was done. We usually have an appointment window, so I'm sure I was still within acceptable parameters.
With today's long work hours, I did exceed my 70-hours-in-8-days limit by 5 hours. I would have gotten 8-1/2 hours back tomorrow, but those extra 5 hours eat into that and leave me only 3-1/2 hours I could work tomorrow. So I believe that I'll be taking a 34-hour break now to reset my 70-hour counter to zero. Then I'll be able to get back to long, hard days on Wednesday morning. I'm now at yet another Flying J, and there's a TA right across the street. (I'm here instead of the TA because this one's on USA's authorized fuel list, and I needed to fill the tanks.) So I'll have plenty to keep me occupied tomorrow if I get tired of Job 2. (Quick quiz: who remembers what "Job 2" is?)
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks again for following my odyssey. Drop me a line a la Jim the Baritone, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 525
I'll start today by coming up with an answer for reader Jim the Baritone's query, "I am curious as to what you consider the best part of being a trucker."
Well, JtB, I'd have to say it's being able to drive all around this big, beautiful country of ours. I've always wanted to have lots of time to see every corner of the ol' U.S. of A., but budget and circumstances have always precluded that. So now I'm getting some of that opportunity, and drawing a near-steady paycheck doing it to boot! Today's drive, for instance, through previously unexplored areas (for me, anyway) of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, was gorgeous, what with all the mountains. But all in all, the travelling would be much better on a vacation basis, having time to stop and explore wherever the mood struck, and sharing it all with my wife and kids. So it's definitely a mixed blessing. And now, back to your regularly-scheduled programming.
As I mentioned above, my jaunt today was mostly along highways I haven't travelled before: I-79 from Huntington, WV up to the junction of I-80 in PA, then I-80 from there to the town of Du Bois, PA (at mile marker 101). The drive took a little longer than I expected, because of my heavy load and the steep mountain grades. I spent a good bit of time chugging uphill at 30 MPH, sometimes even slower. I started out this morning at about 7:15, and didn't reach the delivery site 'til 4:45 p.m., 45 minutes late, unfortunately. But I didn't make any lengthy stops--just quick pit stops every couple of hours--so I was moving pretty much the whole time. Besides the uphill chugs, I was also slowed down by quite a few construction sites. So there really wasn't much of anything I could do about getting there any sooner. But it didn't seem to bother anyone at the delivery, anyway, so no damage was done. We usually have an appointment window, so I'm sure I was still within acceptable parameters.
With today's long work hours, I did exceed my 70-hours-in-8-days limit by 5 hours. I would have gotten 8-1/2 hours back tomorrow, but those extra 5 hours eat into that and leave me only 3-1/2 hours I could work tomorrow. So I believe that I'll be taking a 34-hour break now to reset my 70-hour counter to zero. Then I'll be able to get back to long, hard days on Wednesday morning. I'm now at yet another Flying J, and there's a TA right across the street. (I'm here instead of the TA because this one's on USA's authorized fuel list, and I needed to fill the tanks.) So I'll have plenty to keep me occupied tomorrow if I get tired of Job 2. (Quick quiz: who remembers what "Job 2" is?)
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks again for following my odyssey. Drop me a line a la Jim the Baritone, and keep on truckin'.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Familiar Ground
DATELINE: FORT CHISWELL, VA
Miles Today: 386
I'll make this quick today, 'cuz I need to get to bed soon. It's been a long work day, though not all trucking.
I had gone to bed before 10:00 last night, and woke up this morning around 6:30 or so. So I had a good night's sleep. But I didn't need to hit the road 'til noon, so I hauled out my laptop and signed on for some online poker, my "2nd job". I haven't had much chance to play lately, what with my long, exhausting days, so I was ready to hit the tables.
I decided to try my hand at some single-table, 9-player sit-n-go tournaments, and wound up playing 3 of them before getting ready for job 1. The first one I played in went poorly, as I didn't get much in the way of playable cards, and bombed out in 7th place. The second one went a bit better--I won that one. I finally got some good cards and avoided being unlucky at the wrong time. The third one was almost as good; I took 2nd place. I had the lead going into the head-to-head matchup at the end, but picked the wrong times to make moves at a couple of hands. Oh well, that happens.
On to my primary vocation, I got going at 11:30, heading to my pickup. The company is situated about 30 miles off the interstate, down winding, 2-lane state and county highways. But I found it without problem, except for more bad directions which said "turn right" when they obviously should have said "turn left" at the company entrance. (Which actually was the wrong gate, anyway.) But I figured it all out and got in and out before I was even supposed to arrive.
Back on the road after loading up, I just drove, with a short stop to weigh the truck (all good there--the load's legal). Passing through Charlotte, NC, I encountered a MAJOR thunderstorm--sheets of rain, black skies, massive ground-to-sky lightning. Fortunately I didn't get blown around by any huge wind gusts, but the heavy rain did slow me down a bit for a little while, maybe 15 minutes.
Once out of the storm, the weather was mostly dry the rest of my way here. I'm giving this place, the Flying J in this town, a lot of business lately. This is my third stop here in the last few days, but the first for the night. On the other 2 stops I've just fueled up and made use of their shower facilities. I did fuel up tonight before parking, and I will use one of their showers again in the morning. (I need it--'twas HOT and humid today, and I had to sweep out my trailer before picking up the load.)
Tomorrow I'm sure I'll surpass my 70-hour limit to reach my delivery, but I'm well rested and need the miles. Maybe I'll get a 34-hour break afterwards. Check back tomorrow to find out.
So thanks yet again for checking my story out. Let me know about any questions you have about this job, or at least my take on it, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 386
I'll make this quick today, 'cuz I need to get to bed soon. It's been a long work day, though not all trucking.
I had gone to bed before 10:00 last night, and woke up this morning around 6:30 or so. So I had a good night's sleep. But I didn't need to hit the road 'til noon, so I hauled out my laptop and signed on for some online poker, my "2nd job". I haven't had much chance to play lately, what with my long, exhausting days, so I was ready to hit the tables.
I decided to try my hand at some single-table, 9-player sit-n-go tournaments, and wound up playing 3 of them before getting ready for job 1. The first one I played in went poorly, as I didn't get much in the way of playable cards, and bombed out in 7th place. The second one went a bit better--I won that one. I finally got some good cards and avoided being unlucky at the wrong time. The third one was almost as good; I took 2nd place. I had the lead going into the head-to-head matchup at the end, but picked the wrong times to make moves at a couple of hands. Oh well, that happens.
On to my primary vocation, I got going at 11:30, heading to my pickup. The company is situated about 30 miles off the interstate, down winding, 2-lane state and county highways. But I found it without problem, except for more bad directions which said "turn right" when they obviously should have said "turn left" at the company entrance. (Which actually was the wrong gate, anyway.) But I figured it all out and got in and out before I was even supposed to arrive.
Back on the road after loading up, I just drove, with a short stop to weigh the truck (all good there--the load's legal). Passing through Charlotte, NC, I encountered a MAJOR thunderstorm--sheets of rain, black skies, massive ground-to-sky lightning. Fortunately I didn't get blown around by any huge wind gusts, but the heavy rain did slow me down a bit for a little while, maybe 15 minutes.
Once out of the storm, the weather was mostly dry the rest of my way here. I'm giving this place, the Flying J in this town, a lot of business lately. This is my third stop here in the last few days, but the first for the night. On the other 2 stops I've just fueled up and made use of their shower facilities. I did fuel up tonight before parking, and I will use one of their showers again in the morning. (I need it--'twas HOT and humid today, and I had to sweep out my trailer before picking up the load.)
Tomorrow I'm sure I'll surpass my 70-hour limit to reach my delivery, but I'm well rested and need the miles. Maybe I'll get a 34-hour break afterwards. Check back tomorrow to find out.
So thanks yet again for checking my story out. Let me know about any questions you have about this job, or at least my take on it, and keep on truckin'.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Carolina Swing
DATELINE: BISHOPVILLE, SC, Saturday, 8/25/07, 6:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Yesterday: 347
Miles Today: 296
Once again, my apologies for missing yesterday evening's promised update. Once again I finished my work day all tuckered out. 'Twas getting late in the evening and darkness had fallen, so I chose to stop for the night at a rest area in Virginia, rather than go another 20-30 miles to a truck stop. But I'm getting ahead of the day's story.
As you know, I had posted a long-overdue update Friday morning from Vandalia. After completing that, I went inside the terminal building to partake--briefly--in USA's Driver Appreciation Weekend festivities. Which meant I grabbed some free grub--they were grilling burgers and dogs, and had pans of meatballs (2 kinds: BBQ and, I think, Swedish), potato salad, and pork 'n beans. They also had cans of soft drinks, bags of chips, and cookies. Hey, free food is free food, right? But the burger and BBQ meatballs were tasty. I almost felt appreciated, but it didn't make up for how they gypped me out of a day off last weekend. But I digress.
After lunch, I headed back to my truck to get going to my pickup. This was just before noon, and if I left then, I'd get to the pickup about an hour early. Then, if the shipper could load me up early, I could get an hour farther down the road before dark. Anyway, when I got in the truck, I had a message on my Qualcomm: See the terminal manager for a fuel review. Sheesh! So much for making plans.
Our trucks communicate various telemetrics to the company, and once a quarter we drivers get to sit down with a terminal manager to go over our fuel use statistics. The point is for them to make suggestions how we can use less fuel, of course. So I went into the offices, and it took a few minutes to find anyone, this being lunch hour, after all. But the whole process delayed me by about 30-40 minutes, and I was back in the truck, drove over to the fuel island, filled up the tanks, and headed out.
I needed to head south on I-75 for about 3 miles from the terminal before hopping on eastbound I-70 to make towards Columbus. When I hit the ramp for I-70, it was backed up and crawling. As it was on 70. So I crawled along in the traffic jam for a few miles before breaking free. But, despite the slowdowns, I arrived at the shipper right on time.
The rest of the day's story is unremarkable; easy load, hit the road, drive 'til tired, as I wrote about above.
This morning, after a good night's sleep, I first drove to the Fort Chiswell, VA Flying J to fuel up again and catch a shower. I was way ahead of schedule en route to my delivery this afternoon in Charlotte, NC, so after Fort Chiswell I went to a Love's truck stop just a couple miles out of my way.
On a previous stop at a Love's, I had noticed they were having a sale this month on some mini-fridges. My previous one had bit the dust (cheap piece of...er...manufacture), so I needed a replacement if I want to save money on feeding myself. Anyway, this Love's didn't have the one I really wanted, a 40-quart model, which normally sells for $99.99 but was $10 off this month. But that would have been quite an extravagance, considering I don't want to continue as an over-the-road driver beyond my required year with USA. So I settled on an 18-quart cooler/warmer (it has a switch to let you choose if you want to cool or warm what you're keeping in it), which was also $10 off this month. It won't hold as much, but it'll serve my purposes.
After making that purchase, it was time to get back on track to my delivery site, and I got there about 30 minutes early. The unloading there went OK, but took 2 hours. With check-in and check-out procedures I was there for 2-1/2 hours. And my next assignment came in before I even left there, in the time it took me to close my trailer doors. Next up: Pick up a load in northeastern South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Then drive it to western PA for a Monday afternoon (4:00) delivery.
I made the drive to this spot, a truck stop at exit 116 along I-20 in eastern SC. The truck stop is a chain that I've only encountered here in the southeast, Hess/Wilco. It's a pretty good chain; this one has a Dairy Queen and a Wendy's, along with the usual convenience store, truckers' supplies store, showers, and rest rooms. I won't need to leave 'til about noon tomorrow--actually later, but I'd just as soon be a bit early if I can. So I have a lot of time this evening for extra resting and blogging. After I complete the pickup tomorrow, I'll have to drive hard again. But because of my long days this week, I think I'll have just enough work hours (13-1/4) available for the next 2 days to make the drive to PA. Hopefully the roads'll be clear. But I will have a very heavy load and will be going through some goodly mountains, so some of the going may be kinda' slow.
So that's how things stand now. Thanks for taking a look-see at my report. Drop me a comment, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 347
Miles Today: 296
Once again, my apologies for missing yesterday evening's promised update. Once again I finished my work day all tuckered out. 'Twas getting late in the evening and darkness had fallen, so I chose to stop for the night at a rest area in Virginia, rather than go another 20-30 miles to a truck stop. But I'm getting ahead of the day's story.
As you know, I had posted a long-overdue update Friday morning from Vandalia. After completing that, I went inside the terminal building to partake--briefly--in USA's Driver Appreciation Weekend festivities. Which meant I grabbed some free grub--they were grilling burgers and dogs, and had pans of meatballs (2 kinds: BBQ and, I think, Swedish), potato salad, and pork 'n beans. They also had cans of soft drinks, bags of chips, and cookies. Hey, free food is free food, right? But the burger and BBQ meatballs were tasty. I almost felt appreciated, but it didn't make up for how they gypped me out of a day off last weekend. But I digress.
After lunch, I headed back to my truck to get going to my pickup. This was just before noon, and if I left then, I'd get to the pickup about an hour early. Then, if the shipper could load me up early, I could get an hour farther down the road before dark. Anyway, when I got in the truck, I had a message on my Qualcomm: See the terminal manager for a fuel review. Sheesh! So much for making plans.
Our trucks communicate various telemetrics to the company, and once a quarter we drivers get to sit down with a terminal manager to go over our fuel use statistics. The point is for them to make suggestions how we can use less fuel, of course. So I went into the offices, and it took a few minutes to find anyone, this being lunch hour, after all. But the whole process delayed me by about 30-40 minutes, and I was back in the truck, drove over to the fuel island, filled up the tanks, and headed out.
I needed to head south on I-75 for about 3 miles from the terminal before hopping on eastbound I-70 to make towards Columbus. When I hit the ramp for I-70, it was backed up and crawling. As it was on 70. So I crawled along in the traffic jam for a few miles before breaking free. But, despite the slowdowns, I arrived at the shipper right on time.
The rest of the day's story is unremarkable; easy load, hit the road, drive 'til tired, as I wrote about above.
This morning, after a good night's sleep, I first drove to the Fort Chiswell, VA Flying J to fuel up again and catch a shower. I was way ahead of schedule en route to my delivery this afternoon in Charlotte, NC, so after Fort Chiswell I went to a Love's truck stop just a couple miles out of my way.
On a previous stop at a Love's, I had noticed they were having a sale this month on some mini-fridges. My previous one had bit the dust (cheap piece of...er...manufacture), so I needed a replacement if I want to save money on feeding myself. Anyway, this Love's didn't have the one I really wanted, a 40-quart model, which normally sells for $99.99 but was $10 off this month. But that would have been quite an extravagance, considering I don't want to continue as an over-the-road driver beyond my required year with USA. So I settled on an 18-quart cooler/warmer (it has a switch to let you choose if you want to cool or warm what you're keeping in it), which was also $10 off this month. It won't hold as much, but it'll serve my purposes.
After making that purchase, it was time to get back on track to my delivery site, and I got there about 30 minutes early. The unloading there went OK, but took 2 hours. With check-in and check-out procedures I was there for 2-1/2 hours. And my next assignment came in before I even left there, in the time it took me to close my trailer doors. Next up: Pick up a load in northeastern South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Then drive it to western PA for a Monday afternoon (4:00) delivery.
I made the drive to this spot, a truck stop at exit 116 along I-20 in eastern SC. The truck stop is a chain that I've only encountered here in the southeast, Hess/Wilco. It's a pretty good chain; this one has a Dairy Queen and a Wendy's, along with the usual convenience store, truckers' supplies store, showers, and rest rooms. I won't need to leave 'til about noon tomorrow--actually later, but I'd just as soon be a bit early if I can. So I have a lot of time this evening for extra resting and blogging. After I complete the pickup tomorrow, I'll have to drive hard again. But because of my long days this week, I think I'll have just enough work hours (13-1/4) available for the next 2 days to make the drive to PA. Hopefully the roads'll be clear. But I will have a very heavy load and will be going through some goodly mountains, so some of the going may be kinda' slow.
So that's how things stand now. Thanks for taking a look-see at my report. Drop me a comment, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Lots to Catch Up On
DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, Friday, 8/24/07, 10:00 a.m. EDT
Once again I must start by apologizing to my faithful readers for not updating you about my activities for several days. I've been back on the road since Monday, but have been very busy and under the weather. By the time I've ended my work days I've been too exhausted to do anything but hit the sack. Then I've had to get up the next day and do it all over again. This morning I finally have a few hours before I need to get started, so I can give you a brief summation of my goings-on this week.
MONDAY
Start: Home
1st Pickup: Noon, Canton, MI
2nd Pickup: Immediately after, Romulus, MI
Delivery Destination: Robbinsville, NJ
Stop for the Night: 10:00 p.m., Somerset, PA
Total Miles: 377
Comments: Rain all day. I started feeling ill--stomach flu symptoms--on Sunday, but nothing severe. But it did sap my energy, and I was wiped out by the time I stopped.
TUESDAY
Start: Somerset, PA, 8:00 a.m.
Delivery: Robbinsville, NJ, 1:15 p.m.
Pickup: Paulsboro, NJ, 5:00 p.m.
Delivery Destination: Apex, NC (just south of Raleigh)
Stop for the Night: 7:00 p.m., I-95 rest area between Baltimore and Washington, DC
Total Miles: 458
Comments: More rain all day. Still fighting the same symptoms, but a wee bit better.
WEDNESDAY
Start: MD rest area, 3:00 a.m.
Delivery: Apex, NC, 10:00 a.m.
Pickup: Wilson, NC, 2:00 p.m.
Delivery Destination: East Liberty, OH (WNW of Columbus)
Stop for the Night: 6:00 p.m., I-40 rest area near Smith Grove, NC
Total Miles: 602
Comments: No more rain. Still slowly getting over the physical malady.
THURSDAY
Start: Smith Grove, NC, 6:00 a.m.
Delivery: East Liberty, OH, 8:00 p.m.
Stop for the Night: 11:00 p.m., Vandalia, OH
Total Miles: 525
Comments: Stopped at 8:30 a.m. for 3-1/2 hours at a Flying J in Fort Chiswell, VA for fuel, breakfast, rest, and--finally--a shower and shave. Also had to Mapquest my destination since I couldn't find it--or the roads given in my directions--on my map. I couldn't do that at the rest area last night because I couldn't get a signal for my laptop's phone card. A large part of the reason I stopped for so long in Fort Chiswell was the delivery customer would not take early deliveries, so I had to pace myself to arrive at the appointed hour. I got a bit worried en route on the West Virgina turnpike when traffic came to a complete standstill for over half an hour. 'Twas an accident that had blocked the road. But I had enough wiggle room in my plan to still get there on time. After the delivery, I was out of available work hours for the day, so i just boogied on over here to the Vandalia terminal to spend the night. Speaking of the delivery, it was a drop-and-hook, but they didn't have any empty trailers immediately available, so I had to wait about an hour for one before I could leave.
TODAY
I have a pickup scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon in Columbus. Then I retrace my steps back to North Carolina, as the load is headed for Charlotte, with delivery scheduled for 12:30 tomorrow afternoon. So I'll head out at noon and hope I can make the pickup an hour early (it'll take about 90 minutes to get to Columbus). I'm finally feeling (just about) completely better today, so I'll write up another update when I stop for the night to let you know how today went.
Thanks for patiently waiting for this overdue update. I'll try not to let such big gaps happen again. Please resume your questions and comments, and keep right on truckin'.
Once again I must start by apologizing to my faithful readers for not updating you about my activities for several days. I've been back on the road since Monday, but have been very busy and under the weather. By the time I've ended my work days I've been too exhausted to do anything but hit the sack. Then I've had to get up the next day and do it all over again. This morning I finally have a few hours before I need to get started, so I can give you a brief summation of my goings-on this week.
MONDAY
Start: Home
1st Pickup: Noon, Canton, MI
2nd Pickup: Immediately after, Romulus, MI
Delivery Destination: Robbinsville, NJ
Stop for the Night: 10:00 p.m., Somerset, PA
Total Miles: 377
Comments: Rain all day. I started feeling ill--stomach flu symptoms--on Sunday, but nothing severe. But it did sap my energy, and I was wiped out by the time I stopped.
TUESDAY
Start: Somerset, PA, 8:00 a.m.
Delivery: Robbinsville, NJ, 1:15 p.m.
Pickup: Paulsboro, NJ, 5:00 p.m.
Delivery Destination: Apex, NC (just south of Raleigh)
Stop for the Night: 7:00 p.m., I-95 rest area between Baltimore and Washington, DC
Total Miles: 458
Comments: More rain all day. Still fighting the same symptoms, but a wee bit better.
WEDNESDAY
Start: MD rest area, 3:00 a.m.
Delivery: Apex, NC, 10:00 a.m.
Pickup: Wilson, NC, 2:00 p.m.
Delivery Destination: East Liberty, OH (WNW of Columbus)
Stop for the Night: 6:00 p.m., I-40 rest area near Smith Grove, NC
Total Miles: 602
Comments: No more rain. Still slowly getting over the physical malady.
THURSDAY
Start: Smith Grove, NC, 6:00 a.m.
Delivery: East Liberty, OH, 8:00 p.m.
Stop for the Night: 11:00 p.m., Vandalia, OH
Total Miles: 525
Comments: Stopped at 8:30 a.m. for 3-1/2 hours at a Flying J in Fort Chiswell, VA for fuel, breakfast, rest, and--finally--a shower and shave. Also had to Mapquest my destination since I couldn't find it--or the roads given in my directions--on my map. I couldn't do that at the rest area last night because I couldn't get a signal for my laptop's phone card. A large part of the reason I stopped for so long in Fort Chiswell was the delivery customer would not take early deliveries, so I had to pace myself to arrive at the appointed hour. I got a bit worried en route on the West Virgina turnpike when traffic came to a complete standstill for over half an hour. 'Twas an accident that had blocked the road. But I had enough wiggle room in my plan to still get there on time. After the delivery, I was out of available work hours for the day, so i just boogied on over here to the Vandalia terminal to spend the night. Speaking of the delivery, it was a drop-and-hook, but they didn't have any empty trailers immediately available, so I had to wait about an hour for one before I could leave.
TODAY
I have a pickup scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon in Columbus. Then I retrace my steps back to North Carolina, as the load is headed for Charlotte, with delivery scheduled for 12:30 tomorrow afternoon. So I'll head out at noon and hope I can make the pickup an hour early (it'll take about 90 minutes to get to Columbus). I'm finally feeling (just about) completely better today, so I'll write up another update when I stop for the night to let you know how today went.
Thanks for patiently waiting for this overdue update. I'll try not to let such big gaps happen again. Please resume your questions and comments, and keep right on truckin'.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Discontent
DATELINE: HOME, Saturday, August 18, 8:00 p.m.
Miles Thursday: 402
Miles Friday: 131
What? Miles on Friday? I thought I was supposed to go home on Thursday. Well, I was, and I did. But there's more to the story. And here it is.
Thursday morning, as you know, I got up earlier than necessary and posted an update to this blog. Afterwards I hi the road to take my assigned load to its delivery just east of Indianapolis. The drive and delivery went fine, nice 'n quick, and afterwards I retired to a Pilot truck stop right nearby. I had to wait to get word from Dispatch about whether I could just head home, or if they wanted me to pick up a load on the way. After an hour or so of waiting, a load assignment came in. They wanted me to pick up a loaded trailer from the Vandalia terminal, the load destined for a Friday morning delivery in Howell, MI (the town I was born in, coincidentally).
Before leaving to head back to Vandalia to retrieve the trailer, I replied to the assignment, asking them to verify that I'd drop the load where I park my truck when I'm at home so another driver could pick it up and make the delivery on Friday. On the way I got a reply, to the effect of, "I'll check on that and let you know." When I got to Vandalia and picked up the load, I sent another message asking the same thing. No reply this time. When I go to my home parking lot I unhooked the trailer and sent in the required "Finished with this load" and empty call messages. The reply this time: "This load is not set up to drop. You need to deliver it Friday (at 10:00 a.m.), then go home."
OK, I was at least already parked there and would spend the night at home, and I didn't have any plans for Friday morning and afternoon anyway, so I figured I'd just go ahead and make the delivery. I also figured I'd get another off day n the other side of the weekend. More on that later.
So my daughter picked me up and I headed home to spend at least a little bit of my anniversary there. (I didn't get home 'til after 10:00 p.m., and Mrs. R.T. was working 'til 11:00, but we did get to spend some time together on our actual anniversary.)
On Friday morning I got up and drove the Mrs. to work, then headed back to my truck to deliver the load. Once again the drive and delivery went fine, though for an industrial park, there were some tight places to maneuver trucks with 53-foot trailers. But I managed. Upon completion I hit the road back to my Romulus parking spot.
En route a message came in to my Qualcomm box, so I pulled into a rest area to check it out. Lo and behold it was a load assignment for a pickup at noon on Monday. Since this was Friday and I was due 3 days off (for having been on the road for 3-1/2 weeks), by my reckoning I wasn't due back 'til Tuesday. So I replied, "No can do. I need 3 days off" and set back off for hometime parking. By the time I got there, I had a reply, "Negative. You're due 3 days." Well, USA's definition of a "day" is a 24-hour period. (Actually, anything from 20 to 30 hours, or something like that. Three days is 68 to 90 hours.) So this yahoo assigning me the load was being a stickler for the details. Never mind that I'd been on the road for 3-1/2 weeks AND had worked an extra day because they were too stupid to figure out how to get someone else to complete the delivery of that last load AND it was past noon by the time I parked on Friday. (It wasn't my fleet manager, who I'm sure would have been a bit nicer about the timing.) So I've been screwed out of a day off that I contend that I've earned. This from a company with a double-sided billboard in West Memphis, AR, right in front of our terminal, that says (if I remember correctly), "Get Loads, Get Paid, Get Home." Their actions regarding driver treatment in this instance are speaking a LOT louder than their words. Anyway, I'm not real happy this weekend. But I've been too busy to stew about it and report on it 'til now.
Anywho, that's my report for today. Thanks for your interest in my hum-drum career, and keep yourself on truckin'.
Miles Thursday: 402
Miles Friday: 131
What? Miles on Friday? I thought I was supposed to go home on Thursday. Well, I was, and I did. But there's more to the story. And here it is.
Thursday morning, as you know, I got up earlier than necessary and posted an update to this blog. Afterwards I hi the road to take my assigned load to its delivery just east of Indianapolis. The drive and delivery went fine, nice 'n quick, and afterwards I retired to a Pilot truck stop right nearby. I had to wait to get word from Dispatch about whether I could just head home, or if they wanted me to pick up a load on the way. After an hour or so of waiting, a load assignment came in. They wanted me to pick up a loaded trailer from the Vandalia terminal, the load destined for a Friday morning delivery in Howell, MI (the town I was born in, coincidentally).
Before leaving to head back to Vandalia to retrieve the trailer, I replied to the assignment, asking them to verify that I'd drop the load where I park my truck when I'm at home so another driver could pick it up and make the delivery on Friday. On the way I got a reply, to the effect of, "I'll check on that and let you know." When I got to Vandalia and picked up the load, I sent another message asking the same thing. No reply this time. When I go to my home parking lot I unhooked the trailer and sent in the required "Finished with this load" and empty call messages. The reply this time: "This load is not set up to drop. You need to deliver it Friday (at 10:00 a.m.), then go home."
OK, I was at least already parked there and would spend the night at home, and I didn't have any plans for Friday morning and afternoon anyway, so I figured I'd just go ahead and make the delivery. I also figured I'd get another off day n the other side of the weekend. More on that later.
So my daughter picked me up and I headed home to spend at least a little bit of my anniversary there. (I didn't get home 'til after 10:00 p.m., and Mrs. R.T. was working 'til 11:00, but we did get to spend some time together on our actual anniversary.)
On Friday morning I got up and drove the Mrs. to work, then headed back to my truck to deliver the load. Once again the drive and delivery went fine, though for an industrial park, there were some tight places to maneuver trucks with 53-foot trailers. But I managed. Upon completion I hit the road back to my Romulus parking spot.
En route a message came in to my Qualcomm box, so I pulled into a rest area to check it out. Lo and behold it was a load assignment for a pickup at noon on Monday. Since this was Friday and I was due 3 days off (for having been on the road for 3-1/2 weeks), by my reckoning I wasn't due back 'til Tuesday. So I replied, "No can do. I need 3 days off" and set back off for hometime parking. By the time I got there, I had a reply, "Negative. You're due 3 days." Well, USA's definition of a "day" is a 24-hour period. (Actually, anything from 20 to 30 hours, or something like that. Three days is 68 to 90 hours.) So this yahoo assigning me the load was being a stickler for the details. Never mind that I'd been on the road for 3-1/2 weeks AND had worked an extra day because they were too stupid to figure out how to get someone else to complete the delivery of that last load AND it was past noon by the time I parked on Friday. (It wasn't my fleet manager, who I'm sure would have been a bit nicer about the timing.) So I've been screwed out of a day off that I contend that I've earned. This from a company with a double-sided billboard in West Memphis, AR, right in front of our terminal, that says (if I remember correctly), "Get Loads, Get Paid, Get Home." Their actions regarding driver treatment in this instance are speaking a LOT louder than their words. Anyway, I'm not real happy this weekend. But I've been too busy to stew about it and report on it 'til now.
Anywho, that's my report for today. Thanks for your interest in my hum-drum career, and keep yourself on truckin'.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Another Long One
DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, Thursday, 8/16/07, 7:00 a.m.
Miles Yesterday: 599
Chalk up another long day on the road for your humble correspondent. I woke up early, realized I had another couple hours before I could legally start my workday (I had to wait out my requisite full 10-hour break), and went back to sleeping some more, mostly unsuccessfully. Eventually it was time--6:30 a.m.--to get rolling, and I set off east into a bright morning sun.
It took nearly 2 hours to reach my pickup site south of Baltimore, but once there (and squeezed through their narrow driveway back to their docks) the load went quickly. By 9:15 I was rolling again, making my way back to I-70, which would take me all the way to my destination on the east side of Indianapolis.
This is another heavy (over 40,000 pounds) load, so the mountains along the route slowed me down some. But I did manage to make good time overall and made it all the way here to the Vandalia terminal just as I used up all of my 11 driving hours for the day, arriving at 7:00 p.m. I hadn't had much to eat all day (just a small bag of Doritos for breakfast and a sausage and cheese Stromboli at a Sbarro's in a PA turnpike service plaza for lunch), being as focused as I was to get this far, so I was quite hungry when I got here, as was my truck. Its fuel gauge was in the red zone, and the "Low Fuel Level" light was flashing for the last 30-40 minutes of the trip. But I had figured on the diesel holding out, and made it with plenty to spare. But I did hit the fuel island first thing when I got to the terminal, and pumped in over 100 gallons. Then I parked and went inside to take care of my fuel situation.
After a bite to eat of my own, I was plenty tired--too tired to think straight enough to blog about the day--and retired to my truck for bed. And thus ended another long day.
I have enough time to make up for not writing last night because my delivery appointment today is not 'til 2:00 p.m., and I have less than 100 miles to go to get there. I will aim to get there an hour or 2 early, anyway, since I head home today. I have yet to find out if dispatch will want me to pick up a load on the way home, of if they'll just have me deadhead (drive with an empty trailer) home. I wouldn't mind picking up a load so I can get paid for the miles, but I don't want to have to wait a long time for an assignment or go a long way out of my way to pick up the load. It is my anniversary, after all. (27 years! How'd Mrs. R.T. let that happen?)
Let me take a moment now to answer reader jim's query: "With all the miles you drive I am sure you have seen some dumb moves by other drivers. What's the most scary thing you have seen a car driver do? Same question for a truck driver."
Well, jim, I haven't actually seen very many dumb driver moves while they happened. Mostly it's been the far-too-usual practice of cutting too closely in front of other vehicles. I have seen some post-dumb-move results, though, such as a few rolled-over trucks. I also passed by one truck with the cab fully engulfed in flames. Somehow the driver had had time to pull the cab away from the trailer before the conflagration got out of hand, so kudos to him for saving his customer's load.
So that's the what's-what. Thanks again for dropping by my little corner of the 'web. Keep on commentin', and keep on truckin'.
Miles Yesterday: 599
Chalk up another long day on the road for your humble correspondent. I woke up early, realized I had another couple hours before I could legally start my workday (I had to wait out my requisite full 10-hour break), and went back to sleeping some more, mostly unsuccessfully. Eventually it was time--6:30 a.m.--to get rolling, and I set off east into a bright morning sun.
It took nearly 2 hours to reach my pickup site south of Baltimore, but once there (and squeezed through their narrow driveway back to their docks) the load went quickly. By 9:15 I was rolling again, making my way back to I-70, which would take me all the way to my destination on the east side of Indianapolis.
This is another heavy (over 40,000 pounds) load, so the mountains along the route slowed me down some. But I did manage to make good time overall and made it all the way here to the Vandalia terminal just as I used up all of my 11 driving hours for the day, arriving at 7:00 p.m. I hadn't had much to eat all day (just a small bag of Doritos for breakfast and a sausage and cheese Stromboli at a Sbarro's in a PA turnpike service plaza for lunch), being as focused as I was to get this far, so I was quite hungry when I got here, as was my truck. Its fuel gauge was in the red zone, and the "Low Fuel Level" light was flashing for the last 30-40 minutes of the trip. But I had figured on the diesel holding out, and made it with plenty to spare. But I did hit the fuel island first thing when I got to the terminal, and pumped in over 100 gallons. Then I parked and went inside to take care of my fuel situation.
After a bite to eat of my own, I was plenty tired--too tired to think straight enough to blog about the day--and retired to my truck for bed. And thus ended another long day.
I have enough time to make up for not writing last night because my delivery appointment today is not 'til 2:00 p.m., and I have less than 100 miles to go to get there. I will aim to get there an hour or 2 early, anyway, since I head home today. I have yet to find out if dispatch will want me to pick up a load on the way home, of if they'll just have me deadhead (drive with an empty trailer) home. I wouldn't mind picking up a load so I can get paid for the miles, but I don't want to have to wait a long time for an assignment or go a long way out of my way to pick up the load. It is my anniversary, after all. (27 years! How'd Mrs. R.T. let that happen?)
Let me take a moment now to answer reader jim's query: "With all the miles you drive I am sure you have seen some dumb moves by other drivers. What's the most scary thing you have seen a car driver do? Same question for a truck driver."
Well, jim, I haven't actually seen very many dumb driver moves while they happened. Mostly it's been the far-too-usual practice of cutting too closely in front of other vehicles. I have seen some post-dumb-move results, though, such as a few rolled-over trucks. I also passed by one truck with the cab fully engulfed in flames. Somehow the driver had had time to pull the cab away from the trailer before the conflagration got out of hand, so kudos to him for saving his customer's load.
So that's the what's-what. Thanks again for dropping by my little corner of the 'web. Keep on commentin', and keep on truckin'.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Venturing East
DATELINE, RIDGEWAY, WV, 9:30 p.m. EDT
Miles Sunday: 0
Miles Monday: 508
Miles Today: 400
Once again I've fallen behind on my blogging. Sorry 'bout that; I've had some more long days.
SUNDAY
I got up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get my shock into the Vandalia terminal's shop for its maintenance appointment at 6:00. During the maintenance checkup they found some other items that needed attention, therefore turning the 1-hour service into an 8-hour-plus wait. Since the work took so long, I decided to just complete a 34-hour break there and head to my delivery on Monday morning.
MONDAY
A L-O-N-G day. I was up early (4:30 a.m.) and on the road by 5:15 to cross Ohio from southwest to northeast (Dayton to Akron, basically) to get to my delivery. The drive and delivery went fine--it was a customer to whom I'd delivered once before early this year, so I knew the ropes there. It was a drop-and-hook, so I didn't have to wait during an unloading process, though the guard at the gate kept sending me to incorrect locations for an empty trailer. (This place keeps track of precise parking spots--which are numbered--for each trailer while it's at the facility.) I was done with that by noon. Then I had a wait of a couple hours before my next assignment came in.
Next up: Drive back to a site 45-ish miles south of Columbus (in Chillicothe) to pick up a load that would be due in northern VA Tuesday evening. That meant another few hours of driving--and negotiating the Columbus area at rush hour just to get to the pickup. I knew that this would take me close--if not beyond--my daily hours of service limits just to get to the pickup, wait through the load, and find a place to spend the night. And I was right; the load wasn't done 'til my after 14 hour driving window had expired. But I did have to get somewhere to park for the night, and the most likely places were at least an hour away. So I headed up US23 from Chillicothe to I-70. (I did pass a couple of smaller truck stops along 23, but they were full.) Finally, a bit east of C'bus on I-70 I found a parking spot at a Flying J.
TODAY
Since today's delivery appointment was for 7:00 p.m. and the site was less than 400 mile away, I slept a bit later than usual, though not as late as I would have liked. And I had been up late last night, so I have been tired all day. I got rolling around 9:00 a.m., and boy did the day drag on. Once I got into eastern OH, WV, and PA, the route got very hilly, and with a very heavy load it was hard to keep up a good speed. So it took a wee bit longer to reach my destination. Plus I had some delays when I stopped at very busy truck stops to weigh my truck and fuel up. And by 3:00 I was feeling quite fatigued, so I pulled into a service center along the PA Turnpike and took an hour-long nap.
I got to my delivery about 10 minutes early, found the proper set of docks, went inside to check in, and found the dock area deserted. I waited around for 10-15 minutes before someone ambled by. He ran off to check with someone else, who came over and informed me that I had to drive to their other warehouse about a mile away to deliver the load there. OK, so I did that, which wasn't a problem except for some tight turns on narrow roads and driveways. But once docked, the unloading went quickly.
Once complete, at 8:00 p.m., I set out for a Flying J back up the highway. Along the way my next assignment message came in, so I'd check that out at the FJ. However, once I reached the truck stop, the place was jammed--practically in gridlock. I managed to get into the lot and circle it, with lots of waiting for traffic to clear. But it was indeed filled up, so I fought my way back out. I knew the West Virginia Welcome Center Rest Area was just another couple miles up the highway, so I headed that-a-way in hopes I could find a parking spot there. And I did (it was surprisingly wide open, considering the madhouse at the Flying J), and that's where I am now.
Tomorrow morning I'll be up and on the road at 5:00 to get to an 8:00 a.m. pickup in a town a few miles south of Baltimore, MD. That load will be headed for Greenfield, IN, just east of Indianapolis, due for delivery Thursday afternoon. I should have just enough time to make that delivery and get home as scheduled that day, which is my and Mrs. R.T.'s anniversary, so I'd better not miss it.
And now you're once again caught up with my escapades. Thanks for caring enough to follow along, and please do drop me a comment and/or question or two. And, as always, keep on truckin'.
Miles Sunday: 0
Miles Monday: 508
Miles Today: 400
Once again I've fallen behind on my blogging. Sorry 'bout that; I've had some more long days.
SUNDAY
I got up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get my shock into the Vandalia terminal's shop for its maintenance appointment at 6:00. During the maintenance checkup they found some other items that needed attention, therefore turning the 1-hour service into an 8-hour-plus wait. Since the work took so long, I decided to just complete a 34-hour break there and head to my delivery on Monday morning.
MONDAY
A L-O-N-G day. I was up early (4:30 a.m.) and on the road by 5:15 to cross Ohio from southwest to northeast (Dayton to Akron, basically) to get to my delivery. The drive and delivery went fine--it was a customer to whom I'd delivered once before early this year, so I knew the ropes there. It was a drop-and-hook, so I didn't have to wait during an unloading process, though the guard at the gate kept sending me to incorrect locations for an empty trailer. (This place keeps track of precise parking spots--which are numbered--for each trailer while it's at the facility.) I was done with that by noon. Then I had a wait of a couple hours before my next assignment came in.
Next up: Drive back to a site 45-ish miles south of Columbus (in Chillicothe) to pick up a load that would be due in northern VA Tuesday evening. That meant another few hours of driving--and negotiating the Columbus area at rush hour just to get to the pickup. I knew that this would take me close--if not beyond--my daily hours of service limits just to get to the pickup, wait through the load, and find a place to spend the night. And I was right; the load wasn't done 'til my after 14 hour driving window had expired. But I did have to get somewhere to park for the night, and the most likely places were at least an hour away. So I headed up US23 from Chillicothe to I-70. (I did pass a couple of smaller truck stops along 23, but they were full.) Finally, a bit east of C'bus on I-70 I found a parking spot at a Flying J.
TODAY
Since today's delivery appointment was for 7:00 p.m. and the site was less than 400 mile away, I slept a bit later than usual, though not as late as I would have liked. And I had been up late last night, so I have been tired all day. I got rolling around 9:00 a.m., and boy did the day drag on. Once I got into eastern OH, WV, and PA, the route got very hilly, and with a very heavy load it was hard to keep up a good speed. So it took a wee bit longer to reach my destination. Plus I had some delays when I stopped at very busy truck stops to weigh my truck and fuel up. And by 3:00 I was feeling quite fatigued, so I pulled into a service center along the PA Turnpike and took an hour-long nap.
I got to my delivery about 10 minutes early, found the proper set of docks, went inside to check in, and found the dock area deserted. I waited around for 10-15 minutes before someone ambled by. He ran off to check with someone else, who came over and informed me that I had to drive to their other warehouse about a mile away to deliver the load there. OK, so I did that, which wasn't a problem except for some tight turns on narrow roads and driveways. But once docked, the unloading went quickly.
Once complete, at 8:00 p.m., I set out for a Flying J back up the highway. Along the way my next assignment message came in, so I'd check that out at the FJ. However, once I reached the truck stop, the place was jammed--practically in gridlock. I managed to get into the lot and circle it, with lots of waiting for traffic to clear. But it was indeed filled up, so I fought my way back out. I knew the West Virginia Welcome Center Rest Area was just another couple miles up the highway, so I headed that-a-way in hopes I could find a parking spot there. And I did (it was surprisingly wide open, considering the madhouse at the Flying J), and that's where I am now.
Tomorrow morning I'll be up and on the road at 5:00 to get to an 8:00 a.m. pickup in a town a few miles south of Baltimore, MD. That load will be headed for Greenfield, IN, just east of Indianapolis, due for delivery Thursday afternoon. I should have just enough time to make that delivery and get home as scheduled that day, which is my and Mrs. R.T.'s anniversary, so I'd better not miss it.
And now you're once again caught up with my escapades. Thanks for caring enough to follow along, and please do drop me a comment and/or question or two. And, as always, keep on truckin'.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Much Brevity
DATELINE: VANDALIA, OH, 10:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 480
Nothin' much to write about today. I just drove up I-75 from northern GA to here in southern OH. Nice 'n sunny weather all the way. Nothing remarkable at all. Now it's time for me to hit the sack. I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get my truck into the shop for its maintenance appointment. So thanks for looking in, have a good day, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 480
Nothin' much to write about today. I just drove up I-75 from northern GA to here in southern OH. Nice 'n sunny weather all the way. Nothing remarkable at all. Now it's time for me to hit the sack. I have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get my truck into the shop for its maintenance appointment. So thanks for looking in, have a good day, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Weigh Hot
DATELINE: CARTERSVILLE, GA, 8:30 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 289
Not a large sum of miles today, but I didn't have a full complement of hours available for driving. But I did make my pickup this afternoon and am on my way north. By the way, it's HOT down here. 100 degrees plus. "Hotlanta" is right! I'm glad I'm northbound now. Anyway, tomorrow I'll be driving to the Vandalia, OH terminal. I have an appointment for them to give my truck a regular maintenance going-over on Sunday morning. After that I'll haul my load to the northeast part of the state to make that delivery. (Optional: I may take a 34-hour break in Vandalia since I'm bumping up to my 70-hour work limit every day. But I should get enough hours back each day to keep me working--and earning--'til I head home for time off on Thursday.)
I've stopped for the night at a TA here that I've visited once before. If you recall my long day from last month (see my posting, "The Waiting Game -- A New Record" from July 6), this is the place where I started that day before driving into Atlanta.
Now I'll go ahead and answer reader dennis the accompanist's queries, which are: "So, tell us about weigh stations. I've been by enough of them, but never had to stop in one. So what do they do? Do they vary from state to state? What if you're overweight? (The truck, that is, not you personally!)"
Well, DtA, the states have weight limits for trucks to keep them from grinding up their roads. For example, a truck like mine with 5 axles has a limit of 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW). Furthermore, each axle (or pair in the case of tandems) has a limit. Again using my type of truck as an example, the steer axle (the one in front) has a limit of 12,000 pounds, the drive tandems (at the back of the cab, under the front of the trailer) and trailer tandems have a limit of 34,000 pounds each. Different types of trucks have different weight limits, but the limits are pretty standard from state-to-state. The purpose of the weigh stations is to find overweight trucks in order to generate revenue for the state's coffers. Most of the time it seems that weigh stations are closed, but when they're open we're required to drive through them.
Most of them have "weigh-in-motion" scales that weigh each axle as the truck drives up the ramp to the station. If the w-i-m readings are fishy, you'll be directed to the big scale in front of the building, otherwise you're directed to bypass the scale and return to the highway (the most frequent happenstance). If the big scale finds your truck overweight, then you're directed to a parking area and you have to meet with the nice officers. That hasn't happened to me yet.
When we pick up a heavy load, we're best off going to a scale at a truck stop to
find out if the axles are legal before we come across a weigh station. I'm sure you recall me mentioning weighing my truck at truck stops in previous posts.
So that's the scoop on weigh stations. Thanks once more for checking up on me, and keep on truckin'.
Miles Today: 289
Not a large sum of miles today, but I didn't have a full complement of hours available for driving. But I did make my pickup this afternoon and am on my way north. By the way, it's HOT down here. 100 degrees plus. "Hotlanta" is right! I'm glad I'm northbound now. Anyway, tomorrow I'll be driving to the Vandalia, OH terminal. I have an appointment for them to give my truck a regular maintenance going-over on Sunday morning. After that I'll haul my load to the northeast part of the state to make that delivery. (Optional: I may take a 34-hour break in Vandalia since I'm bumping up to my 70-hour work limit every day. But I should get enough hours back each day to keep me working--and earning--'til I head home for time off on Thursday.)
I've stopped for the night at a TA here that I've visited once before. If you recall my long day from last month (see my posting, "The Waiting Game -- A New Record" from July 6), this is the place where I started that day before driving into Atlanta.
Now I'll go ahead and answer reader dennis the accompanist's queries, which are: "So, tell us about weigh stations. I've been by enough of them, but never had to stop in one. So what do they do? Do they vary from state to state? What if you're overweight? (The truck, that is, not you personally!)"
Well, DtA, the states have weight limits for trucks to keep them from grinding up their roads. For example, a truck like mine with 5 axles has a limit of 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW). Furthermore, each axle (or pair in the case of tandems) has a limit. Again using my type of truck as an example, the steer axle (the one in front) has a limit of 12,000 pounds, the drive tandems (at the back of the cab, under the front of the trailer) and trailer tandems have a limit of 34,000 pounds each. Different types of trucks have different weight limits, but the limits are pretty standard from state-to-state. The purpose of the weigh stations is to find overweight trucks in order to generate revenue for the state's coffers. Most of the time it seems that weigh stations are closed, but when they're open we're required to drive through them.
Most of them have "weigh-in-motion" scales that weigh each axle as the truck drives up the ramp to the station. If the w-i-m readings are fishy, you'll be directed to the big scale in front of the building, otherwise you're directed to bypass the scale and return to the highway (the most frequent happenstance). If the big scale finds your truck overweight, then you're directed to a parking area and you have to meet with the nice officers. That hasn't happened to me yet.
When we pick up a heavy load, we're best off going to a scale at a truck stop to
find out if the axles are legal before we come across a weigh station. I'm sure you recall me mentioning weighing my truck at truck stops in previous posts.
So that's the scoop on weigh stations. Thanks once more for checking up on me, and keep on truckin'.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Back to the Keyboard
DATELINE: CORDELE, GA, 4:30 p.m. EDT
First things first: I apologize for my lengthy disappearance. For 2 or 3 days I had trouble with this site posting my update attempts; all it would give me was error messages after I composed the update and clicked on "Publish Post". Then, frankly, I had a bit of a case of burnout and wasn't in a frame of mind to take the time to put my thoughts through my fingers onto my laptop's keyboard. I've been very busy on this tour of duty and needed some time to recharge. But I'm back now and ready to get back into the blogging swing. So here goes.
(Quick note to reader dennis the accompanist: That was the best cartoon you've seen? I'll tell you my caption story at the end of this update.)
Miles Friday: 467
Miles Saturday: 365
Miles Sunday: 370
Miles Monday: 452
Miles Tuesday: 565
Miles Wednesday: 526
Miles Today: 423
Taking you back to my last update, a week ago, I was in southwestern Virgina, on my way to a Saturday morning delivery in eastern Alabama. So on Friday I just drove, drove, drove south through the rest of VA, across NC, SC, and GA, and into eastern AL. I spent that night at a non-brand-name truck stop where my trainer & I had once stopped for a dinner break on my very first trip as a professional driver. Ah, a trip down memory lane. Oh well, enough of that touchy-feely stuff.
Saturday morning I was up early and on the road at 4:00 a.m. (CDT, the AL-GA border is the time zone boundary) to trek the last 100 miles to the delivery. The customer site was in a town well off the interstates, so this part of the trip was all secondary highways, winding two-laners. But all went well and I reached the site about an hour early. I had a couple-hour wait while they unloaded. Afterwards, my next assignment came in even before I left. Cool. Next up: Pick up a load south of Columbus, MS at midnight. That meant I had to head back north to the interstate (I-20), then zip west across AL, and find a place for a 10-hour break before making the pickup. Fortunately there is a TA truck stop in Meridian, MS, about 70 miles south of where I needed to make the pickup. So I headed there and spent the afternoon and evening hours trying to sleep/rest.
I did manage to nap for a few hours, but nothing approaching a good night's sleep. I was awake at 9:00 p.m., hit the shower, grabbed some grub, and was back on the road at 10:00 p.m. This trip was again along a secondary highway, but it was a multi-lane limited-access one for most of the way, so the drive went quickly. I was again early for the pickup, which went molto quicko, then I was on my way for one of those dreaded overnight drives that I dislike so much. This time my course was north, as the load was headed for Grandville, MI, near Grand Rapids. But first I headed east to Birmingham, AL to get to I-65, which was the most direct interstate headed my way. I-65 took me to Franklin, KY, where I stopped at a Flying J for the night at the end of my shift (I had stopped at a rest area in northern AL for a couple hours of naptime when I was getting fatigued). This load had some extra time until the Tuesday morning delivery appointment, so I could stay in Franklin until the next morning and get back onto my preferred schedule.
Monday morning I was back on the road, following I-65 north through KY and IN. At the northern end of the Hoosier state I hopped onto I-94 east and made my way to the TA in Sawyer, MI (I-94 exit 12).
Tuesday morning I awoke to a thunderstorm. I made my way into the building to shower up. Afterwards, I stepped back outside to another shower, this one of the proverbial cats-and-dogs variety, as I dashed back to my truck. On the road, the rain lessened as I made my way northwards to Grand Rapids, and it was a mere light sprinkle as I reached the delivery. When the delivery was done an hour later, I made my way to a nearby truck stop to await my next assignment. I was hoping that whatever the assignment, it would allow me to swing by my "home truck stop" for the night and see Mrs. R.T. I wasn't holding my breath on that count, because chances were slim. However, the load assignment gods smiled on me, though I'd have to make tracks to make it happen. The assignment: head up to Charlevoix, MI, pick up a load there, then take it to southern Georgia for a Thursday afternoon delivery.
Now, Charlevoix is almost as north as you can get in MI's lower peninsula, and I had about 9 hours of driving to get from Grand Rapids to there and back down to the Ann Arbor area. In a truck with a top speed of 63 MPH (USA has the engines in their trucks governed at that speed). So off I went, hoping for no traffic snarls. By my calculations, I could just make it in my available timeframe.
I've never driven up US 131 through the western part of the state before, and it's a gorgeous drive. I highly recommend it on a beautiful summer day. (It'll probably be even more scenic during the fall color change season.) As I drove north, the weather did turn beautiful, clearing up from the southland's rain.
This post is getting lengthy, so I'll sum up some:
- The drive north and the pickup went swell--I saw a family of deer crossing the street while I was sitting in my cab as the shipper loaded my trailer. Very cool.
- The drive back south went just as swell, except I drove back into rainy, stormy weather as I neared my destination.
- I reached the TA in Dexter just before 9:00 p.m., and Mrs. R.T. was able to come over and see me for a while. We got to have a bite to eat and chat in the TA's restaurant. Also very swell.
- Yesterday I drove from Dexter to Knoxville, TN, where I stopped at another TA.
- And today I completed the drive to my delivery, using up the rest of my 70-hours-in-8-days limit. So I couldn't make another pickup today after the delivery; that'll have to wait 'til tomorrow when I get another 7-1/2 hours back. I do have that assignment already, though: I'll make a pickup in Albany, GA, then head back north, this time to the Akron, OH area. (Along the way I'll sit out a 34-hour break to reset my 70-hour clock to zero.) I feel like a yo-yo on this tour of duty, going down and up from north to south and back, repeatedly. By the way, did I mention it's HOT down here?
- I'm spending the night at yet another TA. So I've spent the past 8 nights at 5 TA's (including the last 4 in a row), 2 Flying J's, and one off-brand truck stop. But who's counting?
So now you're caught up with what I did during my "disappearance". I have one more week to go on this tour of duty before I return home next Thursday for some time off for Mrs. R.T.'s and my anniversary and our nephew's wedding. I'm really looking forward to that. But I'll keep you up-to-date each day 'til I leave the truck for that home time.
I promised a cartoon caption story, so here 'tis. The New Yorker magazine runs a caption contest each week, displaying the artwork and inviting its readers to submit captions. A few weeks ago I saw one that prompted me to submit an entry. The cartoon (I think it was by Gahan Wilson), depicted a monkey at a typewriter on a desk, with other monkeys in cages at typewriters in the background. A man, apparently and editor of some sort, was standing behind monkey #1, reading the page the monkey had produced and speaking the punchline-to-be-supplied. (You get the gist, don't you?). The caption I submitted (which somehow, unbelievably, didn't make the final 3) was simple and excruciatingly funny, "You misspelled 'Yorick'." Best cartoon caption I've seen in a long time, if I do say so myself.
Anyway, that's that. Thanks for looking in, and I apologize once again for dropping the blogging ball for a week. Keep those cards and letters--er, comments and questions--coming, and keep on truckin'.
First things first: I apologize for my lengthy disappearance. For 2 or 3 days I had trouble with this site posting my update attempts; all it would give me was error messages after I composed the update and clicked on "Publish Post". Then, frankly, I had a bit of a case of burnout and wasn't in a frame of mind to take the time to put my thoughts through my fingers onto my laptop's keyboard. I've been very busy on this tour of duty and needed some time to recharge. But I'm back now and ready to get back into the blogging swing. So here goes.
(Quick note to reader dennis the accompanist: That was the best cartoon you've seen? I'll tell you my caption story at the end of this update.)
Miles Friday: 467
Miles Saturday: 365
Miles Sunday: 370
Miles Monday: 452
Miles Tuesday: 565
Miles Wednesday: 526
Miles Today: 423
Taking you back to my last update, a week ago, I was in southwestern Virgina, on my way to a Saturday morning delivery in eastern Alabama. So on Friday I just drove, drove, drove south through the rest of VA, across NC, SC, and GA, and into eastern AL. I spent that night at a non-brand-name truck stop where my trainer & I had once stopped for a dinner break on my very first trip as a professional driver. Ah, a trip down memory lane. Oh well, enough of that touchy-feely stuff.
Saturday morning I was up early and on the road at 4:00 a.m. (CDT, the AL-GA border is the time zone boundary) to trek the last 100 miles to the delivery. The customer site was in a town well off the interstates, so this part of the trip was all secondary highways, winding two-laners. But all went well and I reached the site about an hour early. I had a couple-hour wait while they unloaded. Afterwards, my next assignment came in even before I left. Cool. Next up: Pick up a load south of Columbus, MS at midnight. That meant I had to head back north to the interstate (I-20), then zip west across AL, and find a place for a 10-hour break before making the pickup. Fortunately there is a TA truck stop in Meridian, MS, about 70 miles south of where I needed to make the pickup. So I headed there and spent the afternoon and evening hours trying to sleep/rest.
I did manage to nap for a few hours, but nothing approaching a good night's sleep. I was awake at 9:00 p.m., hit the shower, grabbed some grub, and was back on the road at 10:00 p.m. This trip was again along a secondary highway, but it was a multi-lane limited-access one for most of the way, so the drive went quickly. I was again early for the pickup, which went molto quicko, then I was on my way for one of those dreaded overnight drives that I dislike so much. This time my course was north, as the load was headed for Grandville, MI, near Grand Rapids. But first I headed east to Birmingham, AL to get to I-65, which was the most direct interstate headed my way. I-65 took me to Franklin, KY, where I stopped at a Flying J for the night at the end of my shift (I had stopped at a rest area in northern AL for a couple hours of naptime when I was getting fatigued). This load had some extra time until the Tuesday morning delivery appointment, so I could stay in Franklin until the next morning and get back onto my preferred schedule.
Monday morning I was back on the road, following I-65 north through KY and IN. At the northern end of the Hoosier state I hopped onto I-94 east and made my way to the TA in Sawyer, MI (I-94 exit 12).
Tuesday morning I awoke to a thunderstorm. I made my way into the building to shower up. Afterwards, I stepped back outside to another shower, this one of the proverbial cats-and-dogs variety, as I dashed back to my truck. On the road, the rain lessened as I made my way northwards to Grand Rapids, and it was a mere light sprinkle as I reached the delivery. When the delivery was done an hour later, I made my way to a nearby truck stop to await my next assignment. I was hoping that whatever the assignment, it would allow me to swing by my "home truck stop" for the night and see Mrs. R.T. I wasn't holding my breath on that count, because chances were slim. However, the load assignment gods smiled on me, though I'd have to make tracks to make it happen. The assignment: head up to Charlevoix, MI, pick up a load there, then take it to southern Georgia for a Thursday afternoon delivery.
Now, Charlevoix is almost as north as you can get in MI's lower peninsula, and I had about 9 hours of driving to get from Grand Rapids to there and back down to the Ann Arbor area. In a truck with a top speed of 63 MPH (USA has the engines in their trucks governed at that speed). So off I went, hoping for no traffic snarls. By my calculations, I could just make it in my available timeframe.
I've never driven up US 131 through the western part of the state before, and it's a gorgeous drive. I highly recommend it on a beautiful summer day. (It'll probably be even more scenic during the fall color change season.) As I drove north, the weather did turn beautiful, clearing up from the southland's rain.
This post is getting lengthy, so I'll sum up some:
- The drive north and the pickup went swell--I saw a family of deer crossing the street while I was sitting in my cab as the shipper loaded my trailer. Very cool.
- The drive back south went just as swell, except I drove back into rainy, stormy weather as I neared my destination.
- I reached the TA in Dexter just before 9:00 p.m., and Mrs. R.T. was able to come over and see me for a while. We got to have a bite to eat and chat in the TA's restaurant. Also very swell.
- Yesterday I drove from Dexter to Knoxville, TN, where I stopped at another TA.
- And today I completed the drive to my delivery, using up the rest of my 70-hours-in-8-days limit. So I couldn't make another pickup today after the delivery; that'll have to wait 'til tomorrow when I get another 7-1/2 hours back. I do have that assignment already, though: I'll make a pickup in Albany, GA, then head back north, this time to the Akron, OH area. (Along the way I'll sit out a 34-hour break to reset my 70-hour clock to zero.) I feel like a yo-yo on this tour of duty, going down and up from north to south and back, repeatedly. By the way, did I mention it's HOT down here?
- I'm spending the night at yet another TA. So I've spent the past 8 nights at 5 TA's (including the last 4 in a row), 2 Flying J's, and one off-brand truck stop. But who's counting?
So now you're caught up with what I did during my "disappearance". I have one more week to go on this tour of duty before I return home next Thursday for some time off for Mrs. R.T.'s and my anniversary and our nephew's wedding. I'm really looking forward to that. But I'll keep you up-to-date each day 'til I leave the truck for that home time.
I promised a cartoon caption story, so here 'tis. The New Yorker magazine runs a caption contest each week, displaying the artwork and inviting its readers to submit captions. A few weeks ago I saw one that prompted me to submit an entry. The cartoon (I think it was by Gahan Wilson), depicted a monkey at a typewriter on a desk, with other monkeys in cages at typewriters in the background. A man, apparently and editor of some sort, was standing behind monkey #1, reading the page the monkey had produced and speaking the punchline-to-be-supplied. (You get the gist, don't you?). The caption I submitted (which somehow, unbelievably, didn't make the final 3) was simple and excruciatingly funny, "You misspelled 'Yorick'." Best cartoon caption I've seen in a long time, if I do say so myself.
Anyway, that's that. Thanks for looking in, and I apologize once again for dropping the blogging ball for a week. Keep those cards and letters--er, comments and questions--coming, and keep on truckin'.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Another Southern Sojourn
DATELINE: FORT CHISWELL, VA, THURSDAY, 8/3/07, 9:15 p.m. EDT
Miles Today: 461
Let me start by answering reader jim's question: "Does anyone ever have two drivers in a truck, so you can keep on delivery schedules?"
Yes, Jim, that's what's known in the biz as team driving. Many teams are on the road, even a lot of husband and wife teams. When I was driving with my trainer last November, that's what we were doing, although I didn't get paid as one (both drivers in a team get paid for the truck's total miles, though not the full per-mile amount that solo drivers earn). Sometimes it sounds like it'd be fun to be part of a team--you'd have someone to talk to and share meals and experiences with. But several factors fill the downside: You have to try to sleep while the truck is moving, often over very bumpy roads; you have no privacy; you have very little down time to relax while the truck is just sitting still. Besides, I'm not a gregarious person and I like time to myself, so my preference is to remain a solo driver. Dispatch (usually) does take a driver's hours into account when scheduling loads, so a solo driver doesn't get assignments that require round-the-clock driving to make deliveries on time. Now back to today's story.
I woke up at 4:30 this morning to send in my "back to work" message to trigger dispatch to find and assign me a load, which I expected would take a while. I was going to go back to sleep 'til the assignment came in, but wasn't tired enough. So I hauled down the laptop and did some web surfing. Eventually I tired of that and decided to try the sleep thing again. This was around 6:30 and, naturally, right after I had shut off the light and settled into my bunk, my Qualcomm box beeped, announcing the arrival of my next assignment message. My mission: pick up a load in York, PA at 11:00 and haul it to a small town in southeastern AL, to deliver it on Saturday morning.
Since York was about 1-1/2 hours from where I was (King of Prussia, PA), I had a little time to kill before I would need to set off. I went into the service plaza and breakfasted at its McDonald's, did some reading in the truck, then decided to get going early anyway. So at 8:00 I was rolling westard. I arrived at 9:30 and went inside the shipper to check in. To my delight, they assigned me a dock right away. This was an inside dock, which meant backing the trailer in through a door to the loading platform inside the warehouse. I always hate that because I'm backing in from bright sunshine into a dark building, making it very difficult to see just where the end of the trailer is in relationship to the loading platform. But, since I'm getting better at this sort of thing, I did it fairly easily. The guy on the dock even told me, as I was chocking the trailer wheels, that I was a good driver. OK, a little boost to my ego. That never hurts. (I guess he didn't see my first attempt at lining up with the door, when I went too far and had to circle around to approach and make my setup again.)
The load went about as usual--around an hour in duration--and I was on my way by 11:00. From that point on my goal for the day was just to get as many miles down the road as I could, since the trip would be over 800 miles. My route is a familiar one: south along I-81, I-77, and I-85 before branching off onto smaller highways in Alabama towards my destination. By the time mid-afternoon (3:45-ish) rolled around, I was getting a bit hungry, and a bit fatigued. I pulled into a truck stop with a Wendy's for a late lunch. After eating, I was really feeling the fatigue, so I allowed myself an hour-long nap--better that than driving the way I was feeling. I woke up still a bit tired, but rested enough to continue on.
I managed another couple hours of driving before the sun started getting lower, as was my fuel gague. The Flying J here (see DATELINE, above) is on USA's fuel network list, so I had made it my destination as I headed south. I decided against stopping for fuel at our Roanoke terminal, because that would have been at least a 1/2-hour delay to get there and back en route. Besides, I easily had enough fuel to get here, and I wanted to arrive before the parking spaces would fill up.
So here I am, telling you all about it. My mandatory 10-hour break will be over at 6:00 in the morning, and I want to get rolling right then. So I'll be getting up at 5:00 to fit in a shower and shave, as well as breakfast, before hitting the road. Since it's now just after 10:00, it's time to wrap up this report and hit the sack. Good thing I'm tired. Thanks for checking up on me, and be sure to keep on truckin'.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Eastern Swing
DATELINE: KING'S MANOR, PA, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Miles Monday: 488
Miles Tuesday: 165
Miles Today: 304
Once again I find myself in the position of having to apologize for a couple of missed days and to play catch-up in my update. So here goes.
I've spent the last couple of days and nights in New York state, which has anti-idling laws. That means we truckers can't idle our engines to keep our air conditioners cooling our cabs while we're parked. Since the days have been bright and sunny--and therefore very warm, what with it being July--it was too hot to stay in my truck and blog while the sun was up. And by the time it grew dark and cool enough to get back in the truck, I was way too bushed to compose coherently. Today, however, I'm in Pennsylvania, happily running my engine and AC, composing in cool comfort. So here's how my last 3 workdays went.
MONDAY
Monday was all about eating up the road, making tracks from Vandalia to western New York state. I wanted to get an early start, but I remembered that I needed to sit in on a quarterly safety meeting, which is only held at selected USA terminals, Vandalia being one. So I got to sleep in a little bit later, then go to the 8:00 meeting. I was the only driver at the meeting, so the instructor--the Vandalia terminal's Safety Director--zipped right through the material and we were done in 1/2 an hour. Shortly after that I was on the road, headed northeast.
My goal for the drive was to get to the Rochester, NY area where my brother and his family live. I haven't seen any of them since I started this career (I don't think, but my memory may be faulty on that point), and had to miss their eldest daughter's wedding last fall while driving with my trainer. So I wanted the chance to say "Hello" on my way through their vicinity. The drive was long, extended by several construction-related slowdowns along I-90 in PA and the Buffalo area. But I eventually (7:00 p.m.-ish) made it to a service plaza along I-90 (aka the "New York State Thruway") that's fairly near their town. I called them upon arrival and, fortunately, they had a few free minutes to come over for a reunion and quick truck tour.
TUESDAY
Because of the slowdowns on Monday's drive, I was down to 1-3/4 hours in my 70-work-hours-in-8-days limit. That's exactly how long it took me to reach my delivery site in the Rome, NY area. So I knew I'd be breaking that limit by a bit when it was time to leave the site and find a place to park for the night. In the meantime, the delivery went fine, though long (2+ hours). The time I spend during unloading is not counted towards my work hours (unless I actually need to help with the unloading, which rarely happens), so that didn't put me over the top. But once back on the road after the delivery I decided that, since I was already in violation, I'd skip the first place to stop--which was another service plaza with its over-priced food options and scarce trucker amenities--and head to a TA truck stop a little further down the Thruway.
I arrived and found the TA along a smaller highway on the edge of the charming village of Fultonville, NY. Across the street is a canal, and there are many green, tree-covered hills all around. All in all a pretty nice setting, save for the beat-up condition of this particular TA itself and its parking lot. Since it was still early afternoon, and the sun was beating down pretty good, I opted to stay outta' the truck after I changed out of my jeans and into a pair of shorts. Much cooler. As was the interior of the truck stop--nicely AC'ed. I spent a good bit of time browsing the TA store and having lunch at the McDonald's that was next door and right behind my parking spot. I then decided to get some exercise and took a walk along the main drag, then across a bridge over the canal, and back. Eventually I gave in and settled into the drivers' lounge and watched some TV. It was set on the Spike network, and I caught 2.65 episodes of CSI Las Vegas. Interesting show. Once darkness had fallen across the land (the midnight hour was not quite close at hand), I returned to my truck and my bunk, aiming to get up at 3:30 to get to Philadelphia for my 10:00 delivery there. (Remember, this was a 2-stop load, hence no pickup after my Rome-area delivery today.)
WEDNESDAY (TODAY)
Getting up went fine, as did my shower and shave. All cleaned up, I started up the truck and turned in the lights, ready to do my quick pre-trip inspection. However, when I flicked the headlight switch, I noticed only 1 beam heading forward. DOH! My driver's side headlight was out. Fortunately, I was at a TA, most of which have shops, and to which USA sends its drivers for repairs when not near a terminal. So I went through the process of contacting the Breakdown department, getting authorization to get the headlight fixed there, contacting dispatch to let them know I'd probably be a bit late to my delivery, and getting the work done. The actual repair took only about 5 to 10 minutes, but I was delayed over an hour by going through the whole process.
Finally underway, it was drive-drive-drive (OK, with a couple of pit stops en route) to get to Philly. My delivery was on the north edge of town, and I approached from the north, so I still haven't really seen the city, to which I've never been before. Oh well, can't see much on the job, anyway. I'll come back on vacation sometime. The delivery went fine, and afterwards I left to find the closest truck stop, rest area, or Turnpike Service Plaza to wait for my next assignment. As I was driving, the assignment message came in. However, I still had to get to such a place to be able to read the message and plan my route to the pickup. I wound up at this place, a Service Plaza along the Penn Pike just west of the City of Brotherly Love.
The drive to my delivery (and early morning repair time) had used up all but 1-1/4 of the hours I had available for working today, so I knew I wouldn't have time for much more than getting to a nearby pickup for my next load, then finding the closest truck stop, rest area, or Turnpike Service Plaza to stop for the night. The pickup was in a town just a little further north from Philly than my delivery, and was at 2:00 (it was now 1:00). But I noticed the delivery was in Mt. Clemens, MI, 24 hours later. What with my available hours bumping firmly into my 70-hour limit on a daily basis now (unless I stop and take a 34-hour break), I had no chance of completing that run on time. So I communicated that to dispatch, and they took me off that assignment to let me call it a day. I'll have about 12 hours available tomorrow (thanks to one of my L-O-N-G days a week ago), so I'll pick up a load then and see where that takes me.
And now here I sit, typing away so you can be up-to-date on my continuing saga. Thanks for following along. Please be an active participant and send me a comment and/or question and, as always, keep on truckin'.
Miles Monday: 488
Miles Tuesday: 165
Miles Today: 304
Once again I find myself in the position of having to apologize for a couple of missed days and to play catch-up in my update. So here goes.
I've spent the last couple of days and nights in New York state, which has anti-idling laws. That means we truckers can't idle our engines to keep our air conditioners cooling our cabs while we're parked. Since the days have been bright and sunny--and therefore very warm, what with it being July--it was too hot to stay in my truck and blog while the sun was up. And by the time it grew dark and cool enough to get back in the truck, I was way too bushed to compose coherently. Today, however, I'm in Pennsylvania, happily running my engine and AC, composing in cool comfort. So here's how my last 3 workdays went.
MONDAY
Monday was all about eating up the road, making tracks from Vandalia to western New York state. I wanted to get an early start, but I remembered that I needed to sit in on a quarterly safety meeting, which is only held at selected USA terminals, Vandalia being one. So I got to sleep in a little bit later, then go to the 8:00 meeting. I was the only driver at the meeting, so the instructor--the Vandalia terminal's Safety Director--zipped right through the material and we were done in 1/2 an hour. Shortly after that I was on the road, headed northeast.
My goal for the drive was to get to the Rochester, NY area where my brother and his family live. I haven't seen any of them since I started this career (I don't think, but my memory may be faulty on that point), and had to miss their eldest daughter's wedding last fall while driving with my trainer. So I wanted the chance to say "Hello" on my way through their vicinity. The drive was long, extended by several construction-related slowdowns along I-90 in PA and the Buffalo area. But I eventually (7:00 p.m.-ish) made it to a service plaza along I-90 (aka the "New York State Thruway") that's fairly near their town. I called them upon arrival and, fortunately, they had a few free minutes to come over for a reunion and quick truck tour.
TUESDAY
Because of the slowdowns on Monday's drive, I was down to 1-3/4 hours in my 70-work-hours-in-8-days limit. That's exactly how long it took me to reach my delivery site in the Rome, NY area. So I knew I'd be breaking that limit by a bit when it was time to leave the site and find a place to park for the night. In the meantime, the delivery went fine, though long (2+ hours). The time I spend during unloading is not counted towards my work hours (unless I actually need to help with the unloading, which rarely happens), so that didn't put me over the top. But once back on the road after the delivery I decided that, since I was already in violation, I'd skip the first place to stop--which was another service plaza with its over-priced food options and scarce trucker amenities--and head to a TA truck stop a little further down the Thruway.
I arrived and found the TA along a smaller highway on the edge of the charming village of Fultonville, NY. Across the street is a canal, and there are many green, tree-covered hills all around. All in all a pretty nice setting, save for the beat-up condition of this particular TA itself and its parking lot. Since it was still early afternoon, and the sun was beating down pretty good, I opted to stay outta' the truck after I changed out of my jeans and into a pair of shorts. Much cooler. As was the interior of the truck stop--nicely AC'ed. I spent a good bit of time browsing the TA store and having lunch at the McDonald's that was next door and right behind my parking spot. I then decided to get some exercise and took a walk along the main drag, then across a bridge over the canal, and back. Eventually I gave in and settled into the drivers' lounge and watched some TV. It was set on the Spike network, and I caught 2.65 episodes of CSI Las Vegas. Interesting show. Once darkness had fallen across the land (the midnight hour was not quite close at hand), I returned to my truck and my bunk, aiming to get up at 3:30 to get to Philadelphia for my 10:00 delivery there. (Remember, this was a 2-stop load, hence no pickup after my Rome-area delivery today.)
WEDNESDAY (TODAY)
Getting up went fine, as did my shower and shave. All cleaned up, I started up the truck and turned in the lights, ready to do my quick pre-trip inspection. However, when I flicked the headlight switch, I noticed only 1 beam heading forward. DOH! My driver's side headlight was out. Fortunately, I was at a TA, most of which have shops, and to which USA sends its drivers for repairs when not near a terminal. So I went through the process of contacting the Breakdown department, getting authorization to get the headlight fixed there, contacting dispatch to let them know I'd probably be a bit late to my delivery, and getting the work done. The actual repair took only about 5 to 10 minutes, but I was delayed over an hour by going through the whole process.
Finally underway, it was drive-drive-drive (OK, with a couple of pit stops en route) to get to Philly. My delivery was on the north edge of town, and I approached from the north, so I still haven't really seen the city, to which I've never been before. Oh well, can't see much on the job, anyway. I'll come back on vacation sometime. The delivery went fine, and afterwards I left to find the closest truck stop, rest area, or Turnpike Service Plaza to wait for my next assignment. As I was driving, the assignment message came in. However, I still had to get to such a place to be able to read the message and plan my route to the pickup. I wound up at this place, a Service Plaza along the Penn Pike just west of the City of Brotherly Love.
The drive to my delivery (and early morning repair time) had used up all but 1-1/4 of the hours I had available for working today, so I knew I wouldn't have time for much more than getting to a nearby pickup for my next load, then finding the closest truck stop, rest area, or Turnpike Service Plaza to stop for the night. The pickup was in a town just a little further north from Philly than my delivery, and was at 2:00 (it was now 1:00). But I noticed the delivery was in Mt. Clemens, MI, 24 hours later. What with my available hours bumping firmly into my 70-hour limit on a daily basis now (unless I stop and take a 34-hour break), I had no chance of completing that run on time. So I communicated that to dispatch, and they took me off that assignment to let me call it a day. I'll have about 12 hours available tomorrow (thanks to one of my L-O-N-G days a week ago), so I'll pick up a load then and see where that takes me.
And now here I sit, typing away so you can be up-to-date on my continuing saga. Thanks for following along. Please be an active participant and send me a comment and/or question and, as always, keep on truckin'.
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