Lengthy Catch-Up

DATELINE: STRAFFORD, MO, 10:00 p.m. CDT

Oops! I've done it again! Gone several days without blogging, that is. Sorry about that dear readers, but they've been some very long, busy days. So I have some catching up to do. But first, let me answer reader andy's questions:

1. I've lost track--are you always using the same cab? The same trailer?
-I do keep the same cab--or, more correctly, "tractor" (or just "truck"). (The cab is the part of the tractor where the driver and passenger sit.) Considering it's our home, we drivers load up our tractors with our personal belongings--clothes, bedding, fridges and other appliances, books, etc. 'Twould be quite a pain to have to keep moving that stuff between different trucks. Sometimes drivers are issued new tractors, such as in cases of mechanical difficulties with their unit or when the company decides it's time to retire a truck. That hasn't happened with me yet; I'm still driving my original equipment, good ol' #7630.

As for trailers, we swap them pretty regularly. Some customers pre-load their shipments into empty trailers that have been left at their location, so when a driver comes to pick up the load, s/he drops the empty s/he brought along and takes the pre-loaded one. Some receiving customers also have the driver drop the loaded trailer there and take a previously emptied one. Both save the driver a lot of time, since s/he doesn't have to wait during a load or unload process. On other occasions USA has drivers swap loads mid-trip, such as in cases where one driver is getting low on available hours or has truck problems.

2. In those cases where you run out of hours, do they sometimes have to send someone to grab your load, or does it just wait until you're road-ready again?
- Dispatch keeps track of our available hours, and when they see we're running low, they'll assign us a pickup that we can take somewhere--usually a company terminal--to drop for another driver to come get it. Or they'll just not assign us a new pickup after a delivery 'til we go take the requisite break to "reset" our hours. Most loads do not have enough travel time (the time between pickup and delivery appointments) to sit with a driver while s/he sits out the 34-hour break.

Now, back to the story of my last 4 days.

WEDNESDAY, 550 Miles
As you recall from my most recent update, I started Wednesday in central North Carolina, with a delivery due that morning. I was up early and on the road, driving the final 80-100 miles to the delivery in Dunn, NC. The drive and the delivery went just fine, although it was a live unload and I did have to do some waiting there.

Afterwards, I had 110 miles to drive to my next pickup, straight north up I-95 from Dunn nearly to the VA border. That pickup was a drop-and-hook, but I had to sweep out my empty trailer before dropping it and grabbing the loaded one. That load was headed for southern Indiana, but I was directed to take it to Knoxville, TN to swap with another driver who was headed to his hometime in Indiana. The swap was scheduled for 7:00 that night, but I just couldn't get there; it was too far for me to drive in the hours I had available for the day. Dispatch had given me the other driver's cell phone number (at his request) and we arranged to meet the next morning instead. He'd have plenty of time to get the load from our rendezvous point to its 6:00 p.m. delivery in Indiana.

I stopped for the night at a small, older TA in eastern NC. Its parking lot was just about full when I arrived after 7:30, my day's hours expiring, but I managed to find a spot to park for the night. Good thing, 'cuz there weren't many other parking options anywhere close by.

THURSDAY, 617 Miles
Up early again to hit the road as soon as I was allowed (having fulfilled the requisite 10-hour break). I had about 100 miles to go to reach the Knoxville truck stop where the other driver and I would swap loads. That drive was uneventful, and the swap went well. In fact, wonder of wonders, there was an open parking spot right next to the other driver's truck (he had spent the night there), so it couldn't have been easier.

My new load, one of those that pays extra per mile, was destined for Ennis, TX, just a bit southeast of Dallas. Lots of miles, extra pay; good deal. But the delivery appointment was set for 2:00 on Friday, so I had to boogie.

I made it all the way to North Little Rock, AR just as I was using up the last of my hours for the day (the 11 driving hours AND the 14-hour window to get those driving hours in). I had stopped for a while at a truck stop near Jackson, TN for a much-needed nap--fatigue's a problem when you're using up all your allowed work hours day in and day out. That stop plus others for food and rest areas, along with the time to swap trailers in the morning, accounted for today's extra 3 hours. I parked at the Petro truck stop in North Little Rock and spent the night there.

FRIDAY, 536 Miles
Up early once again to ensure I'd get to my delivery on time. I included some extra time to stop at a TA or Flying J en route to take a shower and fuel up my truck, but met some resistance to that plan.

First I stopped at a TA in Prescott, AR for a shower (that TA is not on USA's fuel network, so I wasn't gonna get any diesel there). I parked, walked in, found the self-serve shower kiosk (for purchasing the shower), and found a sign saying the showers were out of order. An employee also told me they were having water pressure problems. Grrrrr. So I went back to my truck and resumed my drive.

40 Miles later I came to a Flying J in Texarkana, AR. This one is on our fuel network, so I pulled up to an open pump at the fuel island--and found an out-of-order bag on the driver's side pump (since these trucks have tanks on both sides of the truck, truck stop fuel islands have pumps on both sides). Since I wasn't yet desperate for fuel, I decided not to swing around and wait in line for that. But I parked and went inside to attempt a shower there. I went to their self-serve shower terminal. One driver was there swiping his Frequent Fueler card in the card reader, but the reader wasn't picking up his card's info. After a number of attempts, he gave up and headed to the cashier desk to buy his shower. I tried my card but encountered the same problem. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, I headed to the cashier. But I noticed on the monitor that lists the assigned showers that there was a waiting list. GRRRRRR. So I decided I didn't really have time to wait, so I just went back to my truck and once more hit the road.

A couple hours later I came to a Pilot truck stop in Caddo Mills, TX that is also on USA's fuel network. By this time I really did need fuel, so I pulled in. This time I had no problems with the fuel island (except for a brief wait for a pump to open up) and, by buying 50+ gallons of fuel, I earned a shower credit (good for 5 days). So I parked and headed inside. And a shower was available! Hallelujah! After getting cleaned up, I also took time there to grab lunch at the McDonald's in the truck stop (McRibs are back!).

OK, after the fuel and shower fiascoes and resolutions, it was time to head for Ennis. From Caddo Mills it only took me a little over an hour to get to the delivery site. This wound up being another live unload, and I had to squeeze through a narrow, twisting driveway and parking lot, around a low wall and a small truck parked in the driveway at a most inopportune spot, to get to their dock at the back of the building. But once back there at least they had plenty of room for me to line up my truck to back into the dock.I was at that site for an hour and a half from check-in 'til they were done unloading, then I hit the road for a truck stop just a few miles up the highway, where I would wait for my next assignment.

Actually, the assignment came in as I was driving to the truck stop. I also got another message saying to ignore that assignment and another would soon follow. The first assignment was to head to Wichita Falls, TX and pick up a load headed for 2 stops in PA. However, delivery to the first stop would be in 2 days, so that load would have to be taken by a team truck in order to get there on time. Hence the message to ignore that one.

It took nearly an hour for my "real" assignment to come in: Pick up another load from that same location in Wichita Falls; pickup set for 11:00 p.m. Problems:
1. 11:00 was well beyond my 14-hour window for the day, and
2. I had just 3-1/4 hours left of my 14, and Wichita Falls was about a 3-hour drive away. I checked with dispatch, and they told me to go ahead and pick it up early. So I headed out.

However, this happened to be right at afternoon rush hour, and I would have to circle Dallas to get from Ennis to Wichita Falls. And, of course, I hit the obligatory traffic snarls. But once eventually free of them, the driving to Wichita Falls was pretty easy. However (there's that word again), my available work hours expired as I was reaching Wichita Falls, before I could get to the pickup. Lord knows I don't want to violate the 14-hour rule. I pulled into a Love's truck stop for the night and sent a message to dispatch letting them know I couldn't make the pickup on time and asking if they wanted me to just got get it in the morning, of if we'd just scrub that one. Their reply was they'd check and let me know. While waiting I heated up some dinner, ate it, checked my e-mail, then got ready for and went to bed.

A couple hours later I got a message (waking me up) asking what time I could make the pickup. I replied that I could get there at 6:00, then went back to sleep.

SATURDAY, 438 Miles
Up early once more, I was on the road at 5:30. First stop was another Flying J to get fuel. (My steer tire axles have been heavy when I've weighed my truck a few recent times--though I thankfully haven't been nabbed for that at weigh stations--so I'm not filling my tanks all the way in order to combat that. I'm only buying 50 gallons at a time--enough to earn shower credits--so I have to stop for fuel more frequently.) That FJ wound up being less than a mile down the road from the Love's where I had spent the night--go figure. But that's just an amusing story point, nothing significant for the day. 30 minutes later I was at the pickup, checking in with the gate guard. This was another drop-and-hook, so it didn't take long at all--in and out in 30 minutes.

I hit the road with the load heading north towards Oklahoma City. The load--like the aborted one--is also headed for PA, but with one more day to get there. Still, it would be quite a chore for me to get it there on time, if I could. And I don't think I could, 'cuz I'm running low on hours already, what with my many long days lately. (I tell ya', I do love getting the miles--they do wonders for my paychecks.) But that point became moot.

I pulled into the Flying J in Oklahoma City to weigh my truck (and yes, get more fuel). I also had a message: head to the TA on I-44 at exit 88 in Missouri to swap loads. Since I was already following I-44 across Oklahoma, that seemed reasonable. I've been to that TA before, and it was about 300 miles (or a little less) away. So after weighing and fueling (and getting breakfast from the Sonic across the street--I always gotta' eat there when zipping through OKC), I made for Mizzou. I made it there--here--in just under 5 hours and found a good parking spot. 'Twas just 2:30 in the afternoon. The other truck wasn't here yet, so I sent a message to dispatch asking for its ETA. The reply: "Going to be just a little time b4 there."

Well, that was definitive and helpful. I caught a few Zs while waiting, but not many. Long story short, yada, yada, yada, the other guy (guys, actually, 'twas a trainer and his student; a team to get the load to PA on time) showed up around 6:30. So we made the swap, then I went inside to grab dinner from the Taco Bell here. My new load is going to Bentonville, AR, only about 110 miles from here, and delivers at 9:30 tomorrow morning. So I'm spending the night here and will head out early once more. At least there's that extra hour due to going back to standard time now. But I think I've used that all up--and more--composing this missive. So I'd better wrap up and get to sleep.

Thanks for following along (and slogging through this whole, lengthy report). Drop me a line, and keep on truckin'.