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| Date |
Activities in
July 2005 |
| 1 |
I did a two hour drive, and delivered my load in New
Braunfels TX. I had problems getting there. I didn't
have much power, and I couldn't accelerate. It was hard to get
up to the speed limit. I called maintenance, and suggested
that I might have a clogged fuel filter. They agreed. I
went to a truck stop to see about getting it changed. I had a
filter, and could of done it myself, but the filter wasn't protected
from dirt, and maintenance said I shouldn't use it. the filter
was changed, and I was on my way. It was the problem.
I bobtailed 180 miles to Larado TX. There I picked up a
trailer that had come from Mexico. I learned that a lot of
parts can be stolen on a trailer while it is in Mexico. I had
all my light, but the rubber grommets for the brake lines were
gone. I carry extras, so I was okay.
I place where I picked up the trailer is a company OC.
There were showers and ice. I took a shower, filled the cooler
with ice, and headed north. I got all the way back to New
Braunfels. The TA truck stop has a huge lot. So big, I
forgot how to get back to my truck.
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| 2 |
Slept a little late. I drove three hours, plus,
up to Dallas where I was able to fuel, have lunch, get replacement
part, and get more ice. I drove five more hours and stopped
just short of Little Rock AR. In TX, I passed a
huge strip mining machine back in TX. In 1991, I drove
through this part of TX, and there was a mining shovel in this same
location. I wonder if it was the same one. |
| 3 |
Showered in the morning. Once I was on my way, I
drove 2.25 hours, and stopped in W. Memphis for fuel. I was at
an OC. While there, I had them look at my coolant. The reservoir
was low. I had been losing coolant slowly over the last few
weeks. It was determined the the reservoir had a leak, and
they replaced it. I was feeling hungry, so I ate an early
lunch.
I continued on to my delivery point, arriving at 1430.
Dropped the load, and was ready for the next one, which was supposed
to be ready at 1400. I was told they were running six hours
behind. I had driven 5.5, and was only going to go two more
hours. I stopped for the day, and went to sleep early. |
| 4
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Independence Day. Here I am driving in MO.
Got up at 500, about two hours early. I wanted to make up the
time I lost yesterday. Drove over to get the load. It is
now 14 hours since it supposed to be ready. The shipping
person said that the bill of lading had just come in. I went
looking for the trailer. On the second time around, I saw a
spotter bring in into the yard from the plant.
The rest of the day was a straight drive to Oconomowoc WI.
Delivered the load, picked up an empty, and headed to Green Bay
WI. I didn't have to be there until tomorrow, I had driven
over eight hours, there is a place to park four miles from my
brother, so I stopped there for the night. My brother came and
got me, and I was able to have a little 4th of July picnic.
Back at the truck, I started figuring out the driving time for
the next load. Off the top of my head, I calculated that I
could not do it, and be back to my home lot at the end of the day on
7/6. I only had 5.5 hours tomorrow, and 11 the next day.
I had to go to Green Bay yet, 90 miles, then to Toledo, 445 miles,
and back to Sturtevant, 310, for a total of 845, and only 17 hours
to do it in. Now, at 50 mph, it is doable, if I don't log
pre-trip inspections, fueling, and other on duty not driving
tasks. Oh, and don't forget that I have to go through Chicago
twice, which can add on an hour each time. Also, the legal
speed limit for trucks in IL is 55, IN 60, and OH 55. Finally,
the company will not pay for IN and OH toll roads, even though it
would save me an hour.
At this point I was a bit upset. Remember that I have been
on the road for over four week, so I could have four days off, and
not it looked like the company was going to usurp one of those
days. This did not help me sleep that night. |
| 5
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I slept a restless eight hours. It didn't do me
any good to leave early, because I couldn't call my team leader for
awhile, and I only had 5.75 hours available to drive. I drove
to my next load point, and dropped the empty. I then called my
team leader to see want the deal was with this load, and its infringement
on my days off. A look at my hours for the last eight days
showed that the computer had the wrong information. I may have
entered the wrong data, so the computer thought I had more time to
drive today. The order was changed, and I only had to drive it
to Gary IN. It was originally going to be a drop relay in
Toledo, now its a drop relay in Gary.
Picked up the load and drove to Sturtevant. I only had an
hour and half left to drive at this point, not enough to get to
Gary. I had lots of time to go home, and prepare for the
trip. This would allow me to leave from the lot tomorrow,
instead of going home and preparing for the trip at that time.
I went back to the lot, and got to sleep early. |
| 6
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I got up at 300, with six hours sleep, and left
shortly thereafter. The earlier I start the day, the sooner it
gets done. Arrived in Gary at 500. At that hour of the
morning, another reason for leaving early, you just blow through
Chicago. I hadn't received orders for my next load. I
was hoping I would have gotten something that would have gotten back
through Chicago before traffic got bad. I laid down while wait
for a beep from the Qualcomm, and got some more sleep.
Team leaders don't start until 730. At 745, I sent a note,
asking for a load. While waiting, I undated the last four days
of this blog. It is now 1030. Now, they are just being
cruel. Originally, I had asked for the whole week off. I
did not expect to be paid for these days. I would have still
earned four of them. i was told I couldn't have them because they
needed ever driver due to the number of drivers that wanted this
week off for vacation. Now, I am just sitting here. Only
used a half day yesterday. And two hours, plus three to get
back to Sturtevant today, so far. Note that during this four
week and three day tour, I sat four times at shippers waiting for a
load.
Finally got orders at 1100 to take an empty back to
Sturtevant. I got back to my home lot at 1330, and was on the
road by 1345. As I left the lot I thought that it could have
been earlier.
End of tour 13
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| 11
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Begin of tour 14.
Stated at noon. Loaded up the truck, picked up a trailer,
and went to Waukesha to get a live load. I was on the road by
1430. Starting late meant driving late. I drove into MO,
and stopped about 2300. It had been raining. The rain
was the remnants of hurricane Dennis. During by camping
vacation, on Friday, in PA, we were rained on by the remnants of
Cindy.
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| 12
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Continued on through MO, into OK, and TX. I
fueled in Joplin MO. In OK I drove on US69 and US75 from the
OK turnpike down to Dallas. At the TX border, I crossed the
Red river. I stayed the night at the Dallas OC. |
| 13
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I showered at the OC, and left Dallas. I drove
to New Braunfels TX, where I fueled. I didn't need much, but
got a shower coupon. Another three hours, and I was in Laredo
TX. I had to go to the OC to have the trailer inspected before
it could go to Mexico. I then took the trailer to a broker at
another location 15 minutes away. I dropped the trailer and
went back to the OC. There I picked up a trailer going
north. I had enough time to get back to New Braunfels TX,
where I stopped for the night. I had done this because the load
was to be delivered on the 15th, 1300 miles away. Laredo to New
Braunfels is 180 miles. I will do close to 600 a day tomorrow
and the next day. |
| 14
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Solid driving today. I started out driving for
four hours. I was in Fort Worth where I fueled. I35
splits into I35E and I35W. I35E goes through Dallas, and I35W
goes through Ft Worth. I have now been on both. After
fueling, bought lunch while waiting for a shower to open
up. I took a shower, and got back on the road. Made it
up past Wichita, and stopped for the night. Ten hours of
driving. 590 miles. |
| 15
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When I woke up, I drove an hour to Emporia KS. I
stopped there at a FlyingJ, so I could get on the Internet, and
update the blog. I also updated a customer Web site that I had
worked on the night before.
The rest of the day was uneventful. I drove across KS,
around KS City, the bridge over the MO river using I35 is closed.
continued into MO and IA, and made my delivery near IA City. I
then picked up a load at another location in IA City, and headed for
Des Moines. I got there just as my 14 hours ended. |
| 16
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The load I was hauling, was going to Houston. It
had a 2345 delivery appointment on the 18th. This gave me 21
hours on my 70, over there days, to get there. I had been
driving hard the last few days, so I drove short today. I went
only as far as Joplin MO, where I stay at a FlyingJ. I did
this to get on the Internet, but didn't do it much. Another
reason for stopping here is that my ex-brother-in-law lives here,
and I could visit with him and his family, which I did.
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| 17
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Because the delivery time was so late in the day
tomorrow, I didn't want to be driving tomorrow, except to drive the
last hour to get to the location. I drove 10 hours today to
put me at a FlyingJ, one hour away. I did some research using
my Street & Trips, and found that there was a theater across the
street from this truck stop. From Joplin, the route is the
same as the one I took last Tuesday, the 12th. I did try
something different. At Muskogee, the road is being worked on,
so the state recommends a drive around. On the map it is maybe
five miles longer, but no construction, no stoplights, no fuss, no
muss. Longer, but faster. And, they took out the toll
booth, because part of the drive around is a toll road.
Now, Muskogee is along the Arkansas river on its way to
Tulsa. That makes Muskogee a sea port too. If you don't
believe me, here is a
picture.
Between the state line and Dalles, there was a traffic
accident. As I approach it, there was an exit ramp, so I
followed the other vehicles. All it got me was that it moved
me farther up the line, because everyone was being put off the highway
at the next exit. Then we were routed away from the highway,
near homes, left turn, down to another highway, and back to the
highway I was on. The accident was up on the bridge. It
looked like a trailer had lost its load. I don't know what it
was, but they were picking it up with a front-end loader.
As I got to the Dallas OC, its poured down rain. By
the time I fueled and parked, it stopped. I took a shower, and
was back on the road in an hour. Hey, that rhymes.
From Dallas to Houston I took I45. This was a new highway
for me. Farther south, there are more trees along the highway,
than on I35. At one point there was a big statue of Sam
Houston next to the highway. This was at some attraction.
I arrived at the FlyingJ late, and had to park goofy. I was
by others in the same area, so I ate a dinner, and went to sleep. |
| 18
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At 0400, I was awakened, because I had to move to let
someone out. I figured that this would happen, and I expected
it. I was then able to park in the vacated spot. I went
back to sleep.
It is hot and humid here. I had to idle the truck quite
often to keep cool. I did some computer work, balanced my
check book. By did not work on the blog. Feeling lazy.
At 1100, I went looking for the theater. Bummer, it was
closed, and out of business. This made for a boring day.
And, when I stayed in the truck, I had to idle the engine. For
most of the time I just browsed the Internet. Late afternoon,
I took a little nap, but was woken up by the Qualcomm beeping with
my next load. I checked it out, and then wonder how I was going to
do this the next day. Do I run at night, split break, or take
a ten hour break after my load is finished.
I left at 2230 for the 2345 appointment. Got a little
messed up on the roads, but found the place, and arrived on time. |
| 19
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Midnight. I just docked the trailer, and went to
sleep. Hopefully I would get two hours sleep. If not, I
would have stopped and taken a ten hour break. I got four
hours of sleep. I drove a half hour, and parked in a Wal-Mart
lot, where I took an eight hour break. In the morning I
updated the blog while waiting for the break to end at 1300.
I now had a ten hour split-break in, with ten hours to
drive. I was half hour from the pickup point, and six hours
from my destination of Laredo, again. I picked up the load,
and took off. Two of my lights were out, but I was running
during the day, and they were the front clearance light on the front
of the trailer.
From Houston I took I10 to San Antonia. I had been on this
highway before, but in 1970. The road was nice, and the
countryside was okay too. West of Houston a ways, I ran into a
hugh rain storm. It only lasted about ten minutes, but slowed
everybody down to 25 mph. After I was out of the storm, my A/C
suddenly quit, going from cool to extreme hot. I had to shut
the vents because even air moving through from outside pushed heat
into the cap. I stopped to check it out, and made a call for a
repair at the truck stop I was going to fuel at. After awhile, the
A/C came back. I think the rain did something to a sensor.
Between San Antonio and Laredo, I saw several vultures sitting on
telephone poles. I also saw a convoy of 10 to 12 busses
escorted by official vehicles, one with flashing lights. The
busses were either labeled Emigration and Naturalization, or
Homeland Security. I'm thinking that they were transporting
illegal aligns that were caught. Arrived
at the Laredo OC, and was told that the broker where I was to take
the load was closed for the day, and would be open at 800
tomorrow. Called my TL (team leader), and because of the
lights, I was able to drop it for a relay. I had trouble finding
my next load, but once I did, I hooked up, inspected it, scaled it,
took a shower, and left. One thing about loads in Laredo, they
come from Mexico, and everyone I picked up was missing the rubber grommets
on the trailer where the brake line attach to the trailer. |
| 20
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Midnight. Still driving. Because of the
split-break yesterday, my 14 isn't up until 0300 today. The
reason to drive late is to use as much of the time available towards
getting the load to its destination. Also, hurricane Emily is
expected to reach Brownsville TX early today. But, mainly, I
am heading home for the weekend, and the more I drive now, the
sooner I get home. I stopped at 0130, just south of San
Antonio TX.
I continued at 1130, after a ten hour break, and a good sleep.
I was trying to shift my start times for the next two days
earlier. In order to do this I have to minimize the number of
stops that add to the 14 hour. I stopped once. At the
Dallas OC, I fueled up, faxed some log entries that the company
needed, ate a dinner ( its 1700), and got back on the road in an
hour. After another five hours I stopped to the night. I
was an hour short of Little Rock AR. |
| 21
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Was able to start at 800. I had made a mistake
when I sent my availability, so I had to drive almost non-stop to my
destination. I stopped once for a rest break, and arrived
fifteen minutes early. Before I could pick up my next load, I
had to go and get an empty trailer, and bring to the same
location. Picked up my load, and headed to WI. This
should be the last load before I go home for the weekend. I
stopped at 1800, which means I can leave at 0400 in the morning, if
I want to get up that early. Shifted my start time from 1130
yesterday to 0400 tomorrow, and went from south of San Antonio TX to
just North of St Louis, 940 miles. |
| 22
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Took off at 0500. No matter what, I will be done
at 1900. If I minimize my breaks, I could be done by 1700,
that's 5:00 in the afternoon. All that planning was moot, I
got a message to bobtail to my home base after I delivered the
load. I was home by 1500
End of tour 14
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| 25
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Start of tour 15
The day started uneventful. There was no rush to
get to the truck, and I was there before I said I would be
ready. I turned on the truck to get my orders. No
orders. I sent some messages, and finally got my orders.
I was ready at 0800, I left at 0900.
I had to take an empty trailer to Janesville, where I traded it
for a full one. On the drive over, I passed the milestone
of 75,000 miles for the year. The load was going to MO, and I would be able
to get it there with a couple of hours to spare at the end of the
day. As I approach the delivery point, I got orders for my
next load. This one was going to LA, the state. It had
to be there tomorrow night, so I had to drive until I ran out of
hours, 2300. This is the way things went for the rest of the
week, so I didn't get around to entering this until the 30th, and it
is still going on. On the 1st, I will have run out of hours,
and sit for the whole day. I'll be able to update everything
in between then. |
| 26
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I was on the AR/MO border when I woke up. I
wanted to get to the W. Memphis OC the day before, but ran out of
hours. Had I gotten there, they could have done a PM on my
truck. I am within the window to have it done, and only about
1500 mile before it has to be done. Stopped at the W Memphis
OC for fuel, then headed south on I55.
At I12 I drove west, then around Baton Rouge. Here I crossed
over the Mississippi in yet another location. I believe
that this is the first time on this section of I12, and first time
to Baton Rouge. I drove another hour to my delivery point, and
arrived just as it was getting dark. I dropped trailer and
picked up an empty. As I checked my hours, I saw that I had
just enough time to make it to an OC in Reserve LA, outside of New
Orleans. I though I might be able to get a PM
there.
It was dark, so I stuck to the Interstate as much as
possible. I10 went by Baton Rouge on the south side. At
one point, I went over a tall bridge, for ships, (yes it was the
Mississippi) and was presented
with a beautiful view of Baton Rouge at night. It was all lit
up, like Paris.
I arrived at the OC just as my hours ran out, again. It was
2300. That was two days where I started at 900, drove 11
hours, had 3 hours of breaks, used the whole 14 hours, and stopped
at 2300. As it turned out, they couldn't do the PM
anyway. I could have stopped at a truck stop an hour
earlier. However, a daytime view of Baton Rouge might not have
been so pretty. |
| 27
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Woke up at my usual 700, but couldn't leave until
900. I took a shower, then had a breakfast of cereal.
Load the cooler with ice, there wasn't much in the ice maker, and
left.
I drove through New Orleans, in a hugh rainstorm, to the east
side of the city. I picked up a load of coffee going to KC
MO. The load was in a 48 foot trailer, but it was heavy.
One of the tires was low, but I knew I could take care of it when I
fueled up. I drove to a truck stop, and fueled up.
Trying to take care of the tire, I couldn't find the value
stem. I was close to Reserve, so I went there and had them
take care of the tire. The outer tire had been mounted wrong,
so the valve stem of the inner tire was inaccessible. Then had
to take off the otter tire, and mount it correctly. They also
replace a missing mud flap. While the trailer was being worked
on, I ate lunch. There was more ice in the maker, so I put
more in the cooler. It was 1330 before I got going.
One other thing about this load is that it was suppose to be in
KC by 0700 the next morning. They knew it when I was given the
load. A quick check on the time showed that it wasn't going to
get there until 1700.
After leaving Reserve, I got on I55 at I10. I55 started at
I10, and I was driving a little 30 mile or so stretch of this
Interstate that I had not been on. Having now driven it, I
have driven the whole length of I55, from near New Orleans LA to
lake Michigan in downtown Chicago.
One thing about the Interstate highways around New Orleans, and
I10 to FL, they are bridges
over spillways. There are lots of lakes and swamps.
I arrived in W. Memphis at 2015, and was able to get the truck in
for a PM. I went to a motel for the night. |
| 28
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Before I start in the morning, I inspect the tractor
and trailer, per company policy. Sometimes you find a problem,
and can have it fixed right away, because you are at an OC. I
had a light out. I took the trailer over to the shop to have
it fixed, and found out the the trailer needed a PM. Oh
great. One other time, a trailer PM took seven hours to fix
the brakes and bearings. Luckily, they did it in a half
hours. But, had I known about it, it could have been worked on
over night.
Got going at 900, could have left at 700. Got the load to
KC at 1700. I was suppose to get an empty at the same
location, but none were available. I sent a message to that
effect, and waited for a response. It was over an hour, and a
phone call before I got a location for an empty. Luckily it
was in the same direction as I needed to take to get my next
load. I got the empty and drove to KC KS. I picked up
the trailer and discovered that the marker lights didn't work.
I went to the shipping office, and because there were multiple
trailers for this load, was given another one.
All of these problems left me with only 45 minutes on my 14 hours
for the day. As I was driving into KC from the east, I noted
where I could stop for the night. I had wanted to get to a
Pilot Station 59 miles out, but that was too far. There were
several truck stops 30 miles out, so I headed there. I arrived
just as my 14 hours ran out. It was 2300, again. |
| 29
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Once again, I woke up at about 0700. I couldn't
leave until 0900, so I had a cereal breakfast, and browsed the truck
store. This truck stop is called something like Truck
80. I think it is because the first one was on I80 in
IA. These truck stops are very large, full service
facilities. The stores have more gadgets than most truck
stops. Lots of chrome pieces for your truck.
I took off and drove 30 minutes to the Pilot station where I
fueled. That is why I want ed to stop here. I drove four
more hours, and delivered the load in IL, outside of St Louis.
There I got my next load. It was going near Utica NY, and
didn't have to be there until the 1st of August. I could get
it there early evening on the 31st, and still have an easy trip.
On my way to Indianapolis, where I was going to stop for the
night, a change in my orders came through. I was to drop the
load in Tunkhannock PA. This did not look good. |
| 30
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Not much to say for this day. I started at 0900
and drove nine hours. I wanted to stop at a FlyingJ for the
night. I had two to choose from. One at seven hours of
driving, and the other at nine. Going to the farther one meant
that if it happen, I could use up my 70 hours tomorrow, and sit all
day Monday, the 1st. |
| 31
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Forward to Aug
|
I drove 2.5 hours to Tunkhannock, where I sat waiting
for a load. Actually, I had been given one, but it was to be
delivered on 8/1 at 0700. I only had about seven hours for the
rest of today and tomorrow. Eventually, I was told to take it,
and get it there when I could. They figured I could get there
by 1400 on 8/2.
I picked up the load and drove back to the FlyingJ I had been at
earlier. I only drove five hour, did three more quarters on
duty, and sat for six hours in the middle of the day. But,
this way I evened out the hours that will be available in eight
days. |
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