Back to Aug

The day was a driving day.  I drove almost  hours.  After dropping the load and picking up a empty, I drove to a near by Wal-Mart lot.  I could have driven another hour, getting me closer to the next shipper, but the next load had plenty of time for delivery, and this way I could do some shopping.

The drove to the shipper, dropped the empty, picked up the load, and drove to a scale.  The loaded trailer wasn't all that heavy, but was loaded with various freight, of unknown weight and loading position.  The load scaled okay, but it was much heavier in the back.  The tandems were in hole fourteen, the farthest they can be back for driving in IL.  Normally, to move more weight forward, I would have moved the tandems farther back.

I sent a note to see if I could take the load to an OC that was near the delivery.  I figured I could deliver the load tomorrow because tomorrow is Labor Day.  I got a no, there was no freight in the area that I could get another load.  So, it looked like I would be sitting for awhile

 Once I had driven a few hours, I started to realize that I could do a restart.  The GPS was telling me that I would arrive at the destination thirty-four hours before the delivery time.  That meant I could stop somewhere for thirty-four hours.  It also meant that I didn't have much time to get there.  Now I wish I hadn't wasted time this morning.  I drove eight hours, after leaving the scale, with only one stop, for fuel.

I stopped at a Flying J that was a little more than two hours from the delivery.  I could have driven another hour, but if I was going to sit for a day, I wanted to be able to get on the Internet.

I start the laptop, and got on the Internet.  I was going to work on the security of the laptop.  I had downloaded a program that I shouldn't have, and after running it, I kept get diverted to a Web sight saying I was infected with Spyware.  The program had cause the problem, and it was trying to sell me the solution.  This was more like extortion.  Anyway, and was research the problem when the computer failed.  I could get it started again.  I used a recovery disk to start up in DOS.  I was able to run a CHKDSK program, and check the hard drive.  It did some repair, but Windows would not start.

I couldn't repair Windows because I did not have a repair disk.  I reloaded Windows.  With Windows loaded, the critical files were still in tack, so I resaved them to the external hard drive.  The reason for this was that the files would be saved with the long file names.  I spent most of the day doing this.  During one long copy, I walked to the other side of the Interstate, to the TA, and took a shower.

I tried to configure the Windows to the way it was before, but it needed newer versions of a lot of files.  And, I would need the Internet to get them.  I did have an Image of the disk, so I loaded the Image to the drive, restoring the computer to an earlier state.  I thought I had an image that was about a year old, but it was more like three years old.  But, it would solve a lot of the set up problems, and I did have the data saved, so I did it.  I started it, and went to sleep.

There were other trucks there ahead of me.  There were two in the dock, and two waiting.  They had 0700 appointments.  While waiting, I started the computer, and it worked.  I transferred files while I waited to get in a dock.

Once in the dock, I saw that I had a strange variety of freight.  There was a large generator, 4x5x12 feet long, next to a couple of pallets of pickles in a pouch.  I didn't look at the rest of the load.

I was done, and on my way at 1000.  I drove to an OC to get fuel.  I realized that I couldn't fool around the rest of the day.  The rest of the load had to be delivered by 0600 tomorrow.  I had to drive over seven hours in eight hours to get to the OC in Dallas.

I made it.  I fueled up again, so I wouldn't have to tomorrow.  I also had some tires replaced on the trailer.  Originally, I was going to have that home at the other OC, but if I had, I wouldn't have made it to Dallas.

At the delivery, I dropped the trailer, and picked up an empty.  It wasn't raining as hard west of Dallas.  I left for the next shipper, and drove through downtown Dallas on I30.  It was raining hard again, but the traffic wasn't too bad.

I thought I was going to get to the shipper too early, but the rain slowed me up, and I was only a half hour early.  The load was supposed to be at this one location, but the last time I was to pick up a load there, it was moved to another location.  That time the company sent me a note saying that the load had been moved.  I hadn't received a note, so I went to the location I was told.  There, I found out that the load had been moved to the other location.  Now, when I was coming to the shipper, I passed close to the other location.  It would have been nice to know the load was moved.

I drove to the other location.  It was in another city, so I should get paid for the miles.  I sent a note to tell the company to include a routing point.  I'll be watching.  At the shipper, I dropped the empty, and picked up the load.  While checking the trailer.  I found that two tires seemed low on air.  I called the company, and they directed me to a shop on the north side of the city.  It was on the way to the delivery.

At the tire shop, I had to wait while other trailers were being worked on.  I was there almost two hours.  The tires were low, one having a nail in it, and the other a bolt.  At an OC, they would have replaced the wheel with the tire.  Here they took the tires off the rims, patched the holes, and put them back on the rims.  While I was there, I received a note saying that the load I had picked up was at the other location.  Too late.

I drove almost seven hours with only one stop.  Along the way I got a good picture of this blade for a wind generator.  I see a lot of then in the TX area.  It was probably about eighty feet long.

I was planning to stop as my fourteen ran out.  When I did, I found out that I had gone over my fourteen by a few minutes.

I took off on another hard drive.  I wanted to get to the next load after this one as soon as possible.  It was the load that I figured was going to be my last before going home.

Originally, the load I was hauling was supposed to be delivered after midnight, and up until 0600.  Yesterday, I knew I could get there by late afternoon.  I sent a note asking to deliver it today.  If I couldn't, and had to deliver the load tomorrow, I was concerned about getting home early.  Had I driven on Labor Day, I would only have about four hours to drive tomorrow, pretty much getting me home early.  With the restart, I would have eleven hours to drive tomorrow.  So, I have been driving long days these three days, starting my day early, hopping to get home early.  I had sent a note that I needed to be home by 1200.

I was able to deliver today, by 1600.  I got there at 1430.  I drove nonstop over the OC, snacking instead of stopping for lunch.  I knew what my next load was, and I wanted to get it before my fourteen ran out.

I delivered the load, and got an empty.  It took an hour.  I usually can do this in thirty minutes, but I had to wait for others at the gate, and at the receiving office.  It was a Wal-Mart distribution center, and people at the gate usually handle the paperwork, but not here.  I had to go into an office, where it took fifteen minutes.

I left, and drove to the next shipper, two hours away, and in the wrong direction.  Actually, I was picking up a relay.  I got there okay, and dropped the empty.  I then realized that the load wasn't there.  I still had over an hour left on my fourteen.  If I stayed there for the night, I would have been getting up at 0400 to drive tomorrow.  I wanted to make the delivery as soon as I could.  The delivery was less than four hours away, and I could deliver as early as 0600.  The best I could do was 0800.

The driver showed up with the load.  He dropped it, I picked it up, and I was able to get an hour closer to the delivery.  I stopped a bit after the fourteen ran out, but within legal limits.

At the docks, I had to wait awhile for one to open up.  There was also another driver ahead of me.  It took an hour and a half to get unloaded.  And, that wasn't the whole load.  The second half of the load was at another location a couple of miles away.

There I was to drop the trailer, but I was told that they would unload it.  This was great.  I had received orders for my next load, and it involved going to get an empty trailer, forty-five miles in the wrong direction.  Getting unloaded here saved me ninety miles, and over an hour.

Once unload, I drove less than an hour to the shipper.  The load was ready when I got there, so I dropped the empty, picked up the load, and drove a little over two hours, home.

End of tour 59

I arrived at the lot on time, and was ready to go within a half hour.  I had picked up an empty, and drove into IL to get the load.  The GPS took me to the shipper, but the streets were mislabeled, so I had to drive around the block to find the shipper.  There it took a little over two hours to get loaded.  It could have been worse.  Shortly after arriving, trucks started to back up, waiting their turn to get loaded.

The rest of the day was driving.  I drove to St Louis, and headed south.  It seemed like a long drive, but was only six and a half since being loaded.  It was dark, and I was tired, so I parked in a Wal-Mart lot for the night.

Along the way, I stopped for fuel.  I wasn't told to stop for fuel, but if I hadn't, I would have run out before arriving at my destination.  Usually, as part of the directions, the recommended fuel stops are given.  Having been given none, I chose the stop from a company fuel map of approved locations.  At the stop, I could have gotten fifty gallons, enough to get a shower coupon, and then stopped at the OC outside of St Louis, but that OC is nine miles out of route, and uses fifteen minutes of driving that I do not get paid for, so I filled up here.

Just before getting the empty, I stopped at a Flying J to see if I could get online.  While at home, I was able to dial into the Internet, and download software for the WiFi card.  I knew right were the software was in my truck, but had taken it out as part of the cleaning in anticipation of getting a different truck.  I took the box home, and now can't find it.

Anyway, find the download software install, a newer version, I tried to get online.  It wouldn't work.  I ate my lunch, and took a nap, before picking up the empty.

I drove the empty to the shipper.  It was about half the way back the way I had come.  There, the load assignment said it would be a live load, but it was ready when I got there.  I dropped the empty, picked up the load, and drove three and a half hours to the OC in West Memphis.

Along the drive, I blew a tire on the trailer.  It happed in almost the exact location as when I blew a drive tire once before.  I drove about two miles to the same repair shop I had the last time.  If I blow another one in this area, I am going to wonder about it.

At the OC, I had some other tires looked at, and changed.  I stayed there for the night, and was able to get the WiFi working.  I took a shower, and got fuel there, even though there were no fuel stops included with the directions, again.

Along the way, my brother called to tell me that my aunt had died.  I called the person who assigns loads, and explained the situation, and asked for a load that would take me back to WI to make the wake or funeral.  I would be about six hours away when I delivered the load, tomorrow.

I was at the Flying J when my next load assignment came in.  It was going back to WI, with a delivery time, anytime on the 14th.  I wish I had driven farther today.

I drove to the shipper of the load going to WI.  It took over two hours to get there, plus a stop in Seville, for fuel.  This fuel stop, also was not included with the directions.  The fuel stops are usually included so that the drivers stop at the places with the cheapest fuel, usually and OC.

At the shipper, I dropped the empty, and picked up the load.  I ate a quick lunch there before leaving.  I had five hours of driving left on my eleven, and fourteen.  I drove the five hours with only one stop, so short, I didn't even log it.  I was trying to get to a Pilot station that was along the route.  The GPS said that I had just enough time to get get there.  I got there five minute before the time ran out.  Note, that it legal to arrive about five minutes part when the time runs out.

The wake was tonight, and I wasn't going to make it, but my niece called, and told me the time of the funeral service. I should be able to make that.

At the stop, I took a shower, using the coupon that I had gotten on the first day.

I got to the lot, drove home, changed clothes, and left for the funeral service.  Chicago had cost me the time to shower again, but I was still fresh from last night.  I arrived at the service five minutes before it started.  I got to see my cousins, and their children.  I was invited to a luncheon, and after two hours, headed back to the lot.

I had planned my time so that I could make the delivery, pick up an empty, and get back to the lot, as I had been instructed.  But, the order to take an empty to the lot didn't make scenes unless I was picking up a load there, or the load assigner thought the wake was tonight, in which case I could have delivered the load, and been back to the lot by 1400.

I call the planner, and found out that he thought the wake was tonight.  I told him I was able to get to the funeral service, and that I was ready to go.  The orders were changed.

I drove to the delivery, dropped the load, picked up an empty, and drove two and a half hours to the city of the shipper.  I was a little tight for time on picking up the load tonight, so a parked in a truck stop less than two miles away.

I drove over to the shipper, dropped the empty, picked up the load, and was on my way in a half hour.  I drove an hour, and stopped in Green Bay for fuel and a shower.  This was the first recommended fuel stop since I left of the tour.

I drove another seven and a half hours, stopping about forty miles past the half way point.

While there, I also looked at where I might go next, and realized that if I am sent the wrong direction, I wouldn't have enough fuel to make a recommend stop.  So, I drove to a fuel stop, and got fifty gallons.  This was enough to get me to the next stop regardless of direction, plus it got me a shower coupon.

I drove to the delivery, dropped the load, and picked up another.  I like these kind of loads.  I drove forty-five minutes, and stopped at a Wal-Mart.  There I bought some groceries, and ate a dinner.  I had a coupon for two for one on a large sandwich.

I then drove another half hour and stopped for the night at a service plaza on the toll road.  I could have gone farther, but the delivery tomorrow was at 1500, and I was less than five hours away.

At the delivery, I had to wait an hour before I got into a dock.  Now, I want to explain about lumpers.  A lumper is someone that unloads the trailer.  Unloading came be a straight unload, where one just takes the pallets off the trailer, and puts them into storage.  Other loads involve breakdowns.  I breakdown can be separating different products on one pallet onto separate pallets.  Or, it could involve changing the number or height of the product on the pallet.  The more the breakdown the more the lumper charge, over a straight unload.  This load involved some breakdown, and was $60.

Now, I could do the unloading, but the company would only pay $25 dollars.  A load with a lot of  breakdown would pay $100.  The last time I did a load with breakdown, I only got the $25.  Guess there wasn't enough breakdown.  Well, given the heat, I didn't feel like unloading the trailer, with some breakdown, for only $25, when the lumper get $60.  The trailer was unloaded in an hour, once they started.  I was at the delivery under three hours.

The next load had a pickup time tomorrow.  I drove to the shipper to see if it was ready to go.  Sometimes the load is ready to go early.  I drove to the shipper.  The load wasn't ready.  I drove to a nearby truck stop, and parked for the night.

I drove an hour and stopped to scale the load, and take a shower.  An hour later, I left.  I drove over seven hours with only one short stop.  I wanted to get as far as possible so I could deliver early enough tomorrow to still get in a decent day.  I could have driven all the way to the delivery area.  I know there are two truck stops about a mile from the delivery.  But, it would be close to 2200 when I got there.

I was thinking of going all the way when a rest area came up within an hour of the delivery.  I knew it was there.  The thing that made me stop was that it had a WiFi connection.  I stopped and checked the connection.  It worked, so I updated this page to here, and posted it to the Internet.

The load was beer, and I had kegs, so one got to be unloaded ahead of the other truck.  There was another dock, and I backed into it from a narrow road, and squeezing between the other truck and a pole.  The other truck had trouble getting into his dock. and he didn't have a truck and a pole to contend with, but he had a longer tractor.  He said I was a good diver for getting into my dock.

I was unloaded quickly, and drove to the shipper of my next load,  five miles down the road.  There I dropped the empty, and picked up the loaded trailer.  During inspection, I saw that the air tank for the brakes was hanging down.  A bracket had broken.  I used a light load strap to tie it up into position.  I felt that it not fall off.  It was better than it had been when other drivers had moved the trailer.  I was taking the load to a delivery next to the OC outside St Louis.  There I would have it fixed.

Along the way, a tire blew out.  I had to wait over an hour to have it fixed.  When I got to the OC, I put the trailer in for repair.  Besides the air tank, four other tires needed to be replaced.

I still had three hours available to drive.  I had asked for the load to be relayed, so I could go for another load.  I was told to deliver the load tomorrow.

Before I was going to go to sleep, orders for the next load came in.  The shipper was three hours the wrong direction, and the miles indicated that I shouldn't be able to get home tomorrow, even though that was the day I was supposed to get home.  I called to complain, but was told to call back tomorrow.  I was angry, and didn't sleep well that night.

I delivered the previous load, got an empty, and headed to the shipper.  The delivery was right next door, and the trailer was an the OC, so all this movement didn't register as movement, and the work was on the bottom line, and less than seven minutes each.  So I still had all my driving time left when I left for the shipper.  The miles were less than stated, and I made good time.  I got there in three hours.  The distance to home was less than 500 miles, and I had eight hours to drive.  Not really possible, but close.  The GPS said that it would take eight and three quarter hours.

The load was cotton seed.  The load was interesting.  I backed the trailer up to a pipe so that it went into the trailer about half way.  Cotton seed was blown into the front of the trailer for sixteen minutes.  Then I pulled the trailer forward until the pipe was outside the trailer, and cotton seed was blown into the back of the trailer for eighteen minutes.  The trailer was weighed, and some more seed was placed in the back with a front-end loader.  Another weigh, and the axles were set.

When I left, I had forty-five more on my fourteen, than on the driving time.  I would be able to stop for rest breaks.  The drive out of the back country went well, and once I was on the main highway, the GPS drive time was reduce by thirty minutes, using only fifteen to do it.  I was able to do the max speed to the IL border, and reduced the ETA even more.  Now it was just a matter of maintaining speed within the limits that trucks do in IL.

I made only one stop since I left.  When my eight hours ran out, I was close enough to make the lot within the excepted time.  I could have gotten there sooner, but it was real foggy, and I had trouble finding the exit, the roads, and the lot gate.

I started the time at home.

End of tour 60

I started at my usual time of 0800.  The drove fifteen minutes to get an empty trailer, and drove back to where I started, and a little to the east, to get the load.  Another truck was there getting part of the same load.  I had to wait to get into the dock, and then awhile to get loaded.

Once loaded, I took some time to get some for my computer.  I was near the home lot, so I went there, got my vehicle, ate lunch, picked the computer software, and returned software that wouldn't work on my computer.  

Oh, did I mention that my laptop died again over the weekend.  I had to replace the hard drive, and repeat that the restoration I had done before.  I still had the backed up data, so it went fast.

I drove to the OC, and placed the tractor in the shop.  I also took the trailer in for repair.  When I had picked it up, the slider rail for the tandems was resting on top of the pins.  I had hammer the pins in, and the box dropped back into place,  first one side, then the other.  In the shop, the brackets that are suppose to prevent this from happening were replaced.

While at Gary, I was able to get online, and update the Windows program.  This took over an hour.

At 2000, I was told that the tractor would not be started for a few hours, so I went to a motel

I got going at 0945.  I delivered the load at 1700.  I had received several load assignment instructions, with most of then indicating one address.  But one had a different address.  The bill had that same address.  The last assignment matched the majority.  I when there, but was told to go to the other address, about a mile away.

I dropped the loaded trailer, and drove fifteen minutes to get an empty.  There, I saw that the empty was in a dock, and still loaded.  There were no other trailers there, so I was sent to this little OC outside of Columbus OH.  I had stopped there to fuel, and now I was back.  I got an empty.

I drove toward the shipper, and stopped at a Flying J, and do more updating, and repairing of my computer.

The rest of the day was a long drive day.  The total for the day was ten.  I arrive at the delivery with over an hour available to drive.  I had my next load assignment, but I needed to pick up an empty trailer at the delivery point, but there were none available.  The yard man said that there would be one in an hour or so.  I said I would be out of time by then, and I was told that it was okay to stay on the lot over night.  I parked.  An hour and a half later, the yard man brought me an empty trailer, dropping it next to me.  I hooked up to it, and went to sleep.

I was near Tupelo MS, and had to use US highways out of MS, across TN, and into KY before getting to the Interstate.  My biggest concern was fuel.  I had enough to get to the two closest fuel stops, but they were out of route.  The closest fuel stop along the route was over 250 miles away.  The light load meant that I should be able to make it.  I had about forty gallons, and I should do about seven miles to the gallon.  I made it with no problem.

I showered after filling up, then drove another three hours.  I stopped at a Flying J, and did more restoration and repair.

I got a load assignment, picked up an empty, and drove an hour and a half to get the load.  It was a drop and hook in a drop lot.

I drove the loaded trailer almost four hours, and stopped at the Gary OC.  I got fuel, and had the trailer tires looked at.  I went to sleep early, because I would be getting up early.

Ahead to Oct

The next problem was the directions.  They seemed simple enough, except that the GPS wanted to go somewhere else.  I followed the company directions.  They were okay, but I had trouble finding the road.  There is a road by name, and an E road by name.  I have seen where the company has confused two roads like this.  I had to ask for directions.  The correct road was two blocks further.  Part of the problem was that the GPS wanted me to take another road that had a number, not a name.  I got to the delivery fifteen minutes late.  But, there was another truck there, and he was just pulling out.

I was unloaded quickly, and headed back for the border.  Pulling an empty trailer made it easy to cross back into the U.S.

I drove the empty to a rail yard the company has in OH.  There, I dropped the empty, and looked for the load I was to pick up.  It wasn't there.  I called my TL, and was told that the load would arrive tomorrow.  I parked for the night.