Up to Illinois

I waited around at the Laredo terminal the rest of Saturday and all Sunday, which meant I had to deliver the trailer I brought in from Indiana to the local border transfer agents which I did early in the morning. Local dispatch had told me they opened at 9 AM so I figured I would get there by 8 AM to be at the front of any line at the gate, a common malady in this town. As it turns out, they open at 8 and I rolled right in after another truck and I got in and out in short order.

The shipper damaged the floor of our trailer with the way they loaded the shipment, taking big gouges out of the oak floor like you would with a planing tool. I went and took pictures after it was docked up against the warehouse that I'll post soon.

When I returned to our yard they had a dispatch waiting for me to go. My choice of either Oklahoma for tomorrow or Illinois for Wednesday so I chose the longer trip. I also requested a day off back in Joplin so hopefully I will get a load heading that way on Wednesday or Thursday so I can hang around for the driver meeting at HQ on Saturday.

The trailer with this load has several problems that will need to be dealt with in Joplin. I'm hoping I won't be delayed long. The way the hours are on this trip I need to do a lot of driving tomorrow and get up early early on Wednesday to make my appointment time.

UPDATE: Here are those pics of the damaged trailer floor:

View all Gouged Trailer Floor pics