OTRjournal Blog

New Website!

2009-12-11T06:53:00.000-06:00

I've been working on transitioning my blogs from Google's Blogger to my own website and today begins the switch. I have copied over all 947 blog entries from this blog and my newer one, added some new features and rolled it all up into the New And Improved:

OTRjournal.com

Going forward, all new posts will show up at the new site so change over your bookmarks and any inbound links you may have on your own blogs or websites. Thanks!

The End of the Beginning

2008-03-10T20:44:00.002-05:00

Last week was my last with Con-Way Truckload. I turned my truck in on Thursday to a recent graduate of Crowder College, my trucking alma mater, and started orientation at my next trucking job today.

I left Con-Way to pursue a dream that wasn't possible by remaining in my current job. I am working on a detailed appraisal of my 16 months experience with them, but for now let it be known that I highly recommend starting a trucking career with them, and doubly so if you do it through Crowder.

If you are interested in reading my continuing adventure you can find my new journal here.

Hometime

2008-02-27T13:16:00.002-06:00

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Yesterday I did indeed end up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I didn't have enough hours to run the rest of the way to Joplin so I stopped early and finished the rest this morning.

The good folks in the inspection bay at our HQ looked over my tires and sent me over to the tire shop. They caught an impressive gash in one of my rear tires but missed some worrisome marks on my left steer. The guy in the tire shop looked it over and quickly concluded that it was time to replace, so I ended up with two fresh steer tires and one used rear super single that matched the tread depth on the other side. The super single was one of the originals on the truck, having provided about 293,000 miles of service. Its opposite number is still doing well and will probably last another 20,000 or so.

I checked in to the local Holiday Inn that CFI has used as long as I've been a driver, only to find out they have changed the corporate account over to a different motel. Holiday Inn is still honoring the same rate for CFI / Conway drivers and I definitely won't be changing over. The rooms, food and service here are superior.

Level 1 DOT inspection

2008-02-25T18:41:00.002-06:00

The title of this post typically brings anxiety and fear to the mind of most truckers.

After I had dropped my trailer in Nogales, Arizona, I went over to our drop lot and picked up the new one, bound for Kentucky but via Joplin so I can take my time off. I did my usual pretrip, checked the tires, lights, brakes and such then took off up I-19 towards Tucson. About halfway there is a rest area, and the northbound side had signs instructing all commercial vehicles to pull off for inspection, and a dozen or more DOT agents milling around. And a lot of trucks with their hoods open for inspection.

They had a portable truck scale there, which I didn't care about since my load is not even 20,000 lbs and I couldn't possibly be overweight on any of my axles. I had my window rolled down and the two officer types there mentioned that as soon as I had scaled I was to pull in to one of the truck parking spots and they would "be right along." Oh goody.

What followed was about 30-40 minutes spent checking all my lights, brakes, air system, drivers license, medical card, registrations and permits but not, for some reason, my logbook. I have my computer sitting on a special automotive desk in my passenger seat with the screen on my electronic logbook and once the officer saw that he didn't even bother getting a printed copy from me. Which wouldn't have been a problem since I run legit, anyway.

In the end I was given a completely clean bill of health and a printed report I have to turn in to HQ to have them review it and mail it back to the DOT folks. Oh, and a cute green sticker thing on my windshield... kind of like a gold star in elementary school, I guess.

Anyway, I drove and drove and drove, using up all my 11 driving hours for the day. I made it to the middle of New Mexico where I am stopped for the night. Tomorrow I will finish up in Oklahoma, then I will pull in to Joplin early Wednesday morning.

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Nogales, Arizona

2008-02-25T07:28:00.001-06:00

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I started in towards Nogales early in the morning and arrived by 0630 local time. The border transfer company we use here doesn't open until 0800 though.

The satellite unit went off as I was closing in with a load plan heading towards Kentucky. I told my fleet manager I needed to be back in Joplin this week so I will see if I can get it relayed there.

Stopped

2008-02-23T14:37:00.003-06:00

This is a picture from the same metal forms plant as my previous post:

After we back up to their dock to get loaded a forklift picks up a metal base with one of these signs and sticks it in front of your truck. So you don't drive away with one of the loaders in the trailer, apparently.

What gets me is the fact that the sign is all dented and scratched up.

It is good to be the King

2008-02-23T14:33:00.002-06:00

So, I'm being loaded at this metal forms plant near Miami the other day and this other truck pulls up:

I glance over then get a closer look at the message this driver chooses to display on his dash:

("one damn thing" is the last line I believe).

Marmon sighting

2008-02-23T14:23:00.002-06:00

Marmon was a small company that produced semis in the second half of the 20th century (Wiki here). They were considered by some as the Rolls-Royce of trucking and were produced in small numbers by hand, with considerable attention devoted to the details.

I've heard them spoken of but haven't seen (or noticed) one until today:

Wickedly windy

2008-02-23T12:27:00.002-06:00

Today I drove from Big Spring, Texas to Lordsburg, Arizona in heavy wind from the southwest. I'm hauling just over 32,000 lbs of tires which is enough to keep the trailer in line and not rocking too badly, but there is a limit to everything.

I could have gone on for two more hours but there wasn't much point. In the past eight days I've driven almost 4,000 miles and I'm out of hours. I get back six hours tonight at midnight which would let me finish the trip to Nogales but then I would be low on hours Monday morning after I deliver. Instead, I'm going to stay put here until Monday morning to reset my hours then finish it off then.

Stopped short

2008-02-22T16:56:00.002-06:00

I only drove nine hours today, leaving me only ten hours tomorrow to get closer to my destination. I need about twelve hours total, so the rest will have to come either Sunday or Monday morning perhaps. The driving itself was boring and uneventful, and I ended up between Dallas and El Paso along I-20 for the night.

Grey day

2008-02-21T17:51:00.002-06:00

Today I drove 650 miles west along I-85 then I-20 under cloudy skies. It rained nearly the entire way and the sun didn't come out even once. The only real hitch came around Atlanta in the morning traffic but I timed my arrival just about right at 1000 and by then it was moving, at least.

Here is the whole map of the journey. I'm about 1/3rd of the way complete now. Tomorrow I will spend most of the day crossing half of Texas.

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Thwarted

2008-02-20T15:25:00.002-06:00

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I got up this morning with a plan. A fine plan, involving delivering my load then taking the rest of the day off to rest and recuperate. It would be about six hours from where I stopped last night (the very last parking spot at a crowded T/A near Jacksonville, Florida) and that would be enough.

I was running long before dawn and made it to my drop in Columbia, South Carolina by 1100 local time. It was a single dock that some numbnutz had surrounded with tight cinder block walls but I made it in with one dinky pull up. The warehouse guy was on the ball and got me unloaded in a half hour or so and I'm thinking great, time to hit the truck stop and call it a day.

Run over to the nearest one and turn the truck off and am about to enjoy some soup when my satellite beeper goes off. Goes off with the sustained beep that I know means I have either a long form message or a new dispatch. Boom... I'm dispatched about an hour northwest to Laurens, South Carolina to a Michelin tire plant I've been to before.

"Can I pick up the trailer tomorrow morning instead of today?" I asked my fleet manager. No luck.

So I run an hour north, drop my old trailer, get the paperwork for the load then run around and find the loaded trailer. It is one of the newest in the fleet with the white and blue Conway logos, super-single tires, everything. Oh, and a heckuva oil leak coming from the back axle. Something that would have been obvious to the idiot who dropped the trailer there as he was STANDING NEXT TO IT WHEN HE SLID HIS TANDEMS BACK.

Ahem.

So, I call in to Road Service and wait. And wait. And wait. I wait about ten minutes on hold and finally someone answers and gives me the phone number to Duck Pye. I kid you not, there is a trailer repair joint in Greenville, South Carolina named Duck Pye.

Getting there is an adventure as it is located in the boonies and if your trailer doesn't have a tire or suspension problem before you get there, the last turn you make and the road that follows is nearly certain to jar something loose.

The mechanics are quick and have me in and out in under an hour and by then it is about 1530 and it being the east coast, it is time to decide where to park. I know that a few miles away is a Pilot that I've been to before so I rush over... and get the next-to-last parking spot. The guy behind me took the last one next to my truck.

The load I'm on could have been a good one, were it not for the timing. I have five days to get it to Nogales, Arizona, a distance of 2,000 miles. Since the folks there don't work weekends, I can't deliver before Monday so I will just slog it through.

Oh, then I got beeped as I was leaving the trailer repair place. A certain "Tim Townsend" is tied for 5th place in the current recruiting contest. Lucky bastard.

Off to South Carolina

2008-02-19T07:59:00.002-06:00

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I was beeped around 0900 local time to head over to pick up a load about 15 miles away to run up to South Carolina for tomorrow. I don't have to pick up until noon so I'm going to wait another hour for traffic to die down then skit.

Could I be unloaded early?

2008-02-18T12:36:00.003-06:00

I arrived in Miami, Florida at my consignee just before 1330 local time, eleven hours ahead of schedule. I was expecting some flack from the gate guard but he was surprisingly gentle with the rubber gloves and lubricant. Then, he directed me to the receiving folks and amazingly, they didn't kick me off the lot. Instead, they took the paperwork and pointed me at an open door.

"Take door 18, we'll try to get you in between three and four." I was told.

I busted a move (silently, and without moving of course) and took my truck over to the right spot.

Could I get unloaded this afternoon?

UPDATE: It took a good long while, but eventually I was unloaded. I ran over to the only truckstop I know in the area and managed to snag the last empty spot. Woo hoo.

Water Torture

2008-02-17T17:05:00.002-06:00

Today I drove from just west of Houston, Texas to the panhandle of Florida through some of the roughest thunderstorms I've seen on the road. I spent almost 300 miles in the pouring rain at speeds ranging from 10-65 mph. When I was nearing Pensacola, Florida I saw a series of five or six bolts of lightning hit what appeared to be the same spot over a period of two or three seconds, then several times more in the next 15 minutes or so as I passed the town.

As described in USA Today: (link)

Severe storms stream through South and destroy homes

MOLINO, Fla. (AP) — Severe storms blew across the South on Sunday, producing at least one tornado and destroying homes in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama. No injuries were immediately reported.

I'm about 550 miles out from my destination in Miami. I got running as early as I could this morning and plan on doing the same tomorrow morning so I arrive in the afternoon, which will let me get some rest in before the scheduled unloading around midnight.

Off to Miami

2008-02-16T19:59:00.002-06:00

It is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. I got on the board last night instead of this morning because there were quite a few people waiting already and I wanted most of the weekend to run. Still, it was mid afternoon before I got beeped to choose between loads going to Missouri, Ohio and Florida. They didn't have to twist my arm to head off to Miami, though the unload is scheduled for Monday night at midnight and the warehouse in question is a bit of a pain to deal with.

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I knocked out about 330 miles today and ended up near Houston, Texas. Tomorrow is Sunday so running through Houston shouldn't be that much of a problem and the rest of the way to Florida is a fairly easy drive.

Chillin' in Illin(ois)

2008-02-15T14:29:00.002-06:00

A few days back I was running a load south from Illinois to Houston. That night I was caught in a fairly nasty stretch for a few hours and you can see the ice accumulation on my truck, even after an hour or so of rain:

You think your day is bad?

2008-02-15T14:18:00.002-06:00

This pair of wrecked trucks are sitting on the side of our Laredo yard...

Tired

2008-02-14T14:03:00.002-06:00

I arrived several hours early at my destination in Houston, Texas yesterday and was told to wait in a staging lot until my appointment time. I did so, then returned and after an hour or so I was unloaded. There wasn't room to park where I was, so I went about ten miles away to the nearest truck stop and snoozed for a while.

Late in the afternoon I was beeped to pick up a load of tires at Michelin nearby and take it to Laredo, Texas no later than noon. The way the trip was planned originally wasn't possible due to my break so I called in and they verified that I could pick up the full trailer very early in the morning and scoot out of town.

When I arrived to exchange trailers they told me to put my empty in "the gravel lot" then go find my full one and bring it back to the guard shack for the paperwork. After ten minutes of running around I found the muddy pit they consider "the gravel lot" and found that it was brimming with other empties. It was shaped like a question mark and once I got to the back and realized there wasn't an open space I just dropped it there next to another of our trailers and the trailer jockeys can work it out in the morning.

The trailer wasn't bulging at the sides this time -- a first for a tire load. It turns out they were truck tires piled in stacks instead of diagonally so that is why there were no bulges. Still, 40,000 lbs of tires though.

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I ran the load down to our terminal in Laredo then off across town to Uniroyal-pain-in-the-ass drive to deliver, then returned to put in my paperwork and get a shower. Except, there are no showers since the terminal is being remodeled. So, I went back across town bobtail and am taking a couple days off at the local Flying J.

So there.

"Knock knock", "Who's there?"

2008-02-13T07:03:00.003-06:00

Why it is the local lot lizard at 0100 hours, that's who!

I've been fortunate enough to not get bothered by a lizard for probably six months until last night. Fortunately, she gave up easily and went on to the next truck.

The parking lot here in Lufkin, Texas is what I like to refer to as "informal". It is several acres in size with enormous potholes and the foundations of buildings that have been demolished. Trucks are parked every which way which only heightens the excitement.

Getting warmer

2008-02-12T18:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday before I shut down in Missouri I spent several hours fighting through snow, slush and ice. My load is probably the best I'll ever have for such conditions: four heavy Caterpillar engines with a combined weight of 26,000 pounds sitting at the very front of the trailer box right over my drive axles.

This morning the temperatures hovered right around freezing. As I drove south then west they steadily climbed until the middle of eastern Texas where they hit 55 degrees. For the first time in a few days I can actually turn my truck off tonight and be fairly confident it will start in the morning.

Off to Houston

2008-02-11T10:12:00.001-06:00

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My trailer brakes managed to freeze while I was on the dock this morning getting unloaded, but some alcohol in the brake lines fixed that in a hurry. Got beeped shortly after I was unloaded to head over towards Chicago and pick up a load bound for Houston, Texas.

Still cold as hell. Temperatures around zero with 20-40 degrees of wind chill.

Yo, the floor of my truck has frozen

2008-02-10T16:06:00.000-06:00

Apparently, engineers at Kenworth decided it would be okay for the floor of a T-600 tractor like mine to freeze, even with the engine on and warm air coming out of the ductwork. It was mildly chilly this morning in Joplin at 24 degrees, but by the time I made it up near Chicago the outside air temperature was hovering around 2 degrees. Even with a pair of shoes and two pairs of socks on my feet were cold all day. Guess I need to get a pair of shoes with thicker soles.

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I'm at my (deserted) consignee backed in to one of their docks. They allegedly open at 0600 tomorrow morning. There is lots of snow piled up here and a system coming through ready to dump more tonight and tomorrow which will be loads of fun once I'm unloaded.

Wasting time in Joplin

2008-02-08T14:24:00.002-06:00

After I picked up in southern California, I drove to Jamestown, New Mexico before calling it a night. Then, yesterday I drove from there to Sayre, Oklahoma and this morning I cruised through Oklahoma City and Tulsa and on to our HQ in Joplin. The inspection bay found nothing wrong with tractor or trailer, an unusual thing, and I was admitted into the main part of the yard in short order.

For some reason, it took Enterprise nearly three hours to pick me up so I could rent a car for the day. Eventually it all got sorted out and I'm typing this from a nearby hotel room. I'll stay here until early Sunday morning, get my 34 hour restart taken care of, then move up to Illinois to finish this trip.

Why 2k

2008-02-06T21:24:00.000-06:00

This morning I awoke at #2 on the board. Late in the morning (central time) I was beeped to grab an empty and take it to a nearby town to get loaded for Illinois. It is a nice 2,000 mile trip, and even nicer was the fact that there was a pre-loaded trailer waiting for me at the shipper so I was in and out fast.

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Neither trailer had its registration papers; not unusual for ones that come up from the border. I'm having the paperwork for the one I'm hauling faxed to me tomorrow morning.

I stopped at the Pilot in Avondale, Arizona to fuel up and regretted it as soon as I got off the freeway. That particular truck stop has way too much traffic around and through there and dropping in for a quick top-off was a mess. I was planning on taking a shower there, but after a long wait to get to the pumps and lots of CB Rambo types holding forth on the airwaves I decided to push on.

My trip was original scheduled to deliver this Saturday but apparently the factory doesn't work weekends, so it has been rescheduled to first thing Monday morning. I was paid for two days layover between the last load and this one and expect similar compensation after this load is delivered.

Over the road, no one respects your time, except you

2008-02-05T10:22:00.000-06:00

One of the things you quickly find out in the trucking industry is that no one, not the company you work for, not your dispatcher, not a trip planner, not the shippers or consignees, not law enforcement and certainly not other drivers give a whit about wasting your time.

Playing in this system is something of an art. Some drivers cut in front of a line of trucks patiently waiting to enter a consignee, as happened to me just yesterday. Some drivers send in satellite messages indicating they are empty and waiting for their next load while they are still being unloaded, or even before they bump the dock.

Companies have concerns that don't exactly mirror those of their drivers, as well. For example, myself and at least a dozen other trucks are being held here in Calexico until this afternoon when it will become apparent how many trailers will make it across the border from Mexico. My sources in operations are fairly certain there won't be enough trailers arriving today to make it down to my spot on the list, so I will either have to continue waiting or be deadheaded somewhere to pick up a load. Of course, since my time has no value in this equation, I will be held here until mid afternoon or later then perhaps sent hundreds of miles away as quickly as I can scuttle.

By comparison, imagine you arrived at your work some mornings and you weren't allowed to begin working right away. Instead, your company would have you hang out in your cubicle ready to go at any moment, but perhaps not allow you to begin working for four hours. Then expect a full day's work from you, as if you had begun right when you arrived.

Naturally, while you are waiting you are not being paid. This is why, in effect, no one but you respects your time. A trucker's wasted time is the lubricant that keeps the inefficient cogs of shippers, consignees and trucking companies moving. If there was a cost associated with that wasted time (and I specifically discount detention and layover pay, as neither is real compensation for the time wasted), say an hourly wage when waiting to be dispatched, then companies would find a way to minimize that expenditure and therefore begin to respect a truck driver's time.

Shorted

2008-02-05T06:01:00.000-06:00

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I delivered my load first thing in the morning in Ontario, California and was given a trip from there down to Calexico, California. A whopping 199 miles.

CFI seems to switch drop yards fairly frequently. In my 15 months with them, our Atlanta yard has switched locations several times and Calexico has changed at least once. Naturally, the address given for the new yard has the wrong town (it is listed as being in Calexico, but it is really north of there in the town of Heber).

I was out of hours on my 14 yesterday when I got in so our crack team at HQ asked when I would be ready. I messaged back saying I would love a load leaving early in the morning, but when I called in this morning they took it to mean I would be ready to get on the board, not leave. Now I'm 15th and not entirely happy about it. As good a reason as any to chat with my dispatcher when she gets in to work.

Will the wind ever stop?

2008-02-03T14:13:00.000-06:00

Today's drive from Eloy, Arizona to Ontario, California took less than seven hours, including the time I spent fueling up just before I crossed into the golden state. There was a bit of rain as I drove closer to the greater Los Angeles area, which turned into a huge downpour the last 40 miles or so. Fortunately, it being a Sunday morning, there wasn't much traffic around. For Los Angeles, at least.

But there sure was wind. Even way out in the desert east of Palm Springs it was gusty, and for the umpteenth day in a row my truck rocked back and forth as I made my way safely into town. I've been all over the US going back many years and I don't ever recall so much sustained wind over such a long period of time.

At least it is overcast and rainy here in the LA basin. California's new anti-idling law took effect January 1, 2008 which allows us trucker types a whopping five minutes per hour to idle our trucks. When it is 95 degrees out I would love to see one of the ignorant prats who came up with the laws locked into the sleeper of a truck for ten hours of "rest" and allowed five minutes per hour to idle the rig.

Go west, they say

2008-02-02T16:16:00.000-06:00

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I delivered my load of beer in El Paso, Texas this morning amid near-freezing weather. My truck outside air temperature gauge read 43 degrees but it sure felt a lot colder waiting on the dock of this beer distributor for them to start unloading us.

Afterwards I drove over to our drop yard on the eastern edge of the city and just as I entered the buzzer went off to let me know a loaded trailer was already there for me that needs to be in Ontario, California first thing Monday morning. I chose a random spot to drop my empty trailer and wouldn't you know it, of the 30 or 40 trailers that were sitting there, my new loaded one was right across the lot from me.

I was a bit low on fuel but decided to push on and fuel in New Mexico. I looked at the gauge as I reached the first of two fuel stops, this one in Las Cruces. It showed a quarter tank, and the other stop along I-10 was just over 100 miles away. I decided to risk it and over the next 90 minutes or so became increasingly worried. This is what the gauge read just over 100 miles later:

(Note to the uninitiated: truck fuel tanks are cylindrical and most gauges seem to read the "fullness" of a tank in a linear fashion. Therefore, the first 1/4 of a tank seems to drain quickly, as the small area at the very top of each tank drains, then the middle half tends to take a lot longer as the tanks drain the wide middle region, then it speeds up again as the tanks are nearly empty)

I ended up safely at the fuel stop and added over 172 gallons of fuel on to top her off. Since the tanks hold 200 gallons total, and the last 10% or so seems to be unusable... it was close.

The early bird gets the wheels to turn

2008-02-01T14:00:00.001-06:00

I got moving at 0200 this morning to see if I would get lucky at the beer plant. Turns out my new, fully loaded trailer had just been brought out from production and was waiting for me when I arrived. After only 30 minutes I had my old trailer dropped, the new one hooked, inspected, load straps in place, sealed, locked and paperwork in hand ready to hit the road. Doesn't get any faster than that, in my book.

Running west, the concern was that I wouldn't get through San Antonio before the morning rush started. Without stopping, it took me until 0545 to reach the northern perimeter road but traffic was still light at that hour. Thirty minutes later, I was on I-10 on the west side watching a cavalcade of traffic heading back to where I had just been. Sucks to be them.

I drove for ten hours today, stopping at Van Horn, Texas for the night. I'm not a huge fan of this particular Pilot truck stop but I get free showers because we fuel with them. Yes, I can shower for free anywhere by paying for it and getting reimbursed, but that means paperwork and delay.

The load is due in El Paso about 120 miles ahead of me tomorrow morning at 0800 mountain time. An easy chip shot from here.

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Suds and more

2008-01-31T16:37:00.000-06:00

After a lengthy wait I was beeped: I'm headed to Houston, Texas to pick up a load of beer headed for El Paso.

I drove along a fairly well maintained state highway direct from Austin and pulled in to our designated fuel stop in Houston around 1530. The Budweiser plant is across town so I'll take my break here then head over in the dead of night to swap my empty trailer for one full of beer.

Lots of wind yesterday and today. With a full trailer it is just a pain to keep up your speed, but empty you can get blown around quite a bit. Not quite bad enough to pull over, but enough to keep me awake.

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Irony alert: As I was passing through a small town along the way, I came across Memory Lane. Then I forgot to take a stroll. Ah well.

Wide Angle Goodness

2008-01-31T09:19:00.000-06:00

While I was shooting stills at Crowder a few weeks ago I found several problems with my camera setup. First, when it is cold out batteries don't hold their charge very well so having a backup is a big plus. I got an extra battery and an add-on for my Nikon so it can use both batteries simultaneously or separately.

Second, the base lens I purchased with the camera is a Nikon 18-200mm. It really is a fantastic lens for what I need but occasionally I want to be able to go wider. I picked up a Sigma 10-20mm which is about as wide as you can go and not be a true fisheye lens.

So, here are some pics I shot this morning while I was parked next to another company truck:

View all Wide Angle Goodness pics

Austin power

2008-01-31T08:59:00.000-06:00

I departed Denton, Texas as early as I could this morning and arrived at the consignee in Austin by 6:45 AM. I would have been there 20 minutes earlier but the directions weren't written very well and it took a while to sort out which warehouse was the one I needed. It didn't help that the street out front is kind of a divided highway thing with a decent amount of traffic so getting turned around was a bear.

Anyway, got unloaded by 0830 which isn't bad, given that my appointment was for 0800. I'm #3 on the board in the "southwest" region, though that is really not the case since I'm in the area controlled by the Laredo terminal, I think.

Back in the saddle again

2008-01-30T16:56:00.000-06:00

I decided to go back on the road after nearly three weeks off this morning. Everyone was cool with that, right up to the point where I was chatting with the local dispatcher. "You're blocked," he said.

Apparently, someone at HQ had put a block on my getting back on the board and didn't bother mentioning it to me.

I trudged over to the main building and chatted up someone in Safety. "Isn't us," she said. Apparently, it was someone in dispatch, so I marched upstairs while speed dialing my fleet manager.

Eventually it was determined that when I changed my original "due back" date in the system someone decided to put the block on. Not sure why.

Anyhow, I sashay back across the parking lot to local dispatch and now I'm not blocked. I'm immediately offered a delivery in Colorado for Friday or Austin, Texas for tomorrow. Good luck to the driver heading west, I chose south:

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I arrived just north of the DFW metroplex as the afternoon traffic jams were starting, which I had anticipated. I'm overnighting at a truck stop here and will get back to my usual early morning departure tomorrow when I finish the last 200 miles. There is, apparently, a super tight right turn that you have to make to get to the consignee which should be fun and giggles.

Despite the fact my truck was in the shop twice while I was on vacation, it still hasn't been turned back to 65. Sweet!

The drive today dragged by terribly slowly. After 13 months of driving, a few hundred miles in a day can go by in a blur once you get into the rhythm. When you aren't used to it, however, it can feel like ages.

Ah, Missouri

2008-01-29T12:56:00.000-06:00

This morning it was a lovely 60 degrees, mostly clear skies and a bit windy. Two hours later, it is 28 degrees, snow flurries, overcast and a stiff wind.

And to think I was planning on getting on the board tomorrow!

Crowder skid pad ride along

2008-01-28T14:55:00.001-06:00

I drove along with a number of drivers near the end of my day at Crowder on the skid pad.

Crowder skid pad greatest skids

2008-01-28T14:26:00.000-06:00

More hits (or is that misses?) from my visit to the Crowder College skid pad.

Crowder skid pad remix

2008-01-28T13:22:00.000-06:00

This is a remixed version of the Crowder skid pad video in my previous post. I run just as fast, however!

Crowder Skid Pad

2008-01-22T08:07:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I returned to my trucking alma mater Crowder College to shoot some stills and video while their skid pad was put through its paces. When I trained with them in November 2006 the skid pad wasn't being used because of persistent droughts. Since then, they have installed a 1.3 million gallon pond and pumping equipment so they don't have to rely on the local water supply.

The skid pad itself is a large area of smooth concrete, surrounded by a number of irrigation pumps and nozzles to flood various areas so the trucks hydroplane and lose traction.

During the course of videotaping, I took position a bit too close to the action... as you can see in this short clip:

I have hundreds of pics and 25 minutes of video I shot. When I get time I'll see if I can get some of the highlights uploaded.

Time off

2008-01-12T05:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I made it safely back to Joplin on Thursday. Friday morning, after a good night's rest and doing four loads of laundry, I put my truck in the shop for a variety of repairs and maintenance. The body shop was notified about my fender issue so they will take a swing at it after the mechanical folks get done with their part.

It turns out my last oil change work order wasn't closed out in the CFI system and if I hadn't have mentioned that it was a bit past the proscribed interval it wouldn't have been caught.

I have a week of paid vacation coming to me and I'm adding seven more days of my earned time off for a total of two weeks to rest and relax. I hope to (finally) get my OTRjournal.com web site up and running and there may just be a change of direction in my life shortly so stay tuned!

Colorful sunrise

2008-01-12T04:04:00.000-06:00

Kansas City fun

2008-01-10T12:48:00.000-06:00

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I arrived in Kansas City at 0700 and the last five miles into the city itself took almost 30 minutes. The traffic was absurd.

After an hour's wait, I was instructed to hurry up, quick quick, pick up a trailer here at the dropyard and run it across down (and into Kansas) about 15 miles away as the crow flies. Or 30 miles away as the only moving roads in the KC area lie. I arrived there in a reasonable amount of time, dropped off my new trailer, picked up yet another trailer... then was dispatched back to our yard across the river in Missouri. Whereupon I dropped the new (empty) trailer and am currently waiting on a loaded trailer to arrive here from one of the local drivers CFI has, after which I will be moving it down to Joplin.

Digital disaster strikes

2008-01-10T12:40:00.000-06:00

I use a product called Driver's Daily Log to keep track of my Hours of Service. Once a week or so, I print out my logs and send them in to the folks at HQ and everyone is happy. Rarely, they have lost a day or two (each is printed on a single page), but I can just print a fresh copy and send that in.

Last night my laptop crashed and I restarted it. I do a restart perhaps once a month or every other month, normally leaving it on in Hibernate mode while I'm bouncing down the road.

It turns out that it stores the data I input into one file for each month. So, December of 2007 has its own file, and January 2008 had one as well. Apparently, something went awry with the program or with Windows when it crashed and my current (January) file was blanked out.

Now I get to go back to New Years and recreate every stop, pickup, drop off, fueling, etc. for the past nine days. Thank goodness I'm taking time off.

Off to Kansas City

2008-01-09T16:50:00.000-06:00

After an hour or so wait, the buzzer went off and I got my new instructions: take my (now empty) trailer about an hour away to Columbus, Ohio and trade it for a loaded one that is due in Kansas City, Missouri tomorrow around 0800. The schedule is a bit tight, but I can make it work by leaving the Troy, Illinois truck stop I'm at this evening by around 0300.

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Nose-in parking is the devil's playground

2008-01-09T07:05:00.000-06:00

Most of the time when you park a big rig, you back into a spot so the next morning (or whenever) you drive out. There are a couple good reasons for this: you can see where you're going a lot better, and since you are turning the (relatively) small tractor ahead of the kingpin, you can negotiate around problems better as you depart.

Yesterday, when I pulled in to the truck stop I was ending my day at, I really, really needed to use the little driver's room. There were a small number of parking spots available, one of which was easy to drive into nose first so I went that route and took care of business.

Then the mistake. My mistake was to not immediately afterwards backing up and maneuvering over to a spot that I could back in to. I wanted to take a nap, I had just bought some yummy Popeye's chicken strips to munch on, I had that movie I wanted to finish watching... basically, stupid excuses. The devil made me not do it!

When I awoke this morning, my worst fears were realized. There were a gaggle of trucks parked illegally behind me (illegal being a relative term in a truck stop). If I had backed in I could have squeaked by without getting anyone to move, but since I was lazy the day before I had to wake two drivers and risk hitting one rig behind me and one next to me when I couldn't get the other driver to respond to me pounding on his door. Fortunately, the drivers were pleasant and a flatbed driver off to the side helped me over the CB letting me know how close I was to the guy behind me as I was backing.

Oh, and I did all of that at a decent uphill grade in reverse with a 42,000 lb load, which is a chore, particularly when you have to turn while you're doing it.

Anyway, made my delivery this morning in Bellefontaine, Ohio and I'm sitting here waiting to be dispatched. Story of my life.

Cracking up

2008-01-08T15:40:00.000-06:00

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The drive today flew by between Mississippi and Kentucky and I arrived this afternoon just south of Cincinnati, Ohio. The only thing of note today was the unwelcome rock that cracked my windshield, just above the driver's side wiper blade. I had three windshields go in my first three months but this one has lasted almost a year.

I'm about 120 miles away from my destination and I have until 0800 tomorrow to get there. No problemo.

The waiting game

2008-01-07T18:06:00.000-06:00

I arrived this morning at my consignee around 0500 only to find out their warehouse operation doesn't open until 0700. So I waited in my truck, browsing the web and having breakfast.

A while later, I went back to the security shack and watched an informative video about plant safety, then got sent back to the warehouse area, where I waited some more.

Finally, someone got around to my paperwork and it was determined that I needed to get offloaded at a separate warehouse a few miles away. This is a problem, as CFI requires us to call in any time a shipper or receiver wants to change where we load or unload. While I was waiting for permission from the folks in the rear with the gear, two other CFI trucks pulled up, an owner-operator and a finisher with a student. We chatted for an hour or so and finally pestered HQ again until it was grudgingly decided that we could actually unload where the consignee wanted us to.

After a short drive we turned down a muddy, dirty side street next to a dirty, muddy "parking lot" which served as the truck parking for a nearby riverboat casino. The warehouse in question had an unusual indoors mobile dock which required us to back in partway, let them unload the last two pallets at the very back of the trailer then back up to the mobile ramp that the forklifts used for the rest of the cargo.

I went in first and it was difficult to get aligned with the dock because the interior of the warehouse was poorly lit, and it was bright outside. Not to mention, you had to be careful moving from side to side so as not to rip the side of the warehouse off, as the door was only a few feet wider than the trailer. I'm sure the student had a fun time trying this one.

Eventually I was unloaded and after another few hours got deadheaded over to Baton Rouge to pick up a load bound for Ohio. Here is a map of today's driving:

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Note to self:

2008-01-06T08:30:00.000-06:00

Running 100 miles in fog is little fun.

I tossed a coin, choosing between staying put for another day midway to my destination and finishing the trip tomorrow after restarting my hours, or moving closer today. I chose the latter and I'm now about 30 miles away from the consignee I have to be at tomorrow at 10 AM.

My rear left fender signaling light keeps falling off, despite my best ghetto mechanical skills. I tried one last attempt with duct tape this morning when I fueled. I was so low on fuel I almost got 170 gallons before filling up.

My 501 mile run

2008-01-05T13:58:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged in a few days, which I try to avoid doing. Continuity is important.

Anyway, I made it from Houston to Brownsville yesterday and dropped off my trailer at the folks who are taking it down to Mexico shortly. It didn't help that there were actually three different addresses or sets of directions sent for this particular trip... I guessed wrong the first time, then got it right the second.

I spent the night next to one of the numerous super Wal-Marts in the area, primarily because it was two blocks away from where I dropped my trailer. I awoke this morning feeling ill and vaguely hungry, so I drove around to find someplace to get something to eat at 4 AM. Denny's was the winner. I threw up a bit before eating, as opposed to after, so it wasn't all bad.

Got another monster weekend run: 501 miles to Lake Charles, Louisiana to deliver Monday morning at 10 AM. No biggie, I'm highlighted for Joplin now so my days waiting will count towards the deadline to send me home.

I had to pick up an empty trailer to bring over to this particular place to exchange for my full one, so I was sent to a different shipper we use that had some spares on hand. Lets just say the security there wasn't exactly air tight and the trailers had a variety of missing or substituted parts. Ah, Mexico.

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605 miles behind me

2008-01-03T14:17:00.000-06:00

Last night, I ended up just south of Montgomery, Alabama. The only city between me and my destination of any concern, traffic-wise, was Houston so I resolved to drive as far as possible today so as to get up very early tomorrow and blow through there before the morning delays begin.

I drove and drove, finishing the rest of Alabama, then a short jaunt across Mississippi, then the entire state of Louisiana from east to west, making good time. Finally, just east of Houston I wrapped it up for today with 605 miles behind me and an easy cruise for my last 300 miles or so tomorrow morning.

My left fender light fell off several times today, forcing me to get more creative and determined with my ghetto duct taping skills. It was freezing or colder all of yesterday and even here in Houston it is barely in the 40s in the middle of the afternoon.

Absolutely freezing in South Carolina

2008-01-02T07:58:00.000-06:00

When I went to bed last night the outside air temperature was almost 60 degrees. This morning I awoke to 24 degrees, a drop of 36 degrees overnight! It took a while to warm both myself and the truck up, after which I made my way the last 120 miles to the shipper. Turns out you DO NOT want to go past them... you find very tight turns (for cars) and a 9' 9" bridge as well. With nowhere to turn around. Not that I would do such a thing, mind you, just a cautionary note.

Bleh.

Lazy day

2008-01-01T14:56:00.000-06:00

This morning I drove towards the shipper I pick up at tomorrow. I was originally planning to drive the entire way and park near them, attempting to get loaded early, but when I stopped to fuel I started feeling lazy. After taking a shower, eating, and taking a nap I just didn't have the desire to drive any more today so I will finish the last 120 miles or so tomorrow morning.

Happy New... trip

2008-01-01T00:40:00.000-06:00

This morning I delivered my load in Jacksonville, Florida then went to the local Kenworth dealer to have them look over the truck, take pictures and do a road worthiness examination. I didn't study a bit and still passed! Lucky me.

I waited a long time to get dispatched, finally getting sent all the way up to South Carolina to get a load going to Brownsville, Texas. Nice miles, but not through Joplin so my ghetto duct tape job on my fender will have to do for now.

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I'm hit, I'm hit!!

2007-12-30T19:31:00.000-06:00

So I'm sitting in my truck in back on the bunk discussing the day's events with my Rosie O'Donnell blowup doll (previously described here) when my tractor jerked to the side and I heard a dull crunch. I disentangled myself and rushed up to the front, where I saw:

View all I'm hit, I'm hit pics

A driver in a US Express truck had managed to back into the driver's side fender on my truck... the very same one that was replaced six months ago! The poor flasher light at the back is hanging on only by the electrical cable, and you can see the fairing between the steps on the side was bent outward as well. Oh, and my mirror has a slight scrape on it too.

The offending trailer suffered the indignity of a slight scrape to the steel plate in back. That's the piece of black metal you can see here:

Steel meets fiberglass, steel wins.

Tomorrow morning I need to be up super early to drive a few miles to the local Petro repair shop to get some temporary repairs made, then I will deliver my load and get sent to Joplin. Where my truck will get fixed (the fender) and fixed (neutered back to 65 MPH).

Bummer.

What should have been an easy drive...

2007-12-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

This morning I departed Richmond, Virginia and headed south along I-95. Pre-dawn traffic was non-existent and I cruised along merrily. An hour down the freeway I stopped to fuel up, and this is what it cost:

And you thought your fuel bill was big!

After another three hours of driving I pulled off at Florence, South Carolina to fill up my other tank with a 20 oz. ribeye for $9.99 at the local Petro. Yummy.

South of there the traffic was brutal, with wayyyy too many weekend warriors and their RVs clogging up traffic. On two lane roads, slow RVs in the right lane caused a lot of braking and lane changing to get around them and accidents were inevitable:

View all South Carolina Pileup pics

I came up on this one shortly after it happened, while the police and emergency vehicles were still on their way to the scene.

Traffic for the next 120 miles or so was pretty much bumper-to-bumper, with lots of slowing. Upon entering Georgia it went to three lanes and the traffic sorted itself out.

Anyway, I drove 555 miles today and stopped at a truck stop just before entering Florida, about 15 miles from my destination tomorrow morning. I expect I will be ordered down to Palatka, Florida after I deliver to pick up yet another load of paper products bound for the midwest.

Relaxin' then headin' to Jackson(ville)

2007-12-28T11:36:00.000-06:00

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I rolled in to Chesapeake around 0400 local time. The receiving folks at the Sam's Club in question had heard nothing from our crack Customer Service people, so they just assumed I was slacking. Got me unloaded very quickly though.

The lot behind the warehouse was just big enough to shoehorn in one last semi, namely mine. I was blocking a row of bobtails in where I parked but I didn't plan on staying long and they could always pound on my door if one of them had to move. None did, and I got a couple hours rest.

Around sunrise I drove around the front side of the complex to the Super Wal-Mart next door to refill my pantry. Hard to believe it, but I spent over $85 -- I haven't been able to stock up in a while.

Right when I got back out to the truck I got beeped with a new load picking up in Richmond, Virginia then delivering in Jacksonville, Florida first thing Monday morning. This would ordinarily be a craptastic 700 mile weekend waste of time, but in this case it will allow me to reset my hours and take a much-needed break. Plus, it won't hurt to be heading south versus north at this time of year.

UPDATE: It turns out I'm loaded with 16 tons of Ramen noodle containers. College students rejoice!

Good on Ohio

2007-12-27T11:47:00.000-06:00

I've seen these signs in Ohio for a while now, and I even saw one in Georgia last time I was through there.

States: more signs and more enforcement of them please!

Water, water everywhere

2007-12-27T11:44:00.000-06:00

Yes, it is that time in this busy holiday season to take another huge (read: heavy) load of water across our roads. I got deadheaded to some unpronounceable town in Pennsylvania (Breinigsville... say that three times quickly) where I'm currently waiting for a Nestle plant to load me up with 46,000 lbs of water, destined for Chesapeake, Virginia.

They originally wanted me to get it there by 0100 tonight, but with my 10 hour break that would have required a governed speed of approximately 110 MPH. I petitioned for this small change, but was denied. Corporate believes it is better to just adjust the time out. They still can't have my 70 MPH truck back!

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The Devil is in the Details

2007-12-27T08:34:00.000-06:00

Details like having a tight, blind-side back around the front end of a parked truck whose nose is about two feet into the space I need to use to back. Details like very slow warehouse personnel taking their sweet time unloading my truck.

They have a new load for me when this is done... going back the way I came into Pennsylvania then down through Delaware to the Chesapeake Bay area in Virginia.

Sweet Mexican Pot

2007-12-26T21:16:00.003-06:00

No, not that stuff, silly!

The load I dropped last week in Los Angeles was mostly super large clay pots for plants and trees, but they had a few smaller ones and I worked out a deal with the consignee to get one for my mom as her Christmas gift.

Apparently, Sprint hates Pennsylvania

2007-12-26T20:26:00.001-06:00

At least the area around Bedford, PA where I ended up this afternoon. My internet access is painfully slow and most pages time out before loading, so updating here has been a challenge.

I'm 270 miles away from the consignee and I will leave shortly after midnight to get there on time, weather willing.

Here is the entire route with stops:

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911 miles to go...

2007-12-25T16:46:00.000-06:00

Hopefully just a coincidence with the numerology there!

I treated myself this Christmas morning to no alarm clock, so I didn't get rolling until 3 AM or so instead of 1 AM, the earliest the Hours of Service rules would allow. It has been freezing every morning along this trip so far, but since there hasn't been any precipitation it really makes no difference. Since I have broadband internet out on the road, I use weather tools like this one to stay safe and plan my trips.

I arrived in Joplin around 0830 and the inspection bays were closed for the day! I trundled over to the fuel pumps, filled up and got the heck out of town (after getting my new IFTA sticker and other registration stuff for the new year).

Christmas lunch/dinner was at a rather busy Flying J restaurant a few hours down the road, and a celebratory shower.

690 more miles behind me

2007-12-24T15:15:00.000-06:00

I actually thought I was going to crack 700 miles today, and I drove all but 15 minutes of my allotted eleven hours. Two more days like that and I will be in good striking distance for Thursday morning.

Tomorrow, about halfway through my driving day, I will arrive at our HQ in Joplin, Missouri and my truck will be inspected. If I lose much time at all there it might put the delivery schedule in jeopardy. Especially if they find the time to turn my truck down to 65 miles per hour.

2,895 miles

2007-12-23T16:15:00.000-06:00

That is how long the load I picked up this morning has to go. It delivers Thursday in Saddle Brook, New Jersey at 0800 local time.

I was deadheaded from San Marcos, California down to our drop lot in Otay Mesa to swap my empty trailer for a full one. All total, just under 3,000 miles.

Today I spent a lot of time climbing hills and barreling down the other side. There are a line of mountains to the east of San Diego, and a series of long climbs from the Phoenix, Arizona area up towards Flagstaff. None very pleasant in a heavily-loaded truck, as mine is (21 tons of batteries, this time). The Cummins engine in my truck is very reliable and seems to consume less fuel than the Caterpillar alternatives most of our trucks are equipped with. However, it doesn't have anywhere near the same torque under a heavy load.

I finished in Winslow, Arizona -- about 620 miles. I will need to pick up the pace the rest of the way, but I won't have many mountains to climb and aside from Illinois and Ohio, the rest of the states have reasonable truck speed limits. According to the GPS, I have 2,275 miles remaining to run. I need to have three very good driving days in order to be set up to finish it on Thursday morning.

We'll see.

15 minutes

2007-12-21T09:01:00.000-06:00

I left this morning from Blythe as early as I could, figuring I would see what the early rush hour traffic was like and decide where to stop further down the road. Surprisingly, traffic headed west on the I-10 was moving well and with a few slow-ups I was able to transition to I-215 north, then the 210 freeway west. Even though I wasn't intending to, I got to the receiver only 15 minutes after the original delivery time.

Turns out that doesn't even matter... they are presently inside having one of their daily meetings and myself and a number of other drivers are here waiting for them to start working. Bleh.

So tired

2007-12-20T20:08:00.000-06:00

It doesn't look like much, but today was one of the most tiring days I've had in my 13 months of trucking.

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I got up early this morning and drove to my consignee in Huntington Beach, California through fifty miles of the best that LA could toss at me. Of course, at 0400 that typically isn't much.

The consignee was a real treat to get in to. At one point I had to blind-side back out on to the street then make my way inside, where I had to wind my way around through muddy paths to the area where the trailer would be unloaded. By hand. A full 53' trailer, filled top to bottom with heavy clay pottery, protected by an incredible amount of cardboard boxes.

It took two hours just to get started because the owner didn't have a cashier's check for the C.O.D. as instructed, and CFI doesn't take plastic or company checks apparently. So, he had to run over to the bank and wait until they opened up, before I opened up the trailer.

Then his crew of about 10 workers went about unloading these huge clay pots. I'm talking big enough to plant a palm tree in, some of them at least. All made in central Mexico in the state of Jalisco in a town called Tonala, that I've been to before.

While I was watching this go on for three hours, I get a call from my fleet manager asking if I could pretty please help out with a high priority load (Conway, naturally) that hadn't been picked up. Just need me to take it from the Los Angeles area on I-10 just inside Arizona then swap trailers with another driver. Oh, and deliver his load back in the Los Angeles area tomorrow.

I've been highlighted for ten days now. I spent all of this morning thinking of what I would do on my time off today and tomorrow. Then, I sighed and told them I'll do my part, take one for the team, yada yada.

So now I'm in Blythe, California near the Arizona border. The other driver agreed to meet me here since traffic was absurd in Los Angeles and I got very much delayed. Also delayed will be the load of his that I'm taking in, that was supposed to be there at 0630 tomorrow. Try noonish, folks.

Nite nite.

Bilbo LIVES!

2007-12-19T11:12:00.001-06:00

Blowout!

2007-12-19T09:44:00.000-06:00

Picture I-10, westbound in moderate traffic just at sunrise this morning. A heavily-laden truck rolling down the road in the slow lane, minding its own business. A strange sense of foreboding. The soundtrack welling up in the background, with the strings section providing sharp, dissonant notes.

Boom!

Suddenly, the truck weaves right, then left as one of the eight rear tires explodes. Rubber debris fills the road. Other cars and truck swerve, slow down, speed up -- whatever it takes to avoid becoming part of this event.

Brake lights now, and the squeal of the brakes themselves above the hissing of the air valves. The noise of the Jake brakes and engine working together to assist. Tenuous directional control is regained and the damaged beast is brought over to the right side and out of the traffic lanes. Finally, it shudders to a halt.

Okay, so the real thing wasn't anywhere near as dramatic. I'm minding my business chugging down the freeway when I hear a booming popping noise and I feel my trailer tugging a bit at me. Directional control wasn't really a problem, and I pulled it over quickly and easily.

The tire, as you can see, is done for:

View all Blowout pics

The tire folks called in by our road service department were here in about an hour, and after about 30 more minutes it was taken care of.

Cue the end credits.

California, here I come

2007-12-18T19:18:00.000-06:00

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I got a load from our yard in El Paso to deliver in the greater Los Angeles, California area on Thursday morning. My first COD load, too.

I drove as far as Tucson then called it a day. It is just under 500 miles to my destination so tomorrow will be an easy drive.

California vs Texas

2007-12-18T09:27:00.000-06:00

No, its not a knock-down, drag-out tussle between the states. Its just that any time I highlight for San Marcos, California I inevitably get sent to San Marcos, Texas instead.

I dropped my load first thing this morning in the drop yard of a textile company near the Mexican border. Now, I thought that textile companies produced textiles (shirts, pants, socks, etc.) but this one doesn't. It is a huge warehouse with folks sorting all the donated clothing that goes to organizations like Goodwill. I was surprised to see them using huge compactors to compress everything together into big blocks to make stuff easier to ship... ship to Mexico, I expect.

The guy in charge of the yard spoke muy pocito englais, and I speak muy pocito espanol. Eventually he showed me where to bring my truck into his dirt yard area and wait while one of his local chofurs (drivers) moved a few trailers around and made me a spot to drop my full trailer in.

Empty trailers are kept out on the street in long lines, nose-to-tail with the trailers on either end having kingpin locks so no one can swipe one. Unfortunately, the company across the street parked one of their trailers in front of this line and they didn't want to move it aside to get at the rest. Eventually, I got on the horn with dispatch and we agreed I would bobtail over to our yard and our local yard driver would grab the empty later. Explaining and understanding all of this with two grown adults talking in two different languages was interesting.

Anyway, back to the Battle of the States. I get back to our yard and before I can even jump in the bunk my buzzer goes off. They have a super rush-rush load that has to be in San Antonio at 0500 tomorrow. About 550 miles. All interstate 10. Fantastic single day run. It also happens to be a great lead up to being dispatched home to San Marcos, Texas. You see my issue.

I called my dispatcher, Amanda. I mentioned that this happens almost every time I've highlighted out to California and she told me that she has a big note on the screen to make sure to not send me to San Marcos, Texas. The load planner, naturally, ignored that and sent me that load.

Perhaps I should have run it then mentioned the state mixup tomorrow morning when they try to dispatch me to the one in Texas. Would have had a nice, all-day, easy-breezy run, and I would have basically doubled those miles getting back to El Paso then points west.

It sucks being honest sometimes.

Delay, delay, delay

2007-12-18T07:25:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning started with a lengthy delay at the beer distributor as I waited in a line of trucks waiting to be loaded or unloaded. Afterwards, I went back to the local truck stop and attempted my patented system to ensure a quick dispatch (shutting the truck down, putting up my window coverings, taking off my clothes and getting into bed for a short nap).

Wouldn't you know it, I got buzzed almost immediately. Must be something to it.

I was sent to Albuquerque, New Mexico to the local Goodwill center to take a load down to El Paso, Texas. About 200 miles deadhead to pick up, and about 240 to deliver. All in a day's work, I thought.

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When I arrived at the center they were undertaking a fire drill of some sort, but shortly thereafter I picked up a new trailer loaded with used clothes and did my pre-trip. Oh lordy.

One of the tires was flat. One of the mudflaps was missing. And one of the axle seals was leaking oil.

The first two are things the previous driver should have noted. The trailer had been there the better part of a week, and we have service companies that will come out and fix up such things for us. But noooo, easier for the next driver to spend his or her time taking care of it.

I went to the local truck stop and got in line for the repair bays. And waited. And waited. Eventually, I was next in line and got inside, and its break time. Then the local grease monkeys were fiddling with a truck in the next bay.

Some three hours later the tire was fixed (bad valve stem), the mudflap was replaced and the oil seal was patched up. By this time it was 4:00 local time and the traffic was starting to back up, so I quickly made my way south out of the city and drove as far as Anthony, Texas, right at the Texas / New Mexico border before shutting down.

A very long day, with delay after delay.

Nice day for a (700 mile) Sunday drive

2007-12-16T18:09:00.000-06:00

I got up at my usual early hour and checked the weather. Cold, but not down to freezing where I was, and very dry. One good thing about cold fronts, unless it brings rain it tends to be very low humidity and dries things up.

I drove and drove, stopping in Weatherford, Texas to fuel and shower. Then I drove a bit further down I-20 and just before I angled off of it up towards Lubbock, I visited a super Wal-Mart to stock up the pantry and fridge. Got lots of good food, but they sure were out of most of the veggies and fruits I like to eat. Perhaps I need to widen my food horizons.

The timing worked perfectly. I rolled into Roswell, New Mexico at 5:30 which was right at the end of my driving day. I made my way to the local truck stop and shut her down for the night. Parked next to another CFI driver who has been here waiting for more than a day for his next load, after he brought a load of beer down from Colorado. Ominous.

Shreveport, Louisiana

2007-12-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

Early this morning I picked up a new trailer at a beer plant in Cartersville, Georgia. I had the empty trailer I dropped there for a week or so, which is unusual at CFI.

Beer loads are notoriously heavy, and this one is no exception. With the 46,500 pounds of cargo on board my truck weighs in at 78,500 pounds. Fortunately, my route across the southern states is mostly flat so the weight isn't as much of a bother as it normally is.

The drive today was easy, it being a Saturday. I took care of about half of the 1,250 mile journey and I have tomorrow and Monday morning to finish the rest. However, I overheard a Louisiana State Trooper discussing the weather when I shut down, saying it was likely going to freeze here overnight and there is quite a lot of water on the road from the heavy rains. Fun, fun.

Am I really highlighted for home?

2007-12-13T17:21:00.000-06:00

I could have swore I highlighted for home back on December 10th, and my satellite system backs me up with a copy of that request. Yet this morning I get a dispatch taking me from the cozy warmth of Georgia up to Connecticut. That being just about the opposite direction to southern California you can get, I just had to call my dispatcher and ring her chimes.

Turns out my highlight was taken off at some point, by persons unknown. The good news is some other slob is going to have to take that load up there (doesn't deliver until Monday, naturally), the bad news is I have to sit here north of Atlanta until Saturday morning to get a load heading west.

To Roswell, New Mexico, of all places.

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Lazy days

2007-12-13T06:54:00.000-06:00

I admit it, I was feeling more than a little lazy yesterday. I could have driven all the way to the consignee for this morning's unload and parked it nearby overnight (no overnight parking at the consignee according to the satellite unit; the reality was a bit different). Instead, I packed it in early at Cartersville, Georgia then finished up the trip early this morning. Unloading was simple, given there were only 6 pallets of stuff, and now I wait for my next in the parking area of an abandoned warehouse with some other trucks from other companies.

This resolves that old argument...

2007-12-12T15:32:00.000-06:00

"What trucking company is best?"

Now we know:

30 degrees

2007-12-11T15:37:00.000-06:00

About 40 miles north of Indianapolis, the temperatures started rising rapidly. First 40 degrees, then 45, 50... 55! Finally, by the time I shut down just to the south of Indy, my outside air temperature gauge reads 63 degrees, 30 degrees warmer than I was three hours north of here!

Icy mush

2007-12-11T11:48:00.000-06:00

I was up and running as soon as I could under the Hours of Service regulations this morning, and sighed a sigh of relief when I made it to the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana just before 0600 so I could get on the board as instructed.

Then I waited, and waited.

After almost four hours, the buzzer went off and I was told to run up to Grabill, Indiana to pick up a load of PACCAR products bound for Georgia. PACCAR is the company that makes Kenworth and Peterbuilt, so these are things like hoods, doors and the like.

On the way up to the shipper the temperature went from mid 40's to low 30's in the span of about ten minutes. Plenty of snow in the fields alongside the highways, and a nice, cleansing, light rain falling. Fortunately, it didn't get below freezing so while it is slippery for someone with an empty trailer, it isn't impossible.

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I'm waiting to get loaded now. I would ordinarily dance a jig for a light load, but running on ice, slush and snow calls for something with a bit more heft. Hopefully I can get out of here early enough I can run back south below Indy and avoid the freeze tonight.

UPDATE: Almost stuck not once but twice in the slushy parking lot of this place. Thank goodness I went through this mess last year and have a couple ideas of how to get a truck unstuck!

Deadhead to Indy

2007-12-10T17:42:00.000-06:00

The unloading took a long time: about seven hours. None of that counts as detention because I was there a day early. Oh well, at least the load is off my truck.

I got paged before long to deadhead about 300 miles to Indianapolis, Indiana by 0600 tomorrow morning. Due to the vagaries of the Hours of Service rules, I will likely run a bit late, but I drove as far as I could today (ending in Eaton, Ohio near the Indiana border).

This is one way to drive from where I was; I took a more direct route over US highway 35.

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Here is the more direct route I took:

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Dirty sucks

2007-12-10T07:28:00.000-06:00

Dirty, in trucker slang, refers to the eastern part of the US. I arrived in the "dirty" town of Dunbar, West Virginia this morning only to find incredibly narrow streets, small or non-existent signage and a few dead ends I had to back out of. At one point, I was near my destination but on the wrong side of the railroad tracks and the crossings were, I kid you not, five or six feet over street grade. Imagine driving a rig over a pyramid and you get the picture.

Thank goodness for the GPS. After each turn into new forbidden territory it recalculated the best route for me towards my goal. After a long process of trial and error, I finally made it to a long, narrow street with a tight left turn and shortly thereafter to my consignee.

Naturally, since I'm not due until tomorrow morning they aren't sure if or when they can work me in today. They have the paperwork and I'm out in the truck playing around on the internet.

And dreading trying to get back out to the interstate.

UPDATE: Here is a picture of one of the railroad crossings I had to avoid:

Pop goes the tire

2007-12-09T16:00:00.000-06:00

Not mine, thankfully.

I went over to the local Proctor & Gamble plant where I was to pick up and it turns out the trailer was ready early so they let me have it early this morning. I boogied on up the road to just inside South Carolina when I heard a "pop" sound, which had to be fairly loud and nearby for me to hear inside my truck.

Myself and another truck driver pulled off at the next exit and inspected our trucks. Luckily for me, it was one of his trailer tires that had given up the ghost. I told him where the next truck stop with a repair shop was located and we both moved out again.

I was originally planning to drive the entire way to West Virginia today, to attempt to both pick up and deliver the load before the original pick up time (snarky, I know). Unfortunately, a couple hours short of the goal my rear was starting to squawk so I'm calling it a night in Virginia. Turns out our folks in the rear with the gear at HQ don't even know if they are open Sundays.

My gentleman trucker route

2007-12-08T16:19:00.000-06:00

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Worship the four days of driving goodness therein.

My first year income at CFI

2007-12-08T15:56:00.000-06:00

Since I find myself with some, er, extra time I decided to go back through my paperwork and figure out how much money I made at CFI during my first driving year.

I started driving on December 1, 2006 and from that point until December 15, 2006 I grossed $1,895.47. That was all that was paid in 2006, as the last half of December's pay was issued on January 4, 2007 and thus falls on this year's taxes.

This year, for the period ending November, 30, 2007 and including the last two weeks of 2006, I grossed $40,081.97. Combined, I made a total of $41,977.44 in my first 12 months of driving. I am also entitled to a week's vacation pay, which will be roughly $807.25, for a grand total of $42,784.69. Since the vacation pay is 1/52nd of what you make over a year, that also happens to be my weekly average gross take home pay.

During my first 12 months I drove 131,711 paid miles (an additional 4% or so more than that were driven "out of route", meaning I didn't take the shortest route between two stops. This is below average, I believe). Dividing the pay by the miles shows I averaged about 32.5 cents per mile, starting from 26 CPM during training and ending up at 36 CPM after 120,000 miles. This includes minor amounts of income for being delayed places, holiday pay, safety pay and the like.

Assuming I work the following 12 months for CFI and achieve the same number of miles, my gross pay should be approximately $49,000, or a difference of about $6,000 since I will make more per mile during the entire year this upcoming year.

Just when I think I've hit bottom...

2007-12-08T06:53:00.000-06:00

I thought last week's 1,300 mile trip over 4 days was just about the bottom of the barrel, but apparently I wasn't even in the right neighborhood. Now, I'm in da hood:

I wait here in Albany, GA until Sunday night to pick up a trailer going to West Virginia for a Tuesday morning unload. That is a whopping 650 miles over four days. By my math, that is twice the suckitude™ as the previous time-wasting champion load.

Heck, I'm not even going to bother putting up a map for now. Plenty of time for that later.

Coincidences

2007-12-07T14:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was chatting with the folks at Crowder College about the other folks that went through in my class. Ermy was the only one I hadn't seen or talked to in a while and guess who's truck I saw this morning in West Memphis when I got up to fuel! Alvin (her husband) was there at the fuel island getting charged up to head out so I said hi.

Small world.

KC to Joplin to West Memphis

2007-12-06T19:07:00.000-06:00

It seems I am destined to bounce between our various terminals and drop yards, for today at least.

I picked up the very same load I was asked to pick up last night this morning instead... there wasn't any problem there -- the trailer was pre-loaded and ready to go as soon as I dropped off my empty. It turns out it is a load of just over 100,000 aluminum cans for some product or other (could be beer, soup, energy drinks, or who-knows-what). Added bonus: it only weighs 7,300 lbs.

The trip down to Joplin was easy, with a nice sunrise. I have pics but I'm too tired to upload them tonight. Anyway, got to Joplin, didn't have to put my tractor in the shop (yay, it still goes 70 when I need it to!), purchased my new load lock, and saw my dispatcher and some other folks I know.

Eventually, I headed south and since I was going by Crowder College I stopped and chatted for a bit with the instructors and a few new students. I watched a lady do her very first back in a big rig and it turns out she was familiar with both the CFIdrivers.com site and this one from doing her research before getting in to trucking. Good advice for everyone. Reading this blog, at least!

Afterwards I drove south to Arkansas and caught up with I-40 and took that all the way in to our terminal in West Memphis.

Today was mostly interstates and 70 MPH state routes. Tomorrow I will be doing a lot of back-road driving in Alabama and Georgia which is always a hoot and a hollar in a big rig.

Sleep, interrupted

2007-12-06T04:36:00.000-06:00

I was more than a bit tired when I got in last night so I shut down and went to bed pretty much as soon as I could. For some reason, the night dispatch crew at CFI believed I still wanted to be dispatched to grab a trailer locally and take it to Albany, Georgia so we went round and round for a while until it was agreed I would pick it up at 0530 this morning instead.

So I go back to snoozeville only to be buzzed awake four hours later with someone asking why I hadn't picked up an empty trailer yet. I was annoyed but gave a short reply instead of the one I would have given had I been just a bit more frazzled:

Dear Santa: Until moments ago I was cuddling with my inflatable Rosie O'Donnell doll (you know, the one with the flannel negligee and matching pleather unmentionables) but one of your elves insisted on waking me up. Again. I wanted so many things for Christmas this year, but now all I really want is a big set of shears so I can snip the cable on my Mobile Max unit and see how far I can shot putt the unit into the parking lot. Yours with abundant flatulence -- Jim

As you can tell, this episode was disturbing, though perhaps not as disturbing as that peek inside the boiling cauldron that is my too-early-in-the-morning consciousness.

I'm off to pick up here shortly, then this will be close to the route I follow:

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I'm going by Joplin to grab a new load lock. Hopefully my truck won't get turned down to 65 in the process (if it has to go to the shop they will neuter it, unfortunately).

Kansas City, Missouri

2007-12-05T19:19:00.000-06:00

Turns out the new drop yard we have in KC is fairly easy to find. I made the trip 40 minutes ahead of schedule to hand off the trailer to the local CFI driver who has to run it to Salina, Kansas a few hours west to meet up with the last leg of the series of trucks carrying it to Colorado. They asked me if I could do it and the simple answer was no; I could have finagled my book around a bit and "made time" but I've never done that once out on the road and don't figure I'll be starting now.

Anyway, off to sleep soon in the chilly clutches of the midwest.

C-c-cold and its snowing...

2007-12-05T09:54:00.000-06:00

I found Du Quion, Illinois this morning (the plant itself was easy to find) and got offloaded at a good pace. Soon enough I was closing the doors and motoring over to East St Louis, Illinois to rendezvous with the truck bringing me the relay load I discuss below. It turns out that I will be dropping this trailer at our new Kansas City, Missouri drop yard and a team will be taking it the rest of the way (and getting the bulk of the miles, naturally).

There were dozens of nails left in the floor of the trailer and a variety of planks and other debris. At least it wasn't snowing inside the trailer while I was yanking up the nails and sweeping... though it wasn't any warmer out. I hope this trailer I'm getting is fairly heavy, as there is a good wind blowing.

Signs

2007-12-05T05:20:00.000-06:00

Signs that today is going to be a bad day:

Allow me to translate:

After I (finally) drop off this load this morning around 0800, I will be sent about 70 miles away to East St Louis, Illinois to pick up a load at 1330 hours. After which, I will take said load immediately to Kansas City, Missouri to drop off about five hours later.

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But it gets better!

I'm not picking up a load at all, one is being brought to me by another CFI driver for Conway, who will be picking it up early this morning and driving it to East St Louis and I will be finishing the run. Odds are good that as soon as I arrive at the Conway terminal in Kansas City to drop off said trailer, my butt will be kicked to the curb since I won't be allowed to park at my own company's terminal.

So, basically, a full day of fun and games for about 300 miles worth of pay. Happy freaking holidays.

Major General John Alexander "Black Jack" Logan

2007-12-04T12:48:00.000-06:00

Today as I drove up to Illinois from Arkansas I passed Carterville, Illinois, home of the John A Logan community college. Major General Logan (read his wiki here) served in the civil war on the Union side and is considered one of the best army officers of those who joined from civilian life. He served under Grant and Sherman in a variety of roles, including the military governor of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Conflicting accounts have him being awarded the Medal of Honor, or his son (also John A Logan).

Before the war he was a congressman and returned to office, eventually becoming a senator and being nominated for Vice President, which he didn't succeed at.

General Logan may be most remembered for the role he played in the creation of Memorial Day here in the US. I lived for a number of years in the greater San Diego area and didn't realize that Logan Heights and Logan Avenue were named in his honor, among a variety of other locations around the nation.

He died the day after Christmas in 1886 and lay in state at the capitol. He is buried at the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, DC, the only cemetery besides Arlington run by the US Army.

General Logan happens to be an ancestor of mine, six or seven "great-great-great" grandfathers or so ago.

Falling, redux

2007-12-03T14:10:00.000-06:00

Last month I posted an entry called Fall is definitely in the air and linked a few fall-related pics. Since I'm sitting on my hands here in West Memphis, Arkansas for a few days I decided to do something constructive and upload the rest of my fall foliage shots.

Two of my favorites:

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I also added a slideshow feature to the right column with all my fall pics but it might not work on your system. On mine it works under Internet Explorer but not Firefox.

They love me! They really, really love me!

2007-12-03T12:18:00.000-06:00

Unit 30000

2007-12-03T12:10:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, I snapped a few shots of CFI tractor number 30000 which is one of the new Kenworth T660s:

View all Unit 30000 pics

Here's a shot of one of the external boxes with the new HVAC equipment:

Passenger window

2007-12-02T16:22:00.000-06:00

Beam of Light

2007-12-02T16:20:00.000-06:00

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I shot these pics a few weeks ago.

Rain and rain and... rain

2007-12-02T16:10:00.000-06:00

I made it to West Memphis, Arkansas this afternoon having driven through tons and tons of rain. Had a trucker make a very bad last-minute lane change in front of me right as I was arriving in West Memphis and I skidded a bit. No harm, no foul I suppose.

Slowwwwwww trip to Du Quion, Illinois

2007-12-01T06:48:00.000-06:00

My instructions: get loaded this morning at the El Paso Phelps Dodge plant with some sort of mining equipment and take deliver said load on December 5th in Du Quion, Illinois. No, I've never heard of the place either.

It is about 1,300 miles but the problem is, it can't deliver early. That is four full days to do this trip, which is miserable.

Bletch. One of the possible routes:

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Oh how the worm turns

2007-11-30T18:22:00.000-06:00

So I drop off my trailer and head a half mile down the frontage road to the local Petro to fix myself some (overdue) lunch and take a (very overdue) shower. I ate first then went inside and enjoyed a nice long shower. Shaved. Brushed my teeth. Flexed in the mirror. The usual stuff.

When I get back to my truck my satellite alert light is on, so I have a message. "Great," I think, "I already have a load."

Nope, it turns out that I've managed to forget my load lock on the trailer I brought in and there is a Mexican drayage driver waiting at our yard for me to unlock it or else they will have to burn it off. Sound familiar?

It is Friday afternoon at around 5 PM here locally. I send a satellite message in telling them I'm on my way. I phoned in to dispatch just to make sure. I get out of the parking lot and rush down the freeway the other way to get to the next exit then turn around on the frontage road to our yard, then turn at the gate. The truck is quickly parked and I rush up to the guard with my keys ready.

The trailer is gone. Somehow it is corporate policy at CFI that if another CFI driver is picking up a load you can be made to wait quite a while to get him or her to get it unlocked, else it gets burned off. If, however, it is one of our Mexican partners, a satellite beep and an unanswered phone call is more than enough authorization to cut off a lock.

As you can probably gather, I'm a bit upset. On the plus side, this means I can't haul any "high value" loads until I get to a terminal and pay the 50 or 60 bucks for a new lock.

Old El Paso

2007-11-30T15:01:00.000-06:00

I left Tonopah, Arizona early this morning to try to beat the traffic in Phoenix and Tucson. Phoenix was no problem but I did get caught up a bit in Tucson due to construction along I-10. Still, I managed the 500 mile trip in just under eight hours which basically meant it was cruise control at top speed 99% of the way. Just the way I like it.

It turns out the load was high value so I probably shouldn't have posted my whereabouts before I arrived at my destination. Whoops. CFI hasn't asked me to take any particular measures in this regard, but I think in the future I will resume the "Where in the US is he?" posts.

When I was pulling out of our El Paso yard I noticed the CFI truck number 30000 in the back row. This is a new Kenworth T660 with its experimental (and tempermental, apparently) advanced HVAC system. I didn't see the driver when I started snapping photos of the exterior but it turns out he was there so we chatted for a bit. I will post pics when I get someplace with broadband, which isn't something El Paso is equipped with at this time.