Home

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Home

We got home last night at 11:30. I was a very long and hard trip. The roads were extremely bad through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Through Wyoming the winds were 60+ MPH and we saw lots of trucks blown over (Bad Driver), sometimes 3 or 4 in a row. The blowing snow made visibility almost none existing. In Utah there were more wrecks that you could count. It had snowed, then rained, and then snowed again and got cold and frozen. It made the roads covered with several inches of ice. After getting to the east side of Wyoming we ran out of the snow so we headed south and went through Colorado and Kansas to the terminal in Joplin Missouri. In Joplin I went to safety to settle for expenses for getting home. All that they would obligate themselves for was the cost of a bus ticket to get the driver home. Since the buses were not running (they started running Monday after I had reached Joplin) they agreed to pay the hotel cost as well. For your own knowledge they canceled everything as soon as I had my accident, my health insurance, the flex spending card, my access card. All money left on my flex spending card I lost even thought they had deducted it from my pay. I I didn’t get a ticket but CFI fired me anyway. I don’t have any hard feeling against CFI (the low life SOBs – kidding). I understand the system but it sucks and I choose not to be a part of it. Also because I was fired I don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.

I had chained but the roads had cleared. It had warmed up and the sun was shinning. We had driven for an hour on dry roads but it changed quickly. I suddenly found myself in an unfortunate combination of circumstances. I do believe that it could have happened to any driver. I am 60 years old and have been driving since I was 16 (not trucks) but about everything else and had never had an accident. It isn’t because I hadn’t earned one. I rode bikes for years and when I was young I also never took off from a stop on both wheels. I have had luck on my side as well as a lot of you that haven’t had an accident. A lot can happen very quickly. Just before we stopped for the night in Utah we passed a wreck involving a Semi and a car. I saw no damage on the semi but the car was off the road on its top. While eating the waitress said that it was a local girl in the accident and they didn’t expect her to make it. Who do you think is going to be at fault? This is what I don’t want to be involved with. It is a serious responsibility to be a driver.

We finally were able to make good time and get home. Over all we had 2500 miles to drive and it took us over a week to get home. We are glad to be home and into warmer weather. I don’t know what I am going to do. I really don’t want to go back to engineering.

We got a Car

Friday, December 26, 2008

We got a Car

I got a ride to Boise with a guest at the hotel where we were staying. I got the car and drove back to La Grande to get Shelly and our stuff. We left this morning and headed toward home. The roads have been bad. I-84 was closed at the I-86 junction so we went North on I-86 and then down I-15 to Ogden, Utah where we are spending the night. The roads here are horrible. We didn’t make very good progress today. Weather reports and the road condition for tomorrow are not good.

Christmas Eve

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Eve

I haven’t blogged for awhile. A lot has happened. December has been a slow month. We had not gotten a week of over 1700 miles. In a two week period we had 5 restarts. We had made it down to Laredo where we were 106 on the board ant it took us 3 days to get a 700 mile load to Savanna, Ga. We then went to Spartanburg, SC, and then we went to the GM in Lake Orion, Michigan with a load of tires. Again we got stuck at the Taylor Terminal in cold weather and finally got a load out of less than 400 miles to Indiana. Then we went to Huston. After getting a load of 780 mile from Huston that we picked up on Thursday to be delivered in St. Joe, Missouri on Monday I called my dispatch and complained. He said to drop the load in Joplin and get a different load. We got a load in Joplin to take to Seattle, Washington. We had 1990 miles to do in 3 days bad weather. This is where the trouble started.

As some of you know Shelly and I were in an accident with the semi. We are in La Grande, Oregon. It is a very rural area located in northern Oregon near Washington State in some very serious mountains. We met a weather front that came in through Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon area. The news channels are billing this as the worse storm in Seattle in 40 years and Portland since the 1939. The truck is not drivable and we have no transportation. The closest car rental is in Boise, Idaho, a 170 mile away through mountainous snow covered roads. The bus lines are shut down, we have no trucks coming this way that I can get a ride with. We have even tried cab services and have tried to get an insurance adjuster to take me to Boise but the roads are near impassable and are closed in some areas. We have found no one to get us out of here. Heavy snows are predicted everyday through Sunday. When we do finally get to Boise and get a car we have 2200 miles to drive to get home. We have Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. This is to give you some prospective of how far we have to drive. Most of this area is under some serious snow and winter advisory. We have had -6 degrees weather with 50+ MPH winds with blowing snow with white out conditions several times. I can’t express how upsetting all this is. I am not looking forward to driving on these roads especially after wrecking on slick roads. I am having problems sleeping as I keep recalling the accident. It had to be one of the longest occurring accidents that anyone has ever had.

The accident

I had been driving all day. We had started at 4:30 in the morning trying to get some miles in, in some very adverse conditions. I had driven on snow covered roads most of the day. I had stopped and chained the truck, which is a difficult job in these conditions, but had removed. The snowing had stopped and the sun was shining and the temperature had got up to 28 – 30 degrees. A lot of road crews were out clearing the roads and the roads had greatly improved. We had not made any miles and we were finally able to make up some time. Right after reaching la Grande, Oregon we started into another high elevation pass and the roads deteriorated quickly. The traffic was slowed because of a jackknifed truck carrying radio active material. After getting by this we started down a long grade. It took us awhile to get past that and we started down a long hill that didn’t look too bad and the traffic was light from the jackknifed truck delay. I had passed it about a half mile and had got my speed up to about 45 when I started sliding. I was on a long downgrade with a large drop off (200- 300 ft.) to my right and I was in a curve turning left. I was in the slow lane with the tractor turned sideways facing the center barrier but I continued to slide in a forward motion. Shelly was in the bunk so I woke her up to let her know that we were going to wreck. She started to getup to get Sweet Pea when the truck got traction and slammed us straight into the center barrier hard. I had no control over the direction. When we hit, everything in the back came crashing forward and something hit Shelly in the head and knocked her out for a minute. We were jammed into the barrier with the trailer blocking the road in a curve on a downgrade with very slick road conditions and I knew that there were a lot of trucks behind us getting cleared pass the last wreck. I got on the CB to get them stopped. I was afraid that trucks would come running into us. After the traffic stopped I was able to back up and get it out of the jackknife and clear a lane. The truck is in pretty bad shape and could not be driven. We slide for at least a half a mile so I had plenty of time to know that we were going to crash. It was in slow motion and it took some time for it all to transpire but nothing I tried made any difference in the direction I was headed. Sliding sideways down a mountain in curves on ice wasn’t going to lead to very good results. We are very thankful that we were able to walk away from it and that no one else was involved.

Driving a truck is one of the most difficult jobs that you can do. It is rated as the 4th most dangerous job in America. The hours are horrendous. You drive, pickup and deliver at all hours, deal with all types of weather, traffic, road construction and conditions, DOT, and then the people at the stops. You have inadequate places to park, eat, and bathe. But without truck drivers doing their job you would be hungry and naked. If trucks shutdown, in three day you would have no food in the stores, no gas for your cars, and no materials for your job. The country would come to a stand still and people would panic.

We are ready to go home and leave all this to others, but even this is proving to be a real challenge. I am not sure what I will be doing but I have had enough of this.

Memphis to Laredo

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Memphis to Laredo

After making our delivery in Saltillo we (7 CFI trucks) went back to truck stop and waited for our next load. A couple of trucks got loads during the day but the rest of us waited this Tuesday when we got dispatch about 59 miles Bruce, Mississippi to drop our trailers and then bobtail 118 miles to the Memphis terminal where we waited another day to get a load. I went to Laredo where I am now 58 on the board here. Bottom line is freight is slow. I hope to get of here tomorrow.

Capitalism vs Socialism

Tuesday, November 29, 2008

Capitalism vs Socialism

With all the political debates today about the American Policies going toward the left (socialism) I feel that there is the need for someone to put this in prospective. So I will heed that call to clarify some of the issues.

Capitalism: The fuel for capitalism is greed. I could use a more politically correct term but let’s call it what it is and skip the niceties. Let’s face it, greed is human nature. I am not trying to state if it is a good or bad value. It is what you make it. We work hard to better ourselves. Ourselves is the point here. We don’t work hard to improve our neighbors. This self is what fuels the capitalist system. But we are a social being so we do care about our neighbors and our country. Not only that we can not survive as a race without working together as a group. This country’s greatness, wealth, and its progress with many innovations can be credited to the capitalistic system that we live in. That doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been progresses made in socialistic or even communist system but let’s face it, we have done better.

Socialism: A group that all members contribute and all in the group shares in the rewards. This would probable be a good system if it worked but lets not for not forgetting the greed factor. Let us exam this idea. Let’s start with a small social group: the family group, 1 man, 1 woman, 1.5 children. First example: Husband and wife both works and they have similar spending habits and common goals. Good: it works! But even with this if they don’t have common goals there are problems. Money is one of the leading causes of divorces. Even with both working and contributing if one wants to shop and spend while the other wants to save and be debt free there will be serious problems. But let’s use example 2. Example 2: Same family group but this time husband works and we have a stay at home mom. The earner can either be; I earn so I get what I want, or the wife stays home, watches soaps, and shop QVC all day. This is a real problem. Example 3: Wife works; husband stays home drinking beer and watching sports all day. This is another problem. You get the point but let’s take it to a larger group. I will use the community that you live in. You work but your neighbor stays home drinking beer and watching sports. He gets housing assistance, food stamps, utilities paid, medical provided from your working income. You might recognize this example. But to make it clearer, you earn your money, come home and share your paycheck with your neighbor. How hard are you going to works so that you both can live better? After all, your neighbor has a lot of free time and needs a new fishing boat. Maybe you should consider a second job to improve the quality of life for your group. We see the problem with socialism. Take away the self factor and it has a problem with functioning. Now there are exceptions to this; religious organizations, some of which all work together for a common goal. Another example is where there is a strong leader that can unite people for a cause. The life of sustaining these causes is debatable. I believe that it is shorter than that of a capitalist system. We do get communist systems that have been around for awhile but that is from force and also that the people have been under that system for so long that they don’t have the drive to work hard and produce. It can even be compared to the way someone that has been in the military of imprisoned is when they no longer have someone to tell them what to do and when to do it. They can be lost for a time.

Democratic Sociality

Having a democratic sociality doesn’t mean that it is a capitalist sociality nor does being a capitalist mean that you have a democratic sociality. Cuba was a very capitalist sociality before Castro took over but it was a right wing dictatorship where a few had all and the average Cuban had little. This was a major factor in Castro’s rise to power. In fact it is one of the major reasons for many countries going communist. These lessen we should learn from. The reason that we are now in a swing to the left is for that were reason. The working people haven’t been getting there fair share of the wealth. When Obama said that the wealth should be spread around, people that feel like that they weren’t getting their fair share of it agreed. There is a lot to support that feeling. If we did as bad on our job as many of the CEO we would be fired without the millions of dollars bonuses for losing billions. Something is fundamentally wrong with this. The different today in the compensation between the top management and the lowest paid employee of a company has spread to an unacceptable amount. It has and will cause problems. That is where a democratic works. We can throw the rascals out has is causing problems in our government. We are now making a correction no doubt. But we must be careful not to go too far to the left. We do have the greed factor that has helped us get here. I for one don’t want to contribute anymore than is necessary to the common cause. But the key work here is necessary. We do have many common causes that do need our contributions (taxes). Other that the obvious ones; military, infrastructure, education, or whatever else that fits into that category, we need to weight the return to the citizen vs the cost to the citizen. I didn’t buy a new car because I didn’t want to pay the cost now I am paying and not receiving the car. The talk is saving manufacturing while the auto companies send the part to be made to Mexico and Asia. The plastic manufacturing that I have done for 40 years is now all gone and no one was interested in saving it. We are not talking bailout here, we were just asking for fair trade but free trade won. China produces plastic materials below market and then produces parts at a cost that we can not compete with in this country. Some prices that I have competed against with the Chinese have been less what my material would cost. We built steel companies with American money in Japan after WW2 that were build to be more efficient that our own and it put our steel companies out of business. When they ask for financial backing (not bail out) to compete they were denied by our elected government. We haven’t been in fair trade of free trade for a long time; we have been in a sell out by our elected officials. It is time that they all become unemployed.

A Balance: We have experienced the problems with free trade and the unregulated banking. Both of these would have worked with the proper oversight. But because of the lack of a realistic regulation of these we are in the crisis that we now face. This is the type of situation that can lead to serious changes that is not for the best for long term improvement in our life. Also it leaves us vulnerable to other problems such as an attack from an enemy, our enemies are enjoying our problems and it gives them the confidence to try something. We would also have a very serious problem in the case of an assassination on Oboma. It would cause an uncontrollable uproar from home and abroad. The right should be blaming themselves and Bush for getting us into this mess. So many still don’t get it on the right. How can the people of this country not want to support the wealthy and be satisfied with the crumbs that fall from his table? The trickle down economic never will work! Remember the greed factor. Greed is hard to control. That is greed, taking all. After a while people gets tired of this and rebel when they fighter out that they are not going to make it to the big table, that the rules prevent it; the wealth is not to be shared.

We must keep the proper balance for this system to continue and to strive. There are no games that are played without rules and regulations including socialites. We must be fair to all while allowing people to flourish in their efforts. But with great gifts and talents there are also greater responsibilities. Many of the very successful people understand that they also have been giver a larger responsibility toward the betterment of their fellow man that those with lesser accomplishments.

Saltillo, Mississippi

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Saltillo, Mississippi

Friday after Thanksgiving we were dead headed to Fernandina Beach, Florida to get a load at the port for a Monday delivery at Saltillo, Mississippi. We drove an hour after getting loaded and stopped for the night. We did 400 miles today so we only have 120 miles for tomorrow. It has been an easy trip except for the rain. We stopped in Birmingham, Alabama for the night. The blue air line was broken so I replace it

South Florida

Sunday, November 23, 2008

South Florida

I drove from Laredo to Fort Pierce, Florida. I am ready to make a 9:00 Monday delivery in Riviera Beach. It is good to back in South Florida. I lived in Fort Lauderdale for 25 years and then in Vero Beach for another 5 years. I expect that I will get home time tomorrow to Palm Coast after I unload. I plan on stopping on the way and visit a friend in Vero.

I got sick while in Laredo and it has made this trip very hard. I drove 700 miles yesterday feeling really bad. I hope that I get better while I am off for a few days. My mother-in-law seems to be doing pretty good after her surgery so we plan on spending Christmas at home in Tennessee.

15 Drivers Dead Headed to Joplin

Friday, November 21, 2008

15 Drivers Dead Headed to Joplin

Laredo dead headed 15 drivers to Joplin this morning that had been waiting from Monday. More drivers were coming in and few going out. These are the only miles that these drivers have for the week. That would really suck. I have 2883 miles plus lay over pay. If you weren’t high lighted for home you had a problem getting a load. I called my dispatch this morning for my lay over pay and asked him about the prospects of getting out of Florida the Friday after Thanksgiving. He said slim to none. It seems that I will be spending several days in Florida at my in-laws. I did okay this week but it doesn’t look good for next week. I am real concerned about January. It is slow now and we are in the Christmas rush.

Laredo, Texas to Riviera Beach, Florida

Friday, November 21, 2008

Laredo, Texas to Riviera Beach, Florida

I got to Laredo Wednesday morning and went on the board at 107. Thursday morning I was at 66 and only moved up to 49 at 10:00 Thursday night. I went ahead and high lighted for home in Palm Coast. At midnight my Qualcomm went off and I was assigned a load. I live load today at 11:00 in Laredo and for a 9:00 (Monday) delivery in Riviera Beach, Florida. (Near West Palm) I checked to board this morning and there are 125 drivers on the board and a lot of them have requested home time. I don’t know how I moved up from 49 to a load in 2 hours.

Waiting in Laredo

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Waiting in Laredo

I got here yesterday at 10:00 and went on the board at 108. This morning I am 66. I don’t expect to be out of here today. It is taking drivers about 3 days to get a load. The last few times that I have been here it has been slow getting to leave.

A couple of the guys that I went to CFI boot camp with are here so it has been good to see them. They both have been averaging about 2200 miles a week. That is what I get in a low week but I expect that to drop after this so called busy season of the year. Freight has been slow and will undoubtedly get slower. Our economic outlook in poor but I have a few comments on the cause and the fix.

The Cause: I won’t try to cover all the reasons but what I consider the major causes.

Financial Responsibility: Our government, our financial and business institutions, and we have violated the very basics of being financially responsibility; we owe too much. We have borrowers that get in over their head, banks, and credit cards companies, and other business that give credit beyond the borrower’s ability to pay.

The weak dollar: The weak dollar has caused an increase in the price of gold and therefore an increase in the price of oil and everything else. Bush’s belief that a weak dollar would help our export shows how little he understands the economy. The US has always stood for a strong dollar and has made it the standard currency that the world uses. We can not just print more money without causing an economic problem. If you compare the value of gold to the price of oil you will find that it runs parallel.

Regularizations: This is a real problem. How much is too little and how much is too much. We have seen the results of too little regularization. We need some regularization but too much can also be a problem. One of the greatest difficulties in small business success is dealing with government. Large businesses can have dedicated people to deal with this regularization but for a small business it can become a major problem.

Taxes: None of us like to pay taxes and believe that it should be the other groups’ responsibility. The lower income class feels that they can’t afford the taxes as well as the upper income class that believes that it restricts their ability to earn money that goes back in the economy to keep it running. If you are in the very low class you can get money that you didn’t even pay in. Does anyone think this is fair? We have several problems with the current tax plan. If you are in one of the lowest income brackets with dependents besides receiving the earned income credits you can qualify for food stamps, housing assistants, free health care, and other programs. The low income or immigrant is no longer earning $6.00 hour but much more. This adds to the burden of the middle income earner in the form of taxes and completing with the lower paid and unskilled employee. This puts him in a similar economic position as the low income worker. The upper income family has attorney, tax consultants that helps him avoid paying as much taxes. It is a system that is unfair and doesn’t work.

Some Solutions:

Financial Responsibility: This is the most important part of a recovery. We must not cover ourselves with debt. This is personally and our government. We shouldn’t buy what we don’t need or can not afford. Keep out personal debt to a minimum or have none at all.

The dollar: Base our dollar value on a gold standard. This doesn’t mean that we have to go back to the gold standard of the 50’s where our money is backed by gold but to keep the strength of the dollar to a level that keeps gold prices in the $500 range. This will also keep oil prices predicable. With this our economy will improve.

Regularizations: We need reasonable regularization. One is for interest rates. I propose a maximum interest rate that can be charged. If your credit rating is not sufficient to get a load or credit card at this rate then you shouldn’t have it. This would stop this lending beyond the ability to pay. We also need to regulate the jobs that are leaving this country. We are in a world market (free market) but without regulating the flow of job from our country that are free flowing to cheaper labor markets without a reasonable replacement of these jobs then we are certain to have unemployment and under paid employees and small business failures. This not only hurts our country but as we see, the world economy.

Taxes: There is only one fair tax; a flat rate tax. It creates the most incentive for increasing your earnings. The trickle down economics is a failed policy. There will never be enough crumbs that fall from the rich man’s table to feed the rest of us. People don’t understand money. Money is control. Why would anyone whom has furnished all his needs seek more? Power! The fewer earnings that the middle class has the less power they have over their value of life. You might think that the wealth needs us to earn more to purchase their products but that is not the case. The power is in the difference in the earning. In a high unemployment time they can get the labor for less money and less befits. If you wont take what is offered someone else will. We need to lower taxes and therefore programs. The questions are what the government should be furnishing with our tax money. My belief is Security (enforce domestic laws and international security), Regulate money and business practices to allow for fairness and growth, Infrastructure (transportations, energy), Education, Health. Without these our nation can not grow and prosper.

This doesn’t cover all nor is it intended to do so. But we do need to get an understanding of what government should be providing. We can don’t and should not try to do it all

Eddyville, Iowa to Laredo, Texas

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Eddyville, Iowa to Laredo, Texas

I got dead headed from Lincoln to Eddyville, Iowa, 259 miles. I had been to Eddyville before when it was flooded during the summer for a load to Laredo from a different company. This time I have a load of 43000 lbs of Citric Acid for Mexico. I will be there tomorrow. I did 700 miles today and am now in New Brunfels, Texas. I have 200 miles to do tomorrow.

Headed to Lincoln, Nebraska

Friday, November 14, 2008

Headed to Lincoln, Nebraska

I bob tailed from Palm Bay to Jacksonville for a load from Michaels to Greensboro, North Carolina with two stops there. I then got dead headed to the K-Mart to drop my trailer. I bob tailed to Conway terminal in Charlotte to pick up a trailer. Then I dead headed to Maxton to the Campbell’s soup plant to take to Wal-Mart in Hope Mills, NC. These were all 50 -100 mile trips around North Carolina, some had no dispatched miles. A got a lot of work with little pay. Then I got this load in Raleigh that is headed to Lincoln, Nebraska for a Monday delivery. I will end up with 2200 miles, not bad considering all the short trips and that I didn’t start till Wednesday.

I also had the time to stop by my son’s place in Brunswick, Georgia. He has the sweetest 3 kids in the world. I believe that I was a pretty good father but I wasn’t close to being as good as he is. His oldest son is the most beautiful boy. He is now 6 ½ year old. He can read very well and plays the Mandolin. His little red headed daughter seems to have his intelligent. All three are smart but the two younger one seem to be extremely smart. My son has a genius level IQ and he is home schooling his children. When he was growing up no one could meet his expectations including himself. I was afraid that he would expect too much from his children but he has learned a lot of patience. His wife has a real calming effect on him. I couldn’t be more proud of him.

While I was visiting he took me to a restaurant that he helping build. It is an exceptional place. He was in the process of paining murals on the wall. It reminded me of when in the fifth grade his teacher let him spend his hour rest period everyday painting a mural on the wall in their class room. All through school he had teachers that gave him special attention. He paints, writes, and plays music. He is a special person with a very special family.

Palm Bay, Florida Home Time

Monday, November 10, 2008

Palm Bay, Florida Home Time

I am at my in-laws on home time but I plan on going back on the board tomorrow morning. I dropped my trailer at the Jacksonville Terminal but they didn’t have an empty for me so I got highlight with a bob tail. I called my dispatcher today and he said there wasn’t much freight going out of Florida. I will have to get a trailer somewhere and it will probable be back to Jacksonville. I hope to get back on the road. This was a very light week and I need to make some miles. I will be on the road for the first time by my self. Shelly is staying with her mother here in Palm Bay to care for her during her cancer surgery. Shelly is a nurse so her skills will come in handy. I don’t know when she and Sweet Pea will be back on the truck.

Waiting in Nashville

Friday, November 07, 2008

Waiting in Nashville

We are still waiting in Nashville. It has been raining so taking Sweet Pea for his walk sucks and he doesn’t want to go so I stand in the rain while he looks at me like I’m a fool for standing in the rain. We are at the Pilot Truck Stop at Trinity Lane. There are 5 other CFI trucks that are still here that were here when we got in yesterday. We are number One. Right! I wonder if they are also number one. They were here before we were.

I know this part of Nashville having spent a lot of time in this area. We walked up to the corner to a Krystal to have breakfast. I was hoping that having breakfast would trigger a load assignment. I know from experience that as long as I sit and wait that I won’t get a load. It requires that I am showering, eating, or sleeping to get a load.

Des Plains, Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Des Plains, Illinois to Nashville, Tennessee

We picked up this morning at a ConWay Terminal and it went crappy as usual. It took us forever to get out of the Chicago so we had to rush to meet our relay in Nashville. We got to the Pilot where we were making the relay about 40 minutes before our scheduled time. The load is going to Orlando, Florida. We have Hi Lighted to Palm Coast, Florida. Shelly is going to stay with her mother to help take care of her after her cancer surgery. I will be headed back to Palm Coast for Thanksgiving. Christmas is undecided. Anyway we are waiting here for our next load assignment.

Buffalo, New York to Kankakee, Illinois

Monday, November 03, 2008

Buffalo, New York to Kankakee, Illinois

From Alabama we went to Laredo. We were dead headed to Pharr, Texas to get a load to Phoenix, Arizona. We got there and the loads had been change so we went to Dallas instead but they pre planed us a load out of Lancaster terminal to Hammondsport, New York. We now have a dead head to Buffalo that goes to Kankakee, IL near Chicago. From Lancaster we ran 1475 miles in 2 days. It had started a low miles week but finished at 3250. This load that we are assigned is 683 for Wednesday morning.

Hackleburg, Alabama

Monday, October 27, 2008

Hackleburg, Alabama

We got a load of Wrangle jeans from New York to Hackleburg, Alabama. We stopped by our house for a few hours. We had a short week from taking home time but we still got in a good week especially considering the northeast pay and the New York City pay. I am glad to be out of New York. Some of the streets that we were on were horrible to be driving on. To make it worse New Yorkers double park to load and unload so getting around them on a already narrow and crowded street with a semi was very challenging. Next we had to double park to unload but the guys got it unloaded quickly. I found that New Yorkers were friendly and helpful even though they are in a rush. I had people help direct me around vehicles and corner several times. I had rather stay out of New York but when I do have to go back at least I have some experience in how to get around New York.

Long Island City, New York

New York City Skyline

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Long Island City, New York

We are in Long Island City, New York. We have a delivery for 08:00 tomorrow. We were dead headed to the West Memphis, Arkansas terminal and got a load to NY. We had a 317 mile DH to the terminal and then an 1137 mile load. I called my dispatch and requested that he get me a load out of here and not let me hang all day in NY. We will see what happens with that. It was quit difficult to get here. After finally getting to my destination I was in the wrong direction and the wrong side of the street. The area was not and area that I wanted to try to circle the block so what did I do….. a U Turn on a New York City 2 lane street. It had a couple of wide side walks and I used both. I slide my tandems all the way up, got on the side walk and cut sharp and made the turn in one try while traffic stopped and waited. It was kind of fun but not something that I would want to do everyday. Tomorrow I have to make it out of here. I hope to get dead headed out of the city for a pickup and that I don’t have to try to get to another location in the city. Getting here was a nightmare.

Home for a few Days

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Home for a few Days

It has been a while since I have posted to my blog. We have had some pretty crappy loads. We went to Chicago and Pennsylvania and then home. I had work that I needed to do to my house before winter. I went back on the board this morning and I still haven’t got a load. I am waiting. I will try to start blogging more regularly.

Broke Down in Wilcox Arizona

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Broke Down in Wilcox Arizona

We got routed to Joplin to get my hand slapped for hitting the roof in Florida. Bad Driver!!

From there we got a load to Santa Ana, California with a rush load. We made it early and no problems with the unloading of the load. They were quick. We had got there early so we waited for awhile but it was convenient to places to eat. We got unloaded before our appointment time. They had already preplan us a load that was only 5 miles away in Irvine. It was a drop and hook and it was ready three hours early. We got hooked and headed to Sam’s in El Paso, Texas. This was all before noon on Friday and we had an 11:00 Monday delivery with 800 miles. We were going to be there Saturday (today). We drove across I-8 to I-10 taking it easy and enjoying the trip and scenery. We had a couple of mild sand storms that wasn’t bad. Then we started having problems! Shelly had said that the truck wasn’t sounding right. We had just had the alternator replaced with the batteries but it sounded as if the alternator was making noise. I watched the gages and stopped and checked the truck a couple of times. All the gages looked good but the sounds were getting worse. We were in the middle of the desert and things were deteriorating. Then the air conditioner stopped and it stopped charging. It was hot and sand was blowing but we had to open the windows because of the heat. I called CFI Repair and to find the nearest shop. We made it to Wilcox, Arizona to a T/A. They are having an annual event here that everyone attends so they are having a problem getting parts. It turns out that it is the pulleys have gone and the belt broke. I don’t know if the blowing sand contributed to the problem. They are saying that it might be Monday before they can get parts. They got in touch with the KenWorth parts person at the event and he is going to check on parts after he gets out of a concert tonight. I hope he has the parts. If he doesn’t I am not sure what we will be doing. We are now waiting in the repair shop.

They have our parts!!!

Earth City, Missouri

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Earth City, Missouri

We are in Missouri waiting for a Monday morning delivery. We had gone home for a few days from Miami. We relayed a load to Wildwood, Florida that was going to Laredo because we had hi lighted for home. We picked up a Michaels load in Jacksonville from the seasonal warehouse that went to four stops in Nashville. This was another screwed up load. First we had a 06:00 drop and hook in Jacksonville. The streets were flooded with cars and people wading water up to their waist. I found the warehouse only to find that no one was there. I called operations to inform them of the situation. The information that she said that she had was that they open between 06:00 – 07:00. The one warehouse came in at 08:15 and took about 30 minutes before he was ready to do the paper work to do the drop and hook. That only took a few minutes so I was ready to go at 09:00 but I hadn’t had a break. I had driven all night and had to do my 10 hour break. We had plenty of time because this was Saturday morning and our delivery was for Tuesday.

The deliveries: We had 4 stops on our delivery and they started bad. I was early for the first one. It was very difficult to get into the dock but I had plenty of time so that wasn’t a real issue. The unloading sucked. They Michael employees took two hours to unload and I had two hours between each stop. The truck was loaded with small boxes that had to be individually handled. My second stop was already late and it was going down hill from here. I get to the second stop at 100 Oaks Mall and the complete is under construction. They had just resurfaced the parking lot in front of Michaels so they had be back through a construction area half the length of the mall covered with equipment, materials, and vehicles. They had to take down and move about a dozen cranes, move materials and fences for me to get backed up to the dock. It took more that an hours to get to the dock. It was about impossible to get there and then another 2 hour unloads. The construction was totally pissed. I had tied up about 2 dozen men for over three hours to make the delivery. One of the constructions Forman parked his ATV where I couldn’t get out and left it. I again had to call operations to get then to call the store to get it moved. The last two stops went well but they were also 2 hour unloads so my 05:00, 07:00, 09:00, 11:00 stops became 05:00, 10:00, 13:00, 15:00 stops.

We picked up on Friday after being home for a few days for this Monday delivery. This was only a 450 miles total dispatch. We get to the pickup and there was a ConWay Freight truck at the dock that they have just loaded with my load. Oops! They had not only loaded it but had unloaded what was on the truck so they could put this load on the front and reloaded his other freight. They didn’t want to unload and call ConWay to see if they wouldn’t take it to Nashville and have me drive back 100 miles to Nashville and get it there. They didn’t go for that so they unloaded the ConWay Freight and loaded me.

I will have a 34 hour restart and I hope that I can get some miles.

Accident

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Accident

After getting to North Carolina we got a load to Laredo. That went well but all has gone down hill from there. When I got to Laredo the broker was closed. We had a Saturday 8:00 ETA but had got there on Friday at 16:00. The dispatch gave me a delivery to make that was rushed because the broker was closing for the weekend and wanted the delivery for some reason before he closed. It was a high value load so I drop my trailer and hook to this one and get to deliver to the broker. While I was dropping this trailer the dispatch called and asks if I wanted a load to Las Vegas. I said yes and he dispatched it through. After dropping the load I looked at the dispatch and I didn’t have the hours available for the delivery time. When I got back to the terminal I go in to tell the dispatch and he tells me I now have to go through Joplin. I had just driven for 10 hours straight to beat the hurricane and had no time to drive that night. Joplin told me to take it and they would get me a relay. So I dropped the load in El Paso, Texas and get a load to Miami, Florida. For any of you that haven’t been to Miami, it sucks for parking. I go to the Seminole Truck Stop on 27. I had been driving 700 mile days to get her. We took I-20 across Texas to avoid Huston and I was tired. I got into a tight turn and was watching my wheels around a corner and the trailer got an overhanging metal awning. I was stuck on it. I couldn’t go forward and it wouldn’t let be back up. I dropped the trailer and came back in at an angle to push it away. I made sure that the king pin was catching it to push it away and it worked. But the police was called and did an accident report. It put a scrape on the trailer that is very minor and bent the corner of the metal awing but this is Miami. The cop was cool and didn’t want to make the report but just have us exchange information but the owner insisted. So now I will see what happens with all of this. I have hi lighted for home. We have been out for 6-7 weeks and I need a break.

Seattle, Washington to High Point, North Carolina

Montana Mist



Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Seattle, Washington to High Point, North Carolina

We made a trip from Laredo, Texas to Green River, Wyoming to a Chemical Company. It was a mine that mined soda ash. Just a couple of miles away we picked a load of the soda ash that had been processed for food use that was being shipped to Fairbanks, Alaska. We carried it to the dock in Seattle. There we picked up a load of tables and chairs that we took to High Point, North Carolina. From here we are headed back to Laredo. After delivering today we had to sit because we had run out of hours. We only have 6 for tomorrow so we won’t get far. Then we start picking up more hours the rest of the week. We are to be in Laredo Saturday Morning in time for Ike the Hurricane. We had 3450 miles for the week on our trip to Seattle and 3800 miles for last week to High Point. Of course this is the reason we ran out of hours. We have started with 1570 on this trip. If we can get a load before Saturday midnight then we can make it another good week.

We really enjoyed out trip west. We have now been in 37 states trucking. We did Washington and Oregon so for me personally I only have two states that I haven’t visited; Maine and Rhode Island. Shelly has been in them but not some of the other South West States.

Labor Day

Monday, September 01, 2008

Labor Day

We are spending Labor Day in Green River, Wyoming. We had a hazmat load to Laredo and were number 31 on the board in Laredo. We stopped in Joplin to get a shock and the Air Conditioner fixed. In Laredo we got a load that night to Green River, Wyoming to be delivered on Tuesday morning. We had a beautiful trip through the Texas pan handle into New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. We left Laredo with the temperatures in the high 90’s and we have 44 here today with an expected 31 tonight.

Budweiser

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Budweiser

After delivering our load of beer in Jacksonville we got another load of beer to take to Columbia, South Carolina. We got there and had to wait till about 10 trucks got unloaded. It was almost noon before I could put in an empty call. We got a load of tires from Firestone in Graniteville, South Carolina to take to Wentzville, Missouri. We pick up at 03:00 Sunday to deliver Tuesday at 21:00. We are planning to go by home and spend a night in our own bed and our own bath.

I have found that the beer runs suck. I spend as much time getting a load and unloading as I do driving. Besides that I don’t like having anything to do with the beer industry. It ruins too many lives. I was raised in a family that neither drank nor smoked and we didn’t have friend that did. It was only after I was an adult that I experienced the problems that alcohol causes people. I am not opposed to people drinking responsibly but so many don’t. I just don’t want to be a part of it but I guess I am.

T. S. Fay

Jacksonville, Florida

We are under this storm. Of course you can't see us. We couldn't either.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

T. S. Fay

We got a trip out of Laredo to Norcross, Georgia for Thursday morning. It took a couple of hours to unload and then we were dispatched to Cartersville, Georgia to the Bush Plant for a load of beer to of all places Jacksonville, Florida to meet T. S. Fay. Looking on the radar we will have plenty of rain and wind. It is night run with a tight delivery.

Back to Laredo

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Back to Laredo

We got a load to pick up in Joliet, Illinois and take to Laredo, Texas. We are to delivery 5:30 Sunday. It makes our week okay, about 2800 miles.

Fargo, North Dakota

Sun Rise , North Dakota

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Fargo, North Dakota

After making our delivery in Janesville, WI we got a Con-Way load from Tomah, Wisconsin to West Fargo, North Dakota. As usually the Con-Way load was an early morning pickup with minimum time to get it there. We did a preplan load then from Fargo, ND to Urbana, Illinois. We have a very heavy load of Sugar. Our gross weight 79,000 lbs. I am glad that we have no mountains to deal with.

08-08-08

Pilot Mountain West Virginia

Friday, August 08, 2008

08-08-08

We got home for a couple of days and then went back on the board. This hasn’t gone well so far. We first got a load to Laredo and then a minute later it was unassigned. That sucked but that was only the start. We then got a Con-way load in Nashville to Kernersville, North Carolina. The Con-way loads are always rushed and I don’t like waiting at the Con-way terminals. But anyway we got there and checked in early for our 5:00 load. I was told that the trailer was at dock door 75 to hook up and get weights and come in for my paper work. It was right in front of where all the trucks were staging to get out so it was a real hassle to get it out. I got it closed up, weighted, and the tandems adjusted and went in for the paper work only to find out that it was the wrong trailer. They had already given out the paper to another driver and he was out looking for the trailer that I was hooked up to. The correct trailer was already pulled away from the dock and put in the yard where you couldn’t get to it. So I went through dropping the one trailer and hooking to the next and getting it all scaled out and adjusted. Instead of an early start I got a late one. To make the time we only made on 15 minute stop in the 450 mile trip. We got there after the driver that had the trailer that I had originally hooked to and had already got a load out. We have been stuck here waiting for our next load. It is Friday so I am hoping that we get a weekend trip and I can get some miles. We only have 540 for the week.

The trip across I-40 from Tennessee to North Carolina was pretty. The mountains weren’t bad and we made pretty good time.

We got a load to Janesville, Wisconsin for a 6:00 delivery Monday. It is 875 mile trip, an easy weekend trip.

Miami, Florida

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Miami, Florida

We are getting ready to head out to Miami, Florida. We slept late this morning. We had coffee and donuts at the terminal. They have furnished breakfast the last two mornings at the terminal. We eat at Popeye’s for lunch.

Mexico

Mexico

Monday, July 28, 2008

Mexico

We have been in Laredo for a couple of days. We started as 81 on the board. We couldn’t deliver the load because the broker had no room for more trailers. I guess that the hurricane caused delays in getting freight to and from Mexico.

We went to the KenWorth dealer today and got the air bag fixed. We were there for about 3 hours.

Yesterday we went into Mexico. We had dinner and shopped a little. It was a very hot day.

Back to Laredo

Sweet Pea Backing into a parking space at truck stop


Thursday, July 24, 2008

Back to Laredo

We dead headed from the terminal at Taylor Michigan 198 miles to South Bend, Indiana for a relay headed to Topton, Pennsylvania 650 mile. There they unloaded and reloaded for a trip to Laredo, Texas 1886 miles. This was all one trip with load with batteries. They are 41,000 lb and require Hazmat placards. We are going to finish the week with 3300 miles, plus hazmat, northeast, and a $35.00 extra stop pay. We also go within 10 miles of home so we get one night in our own bed. I have been letting Sweet Pea team when we are in traffic jams so I go to the sleeper and log sleeper time for the delays. He also backs into the parking spots in the truck stops. I don’t let him drive any other time because he has to use the throttle brake but that works okay when going slow.

Taylor, Michigan

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Taylor, Michigan

We are at the terminal in Taylor waiting for a load. We delivered to Farmington Hills in Michigan. We got there early and made the delivery and then were sent to the terminal and we were number 12 on the board. We have made it to number 4 so I hope we get something soon but it might be for a morning pickup. This has started out a slow week.

We stopped at a service area on the Ohio Turnpike I-80/90, showered and did laundry. We met a juggling truck drive there that was pretty cool. He was good and likes to entertain kids and their mothers when he stops. He was fun and we enjoyed our evening with him. You meet a lot of interesting people out here.

The Bridge Laws

The Bridge Laws

Does anyone understand them? We had received a memo for the company on some of the changes in the way that different states are measuring and they also stated that it is an area that is misunderstood and that we need to make sure that we are complying. What they didn’t tell us is how you physically measure the tandem position to assure that you are complying. I have been to two schools and still don’t understand it. Lets take for example if you have a state that is measuring from the king pin to the center of the rear wheel and require a distance of 41 ft. I have a 53 ft trailer and the king pin measure about 3 ft from the front of the trailer. That leaves 50 ft to the rear so 41 ft would place it at 9 ft from the rear of the trailer to the center of the wheel. My questions are: Can this measurement be measured accurately enough to satisfy the state? Second is: If I need to adjust the tandem to bring in my weight within limits, is this the maximum distance back that I can go? We covered the bridge laws in both schools but I believe that few people really understand it.

I would like to hear form someone on how you go about measuring it. Our trailers don’t have the California mark on them. They are going to start adding them but that could be awhile before it happens.

Hazleton, Pennsylvania

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Hazleton, Pennsylvania

After delivering in Fredericktown, Missouri we picked up a load in Jackson, Missouri to deliver to Hazleton, Pennsylvania to a Michaels Distribution Center. We had 1005 mile to do from pickup 1:00 central Thursday and deliver 7:00 eastern Saturday morning. We did 350 miles Thursday using up all my 14 hours and 650 miles Friday. We got up at 4:00 to get to Michaels by 5:00 (6:00 Eastern). They had not given me the correct delivery number so I call Dispatch to get it and they didn’t have it either. I call several times trying to get it resolved and followed it up with Qualcomm messages with no results. Michaels would not take the load without the number. Dispatch had promised to send me the information by Qualcomm when they got it. After being persistent with calls I found that they had the information but had failed to inform me. Also each time I called I talked to a different dispatcher that didn’t know what was going on. Customer service that had resolved the problem failed to inform dispatch. Around noon I was able to drop the trailer and pick up an empty and go on the board.

It appears that I will again be sitting in Pennsylvania waiting for a load. I was here last weekend (Pennsylvania). The bright side of this is that I ran 2617 miles this week with a portion of it being Northeastern pay. I had hoped to drop early this morning and get a weekend load that would go on this weeks pay. It seems that if I unload on Saturday or late Friday that I won’t pickup till Monday. It would be good to run over the weekend but that hasn’t been my luck recently.

I went on the computer to find the local Wal-Mart and we went and did some shopping. We paid bills and mailed letter. The Wal-Mart had a mail box outside that we used. It was also a truck friendly Wal-Mart. Some are easy to get into and some are not. Also some just don’t want you there and have there no aliens allowed signs for their parking lots.

Wal-Mart Locations: http://www.priceviewer.com/walmart_locations/

This is not a picture that you should be taking from a big rig.

13'6" does clear these bridges if you are loaded heavy and aim for the high portion of the bridge. You can also let the air out of the air bags to help.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Garmin

It’s Tuesday and we are waiting in Pennsylvania waiting to unload. It was a very hard day yesterday. We had gone to North Carolina to delivery a load from Laredo, Texas and we waited at a Wal-Mart with 3 other CFI trucks. On Sunday we got a load to pick up Monday morning at Campbell’s Soup and take to PA. It turned out to be the trip from hell. I didn’t do my trip planning instead relied on my Garmin that has been pretty good to get me there. It routed me through Washington D.C. on a non-truck route down town. Needless to say I was the only truck. I knew that I was in for a bad day. Then I got to underpasses that gave a 13’6” clearance that stated NO TRUCKS in big yellow signs. Did I fail to mention this was during rush hour? (We did see the Washington Monument and the Capital Building from an 18 wheeler.) I took the lane under the low clearance bridges that had the most clearance, slowed already slow traffic changing lanes. Then I got on the expressway (NO TRUCKS ALLOWED) and made it to I-95 north to Baltimore, MD to enjoy rush hour in Baltimore. Things didn’t improve. A flat bed hit a low underpass and closed the interstate. We were stopped for hours. Of course it could have been us pissing off a whole lot of people in DC rush hour but we lucked out big time. We got rerouted through a small town that was hilly with difficult turns. Some guy took it upon himself to take it out on me. I was stopped on a steep hill blocking the drive to a store that he wanted in so he gets out of his truck and tells me to move so that he can get in. I won’t repeat what I told him but he got on his cell phone to call the police. I am sure that didn’t go well for him. They were all busy trying to get thousand of cars and trucks through their town. The turns reminded me of the drive we did in CFI boot camp down town but we had all the traffic from a busy interstate and on steep hills thrown in for good measure. Of course no truck stops parking spaces were available anywhere. The rest area was so crowded that they had an accident in it also. We found a place to park for the night in a vacant parking lot in York, PA. We made our delivery and now we are headed to Missouri. We saw a truck on it’s side but it was on the other side backing them up for a change.

4th of July

Saturday, July 5, 2008

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th at Midway Community Center, listing to a pretty good band out of Nashville and had some home made ice cream. We had gone to Center Hill Lake earlier; got sun burned, and I cooked ribs on the grill. It was a very good day. We are going to the Fiddlers Jamboree this evening. It is in Smithville, Tennessee. It started in 1972 by Joe L Evins, the Tennessee congressman from Smithville. I was living in Smithville at the time, spending most of my time on the lake with friends. This is a very beautiful area and Smithville is a great place to live. A lot of people from the Nashville area have homes here on the lake. http://www.smithvilletn.com/jamboree/history.htm

We have a load assignment from Nashville to Laredo, Texas. We pick up Monday at 08:30 and delivery in Laredo at12:00 Wednesday. We have been home for a week. I am glad to get the assignment so that I know what to plan. It is a pain to wait not knowing when you are going to leave. Now I can enjoy the rest of the time I have home. I didn’t expect to picking up today. Who has anything that needs shipped the Saturday after the 4th of July? I have been home longer that I expected or wanted to be but I have enjoyed it.

Alien World

Monday July 1, 2008

Alien World

Being back home for a few days and getting back into a normal life of a home with beds, your own bathroom without getting permission, real meals, going to restaurants without needing a 40 acre lot to park, I realized what a total alien life truck driving really is. Once you climb back into the cab and hit the road you enter a twilight zone; traveling through different worlds and making stops on different planets at weird hours. You are treated as a necessary entity, but an alien that they really don’t care to deal with but are willing to use to get their goods transported to a foreign port in a distance galaxy. As you make your journey you deal with the intergalactic cops, the local planetary cops, and the discrimination of the local residents. You fly like crazy trying to meet your appointments while making fueling stops, fighting for areas to stop for the required shut down times as required by the IGC Federation Laws. You deal with a lack of spaces to dock, no space ship docking allowed signs, use only right traveling lanes, and loading docks that weren’t build to accommodate a freighter your size. You deal with the extreme colds of planet Minszar to the extreme heat of planet Texmexzoid. Then you deal with meteorite showers, traffic jams, and skyjackers. Every few years you get home for a few days to pretend you are normal. But while out you visit the universe and see places that you would not normally see. You experience places in all seasons. An occasionally you meet some very nice people.

Home Time

Monday, June 30, 2008

Home Time

We got home for a few days of rest and relaxation. Mowed the lawn and doing some work around the house before we head out again. It is good to be home. The weather is beautiful and we hope to go to the lake tomorrow. On the 4th we go to Midway Community Center for fun and games. They serve homemade ice cream, grill burgers, and have several bands playing during the day. It is all in a good country setting with fire works at night. It is always enjoyable time.

Two days before we got home our inverter in the truck went out and we had to get rid of stuff from the refrigerator. I tried to find a cooler in a truck stop but couldn’t find anything but the electric type. I have a cooler in my vehicle in Joplin. I am going to spend some time to get things better organized in the truck while I am at home. We use the top bunk for the refrigerator and a crate for Sweet Pea but it is mostly wasted space. In the T600 you don’t have much space for two people so I need to make the best use of what space we do have.

We got a Garmin navigation system that we are going to take with us. I hope that it will make it a little easier to find places.

Middletown, NY

Houston, Texas

Thursday, June 26, 2008

NY

The days pass so fast. You are in Texas and then a few days later in NY headed for Tennessee. It all starts to run together. We left Texas and went with a load to Ohio. Then we went to Pennsylvania and then to Middletown, NY for a load to Alcoa, Tennessee. We have highlighted for home so we have been routed to Tennessee. However we don’t need to be there yet. We pick up a load 20:30 tonight and I will then talk to the dispatcher tomorrow about my home time.

The weather up north has been cool and we haven’t had to idle at night. NY is a no idle state so it being cool has been a blessing. It rained a little today but rather than that we haven’t had much rain to deal with although I hear that the Mississippi river valley that had been flooding got more rain.

We have now been to 19 States.

Eagle Pass, Texas

TX 53


Friday, June 20, 2008

Eagle Pass, Texas
We went from Iowa to Laredo, Texas and then to Eagle Pass, Texas when we got a load of Air Conditioner parts to take to Indiana. That seems a little ironic with it being 110 here. I have enjoyed this trip. The trip from Laredo to Eagle Pass was real pleasant. We traveled TX 53. It is a straight 2 lane road that runs up the South West part of Texas. We are loaded and spending the night here tonight

Iowa

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Iowa

We got to Iowa today about 12:00 but we have to wait till 07:00 tomorrow for our appointment. I called dispatch and ask then to get it sooner but they sent back a message that they couldn’t get it changed. I don’t know if he even tried. I am not to sure about my dispatcher. After I get unloaded tomorrow I will give him another call. I have only had two loads since Thursday. One trip was for 750 miles and this one for a little over 400.

It is at least it is pretty weather today. It is sunny in the 70’s and we have a cool breeze. We saw several wind farms in the Iowa area. They are pretty neat. Rather than that there was not much to see. It is pretty country but flat and all large farms. Lot of the new corn fields are standing in water from all the rain and flooding.

Sakateh Lake in Minnesota

Monday, June 16, 2008

Headed to Iowa

We got a load of paper towels and toilet tissue and taking it to Iowa. It is another short trip of 420 miles and we have till 07:00 Wednesday to deliver. We will get there tomorrow and hope they will take it. It is a distribution center and they are open 24/7. We sit all day Sunday so I hope we don’t have to do it again so soon. I need to get some miles.

It was cool today. It only got up to the mid 60’s and we had wind. The most of the day was cloudy so we wore long sleeves. It has now gotten sunny and it’s a very pretty day.

34 Hour Restart

Sunday, June 15, 2008

34 Hour Restart

For you that don’t know; in trucking we are limited to the hours we can drive each day so to protect the public against tired truck drivers. Inattention to driving usually brought on by fatigue is the number one cause of accidents in trucking so the federal government regulates how much we drive. They don’t regulate us from having midnight delivery appointments excreta. I guess those don’t leave us tired. Anyway we live by the 11 hour rule (we can drive up to 11 hours before taking a 10 hour qualifying break) the 14 hour rule (we can drive those 11 hours in a 14 hour period from the time we start either driving or on duty not driving) and we can not drive more than 70 hours in a 8 day period. Okay you got all that but of course that is the simple version without all the exceptions. The 34 hour restart: If you are off duty for 34 consecutive hours then you can start with a clean slate on the seventy hour rule. Okay we got a 34 hour break. We got in Wisconsin Saturday afternoon and we don’t deliver till Monday morning. Okay that is more than 34 hours so we don’t start counting time till we start Monday morning, not driving but on duty. I log a 15 minute Vehicle Safety Inspection before I start driving. That starts my 14 hour clock for the day. I have to shut down in 14 hours from that time. I have a delivery and hopefully get a load during that time and still have some driving time. We get paid for the miles driven. Loading and unloading time is free. We all wish for long hauls that allows us the maximum miles for our time. It also allows us the freedom to decide when we drive and we are left alone during that time. It is the most enjoyable part of this job.
The weather here has been nice today and we have truly enjoyed the day off. It has been windy, sunny, and very comfortable. I like the Wisconsin area. The people have been friendly, and we are in a convenient location. We are close to restaurants and Wal-Mart. We got some shopping done and went to dinner. We are at a Kwik Trip Truck Stop in Tomah, Wisconsin. They have good showers and lower prices than most truck stops

Trip to Wisconsin

Friday, June 13, 2008

Trip to Wisconsin



S P riding in our bunk.


We deadheaded from Schodack Landing, NY to Dunkirt, NY to a juice processing plant where we go a load of totes to take to Warren, Wisconsin. They didn’t get them loaded till around midnight. We have till Monday 8:00 – 11:00 to deliver. It is only a trip of 750 miles and we have 3 ½ days to get it there. We only drove half way today. We are pretty tired from having two mid night appointments. We are going to drive the rest of it tomorrow and then hang around in Wisconsin and get a 34 hour restart by Monday. We are now in Indiana and I will be driving through Chicago tomorrow. I am hoping that it being Saturday that it will not be too bad.

Hurry Up and Wait

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Hurry Up and Wait

We got unloaded last night very quickly. The place wasn’t hard to get into and they unloaded it right away. I put in the empty call and have been waiting now 8 hours for a load. We are stuck at a little Pilot Truck Stop right by the distribution center where we unloaded. Albany NY is not an easy area to get around in a big truck. Until I get a load I never know which direction to go so I will sit here and hope to get something soon.

I have now been on my own for only 1 ½ weeks. This is a hard job. I expect it to get a little easier as I learn what I am doing. I haven’t been sleeping well with the irregular hours. This job leaves you waiting for a load and then they rush you when you get it. Also I have been getting loads of 500 and 600 hundred miles. By the time you drop one load and then pick up the next half of the day is gone and you have 500 miles to drive to deliver the next morning. It makes it a long hard day. Logging so that you have the available time takes some creativity.

Campbell's Soup

Wednesday, June 11, 2008


Campbell’s Soup

We picked up a load of Campbell’s soup in Napoleon, Ohio and drove it to Schodack Landing, NY. We have at 00:30 appointment. Better get some sleep.

We are in St. Louis

Sunday, June 8, 2008

We are in St. Louis

We are in St. Louis, MO for a delivery tomorrow on the river at 9:00. Then we have a load back to Ohio. I have been driving for a week and have been to three marina districts. If I disappear check the ships heading to an exotic location. I will be on it working as a deck hand.

Hazmat Load to St. Louis

Stormi & Sweet Pea

Friday, June 06, 2008

Load to St. Louis, MO

We are picking up a load at the docks in Carteret, NJ and taking it to St. Louis, MO. Maybe it’s because I use the handle Saylor that they keep me on docks and in Marina’s. Don’t they know that they are taking a risk with me jumping ship and stowing away on a ship. Anyway it should be an easy trip. We have till Monday to get it 950 miles. It is a Hazmat load but that shouldn’t be too bad. I seem to be getting all North East and Hazmat. Ever who the SOB was that told me that they tried to keep new drivers out of NY was full of it. Of course the additional 5cents for NE and the 3 cents for Hazmat will help the pay amount this week. I didn’t start driving till Tuesday and I have 2300 + miles with the additional NE and Hazmat that will be on this weeks pay.

We got a Truck

Friday, June 06, 2008

We got a truck

I finally got a truck (a red racer) but now we are sitting in Millville, NJ waiting for a load. We (my wife, my dog, and I) have been out for three days. We have been in Millville since yesterday afternoon. Hope to be back on the road soon. We had ran a load from Joplin, MO to Baltimore, MD and then one from the port in Baltimore to Millville, NJ. Now we wait!

Number 9 on List

Friday, May 30, 2008

I Am Now Number 9 on the List

This morning I was number 9 on the list. They seem to be getting about 7 trucks done a day so I expect to have my truck by Saturday and to be leaving Sunday. I am tired of waiting. I will post pictures of my truck when I get it.

Waiting for My Truck in Joplin

NY City


Thursday, May 29, 2008

Waiting for Truck

We are in Joplin waiting for a truck. We were 14 on the list this morning. That is up from 28 on Tuesday. That is 7 a day progress so I am hoping for Saturday or Sunday to be ready to go. They have 48 more that will be on the list by this weekend. Needless to say they are busy. Waiting for trucks are not the norm here but Con-Way is very busy. They are the only trucking company that has increased their business over last year.

Saturday they are having a cookout at the Terminal so it will be nice to get to attend that. They have one the first Saturday of each month but it will be rare that I will be here.

I haven’t had the opportunity to go into any detail about my training. I did 8000 miles in 2 ½ weeks. We left Joplin and went to Montgomery, AL. Then we went to Farmington, CT. From there we went to Chicago, IL. We got a load of Dentyne Gum (38,000 lb) and took it to Laredo, TX where it would be relayed to Mexico. Then we went to Minneapolis, MN. From there we went to Hazelton, PA. And form there we went to Gainesville, GA. That is were I left for home and my trainer got a trip to Orlando, Fl and then home.

When I get on the road I will keep this blog updated. I got a broadband wireless internet connecting to use. My trainer used one while we were traveling and he almost always has service. I found the Wi-Fi connections in truck stops not very good and also each brand of truck stops charge for their service.

Finished with my Training

Monday, May 26, 2008

I am finished with my finisher and am waiting for a truck. I was able to go by my home and get my wife and dog and the stuff I need for the road. I hope to be on the road soon.

I didn’t care for, and that is putting it mildly, for my trainer. CFI has some good finishers but I didn’t get one that I liked. But I was able to learn from him and get my 7500 mile done in 2 ½ weeks. I made $669.00 the first week and I didn’t get on the truck till Wednesday night and the week ends on Saturday. The second week I made $970.00. Not bad for being in training. This week will be a little less and so will next week because I am waiting on a truck. I will receive lay over pay for those days of $60.00 a day.

I Start Earning Money Today as a Professional Driver

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

I Start Earning Money Today as a Professional Driver

Today is the day that I start earning money as a professional Truck Driver. I will leave with my finisher today and start earning $0.26 a mile for driving. That’s cool. After 7500 miles I get a raise to $0.30 or $0.031, I don’t remember which. It doesn’t matter. I get raises, bonuses, as long as I am here. By the end of a year it is in the upper 30’s plus .03 for Hazmat and .05 for NY area.

I don’t know how much time I will have to post but I will when I can. My laptop has WI-FI but I don’t have a wireless card. I am going to get one when I get my own truck and my wife is with me.

Waiting for My Finisher

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Waiting for My Finisher

I am finished with my orientation at Con-Way Truck Load and waiting for my finisher. He will be in Joplin Wednesday so I have a day to do nothing. I am headed back to the terminal this morning to take care of a couple of things. My security card isn’t working and I need to get a home parking place arranged.

I visited the war room while I was at the terminal this morning. It was quite impressive. They have three large screens about the size that would be in a theater displaying a weather map and other information. Then they have all these people on computers talking to drivers and dispatching loads.

I talked to my finisher. He is not expected to be here before noon Wednesday so I will just hang out will little to do. It is raining today also so I will nap and read to pass the day.

Finished at Crowder

Sunday May 4, 2008

Finished at Crowder

Here is a recap of what has transpired so far:

Last Sunday: Arrived at Joplin on the bus where we are picked up by cabs and taken to Quality Inn where we spend the night.

Monday: Picked up on a Con-Way bus and taken to headquarters. We spend all day at orientation. Around 5:00 PM we are then taken to Noesho’s Booneslick Lodge.

Tuesday: First day at Crowder week long boot camp. Everyone is anxious and wonder if they have learned enough at their school to make it through this week. After learning that we get the opportunity to go through each exercise before testing the anxiety is lessoned. We also learn that the instructors here are good and they work to help you succeed. If you try you can make it.

Wednesday: We do a commentary road trip plus more shifting and backing on the range.

Thursday: 3:30 AM road trip plus more of the same training on the range.

Friday: We were scheduled for skid pad but canceled because of wind. We did more training on the range and obstacle course.

Saturday: Skills test.

Sunday: Finished test and get back to Booneslick early.

Note: we do test almost everyday. The written tests are rather easy. We also do a pre-trip test. It will be about the same as what you have already done but with less detail.

Finished All My Tests

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Finished All My Tests

I finished all my tests today. I had a written test first and then off the road test. I amazed myself at how much more confidence I had today in my driving abilities than I had a week ago. Next I did the backing test, scored a hundred on it. Then the obstacle course, the last test, I was getting cocky by then but did well. I lost a ten pointer because I got greedy and instead of settling for a 8 or 9 points went for the 10 and went past a line by 3 or 4 inches and go a 0 for that score. I still passed with a seventy when only forty was required to pass. I enjoyed the obstacle course. We also did some hook and drops and sliding tandems. It was a short day; we left at 3:00.

Tomorrow will be a short day. A few boot campers still have the obstacle test to complete. I will try to get my laundry done so that I get started on the road without having to deal with it for a while. I hope that I can get out with the trainer Monday.

We Missed the Skid Pad

Friday, May 02, 2008

We Missed the Skid Pad

A lot has happened since Tuesday. It has been a real hurricane week of lessons, tests, and driving. We have covered so much it is hard to take it all in. We missed the skid pad that was scheduled for today and everyone was disappointed. We had a storm front and it has been windy for the last three days. The wind would blow the water away so the skid pad was canceled. Con-Way sends all the drivers through the training so it will be rescheduled but we will miss it for now. Thursday we did the early morning drive and that went well but we did have to contend with the strong winds. Tomorrow we do a road test, the backing test, and get started with the obstacle course test and a written test. We finish the testing Sunday and get the remainder of the day off. It is hard to believe that it has only been a week with all that we have done.

Crowder College

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Crowder College

Today was an awesome day. The day started with everyone having a lot of anxiety about how they were going to do and wondering whether they would be on a bus home before the end of the day. We left the hotel at 7:00 AM and taken to the college to a class room. We had a couple of quick classes. One was on shifting a 13 speed transmission and the other on logging. Of the fourteen people in class none had driven a 13 speed and most had very little knowledge of logging. Some had none. Most were getting pretty stressed by now. After the classes we had lunch at the college cafeteria paid for by CWTL and then to the driving range. We get three meals a day here on CWTL. This is some driving range. It is an old military base with roads everywhere that no one uses except the school. Lined up was a bunch of KenWorth T2000’s, old (2002-2004) CFI trucks. We had three instructors here. We had had two back at the class room. They went with each of us once around the course showing us how to up shift, down shift, and do gear recoveries then they let us go on our own. We switched off on three trucks driving till 5:00. We always have at least two in the truck in case we need to back excreta. By the end of the day the confidence level has risen tremendous and everyone believed that they would make it. Everyone was happy, working hard and having a good time.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to go out driving on a verbalization drive. What that means is that we talk the whole time we are driving about what is around us, what we see, potential hazards, road signs, excreta. It teaches us to get it into our mind instead of just seeing and forgetting it.

Thursday we are picked up at the hotel in the trucks at 3:30 AM to go driving down town on a night drive and then to breakfast at the college and then more driving.

Friday – Fun Day - We hit the skid pad. They have a large slick concrete pad that they flood with water. We practice skidding out and recovering from the skid. We are all excited about getting to do this.

Saturday driving test: Enough said for now.

Sunday: We do an obstacle course and finish by noon. We have the rest of the day off.

Monday: We go back to Con-Way for our finial orientation and to get with our trainers. We do 7500 miles with the trainer and we drive them all. The trainer does no driving but is their just to train us. After that we come back to get our own truck, KenWorth T600.

This is a great company. We have been treated really great here and the training that they give a new driver is second to none. I am excited about this opportunity to be here. Even if I were not to make it I would highly recommend to any student to come here. This week of training is something that will stay with me forever regardless of whom I might drive for but if I can make it I will be with CWTL.

First day of orientation at CWTL

Monday, April 28, 2008

First day of orientation at CWTL

Today was okay but very busy. The bus picked us up at 6:15 to take us to headquarters. We did paper work and then went for drug test and physicals. I had a problem with my physical. My blood sugar was too high so I didn’t pass. I get to take it again. I didn’t know that there was going to be a problem or I could have eaten better. I had eaten all the wrong stuff just before the test. I am cutting out all bread, starches, and sugars to get it down. I was just barely over so it should be okay but it does mean that I am going to have to watch what I eat. I have gone on a diet and lost 15 lbs but gained 5 of it back. I have to lose weight and get more exercise.

We move to Booneslick Lodge that is close to Crowder. Tomorrow we start training there for a week before going with a trainer. I am sure that it is going to be full days.

The Gray Dog to Joplin

Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Gray Dog to Joplin

I left Saturday at 7:05 PM from Cookeville, TN for a scheduled 19 ½ hours to Joplin, Missouri. I hadn’t realized how many people that use the buses for travel. Every leg of the trip has been filled to capacitive except the last. Here are a few pointers for making the bus trip: First they are not reliable so give your self plenty of extra time. I have lucked out and not had any major delays but I met several people that have. Their bus has been late for a connection and then they get stuck for hours waiting for the next ride. Don’t plan it too close. Second: They don’t transfer you luggage, you do it so make it easy on yourself and don’t take too much. The overhead compartments are smaller that on a plane. A pillow comes in handy while traveling on a long trip. Third: Bring food and water, it isn’t easy to get what you need and the costs in the bus depots are a rip off. I brought 3 bottles of water and I ran out. Overall it was a rough trip.

You spend a lot of time on the bus so you meet the people around you. I met several truck drivers on the trip. Some were going to Fort Smith, Arkansas for USA Trucks. I met some that were headed to Conway in Joplin, and some going on to TMC in Des Moines Iowa. In the short time that I have been involved with trucking I have met some very nice people.

When we got to the bus station in Joplin we were picked up in vans by a local cab company. We were then taken to Quality Inn and given rooms. We share 2 to a room. Conway has shuttles that run regular routes around Joplin that you can take for free. Also if you need to go somewhere that is not on the route you can take the cab company for free. Tomorrow we get picked up by a shuttle at 6:15 and taken to the CFI/Conway offices to do our paper work, do our drug test, and get checked into the hotel were we will be staying during the week orientation. It seems that everyone has different information but all that should be clearer tomorrow. They are about 20 of us here.

We will be doing driving test this week also. Clutch to neutral, …….???? There is more to that but at 60 the memories get short!!!! HEEEELP!!! hold to 1000RPM, clutch and do gear recovery. Yes that’s it.

My Last Day at Home

Saturday, April 26, 2008

My Last Day at Home

I leave this afternoon for my bus ride. I feel like I am heading to boot camp. Anxious is an understatement of how I feel. I am anxious for many reasons. For one: leaving home and leaving my wife here alone, she isn’t one to resolve problems on her own. Second: I am anxious about how I will do. I wished that I could have had much more driving time.

I got me a new laptop computer that I am taking so I will try to keep my blog up to date. It has WI-FI but I don’t know how much I will be connected. When I get my own truck I am going to get the Verizon Wireless. I am still on a budget and trying to save what I can till I get some income started. I will update at my next connection about the trip.