A Crazy and Confusing Day!

What a day today! I woke up around 3:00 AM this morning because the truck was idling really rough and I couldn't get back to sleep. Since I was parked at the T/A, at about 3:45 I gave up and drove it over to their shop bays to have them take a look at it. Plus the fuel filters were due to be changed anyway.

Well they changed the filters but the roughness was caused by the primer pump leaking. That problem they are not able to fix. I needed to take it to a Kenworth Dealer. OK, not a problem. I thought my next load wasn't until tonight, so I'll get it fixed this afternoon once I unload this morning.

Now that I'm wide awake and it's only 5AM, I decided to get my laundry washed. I had planned on doing it this afternoon, but now I'll be sitting at Kenworth instead.

Around 9:30, I drive 2 miles down the road to deliver my load. I dropped my loaded trailer and picked up an empty. By 10:15, I'm now driving into Nashville to get the truck fixed.

While I'm driving they send me all the load info for my next assignment. I get to Kenworth, drop my empty trailer in the yard and drive around to the shop entrance. There I check my messages with all the load info. I read that I'm due at the shipper on 10/08 at 2100 which I assume 9PM tonight. Then the last message I get says they changed the appt time to 1300. It's now Noon.

So I send a message back that I like the earlier pickup time, but I'm at Kenworth to get the truck fixed and will get to the shipper as soon as possible. And to please call me on the phone if anything changes because the truck may be inside the shop and the satellite will obviously not work. Then I walk inside the service dept to check in.

Within a few minutes I get a phone call from Joplin, MO. He asks if I was having a problem picking up the load. I explained that it shouldn't be a problem picking it up by the 2100 appt time or sooner depending upon Kenworth. He then says to me; "NO, that was 2100 LAST NIGHT, 10/08!, Today is 10/09! It picks up in two hours and you're 30 miles away."

I hate it when they do that! Send me a pickup time the day before my delivery appt for my current load. That always confuses me! So I said not a problem and left the shop to go and pickup the load of appliances.

I get to the shipper in Springfield at 11:45 and within a few minutes, torrential downpour! By the time I drop my empty and hook to the loaded trailer I am SOAKED! Pull it around to the security gate and it starts to let up. A mile down the road and the rain is over. Figures!

I head south on I-24 for an hour where I stop in Murfreesboro, TN for fuel and food. A quick McDonald's burger, fries, and sweet tea.

Still continuing south on I-24 about 15 miles out from Chattanooga, I encounter a 15 mile bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic jamb caused by several accidents. At least that's what's being reported over the CB by those going westbound. I didn't see anything by the time I got there about an hour later.

Once I get to I-75 southbound, it's all up to speed. Around the I-285 Atlanta bypass and return to I-75 southbound. I finally stopped tonight at 9PM at a truck stop in Patillo, GA, which is about halfway between Atlanta and Macon.

I'm just glad this day is over. Good night and see ya tomorrow!

Cool Again From Jacksonville to Hoover

Praise the Lord! My a/c is fixed and quicker than I had expected! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Happy Tuesday to you! I woke up this morning at 5:30 AM in a nice cool hotel room. Checked out at 6:00 and walked back over to the warehouse. They finally showed up at 8:00 and it took them 1 1/2 hours to unload. I must have gotten the slow one, because 4 other truck who docked after me unloaded before me. Oh well, what can you do.

Anyway, once empty I drove 14 miles down the road to the Michael's Distribution Center for my next load. After checking in and dropping off my empty trailer, I bobtailed back a mile to the Kenworth dealer to get my a/c fixed. By now it's about 10:30 and I'm getting hungry. The service advisor told me about the lunch buffet at the nearby Holiday Inn. It was about a mile walk, which was no big deal for me. So I walked on over there.

I had to wait 5 minutes because their lunch buffet doesn't open until 11:00 AM. Well it was definitely worth the walk! I had fried catfish, green beans, mac & cheese, and stuffed cabbage for lunch. They also had some great looking fried chicken, pork chops and more which I was about to get. But after my first plate, I was already eyeing dessert! I tried 2 of the 6 different desserts offered and they were great. Everything was GREAT! So if you're ever in Jacksonville, FL the Holiday Inn on I-295 x 22 has a breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet.

Once I got back to the truck at 11:45, they had already pulled it into the shop. I figured maybe not until 1PM or so. This was good to see. But then I talked to the service advisor again and after thanking him for the great lunch advise, he told me the issues on the truck. The a/c was a leaking condenser and would take 2 hours and then there was some sort of recall which would take an additional 3 hours. Therefore I was looking at around 5-6PM for completion. That means I wouldn't get to my delivery until around 2 AM! YIKES!!

Then surprisingly around 2PM, the mechanic came in to the driver lounge and said I was ready to go! The parts required for the recall were not in stock and had to be ordered. WOHOO!! Now I won't have a late night of driving.

So I headed back over to Michael's, grabbed my loaded trailer and I was on the road. Westbound on I-10 for 2 1/2 hours, I stopped in Marianna, FL for some fuel. Then non-stop north on US231 to I-65 north all the way to Hoover, Alabama. I arrived there about 10:15 PM and I'm tired. I have a 5:00 AM delivery time in the morning so not much time for sleep. But I'm thinking of my readers here too and wanted to write today's blog first.

But now it's time for bed. Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you down the road.