Kansas City Here I Come!

After a long day yesterday, I slept in a bit today until almost 8AM. Well mostly because it was just too cold and I didn't want to get out of bed! I was trying not to idle the truck all night because I can sleep a little better without the noise and shaking. It was about 38-40 degrees outside and probably 50 something inside the truck. I had a sheet, a comforter, and a sleeping bag over me. It was nice and warm as long as a didn't move over a few inches into a cold spot!

Anyway, I finally got up and out. I decided to sit down inside the T/A's restaurant and have a good hot eggs and bacon breakfast. I had 580 miles to go and didn't want to stop unless I had to.

It was 11:00 by the time I got on the road. I-70 westbound through Indiana and Illinois. I didn't stop until 5:30 PM in New Florence, MO when I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the McDonald's. Stretched my legs a little and relaxed too. Drove for another hour and fueled up at a Pilot in Boonville, MO.

I finally arrived in Kansas City, MO at 9:30, well actually 8:30 local time. I'm parked here at the consignee. This one actually had instructions to open the doors and back into a dock. They'll start unloading when they get here in the morning. Sounds good to me.

Thanks for spending another trucker's day with me. See you again tomorrow.

Back in Ohio Again.

It's getting colder out there! Hello everyone and welcome back to my regular visitors. If you haven't already please take a moment at the bottom and post your comments and introduce yourself.

Today started out in Hazelton, PA at the Pilot Truck Stop. It was about 39 degrees when I woke up! Brrrrr! I drove about an hour over to Easton to pick up part of my load. That took almost 2 hours for only 1/4 of the trailer full.

Then I drove just 18 miles over to Allentown, PA for the rest of the load. This took almost 2 hours as well. Although on this stop I didn't mind too much. I have been wanting to get back over to this warehouse for 14 months now.

The last time I was here was in August 2008. There is a Geocache called "Road to Nowhere" that's about a 2 mile round trip walk to. I tried unsuccessfully to find it 14 months ago and have always wanted to come back and try again. Now was my opportunity.

While they were loading me up, I walked over to look for it. After reading the previous finders logs, I knew WHAT I was looking for, I just didn't know which one. There were about 20 of these items here. I just had to figure out which one it was in! I looked into the correct one TWICE and still didn't see it. Then I noticed some scribbling on the outside and took another closer look inside. FINALLY! Now I can sleep well knowing I found this sneaky hide.

Anyway, back to work.

After I returned, they finished loading the trailer. A total of 42,000 lbs of pipe fittings loaded all the way to the doors. Crossing 5 states to Kansas City, I need to get to a CAT Scale to have it weighed to make sure I'm balanced correctly. I looked in my truck stop guide book and it says there's one several miles down on I-78. No problem, I'm not going to hit the first weigh station until I-81.

But when I get off at that exit, I don't see any kind of truck stop there. It looks like your typical shopping center area with stores and restaurants. Great, now I got to figure out how to turn around! Fortunately, there's a shoulder I can pull off onto and check. I get a Google satellite image and follow the street around several blocks and I looks like I can do a big loop around. All businesses and no residential. 20 minutes later and I'm back on I-78.

About 20 more miles in Myerstown, I come to a Pilot. A quick run over the CAT Scales to find I'm 4100 lbs overweight on the trailer and 7,000 lbs under on the drives. I had to slide the tandems ALL THE WAY to the rear of the trailer to balance it correctly. That stretches the trailer out and makes for harder turns. Somebody didn't know how to load a trailer very well.

Anyway, after adjusting the trailer I fuel up and off I go. I-78 to I-81 south to I-76 west to I-70 west. I drive all the way to Buckeye Lake, Ohio just before the Indiana border, 654 miles later.

And I'm tired! See ya tomorrow.

A Long But Short Day. HUH?

What kind of a title is that right? Well after you read today's post you'll understand.

I woke up between 5:30-6:00 this morning. Not sure exactly. The consignee started unloading at 7:30 when the first shift came in. They had me done in about an hour so I just hung out there in their parking area. The nearest truck stop was about 15 miles away and closer to the center of Cleveland.

Finally about 9:45 they assigned me the next load and by 10:15 I was on the way. It was a Con-Way Freight load picking up in Lordstown, OH about an hour away. My appointment time wasn't until 4PM, but I was hoping to eat along the way.

I almost stopped at McDonald's, but decided that's not what I wanted. As it turned out there wasn't much for options either. After getting to Con-Way, I decided on just having a Cup-O-Soup.

Around 2PM, I thought I'd just inquire and see and to my surprise the load was ready! So I hooked up to the loaded trailer and rolled east on I-80. Across Pennsylvania to the Pilot Travel Center in Hazelton. There I relayed with another driver who was finishing the run to Massachusetts.

So the long day was that I was up a little early and the waiting around made it seem longer. The short day was only the 333 miles of driving.

Dinner tonight was the Subway here at the truck stop. Tomorrow I pick up a load in Allentown and haul it all the way to Kansas City.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya tomorrow.

Running On Fumes!

What a long day! Not only was I running on fumes by tonight, but so was the truck earlier today!

It all started back in Shelby, NC where I was parked at the consignee for an 8:00 AM delivery. Well they are a first come first serve unload and it was a good thing I backed into the ONLY dock door yesterday afternoon when I arrived. By 6AM there must have been 8-9 trucks lined up to be unloaded! I knew that because I was awakened at 3AM!

I'm not sure what time the actually started working, but around 3:00 was when I kept hearing things tossed into the nearby dumpster. Then the forklift going around me and across the parking lot. By 4:00 AM, I gave up trying to fall back asleep!

They started unloading my trailer around 6:30. I went ahead and sent in my empty message over the Qualcomm and was surprised to have been assigned a load BEFORE I was actually emptied. I quickly checked and the pickup time was at noon and the shipper was only 60 miles away. That's good, I still had a little while for them to finish!

I mapped out the trip into my laptop while I waited. By 8:00 I was rolling and on my way. While I was planning my route, I checked fuel and it showed I had 1/4 tanks. That should get me at LEAST 200 miles. Now I could have gone east over to Charlotte and fueled up before going to the shipper. That would have taken me the long way and about 20 miles out of route.

Or I could go ahead and pickup the load and continue north on I-77 into Virginia and fueled at out next approved stop there. It was about 180 miles away. Now on full tanks you can go anywhere from 800 to 1200 miles depending upon weight and terrain. So I figured 180 miles on 1/4 tanks no problem right?

Well I start heading north towards the shipper and about halfway there I glance down and notice my fuel now says 1/8! Now if I head back down to Charlotte, I'm making a BIG out of route circle! After the shipper, I get only 100 miles into the run and I am flat on fumes now! So I have to pull into a non-approved fuel stop and pay cash just to get me to our regular fuel stop. Yes, I get reimbursed for it, but the fuel dept REALLY DOESN'T LIKE THAT!

So I stopped in Jonesville, NC and get $40.00 worth of fuel. That's about 16 gallons. Not too bad for a car, but when these trucks usually hold between 180 and 200 gallons of fuel, the cashier tends to look at you funny when you ask for $40! But that's what I put in.

By now it's almost noon too so I eat at the Backyard Burger's that's there too. I think that's the first time eating at one of those. Not too bad actually.

Back on the road for an hour to stop once again for fuel at a Love's Travel Center in Locust Hill, VA.

Now it's north on I-77 for 3 1/2 hours through West Virginia and into Ohio. I stopped at the Ohio Welcome Center in Marietta. There were 2 Geocaches there at opposite ends of the rest area. So by the time I walked to find one and then the other, I walked just over a half mile. Not far but there were some good hills there top climb over too so that made for a nice bit of 30 minute exercise.

Continuing onward up I-77, I arrived in Solon, OH, just east of Cleveland, at 9:00 PM. This time I have a 7 AM appt time so we'll see what time they actually wake me up!

That's it for now. I'm tired and I'm going to bed. See ya tomorrow.

A Short Relaxing Drive to North Carolina

Welcome back to A Trucker's Day, a blog about my life trying to make a buck hauling things back and forth around the country.

This morning started out in Bowman, SC, waking up around 7:00 AM I think. Wasn't much in a hurry as I only had to drive 180 miles and the load doesn't deliver until tomorrow morning. So I did a little reading in my bible before getting up. This was what stuck out the most this morning:

"The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him, and hear their cry and save them. The LORD preserves all those who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, and bless His holy name forever and ever." Psalm 145: 17-21

Once I got up and about, I went inside to the McDonald's and got my usual breakfast. Finally around 9:00 AM I continued up I-26 westbound. Just a few miles up the road, I stopped at the first rest area to find a Geocache.

When I reached I-77, I headed north. Along I-77 I stopped at another rest area for another Geocache hunt. Looped around the west side of Charlotte, NC to I-85, then US74 westbound. Around 1:15 PM I arrived at the consignee, which happened to be closed today. That's OK though, their gate is open and I was able to park here tonight. In the morning I'll be unloading the 11 giant rolls of paper weighing in at 41,000 lbs!

The rest of day the day was just browsing the internet, chatting on Facebook, and listening to a Stephen King audio book. See ya back again tomorrow.

From Georgia to South Carolina via Florida!

What? From Georgia to South Carolina via Florida? What kind of driving is that you say?

Well that pretty much sums it up! I was in North Georgia too! I started out in Patillo, which is about halfway between Atlanta and Macon, around 7AM. Drove for an hour before stopping in Vienna, GA at a truck stop with a McDonald's. You know McDonald's has their Monopoly game going on right now and I had won a FREE breakfast sandwich. WOHOO!! So I used that this morning.

Continuing south on I-75 into Florida, east on I-10 all the way to Jacksonville. I dropped my loaded trailer with the appliances at the Sears warehouse and picked up an empty at 1PM. I quickly received my next load info and after inputting the addresses into my Streets & Trips, I was on the way.

Just 30 miles northeast of Jacksonville, I picked up 11 GIANT rolls of paper weighing in at 41,000 lbs in Fernandina Beach, FL. Now I'm heading north on I-95 back up into Georgia. At 4:30, I stop in Woodbine, GA and make a quick ham & cheese sandwich. While at the truck stop, I weigh the truck on the CAT Scales to make sure I'm balanced OK being that heavy.

Now it's non-stop continuing north on I-95 into South Carolina where I turn west onto I-26. I drove as far as Bowman, when I pulled into a Pilot for the night. It's only 180 miles to my final stop in North Carolina and it doesn't deliver until Monday morning. So I have plenty of time.

A pretty good week this past week. I was dispatched on almost 3200 miles! With the economy the way it is, I haven't seen a 3000+ week in several months.

Anyway, that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

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!