8/13/07

Even on a day when I didn't cover a ton of miles and I have no idea how long I'll be stuck in Joplin, things have a more positive feel when you know in advance what to expect. Going into today, I knew I had a delivery appointment so there was no need to arrive way early. I knew where and when I was picking up next, so there was no need to look for a place to sit and wait. I had my routes mapped out in advance, so I knew where I could stop for lunch. I knew I would be in the shop tonight, so I could jot down a few of the things I've been meaning to get done. It's just a shame that most days aren't planned like this.

I headed over to the customer in Wichita and checked in at 7am. My appointment was for 7:30 so they directed me to park on a side street and put my CB on channel 30. When I told the lady that my CB was broken, she told me that they would send the yard dog to get me when they were ready. Around 8am, he came around and told me to go back where I started and wait for the truck ahead of me to leave the dock, then back in. It didn't take too long for my turn to come up. Backing in proved to be more of an adventure than I had bargained for. The dock was around the side of a building and at a slight angle back toward the building. That was no problem, but at that time of day my mirror may as well have been the sun itself. Every time I tried to check my alignment, I was nearly blinded. Hanging my head out the window did little good, as the angle of the dock caused the trailer to be mostly out of my sight. As a result, I had to stop and get out a few times to get some idea of where I was going.

The unloading took about a half hour and I was good to go. No waiting around for the next dispatch since I knew where I was headed. When I stopped for lunch, I wound up chatting with another CFI driver for a while. He was an older guy who has worked here forever. We shot the breeze for a little while, which was a nice way to kill the time before my next appointment. I drove the last thirty miles to McPherson and went inside to check in.

My appointment was scheduled as a drop & hook. The only thing that sucked was that the drop part happened as soon as I got there and the hook part was two hours later. The lady told me to park in the bobtail area and set my CB to channel 20. So yeah, "We'll send the yard driver to get you when your load is ready." I love it.

As I was lying in the bunk and playing Hearts (got my win percentage back up to 41%, BTW) I had a strange feeling that I should look outside. No sooner did I take a peek than a dude in a beat-up old Peterbilt was about to take my fender off as he tried to back into the dock. I blew the horn to get his attention and then scooted my truck out of the way. The customer required us to have the trailer wheels moved all the way back before dropping, so he had moved them back and then started backing in. As a result, his arc was way wider than it needed to be and my parked truck was in the line of fire. Common sense would seem to suggest that you get squared away in the dock and then slide the tires, but I guess common sense isn't always common.

The trailer that I picked up had some wires hanging down on the ground, so I crawled under to take a look. One of the springs that supports the wires and hoses had broken and someone had used a rubber strap as a stand-in. That's a sensible enough effort, but the rubber strap had come loose and the wires had dragged on the ground, wearing almost all the way through. I'm no mechanic, but that doesn't sound good to me. I checked and double-checked the lights and brakes. Since they were fine, the load was light, and the trip would be short, I decided to use some zip ties to secure the wires and go ahead with the load. The guys in Joplin could do what they had to do once I got there.

They're drilling another hole in that Utah mine and expect it to take the rest of the week. Then they might have to drill another one. Why in the hell don't they drill a few holes at the same time? Is there only one drill in this country?

Sorry about that, random thought. Anyway... One constant exists whenever I come to Joplin. The guys in the shop are way better at inspecting things than I am. I knew I had one tire that was about due for replacement and another that could probably be swapped out sometime soon. They flagged both tires, so that was good. They also found a leaking shock and a leaking wheel seal, neither of which I had noticed. Combined with the MobileMax repair that was the reason for my trip here, this could be a long night in the shop. The guys in the inspection bay also replaced both my headlights, although they were working fine. My truck has 311,000 miles on it, so maybe it was just a scheduled thing to do. I don't know.

When I tried to explain the issue with the wires under the trailer, I got the typical "You're just a driver, shut up and let us check it out" attitude from the guy. While he certainly didn't use those words, the message was clear. Eventually he got to the part where he checks the ABS system on the trailer. I stepped on the brakes, the light didn't come on. He replaced the ABS indicator light. I stepped on the brakes again, the light failed to come on again. He looked confused. Duh, maybe that wire that was worn in half had something to do with it? They flagged the trailer for ABS repairs. The guys in the trailer shop can figure it out. Screw 'em, at least I tried to help.

Since the trailer had to go in for work, I decided to hit the tire shop before I headed over to drop off the bills for the load I was hauling. For the drive tire, they were searching around for a used one that would match up with the others in terms of tread wear. Since this truck has about six months or so until it is traded in, I can only guess they didn't want to put a brand new drive tire on to go with three used ones. The right steer tire needed to be replaced as well, so I was a little perplexed when he started pulling the lugs off of the left one. Apparently the tire that I got form the shop in O'Fallon a while back has a deeper tread than the ones CFI is currently buying. Therefore, they put two matching new steer tires on for me. Okay, cool with me.

Then on to the tractor shop to check in with them. Wheel seal, shock, MobileMax, anything else? No, I just needed to stop by the parts department and get a new key made. I asked the Kenworth dealer in Michigan for one a while back, but they're basically a bunch of buffoons and they forgot.

So, I've dropped off my bills and now the waiting game begins. With 4,727 miles as I type this, I may very well be on my way to my first sub-5,500 mile paycheck. I'll have tomorrow and Wednesday to work with, so we'll just have to see. I do have some extra stop pay on this check, so even if I don't crack the 5,500 mark my pay should exceed $2,000, which is my self-imposed floor.

I'll use the time here to get some laundry done, clean the truck out real thoroughly, get the outside washed, hit the gym for a much-needed workout, and try to get some decent sleep for a change. Hopefully I'll be rolling somewhat early tomorrow so I can cover some miles.