Well, when you start off with no hangover, that's a good thing, right? I had to get up wicked early, so I had the red eyes and dry mouth kicking, but I had no headache and actually felt pretty good. The drive up to my drop was uncongested and my truck was playing ball. So far so good.
My next pickup was scheduled for 1:30pm, about five miles from my drop, so I took the opportunity to catch a nice nap before I went to the shipper. I headed over around noon and found out it was a drop/hook and ready to go. The spot where I had to drop the empty was a real pain in the ass. No angle from which I could set up, no room for me to get at the landing gear once I backed it in, and no room for me to pull forward to straighten out. It took a while but I got it in there. Then I had to crawl under the trailer and unwind the landing gear, one inch at a time. That took a while. I'm not cut out for that kind of shit.
Then I headed south, a little nervous about how my temperamental truck would handle the 31,000 pound load in the hills. It was doing fine, so I was content to overlook the rain and slow traffic. In Alabama, that all changed. The weather cleared up, the traffic was rolling smoothly, and my truck decided to be a piece of shit. It was sputtering about as badly as it did the day I left Laredo, but the heavier load made it happen far more frequently. Today was a long, long day.
I would be inclined to pass off this load and just get to the nearest shop, even if it costs me some miles. I got a message this afternoon though, that has me hoping I can stick it out for a few more days. Apparently my little red truck has reached the end of its CTL career and I'm highlighted for Joplin to trade it in. If I can survive the trip to Laredo and then to Joplin, those guys can do whatever they want with this thing and I won't miss any time on the road.
I knocked out a good 600 miles tonight, so I should be able to make Laredo in one shot tomorrow. I was dispatched for Wednesday afternoon, but I want to unload this faulty truck as soon as possible so I plan to get there early.
If you made any money on the Super Bowl after reading my prediction, you're welcome. I have a special ability to completely misread the game of football and I'm happy to share it.
You have any idea what kind of truck you will be getting into. Maybe you will get one of those brand new trucks they keep talking about. Hope this one makes it to joplin for you. Nice blog!
ReplyDeleteI don't know. They have some sort of convoluted system of assigning the new trucks, but personally I'd be happy with one just like this one. I like sitting in the smaller cab. Just seems more like a truck to me, as opposed to a house on wheels.
ReplyDeleteI have been hearing that they were trading at 500,000 miles now, but this one is at 376,000. I just do what I'm told and drive whatever they give me. It's easier that way.
Thanks for the feedback on the blog.