Almost pulled off a day with no traffic jams... almost. The cruise across US-30 was nice and easy as expected. I caught up with I-80 in Illinois and continued westward for a while, targeting the T/A in Morris as a good place to stop for the night. If only it weren't for the construction at the intersection with I-55. They were stopping traffic to let construction equipment cross the road and the resulting backup was a beauty.
I got to the T/A and settled in early enough to listen to my Tigers taking an ass whipping from Houston. Searching for more entertaining fare on the radio proved to be a worthless pursuit though. All Michael Jackson, all the time. I fail to understand our society's obsession with dead celebrities, but then I guess there's a lot about our society that I don't understand. Whatevs.
My week wraps up with 2,366 miles and a little under $40 in northeast pay, so not too bad. I'll come in under $1,000 for the week but it was a pretty easy week of work. My safety bonus for the second quarter was on yesterday's check and the coming week will bring my holiday pay for Independence Day, so all in all things seem to be rolling along quite nicely.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
6/26/09
Every now and then it's good to reinforce the things that you already know. For instance, I know that I'm functionally illiterate with respect to the mechanical aspect of the trucking world. Today I got a little reinforcement of this knowledge. I headed down the street to the T/A and told the gal behind the counter that I needed my wheel seal fixed. She made her notes in the computer and told me that she would call my cell phone once they were ready for me, as the mechanics were presently occupied with other trucks. After an hour or so, I got my call. I pulled into the bay and the mechanic asked me where was the cap from the outside of the hub. Hell if I know, dude. That's the problem, isn't it? He checked over the innards of the wheel and axle and told me that the wheel seal and the bearings were all good. Yeah... of course... I knew that... err... umm. He shot some oil into the hub and stuck a new cap on the outside, then sent me on my way. My own ineptitude aside, this was good news overall.
I headed out to the freeway and began what seemed like the longest 320 mile drive in history. With my heavy trailer and all of the hills, it was a given that the motorists of Pennsylvania would insist on getting in front of me and going juuuust a bit slower than I was going. So I got to ride my brakes coming down each hill and thus eliminate the possibility of getting a run at the next one. Long, long day doing that shit. Then there was a ten mile backup waiting to get to a construction zone. That whole 'merging' thing hasn't caught on just yet, apparently.
I got into Ohio and managed to catch the afternoon traffic in Akron. There are not nearly enough people in that city to account for the traffic backups. Right on cue, the people who needed to be in the left lane to catch I-77 would all stay in the right lane and those who needed to be in the right lane for I-76 would stay in the left lane. Then, right at the last second, they all had to cut each other off and turn the whole freeway into a parking lot. Asswipes.
All of this merging nonsense has me wondering; On the autobahn, do you suppose that Adolf from Berlin insists on staying in the lane for Hamburg until the last possible second? Or is this a purely American trait? I don't know. Whatever.
By the early evening I made it down to US-30 and began the leisurely part of this trip. There are some hills in this part of Ohio, but it will get progressively flatter as I go further westward. It's not a congested road and I can usually cruise along at 55mph without anyone bothering me. I stopped at a little truck stop in Bucyrus for the night and found that neither my cell phone (AT&T) nor my internet card (Sprint) had any reception. That's odd. Usually, even in the most remote areas, one or the other gets a signal. I found that I'm parked next to a motel with an unsecured internet connection though, so I was able to watch the Tigers blow their early 4-0 lead and lose to the Astros. As for the absence of a cell phone, I gotta say... I don't hate it.
I headed out to the freeway and began what seemed like the longest 320 mile drive in history. With my heavy trailer and all of the hills, it was a given that the motorists of Pennsylvania would insist on getting in front of me and going juuuust a bit slower than I was going. So I got to ride my brakes coming down each hill and thus eliminate the possibility of getting a run at the next one. Long, long day doing that shit. Then there was a ten mile backup waiting to get to a construction zone. That whole 'merging' thing hasn't caught on just yet, apparently.
I got into Ohio and managed to catch the afternoon traffic in Akron. There are not nearly enough people in that city to account for the traffic backups. Right on cue, the people who needed to be in the left lane to catch I-77 would all stay in the right lane and those who needed to be in the right lane for I-76 would stay in the left lane. Then, right at the last second, they all had to cut each other off and turn the whole freeway into a parking lot. Asswipes.
All of this merging nonsense has me wondering; On the autobahn, do you suppose that Adolf from Berlin insists on staying in the lane for Hamburg until the last possible second? Or is this a purely American trait? I don't know. Whatever.
By the early evening I made it down to US-30 and began the leisurely part of this trip. There are some hills in this part of Ohio, but it will get progressively flatter as I go further westward. It's not a congested road and I can usually cruise along at 55mph without anyone bothering me. I stopped at a little truck stop in Bucyrus for the night and found that neither my cell phone (AT&T) nor my internet card (Sprint) had any reception. That's odd. Usually, even in the most remote areas, one or the other gets a signal. I found that I'm parked next to a motel with an unsecured internet connection though, so I was able to watch the Tigers blow their early 4-0 lead and lose to the Astros. As for the absence of a cell phone, I gotta say... I don't hate it.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
6/25/09
Of all the catchy euphemisms that describe relations between men and women, I think "hiking the Appalachian Trail" may end up being my new favorite. That sounds fun, doesn't it? What does it say about society when we're no longer surprised by this kind of stuff? And, of course, we'll keep electing these scumbags to positions of power and wonder why there's no integrity in politics. I, for one, would rather be governed by a collection of people from the local pub - people who have always had to face the consequences for their own decisions in life. Something tells me that they would show a lot more common sense than the current batch of "leaders." Okay, enough about that.
My day got started bright and early, which is probably a logical way for a day to get started. I was unloaded quickly after checking in with my consignee and then welcomed to park behind their warehouse and await my next assignment. I received that assignment within a half hour or so. My next pickup was in Topton, Pennsylvania this afternoon. Oddly enough, the shipper for today's load was the consignee for the load that I had to relay in Indianapolis last week. It must have been my destiny to go to Topton, one way or another.
I had plenty of time for a long break at the service plaza on I-476 before finishing the trip to my shipper. For the second day in a row, I found myself with a pretty intense headache so a break did me some good. Hopefully I don't have a brain tumor. That would pretty much ruin my weekend. My Philly cheese steak for lunch was pretty lame, I have to say. I expected better, being so close to Philly and all. I get better cheese steaks in Detroit.
After lunch and a nap, I finished the drive to the shipper in Topton and saw what looked like a parade of CTL trucks ahead of me. I was a little over an hour early for my appointment so I expected to be waiting for a while, given the nature of the scene. The guys ahead of me were directed to park in the staging area and await their door assigments. Then my turn came. I was directed to... drop my empty in the lot and pick up my pre-loaded trailer. Beauty. Last in, first out. That's how I roll. There's only one conclusion to draw from this incident - I'm far more important than those other drivers. I don't know how else you can spin it.
My load is slightly less cumbersome than the last one, but it is still a robust 42,000 pounds. No rest for my fuel mileage this week, apparently. Then I went and made matters worse, vis a vis the fuel mileage. The toll collectors are determined to get me to spend my cash on their roads but I'm still hanging tough... so far. Today they hit me with a haymaker. I'm heading to Iowa and will need to end up on I-80 at some point. Ohio still requires cash to cross on I-80, but I can get around that issue without adding any miles to my overall route. I'll get into Ohio on I-80 and then drop down to cross Ohio and Indiana on US-30, which happens to be a route that I enjoy taking. The southward arc to reach US-30 in Ohio is roughly the same length as the northward arc traced by the turnpike. The problem, as it turns out, was the route that I chose to go from Topton to I-80 in the first place. It was something like 70 miles and I swear the whole damn route was uphill. Don't bother explaining the geographical impossibility of this conclusion. I'm telling you - it was all uphill.
The highlight of this afternoon's drive had to be a stretch of PA-61 where there were signs posted saying that 102" trailers were prohibited. Of course there were no signs warning of this restriction until I was already on the restricted route, with no way to turn back. Onward we go then... One hill in particular was about a mile long and I had to pull it in second gear. I have never had to pull a hill in second gear before. When you hear the engine starting to bog down at 7mph and you realize that you're running out of gears, that's not a whole lot of fun. Fortunately I got over the top before I had to go all the way to low gear. The downshifting gets pretty rough when you're operating in that range.
Once I caught up with I-80 my patience for the road was starting to wear thin. I have lots of time on this run, with a Monday morning delivery, so I stopped in Lamar to call it a day. My post-trip walkaround brought some unwelcome news. The wheel seal on my left steer tire is gone. The lugnuts are coated with oil and I'm probably lucky I didn't drive any further today. I don't know if the wheel actually falls off or what exactly happens, but I assume that there's a reason for that oil to be sealed inside the hub. I'll have to stop by the T/A down the street when I get rolling tomorrow morning and have them sort it out.
Truckmiles.com says that I have 885 miles left to cover over the next three days. Should be a pretty easy weekend.
My day got started bright and early, which is probably a logical way for a day to get started. I was unloaded quickly after checking in with my consignee and then welcomed to park behind their warehouse and await my next assignment. I received that assignment within a half hour or so. My next pickup was in Topton, Pennsylvania this afternoon. Oddly enough, the shipper for today's load was the consignee for the load that I had to relay in Indianapolis last week. It must have been my destiny to go to Topton, one way or another.
I had plenty of time for a long break at the service plaza on I-476 before finishing the trip to my shipper. For the second day in a row, I found myself with a pretty intense headache so a break did me some good. Hopefully I don't have a brain tumor. That would pretty much ruin my weekend. My Philly cheese steak for lunch was pretty lame, I have to say. I expected better, being so close to Philly and all. I get better cheese steaks in Detroit.
After lunch and a nap, I finished the drive to the shipper in Topton and saw what looked like a parade of CTL trucks ahead of me. I was a little over an hour early for my appointment so I expected to be waiting for a while, given the nature of the scene. The guys ahead of me were directed to park in the staging area and await their door assigments. Then my turn came. I was directed to... drop my empty in the lot and pick up my pre-loaded trailer. Beauty. Last in, first out. That's how I roll. There's only one conclusion to draw from this incident - I'm far more important than those other drivers. I don't know how else you can spin it.
My load is slightly less cumbersome than the last one, but it is still a robust 42,000 pounds. No rest for my fuel mileage this week, apparently. Then I went and made matters worse, vis a vis the fuel mileage. The toll collectors are determined to get me to spend my cash on their roads but I'm still hanging tough... so far. Today they hit me with a haymaker. I'm heading to Iowa and will need to end up on I-80 at some point. Ohio still requires cash to cross on I-80, but I can get around that issue without adding any miles to my overall route. I'll get into Ohio on I-80 and then drop down to cross Ohio and Indiana on US-30, which happens to be a route that I enjoy taking. The southward arc to reach US-30 in Ohio is roughly the same length as the northward arc traced by the turnpike. The problem, as it turns out, was the route that I chose to go from Topton to I-80 in the first place. It was something like 70 miles and I swear the whole damn route was uphill. Don't bother explaining the geographical impossibility of this conclusion. I'm telling you - it was all uphill.
The highlight of this afternoon's drive had to be a stretch of PA-61 where there were signs posted saying that 102" trailers were prohibited. Of course there were no signs warning of this restriction until I was already on the restricted route, with no way to turn back. Onward we go then... One hill in particular was about a mile long and I had to pull it in second gear. I have never had to pull a hill in second gear before. When you hear the engine starting to bog down at 7mph and you realize that you're running out of gears, that's not a whole lot of fun. Fortunately I got over the top before I had to go all the way to low gear. The downshifting gets pretty rough when you're operating in that range.
Once I caught up with I-80 my patience for the road was starting to wear thin. I have lots of time on this run, with a Monday morning delivery, so I stopped in Lamar to call it a day. My post-trip walkaround brought some unwelcome news. The wheel seal on my left steer tire is gone. The lugnuts are coated with oil and I'm probably lucky I didn't drive any further today. I don't know if the wheel actually falls off or what exactly happens, but I assume that there's a reason for that oil to be sealed inside the hub. I'll have to stop by the T/A down the street when I get rolling tomorrow morning and have them sort it out.
Truckmiles.com says that I have 885 miles left to cover over the next three days. Should be a pretty easy weekend.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
6/24/09
It has been a few years now that I've been lugging these trailers around the country, but I still have to feel some sense of relief when I make it up I-95 without killing anyone. There was no lack of temptation today. I behaved.
The first major snafu came up just after the last Virginia scales. I had received a red light on my PrePass and had to stop on the scale, so I had a minute to size up the situation. Seeing absolutely no movement on the freeway and feeling a pretty decent headache kicking in, I decided to park at the rest area and take a nap. That part seemed to work pretty well. By the time I woke I was feeling better and the traffic jam was gone. Then, once I got to the north side of D.C., it was back to reality. I can't for the life of me figure out what possesses people to drive 45mph in the center lane. The process of getting around those jagoffs and dodging the merging traffic is always frustrating. It's even more so when I have a heavy load that prevents me from accelerating quickly.
The traffic was much the same all the way to the bridge on I-295. There weren't a ton of cars on the road but there were plenty of morons who can't drive. Fortunately, my Tigers turned in another solid performance and provided me with a diversion for the last few hours of the trip. (And the Twinkies lost. Beauty.) I got to my consignee in Burlington and found that they really had nowhere for me to park. The loading docks have trailers in them and they face a street with 'no parking' signs. There is a neighboring street that appears pretty desolate, so I guess this is home for the night. It's cool enough to leave the truck turned off and this street should be quiet all night. Good deal.
I'm at 1,258 miles so far for the week and I'll be empty early in the day tomorrow. One or two more runs should be plenty to keep the momentum from the last few paychecks going.
The first major snafu came up just after the last Virginia scales. I had received a red light on my PrePass and had to stop on the scale, so I had a minute to size up the situation. Seeing absolutely no movement on the freeway and feeling a pretty decent headache kicking in, I decided to park at the rest area and take a nap. That part seemed to work pretty well. By the time I woke I was feeling better and the traffic jam was gone. Then, once I got to the north side of D.C., it was back to reality. I can't for the life of me figure out what possesses people to drive 45mph in the center lane. The process of getting around those jagoffs and dodging the merging traffic is always frustrating. It's even more so when I have a heavy load that prevents me from accelerating quickly.
The traffic was much the same all the way to the bridge on I-295. There weren't a ton of cars on the road but there were plenty of morons who can't drive. Fortunately, my Tigers turned in another solid performance and provided me with a diversion for the last few hours of the trip. (And the Twinkies lost. Beauty.) I got to my consignee in Burlington and found that they really had nowhere for me to park. The loading docks have trailers in them and they face a street with 'no parking' signs. There is a neighboring street that appears pretty desolate, so I guess this is home for the night. It's cool enough to leave the truck turned off and this street should be quiet all night. Good deal.
I'm at 1,258 miles so far for the week and I'll be empty early in the day tomorrow. One or two more runs should be plenty to keep the momentum from the last few paychecks going.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
6/23/09
Those people at American Express are some strange characters. Following their cancellation of my account and my subsequent payment of the outstanding balance, I was entitled to redeem my remaining Membership Rewards points. I haven't had any luck getting the Membership Rewards website to work so I wasn't sure exactly how I would spend the points. No big deal though. We all know that I like to eat. I happen to know that they have restaurant partners. Several hundred dollars' worth of restaurant gift cards will do just fine. None of that is terribly weird, but here's the strange part. The gal on the phone, after fulfilling my order, said that the normal shipping time is 7-10 days. However, since I've been a valued cardmember since 1999, my order will arrive via UPS in 2-3 days. Valued, really? Is this why I was unceremoniously dumped in April? And now they're going to do me a favor on the shipping (or at least pretend to do me a favor)? If cost-cutting is their new game and their business with me is finished, why not send the order by the slowest and cheapest method possible? Those people make no sense. Anyhow...
No alarm clock this morning. That's always a good start. The greenhousing of my truck did kick in fairly early, but I was able to get back to sleep for a little while after I turned on the engine and cranked up the A/C. Then today's drive was along the stretch of I-95 that won't usually cause a whole lot of road rage. I got out of Georgia and through South Carolina, then stopped in Wilson, North Carolina for the night. Tomorrow's segment (Richmond, D.C., Baltimore, Delaware) has the potential to be a royal pain in the ass. Today's was merely the appetizer, so to speak. Good enough.
I seem to be tempting fate with these heavy loads on a somewhat regular basis lately. I really should weigh them once in a while. At 45,000 pounds, this load generally would elicit a visit to a CAT Scale. I wasn't in the mood yesterday though, and I'm usually pretty good at judging the balance by way of the air pressure gauge connected to my drive axles. Somewhere just under 60psi on the gauge tends to reflect 32-33,000 pounds on the drives and a similar weight on the rears. That's where the gauge was when I left my shipper. My new steer tires are rated at 7,100 pounds each, so I don't even pay attention to that axle. There's no way it's going to crack 14,000 without a 50,000 pound payload. My truck is wicked light. So... I got rolled across the scales in both Georgia and North Carolina today and... No worries. We're all good.
I have a little over 400 miles left to cover tomorrow. My intention is to proceed directly to the consignee's location and leave the rest up to the Almighty, so I don't imagine there's any reason to set an alarm for tomorrow either. I'll get rolling whenever I get rolling and I'll arrive whenever I arrive. Beauty.
WALK OFF HOMER FOR RABURN! WHAT A FREAKING GAME!
No alarm clock this morning. That's always a good start. The greenhousing of my truck did kick in fairly early, but I was able to get back to sleep for a little while after I turned on the engine and cranked up the A/C. Then today's drive was along the stretch of I-95 that won't usually cause a whole lot of road rage. I got out of Georgia and through South Carolina, then stopped in Wilson, North Carolina for the night. Tomorrow's segment (Richmond, D.C., Baltimore, Delaware) has the potential to be a royal pain in the ass. Today's was merely the appetizer, so to speak. Good enough.
I seem to be tempting fate with these heavy loads on a somewhat regular basis lately. I really should weigh them once in a while. At 45,000 pounds, this load generally would elicit a visit to a CAT Scale. I wasn't in the mood yesterday though, and I'm usually pretty good at judging the balance by way of the air pressure gauge connected to my drive axles. Somewhere just under 60psi on the gauge tends to reflect 32-33,000 pounds on the drives and a similar weight on the rears. That's where the gauge was when I left my shipper. My new steer tires are rated at 7,100 pounds each, so I don't even pay attention to that axle. There's no way it's going to crack 14,000 without a 50,000 pound payload. My truck is wicked light. So... I got rolled across the scales in both Georgia and North Carolina today and... No worries. We're all good.
I have a little over 400 miles left to cover tomorrow. My intention is to proceed directly to the consignee's location and leave the rest up to the Almighty, so I don't imagine there's any reason to set an alarm for tomorrow either. I'll get rolling whenever I get rolling and I'll arrive whenever I arrive. Beauty.
WALK OFF HOMER FOR RABURN! WHAT A FREAKING GAME!
Monday, June 22, 2009
6/22/09
How many gears should it take to cross a four-lane highway with a median? Today, the answer was five gears. After getting unloaded and sending in my empty call this morning, I pulled out into the parking lot of the store to which I had delivered. I closed the doors on my trailer and found that I was #1 on the board. After a few minutes I decided to head over and grab a bite to eat at the Pilot. If I didn't find a parking space, I could always drive back across the street and park in the store's lot again. As my red light turned green, allowing me to cross the street toward the Pilot, I spotted one parking space and saw two trucks turning into the truck stop's entrance. They would have to go around through the fuel island in order to get to the small parking area. I was going straight in through the 'out' door, so to speak. If I hauled ass, I could beat them to the prize. I was like Big Daddy Don Garlits or something (at fifteen miles per hour, but you know... details). I win baby! Then, immediately after I backed into my parking space, three trucks left the truck stop and there were plenty of parking spaces for everyone. And those other two trucks were both getting fuel, not parking. Whatever man. I won.
After an hour or two I had a new assignment and it was time to go back to work. My commitment was being put to the test this time around. After yesterday's drive from Lakeland to Cocoa, I was almost tempted to forsake my abstinence from cash tolls. And what did I get today? Of course. A deadhead from Cocoa to Lakeland. I stuck to my guns though and retraced the toll-free route back to Lakeland - FL-520 to FL-50 to I-4. For some reason it didn't seem quite as tedious today. Empty as opposed to loaded maybe? I don't know. Probably. Whatever the reason, the drive was only an hour and forty-five minutes this time around and the traffic seemed to move more smoothly.
I checked in at the shipper and once again found myself compelled to ignore a customer's 'no idling' policy. I would have done whatever I was told if anybody complained to me directly, but with my truck's temperature readout at 105º I had no desire to commune with nature while sitting at the loading dock. Screw that. Easy enough to pretend that I never saw the sign. Nobody said anything so all's well that ends well.
I have another heavy payload in the wagon; 45,000 pounds of sugar this time around. I could have used a light one, given the amount of idling that I've been doing and the resulting shitty fuel mileage, but what are you gonna do? We take whatever freight comes our way. This load is heading up to the Garden State for a Thursday morning delivery. I had been expecting a Wednesday delivery when the load was assigned, so I was pleasantly surprised when the dispatch came through. With a 1,072 mile run and three days to finish it, I'll be able to get back on a more reasonable pace for a few days here. Anything beyond seven or eight hours a day pretty much sucks as far as I'm concerned. Today found me getting through Jacksonville and into Georgia before calling it quits. I didn't encounter any heavy traffic in Orlando at 2:15pm. That wasn't a huge surprise, since I-4 usually moves pretty well unless it's raining. I also didn't encounter any heavy traffic in Jacksonville at 4:30pm. That actually was a huge surprise. Lots of I-95 from here on out, so let's hope it's a trend.
A little over 800 miles left for the next two days - bueno.
After an hour or two I had a new assignment and it was time to go back to work. My commitment was being put to the test this time around. After yesterday's drive from Lakeland to Cocoa, I was almost tempted to forsake my abstinence from cash tolls. And what did I get today? Of course. A deadhead from Cocoa to Lakeland. I stuck to my guns though and retraced the toll-free route back to Lakeland - FL-520 to FL-50 to I-4. For some reason it didn't seem quite as tedious today. Empty as opposed to loaded maybe? I don't know. Probably. Whatever the reason, the drive was only an hour and forty-five minutes this time around and the traffic seemed to move more smoothly.
I checked in at the shipper and once again found myself compelled to ignore a customer's 'no idling' policy. I would have done whatever I was told if anybody complained to me directly, but with my truck's temperature readout at 105º I had no desire to commune with nature while sitting at the loading dock. Screw that. Easy enough to pretend that I never saw the sign. Nobody said anything so all's well that ends well.
I have another heavy payload in the wagon; 45,000 pounds of sugar this time around. I could have used a light one, given the amount of idling that I've been doing and the resulting shitty fuel mileage, but what are you gonna do? We take whatever freight comes our way. This load is heading up to the Garden State for a Thursday morning delivery. I had been expecting a Wednesday delivery when the load was assigned, so I was pleasantly surprised when the dispatch came through. With a 1,072 mile run and three days to finish it, I'll be able to get back on a more reasonable pace for a few days here. Anything beyond seven or eight hours a day pretty much sucks as far as I'm concerned. Today found me getting through Jacksonville and into Georgia before calling it quits. I didn't encounter any heavy traffic in Orlando at 2:15pm. That wasn't a huge surprise, since I-4 usually moves pretty well unless it's raining. I also didn't encounter any heavy traffic in Jacksonville at 4:30pm. That actually was a huge surprise. Lots of I-95 from here on out, so let's hope it's a trend.
A little over 800 miles left for the next two days - bueno.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
6/21/09
The temperature readout on my truck only reached 108º this afternoon. This is clearly less than 110º, so I guess that has to count for something.
My overnight trip down to Lakeland turned out to be a little shorter than I expected. The final stretch that took me off the interstate was only around forty miles or so. I had only glanced at my atlas for a minute or two before leaving Indiana, but for some reason I thought that the drive would be a little longer. My delivery was actually a drop/hook this time, meaning that my early arrival didn't cause any problems. Good deal. I grabbed my empty trailer and scooted over to the Love's in Polk City to get some rest and await whatever might come next.
After a nice long nap I got my next assignment. 93 miles, Lakeland to Cocoa? Well, that ain't exactly a big revenue generator, is it? I guess, though, it was good enough just to get moving on a Sunday. I was #2 when I got on the board this morning so all I really expected was a deadhead to my next load. 93 loaded miles would serve essentially the same purpose for me. I would be picking up at the same distribution center where I made my drop this morning. So, in essence, I dropped a loaded trailer, picked up an empty, drove twelve miles to a truck stop, drove twelve more miles back to the DC, dropped the empty, and picked up a loaded trailer. It probably would have been helpful to get that new assignment before I had gone through all of the unnecessary extra steps.
Back at the shipper, my loaded trailer was ready and waiting. I was hooked up and ready to go within a few minutes. Then I had the distinct pleasure of helping one of my CTL comrades as he was struggling to get his trailer axles to slide. That aforementioned heat goes nicely with a little physical exertion, I must say. Your whole body can actually be covered in sweat within half a second. Who knew? The spring-lever thingamajig on his trailer's tandem pins wasn't freeing the pins under the incredibly heavy load that he was pulling, so I had to lift and hold the lever a few inches past the 'up' position as he moved the truck back. Come to think of it, that was probably pretty dangerous. No harm, no foul though. I'm still here and he got his axles set in the right place.
My own axles slid easily, despite the fact that my load also was a heavy one, and I headed back eastward with my loaded trailer. As I listened to the Tigers completing their sweep of the Brewers, my 93 paid miles became more like 105 actual miles (on account of my refusal to pay cash tolls). The extra few miles weren't the bitch about it though. The starting and stopping was a lot worse than I anticipated. I knew that I would catch some red lights as I took FL-50 out of Orlando. I had no idea of the actual number of red lights. Holy smokes. The overall drive took two hours and I would guess that a half hour of it consisted of a single ten-mile stretch.
I really had no idea what to expect vis a vis parking on the back end of this trip once I left Lakeland. I knew that there was a small Pilot off the freeway in Cocoa and that was about it. I wanted to get past Orlando today rather than deal with it on a Monday morning, but once this objective had been achieved I would have been content to stop anywhere. I never did see any place that had truck parking along my route. As one might expect, the Pilot in Cocoa had no open parking spaces once I got there. I headed across to the consignee's address to see what they might have to say. Sometimes the security guards can give a helpful pointer or two concerning vacant warehouses and such. It turns out that I'm delivering to a store that has yet to open for business and there's nobody around. I've pulled into the alley behind the building and this will work just fine for tonight.
They do have signs all over saying that idling is prohibited here. It was freaking 108º today though. I'm just gonna have to play the role of the rebel on this one. It would be my preference to shut the truck off before I go to bed, but it's still 92º right now. I have an early morning delivery appointment so I intend to try getting some sleep soon. This truck will be running all night unless the temperature starts dropping in a hurry.
My overnight trip down to Lakeland turned out to be a little shorter than I expected. The final stretch that took me off the interstate was only around forty miles or so. I had only glanced at my atlas for a minute or two before leaving Indiana, but for some reason I thought that the drive would be a little longer. My delivery was actually a drop/hook this time, meaning that my early arrival didn't cause any problems. Good deal. I grabbed my empty trailer and scooted over to the Love's in Polk City to get some rest and await whatever might come next.
After a nice long nap I got my next assignment. 93 miles, Lakeland to Cocoa? Well, that ain't exactly a big revenue generator, is it? I guess, though, it was good enough just to get moving on a Sunday. I was #2 when I got on the board this morning so all I really expected was a deadhead to my next load. 93 loaded miles would serve essentially the same purpose for me. I would be picking up at the same distribution center where I made my drop this morning. So, in essence, I dropped a loaded trailer, picked up an empty, drove twelve miles to a truck stop, drove twelve more miles back to the DC, dropped the empty, and picked up a loaded trailer. It probably would have been helpful to get that new assignment before I had gone through all of the unnecessary extra steps.
Back at the shipper, my loaded trailer was ready and waiting. I was hooked up and ready to go within a few minutes. Then I had the distinct pleasure of helping one of my CTL comrades as he was struggling to get his trailer axles to slide. That aforementioned heat goes nicely with a little physical exertion, I must say. Your whole body can actually be covered in sweat within half a second. Who knew? The spring-lever thingamajig on his trailer's tandem pins wasn't freeing the pins under the incredibly heavy load that he was pulling, so I had to lift and hold the lever a few inches past the 'up' position as he moved the truck back. Come to think of it, that was probably pretty dangerous. No harm, no foul though. I'm still here and he got his axles set in the right place.
My own axles slid easily, despite the fact that my load also was a heavy one, and I headed back eastward with my loaded trailer. As I listened to the Tigers completing their sweep of the Brewers, my 93 paid miles became more like 105 actual miles (on account of my refusal to pay cash tolls). The extra few miles weren't the bitch about it though. The starting and stopping was a lot worse than I anticipated. I knew that I would catch some red lights as I took FL-50 out of Orlando. I had no idea of the actual number of red lights. Holy smokes. The overall drive took two hours and I would guess that a half hour of it consisted of a single ten-mile stretch.
I really had no idea what to expect vis a vis parking on the back end of this trip once I left Lakeland. I knew that there was a small Pilot off the freeway in Cocoa and that was about it. I wanted to get past Orlando today rather than deal with it on a Monday morning, but once this objective had been achieved I would have been content to stop anywhere. I never did see any place that had truck parking along my route. As one might expect, the Pilot in Cocoa had no open parking spaces once I got there. I headed across to the consignee's address to see what they might have to say. Sometimes the security guards can give a helpful pointer or two concerning vacant warehouses and such. It turns out that I'm delivering to a store that has yet to open for business and there's nobody around. I've pulled into the alley behind the building and this will work just fine for tonight.
They do have signs all over saying that idling is prohibited here. It was freaking 108º today though. I'm just gonna have to play the role of the rebel on this one. It would be my preference to shut the truck off before I go to bed, but it's still 92º right now. I have an early morning delivery appointment so I intend to try getting some sleep soon. This truck will be running all night unless the temperature starts dropping in a hurry.
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