When I have to start work at a ridiculous hour, things can certainly appear to be lined up against me. Then, when I endure the misfortune of eating a Moon Pie at the shipper, despair is the only logical reaction. What a horrible piece of garbage that thing was. It's not crispy. It's not soft. It doesn't taste good. Just a semi-stale sort of pseudo-wafer stuffed with some kind of disgusting marshmallow-like filling. Gross. The shipper had been left with a damaged case of them and offered one to me. My misfortune. Lesson learned.
It turned out that my loaded trailer wasn't ready at midnight, as scheduled, but this worked in my favor. By the time the guy from the office came out to tell me that it was ready, I had been at the shipper for ten hours and I was good to go. The unfortunate Moon Pie incident also turned out not to be a harbinger of things to come, as the day went rather smoothly overall.
Today's route was one of the more complicated that I've tried lately (US-20 -> IL-2 -> IL-26 -> I-88 -> IL-92 -> I-74 -> I-280 -> IA-22 -> US-61 -> IA-92 -> IA-1 -> US-34 -> IA-5 -> MO-5 -> MO-6 -> US-69). This was just asking for trouble for someone like me who tends to miss a turn every now and then. Think I could pull it off without any miscues? Well... almost. This one wasn't a matter of failing to pay attention though. At the intersection of IA-92 and IA-1, I needed to get on IA-1 southbound (or southwestbound, more accurately put). According to my atlas, this would mean exiting the town of Washington to the west. The road curved around a little bit and the signage before the intersection didn't give me a solid idea of which way to turn. I could hang a left on IA-1 or continue straight on IA-1 and IA-92 concurrently. In my review of the atlas, it hadn't occured to me to check both directions from which IA-1 approached the town. Since I was already traveling westward, as I thought I needed to be, I proceeded straight through the intersection. Then I saw a sign saying that I was on IA-1 northbound. Shit. I spotted a gas station with a wide driveway not too far down and got myself spun back in the right direction. No harm, no foul.
That was about the only thing wrong with today though (Moon Pies notwithstanding). My load is a nice and easy 11,000 pounds so the hilly and curvy stretches were no nuisance at all. I got a good mix between open roads and small towns to break up the monotony of the drive. I had a chance to stop at the Wal Mart in Dixon, Illinois at 3am for some razors and blank CD's and other things that I usually can't find at a truck stop. Traffic was nonexistent during the overnight part of the drive. Then it was very light once I resumed the trip following a long morning nap in Ainsworth, Iowa. I'm not sure exactly what kind of weather I avoided by taking this unconventional route, but I can tell you what kind of weather I encountered - beautiful. It's cold outside, to be sure, but clear skies and dry roads were all that I saw.
I got to the junction between US-69 and I-35 in Winston, Missouri and decided to call it a day. My 14 hour clock would have allowed another couple of hours of driving, but it looks like I've knocked out the bulk of the trip already. Good enough. The rest of the ride will be mostly along I-35 so it won't be quite as scenic as today's drive, but it should be a little quicker. Since I'm due in Stillwater at 4am on Monday (meaning that I'll arrive tomorrow night), I don't have to set an alarm for tomorrow. Beauty.
This dispatch puts the finishing touches on what turned out to be a rather lackluster week - 2,012 miles plus $35 for the extra stop on my run out of Nebraska. We'll scrounge up a few dimes from my seat cushions and call it $800 for the week. I suppose that spending a day at the shop in Illinois and half a day at the shop in Nebraska will do that to a paycheck.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have 100 blank CD's and nothing better to do with my time. The weekend radio listening frustration is soon to be vanquished.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
1/29/10
Want some good news? Strong growth in the 4th quarter, despite the fact that the government was a draining factor. (Keynes who?) That's pretty good though, right? Gotta get that sucker growing sooner or later. The bulk of it appears to have been a matter of adjusting inventories rather than real activity, but you know, we'll see where it goes from here. I heard a couple of days ago that we're gonna double our exports in five years... or something. Better keep one eye on those intermodal jobs, I reckon.
Want some bad news? Bin Laden says our economy has to be broken in order to stop global warming... or something. Given his esteemed worldwide reputation as a scientist, I think we're screwed. So much for that intermodal gig.
I saw 10° on my truck's temperature readout when I woke this morning in Rochester, Minnesota. I took this as a sign that things were moving in the right direction. Then I took a closer look and saw that it actually said -10°. Damn. That's cold. Fortunately though, the gal who would be unloading the freight was already at the door when I walked over there. Sometimes those store people leave me standing outside and freezing my nuts off after I ring the doorbell and try to check in. Any time I can minimize my exposure to the elements, this is a good thing.
Once I was done at the first store, I had a quick and easy ride across I-90 and US-14 to Viroqua, Wisconsin for my second delivery. One of the pallets had tipped over by the time I got there, so it took the forklift guy a few extra miutes to get everything squared away. Nothing was damaged though, and I had a new assignment waiting for me by the time I had finished sweeping out my trailer, so I had no complaints.
My next load was picking up in Rockford, Illinois, meaning that I got to do some more non-interstate driving for a while. US-14 turned out to be a pretty relaxing ride, especially with dry roads and no weight in the wagon. There was some heavy traffic on US-12 around Madison but then the rest of the drive down I-39 to Rockford was nice and smooth. The shipper for this load is a small trucking company with whom we have some sort of cooperative arrangement. Their location was easy to spot as I arrived and their docks are easy to access. Beauty. Unfortunately though, my dispatch was correct. It said that I was to arrive at midnight for a drop/hook. I was hoping this would mean that my trailer was waiting for me to pick up any time before midnight. You know, weekend load and all. Nope. The guy in the office said that it would be ready at midnight. Bummer.
I dropped my empty trailer and pulled off to the side of the yard to await my appointment. Since I started work early this morning, the 14 hour rule is going to screw with my schedule. As long as the shippers will let me sit here for an extra couple of hours, I'll just wait until I've had a ten hour break before hooking to my loaded trailer and rolling out of town. If they won't let me wait, I'll have to use a split break. Given the disjointed nature of the early part of today (work-drive-break-work-drive-break-work), I would prefer to keep things simple and stay away from the split option. That way I can start with a clean 11 & 14 available to me. We'll see how it goes.
I have either a Sunday night or Monday morning drop scheduled in Stillwater, Oklahoma (plan says 4am Monday), so I'm thinking I'll angle over into Kansas and then drop down from there. Maybe this way I can stay above whatever nasty weather came through today. I'm not sure exactly how bad the roads are further to the south, but I've crossed Missouri in the snow a couple of times. Their highway maintenance left me, shall we say, unimpressed. With all weekend left to cover ~750 miles, I'll have plenty of time to take some state highways and cut across a little higher on the map.
Now I suppose it's time to try sleeping for a few hours. Assuming that they let me finish a full break here, I may end up driving well into the morning. Better get some rest just to be safe.
Want some bad news? Bin Laden says our economy has to be broken in order to stop global warming... or something. Given his esteemed worldwide reputation as a scientist, I think we're screwed. So much for that intermodal gig.
I saw 10° on my truck's temperature readout when I woke this morning in Rochester, Minnesota. I took this as a sign that things were moving in the right direction. Then I took a closer look and saw that it actually said -10°. Damn. That's cold. Fortunately though, the gal who would be unloading the freight was already at the door when I walked over there. Sometimes those store people leave me standing outside and freezing my nuts off after I ring the doorbell and try to check in. Any time I can minimize my exposure to the elements, this is a good thing.
Once I was done at the first store, I had a quick and easy ride across I-90 and US-14 to Viroqua, Wisconsin for my second delivery. One of the pallets had tipped over by the time I got there, so it took the forklift guy a few extra miutes to get everything squared away. Nothing was damaged though, and I had a new assignment waiting for me by the time I had finished sweeping out my trailer, so I had no complaints.
My next load was picking up in Rockford, Illinois, meaning that I got to do some more non-interstate driving for a while. US-14 turned out to be a pretty relaxing ride, especially with dry roads and no weight in the wagon. There was some heavy traffic on US-12 around Madison but then the rest of the drive down I-39 to Rockford was nice and smooth. The shipper for this load is a small trucking company with whom we have some sort of cooperative arrangement. Their location was easy to spot as I arrived and their docks are easy to access. Beauty. Unfortunately though, my dispatch was correct. It said that I was to arrive at midnight for a drop/hook. I was hoping this would mean that my trailer was waiting for me to pick up any time before midnight. You know, weekend load and all. Nope. The guy in the office said that it would be ready at midnight. Bummer.
I dropped my empty trailer and pulled off to the side of the yard to await my appointment. Since I started work early this morning, the 14 hour rule is going to screw with my schedule. As long as the shippers will let me sit here for an extra couple of hours, I'll just wait until I've had a ten hour break before hooking to my loaded trailer and rolling out of town. If they won't let me wait, I'll have to use a split break. Given the disjointed nature of the early part of today (work-drive-break-work-drive-break-work), I would prefer to keep things simple and stay away from the split option. That way I can start with a clean 11 & 14 available to me. We'll see how it goes.
I have either a Sunday night or Monday morning drop scheduled in Stillwater, Oklahoma (plan says 4am Monday), so I'm thinking I'll angle over into Kansas and then drop down from there. Maybe this way I can stay above whatever nasty weather came through today. I'm not sure exactly how bad the roads are further to the south, but I've crossed Missouri in the snow a couple of times. Their highway maintenance left me, shall we say, unimpressed. With all weekend left to cover ~750 miles, I'll have plenty of time to take some state highways and cut across a little higher on the map.
Now I suppose it's time to try sleeping for a few hours. Assuming that they let me finish a full break here, I may end up driving well into the morning. Better get some rest just to be safe.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
1/28/10
Ahh yes America. We're making progress. No, I'm not talking about imaginary spending freezes or any of that. I'm talking about satellite messages. There were only two weather/safety alerts today and they both came late in the afternoon. Hence, I slept like a baby all morning. Beauty.
In another unconventional twist, it seems that the icy and nasty roads are down south at the moment and I'm way up north. It's currently 0° outside, but the roads were clean and dry all the way through Iowa and into Minnesota. Can't beat that.
Now, back to the most prevalent aspect of this job - boredom. Parking behind a store for the night isn't always a way to find excitement. It looks like there's a movie theater or something not too far from here, but it's way too cold outside for an exploratory walk. Might as well kick back and see if there's anything worthwhile to read on the interwebs.
In another unconventional twist, it seems that the icy and nasty roads are down south at the moment and I'm way up north. It's currently 0° outside, but the roads were clean and dry all the way through Iowa and into Minnesota. Can't beat that.
Now, back to the most prevalent aspect of this job - boredom. Parking behind a store for the night isn't always a way to find excitement. It looks like there's a movie theater or something not too far from here, but it's way too cold outside for an exploratory walk. Might as well kick back and see if there's anything worthwhile to read on the interwebs.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
1/27/10
It usually takes quite a bit to push me across the line from indifference to annoyance. For whatever reason, it takes substantially less to push me from annoyance to anger. The best part, however, is that which always seems to follow anger. Time after time, year after year, in situation after situation, I find myself thoroughly amused for no apparent reason at all.
For instance, I was awakened by a satellite message this morning. Given the aggravation of last night and the late hour in which I finally fell asleep, this message was quite unwelcome. The message said that we've had people crashing and losing control and so forth. We need to be careful. Fair enough, but then the one that came two hours later actually made me laugh out loud. Congratulations to all of our drivers on our record-setting low accident frequency. Two separate metrics being discussed, of course, but it still was pretty funny to me.
After checking in with the service desk at the truck stop, I headed back out to my truck and waited for a phone call. The guy writing up the work order said that he would call me when he had an open bay. After an hour or so of waiting, I got my phone call. The Sapp Brothers shop had called the CTL road service department and gotten approval... to do an inspection on the truck only. Obviously this didn't square with what I was told last night so I made a call of my own to Joplin.
In true trucker story fashion, I now say to you - Y'all ain't gonna believe this shit. Remember how I was absolutely not allowed to drop that trailer last night without getting it inspected? Remember how it was due for inspection in December and not another day could be wasted? Remember how my delivery schedule was not at all important when compared to the need for that trailer inspection? Yeah, it turns out that the trailer in question had been inspected... in December... by our mechanics in Joplin. Priceless.
So I pulled in and got my D.O.T. inspection on the truck. Part of the reflective strip on one of my mud flaps had broken off some time ago, so they had to replace that. And, according to the inspector guy, I needed new shocks on my steer axle. It's a good thing I don't own a truck because I am usually inclined to think I'm getting scammed by these mechanics. I don't know exactly what a bad shock absorber looks like, I guess. They both looked fine to me. Anyhow, I got new shocks and then they sent me on my merry way with a passing inspection report. The bumps in the road don't feel any less bumpy, but whatever. I'm not a mechanic. I just do what I'm told.
After making my drop at the warehouse in Waverly, I pulled around and hooked to my assigned empty trailer. When I walked around and checked it over, I found that someone had banged the left door against something. I could get it closed, but the bottom edge was curled outward and didn't really make a seal with the floor of the trailer. Not necessarily a catastrophic issue but, depending on the type of freight being hauled, it could be a problem. A long drive on wet roads certainly would have brought a lot of moisture into play. So I got to call the road service guys one more time. They called a shop in Lincoln to see if I could get the repairs made today and then called me back to say that I could not. So I had to leave that trailer at the customer and grab a different one. The next one that I tried had a twisted frame or something, as the doors were very difficult to close. You know what? Screw it. I had seen my fill of maintenance issues by this point, so I had no desire to deal with a banged up trailer. I drove over to the newest one on the lot and took it. My patience only extends so far.
By the time all of the trailer hooking and unhooking was done, I had been at the customer's location for almost an hour. I expected that my next load would be picking up at the same place, but I didn't know for sure. The fact that an hour had gone by without a new assignment made me think that something else might be in store. I was getting hungry in any case, so I drove ten miles back to the east and got some lunch at the truck stop in Ashland. After hanging out there for an hour, I was sent back to Waverly for my next load. No great surprise, I suppose.
On the way back to Waverly, I received yet another in a long line of awesome satellite messages. Apparently, if our paid routing would take us through the rock slide area on I-40 in North Carolina, we need to notify the dispatchers before going out of route. You know, so that they can adjust the paid miles and such. "Please help us help you," the message concluded. In light of a recent pissing match, I find that one to be rather hilarious. My paid miles did get corrected in that case, but only after a few days and not through the normal channels. But who knows, maybe we're all on the same page now.
After the rest of the short drive to the warehouse, my drop/hook was quick and easy. I'll have a delivery in Minnesota on Friday morning and then another in Wisconsin at noon, so I didn't need to do a whole lot of driving this evening. I stopped for fuel in Council Bluffs and then parked for the night at the big truck stop in Avoca, Iowa. The drive from here to my first delivery is only around 310 miles and I can park at the consignee. No need to arrive early, so no need to start early. I do believe we'll declare tomorrow morning an alarm-free zone. Can't wait to see what kind of satellite message wakes me this time.
Oh yeah, one more thing makes me laugh out loud... big speech tonight. Good luck.
For instance, I was awakened by a satellite message this morning. Given the aggravation of last night and the late hour in which I finally fell asleep, this message was quite unwelcome. The message said that we've had people crashing and losing control and so forth. We need to be careful. Fair enough, but then the one that came two hours later actually made me laugh out loud. Congratulations to all of our drivers on our record-setting low accident frequency. Two separate metrics being discussed, of course, but it still was pretty funny to me.
After checking in with the service desk at the truck stop, I headed back out to my truck and waited for a phone call. The guy writing up the work order said that he would call me when he had an open bay. After an hour or so of waiting, I got my phone call. The Sapp Brothers shop had called the CTL road service department and gotten approval... to do an inspection on the truck only. Obviously this didn't square with what I was told last night so I made a call of my own to Joplin.
In true trucker story fashion, I now say to you - Y'all ain't gonna believe this shit. Remember how I was absolutely not allowed to drop that trailer last night without getting it inspected? Remember how it was due for inspection in December and not another day could be wasted? Remember how my delivery schedule was not at all important when compared to the need for that trailer inspection? Yeah, it turns out that the trailer in question had been inspected... in December... by our mechanics in Joplin. Priceless.
So I pulled in and got my D.O.T. inspection on the truck. Part of the reflective strip on one of my mud flaps had broken off some time ago, so they had to replace that. And, according to the inspector guy, I needed new shocks on my steer axle. It's a good thing I don't own a truck because I am usually inclined to think I'm getting scammed by these mechanics. I don't know exactly what a bad shock absorber looks like, I guess. They both looked fine to me. Anyhow, I got new shocks and then they sent me on my merry way with a passing inspection report. The bumps in the road don't feel any less bumpy, but whatever. I'm not a mechanic. I just do what I'm told.
After making my drop at the warehouse in Waverly, I pulled around and hooked to my assigned empty trailer. When I walked around and checked it over, I found that someone had banged the left door against something. I could get it closed, but the bottom edge was curled outward and didn't really make a seal with the floor of the trailer. Not necessarily a catastrophic issue but, depending on the type of freight being hauled, it could be a problem. A long drive on wet roads certainly would have brought a lot of moisture into play. So I got to call the road service guys one more time. They called a shop in Lincoln to see if I could get the repairs made today and then called me back to say that I could not. So I had to leave that trailer at the customer and grab a different one. The next one that I tried had a twisted frame or something, as the doors were very difficult to close. You know what? Screw it. I had seen my fill of maintenance issues by this point, so I had no desire to deal with a banged up trailer. I drove over to the newest one on the lot and took it. My patience only extends so far.
By the time all of the trailer hooking and unhooking was done, I had been at the customer's location for almost an hour. I expected that my next load would be picking up at the same place, but I didn't know for sure. The fact that an hour had gone by without a new assignment made me think that something else might be in store. I was getting hungry in any case, so I drove ten miles back to the east and got some lunch at the truck stop in Ashland. After hanging out there for an hour, I was sent back to Waverly for my next load. No great surprise, I suppose.
On the way back to Waverly, I received yet another in a long line of awesome satellite messages. Apparently, if our paid routing would take us through the rock slide area on I-40 in North Carolina, we need to notify the dispatchers before going out of route. You know, so that they can adjust the paid miles and such. "Please help us help you," the message concluded. In light of a recent pissing match, I find that one to be rather hilarious. My paid miles did get corrected in that case, but only after a few days and not through the normal channels. But who knows, maybe we're all on the same page now.
After the rest of the short drive to the warehouse, my drop/hook was quick and easy. I'll have a delivery in Minnesota on Friday morning and then another in Wisconsin at noon, so I didn't need to do a whole lot of driving this evening. I stopped for fuel in Council Bluffs and then parked for the night at the big truck stop in Avoca, Iowa. The drive from here to my first delivery is only around 310 miles and I can park at the consignee. No need to arrive early, so no need to start early. I do believe we'll declare tomorrow morning an alarm-free zone. Can't wait to see what kind of satellite message wakes me this time.
Oh yeah, one more thing makes me laugh out loud... big speech tonight. Good luck.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
1/26/10
On January 17th, I picked up a pre-loaded trailer full of paper in West Point, Virginia. I drove all day on the 18th and spent the night in Elkhart, Indiana. My trailer full of paper was unloaded in nearby New Carlisle, Indiana on the morning of the 19th. From there, I headed to Kouts, Indiana and picked up a load of steel in the same trailer. I hauled the trailer full of steel through Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine in less than two days. After that breakneck run, I delivered the load of steel in Milbridge, Maine on the morning of the 21st.
Following my early morning delivery in Maine, I pulled that same empty trailer down to New Hampshire. There I picked up various pieces of furniture and such on the morning of the 22nd. I then drove the loaded trailer through New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. On my way through Ohio, I stopped to get an annual inspection on my truck. I also had a turn signal issue that needed to be addressed. The service writer at the Petro asked if the inspection was only for the truck or if it was for both the truck and the trailer. "They may tell you to do the trailer too," I replied. "All I was told was that the truck was due." So he took my information and sent an electronic message to our road service department for approval. 'E-shop,' they call it. Fancy. Then he told me to pull into Bay #4. I asked if I was bringing the trailer into the bay or just the truck. I was told to pull only my truck into the service bay, as the folks in Joplin had said nothing about the trailer.
I spent that night (the 23rd) in the Toledo area and then had a short trip across Indiana on the 24th. On the morning of the 25th, my trailer was unloaded and then I pulled it over to the Kenworth dealer in Joliet, Illinois, where I needed to have some work done on my truck. The work on the truck was finished late in the day on the 25th.
All caught up now? That's nine full days with the same trailer, before today. Rarely do I have a single trailer for nine straight days without a drop/hook at some point along the way, but here we are.
After I got back on the board this morning, it didn't take long for a new assignment to come across the satellite. I had to pick up my next load this afternoon in Peoria, Illinois. My appointment was for 3:30pm, so I hung around in Joliet until 11am and then headed out. I arrived in Peoria, with my same trusted trailer in tow, right around 2pm. The guy in the shipping office directed me to a dock right away, so I took this as a good sign. The process of loading my trailer took a while, but I was rolling by 4pm so everything was looking pretty good.
My loaded run was taking me from Peoria to Waverly, Nebraska. Since I hadn't left Joliet too early, I still had enough time on both my 11 and 14 hour clocks to reach Waverly in one shot. Straight across Iowa on US-34, up to Council Bluffs on I-29, and then into Nebraska on I-80. Nice and neat.
Since I've filled far too much of this space with a bunch of mundane information regarding the travels of a given trailer, I'll bet some of you can guess what came next. Apparently the aforementioned trailer was due for an annual inspection and it had to be done right away. Well isn't that nice? After pulling the damned thing all over the eastern half of the country for nine days, I find out that I have to get it inspected just as I embark across a vast stretch of nothingness. And, of course, this delivery will be a drop/hook so I can't just get the inspection done afterward.
As I sat stopped at a red light outside Peoria, I took a quick look at my truck stop directory and saw that there wouldn't be jack shit in terms of major truck stops until I got to Council Bluffs. No problem though. I would hit the T/A in Council Bluffs, get my inspections done (truck still needs one too), and then hopefully finish the run before my 14 hour clock ran out. I pulled into the T/A at 11pm and checked with the girl behind the service counter. She said that I could get a D.O.T. inspection... at 4am. So I was basically screwed as nearly as I could tell. 14 hour clock runs out at 1am, scheduled delivery for 11am, nowhere to park at the crappy little T/A, etc. I couldn't stay parked at the fuel island all night, so I hit the highway and dialed our road service department to let them know what was going on.
I'm not suggesting that these actual words were spoken (as the conversation itself was professional enough), but the message that I came away with was, "Tough shit, dude. Deal with it." They didn't care that I was supposed to deliver the load in Waverly tomorrow morning. I was not to drop the trailer until it had been inspected. And, believe it or not, we're not even to the part that really made my blood boil yet.
Not only had I been dragging around a trailer for ten days before learning that it needed an inspection... and not only had I told the guy at the Petro in Ohio to see if it needed an inspection... and not only did I find out that it needed an inspection as I started a trip across a route with very few truck stops... and not only did my dispatched ETA fail to account for any time spent in a shop... and not only did the (24-hour) T/A shop not have a mechanic on duty at 11pm... All of those factors certainly came into play, but get this - I was told that the trailer had been due for an inspection since December. You have got to be fucking kidding me. Sometimes it is a very, very good thing that nobody is around me while I'm working.
After some back and forth on the phone, I was told that I could try the Speedco at Exit 1B in Council Bluffs. There was only one problem with that advice - I was crossing the bridge into Nebraska as I received it. Exit 1B already had disappeared from my rearview. I didn't have a bunch of extra time, so doubling back and driving in circles wasn't going to help my cause at all. One last shot then. I could try the Sapp Brothers at Exit 440 in Nebraska, but the road service guy wasn't sure if they would be open so late at night. I ducked off the highway and took a look. Nope. Closed. I found a parking space and backed in, then made a call to the dispatcher people to see what would come next. I had been told that I couldn't deliver the load without having the trailer inspected. I couldn't have the trailer inspected until the shop opened. By the time the shop opened, I would be on a legally mandated rest break. By the time my break was over, there wouldn't be time to have the inspection done and still make my dispatched ETA in Waverly. Got all that? Good.
I made my phone call to Joplin and pressed '1' to speak with a dispatcher. The phone rang and rang with no answer. Thinking that perhaps I just got a bad line, I hung up and tried again. It rang and rang with no answer. On the third try, thoroughly pissed off about the whole ordeal at this point, I decided that I would let the damned phone ring all night if I had to. It disconnected me after four or five minutes of uninterrupted ringing. So the next step was to try distilling everything into a brief satellite message. I did my best to bullet-point the situation and concluded by saying that I would need a new ETA. I got a quick reply saying that I just needed to let them know when I would be in Waverly. Fair enough, but I really can't say for sure. That part will depend on how quickly I can get in and out of the shop tomorrow.
Assuming that I don't hit any major snags in the morning, I'll actually have to concede that today was fairly productive. The weather was fine, the traffic was fine, and the miles were good. When it comes to the piss-poor communication end of things, I suppose that I should heed my own frequent advice and just let it go. I can only do what I'm told, to whatever extent the law allows, and then leave the rest for the important people to figure out. Now it's time for this peon to get a little sleep.
Following my early morning delivery in Maine, I pulled that same empty trailer down to New Hampshire. There I picked up various pieces of furniture and such on the morning of the 22nd. I then drove the loaded trailer through New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. On my way through Ohio, I stopped to get an annual inspection on my truck. I also had a turn signal issue that needed to be addressed. The service writer at the Petro asked if the inspection was only for the truck or if it was for both the truck and the trailer. "They may tell you to do the trailer too," I replied. "All I was told was that the truck was due." So he took my information and sent an electronic message to our road service department for approval. 'E-shop,' they call it. Fancy. Then he told me to pull into Bay #4. I asked if I was bringing the trailer into the bay or just the truck. I was told to pull only my truck into the service bay, as the folks in Joplin had said nothing about the trailer.
I spent that night (the 23rd) in the Toledo area and then had a short trip across Indiana on the 24th. On the morning of the 25th, my trailer was unloaded and then I pulled it over to the Kenworth dealer in Joliet, Illinois, where I needed to have some work done on my truck. The work on the truck was finished late in the day on the 25th.
All caught up now? That's nine full days with the same trailer, before today. Rarely do I have a single trailer for nine straight days without a drop/hook at some point along the way, but here we are.
After I got back on the board this morning, it didn't take long for a new assignment to come across the satellite. I had to pick up my next load this afternoon in Peoria, Illinois. My appointment was for 3:30pm, so I hung around in Joliet until 11am and then headed out. I arrived in Peoria, with my same trusted trailer in tow, right around 2pm. The guy in the shipping office directed me to a dock right away, so I took this as a good sign. The process of loading my trailer took a while, but I was rolling by 4pm so everything was looking pretty good.
My loaded run was taking me from Peoria to Waverly, Nebraska. Since I hadn't left Joliet too early, I still had enough time on both my 11 and 14 hour clocks to reach Waverly in one shot. Straight across Iowa on US-34, up to Council Bluffs on I-29, and then into Nebraska on I-80. Nice and neat.
Since I've filled far too much of this space with a bunch of mundane information regarding the travels of a given trailer, I'll bet some of you can guess what came next. Apparently the aforementioned trailer was due for an annual inspection and it had to be done right away. Well isn't that nice? After pulling the damned thing all over the eastern half of the country for nine days, I find out that I have to get it inspected just as I embark across a vast stretch of nothingness. And, of course, this delivery will be a drop/hook so I can't just get the inspection done afterward.
As I sat stopped at a red light outside Peoria, I took a quick look at my truck stop directory and saw that there wouldn't be jack shit in terms of major truck stops until I got to Council Bluffs. No problem though. I would hit the T/A in Council Bluffs, get my inspections done (truck still needs one too), and then hopefully finish the run before my 14 hour clock ran out. I pulled into the T/A at 11pm and checked with the girl behind the service counter. She said that I could get a D.O.T. inspection... at 4am. So I was basically screwed as nearly as I could tell. 14 hour clock runs out at 1am, scheduled delivery for 11am, nowhere to park at the crappy little T/A, etc. I couldn't stay parked at the fuel island all night, so I hit the highway and dialed our road service department to let them know what was going on.
I'm not suggesting that these actual words were spoken (as the conversation itself was professional enough), but the message that I came away with was, "Tough shit, dude. Deal with it." They didn't care that I was supposed to deliver the load in Waverly tomorrow morning. I was not to drop the trailer until it had been inspected. And, believe it or not, we're not even to the part that really made my blood boil yet.
Not only had I been dragging around a trailer for ten days before learning that it needed an inspection... and not only had I told the guy at the Petro in Ohio to see if it needed an inspection... and not only did I find out that it needed an inspection as I started a trip across a route with very few truck stops... and not only did my dispatched ETA fail to account for any time spent in a shop... and not only did the (24-hour) T/A shop not have a mechanic on duty at 11pm... All of those factors certainly came into play, but get this - I was told that the trailer had been due for an inspection since December. You have got to be fucking kidding me. Sometimes it is a very, very good thing that nobody is around me while I'm working.
After some back and forth on the phone, I was told that I could try the Speedco at Exit 1B in Council Bluffs. There was only one problem with that advice - I was crossing the bridge into Nebraska as I received it. Exit 1B already had disappeared from my rearview. I didn't have a bunch of extra time, so doubling back and driving in circles wasn't going to help my cause at all. One last shot then. I could try the Sapp Brothers at Exit 440 in Nebraska, but the road service guy wasn't sure if they would be open so late at night. I ducked off the highway and took a look. Nope. Closed. I found a parking space and backed in, then made a call to the dispatcher people to see what would come next. I had been told that I couldn't deliver the load without having the trailer inspected. I couldn't have the trailer inspected until the shop opened. By the time the shop opened, I would be on a legally mandated rest break. By the time my break was over, there wouldn't be time to have the inspection done and still make my dispatched ETA in Waverly. Got all that? Good.
I made my phone call to Joplin and pressed '1' to speak with a dispatcher. The phone rang and rang with no answer. Thinking that perhaps I just got a bad line, I hung up and tried again. It rang and rang with no answer. On the third try, thoroughly pissed off about the whole ordeal at this point, I decided that I would let the damned phone ring all night if I had to. It disconnected me after four or five minutes of uninterrupted ringing. So the next step was to try distilling everything into a brief satellite message. I did my best to bullet-point the situation and concluded by saying that I would need a new ETA. I got a quick reply saying that I just needed to let them know when I would be in Waverly. Fair enough, but I really can't say for sure. That part will depend on how quickly I can get in and out of the shop tomorrow.
Assuming that I don't hit any major snags in the morning, I'll actually have to concede that today was fairly productive. The weather was fine, the traffic was fine, and the miles were good. When it comes to the piss-poor communication end of things, I suppose that I should heed my own frequent advice and just let it go. I can only do what I'm told, to whatever extent the law allows, and then leave the rest for the important people to figure out. Now it's time for this peon to get a little sleep.
Monday, January 25, 2010
1/25/10
Let's look at it this way... I didn't have to drive in the snow today and my log book is no longer running low on hours. That has to count for something, right?
The people unloading my trailer took about an hour, so I got back onto the freeway after most of the rush hour traffic was gone. The drive across to Joliet was quick and easy. I checked in with the guy in the service department at the Kenworth dealer, who told me that they likely wouldn't get to my truck until after lunch. Fair enough then.
At some point late in the afternoon, they pulled my truck into the service bay. At some point late at night, they gave me back the keys. And there went my Monday. I have a nice shiny new windshield. No cracks, so that's nice. Both of my turn signals are fully functional again. That's nice too.
Apparently they fixed a power steering leak and an issue with a tail light as well. I know for a fact that my tail lights were fine before I left Munster this morning, so maybe some kind of issue arose once they started messing with the wiring for the turn signals or something. As for the power steering, I noticed that the steering box looked a little slimy on one side a while ago. The reservoir had plenty of fluid in it though. Whenever I got my last preventive maintenance done, I asked the T/A mechanic what he thought about it. "It's fine," he replied, after taking a closer look. Given that I have the mechanical aptitude of a small child, I took his word for it. Turns out that I was right after all, it would seem.
Anyhow, I just got my truck back. I guess I'll try to get some sleep for a little while and then get on the board tomorrow morning. Gotta love that Pizza Hut delivery when you find yourself stuck without provisions.
The people unloading my trailer took about an hour, so I got back onto the freeway after most of the rush hour traffic was gone. The drive across to Joliet was quick and easy. I checked in with the guy in the service department at the Kenworth dealer, who told me that they likely wouldn't get to my truck until after lunch. Fair enough then.
At some point late in the afternoon, they pulled my truck into the service bay. At some point late at night, they gave me back the keys. And there went my Monday. I have a nice shiny new windshield. No cracks, so that's nice. Both of my turn signals are fully functional again. That's nice too.
Apparently they fixed a power steering leak and an issue with a tail light as well. I know for a fact that my tail lights were fine before I left Munster this morning, so maybe some kind of issue arose once they started messing with the wiring for the turn signals or something. As for the power steering, I noticed that the steering box looked a little slimy on one side a while ago. The reservoir had plenty of fluid in it though. Whenever I got my last preventive maintenance done, I asked the T/A mechanic what he thought about it. "It's fine," he replied, after taking a closer look. Given that I have the mechanical aptitude of a small child, I took his word for it. Turns out that I was right after all, it would seem.
Anyhow, I just got my truck back. I guess I'll try to get some sleep for a little while and then get on the board tomorrow morning. Gotta love that Pizza Hut delivery when you find yourself stuck without provisions.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
1/24/10
Given that I enjoyed my first restful night of sleep in quite some time, it should follow that I felt refreshed today. Alas, every now and then I manage to get sick. No feeling refreshed for me today. Maybe it's time to look into some vitamin supplements or something, as long as I'm going to be stuck in this endlessly dreary climate. Sunlight hasn't exactly been in plentiful supply this winter, has it? Bummer.
The good thing was that I didn't have to drive very far today and I had plenty of time for a nice long afternoon nap. I do rather enjoy my afternoon naps. Most of the rainy weather seems to have blown through Ohio before I started driving, so I guess that was nice too. The directions to my shipper gave me the impression that I would be able to find a parking place, so I drove straight to the location this evening and hoped for the best. No gates, no parked cars, plenty of room. Beauty.
My experiences with the nation's Kenworth dealers haven't left me with any great expectations for tomorrow. Maybe they'll have the parts that I need and maybe they won't. Since the Joliet location is a big one and it serves the greater Chicago area, I suppose that there should be a decent chance that they carry a lot of parts. I've held this line of thinking before though and it hasn't quite worked out as I expected. We'll just have to see.
My delivery appointment for tomorrow is for 8am and there's not a whole lot of stuff in my trailer, so it looks like I'll be rolling westward pretty early. Perhaps a rush hour drive across I-80 will be the thing to kick me out of this cold-induced funk. Yeah probably not, but you know, let's hope.
The good thing was that I didn't have to drive very far today and I had plenty of time for a nice long afternoon nap. I do rather enjoy my afternoon naps. Most of the rainy weather seems to have blown through Ohio before I started driving, so I guess that was nice too. The directions to my shipper gave me the impression that I would be able to find a parking place, so I drove straight to the location this evening and hoped for the best. No gates, no parked cars, plenty of room. Beauty.
My experiences with the nation's Kenworth dealers haven't left me with any great expectations for tomorrow. Maybe they'll have the parts that I need and maybe they won't. Since the Joliet location is a big one and it serves the greater Chicago area, I suppose that there should be a decent chance that they carry a lot of parts. I've held this line of thinking before though and it hasn't quite worked out as I expected. We'll just have to see.
My delivery appointment for tomorrow is for 8am and there's not a whole lot of stuff in my trailer, so it looks like I'll be rolling westward pretty early. Perhaps a rush hour drive across I-80 will be the thing to kick me out of this cold-induced funk. Yeah probably not, but you know, let's hope.
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