We finally made it home! This is the first time since we left to go to Joplin on the 31st of Oct, other than an hour visit when passing thru in Dec.
From Fontana, we took a Con-Way load back to Henderson, Co, dropped it, and immediatley went over to the Pilot where we relayed a few days ago for another relay. We were scheduled to make another relay there and take the load to Richfield, Ut. I was a little concerned about a place to park and swap trailers. This was about midnite, and most truckstops fill up early, around 8pm or so. We lucked out and found the other truck in the fuel line while we were fueling also. We both pulled up from the pumps, dropped the trailers, and swapped. Nascar relay style :)
I should mention that the trip from Cali for Denver was great, esp along I-70 in southern Utah. We were going thru there in the afternoon, and it was really a gorgeous drive. I highly recommend southern Utah. It didn't get too bad even thru the Vail area tho it was snowing some up there. We were hoping to get over the passes and back thru them before it snowed too much. We came back over around 2am and It was definately abit worse, but still passable without chains. That area is never fun during winter.
We made another relay in Richfield, Ut about 10am, got a shower, and headed home. We got to Salt Lake and my old workplace of FlightSafety around 1:30, and got to see some of the old crew and SkyWest pilots that train there.
From there we went over to Sage Tech (our truck driving school) and visited with them and parked the truck for the weekend. We will go back Monday and visit with the students.
We have been having a good visit with our sons and future daughter-in-laws (yup, both boys engaged) and getting some good rest.
We will be here until Tues morning. We are hilighted to go Joplin for next weekend. The first Saturday of each month is safety day at the terminal for anyone that can make it. I also lost my company ID somewhere, so I have to get that replaced. We will need to be in Joplin either Friday before safety day or Monday after ti get that done, so we should be in Joplin for a few days next weekend. Our anniversary is the 6th, and we wanted a day off somewhere in that time frame also, so hopefully, it will be a nice weekend and get to visit with some of the other drivers and teams at the terminal.
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Driving status
After just over 3 total months with CFI/Con-Way truckload, Kim thought we should post our thoughts on how things are going.
During our training time, we were dispatched as a solo operation, meaning we had a max of 11hrs driving time, and a requirement of 10hrs off between driving periods. Notice I did not say days.
When we started team driving, it was a total different world that we were not really ready for. Between being sick when we started, and not getting enough rest because we could not sleep more than 30min to 2hrs (if we were lucky) in the bunk. Even during that, anytime the driver slowed down, downshifted, etc, the other in the bunk was up to check on things.
By the time we ran a couple of weeks we were wiped out, but at least getting past our illness. We did not have a regular schedule and that hurt. We didn't know who was driving when. That made planning for sleep, etc a little hard to get a handle on. We asked for some time between runs once, but was told if we had time available, we had to run. We did not want to tell them we were sick, and come off as whiners.
Then came some down time during Christmas. We started out from there with a plan, Kim would drive noon to midnite, or whatever was needed during that time frame, and I would drive the opposite. At least it let us plan some. We also started to get some better sleep on the truck.
Then the day came that my Mom was in the hospital and not doing well. We got sent to Yuma and had some more time off. We stayed with Mom during all different shifts so it actually helped keep us on a non-routine day. Unfortunately, we lost Mom a week and a half later. We went back on the road till it was time for the Memorial service (about a week) and again, felt we had a little better handle on the schedule.
Since then we are now able to sleep 4-6hrs in the bunk. It is not always un-interrupted, but we are sleeping better on the road. That allows us to keep the truck rolling more hours. Originally, we were driving hard and spending any extra time on our run trying to sleep with the truck parked for a couple of hours during the run without cutting ourselves short on time to get to our destination. Now we are able to keep it rolling to our destination, and take a little more time enroute to stop and eat together, or relax at a nice rest area for a few minutes and not feel so rushed. We also have been able to get some more rest lately at origins, between dispatches, not too long, but it helps.
So for summary, we are adapting, and the job is getting a little easier. The shifting is smoother and more natural now. We are more confident in our ability to control the truck in the mountains now. We are also not so scared about the customers location and docking area. Backing is getting better, tho I still have to do pull ups and once in a while just start over. It's no different than what others do I have noticed, so I don't feel so bad. Kim leaves the backing to me for the most part. She does it once in a while in nice big drop yard.
We still have a ways to go to get to the comfortable point where we really enjoy it, but we're learning. We promised to give it a year. I think it will take a good 6mo to start getting comfortable.
It's not all a struggle however, we really enjoy out time together, and conversations never stop. We do make a good team, even thru the rough times.
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
BTW, we are sitting at a T/A in Ontario, Ca waiting to go to a Conway yard around 10pm. We have a 4am dispatch to Denver. After that its home to SLC.
During our training time, we were dispatched as a solo operation, meaning we had a max of 11hrs driving time, and a requirement of 10hrs off between driving periods. Notice I did not say days.
When we started team driving, it was a total different world that we were not really ready for. Between being sick when we started, and not getting enough rest because we could not sleep more than 30min to 2hrs (if we were lucky) in the bunk. Even during that, anytime the driver slowed down, downshifted, etc, the other in the bunk was up to check on things.
By the time we ran a couple of weeks we were wiped out, but at least getting past our illness. We did not have a regular schedule and that hurt. We didn't know who was driving when. That made planning for sleep, etc a little hard to get a handle on. We asked for some time between runs once, but was told if we had time available, we had to run. We did not want to tell them we were sick, and come off as whiners.
Then came some down time during Christmas. We started out from there with a plan, Kim would drive noon to midnite, or whatever was needed during that time frame, and I would drive the opposite. At least it let us plan some. We also started to get some better sleep on the truck.
Then the day came that my Mom was in the hospital and not doing well. We got sent to Yuma and had some more time off. We stayed with Mom during all different shifts so it actually helped keep us on a non-routine day. Unfortunately, we lost Mom a week and a half later. We went back on the road till it was time for the Memorial service (about a week) and again, felt we had a little better handle on the schedule.
Since then we are now able to sleep 4-6hrs in the bunk. It is not always un-interrupted, but we are sleeping better on the road. That allows us to keep the truck rolling more hours. Originally, we were driving hard and spending any extra time on our run trying to sleep with the truck parked for a couple of hours during the run without cutting ourselves short on time to get to our destination. Now we are able to keep it rolling to our destination, and take a little more time enroute to stop and eat together, or relax at a nice rest area for a few minutes and not feel so rushed. We also have been able to get some more rest lately at origins, between dispatches, not too long, but it helps.
So for summary, we are adapting, and the job is getting a little easier. The shifting is smoother and more natural now. We are more confident in our ability to control the truck in the mountains now. We are also not so scared about the customers location and docking area. Backing is getting better, tho I still have to do pull ups and once in a while just start over. It's no different than what others do I have noticed, so I don't feel so bad. Kim leaves the backing to me for the most part. She does it once in a while in nice big drop yard.
We still have a ways to go to get to the comfortable point where we really enjoy it, but we're learning. We promised to give it a year. I think it will take a good 6mo to start getting comfortable.
It's not all a struggle however, we really enjoy out time together, and conversations never stop. We do make a good team, even thru the rough times.
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
BTW, we are sitting at a T/A in Ontario, Ca waiting to go to a Conway yard around 10pm. We have a 4am dispatch to Denver. After that its home to SLC.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
STILL going to SLC.
Well, been a couple days since I updated. Things happen and change so quickly out here, and a couple days can make alot of difference.
We made it to the UPS yard in Dallas just fine. It was quite a busy place with many trucks and trailers and people running all over the plae. Security had to check the trailer and break the seal going in, and check it coming out. The spot where I was told to park our trailer already had one one it, and the two rows where they parked in-bounds were full. I drove around the circle, and came back to the same spot, and tried to get a local to help me out. One of the guys was looking for a trailer #, so I gave him a hand, without luck, then a slot open right next to us. I pulled our rig into it,, and the same guy I help came driving up. YOU have the one I was looking for, just had the numbers wrong. I unhooked, and he hooked up and took off! Dispatch told me where to find an empty, and we headed out. Then the fun started.
We still needed too get some fuel filters changed that we were told about during our Con-way run. THAT wasn't going to happen while we were under such a tight schedule. Now we had the afternoon to take care of it. It was about noon when we finished at UPS and we had a schedule pick up for 7am on the north side of Dallas. We located a a T/A about 12mi away and headed there. RoadService mentioned going to a Speedco at first for the filters, but then corrected because Speedco only does fluids/filters, not any work like the shock replacement. When we got to the T/A and called in for authorization for the work, we were told to go to Kenworth for the shock because it was under warrantee. So we stayed for the fuel filters, and oh by the way, get a lube job. Speedco is fast, 30min for this, in and out. We were at the T/A for 3hrs. Then over to Kenworth, only to find out they couldn't get to it that nite. They did call another Kenworth in North Dallas and made arrangements for us to go there, so back in the truck and trucked across Dallas again, all this during the 5-6:30 rush hours time. Luckily it was a holiday, so it was not too bad. At the next KW dealer, they got it in pretty quick and sent us up to the customer lounge. A little while later they called us for the truck. When we arrived at the service desk, he told us it was a false alarm, wan't ready yet. So back up to the lounge for another 45min. When we finally got called and got to the truck, the hood was open. I asked if they pulled error codes or what. The tech kinda sheepishly looked at me, and told me he made a mistake. He understood the front drive shock so he replaced the steer tire shock. The rear tires are called the drives. With a pair on each side, he was told to replace the FRONT drive tire shock. OOPS, that was the false alarm.
We finally made it to our yard in Lancaster for the nite about 9pm. My day started at 3, so I was a little tired. Had to get up at 4:15, to get a shower at the terminal, and head over to Grapevine, tx for a 7am pick-up. I wanted to leave by 5 to make sure were there by 6, no rush. No problem, got loaded and out of there by 6:30, and headed for Bell, Ca (LA area,,ugh). Should be in there early in morning time (5ish) so maybe it won't be too bad.
Already have a pre-plan to pick up at Fontana, Ca the next morning at 4am so we SHOULD have most of tommorow off and be able to get some extra rest. This is another Con-Way going back to Henderson, Co (Denver). After that we are headed to SLC. Should be home Friday for the weekend!
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
OH, BTW John, We have seen some "celebs" this trip on the way to California. Car haulers for Ryan Newman, Dale Jr, 6 car, someones coach pulling a truck with a decked out golf cart in the bed (flames, etc), and more coming along. We are on the trail from Daytona to Fontana, Ca for next weekend's race! :)
We made it to the UPS yard in Dallas just fine. It was quite a busy place with many trucks and trailers and people running all over the plae. Security had to check the trailer and break the seal going in, and check it coming out. The spot where I was told to park our trailer already had one one it, and the two rows where they parked in-bounds were full. I drove around the circle, and came back to the same spot, and tried to get a local to help me out. One of the guys was looking for a trailer #, so I gave him a hand, without luck, then a slot open right next to us. I pulled our rig into it,, and the same guy I help came driving up. YOU have the one I was looking for, just had the numbers wrong. I unhooked, and he hooked up and took off! Dispatch told me where to find an empty, and we headed out. Then the fun started.
We still needed too get some fuel filters changed that we were told about during our Con-way run. THAT wasn't going to happen while we were under such a tight schedule. Now we had the afternoon to take care of it. It was about noon when we finished at UPS and we had a schedule pick up for 7am on the north side of Dallas. We located a a T/A about 12mi away and headed there. RoadService mentioned going to a Speedco at first for the filters, but then corrected because Speedco only does fluids/filters, not any work like the shock replacement. When we got to the T/A and called in for authorization for the work, we were told to go to Kenworth for the shock because it was under warrantee. So we stayed for the fuel filters, and oh by the way, get a lube job. Speedco is fast, 30min for this, in and out. We were at the T/A for 3hrs. Then over to Kenworth, only to find out they couldn't get to it that nite. They did call another Kenworth in North Dallas and made arrangements for us to go there, so back in the truck and trucked across Dallas again, all this during the 5-6:30 rush hours time. Luckily it was a holiday, so it was not too bad. At the next KW dealer, they got it in pretty quick and sent us up to the customer lounge. A little while later they called us for the truck. When we arrived at the service desk, he told us it was a false alarm, wan't ready yet. So back up to the lounge for another 45min. When we finally got called and got to the truck, the hood was open. I asked if they pulled error codes or what. The tech kinda sheepishly looked at me, and told me he made a mistake. He understood the front drive shock so he replaced the steer tire shock. The rear tires are called the drives. With a pair on each side, he was told to replace the FRONT drive tire shock. OOPS, that was the false alarm.
We finally made it to our yard in Lancaster for the nite about 9pm. My day started at 3, so I was a little tired. Had to get up at 4:15, to get a shower at the terminal, and head over to Grapevine, tx for a 7am pick-up. I wanted to leave by 5 to make sure were there by 6, no rush. No problem, got loaded and out of there by 6:30, and headed for Bell, Ca (LA area,,ugh). Should be in there early in morning time (5ish) so maybe it won't be too bad.
Already have a pre-plan to pick up at Fontana, Ca the next morning at 4am so we SHOULD have most of tommorow off and be able to get some extra rest. This is another Con-Way going back to Henderson, Co (Denver). After that we are headed to SLC. Should be home Friday for the weekend!
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
OH, BTW John, We have seen some "celebs" this trip on the way to California. Car haulers for Ryan Newman, Dale Jr, 6 car, someones coach pulling a truck with a decked out golf cart in the bed (flames, etc), and more coming along. We are on the trail from Daytona to Fontana, Ca for next weekend's race! :)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Headed to SLC, via East Coast
The run to Pennsylvania actually went pretty well. We were rested up to start with and enjoyed some of the scenery out of Denver and across Nebraska abit (ya, even the flatlands, lol) and had some good conversations. It's pretty neat I think that after almost 15yrs of marriage, we still don't seem to run out of things to talk about,,,,,when we're awake! :)
Got to the Con-Way yard in Milton, Pa about 3hrs early, had an easy place to drop the trailer, picked up an empty, and parked for the nite. The yard was really dead except for a few of us CFI OTR trucks in and out. During the week it is really a hectic place with day cabs(trucks w/o sleepers) that run local deliveries picking up, and running around. There is probably 40 or more docks with trailers backed up to them, and double trailers parked all over the place. Lucky for us, on the weekends they don't work, so we can park there overnite. Nice and quiet.
Got up about 3am and headed out about 4am toward Suffolk, Virginia for our next load. It is down right next to Norfolk and Virginia Beach area. Only problem with this run is there was no straight shot from PA down there. AND we had to go around Washington DC. UGH! By leaving at 3am, we hit DC about 7am on Sunday morning in the middle of a 3 day weekend. It was DEAD! NICE time to get around that area! Made it on down to Suffolk to a QVC warehouse, dropped our empty and picked up a loaded trailer. We were due to pick up at 2pm, but got there about 11:30am local and they had just finished loading it. Good timing. Got a few extra hrs on this run now.
We are headed to Mesquite, Tx (Dallas area) and due there by 2pm tomorrow. We are close to being maxed out on our hours of available time to drive, and asked our fleet manager it there was any extra time to allow for us not being able to drive our entire 11hrs/day. Got till 5pm now. Don't think we'll need it, but nice to have it in our pocket.
I have figured out I am really paranoid about being late with a load. If there is a CHANCE, I am trying to do something to tell dispatch and arrange extra time. I guess thats all you can do. If I am closer than an hour early, I REALLY get nervous. UNLESS we are just around the corner sleeping.
We are now headed across North Carolina with great warm weather, 62 degrees. In fact, when we checked out at the guard shack at QVC, I told him I was taking his warm weather with us!
So for now, its get to Dallas, (a UPS facility) then check in with our terminal at Lancaster to see what is next. We are still hi-lited for Salt Lake, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Got to the Con-Way yard in Milton, Pa about 3hrs early, had an easy place to drop the trailer, picked up an empty, and parked for the nite. The yard was really dead except for a few of us CFI OTR trucks in and out. During the week it is really a hectic place with day cabs(trucks w/o sleepers) that run local deliveries picking up, and running around. There is probably 40 or more docks with trailers backed up to them, and double trailers parked all over the place. Lucky for us, on the weekends they don't work, so we can park there overnite. Nice and quiet.
Got up about 3am and headed out about 4am toward Suffolk, Virginia for our next load. It is down right next to Norfolk and Virginia Beach area. Only problem with this run is there was no straight shot from PA down there. AND we had to go around Washington DC. UGH! By leaving at 3am, we hit DC about 7am on Sunday morning in the middle of a 3 day weekend. It was DEAD! NICE time to get around that area! Made it on down to Suffolk to a QVC warehouse, dropped our empty and picked up a loaded trailer. We were due to pick up at 2pm, but got there about 11:30am local and they had just finished loading it. Good timing. Got a few extra hrs on this run now.
We are headed to Mesquite, Tx (Dallas area) and due there by 2pm tomorrow. We are close to being maxed out on our hours of available time to drive, and asked our fleet manager it there was any extra time to allow for us not being able to drive our entire 11hrs/day. Got till 5pm now. Don't think we'll need it, but nice to have it in our pocket.
I have figured out I am really paranoid about being late with a load. If there is a CHANCE, I am trying to do something to tell dispatch and arrange extra time. I guess thats all you can do. If I am closer than an hour early, I REALLY get nervous. UNLESS we are just around the corner sleeping.
We are now headed across North Carolina with great warm weather, 62 degrees. In fact, when we checked out at the guard shack at QVC, I told him I was taking his warm weather with us!
So for now, its get to Dallas, (a UPS facility) then check in with our terminal at Lancaster to see what is next. We are still hi-lited for Salt Lake, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Change in plans
WE made it to Denver with plenty of time to spare on this run. Got in about 3am local and had a 6am deadline. On the way to Denver we got a pre-plan to go to Silverthorne, Co for our next pick up. This is on the west side of the Eisenhower tunnel, and Vail pass. UGH! We called Colorado DOT for the road report and found out that chains were being required for all commercial vehicles in that area. I notified our nite fleet manager of the status, told him I was not comfortable with taking an empty trailer up there just yet,,,I'm still a rookie and wet behind the ears,,,,and maybe a little chicken too! :) But I did tell him we would check status later around 8 or so and see if it was any better. AWWW, some sleep!
Got up and checked with DOT again, and still was requiring chains on the west side coming back east bound. We mite be able to get over there, getting out would be another story. Still not comfortable with the idea, so I got ahold of the normal day fleet manager. "no problem, if you're not comfortable we'll do something else". They really have been good to us. If I had another year or two of experience at this, I mite have gone ahead, but hell, we have only been out here 3 months, and I think I know my limits, nothing to prove.
We were told there was a relay this afternoon and to meet them at the Pilot truckstop in Denver (about 8mi from the Con-Way facility we were at). So we mosied over to the truck stop, did a load of laundry, got a nap, had lunch, and the other team showed up for the swap. A relay is one driver or team bringing a load in that they can not complete for some reason, and another driver or team gets it and keeps running. This team had run out of hours available to drive in their 8 day period (70hrs max). We are getting tight on hours as well, but have enough to get the job done.
Now, I have to tell you, Kim thinks CFI needs a lesson on geography. As I previously told you, we notified them we needed to get home to Salt Lake City, and since they had us headed to Denver, it seemed like a good time to get that done.
We are now headed to Pennsylvania! Hmmm,,not exactly the direction we had in mind, but oh well. Our fleet manager did say he would get us back after this, and had mentioned a run from Pennsylvania to California to get us back in the area, then home.
We'll just keep on truckin, and should be home around Thurs next week,,,,we think. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends again for the first time since we left at the end of Oct. We are also going to park the truck at the school that trained us, Sage Tech, and plan on visiting with the crew there, and giving their students a look at the "real world". They are good people there! :)
Till next time, keep it safe out there, and by the way, thanks Janice for your nice comment! :)
Got up and checked with DOT again, and still was requiring chains on the west side coming back east bound. We mite be able to get over there, getting out would be another story. Still not comfortable with the idea, so I got ahold of the normal day fleet manager. "no problem, if you're not comfortable we'll do something else". They really have been good to us. If I had another year or two of experience at this, I mite have gone ahead, but hell, we have only been out here 3 months, and I think I know my limits, nothing to prove.
We were told there was a relay this afternoon and to meet them at the Pilot truckstop in Denver (about 8mi from the Con-Way facility we were at). So we mosied over to the truck stop, did a load of laundry, got a nap, had lunch, and the other team showed up for the swap. A relay is one driver or team bringing a load in that they can not complete for some reason, and another driver or team gets it and keeps running. This team had run out of hours available to drive in their 8 day period (70hrs max). We are getting tight on hours as well, but have enough to get the job done.
Now, I have to tell you, Kim thinks CFI needs a lesson on geography. As I previously told you, we notified them we needed to get home to Salt Lake City, and since they had us headed to Denver, it seemed like a good time to get that done.
We are now headed to Pennsylvania! Hmmm,,not exactly the direction we had in mind, but oh well. Our fleet manager did say he would get us back after this, and had mentioned a run from Pennsylvania to California to get us back in the area, then home.
We'll just keep on truckin, and should be home around Thurs next week,,,,we think. We are looking forward to seeing family and friends again for the first time since we left at the end of Oct. We are also going to park the truck at the school that trained us, Sage Tech, and plan on visiting with the crew there, and giving their students a look at the "real world". They are good people there! :)
Till next time, keep it safe out there, and by the way, thanks Janice for your nice comment! :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Easy Run?
An easy run, New Lenox to Jacksonville, right? Uh, not quite. Started off pretty good, but as we got on into Kentucky, started hitting all the winter weather. North of Louisville, we got into the snow, and by the time we got to city, it was deep enough that the interstate was covered. There were no lines to follow, so everyone was driving all over the place. I stayed pretty much to the left, and had a flat bed following me with a 4 wheeler in between us. I moved over toward center to allow the 4 wheeler room to pass. He started to follow me, then decided he wanted back to the left, then the snow got to him, and sent him sliding and nosed into the center retaining wall. The flatbed BARELY had time to swerve to avoid him, and was asking everyone around if he hit him. From the view in my mirrors, it looked like he JUST cleared him. After that he settled in behind me. I told him if he wanted around, just say the word. "Nope, you're doin good, just keep it up, and let me know if there is anything coming up!" We just crused thru town, and about 100 more miles. The band of bad weather stretched between Louisville, and Bowling Green. I just hoped to get thru it, and a little farther south to park for the nite, so we wouldn't wake up covered in ice and snow. It worked. By the time we stopped it was a balmy 52 degrees. (It had been anywhere from 10 to 26 degrees and freezing rain earlier).
OK, got the hard work over, time to sleep. We got up the next morning and Kim took a walk around the rig. "Steve, come look at this, somoething doesn't look right." One of the tires on the tandems on our trailer was FLAT, luckily it was the outside dual. We called road service and waited for them to dispatch someone out to fix it. After a 2 hr delay for that we were on our way.
Ok, the rough part of this trip is over, time to enjoy? Not quite. When we get to our destination at Jacksonville, we bypassed a couple of truckstops to head for a rest area just prior to our exit to wait till after midnite to deliver. We could not deliver prior to midnite, and was given a midnite to 5am window. Construction time on the Interstate, and the rest area didn't exist. Ok, no problem, there is a small truck stop at exit. We head for it, but no luck, it's full. Ok, lets see if there is room at the customer area, before we get to the guard. We passed where the place should be, but nothing there! Now what??!! Keep going and get turned around and go back. That easy huh? Ever tried to find a place to turn 65' of truck and trailer around?? Not the easiest thing to do in town. We eventually saw a grocery store and shopping area. Luckily it was about 9pm and not too busy, made it thru the parking lot, and eventually headed back. Ok, slooowly, where is this place? Again, no luck. Screw it, lets go to the truck stop and figure this out. So we proceed back 8 miles to the 2 truckstops. We idle thru the T/A and not an empty slot in the place. Head next door to the Pilot, and couldn't even get into to it, trucks were backed up into the road trying to get thru the fuel island, much less the parking area. OK, lets go back and ?????????? At the small truck stop there was a little store across the street. We parked in their lot until 3am then to the customer. I looked up the customer in Google earth which is satellite pictures of the USA. Figured out where I missed a turn, (there is no access from the road the address was on). Got up, headed in, and dropped our "Easy money run". WHEW!
Went back outside the gate and parked and slept till about 9am when we got our next assignment. We are deadheading over 600mi up to Charleston W. Va for a Con-Way load going to Denver, Co. Should be there about 9 or 10pm tonite, and as usual, the Con-Way run has a pick-up time of 4am and not much extra time to get to Denver.
We put in for a couple days off since we are going in the direction of home. Give our fleet manager some time to see if he can arrange a load from Denver to Salt Lake. Hopefully, thats next on our list.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
OK, got the hard work over, time to sleep. We got up the next morning and Kim took a walk around the rig. "Steve, come look at this, somoething doesn't look right." One of the tires on the tandems on our trailer was FLAT, luckily it was the outside dual. We called road service and waited for them to dispatch someone out to fix it. After a 2 hr delay for that we were on our way.
Ok, the rough part of this trip is over, time to enjoy? Not quite. When we get to our destination at Jacksonville, we bypassed a couple of truckstops to head for a rest area just prior to our exit to wait till after midnite to deliver. We could not deliver prior to midnite, and was given a midnite to 5am window. Construction time on the Interstate, and the rest area didn't exist. Ok, no problem, there is a small truck stop at exit. We head for it, but no luck, it's full. Ok, lets see if there is room at the customer area, before we get to the guard. We passed where the place should be, but nothing there! Now what??!! Keep going and get turned around and go back. That easy huh? Ever tried to find a place to turn 65' of truck and trailer around?? Not the easiest thing to do in town. We eventually saw a grocery store and shopping area. Luckily it was about 9pm and not too busy, made it thru the parking lot, and eventually headed back. Ok, slooowly, where is this place? Again, no luck. Screw it, lets go to the truck stop and figure this out. So we proceed back 8 miles to the 2 truckstops. We idle thru the T/A and not an empty slot in the place. Head next door to the Pilot, and couldn't even get into to it, trucks were backed up into the road trying to get thru the fuel island, much less the parking area. OK, lets go back and ?????????? At the small truck stop there was a little store across the street. We parked in their lot until 3am then to the customer. I looked up the customer in Google earth which is satellite pictures of the USA. Figured out where I missed a turn, (there is no access from the road the address was on). Got up, headed in, and dropped our "Easy money run". WHEW!
Went back outside the gate and parked and slept till about 9am when we got our next assignment. We are deadheading over 600mi up to Charleston W. Va for a Con-Way load going to Denver, Co. Should be there about 9 or 10pm tonite, and as usual, the Con-Way run has a pick-up time of 4am and not much extra time to get to Denver.
We put in for a couple days off since we are going in the direction of home. Give our fleet manager some time to see if he can arrange a load from Denver to Salt Lake. Hopefully, thats next on our list.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Michael's run(s)
Well, that "not too long" turned out to be 3 1/2hrs! Our Fleet manager called just as we finished up and asked if we were still going to be able to make the 0500 delivery. Thats doubtful. OK, he said he'd notify the customer and get us some more time. We got notified it was now due in at 0700. We rolled!
I drove hard all day, not really stopping till we were in Des Moines for fuel. Kim took over from there, and was about 5hrs out. We made our delivery at 5:04am! WHEW, that was a kick butt day!
Dropped the trailer, picked up an empty and headed back to a Pilot about 15mi away. Just as we layed down to get a nap while we waited on the next assignment, the Qualcomm chirped. DAMM, sure would have liked to get a little more sleep.
But, all good things come around. This had us picking up right where we dropped at the Michael's distribution center here, and headed to Jacksonville, Fla. AND we don't have to pick up till 4pm! YA, we went back to sleep for awhile then got up, got a shower, and now doing a load of laundry. You take care of things when you get a chance out here.
We have been kept pretty busy lately. We have had 2 weeks in a row of just over 6000mi each. AND we have had a little down time during each week, including time to get a reset on the 70hr clock, so we have really been doing good.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
I drove hard all day, not really stopping till we were in Des Moines for fuel. Kim took over from there, and was about 5hrs out. We made our delivery at 5:04am! WHEW, that was a kick butt day!
Dropped the trailer, picked up an empty and headed back to a Pilot about 15mi away. Just as we layed down to get a nap while we waited on the next assignment, the Qualcomm chirped. DAMM, sure would have liked to get a little more sleep.
But, all good things come around. This had us picking up right where we dropped at the Michael's distribution center here, and headed to Jacksonville, Fla. AND we don't have to pick up till 4pm! YA, we went back to sleep for awhile then got up, got a shower, and now doing a load of laundry. You take care of things when you get a chance out here.
We have been kept pretty busy lately. We have had 2 weeks in a row of just over 6000mi each. AND we have had a little down time during each week, including time to get a reset on the 70hr clock, so we have really been doing good.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Scenic route
We got our assignment about noon. We were to deadhead down to Centralia, Wa to a Michaels distribution center for a 8 o'clock pick up the next morning. It was all of 75mi, so we went to the Flying J about 20mi south of where we were for the nite. Got our showers, dinner, and got to reset our 70hr duty week. If we get 34 consective hours off, we can start over on the week. We are only able to work 70hrs in a 8 day period. When you start running lots of miles, you have watch that.
The nex morning we left early and got to the center about 6:30 and dropped our trailer and got a loaded one. We are headed to New Lenox, Ill. It is south of Chicago a little just off I-80. Michaels is a hobby store so as expected, this is a light load, about 17,000lbs. My concern was with weather, and going over Cabbage Hill in Oregon, and across Wyoming. We dropped down on I-5 to Portland and picked up I-84 across Oregon and Idaho. Roads were in good shape, and weather was fine. We got to see some gorgeous scenery following the Columbia river across Oregon. Will try to post some pics soon. From there on down thru Ogden, Ut, and out on I-80. By te time we got to Rawlins, the road was getting patchy with ice and picked up some winds so we shut down a few hours till daybreak.
We are now just past Cheyenne at a TA Truckstop. Operations notified us we need to get a DOT inspection while enroute. So here we sit till they can run us thru a bay. Shouldn't take too long, just hope they adjust our time of delivery.
The nex morning we left early and got to the center about 6:30 and dropped our trailer and got a loaded one. We are headed to New Lenox, Ill. It is south of Chicago a little just off I-80. Michaels is a hobby store so as expected, this is a light load, about 17,000lbs. My concern was with weather, and going over Cabbage Hill in Oregon, and across Wyoming. We dropped down on I-5 to Portland and picked up I-84 across Oregon and Idaho. Roads were in good shape, and weather was fine. We got to see some gorgeous scenery following the Columbia river across Oregon. Will try to post some pics soon. From there on down thru Ogden, Ut, and out on I-80. By te time we got to Rawlins, the road was getting patchy with ice and picked up some winds so we shut down a few hours till daybreak.
We are now just past Cheyenne at a TA Truckstop. Operations notified us we need to get a DOT inspection while enroute. So here we sit till they can run us thru a bay. Shouldn't take too long, just hope they adjust our time of delivery.
Friday, February 8, 2008
"With a litle help from my friends"
We made to our drop in Seattle on time! Don't quite know how, but we did it. Had a little extra help from a new friend. During our run from North Carolina, we came up behind a CFI truck out in Texas somewhere after our stop in Lancaster. I decided to give him a hollar on the CB and ask where he was headed. Surprise, Surprise, they are headed to Calexico also. We ran with them (another team) for awhile and chatted some. Whiskey Runner, and Shot Glass was their handles. Come to find out he had 28yrs with CFI, and a multi-million mile driver (over 3). We were pretty light loaded and they were pretty heavy so eventually we moved on. We stopped in El Paso for the sleep and I don't think they stopped. The next day when we arrived at Calexico, they were just leaving the yard. "Where ya headed?" He replied "Santa Fe Springs, CA"! I'll be damm, so are we a little later. See ya there.
Sure 'nuf when we pulled in, there they were. The next morning when we went in at 0400 to get our paperwork to head out, ran into him and got to meet and shake hands. "See ya up the road". During the nite last nite, we were about 400mi out, and had been fighting the mountain grades. It was 7pm local, and IF I could maintain a 50mph average, it was still going to be RIGHT at 3am when we arrived (our deadline), and we still needed a fuel stop somewhere. I called in and told dispatch this, and was told just do the best you can.
We made our fuel stop about a 150mi into Oregon. Lo and Behold, there is Whiskey Runner! Pulled up and fueled alongside. Talked to them a little and told them our situation. He said this run is tough. They pulled out a few minutes ahead of us. About 30 min down the road, I see this truck slowly coming along side. I looked over and see all these stars on the fender. (CFI gives a star for each 120,000mi of service and you can have them put on the truck if you want) I immediately knew who it was, tho didn't know how or where I got around him. With the interior light on, and a big grin and wave as he went by, Ole Whiskey Runner took the lead. I tucked in and we went. We chatted all the way to Seattle. Found out he is THE senior driver for the company. Great guy, gave us a few pointers to help make teaming a little easier, and kept me awake. Also got us here on time. We rolled in at 2am, an hour ahead of schedule. It helped we really didn't have all the slow mountain grades after our fuel stop, so we rolled.
We dropped our trailer here, went down to the end of the yard, hooked up an empty, and went to bed, waiting on the Qualcomm to chirp with our next load assignment.
It's about 10am local and we are still here. Will just relax some today and maybe nap a little till its time to go again.
A big thanks goes out to our new friends, "Whiskey Runner", and his wife, "Shot Glass".
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
Sure 'nuf when we pulled in, there they were. The next morning when we went in at 0400 to get our paperwork to head out, ran into him and got to meet and shake hands. "See ya up the road". During the nite last nite, we were about 400mi out, and had been fighting the mountain grades. It was 7pm local, and IF I could maintain a 50mph average, it was still going to be RIGHT at 3am when we arrived (our deadline), and we still needed a fuel stop somewhere. I called in and told dispatch this, and was told just do the best you can.
We made our fuel stop about a 150mi into Oregon. Lo and Behold, there is Whiskey Runner! Pulled up and fueled alongside. Talked to them a little and told them our situation. He said this run is tough. They pulled out a few minutes ahead of us. About 30 min down the road, I see this truck slowly coming along side. I looked over and see all these stars on the fender. (CFI gives a star for each 120,000mi of service and you can have them put on the truck if you want) I immediately knew who it was, tho didn't know how or where I got around him. With the interior light on, and a big grin and wave as he went by, Ole Whiskey Runner took the lead. I tucked in and we went. We chatted all the way to Seattle. Found out he is THE senior driver for the company. Great guy, gave us a few pointers to help make teaming a little easier, and kept me awake. Also got us here on time. We rolled in at 2am, an hour ahead of schedule. It helped we really didn't have all the slow mountain grades after our fuel stop, so we rolled.
We dropped our trailer here, went down to the end of the yard, hooked up an empty, and went to bed, waiting on the Qualcomm to chirp with our next load assignment.
It's about 10am local and we are still here. Will just relax some today and maybe nap a little till its time to go again.
A big thanks goes out to our new friends, "Whiskey Runner", and his wife, "Shot Glass".
Till next time, keep it safe out there.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
We made it to Calexico about noon local for our 2:30 deadline. We requested some time before we got there to have the afternoon to do some laundry. Our fleet manager got a load heading out at 4am Thurs morning to allow us some time. Well, we did have some time in Calexico to do some laundry, then had to deadhead into Los Angeles for our early morning pick up that goes to Seattle area. This is at a Con-Way terminal and the load is what a Con-way relay. These are hard runs with not much extra time built in. They are also dispatched a little faster (50mph vs 47mph) than normal for some reason. If we were out in the midwest somewhere, it would not be such an issue for this run, however, in Cali and Oregon, the speed limit for trucks is 55. That coupled with the mountains in northern cal and Oregon will make this a close one. We are due by 3am local tomorrow. At least getting thru LA at 5am local was somewhat easier than it could have been later, and we will get into the Seattle area late tonite/early tomorrow morn.
Kim had some experience with the mountains coming out of the LA area thu Tejon pass. This had some pretty steep climbs holding us down to about 30mph, and had a 6% downhill grade for 5 miles that had a 35mph speed limit for trucks. Just using the engine retarder (jake brake) and 6th gear she was able to come down with no problem with snub braking (braking from 35mph to 30, then letting the truck slowly work back up to 35, keeping brakes cool by not using them all the time.)
Thats about it for now, gotta sleep. This run doesn't have time to allow us to stop at all.
Kim had some experience with the mountains coming out of the LA area thu Tejon pass. This had some pretty steep climbs holding us down to about 30mph, and had a 6% downhill grade for 5 miles that had a 35mph speed limit for trucks. Just using the engine retarder (jake brake) and 6th gear she was able to come down with no problem with snub braking (braking from 35mph to 30, then letting the truck slowly work back up to 35, keeping brakes cool by not using them all the time.)
Thats about it for now, gotta sleep. This run doesn't have time to allow us to stop at all.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
There and Back
We made it to a truckstop about 30 mi from our drop on Sunday nite about 6pm local, went in, had dinner at the resturant, then went back out to the truck and watched half of the super bowl.
Next day started out good, went over to the customers early, got in at 6:30 instead of 7:30, and got unloaded. There was one other CFI truck and us, so we had plenty of room.
After our unload, we headed out of the customers area, and sent in our empty call. It didn't take long for our next assignment,,,,,back to Calexico! We were to deadhead over to Bryson city, SC,,about 200mi west, and load. No problem. Interstate to Waynesville and refuel, then a US hiway down to Bryson City. We got there about 12:30 for a 2pm load time. Good shape. Waited our turn, then put 'er in the hole (the dock). I kept watching the air suspension gauge while they were loading us, and noticed it didn't move much, meaning the load was really light. When they finished, I went to get the paperwork. About 13,000lbs of steel frames with plastic dashes for the new Kenworth trucks. If we keep this up, we'll be able to say they built some entire trucks thanks to us!!!
Now for the fun, heading out of Bryson City. It had cut us down from I-40 so were were headed southwest toward I-20. Only thing there is no good way to get there. We were headed the way our "suggested routing" sent to us had us going. All of a sudden Kim said we neded to pull over and look at the map. Sure enough, they had us headed for a restricted route on US 64 in a National Park between N. Carolina and Chattanooga. OOPS. So we detoured south on what we hoped was a good road, and kept winding our way down to I-20. Man, that entire road trip between Bryson City and I-20 south of Rome, Ga was a challenge. Would have been great on the bikes. Sure was some gorgeous countryside. Th Blue Ridge area of the Smokey Mountains lived up to its name. Bluish mountains in the distance, and low laying clouds and fog around, giving that smokey appearance. And when it wasn't winding around the countryside, they decided we should have to bypass Rome, only the entire bypass was under construction. FUN nite!
Today we are currently on the way to our teminal at Lancaster (Dallas), and will refuel and shower there. Then we'll see how far we can get tonite. Should be able to shut down again for 3-4hrs sleep while parked tonite like last nite, and still be on schedule.
Oh, schedule,,,,our original dispatch had us arriving in Calexico by 7:30 Wed morn, which was something like a 54mph ave dispatch on a 24hr/day schedule. We are supposed to get dispated at 47mph ave for no more than 22hrs/day. We each can drive a MAX of 11hrs/day. We sent in a request that they take a look at the dispatch, and oh by the way, the suggested routing tried to sent us on a restricted route! We got a change in our delivery time, so all is better now. That was just another frustration point in the day yesterday.
Weather is really warm down here in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tx. Temp was about 68 all nite, and is now 75 at 10am about 80mi from Dallas. I feel for the drivers up north right now. I am sure we'll have our turn again, and they will be down here.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Next day started out good, went over to the customers early, got in at 6:30 instead of 7:30, and got unloaded. There was one other CFI truck and us, so we had plenty of room.
After our unload, we headed out of the customers area, and sent in our empty call. It didn't take long for our next assignment,,,,,back to Calexico! We were to deadhead over to Bryson city, SC,,about 200mi west, and load. No problem. Interstate to Waynesville and refuel, then a US hiway down to Bryson City. We got there about 12:30 for a 2pm load time. Good shape. Waited our turn, then put 'er in the hole (the dock). I kept watching the air suspension gauge while they were loading us, and noticed it didn't move much, meaning the load was really light. When they finished, I went to get the paperwork. About 13,000lbs of steel frames with plastic dashes for the new Kenworth trucks. If we keep this up, we'll be able to say they built some entire trucks thanks to us!!!
Now for the fun, heading out of Bryson City. It had cut us down from I-40 so were were headed southwest toward I-20. Only thing there is no good way to get there. We were headed the way our "suggested routing" sent to us had us going. All of a sudden Kim said we neded to pull over and look at the map. Sure enough, they had us headed for a restricted route on US 64 in a National Park between N. Carolina and Chattanooga. OOPS. So we detoured south on what we hoped was a good road, and kept winding our way down to I-20. Man, that entire road trip between Bryson City and I-20 south of Rome, Ga was a challenge. Would have been great on the bikes. Sure was some gorgeous countryside. Th Blue Ridge area of the Smokey Mountains lived up to its name. Bluish mountains in the distance, and low laying clouds and fog around, giving that smokey appearance. And when it wasn't winding around the countryside, they decided we should have to bypass Rome, only the entire bypass was under construction. FUN nite!
Today we are currently on the way to our teminal at Lancaster (Dallas), and will refuel and shower there. Then we'll see how far we can get tonite. Should be able to shut down again for 3-4hrs sleep while parked tonite like last nite, and still be on schedule.
Oh, schedule,,,,our original dispatch had us arriving in Calexico by 7:30 Wed morn, which was something like a 54mph ave dispatch on a 24hr/day schedule. We are supposed to get dispated at 47mph ave for no more than 22hrs/day. We each can drive a MAX of 11hrs/day. We sent in a request that they take a look at the dispatch, and oh by the way, the suggested routing tried to sent us on a restricted route! We got a change in our delivery time, so all is better now. That was just another frustration point in the day yesterday.
Weather is really warm down here in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tx. Temp was about 68 all nite, and is now 75 at 10am about 80mi from Dallas. I feel for the drivers up north right now. I am sure we'll have our turn again, and they will be down here.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Ground hog day
We made it to my aunt's Thursday afternoon, and had a great dinner with her, her husband, and cousins from my mom's side. They have an RV in the park next to my aunt's, and oh by the way, he used to be a trucker and now delivers RV's for a large RV dealership with my Dad.
It's really surprising how many people we talk to that have a family member who trucks, or a close friend. There are alot of us out here!
We made it over to Calexico and dropped the trailer that night and went o the board,,,or at least that was what we were told on the Qualcom. We decided to just go to bed and get some sleep until the Qualcom chirped with an assignment msg. Well, we got to sleep all nite. got upabout 6am and I called in to check status on the board. I was told we weren't on the board. Hmmm,,so I replied on the qualcom using the msg that said we were on the board from last nite. Told them we called in and was not listed. It didn't take long for them to remedy that situation. :)
We were something like #14 on the list and #4 for teams, so we bobtailed into town to the Walmart to stock up. 6:30 should be a good time to hit a Walmart,,,,,right?
I could tell we were in trouble as soon as I could see the parking lot. There were about 10 busses that are used to transport migrant farm workers that work all the fields in the area. I guess they gather there, then leave for the fields later. They were all over the store and all the stockers were out filling the isles. NOT a good time, but we made it. I don't think we heard one announcement on the store's PA system in english the entire time we were there. Maybe we crossed the border and didn't realize it????
Anyway, we took our new stock of food back to the drop yard and sat and waited. Not much on TV, so we watched a movie, then I tinkered around on the truck, added oil, cleaned, checked, etc. An in depth "preflight".
We finally got a dispatch about 1:30 and made it out of there about 2pm. We are now headed to Winston-Salem North Carolina. This is a 2366mi run. I had commented to Kim I would like a cross country run to Florida. Well, it almost came true!
It was my time of day to drive, so I drove till midnight, making it to our dropyard in El Paso, Tx. Kim got a couple of hrs sleep enroute, then we shut down till about 5am this morning. We needed fuel at El Paso which is just up the road from the drop yard, so I got us there and fueled,(what a good teammate, huh?) then Kim took the reins and I went back to sleep for awhile.
We are starting to get the hang of this I think. We are managing to get 3-4hrs sleep on the road, then shut down for 4-5hrs and sleep with the truck parked. The dispatches are allowing us todo this with time, or we are just managing better. This load is due in at 7:30 Monday morning, and as of right now, the GPS gives us an arrival time of 9:12am tomorrow (Sunday), so you can see, we have some time we can use enroute.
Weather has been great down here, 60's during day, 30's at nite. Have just been reading about all the weather in Chicago and the Illinois area, and the storm in the Northwest. Boy, have we been lucky so far this year year. (knock the wooded head). We have had some weather to deal with, but not too bad. We heard about a fellow team we know that got blown over in Rawlins, Wy earlier this week. She was driving, and the roads were bad with blowing snow. They had slowed to about 30mph, then the tractor got blown over, leaving the trailer upright. From his story, they went air born, and came to rest next to a cliff. If they had been going any faster, they would probably have been over the cliff. Someone was watching over them.
For all the truckers out there that might be reading this for whatever reason, please keep it safe out there, especially this time of year! For all you "4 wheelers", that goes out to you as well, we all share the road! :)
Till next time, Keep it safe out there
It's really surprising how many people we talk to that have a family member who trucks, or a close friend. There are alot of us out here!
We made it over to Calexico and dropped the trailer that night and went o the board,,,or at least that was what we were told on the Qualcom. We decided to just go to bed and get some sleep until the Qualcom chirped with an assignment msg. Well, we got to sleep all nite. got upabout 6am and I called in to check status on the board. I was told we weren't on the board. Hmmm,,so I replied on the qualcom using the msg that said we were on the board from last nite. Told them we called in and was not listed. It didn't take long for them to remedy that situation. :)
We were something like #14 on the list and #4 for teams, so we bobtailed into town to the Walmart to stock up. 6:30 should be a good time to hit a Walmart,,,,,right?
I could tell we were in trouble as soon as I could see the parking lot. There were about 10 busses that are used to transport migrant farm workers that work all the fields in the area. I guess they gather there, then leave for the fields later. They were all over the store and all the stockers were out filling the isles. NOT a good time, but we made it. I don't think we heard one announcement on the store's PA system in english the entire time we were there. Maybe we crossed the border and didn't realize it????
Anyway, we took our new stock of food back to the drop yard and sat and waited. Not much on TV, so we watched a movie, then I tinkered around on the truck, added oil, cleaned, checked, etc. An in depth "preflight".
We finally got a dispatch about 1:30 and made it out of there about 2pm. We are now headed to Winston-Salem North Carolina. This is a 2366mi run. I had commented to Kim I would like a cross country run to Florida. Well, it almost came true!
It was my time of day to drive, so I drove till midnight, making it to our dropyard in El Paso, Tx. Kim got a couple of hrs sleep enroute, then we shut down till about 5am this morning. We needed fuel at El Paso which is just up the road from the drop yard, so I got us there and fueled,(what a good teammate, huh?) then Kim took the reins and I went back to sleep for awhile.
We are starting to get the hang of this I think. We are managing to get 3-4hrs sleep on the road, then shut down for 4-5hrs and sleep with the truck parked. The dispatches are allowing us todo this with time, or we are just managing better. This load is due in at 7:30 Monday morning, and as of right now, the GPS gives us an arrival time of 9:12am tomorrow (Sunday), so you can see, we have some time we can use enroute.
Weather has been great down here, 60's during day, 30's at nite. Have just been reading about all the weather in Chicago and the Illinois area, and the storm in the Northwest. Boy, have we been lucky so far this year year. (knock the wooded head). We have had some weather to deal with, but not too bad. We heard about a fellow team we know that got blown over in Rawlins, Wy earlier this week. She was driving, and the roads were bad with blowing snow. They had slowed to about 30mph, then the tractor got blown over, leaving the trailer upright. From his story, they went air born, and came to rest next to a cliff. If they had been going any faster, they would probably have been over the cliff. Someone was watching over them.
For all the truckers out there that might be reading this for whatever reason, please keep it safe out there, especially this time of year! For all you "4 wheelers", that goes out to you as well, we all share the road! :)
Till next time, Keep it safe out there
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