Well, I have not been updating the blog much lately. I have had alot on the mind and working to get another job and off the road, so I haven't been real motivated to update this.
Yep, I said it, we are now off the road. I applied for several different postitions and have been hired to teach the motorcycle safety course and traffic safety program on a Naval base in Fallon, Nv.
In the end it was the 24/7 part of the job that got us more than anything. Working 6 days a week, and sleeping 4-6hrs a nite just was too much for us. We had a hard time sleeping in a moving truck so most of it was done when we had time to park for a bit. Running team does not allow for too much of that. Fortunately, with the dedicated route, we had that opportunity 3 nites of the week.
Sooooo, a week ago last Thursday when we got our repaired truck back, we told our Fleet manager to please route us to Joplin when they got us a load so we could turn in our truck. Saturday morning we did that and some friends of our family picked us up in Joplin and took us to Tulsa so we could get a rental car for a one way rental to Salt Lake City. It was alot cheaper than flying back, and besides we had quite a bit of stuff from the truck to get home.
We got home a week ago yesterday (Sunday) and have been getting our house ready to put on the market to sell.
I should be leaving today or tomorrow to get my butt over to Fallon, approx 475mi from here, and Kim will stay here until our stuff is in storage and the house gets painted.
We are looking forward to the next chapter in our adventures. We will miss the open road and seeing the country and all the changes of mother nature. We will miss being together 24/7 and REALLY sharing our lives. We will miss the since of accomplishment we got from driving an 80 ton rig, 65ft long and delivering on time.
We left trucking on our terms, and on good terms. We never had a late load, a moving violation (I did get a ticket for hazmat at the scales), or an accident. We were lucky. We drove 10 months, and between the 2 of us, we logged 200,000 miles!
We saw all kinds of things while out there, and some we wish we wouldn't have. Many were just stupid things, people not thinking. Thats where I can make a little difference. I will be teaching a traffic safety program as part of my new job for the Navy and civilians on the base. I will also be teaching the basic rider course for new riders, and the sport bike course for anyone owning one of those. If I can plant a seed in someone's mind that saves a life someday, I will have made a difference.
Sooo, to all those who read and kept up with us,,,,Thank you. It has been fun and an adventure. I am glad you were part of it. Trucking is a hard job, and just not for us. The men and women out there doing it every day, day after day, nite after nite, deserve a pat on the back and a thanks from all of us.
So this is it. Keep it safe out there, and maybe we'll see you out there on the road somewhere, only I'll probably be on 2 wheels instead of 18!
Cheers
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Mis-Adventures
We have had a few MIS-ADVENTURES in the last couple of weeks.
My dad was going to stop and visit while en-route from Alaska to Arizona a couple of weeks ago, and we had a grand-baby due anytime. We got back to Salt Lake about 2:30am that Friday morning and lo and behold, our next load was ready. YEEEHAW, we'll get an early start and be back nice and early Sunday to visit with Dad.
We made it to Aurora about 9am Saturday, and headed over to Gary to pick up our load and head home. Then the mis-adventures started. When we got there, I was told there was not a load for us. WHAT!!?? There is always a load, we run a dedicated route and this is pre-planned.
The icing on the cake was we were notified that Saturday afternoon that our first grandchild was about to be born!
I called in to dispatch and finally was told to go to Evansville, Ind to pick up a Whirlpool load. There SHOULD be a load ready and the plant has 24/7 guard to let us in to get it. WRONG! when we got there, the place was closed and locked tight. No guard either. We were told the scheduled pick up was 1100 Sunday so just wait. GRRRR,, this is not looking good. We spent the night, and went to a truck stop for breakfast Sunday. We ran into another driver waiting for the same place, and he told us there would not be anyone to let us in till 3pm. This is getting worse!
Finally, at 3pm Sunday, we got our load and headed home. My Dad was waiting for us. We usually get home around6-7pm Sunday. This week we were 24hrs driving time away at 3pm Sunday. 3 hours sleep and fueling time put us home at 7pm Monday. We got a 1.5hr visit with Dad, got some groceries, and went to bed for an early departure Tues morn.
This next week we were only going to Aurora and parking the truck. We rented a car and spent some time in Wisc and Mich with Kim's family. Her brother was here from Germany as well as his girlfriend and kids. It was a nice break from the mis-adventures we had been having.
We returned to Aurora Saturday to get our truck. We received our dispatch to Gary to get our load.
You'll NEVER guess what was NOT waiting for us in Gary this week! 3 loads headed to Salt Lake City, and they were all given away to other drivers before we got there! The last 2 weeks we had kicked A$$ to be early to Gary so we could get back to Salt Lake early. We had a new grand daughter born last Sunday to see. No load again,,dammit!
We eventually got sent from Gary back to north Chicago area (Des Plaines) to pick up a load and take it to Salt Lake City for a relay. It's final destination was Long Beach, Ca. This set us back about 3 hours, but we would still get back Sunday evening. We went to Des Moines and met our daughter to have dinner with her for her birthday. After that we made it just past Omaha to our normal rest area for some sleep. We got up about 4am and headed out.
About 10 min down the road, we heard a bang and tried to figure out what it was. Kim was driving, and I noticed smoke in bellowing out the rear in our mirrors. She pulled over and I got out to check things over. I expected a blown tire, but didn't find that. When I got up front and opened the hood, there it was. We had exactly the same problem as we had back in May.The fan assy had separated and had gone into the radiator!
We limped a couple miles to an exit and a small truck stop. We notified roadservice to get a tow and dispatch to get our load picked up.
By the way, this is Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We finally made it to a hotel about noon, and the truck went on to the wrecker yard. Kenworth is not open on Sundays, nor will it be tomorrow. So we will be stuck till at least Tues nite or Wed.
At least Omaha is a little better than being stuck in Rock Springs, Wy. We got a rental car and visited my aunt in Beatrice, Neb. So we are making the best of a bad situation.
So that's the latest Mis-adventures of Steve and Kim, due in part to mistakes in dispatch, and in part to the limits of mechanical devices.
Till next time, keep it safe out there, we'll be lookin for you!
Cheers
My dad was going to stop and visit while en-route from Alaska to Arizona a couple of weeks ago, and we had a grand-baby due anytime. We got back to Salt Lake about 2:30am that Friday morning and lo and behold, our next load was ready. YEEEHAW, we'll get an early start and be back nice and early Sunday to visit with Dad.
We made it to Aurora about 9am Saturday, and headed over to Gary to pick up our load and head home. Then the mis-adventures started. When we got there, I was told there was not a load for us. WHAT!!?? There is always a load, we run a dedicated route and this is pre-planned.
The icing on the cake was we were notified that Saturday afternoon that our first grandchild was about to be born!
I called in to dispatch and finally was told to go to Evansville, Ind to pick up a Whirlpool load. There SHOULD be a load ready and the plant has 24/7 guard to let us in to get it. WRONG! when we got there, the place was closed and locked tight. No guard either. We were told the scheduled pick up was 1100 Sunday so just wait. GRRRR,, this is not looking good. We spent the night, and went to a truck stop for breakfast Sunday. We ran into another driver waiting for the same place, and he told us there would not be anyone to let us in till 3pm. This is getting worse!
Finally, at 3pm Sunday, we got our load and headed home. My Dad was waiting for us. We usually get home around6-7pm Sunday. This week we were 24hrs driving time away at 3pm Sunday. 3 hours sleep and fueling time put us home at 7pm Monday. We got a 1.5hr visit with Dad, got some groceries, and went to bed for an early departure Tues morn.
This next week we were only going to Aurora and parking the truck. We rented a car and spent some time in Wisc and Mich with Kim's family. Her brother was here from Germany as well as his girlfriend and kids. It was a nice break from the mis-adventures we had been having.
We returned to Aurora Saturday to get our truck. We received our dispatch to Gary to get our load.
You'll NEVER guess what was NOT waiting for us in Gary this week! 3 loads headed to Salt Lake City, and they were all given away to other drivers before we got there! The last 2 weeks we had kicked A$$ to be early to Gary so we could get back to Salt Lake early. We had a new grand daughter born last Sunday to see. No load again,,dammit!
We eventually got sent from Gary back to north Chicago area (Des Plaines) to pick up a load and take it to Salt Lake City for a relay. It's final destination was Long Beach, Ca. This set us back about 3 hours, but we would still get back Sunday evening. We went to Des Moines and met our daughter to have dinner with her for her birthday. After that we made it just past Omaha to our normal rest area for some sleep. We got up about 4am and headed out.
About 10 min down the road, we heard a bang and tried to figure out what it was. Kim was driving, and I noticed smoke in bellowing out the rear in our mirrors. She pulled over and I got out to check things over. I expected a blown tire, but didn't find that. When I got up front and opened the hood, there it was. We had exactly the same problem as we had back in May.The fan assy had separated and had gone into the radiator!
We limped a couple miles to an exit and a small truck stop. We notified roadservice to get a tow and dispatch to get our load picked up.
By the way, this is Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We finally made it to a hotel about noon, and the truck went on to the wrecker yard. Kenworth is not open on Sundays, nor will it be tomorrow. So we will be stuck till at least Tues nite or Wed.
At least Omaha is a little better than being stuck in Rock Springs, Wy. We got a rental car and visited my aunt in Beatrice, Neb. So we are making the best of a bad situation.
So that's the latest Mis-adventures of Steve and Kim, due in part to mistakes in dispatch, and in part to the limits of mechanical devices.
Till next time, keep it safe out there, we'll be lookin for you!
Cheers
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