Well, day one is complete. We did some paperwork early on, then sat around and waited alot. There are only 9 in this orientation class, quite a difference from our CFI/Conway orientation with 30 something. At Conway there was always pressure on, do not be one minute late for class or you're sent home, don't be late for shuttle, or you're sent home, etc, etc. No where near that here, very nice and personable and respectful so far.
Of the 9, there are 3 of us with prior experience, considered company drivers, and the other 6 are right out of CDL school somewhere, so they are considered student hires. They will go out with a trainer for 3-4 weeks. The 3 experienced drivers don't. We get our trucks hopefully Friday.
We got paired off and did a roadtest this morning, which consisted of discussing the pretrip with the the road examiner first. I was paired with one of the student drivers. He was instructed to drive first, pull up and drive out of the terminal, the drove along the access roads and some larger city roads, then off on some smaller rural roads. After approx 15 min of driving, he pulled over and I got behind the wheel. I have to admit, it felt good to be in the seat again. It was a larger Volvo truck with an AUTOMATIC transmission. Yup, thats right, auto,,so it made it alot easier to get back into the swing of it, I just had to concentrate on driving the truck. Kept it in my lane, didn't hit any curbs, and made it back to the yard in one piece. Drove around and in back of the docks so I would come up to where he want me to dock the trailer on the driver side. He got out and and I set up and docked it. Not bad, a little rusty, but I did it. So I got signed off on the road trip.
Next we went over to the medical clinic, and patiently waited for our turns to pee in the cup, do an eye test, color test, vitals, and see the Doc. After a short visit with him, I have a fresh, shiny new DOT medical certificate good for 2 years.
So much for day one. A few of us are going to meet in a couple min here at the hotel, and go have a little dinner together to celebrate the hard stuff is done.
Tomorrrow is alot of videos, and training on the electronic logs, and communications, safety, benefits, HR, etc.
See ya later, Keep it safe out there drivers!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Ready for Orientation
I have been getting everything in order for orientation this week. One of the things they mentioned was a Dr release for ANY treatment in the last 5yrs. I had a kidney stone last Sept. and was treated in the ER. I did not have a work release because I wasn't working at the time. I had to get copies of the records, and an examination by our local Dr we used 11yrs ago. Luckily, he didn't have a problem reviewing it, and looking at me. I got my letter, so everything is set now.
I am scheduled to leave on the bus (ya, BUS) from Tulsa tomorrow morning at 10:45, and arrive in Dallas at 5:15. I will be staying at the Ramada and they will provide a shuttle to pick me up at the bus station. Then at 0630 Wed morn, the company shuttle will pick us up at the hotel for Day one. Day one should be mostly getting physicals for all of us. I was told they would give me a dedicated type physical which is a little more involved than the standard one. It is required prior to being selected to take a dedicated route, so I will be ready if one becomes available in my area.
I am getting everything packed today. I was told to expect one to two weeks before being able to get home. I am taking my inverter to have installed in my truck, the cb, a couple tools, computer, chargers for phone and blue tooth headset, clothes for warm and cold weather. Also have to take my sleeping bag and pillow for bedding. When I can get back through here, I will add the refrigerator and microwave.
The part of orientation that concerns me the most is the driving eval. I have not stepped in a truck for 2 1/2 yrs. I will be given a road and driving test right off the bat. I think I will be ok out on the road, but if I do much backing, I expect to be a little rusty. But, it's what I do now, so I will just take a little extra time, get out and look a little more, and "git er done".
I will try to update from the hotel during orientation and let you know how its going.
I am scheduled to leave on the bus (ya, BUS) from Tulsa tomorrow morning at 10:45, and arrive in Dallas at 5:15. I will be staying at the Ramada and they will provide a shuttle to pick me up at the bus station. Then at 0630 Wed morn, the company shuttle will pick us up at the hotel for Day one. Day one should be mostly getting physicals for all of us. I was told they would give me a dedicated type physical which is a little more involved than the standard one. It is required prior to being selected to take a dedicated route, so I will be ready if one becomes available in my area.
I am getting everything packed today. I was told to expect one to two weeks before being able to get home. I am taking my inverter to have installed in my truck, the cb, a couple tools, computer, chargers for phone and blue tooth headset, clothes for warm and cold weather. Also have to take my sleeping bag and pillow for bedding. When I can get back through here, I will add the refrigerator and microwave.
The part of orientation that concerns me the most is the driving eval. I have not stepped in a truck for 2 1/2 yrs. I will be given a road and driving test right off the bat. I think I will be ok out on the road, but if I do much backing, I expect to be a little rusty. But, it's what I do now, so I will just take a little extra time, get out and look a little more, and "git er done".
I will try to update from the hotel during orientation and let you know how its going.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Here we go AGAIN!
Well, I am getting ready to go back over the road. I got laid off the first of Sept last year, and have not had any luck finding gainful employment in the simulator or training world, so I am falling back on something else I know how to do, drive a truck.
This time, I will be solo. That will be alot different from the team driving Kim and I did. With that the truck could stay moving all the time. As a solo, I will be REQUIRED to have a 10 hr break/down time after 14hrs on duty or 11 hrs driving. So I will sleep in a parked truck!
I have done alot of research again to find a company that will take me with the break I have had. There are a few that will work with me, I fall into the category of 6mo experience within the last 3 years. One of these was Maverick, a really great sounding company, can't really find too much negative about them, however, they are a flatbed company. Kim thinks I am too much of a clutz to do that. Drivers have to strap and tie down the loads, and often throw tarps over the load, climbing all over the trailer and load.
Soooo, on with the search. SRT came next. They are a Reefer outfit out of Little Rock Ark. Had a good report of them by an ex instructor and friend of ours that drove for them for awhile. I applied last Nov, and got accepted, but put them on hold while some other options with Southwest Airlines, and Flightsafety, and a couple others played out. After keeping track of them on several forums, I just decided there was too much negative and kept my search going when Kim and I decided I HAVE to do something NOW.
Lastly, along comes US Xpress. They are a larger company, based in Chattanooga, Tn. They seem to have newer equipment than SRT, and more options. Alot of their fleet are automatics, so that will be different if I end up with one of those.
As of right now, I am scheduled to go to Dallas next Wed, 26 Feb for a 3 day orientation. Because I have previous experience, I won't have to go out with a trainer after orientation. Will be given a truck, and hit the road again. Orientation involves a physical exam, drug test, driving eval, review of my application and history, filling out all their forms, and I am sure safety briefings, intro to the way USX operates, etc.
We (Kim and I) are not really overjoyed that we will be separated like this, however, we do what we must, and we must pay bills, and live. I will "pay my dues" here for awhile and see how it goes. There are alot more options that open up after a year, and even more after 2years experience. I should be able to get a job/route where I am home every couple days to weekly by then. My goal is to get to the point where I control where and when I go, not totally in someone elses hands. That only comes with time and experience.
Sooo,,here we go again,,"on the road again" ,,and maybe I will be able to see some of my friends when I pass thru your towns!!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A new career
Well, it has been awhile since we announced we were going to quit driving. I took a job teaching Motorcycle and traffic safety and was assigned to Fallon Naval Air Station in Fallon Nev. I left Kim in Salt Lake to finish getting our house ready to sell, and started out in our motorhome headed to Fallon. About 20 mi into Nevada, Big Mo (our motorhome) decided it had enough. The engine shut down while pulling a hill. To make a long story kinda short, we had it towed to Elko, Nev where there was a Detroit Diesel rep. I unloaded Kims Goldwing, packed it with the clothes I could get in it, and went on to Fallon and found a hotel. The engine had froze up, and basically needed an in frame rebuild with new sleeves, pistons, rings, etc...OUCH $$$. Nearly 4 weeeks later, it was ready, and Kim was ready. I met her at the motorhome, and we headed to Fallon to start our new life there.
Well, things are not stable for very long with us, and I received a call from one of my bosses asking if I would consider a move to Twentynine Palm, Ca Marine Corps base. There was 2 of us at Fallon, and not really enough to keep both of us busy. 29 Palms did not have a Cape Fox instructor, and I would be kept busy!
So, after a day or two to get ourselves ready, we loaded up the bikes, and headed to 29 Palms!
We found a nice park to stay in about 5 mi from work. The biggest problem we had there was Kim not being able to find a job. She did get a job in the park cleaning the bathrooms 5 days a week, which paid our lot rent. This was working ok, but with our salary basically cut in half, we really needed her to work, at least until our house sold in Salt Lake.
The nice thing about Twentynine Palms, was that we were about 3 hrs to Dad's place in Yuma. My mom's sister is also there, and her cousins. We went over for Thanksgiving, and Dad made a visit to our place. In December, I was asked to work on a motorcycle simulator program and write the curriculum for the training. I was told not to go in and teach courses, but to concentrate on the simulator program. It was set up so I could stay in the Yuma area near my Dad and work from home. So in December, once again, we packed up, and headed out.
After being in place in Yuma for awhile, it was determined that I could stay and be assigned there. Sooooooo,,,here we are.
I have been tabbed to be the simulator instructor for Cape Fox. I have made several trips to Miramar Marine Corps Base near San Diego to train others, and assist during an open house for the first Marine Corps Motorcycle Simulator program. It was kinda interesting, because we had alot of brass, from a 4 star General, 3 star Genener, a couple of 2 star, and I am not sure how many 1 stars. Full bird colonels were a dime a dozen at that gala!
I had the honor of teaching the 2 Star who is the 3rd Marine AirWing Commander, and the 4 Star, who is the Asst Commandant of the Marines from the Pentagon how to ride the simulator.
Next week, I am headed to Camp Pendleton (just south of Los Angeles) to set up a new simulator, and teach the trainers to use it.
Kim has got a job here with in home health care. She has an elderly gentleman (Sam) to assist on Mon, Wed, and Fri mornings, and a 14 yo girl (Abby) everyday after school. This past week, she was also asked to start helping Abby in the mornings before school. Abby has a deformity with the legs, and is wheelchair bound. Kim gets her ready for school in the mornings, and helps and entertains her in the afternoon, before putting her in her bed for the evening when she leaves.
I don't know how she does it, she has had some rough days when Sam or Abbey is not doing well.
While we have been here, our son Greg got married to his fiance' in February and they are expecting our 2nd grandchild in May. It will be a little girl, they have decided to name Bailey. So we are excitedly awaiting the arrival of Bailey.
Geoff and his girlfriend have a little girl also, named Briauna, who was our first grandchild. Kim made the trip to Salt Lake to go to Greg and Lisa's wedding, and also had a chance to visit with Briauna. Unfortunately, I had a trip scheduled to Georgia at that time, and could not be there. It was kind of a short notice wedding. They entered a radio contest, and was one of the winners, so they had an all expenses paid wedding on Friday the 13th, at 1113am, on 13th street in Salt Lake City.
Since I hooked up this blog with our Facebook page, I decided I could update it and keep our story going for our family. So, from time to time, I will try to describe what has been taking place in this adventure we call Steve and Kim's Life. :)
Well, things are not stable for very long with us, and I received a call from one of my bosses asking if I would consider a move to Twentynine Palm, Ca Marine Corps base. There was 2 of us at Fallon, and not really enough to keep both of us busy. 29 Palms did not have a Cape Fox instructor, and I would be kept busy!
So, after a day or two to get ourselves ready, we loaded up the bikes, and headed to 29 Palms!
We found a nice park to stay in about 5 mi from work. The biggest problem we had there was Kim not being able to find a job. She did get a job in the park cleaning the bathrooms 5 days a week, which paid our lot rent. This was working ok, but with our salary basically cut in half, we really needed her to work, at least until our house sold in Salt Lake.
The nice thing about Twentynine Palms, was that we were about 3 hrs to Dad's place in Yuma. My mom's sister is also there, and her cousins. We went over for Thanksgiving, and Dad made a visit to our place. In December, I was asked to work on a motorcycle simulator program and write the curriculum for the training. I was told not to go in and teach courses, but to concentrate on the simulator program. It was set up so I could stay in the Yuma area near my Dad and work from home. So in December, once again, we packed up, and headed out.
After being in place in Yuma for awhile, it was determined that I could stay and be assigned there. Sooooooo,,,here we are.
I have been tabbed to be the simulator instructor for Cape Fox. I have made several trips to Miramar Marine Corps Base near San Diego to train others, and assist during an open house for the first Marine Corps Motorcycle Simulator program. It was kinda interesting, because we had alot of brass, from a 4 star General, 3 star Genener, a couple of 2 star, and I am not sure how many 1 stars. Full bird colonels were a dime a dozen at that gala!
I had the honor of teaching the 2 Star who is the 3rd Marine AirWing Commander, and the 4 Star, who is the Asst Commandant of the Marines from the Pentagon how to ride the simulator.
Next week, I am headed to Camp Pendleton (just south of Los Angeles) to set up a new simulator, and teach the trainers to use it.
Kim has got a job here with in home health care. She has an elderly gentleman (Sam) to assist on Mon, Wed, and Fri mornings, and a 14 yo girl (Abby) everyday after school. This past week, she was also asked to start helping Abby in the mornings before school. Abby has a deformity with the legs, and is wheelchair bound. Kim gets her ready for school in the mornings, and helps and entertains her in the afternoon, before putting her in her bed for the evening when she leaves.
I don't know how she does it, she has had some rough days when Sam or Abbey is not doing well.
While we have been here, our son Greg got married to his fiance' in February and they are expecting our 2nd grandchild in May. It will be a little girl, they have decided to name Bailey. So we are excitedly awaiting the arrival of Bailey.
Geoff and his girlfriend have a little girl also, named Briauna, who was our first grandchild. Kim made the trip to Salt Lake to go to Greg and Lisa's wedding, and also had a chance to visit with Briauna. Unfortunately, I had a trip scheduled to Georgia at that time, and could not be there. It was kind of a short notice wedding. They entered a radio contest, and was one of the winners, so they had an all expenses paid wedding on Friday the 13th, at 1113am, on 13th street in Salt Lake City.
Since I hooked up this blog with our Facebook page, I decided I could update it and keep our story going for our family. So, from time to time, I will try to describe what has been taking place in this adventure we call Steve and Kim's Life. :)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Movin On
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
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
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
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Latest Adventures
Hello to all our friends again. I have had several inquiries concerning our well-being and the status of the blog since my last post. It is really humbling to hear so many people care! Thank you for your well wishes and inquiries.
Yes, Kim and I are fine. We have just been running from Salt Lake to Aurora, Ill, to Gary, Ind, and back to Salt Lake. We have had some small adventures during the trips, but nothing earth-shattering. I got lazy, and just have not felt I had enough to write much about.
Some of the "interesting" side stories are:
One evening while stopped in Grand Island, Ne for fuel, Kim noticed one of our drive tires seemed low. I put some air in it and kept an eye on it. That night when we stopped I noticed a screw head buried in the tread. We marked it, kept an eye on it, and took it to a Speedco for repair. It is something to see them remove one of these super single tires we use. If you can imagine a single tire and wheel approximately the same width as the normal duals you see on most tractor/trailers. That is what we use on the rear tires on the tractor. We have 4 rear or drive tires vs 8 on most tractors. It was quite an ordeal for them to break it off the rim by hand, their machine didn't handle anything that wide.
On another trip, we were pulling a hazmat load, and got pulled into our favorite weigh scales coming into Des Moines, westbound. We scaled and was told to pull around and park and an inspector would be right out. UH OH. When he came out, I met him as he pointed to the rear of the trailer and commented that the rear placard was missing. Did I mention it was raining,,,and windy? He stated that it happens sometimes, gets sucked right out of the holder. I told him I had some spares and would put in another right away. Not so fast,,,,lets take a look around,,,turn on lights, turn signals, etc. We did a complete walk around, "pre-flight" inspection. Everything else was ok. He told me get all the paperwork, and come on inside. By the way, do you have the Emergency response book? "uhhhhhh,,I have the Hazmat guide book." Nope, not good enough, you need the one that tells you how to handle a spill or problem with any of the different hazmat materials. "Nope, never told that, or provided that book. " Thats not good.
Well after we in, he looked at the bills and noticed I should have another type of placard on the trailer. This is getting worse by the minute! Oh, by the way, did I mention it was raining? Not just rain, but lightning,,and rain isn't really the right word,,,downpour, flood, underwater, are words that come to mind. In fact the scale house lost power! Poor Kim was out in the truck being rocked to sleep by the tornado. Well, it sure could have been one, it was that scarey.
When he got done, I had a fine for no guidebook, and warning for the placards. The truck was placed out of service till we had the placards in place. That means we don't leave the parking lot till they were on. Did I mention I mention it still DOWNPOURING???? Ok, now the funny scene, here's Kim holding an umbrella against the wind and rain, so Steve can try to wipe the trailer dry enough in a spot long enough to put placards on all 4 sides. You have to realize that no matter what, we were gonna get wet on at least 3 sides of that trailer. I don't know how, but we got the placards on, and got drenched on all 4 sides! I sure hoped they stayed on long enough for me to drive past the scale house. They did. However, as we left the area and entered the interstate, I noticed one of the inspectors heading out also behind me, GREAT,,,he knows the placards cannot stay on. Oh well, too late to turn back now. I kept going toward Des Moines. Eventually he pulled off on one of the exits. I kept going!!! A couple of hours down the road when we ran out of the rain, we pulled over at a rest area, and checked out the trailer. I don't know how, but ALL the placards were still in place!!!
We did have a nice 4 day weekend off at home during the 4th of July and had some good times with our son. It was kinda hard to head back out after that.
Most recently, our son tried out for American Idol while they were in Salt Lake this week. It was reported over 10000 tried out. He didn't make the first cut but says he'll try again next year.
SOOOO,, there you go, some of the latest adventures of Steve and Kim. I will add more stories as we have them.
And again, my thanks to all those who inquired to our well being.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
Yes, Kim and I are fine. We have just been running from Salt Lake to Aurora, Ill, to Gary, Ind, and back to Salt Lake. We have had some small adventures during the trips, but nothing earth-shattering. I got lazy, and just have not felt I had enough to write much about.
Some of the "interesting" side stories are:
One evening while stopped in Grand Island, Ne for fuel, Kim noticed one of our drive tires seemed low. I put some air in it and kept an eye on it. That night when we stopped I noticed a screw head buried in the tread. We marked it, kept an eye on it, and took it to a Speedco for repair. It is something to see them remove one of these super single tires we use. If you can imagine a single tire and wheel approximately the same width as the normal duals you see on most tractor/trailers. That is what we use on the rear tires on the tractor. We have 4 rear or drive tires vs 8 on most tractors. It was quite an ordeal for them to break it off the rim by hand, their machine didn't handle anything that wide.
On another trip, we were pulling a hazmat load, and got pulled into our favorite weigh scales coming into Des Moines, westbound. We scaled and was told to pull around and park and an inspector would be right out. UH OH. When he came out, I met him as he pointed to the rear of the trailer and commented that the rear placard was missing. Did I mention it was raining,,,and windy? He stated that it happens sometimes, gets sucked right out of the holder. I told him I had some spares and would put in another right away. Not so fast,,,,lets take a look around,,,turn on lights, turn signals, etc. We did a complete walk around, "pre-flight" inspection. Everything else was ok. He told me get all the paperwork, and come on inside. By the way, do you have the Emergency response book? "uhhhhhh,,I have the Hazmat guide book." Nope, not good enough, you need the one that tells you how to handle a spill or problem with any of the different hazmat materials. "Nope, never told that, or provided that book. " Thats not good.
Well after we in, he looked at the bills and noticed I should have another type of placard on the trailer. This is getting worse by the minute! Oh, by the way, did I mention it was raining? Not just rain, but lightning,,and rain isn't really the right word,,,downpour, flood, underwater, are words that come to mind. In fact the scale house lost power! Poor Kim was out in the truck being rocked to sleep by the tornado. Well, it sure could have been one, it was that scarey.
When he got done, I had a fine for no guidebook, and warning for the placards. The truck was placed out of service till we had the placards in place. That means we don't leave the parking lot till they were on. Did I mention I mention it still DOWNPOURING???? Ok, now the funny scene, here's Kim holding an umbrella against the wind and rain, so Steve can try to wipe the trailer dry enough in a spot long enough to put placards on all 4 sides. You have to realize that no matter what, we were gonna get wet on at least 3 sides of that trailer. I don't know how, but we got the placards on, and got drenched on all 4 sides! I sure hoped they stayed on long enough for me to drive past the scale house. They did. However, as we left the area and entered the interstate, I noticed one of the inspectors heading out also behind me, GREAT,,,he knows the placards cannot stay on. Oh well, too late to turn back now. I kept going toward Des Moines. Eventually he pulled off on one of the exits. I kept going!!! A couple of hours down the road when we ran out of the rain, we pulled over at a rest area, and checked out the trailer. I don't know how, but ALL the placards were still in place!!!
We did have a nice 4 day weekend off at home during the 4th of July and had some good times with our son. It was kinda hard to head back out after that.
Most recently, our son tried out for American Idol while they were in Salt Lake this week. It was reported over 10000 tried out. He didn't make the first cut but says he'll try again next year.
SOOOO,, there you go, some of the latest adventures of Steve and Kim. I will add more stories as we have them.
And again, my thanks to all those who inquired to our well being.
Till next time, keep it safe out there!
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