Thursday, July 23, 2026

 My next load was in Indianapolis, Indiana.  I left at 2:30 AM EDT and drove there.  I was given two addresses.  I went to the first address.  At 7 AM, the gate automatically opened, and I went in.  There was nobody there.  It was a "ghost town".  I waited a while.  Still nobody.  So I went to the other address.  That was their main Campus.  They didn't have my machine there and sent me back to the original address.  I went back there.  There were people there this time.  They didn't have my machine there and had no idea where it was.  Carlisle didn't give me a serial number, so it couldn't even be looked up in the computer.  I emailed my dispatcher and explained the issues.  He didn't know anything either.  The terminal manager in Bettendorf, Iowa, booked the load, so I had to wait for him to get to work at 9 AM EDT (8 AM CDT there in Iowa) to find anything out.  So I sat and waited.  They finally came up with a serial number.  I was sent back to the main campus location, AGAIN.  I got there, and the yard guy ran the serial number in his computer and found that the machine I was to load was in Grand Rapids, Michigan!!!!  Sent an email to my dispatcher in Carlisle advising him of this.  Then waited for them to decide what to do next. After an hour and a half, I left for a different load in Decatur, Illinois.  Carlisle said that they made my loading appointment and to check in when I got there.  So I did just that when I arrived.  They said that I was not on their list for today and would not load me.  So I went to the Pilot truck stop a few miles down the road for the night.  473 miles today; that accomplished nothing.  Another fine job, Carlisle!!!!

Blog readers for the past 7 days...

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

 I left Hagerstown, MD at about 4 AM EDT.  Had to time it so that I didn't get to West Virginia before sunrise.  Amazingly, I drove to Brownstown, Michigan, and delivered the dozer.  After that, I went to the TA truck stop in Monroe, Michigan for the night.  531 miles today.

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

 I went over to the Port of Baltimore this morning to load.  Still didn't have the correct paperwork.  I waited for two and a half hours for the paperwork that I was told I'd have first thing this morning.  Another fine job by the incompetence of Carlisle.  Loaded a Caterpillar D-5 Dozer that is going to Brownstown Township, Michigan.

I didn't get out of there until after noon!!!  Drove to the AC&T truck stop in Hagerstown, Maryland for the night.

Monday, July 20, 2026

 I delivered the wheel loader first thing this morning.  Didn't have another load yet, so I drove to the TA truck stop in Baltimore, Maryland, to wait.  Late this afternoon, I finally got another load. It is tomorrow at the Port.  As usual for Carlisle, they couldn't come up with all the necessary paperwork before they went home, so tomorrow I have to wait until they get there and decide to send it to me.  

Saturday, July 18, 2026

 This is one example of how bad the truck stops gouge us.  Look at the price of this ice cream for only a pint!!!!  This was at the Love's I stayed at last night.

Here is what the same thing costs at a grocery store.

This morning I left at about midnight-thirty.  Drove the rest of the way to the John Deere place that I'm delivering to on Monday.  They had plenty of on-site parking.  That is rare!! I was finished and in bed by 5:30 AM EDT.   Still smoky, but not nearly as bad as Ohio was.  I'll unload here Monday morning.

Friday, July 17, 2026

 I left at about 2 AM CDT.  Drove 544 miles to the Love's truck stop in Madison, Ohio. Lots of heavy smoke in the air almost all day today.  When I got here, I followed a cop into the parking lot.  A dumb driver was pulling out of a parking spot and hit another truck.

Unfortunately, this stupidity happens far too often.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

 I left at about 2:30 AM EDT and drove toward Fenton, Missouri.  Delivered the wheel loader.  From there, I drove to Davenport, Iowa, to the John Deere plant.  I made it just in time. I was the last one they loaded today!!!  What was even better was that my loading appointment was for tomorrow!!  Loaded a John Deere 624 Wheel Loader that is going to Syracuse, New York.  Of course, just as I started to load, the heavens opened up.  Rained until I finished securing it, then it stopped.

I was out of hours for today, so I stayed in their parking lot for the night. 641 miles today.