Saturday, March 17, 2012

It rained last night.  Actually, a pretty good thunderstorm that brought out the dreaded "trailer gremlins" again.  During my pre trip this morning found that half my trailer lights were not working and the ABS light was on.  Went across the parking lot to the shop and had them fix it.  Took several hours to find the electrical problem but finally found it!!  Everything works again.  Drove the rest of the way down to the Flying J truck stop in Latta, South Carolina.  Deliver just down the road from here Monday morning.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Another beautiful day on the road.  Left Greensburg just before sun up.  Just in Tennessee from Kentucky on I-75 the interstate was closed to oversize loads.  Normal traffic was allowed through in one very skinny lane for each direction.

The following is a reprint from The Tennessean newspaper online:

Motorists with weekend plans in East Tennessee may need to find another route if they intend to use Interstate 75.
The interstate is closed at Jellico, exit 160, near the Tennessee/Kentucky border.
Tennessee Department of Transportation crews are working to repair a collapsed embankment near the southbound lanes.

According to TDOT, the earth has continued shifting under the interstate since the collapse was discovered on Thursday. Detours have been set up to protect the public until repairs can be made.

Motorists are asked to take the exit, turn left, follow Highway 25W to LaFollette, and then get back to I-75 South in Caryville, exit 134.

Wide load truckers are asked to take the Jellico exit, turn right, follow state route 297 West to state route 63 and then get back on I-75 South at exit 141.

Detour signs and message boards have been placed along the interstate and detour routes to help guide the traffic.

Let me tell you, the detour route for wide loads was really something!  19 miles of interstate was bypassed and it took 45 minutes to travel the detour.  Not because it was that far out of the way, it wasn't.  It pretty much was parallel to the interstate.  The road was a two lane road (in very good condition) that was full of blind turns with no road shoulder.  I drove between 2 and 30 mph most of the way.  For most of the route, there was a minimum of three foot drop off on the edge of the road.  In other places the guard rail was at the edge of the road.  After I made it through the worst of it, I got out the camera and shot some video for you.  As you watch the video remember that I am an oversize load and there is a trailer behind me that does not track the same as the truck. Sorry about the length of it, its about 4 minutes long.

Click on the link:

I-75 Detour

The gear grinding in the beginning was me trying to hold the camera with my right hand, shift gears with my left, and steer with my knee.  LOL

That was fun!!!

 

 

Continued down to Ashville, NC.  When I got to the I-40 and I-26 split the traffic was stopped on I-26 - where I wanted to go.  Heard on the radio that there was a 10 car pile up on I-26 and the interstate was shut down indefinitely.  There was a 15 mile back up already.  I decided that was not my idea of a good time so I turned around and went back to the TA truck stop in Candler, NC for the night.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Went in to Milwaukee and delivered the steel this morning.  After that went to the Daily yard just outside Milwaukee in Lannon and picked up a Case 290 Tractor.  It is going to Dillon, SC.

On the way out of Milwaukee went past the "home office" of Harley Davidson.  Also drove past Miller Park, where the Milwaukee Brewers play baseball.

Went back through Chicago but this time without bumper to bumper traffic. Drove down to the Petro truck stop in Greensburg, Indiana for the night.  That is south east of Indianapolis.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Left North Canton early this morning and drove up to Cleveland and picked up my next load.  It is 9 sheets of steel weighing 33500 pounds going to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Believe it or not, this is an oversize load.  A few of the pieces hung over the side 3 inches.   After I got it all secured I got on the road and drove up to Milwaukee.  Made it through Chicago with some bumper to bumper traffic, but not as bad as it usually is.  The sun was in the right place and made the Chicago skyline beautiful!

Stopped for the night at a small truck stop in Richfield, Wisconsin.  Will deliver in the morning.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Drove in to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, MD this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 316 Excavator.

Finished with only 15 minutes to have to wait until curfew was over at 9 am. Got on the road and drove to Parkersburg, West Virginia and delivered the excavator this afternoon.

My next load is tomorrow morning in Cleveland, Ohio.  Drove to the TA truck stop in North Canton, Ohio and got the last parking spot there!  Went past the Pro Football Hall of Fame again.  They are building a large addition to the building.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Got all my little repair "chores" done this morning. Daily has a car we can use when we are there so I went to Chilli's for lunch.  It was really good to taste real food again!!  My next load is tomorrow morning at the port in Baltimore so I drove down to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for the night.