Friday, June 22, 2012

Left Pennsylvania this morning and drove pretty much straight through stopping only for fuel and lunch.  Drove through the weather front in Zanesville, Ohio that is supposed to cool off the north east this weekend.  Stopped for the rest of the weekend at a truck stop in Woodhull, Illinois.  Deliver about 30 miles from here Monday morning.  After that I have an appointment at Peterbilt in Davenport, Iowa to get the truck fixed.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Went over to the port and unloaded the tractor and then loaded a John Deere 1050 J Dozer.  It is a big one.  Not too wide, but heavy and high.  I am 13 feet 8 inches tall.  It is going to Coal Valley, Illinois.

After I loaded the dozer I went back to the TA truck stop and scaled up.  My gross weight is over 115,000 pounds. Then took a shower and had lunch.  Got on the road.  Have problems with my speed / odometer.  It is also affecting the transmission.  Will have to have that addressed when I get empty.  Took forever to get across all the mountains on I-70 and I-68.  Very slow going.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Claysville, Pennsylvania. 

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Left the service plaza in Ohio  at sun up this morning. Nice and uneventful day on the road today.  In Pennsylvania my GPS took a dump.  Could not find any satellites anymore.  So, when I stopped for the night at the TA in Baltimore, Maryland I bought a new one.  Deliver and reload in the morning at the port.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Left Sawyer, MI this morning and drove up to Sturtevant, Wisconsin.  Took two hours to get through Chicago!  Bumper to bumper traffic almost the entire way through. Finally got to Sturtevant and loaded a Case 290 Tractor, 4 wheels and 2 spacers.  They are going to Dundalk, MD and on a boat to Bolivia.

Got on the road and drove to the first service plaza in Ohio on the Ohio Turnpike.  The Ohio Turnpike Service Plazas are the best ones in the country.  They have huge well lite truck parking, good food court, truck drivers lounge, and free showers for truck drivers.  Stayed there for the night.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Last night after the NASCAR race was over at the Michigan Speedway a couple of the trucks stopped in to get fuel.  Recognize any of them?

This guy won the race!!  Yup, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

And this one is Jimmy Johnson's truck.

They drew quite a crowd.  Lots of people taking photos.

This morning I left and headed off to deliver.  Took all day to get up there.  Drove through a cool looking weather front on the way.

 Finally delivered in Minden City, Michigan.  Next load is over in Wisconsin.  Headed that way. Stopped for the night in Sawyer, Michigan at the TA truck stop.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Thought, since I have a little down time, I'd explain a little about what it is that I am transporting.  When I say that I have a wind energy hub most of you have no idea what that is. 

I'm sure you have seen or heard about the wind energy "wind mills" that are popping up all over the country. 

Most of these produce about 1.5 megawatts of electricity or enough electricity to supply 400 homes for a year.  It costs, roughly, 3 million dollars for each wind turbine.  A minimum of 8 trucks, most of which are oversize requiring expensive permits, are used to transport the various sections of the turbine to the site.  Most turbines are about 394 feet tall or the height of a 40 story building.

The section I have been transporting is called the "hub". 

It's 57,300 pounds and manufactured in a GE plant in Pensacola, Florida. It is the section that the blades attach to and controlls the pitch of the blades. The nose cone is seperate and not part of the hub.

Hope that helps you all understand a bit about this stuff.