Saturday, August 13, 2016

Yesterday afternoon after I got settled in I was so tired that I fell asleep.  Somewhere around 6 pm I woke up when the power went out during a thunderstorm.  I started the generator and drifted back off to sleep.

At about 11:30 pm I woke up again when the generator shut off.  The electricity from the shore power was still out.  So I restarted the generator, it ran a few seconds and shut off again.  SAME DAMN PROBLEM AS BEFORE!!!!!!!!!!!!  I went out and, hoping that it might do some good, changed the fuel filter in the rain.  Of course it didn't change a thing.  So I ran the truck engine for the rest of the night so I could have at least some air conditioning.  

This morning the power was still out.  I called the closest Cummins dealer which was in Bloomington, IL.  They were also the ONLY one that was open on Saturday.  They were so booked up that they could not even look at my generator until the 26th. With that not being an option I hit the road and started heading toward Waco.  I stopped at the Flying J truck stop in Joplin, Missouri and, with their permission, dropped my trailer in their parking lot until Monday morning. 

I then went over to the KOA Campground for the rest of the weekend.

Friday, August 12, 2016

First thing this morning drove in to Riverdale, Illinois to a H-U-G-E steel plant to unload the slag pot.  They used two very large Caterpillar wheel loaders to lift it off my trailer.  One on each side, and up it went.  I drove out from under it.  From there I drove down to East Peoria, Illinois to the Caterpillar plant and loaded a Caterpillar D6T dozer that is going to Waco, Texas.

Left there and drove over to the Daily terminal in Morton, IL for the night.  I can plug in here and not run the generator.  Tomorrow will be a half day because I'll run out of hours for the week.  Stupid Federal regulations!!!!!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Left at sunrise this morning.  Fantastic day on the road.  Beautiful weather and no traffic issues.  But the roads too their toll on the beacons on my trailer.  Had to replace one totally because the horrible roads shook and vibrated the thing to death.  Base was broken, guts laying in pieces, it was a mess.  The other one was not as bad.  Fixed that one temporarily with tape.  Will have to replace the guts of that one sometime soon.  Stopped for the night at the Petro in Monee, Illinois.  Will deliver tomorrow morning.  Only about a half hour to forty five minutes away.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

This morning I drove over to the Port of Houston and loaded a slag pot that is going up to Riverdale, Illinois.  That is just outside of Chicago.

Timed it perfectly.  Left there just as the Houston curfew ended.  Had a good day on the road.  Timed it perfectly again and entered Little Rock, Arkansas five minutes after their curfew ended.  Stopped for the night at the Petro in North Little Rock.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Left early this morning and drove to the terminal in Daily Houston.  When I got there I got the mechanic to help me using the fork lift flipping the neck back down and pulling the king pin on my trailer.  Took 5 minutes and it was done.  Then I went to Shipley's Donuts.  Sooooo good!!!  Will load tomorrow morning in Houston.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Well, they canceled the football game last night.  I was so pissed!!!

This morning I drove to the job site where I was to deliver.  Got there at 7:30 am local time.  They unloaded 4 tower sections and a nacelle before unloading me.  I left there at 3 pm local time.  Started on my way back to Houston for my next load.  Was supposed to load tomorrow but it got moved back a day. Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Ganado, TX.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Left at sunrise this morning.  Very short day today.  Stopped at Wal-Mart along the way.  Then stopped for the rest of the day at a convenience store with a few truck parking spaces in Freer, Texas.  I'm about an hour from delivery tomorrow.

Tonight the NFL Preseason starts!!!!   The "Hall of Fame Game".