Thursday, December 26, 2024

 

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

 

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

 

Monday, December 23, 2024

 

Sunday, December 22, 2024

 Last night when my 10 hours were up I left.  That was at about 10 PM EST.  Drove the rest of the way to Jacksonville, Florida.  Will be home for the Holidays.

Saturday, December 21, 2024

 Yesterday afternoon was the Gators last game until September. 😒

I left at midnight last night.  Nice drive today.  629 miles to the TA truck stop in Mariana, Florida for my 10 hours.   Now it is time for three games of the College Football Playoffs.

Friday, December 20, 2024

 I left early this morning and arrived in Grand Prairie, Texas just before they opened.  Once they finished unloading the tank, I left and headed toward Jacksonville, Florida.  Ran out of hours and stopped at the Petro truck stop in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

 It was not a great day today. I left at sunrise this morning and did just fine until mile marker 23 on I-30 in Arkansas. A mile and a half ahead, a very serious crash happened, and traffic was totally stopped.  It had just occurred before I got there.  I couldn't see it.  Radio reports said that 2 semi trucks and 2 cars were involved and the entire westbound lanes were blocked.  A total of 6 cop cars, several fire trucks, and an ambulance went past on the shoulder.  Two helicopters landed and transported several from the scene.  After two and a half hours of sitting there, they finally opened the Interstate.  Unfortunately, that made delivery today impossible.  I continued on to the TA truck stop in Rockwall, Texas for the night. Only 404 miles today.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

 I left at about 12:30 AM EST.  Pretty good day.  Lots of heavy rain in Tennessee.  Drove 668 miles to the TA truck stop in Earle, Arkansas.  Had only 10 minutes left on my clock when I stopped.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

 At 2:30 AM EST, my 10 hours were up and I left.  Drove the rest of the way to Sandusky, Ohio and loaded an empty asphalt tank that is going to Grand Prairie, Texas.

I was ready to go at about 7:30 AM but had to sit there and wait for my permits to come in.  They came in at about 9:15 AM.  I left.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Walton, Kentucky for the night.  495 miles today.

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Monday, December 16, 2024

 We got a nice little layer of snow yesterday.  Just after lunch, they took my truck into the shop to fix a few minor things.  Then I attached to my next trailer and headed toward Sandusky, Ohio for my next load.  Stopped for my 10 hours at the service plaza in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.

Sunday, December 15, 2024

 I left a little after midnight and drove the rest of the way to Carlisle, PA.  Unloaded the truck, parked it, and parked the trailer.  I was done and in bed just after 5 AM EST.  I did good.  There is weather on the way and I beat it, as I had hoped to do.

Weather radar at 5:20 AM EST...

Saturday, December 14, 2024

 At about 2 AM EST I left and headed toward Carlisle.  No issues on the road today, just the way I like it.  I stopped for 10 hours at the TA truck stop in Ashland, Virginia.  602 miles today. I did 628 yesterday.

Friday, December 13, 2024

 When my 10 hours were up, I left.  That was a little after 1 AM EST.  Drove to Claxton, Georgia, and delivered the rollers.  It took a while to get the dead one off the trailer, but they finally did it.  My next load is at the Daily Terminal in Jacksonville, Florida.  I headed that way.  At mile marker 12 in Georgia, traffic came to a stop because of a wreck ahead.  Took 45 minutes to get to exit 3.  Made my way to the terminal.  A driver had brought his company truck to the terminal and quit.  The truck and trailer needed to go to Carlisle.  I dropped the step deck trailer and hooked up to the other trailer, Loaded the truck on it, and settled in for my 10 hours.  That truck is an automatic transmission.  I didn't know we had any of those.  It was weird to drive, don't like it.  I kept trying to step on the clutch pedal that wasn't there.

I'll get started when my 10 hours are up.

Thursday, December 12, 2024

 This morning I went back to the Port.  Fortunately, the sun was out today!! We, myself and the guys from the Port, tried to get the machine started.  It wouldn't start no matter what they did.  They brought over a big fork lift, picked it up, and sat it down on my trailer.  I secured it and left. Don't ever buy one of these thing.  Apparently, they always have problems with them. Both of them are going to Claxton, Georgia.

Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Stony Creek, Virginia for my 10 hours.

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Wednesday, December 11, 2024

 Last night after sleeping for about 5 hours I got up and went back to continue working on my truck.  That was at about 11 PM.  Worked on it until 2 AM and went back to the hotel and slept until 7 AM.  All of that was in the rain. Went back and finished.  It is a new International but the color is horrible!!!!

Got a step deck trailer and left for the Port of Baltimore. I was supposed to load two rollers.  I loaded the first one, no problem. 

Still raining, but now the heavens opened up!!  The second one wouldn't start.  The guys from the Port came over and after an hour of trying to get it to run, they gave up.  It was now quitting time for them.  So I left and went to the TA truck stop in Baltimore.  Told Daily about the problems.  They said to go back in the morning and have them put it on the trailer with a forklift.  After a while at the truck stop my APU, my brand new APU, was not working properly.  The perfect ending to a really crappy day.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

 Went over to the Daily yard and started swapping into my new truck.  Worked on it all day in the rain.  Still not done.  Going back early in the morning to finish it.

Monday, December 9, 2024

 Not a good day today.  Didn't feel very well.  Aches and pains all over.  Stayed in bed most of the day. My replacement truck was ready this afternoon and I'll start moving into it tomorrow.

Sunday, December 8, 2024

 This morning I drove back to West Alexander, PA to get my truck.  I couldn't load the truck until payment was made to the wrecker company.  That took several hours.  Not easy to get someone on a Sunday during hunting season.  But payment was finally made and I loaded the truck on the trailer.  Had a lot of difficulty reattaching the trailer.  It is so old !!  After 45 minutes of struggling with it, I got it and left.  I drove back to Carlisle and unloaded the truck.  Had more difficulty reattaching but it didn't take as long this time.  I parked both trucks, got in my rental car, got dinner, and returned to the hotel.  I'm exhausted!!!  Good night.

Saturday, December 7, 2024

 I left this morning and drove to the Towing yard in West Alexander, PA  with my temporary truck and trailer to get the damaged trailer. 

Loaded the trailer on my trailer. They lifted it up and I backed under it.

Left there and drove back to the the Daily yard in Carlisle.  Dropped the trailer there and hooked up to the trailer I'm taking back tomorrow morning to get the truck.  From there I took my rental car and got dinner then back to the hotel to spend the rest of the night watching college football conference championship games.

Friday, December 6, 2024

 I checked out of the hotel this morning around 6 or 7 and drove to the "home office" in Carlisle, PA.  I made the rounds in all the different offices and talked to everyone.  They still have not decided on what truck to put me in.  It seems that a lot of the "decision-makers" took the day off to go hunting.  While they figured out what they wanted to do I went and checked into the hotel.  I like this place, they know me by name and even put me in the room I like without asking for it.  After taking one of the mechanics to Harrisburg to pick up a truck at International they finally figured out which truck I was going to use to make the 2 trips to West Virginia.  I hooked it up to a step deck trailer and left it there in the yard.  Then I went to dinner and back to the hotel for the night.  Tomorrow I'll make my first trip to West Virginia to get the trailer.

Thursday, December 5, 2024

 I left when my 10 hours were up.  That was about 1:45 AM EST.  Not too long after I was on I-70 the weather changer abruptly.  I drove into a wall of snow and wind.

The weather got a LOT worse in Allegany and Garrett Counties in Maryland. Maryland did pretty good with the roads but it was coming down too fast for them to keep up with it.

West Virginia, on the other hand, did not have enough trucks and the roads got VERY BAD.  Here is where I almost got stuck going uphill.

After the weather cleared in West Virginia, it was smooth sailing until I got to about the 12-mile marker in I-70, westbound just before the Wheeling TA truck stop.  The traffic came to a stop for a crash up ahead.

WHAMO!  I was struck from behind.  He didn't even slow down.  He hit me at full speed.  My first thought was to get off the road so that we don't get hit again, so I pulled my truck to the shoulder dragging the truck that hit me.  I was not injured.  He was not so fortunate.  When I first looked at it I thought he was probably dead.  Fortunately, he was not.  He dislocated his shoulder and broke his collarbone. There was another pickup truck next to him and he struck it too forcing it to sideswipe the guardrail.  That driver was not injured.

The cops, the fire dept., and an ambulance all showed up.  Shut the westbound side down for at least three hours.  

Two roll-off wreckers, a small wrecker and a big wrecker, arrived. It took a while to separate the two vehicles. They removed the trailer from the truck that hit me.

Then they yanked and pulled on the white truck until it finally separated.

They loaded them on the two roll-offs.

Then it was my turn.  The wrecker guys were able to make it so that the trailer would move.  I drove to the TA truck stop that was just ahead.  The impact was so hard that I think my truck frame was bent.  I could not shift higher than 4th gear which only allowed me to go 8 miles an hour.  At the TA  I separated from my trailer and the wrecker company sent another truck to tow the trailer.  The big wrecker came over and towed me to their yard.   Enterprise Rent-A-Car came over from Wheeling and picked me up.  From there I went to the Best Western Hotel in Saint Clairsville, Ohio. Tomorrow I'll leave here and drive back to Carlisle, PA.  The plan right now is for me to get another truck and trailer and go back and get my trailer and take it to Carlisle.  Then go back and get my truck.  Now I'm going to sleep.  Good night.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

 I left a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove the rest of the way to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland.  Delivered the tractor.  My next load is way back in New Albany, Ohio.  I left the Port and went to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for my 10 hours.

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

 I left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  No snow today except for a few flurries in the afternoon.  I didn't get as far as I wanted to today.  Only 466 miles.  Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Zanesville, Ohio just after completing a construction re-route.

Monday, December 2, 2024

 This morning, I drove to Cedar Rapids and got there just before they opened.  Lots of snow today.  Sticking to the roads this time.  Iowa was doing a great job of plowing and salting the roads.  Delivered the crate.  Then drove up to Waterloo, IA to the John Deere plant and loaded a John Deere R370 Tractor that is going to Dundalk, Maryland.

The snow had stopped by the time I was ready to go. I left there and drove to the Daily Terminal in Morton, Illinois. I dropped the trailer and made a quick trip to Walmart. I came back and reconnected to my trailer and settled in for the night.

Sunday, December 1, 2024

 

Saturday, November 30, 2024

 Game day!!!!

Friday, November 29, 2024

 This morning I drove to East Moline, Illinois, and delivered the dozer blade.  Snow flurries this morning and it was cold too!!  Temperatures in the teens.  The guy came in on his day off to unload me.  It was really nice of him to do that.  After that, I drove over to the "World Famous Iowa 80 Truck Stop".  I'll be here until Monday morning.  

Now I can watch the last weekend of the regular season of SEC college football.  

It's rivalry weekend!!!  Can't believe it is the last week of the regular season. Lordy, it went by so fast!!!