Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Last night had a small leak in another coolant line.  It was right at the clamp on the smaller hose in the photo below.

The hose had a small cut in it at the clamp.  Crawled under there and repositioned the clamp to seal it off temporally.  In the process dumped some antifreeze out and got it all over my jacket.  But at least the problem was solved, for now. 

This morning drove to Houston and delivered the crane stuff.  After that went to Peterbilt and bought the parts to repair the hose and also got another hose to change out at the same time.

Then went over to the Daily yard in Houston and dropped off the step deck trailer and picked up my new trailer.  I like it very much!  Nice trailer.  A lot better than the other one.

Then went to the TA truck stop in Baytown, TX and had the coolant hoses fixed.  Stayed there for the night.  Washed my jacket, ate dinner, and took a long hot shower!!  Still don't have a load yet.  Hope I get one tomorrow!!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Nothing very exciting today.  Got on the road this morning and drove down to Egan, LA to the Petro truck stop for the night.  Will deliver tomorrow in Houston.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Got on the road as soon as the sun came up.  Started off in a bit of fog but it cleared up pretty quick. Here are some photos of what this crane looks like all put together.  I got them from the Internet.

Its a biggie!!  Now here are some photos of the parts I have. Just what I have weighs over 40,000 pounds. Can you imagine how much the whole thing weighs? 

Drove down to Gadsden, Alabama to the Petro truck stop for the night.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Well this day didn't go like I had hoped!!  Left the truck stop this morning and drove to McLean, VA for my load.  I arrived at 6:30 and was the 4th truck in line.  Found out that there were a total of 10 trucks for this crane.  The construction guys came to work at 7am.  I sat there until a little after 1pm before I started to get loaded.  Oh yes, the wood I had to bring was not even used!!  They took it off my truck and piled it off to the side.  Of the 10 trucks to be loaded, I was the 7th.  Here is a photo of the crane and the piece (still attached) that was loaded on my truck.

It is the visible section of boom attached to the crane.  It weighs over 23,000 pounds.  I also got a counter weight.   It weighs 20,000 pounds.   Finally got loaded and out of there at 2:45.  Since this is an oversize load I could only drive until sundown.  Didn't get too far.  Stopped at a truck stop in Harrisonburg, VA on I-81.  Walked across the street and splurged for a hotel room.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Picked up the lumber this afternoon and drove to the TA truck stop in Jessup, MD for the night.  There are 6 trucks loading parts of this crane tomorrow morning.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Delivered the wheel loader at the port this morning.  Those things are really fun to drive!! My next load picks up on Saturday morning over near Dulles Airport.  Picking up some crane parts going to Houston. Tomorrow I'll be picking up some wood to take over to the job site.  They use the wood to set the pieces on when they load the trailers.  I'll take that with me when I go.  They have to disassemble the crane for transport. Hope to have some interesting photos for you.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Got on the road at 3:30 am again.  Went to Clayton, NC and got there at 7 am.  had to wait for office staff to start work at 7:30.  Then found out that I didn't have the serial number for the equipment that I was picking up.  Had every other number but that one.  At 8:30 I finally got the serial number.  Went back in and then they told me that they don't have the release paperwork for that machine yet.  I had to wait for them to get it.  Just great!!  At 10 They finally got the paperwork straightened out and I got loaded with a Caterpillar 924H Wheel Loader. 

I was hoping to deliver it today but because of all their snafus I'll have to deliver it in the morning.  It is going to Dundalk, MD.  It is being shipped to Mombasa.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Baltimore, MD for the night.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Left Baltimore at 3:30 this morning and drove to Parkersberg, WV and delivered the little excavator and dozer.  Next load is in Clayton, NC.  Drove down to Mt. Airy, NC to the "Mayberry" area truck stop for the night.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Left Flatwoods, WV first thing this morning and drove to Belle, WV and delivered the excavator.  Then drove back to Baltimore for my next load.  Picked up a small excavator and a buldozer.  They are going to Parkersburg, WV. 

Then drove over to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for the night.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Left Baltimore as soon as the sun came up. Had to get out of Maryland before noon - can't drive past noon Saturdays in Maryland. Stupid!! regulations!! Drove down to Flatwoods, West Virginia to a small truck stop for the rest of the weekend.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Left Bracey, VA as soon as the sun came up this morning and drove to Dondalk, MD and delivered the John Deere.  At the same time reloaded another Caterpillar 319 Excavator.  It is going back to Belle, WV.

After I got loaded drove over to the TA truck stop in Baltimore, MD for the night.  My brother came down and we had dinner together.  Was good to see him again!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Drove down to Belle, WV this morning and delivered the Caterpillar excavator.  After that drove down to Kernersville, NC.  On the way went through the "Mayberry" area of North Carolina again.  This time it was not foggy.  Went through Mount Pilot (which is actually Pilot Mountain) again.  Took some photos for you.  Here is the real Pilot Mountain:

 When I got to Kernerrsville, NC I loaded a John Deere 250 excavator.  It is going to Dundalk, MD

Got back on the road and drove until I ran out of daylight.  Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Bracey, Virginia.



Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Left Jessup this morning after curfew and drove in to Dundalk, MD and delivered the John Deere excavator.  At the same time loaded my next load, a Caterpillar 319 DL excavator going to Belle, WV.

It took forever to get out of the port.  I went to check out and they had just gone to lunch.  They take an hour and a half for lunch!!  I sat there waiting for them to get back.  Unions!!!!   Finally got on the road.  Drove to Jane Lew, West Virginia to a truck stop there for the night.  Deliver in Belle, WV tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Left the truck stop in Mount Airy, NC early this morning in the heavy fog.  That is the Andy Griffith "Mayberry" area of North Carolina.  Drove through Mount Pilot (which is really Pilot Mountain) on the way to Kernersville.  Got loaded pretty quick this morning with another excavator.  This time it was a John Deere and it was bigger and heavier than the others I have had.  Not only was I over width but I was overweight too.  Fortunately I am with a great company and they had me "permitted" for everything.  Had no problems at any of the weigh stations. 

Drove to Jessup, Maryland to the TA truck stop for the night.  Made it all the way around Washington D. C. with NO bumper to bumper traffic!!  Amazing!!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Didn't get the ice storm.  I was able to get out of there and drove down to Belle, WV and deliver.  After that drive down to Mount Airy, NC to a truck stop for the night.  My next load is in Kernersville, NC tomorrow morning.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

So far nothing has come from the sky today.  It is very overcast, cold and some fog.  The trees have a coat of ice on them. The parking lot is still very icy.  

The locals here tell me that it is supposed to rain/ice tomorrow morning.  I sure hope they are wrong.  May not even get out of here tomorrow. 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Not much snow fell last night.  It rained a bit and it is all ice here.  Right now it is a misty rain/snow mix.  Everything around me is solid ice. 

The "Snow Emergency Plan" is in effect.  That means that my oversize permit is not valid until the S.E.P. is lifted so I can't move.  With a valid permit I could only drive until noon today and no driving permitted on Sunday.  I will be here until Monday morning.  Internet connection here is real slow!  I get 3 over the air TV channels so I won't see any football.  Thankfully I have satellite TV!!!

The snow plow came by at about noon.  It took him over three hours to plow the parking lot.

After that it got real foggy!  Could barely see the other end of the parking lot.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Checked out of the hotel this morning and went back to Peterbilt.  After fixing the coolant hose, and during the test drive, he found an oil line that goes to the air compressor was leaking.  He fixed that too.  $733 later I was back on the road.  Left there at 1:30 in the afternoon.  Drove as far as I could today, which wasn't very far. Along I-68 in western Maryland the DOT was pre-treating the roads, never a good sign.

I stopped for the night, because I ran out of day light (can't drive oversize after sunset), in Grantsville, Maryland.  I-68, exit 22. There is about an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground here. 

Forecast is for more tonight.  It is snowing flurries as I type this.  Here is the view out the front of my truck tonight.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Went into the Port of Baltimore and loaded a Caterpillar excavator.  Oversize load.  Got on the road and made it as far as I-70 west of Baltimore when I saw white clouds from the back side of my truck.  I quickly pulled over as the temperature gauge started to go up.  When I opened the hood a huge cloud of steam came out and I could see the liquid on the ground under the truck.  Yup, you guessed it!!  I blew a coolant hose.  A road service guy came out and found which hose it was (cus' I didn't know).  It was a coolant line that is behind the turbocharger.  He had the hose with him but, because of it's location, he could not change it on the side of the road.  Much bigger job than originally thought.  Called a tow truck and was towed back to Baltimore to the Peterbilt shop.  So far I have spent $975 and have not even started to fix the hose.  That comes tomorrow.  Hope it is fixed tomorrow!!  Tonight I'm in a Best Western hotel spending more money!!  Hope tomorrow is better and I can get back on the road again.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Left Salisbury, NC real early this morning and drove up to Ashland, VA (just north of Richmond) and dropped off a generator.  Then drove down to Chesapeake, VA and delivered the rest of the stuff.  As I drove in toward Chesapeake I saw that there were two aircraft carriers in port and two of those new stealth destroyers(?) in port also.  On the way in I was too far away to get any good photos for you so on the way out I took the long way around and got a little closer.  These are the best I could do.

Here is how it looked:

Now with a bit of editing you can see them a bit better.  You can see the two carriers. In front of the carrier on the left you can see the top of the stealth ship.

After that I drove up to Baltimore for the night.  My next load is at the Port of Baltimore going to West Virginia.  Drove 633 miles today and made two deliveries.  Not too shabby!!!!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The crane arrived early this morning, which was a good thing.  I was ready and waiting for it when it got there.  Unloaded the vaporizer and left for South Carolina.  Got to Newberry to  a place that was only open a few days so they didn't have their "routine" down yet.  Was a bit disorganized.  I gave the guy in charge of the shipping area a few "pointers" on how do organize things a bit.  He was most grateful.  Finally got loaded with three Caterpillar Generators going to Virginia.

Then it was off for stop number two in Simpsonville, SC to pick up the second half of the load.  Picked up two Caterpillar Marine Engines and two boxes of parts for them.  They are also going to Virginia.  First stop in Ashland and the second in Chesapeake, VA.

Those plastic bags won't last long.

Finally got out of there and on the road.  Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Salisbury, North Carolina.  I-85, exit 71.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Looked on Google maps satellite view at where I'm going to deliver Tuesday.  They have a huge parking lot out front with no fence or gates.  There are no truck stops in Athens on the route I have to take.  I decided to go there today and park in their parking lot out front so I can deliver first thing in the morning.  After that head to Newberry, South Carolina for my next load.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

This morning went across the parking lot to the shop and had routine maintenance done on the truck.  Oil changed, oil filters, fuel filter, water filter, air filter, and chassis grease.  Was way over due on that.  Glad its done.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Drove to the Petro truck stop in Atlanta this morning.  Will be here until 9 am Tuesday morning.  Deliver in Athens Tuesday.  I hate holiday weekends!!  At least there is football today and tomorrow.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Left Bald Knob as soon as the sun came up.  Stopped at a Wal-Mart and bought a new printer, so I'm back in business again.  Other than that nothing else exciting today.  Drove to Lincoln, Alabama on I-20 to a truck stop for the night. 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

It sure did get colder and windy last night.  Got more than a dusting and less than an inch of snow last night too.

It is still real windy.  Went over and picked up my next load. It is a vaporizer.  Have no idea what it is for. 

It is going to Athens, Georgia for a Tuesday delivery.  Drove to a truck stop in Bald Knob, Arkansas - yes, that really is the name of the town.  AND my printer finally quit working tonight!!  It lasted 3 years bouncing around in this truck.  Not bad but really lousy timing.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Went over to Thermo King and had my APU serviced this morning.  It was WAY overdue.  The fuel filter was starting to clog up making it run bad.  Works great now!!  Then back to the truck stop for the rest of the day.  All my permits are here already so I'll be good to go in the morning.  Loading appointment is at 9 am local time.  The weather here today is great!  Sunny and clear.  Supposed to get real cold and windy later on.  They are forecasting a light dusting of snow tonight as the cold front moves through.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Good news and bad. 
Good news:  Finally got a load. 
Bad news:  Doesn't load until Thursday!!
Loads in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 
Drove up to Tulsa today to spend some time at a truck stop in Tulsa.  Livin' on Tulsa time!!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Went in to Irving and delivered the engines first thing this morning. After that drove to the TA truck stop in Rockwall, Texas and replaced my right front tire. Still no loads available so I went to the TA truck stop in Terrell, TX and stayed there for the night. Didn't like the other TA.  No food there.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Very easy day today.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Dallas, Texas this morning.  Was there, refueled, and parked before 10 am (9 am local time).  Will be here until Monday morning.  Deliver in Irving, TX first thing.  Don't have a load out of here yet so I may be right back here after I deliver Monday.  Until then its a football weekend!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Left the TA in Jackson this morning and drove a few miles over to Griffin, GA to pick up four Caterpillar engines and four boxes of parts. 

They are going to Irving, Texas.  Got on the road and drove to the Petro truck stop in Shreveport, LA for the night.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Delivered the first tractor in Manning, SC as soon as they opened this morning.  Then up to Boiling Springs, NC and delivered the other one.  Loads are still not plentiful yet.  Next one is in Griffin, GA.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Jackson, GA for the night.  Made it through Atlanta with hardly any bumper to bumper traffic again!!  Amazing!!  And on a weekday too!!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Having time off and spending it with the people that mean the most is a great thing!!  But now it is back to reality!!  Swapped out trailers today.  Picked up a 48 foot expandable flat bed trailer.  Expanded it to 53 feet long - notice the gap in the middle of the trailer.  Needed it for my next load.  Went down to Alachua, FL and loaded a well drilling machine mast. It is going to Blount Island, FL.

After loading I took off and drove up to Blount Island, FL and delivered the mast.  Then went back to the yard and dropped off the flat bed trailer and picked up the step deck trailer that I have been using.  Left there and drove up to Brunswick, GA to the port and loaded two John Deere tractors.  Yes, I got to drive those too. 

 I loaded them on the trailer, chained them down and left. Drove up to Manning, SC to the TA truck stop for the night. I drop off one tractor about 3 miles from here in the morning. The other one goes up to Boiling Springs, NC.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Had a fantastic Christmas with family and friends. 

While I have been off had some work done to the truck.  New rear brake pads and a new brake drum. Also had RGN ramps put on.  RGN ramps are for the rollers on a RGN (removable goose neck) trailer to attach the trailer to the truck by rolling up the ramps to the fifth wheel. Still don't have a load yet but don't want one until January.