Monday, June 8, 2015

My loading appointment was not until 1 pm local time but I went over a bit early.  On the way went over  the Red River on I-220 in Bossier City, LA.  Here is a picture I was able to snap off going past a submerged mobile home park.

Here is a view going over the bridge leading up to the Red River.

Below is an edited video of driving on I-220 east bound. At the very beginning of the video notice the crane off to the right.  It is half under water.

When I got to where I was to load I was told that the building that I was supposed to get left about two hours ago.  Once again, that "black cloud" is still there.  After a few phone calls and waiting a couple hours They decided that the other truck that had my building shouldn't have it so they called him and sent him back. I'm very glad I went over early!!!  

At 3 pm local time they said that he was still too far out to unload and reload today.  I dropped my trailer there and went to a small truck stop a couple miles away for the night.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Went over to the Port of Houston this morning and delivered the thing.  My next load is Monday up in Bossier City, Louisiana.  Drove to the Petro truck stop in Shreveport, LA for the weekend.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Left this morning at sunrise.  Nice day on the road,  Heard an air leak while checking the load but couldn't find it.  So when I got to Houston I went straight to the Daily yard to have it fixed.  It didn't take long to find it.  Just had to have the right person look for it.  On the inside of one of the trailer tires was a hole.  The trailer has automatic tire inflation system. It was putting air in the tire as fast as it was going out so the tire never went flat.

Stayed there for the night.  Have an unload appointment tomorrow morning at 8.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

This morning drove up to Concordia, Kansas and loaded a thing called a wind box. I have no idea what it is or what it is for.  It is going to Houston Texas to be put on a big boat to Chennai, India.

Left there and had a nice day on the road.  Went through Moore, Oklahoma and saw some of the damage from the latest tornado. Not as much (that I could see anyway) as the last one.  Stopped for the night at a small truck stop in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.

Sprint internet really SUCKS!!!!  I do not recommend it at all.  Still no Sprint internet.  No camera.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Wanted to get my truck and trailer washed yesterday when I got here but the line was way too long.  This morning I got up real early and went over and got it washed.  No line this time.  After that went to the service department and had the truck chassis greased and the oil and filter changed in my generator.  I changed the generator air filter and cleaned out the exhaust plug while I was waiting to get in the service bay. After that was done I drove to the Pilot truck stop in Salina, Kansas.  My next load is tomorrow morning in Concordia, KS.  That is a little less than an hour north of here.

Monday, June 1, 2015

It looked a little better this morning for getting unloaded.  At 11 am local time, (Mountain Daylight Time) they came and got us!!  Had to wait for a nacelle to get unloaded first. A nacelle weighs 112,000 pounds.  For more information on GE Wind Energy, click here.

After that was done I got unloaded.  I only needed one crane.  My hub weighs 59,000 pounds.  Finally empty!!!

Don't have another load lined up yet (because of the uncertainty of when I would get unloaded) so I went east to the TA truck stop in Oakley, Kansas.  

After dinner and a shower I came back to the truck to find this parked next to me.

For those of you that don't know, that is one of NOAA's mobile Doppler weather radar that the tornado chasers use.  They go to areas where they have strong indications of the potential for tornado activity.  Since I am in the heart of "tornado ally" I always expect to see these when I'm out here. Fortunately, there is nothing expected here tonight.  For more information on the NOAA truck, click here.

Sprint internet still sucks here so no camera.

I found this video.  It is excellent.  It is the construction of a wind energy turbine.  It is not a GE but the construction is the same.  CLICK HERE TO SEE.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

This morning was told that we have a "slim chance" of getting unloaded today. I dropped my trailer and went into town.  Got fuel, filled my water tank, showered, got some more groceries, and bought supplies to replace the light on my trailer that fell off.  When I got back I hooked back up to my trailer and fixed the trailer light.  Once again it is good as new. Now I'm settled in for the rest of the weekend.  Hope to get empty Monday. Sprint internet sucks here so the camera will not be working.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Went over to the job site this morning. Got in line at 7 am local time.  I was behind 3 blades and 2 tower sections.  Because of the rain last night they had to repair the dirt roads this morning before anything could go in.  At about noon local time they took the 3 blades back in.  At 4 local time the took the 2 tower sections back.  Then I was first in line.  This is what it looked like behind me.

At 6:30 local time they came and got us and took us back to the yard for the night. They were going to be working tomorrow but were not sure if we would get unloaded.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Easy day today.  Drove the rest of the way up to Burlington, Colorado.  Stopped at a truck stop there to spend the night.  Deliver in the morning.  Doing a time lapse video of the weather. Lots of thunderstorms around.  If it is any good I'll post it tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Left this morning at sunrise.  Had some bumper to bumper traffic going through Dallas.  About 40 miles south of Amarillo I ran into another pretty good storm.  Pea to nickle size hail, heavy rain, and a lot of wind.  Fortunately no glass broken but one of my new rear beacon lights broke off somewhere.  Oh well!!  Stopped for the night in Amarillo, TX.  Of course in Amarillo I had to park and eat at the "Big Texan".

They still have the limos to pick you up.

Here is my dinner tonight.

Delicious!!!!!!!!

Very windy here tonight.  Lots of storms around.  News is reporting that a tornado took out an oil drilling rig somewhere around here.  Could be an interesting night, but I doubt it.  Radar shows nothing headed this way.  They are all around here but not heading this way.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

This morning loaded a GE Wind Energy Hub that is going to Burlington, Colorado.

Left there and drove through a couple brief periods of very heavy rain.  Then it was mostly cloudy for the rest of the day.  Stopped for the night at the Petro Truck Stop in Shreveport, LA.  While waiting for my dinner to get to my table we had a hail storm.  It was a pretty good one too.  Hail was about the size of a quarter.  Took out a few windshields in the parking lot.

The only damage to my truck was a broken amber beacon lens on the trailer.  WHEW!!!!

Monday, May 25, 2015

Got a lot done while I was home.  But now it's time to get back on the road.  Took a nice easy drive over to the GE Wind Energy plant in Pensacola, FL.  I load another hub here in the morning.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

This morning improved the rear beacon lights on my trailer.  Went and bought all the supplies needed and then got to work.  I have been holding them down and in place on the trailer with bungee cords.  I have never been comfortable with that set up so today I did something about it.  Had our mechanic here weld a couple pieces to the trailer. The rest of what I did you can see in the photo below.  It looks a LOT better.

When I finished that I took the truck over to Kenworth so they could do a more thorough appraisal of the repairs needed to fix the damage from the latest incident.

My next load is Tuesday in Pensacola.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Left this morning and still had a lot of bumper to bumper traffic going around Atlanta.  But I finally made it through and it was "smooth sailing" from then on.  Drove to Unadillia, GA and delivered the Skid Steer.  Then drove over to Statesboro, GA and delivered the tractor and tires.  Then drove home to Jacksonville, FL.  Got rid of that trailer and got my trailer back!!!!!!  Drove 528 miles today and I'm exhausted!!!!!!!  Good night.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Another good day on the road.  A couple areas of bumper to bumper traffic from construction but nothing too bad.  I stopped early tonight at the TA truck stop in Cartersville, GA because I was hearing on the radio of about ten miles of bumper to bumper traffic ahead of me.  I decided that sitting in that much traffic was not on my "bucket list", so I stopped.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Went over to deliver the things a few miles from where I was parked.  They are building a power plant there.  The things I had were two small sections of one of the smoke stacks.  Anyway, they unloaded me fairly quick and I left for my next load.

Drove to Waterloo, IA and loaded a John Deere 8270 Tractor and a couple wheels.  They are going to Statesboro, GA.

From there drove over to Dubuque, IA and picked up a John Deere Skid Steer that is going to Unadilla, GA.

Left there and had a nice day on the road.  Drove 558 miles today.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

Saturday. May 16, 2015

Easy day.  Started just before sunrise this morning.  Drove to the Iowa 80 truck stop and got fuel, bought a couple things and took a shower.  Then drove to a very small truck stop (a convenience store with truck parking) in Marshalltown, Iowa.  I deliver a few blocks from here Monday morning.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Left Monteagle, TN just before sunrise this morning.  Very good day on the road.  Some bumper to bumper south of Nashville, TN.  Stopped for the night at the Daily yard in Mortin, Illinois after driving 560 miles.  Tomorrow will be an easy day.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Well... I was awoken at 5 am with a bang.  Yup, you guessed it!!  It happened again. The guy across from me was backing out of his parking place and backed right into my truck. This time the damage wasn't as bad.  Got the other headlight this time. Broke my new hood.  Unbelievable!!!!

After exchanging paperwork with the other driver I went in to Neeses, SC and loaded two sections of something.  Not really sure what they are for.  The are going to Marshalltown, Iowa.

I loaded with another Daily driver so we stayed together today on the road.  Stopped at the Wilco-Hess truck stop in Monteagle, TN. so he could get fuel. He noticed that a lug nut and bolt had sheered off on his left front wheel.  That is not a good thing.  Its a sign of bigger problems.  Fortunately there was an independent truck repair shop next door.  We went there and he ended up replacing a bunch of stuff, including the wheel.  Since the day was almost over we stayed there for the night.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Started off at 4 am this morning.  Was having a good day on the road.  Beat the Charlotte rush hour traffic.  South of Charlotte on I-77 I blew a trailer tire.  Stopped at a rest area and waited for road service to come and fix it.

Over three hours later, I was back on the road.  Went in to a huge steel mill in Huger, SC and delivered the thing.  Next load is tomorrow morning in Neese, SC.  Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Orangeburg, SC.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Drove the rest of the way in to Cranberry, PA and loaded a Trimac TML300 Excavator.  It is driven by remote control.

Left there and drove to the scales and found out that I was too heavy on the trailer axles so I had to untie it and move it forward.  Then tie it back down again.  Finally got it right and took off.  Was having a good day going up and down the Appalachian mountains until just before Virginia on I-77.  Looked in the mirror and saw that my trailer breaks were smoking a lot.  Pulled over an let them cool.  Fortunately they were not on fire.  Not really sure why they did that because I wasn't even using the breaks.  Stopped a bit early tonight to get them checked.  Stopped at the TA truck stop in Wytheville, VA and went straight to the shop.  

Monday, May 11, 2015

No live streaming video tonight.  No internet coverage from Sprint where I am.  Having to use Verizon for internet.  Left Carlisle this morning and drove over to the Pilot truck stop in Porterville, PA for the night.  I load tomorrow morning about 10 miles from here.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Nothing today.  BUT I do have another load.  It is Tuesday so I'll be here all weekend.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

After the crane arrived this morning they unloaded me.

Since I didn't have another load yet I drove down to the "Home Office" in Carlisle, PA to wait it out.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Left at 4 am this morning.  It rained most of the way.  Drove to the job site where I am delivering tomorrow. They had cleared off space for all the trucks coming in with the rest of this crane.  I got there at 10:30 this morning.  Much to my surprise, I was the first one there.  That means I'll probably be the last unloaded tomorrow.  We shall see.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

They were real fast unloading me this morning.  Then I left for my next load.  It was up in Harrison, Ohio.  Got there in pretty good time.  Here is where I loaded.  This is the lower part.  There is another section of this place. 

And this is what I loaded.

This stuff is going to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.  Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Lodi, Ohio for the night.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Went the rest of the way into Manchester, TN to load.  Arrived at 6 am local time.  It was not ready yet.  Sat there till 9:30 local time and found out that the crane broke.  They had to move the tank from one building to another that had a gantry crane that worked so they could lift it up high enough to put on my trailer. Finally got loaded.  Doesn't look it from the photos, but I am 14 feet 6 inches wide.  That's about a lane and a quarter wide.

Had two escort cars.  One in front is the white van on the left.  One in the back was the white van on the right. The middle one was for the other truck.  He is taking the other half of this tank.

Left there and had a pretty good day on the road.  No problems going around Nashville. Then when we got south of Louisville they had two of the three lanes blocked for construction.  It took an hour and a half to go eight miles.  Finally made it past that mess.  Had to stop for about an hour and wait for the Louisville curfew to get over.  At 6 pm we were back on the road.  Drove into the job site in Jeffersonville, Indiana.  Will be here for the night.  Unload here first thing in the morning.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

This morning finished "buttoning up" the RV and put it away.  Then went to the store and restockerd the big truck.  After that was all done and put away I swapped from my normal trailer to a 53 foot step deck trailer.  

Just before noon I left for Tennessee.  It didn't take long to get cut off. After I blasted him with the air horn, I got a nice little wave.  Dumb ass!!

 Atlanta was a pain.  Two lanes shut down for construction that created a lot of bumper to bumper traffic.  That was the only mess along the way.  Stopped for the rest of the weekend at the Wilco-Hess truck stop in Monteagle, Tennessee. 

Friday, May 1, 2015

FINALLY got my truck back from the body shop this afternoon.  It is all fixed and looking GREAT!!  New hood, a new bumper, some new chrome, and the paint matches.  I am so happy to have it back.

 Have two loads lined up already. Tomorrow I'll head toward the first one that loads Monday.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Left Atlanta at 11:30 Friday night to avoid all the traffic.  Drove home to Jacksonville, FL so I can get the truck fixed.  Got home at about 5:30 this morning.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Drove the rest of the way to Austell, Georgia and delivered the three skid steers.  Don't have another load yet so I went to the Petro truck stop in Atlanta to wait.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

First thing this morning went to Bossier City, LA and loaded a Caterpillar 279D skid steer.  Have 2 more stops to make.

Left there and drove down to Lafayette, LA and picked up another one.

Left there and headed for the third one.  On the way got stuck in traffic from the rubber neckers looking at a bad crash on the other side of I-10 on the Basin Bridge in Louisiana at the 121 mile marker.  Three semi trucks (one was a double) and a pick up truck.  Fatality involved.  They closed the west bound side of I-10 all the way back in Port Allen, LA at exit 151.  Glad I was going the other way.

If you look real close you will see that the entire front of the blue semi from the windshield forward is gone.

Took forever to get past that.  Then I got to New Orleans right at rush hour.  Lots more bumper to bumper traffic.

Finally made it to Belle Chasse for my last one.

Aren't they pretty?  All my little ducks in a row.  They are all going to the same place in Austell, GA.

Then I left there and got back into a lot more bumper to bumper traffic getting out of New Orleans.

Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Slidel, LA.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Finally got another load.  It is up in Bossier City, LA.  Drove up there to the Petro truck stop in Shreveport, LA for the night.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Nothin'.