Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Got started this morning at sunrise and drove to the TA truck stop in Eloy, Arizona where we stopped for lunch and to top off with fuel.  After I got fuel I saw two other Daily trucks with loads going where I am going.  They were waving me over to them.  They were waiting for a curfew in California to get over, one that I had overlooked somehow.  Glad I stopped when I did.  So I waited there with them until it was time to go again.

At about 2 pm local time we left again.  Passed what was left of a semi truck vs. bus crash.  We heard about it when we were waiting at the truck stop.  They had it almost cleaned up.

Drove down to a truck parking area on I-8 because we were still too early to go through Yuma, Arizona.  Once that curfew was over at 6 pm we left again. Made it through Yuma and  into California.  Here are some pictures of the Imperial Dunes State Park. It is a desert.

Continued along I-8 in southern California.  It parallels the USA / Mexico border so close that you can throw a rock and hit the fence.

 

Finally ran out of hours and had to stop for the night at a truck stop in El Centro, California.  I tuned in the local TV stations on my TV and all of the 15 that I got were in Spanish.  Not one in English.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Left this morning before sunrise.  Drove through Texas and finally got to New Mexico. Drove along the USA / Mexico border for quite a while.  Then finally up to I-10.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Deming, New Mexico.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

It is HOT here!!!   103 F (39.44 C)   Here is the goofy route the state of Texas has us going tomorrow. Actually starting from Sweetwater.  That is another 40 miles (64.37 Km) east of Colorado City.  Remember, you can click on any picture to get a better look.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Got started right at sunrise this morning. When we got to Texarkana, Texas our front escort dropped off.  Don't need one in Texas.  Would have been nice to have though. Texas routed us all over the place.  Stopped for the rest of the weekend at the TA truck stop in Sweetwater, Texas.  Still have a long way to go in Texas.  They routed us all over the place.  We don't even get on I-10 at all.  All back roads.  Oh well, we will deal with that Monday.  Now it's time to do chores and rest.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Left Glendale, Kentucky this morning and had another good day on the road.  Stopped at the Petro truck stop in West Memphis, Arkansas for lunch and get my CB fixed.  A wire broke in my mic so I couldn't talk to my escorts.  Not a good thing.  Also had the radio tuned up.  Now it is better than it was when it was new out of the box. From there we drove to the Petro truck stop in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  Had to stop because of the curfew in Little Rock .

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Left at 8 this morning.  Could not go through Charleston, WV before 9 am.  After we got through there had to stop at the TA truck stop in Hurricane, WV and wait for my Kentucky permit.  An hour and a half later it arrived and we were back on the road again.  Once in Kentucky the State took us way off the interstate almost back up to Ohio then back down to Lexington.  It took forever to get through there.  It was mostly a 2 lane road with a wide shoulder most of the way.  The last part was 2 lanes with no shoulder and a drop off on either side.  Also had low hanging trees on both sides of the road.  So I had to keep from falling off the side of the road, keep from hitting oncoming traffic AND keep from hitting the trees.  Made for a fun drive.  Just beat the Lexington curfew.  

Shortly after we got on the Blue Grass Parkway we came upon what looked like a head on crash with a fatality. Fortunately it was on the other side.  

Looks like the minivan next to the ambulance was hit head on by the car in the median.  The fatality was (obviously) in the car in the median.

Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Glendale, Kentucky.

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

First thing this morning went over and loaded a Pritchard-Brown Exhaust SCR (basically it is a huge catalytic converter for a huge generator) that is going out to Irvine, California.  It is 15 feet wide.

Left there in real good time this morning.  My two escorts arrived just as I was finishing up.

Here is my front escort.  She will be with me until Texarkana, Texas.

And here is the guy bringing up the rear.  He will be with me all the way to delivery.

Left there and had a very good day on the road.  Stopped for the night at the truck stop in Jane Lew, West Virginia.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Delivered the genset first thing this morning.  My next load is tomorrow in Baltimore, MD.  Drove up there and much to my surprise did not have a bit of bumper to bumper traffic going around Washington DC or Baltimore.  Hope that is a good sign!!  Went to the Daily yard in Baltimore and dropped off my trailer and picked up a 53 foot stretch flat bed.  Then went to the TA truck stop in Baltimore, MD for the night.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Went the rest of the way into Newberry, SC and loaded a Caterpillar XQ375 Genset that is going up to Ashland, VA.

Drove to the TA truck stop in Ashland, VA for the night.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

My next load is Monday morning in Newberry, SC. This morning I drove over to the Wilco Hess truck stop in Prosperity, SC.  Stopped at Wal-Mart on the way to pick up a few things.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Left at sunrise this morning.  Drove 542 miles through the ups and downs in the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  Delivered the dozer in Batesburg, SC.  Then to a small truck stop in Gilbert, SC for dinner and sleep.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Checked out of the hotel again and went back over to Cummins in St. Louis, Missouri this morning.  The part arrived!!!!  He installed it in 15 minutes.  Took longer to do the paperwork.  The generator works great!  Then went back to the TA truck stop, picked up my trailer and hit the road.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Oak Grove, Kentucky.  I'm about an hour from Nashville.  

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Checked out of the hotel and went over to Saint Louis, Missouri to the Cummins-Onan shop.  Was there at 6 am local time. When they opened they took my truck in right away.  A short time later he had found the problem.  The stater was bad.  He had one in stock.  Said it wouldn't take too long to fix.  Great!!!

BUT this is me we are talking about.  Nothing ever goes that smooth.  A short time later he came back and said that the part he had in stock was defective and did not work.  He did not have another one.  The closest one was in Memphis and that he could have it sent overnight.  I told him to do it.  He put my truck back together and I went back to the hotel and checked back in.

Overnight shipments don't arrive at the shop until about 10:30 or 11 in the morning so I'll be there when it arrives.  

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Left Council Bluffs, Iowa at midnight local time and drove to Morton, Illinois and loaded a Caterpillar D7R Dozer that is going to a military base in Batesburg, South Carolina.  I'm about 111,000 pounds (50348 Kg).

Left Morton and drove to the TA truck stop in Troy, Illinois for the night.  Drove a total of 586 miles (943 Km)  today Went inside to eat and shower while the inside of the truck cooled down.  When I came back to the truck after showering found that the generator had stopped working. Usually the fuel filter needs changing when that happens so I changed the fuel filter.  Damn thing would not start no matter what I did to it. Just great!!!  Now I need another shower. SO to make a long story short, I'm at the Red Roof Inn across the interstate from the truck stop.  I left my trailer at the TA.  Can you see it??

No?  Well let me zoom in a little bit for you.

Of course when I went up to the top floor of the hotel and tried to get in my room, the key didn't work.  Par for the course!!  Got that fixed and got in and settled in for the night.  It is a nice room for the price!   I have an appointment at the Cummins-Onan shop in St. Louis, MO first thing in the morning. I ordered a pizza.  After I eat and take another shower I'm going to bed.  I am really pooped!!  Tomorrow I get to spend a lot more money!!!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Went back over to Omaha to the job site this morning.  Picked up my trailer and then got unloaded.  Was back at the truck stop and in bed again waiting to find out what my next load will be before 7 am.

Late this afternoon I got my next load.  It is tomorrow back in Morton, Illinois.  I'll leave early tomorrow morning.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

About 2 am a thunderstorm passed by just to the south of me but the outflow winds came through the area I was in.  Wow!!  That wind really had my truck rockin' !!!!  Local TV news said those winds were up to 70 mph (112 kph) and I believe it!!  It was really cool to watch.

This morning went into the job site in Omaha and dropped the trailer.  Did that to be ahead of the Omaha curfew. Otherwise I'd have to wait until after nine am Monday to go in to unload.  When that was done I drove across the river to the Sapp Brothers truck stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa for the rest of the weekend.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Was at the place to load first thing this morning.  Backed inside the building and waited for them to load the thing.  They loaded a section of an air conditioner that is going up to Omaha, Nebraska.

Left there in fairly good time.  Drove up to the Sapp Brothers Truck Stop in Omaha, Nebraska for the night.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Loads are pretty scarce in this neck of the woods.  My next load is, as I expected, down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and it loads Friday.  I drove down there stopping at Wal-Mart on the way to restock a few things.  Then stopped for the night at the Daily yard in OKC. 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

I still didn't have another load yet so I made good use of my time off.  Got the truck and APU serviced.  Now I'm ready to go again.  Just need a place to go.

Here is the weather this evening,

Then after the rain, the sunset.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Didn't expect to get called in to unload today but that's exactly what happened at about noon local time.  Drove down to Calhan, Colorado where I was taken back to the job site.  I followed a tower section and another hub.  There were three more hubs behind me as we went in.    Here is the location of where my hub will live.  If you are really good you can plot it using the lat and long numbers on the photo. Elevation here is 6,845 feet.

Here is a video of them unloading a tower section.

Here is what the inside of the tower section that is in the above video.  That is the top section.

Here is the inside of the bottom tower section.

Here is the concrete base the whole thing sits on.

Here is the part that you don't see, the underground wiring.

Well, they unloaded tower sections first.  Then they unloaded the hubs. After i got empty I drove back to the TA truck stop in Limon, CO for the night.  Got back there at 7:50 pm Local time.  Sprint sucks here so there is no dash cam, sorry.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Left just before sunrise this morning.  Passed a truck not having a good day.

Stopped at the TA truck stop in Limon, Colorado.  Not scheduled to unload until Tuesday.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Left Denton, Texas half hour before sunrise this morning.  Another great day on the road!! Stopped at The Big Texan in Amarillo, Texas for lunch.  It was delicious as usual.  There was a guy up there doing the "72 Ounce Challenge".

After that got back on the road again but with a full belly had to stop about an hour later for a quick 15 minute nap.  Then I continued on to a truck stop in Springfield, Colorado for the night.  I can drive on Sunday in Colorado so I'll finish the trip tomorrow morning.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Left at sunrise this morning.  Good day on the road.  Texas routed me through Dallas instead of around it.  It took over two and a half hours to get through there.  City streets filled with traffic lights and lots of traffic.  Of course I got 3/4's of them red, and some of them I even got red twice!!  The last 1/3 of Dallas was the worst.  Bumper to bumper traffic on I-35E through a lot of construction.  Lanes narrowed.  Try doing that with a load wider than the lanes without taking off anyone's mirrors - or worse.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Denton, Texas.   I'm exhausted again.  Didn't even go in.  Showered in the truck and cooked dinner. Too pooped to walk in there. Going to sleep early tonight.  

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Got lucky!!  Called in to load first thing this morning.  I was the first one in of four.  Of course he couldn't find my paperwork so everyone else got loaded first.  He finally found it and loaded a GE Wind Energy Hub on my trailer.  It is going to Calhan, Colorado.

It was so hot!!!  Took forever to tie the thing down!  Left there and drove to the Petro truck stop in Jackson, Mississippi for the night.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

It is good to be back on the road again. Drove over to Pensacola, Florida today.  I'm supposed to load Friday but I came over early hoping that they would load me early.  So we will see.  Getting a wind energy hub that is going to Colorado.

Friday, July 10, 2015

It has been a while since I had anything to post here.  Had a great week off!!  While I was off, the truck was at the body shop getting repaired from the second "mishap".  In case you forgot, almost two months ago a guy backed into my truck busting out a headlight and broke my brand new hood. Here are a couple pictures to refresh your memory.

I picked it up today.  They did a beautiful job.  Can't even tell that anything was broken.

Then the fun part!  Putting all my stuff back in it.  I had 3 full bags of laundry!!  After that cleaning up the inside.  Looked like a bomb went off in there.  I got started on that.  Still not finished.  Dash cam won't be back up until probably Monday.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Went to Forest Park, GA first thing this morning and delivered the excavator.  After that drove home.  Will be here for about a week.  

Monday, June 29, 2015

Left this morning at sunrise.  Had to stop for two hours to wait for the Lexington, KY curfew to get over at 9 am.  After that continued on down to the Petro truck stop in Atlanta, Georgia for the night.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Went over to the Caterpillar dealer in Columbus, Ohio first thing this morning and dropped off the excavator.  Then went up to New Philadelphia, Ohio and loaded a Gradall XL3100 Excavator that is going to Forest Park, Georgia.

Left there and drove down to the TA truck stop in Walton, Kentucky for the rest of the weekend.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Left the TA in Baltimore this morning at 9 am. Good day on the road.  BUT at about 4:15 this afternoon I still did not have my Michigan permit. I called to find out where it is.  By 5 pm it still was not here.  The problem with that is that I have another load that HAS to be picked up tomorrow.  Without a Michigan permit I can't go into Michigan to deliver this load until it comes in Monday sometime.  Created quite a pickle!!  So they made arrangements for me to drop this machine off at the Caterpillar dealer in Columbus, Ohio.  Someone else will come get it and take it the rest of the way to Michigan next week.  That way I can still pick up the next load on time tomorrow.  I stopped for the night at the west bound rest area on I-70 in Hebron, Ohio.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

This morning went back to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland and loaded a Caterpillar 323 Excavator that is going to Brownstown, Michigan.

Went back to the TA in Baltimore to scale and wait for my Maryland Permit.  

Maryland is running about a day behind on their permits and it did not come in before the Baltimore curfew started.  I'm here until, at the earliest, 9 am tomorrow morning provided it comes in before 9 am.

Severe thunderstorms predicted for tonight.  Might be an interesting evening.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Short day today.  Left Morgantown, WV this morning at sunrise and drove in to the Port of Baltimore and delivered the skidder.  Don't have another load yet so I went to the TA truck stop in Baltimore took a shower, and had lunch.  I didn't sleep very well last night so I am really tired today.  Glad it was a short day. Going to take a much needed nap.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Left Bloomington, Illinois half hour before sunrise this morning.  Good day on the road.  No problems.  After driving 571 miles I stopped for the night at the West Virginia Welcome Center on I-79 in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Finally got another load. It was over in Davenport, Iowa.  Drove over there and loaded a John Deere 648L Skidder.  It is going to the Port of Baltimore.

Had to wait a while for my Iowa permit.  When it came in I left.  Passed a little crash in Illinois.

Here is the lock and dam in the Illinois river.  It is really underwater now!

Stopped for the night back at the TA truck stop where I started from this morning in Bloomington, Illinois.

Friday, June 19, 2015

This morning I still didn't have another load but I wasn't staying at that Pilot truck stop any longer.  If you didn't know already, I hate Pilot truck stops!! So I left and drove to the TA truck stop in Bloomington, Illinois.  That gets me closer to potential loads.  By the end of the day I still didn't have anything worth a flip so I'm here for the weekend.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Left just before sunrise this morning and drove in to Indianapolis and delivered the excavator. Went from there over to the Pilot truck stop just east of Indy to have lunch and wait for my next load.  They had a possible load in Indy.  When that fell through I just stayed there for the night.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Went to the Port of Baltimore first thing this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 323 Excavator. It is going to Indianapolis, Indiana.  Not as heavy as I thought it would be.  I'm only 102,000 pounds.

Left there and drove the ups and downs of I-70 and I-68 in Maryland and West Virginia.  That always takes forever!!  Started raining in western Maryland and continued pretty much for the rest of the day.  Stopped for the night at the north bound rest area on I-77 at mile marker 39 in Ohio.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Went back to the tire shop this morning and got my two front tires.  Truck rides and drives a whole lot better!!  Then went back to the Daily yard to get my trailer.  When I hooked back up to it and was checking it out I found another flat tire!!!!!  So I unhooked and waited for it to get fixed.  Took all day for them to change two tires.  At 4 pm I finally left there to go to Baltimore.  I load at the port in the morning.  Because it took so long to get out of Carlisle there were no parking places left at the only truck stop in Baltimore, the TA.  So I left there and drove about 25 miles north to the Maryland House Rest Area on I-95. I'll be there for the night.

The guy was here first thing this morning and did my three axle alignment.  It was definitely out of wack.  But I already knew that, I could feel it.  After that I went to the tire shop.  He did not have my tires in stock so he ordered them.  Will be here in the morning.  Went back to the Daily yard for the rest of the day.