Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Left as soon as my 10 hours was up this morning.  On the way, stopped and got the truck washed to get the crap from the mine washed off.  After that stopped at Shipley's Donuts and picked up some hot, fresh donuts.  Got to the Port of Galveston a little early.  When they opened I went in and checked in.  They said that someone would bring my machine out.  I waited 45 minutes and finally someone brought it out, said they misplaced my paperwork.  I drove it across the lot and put it on the trailer.  It was just a little off center so I asked the fork lift guy to push the trailer over a little.  He did but in the process broke an air line.  

This happened at about 10:30.  Called for road service to come out.  At 12:20 I got a text that said they would be there in 2 hours.  He arrived at 5:15.  By then the Port was closed and I was out of hours.

He fixed the air line and everything worked again.  

While waiting for the service truck to arrive, I found this in my tire.

Fortunately it was only into the tread.   No leaks.

Anyway, I dropped my trailer there and left.  Stopped by KFC and picked up some dinner.  Parked for the night in a dirt parking lot just down the road from the Port.  Will go back in the morning and finish loading the machine.  Glad today is over!!!  Hope tomorrow is better.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Much to my surprise, they were able to get the two cranes over there today.  I went back and got unloaded.  Since I lost the other load I was supposed to have loaded after this one, I went back to the hotel.  After a little while, they found me another load.  It is tomorrow over in Galveston, Texas.  I loaded back up and checked out of the hotel.  Drove down to a truck stop with a Texas BBQ restaurant in Huntsville for the night.  Didn't sleep very much last night and not at all today so I'm a bit tired.  Going to bed very early.  Will get an early start tomorrow to try to beat the Houston rush hour traffic.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

The hotel I was in was not the best so this morning I changed hotels to a much better one.  Now it's time to settle in for a weekend of football!!

Friday, September 8, 2017

We left this morning at sunrise.  At the Arkansas / Texas state line in Texarkana my escort dropped off.  I didn't need him in Texas.  I continued on to a lime query in Cleburne, TX.  They were not ready for the machine to arrive.  There was no crane there.  After a few phone calls and a lot of waiting, they said that they would not be able to unload me until Tuesday.  So the load that I was supposed to load tomorrow won't happen.  I dropped my trailer there and drove into the city of Cleburne and got a hotel room.  Will be here until at least Monday, but most likely Tuesday.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Timed it perfectly this morning and arrived at the Missouri / Illinois line right at 9 am when the St. Louis curfew ended.  My escort was there waiting for me and off we went.  Had a very good day on the road.  Stopped at the Petro truck stop in North Little Rock, Arkansas to wait for the Little Rock curfew to end at 6 pm.  Then continued on to a truck stop in Glen Rose, Arkansas for the night.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Went to the Caterpillar plant in Montgomery, Illinois first thing this morning.  My load was not going to be ready until 9 am, so I waited.  At 10 am I backed inside the building and loaded a Caterpillar 990 Wheel loader that is going to Cleburne, Texas. 

This is the third largest wheel loader that they build at this plant.  There are two other trucks waiting to get loaded with the rest of this machine's parts.  Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Troy, Illinois for the night.  Will meet my escort car tomorrow morning at the Illinois / Missouri state line at 9 am when the St. Louis curfew is over.

Saturday, September 3, 2017

The day I have been waiting for since last January is finally here!!!!

Unfortunately it didn't start off the way I would have liked.

Michigan vs Florida

Saturday, September 2, 3:30 PM

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Michigan Wolverines (1-0)

 

33 - 17

Final

Florida Gators (0-1)

	1	2	3	4		Total
Michigan	10	3	13	7		33
Florida	3	14	0	0		17

Friday, September 1, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  My escort was 45 minutes late so I had to wait at the State line for him.  When he got there we left.  Not too long after we got into Indiana we drove into post tropical cyclone Harvey.  He was still dropping a lot of rain.  Drove the rest of the way in to Louisville, Kentucky.  Had to back inside a building when I got there. 

But it was not a simple straight in shot.  Had to go around a guard rail and a tank.  Did that being 12 feet, 9 inches wide.  That makes the mirrors not very useful since all there is to see is machine.  This is the view after I got inside.

It took about four hours to get the wheels on it and then off my trailer.  Glad we didn't have to do that in the rain!!  Finally got out of there.  My next load is back in Montgomery, Illinois at the same place I got my last load from. Was supposed to load Tuesday but it got pushed back a day until Wednesday.  So I will have an extra long holiday weekend.  I decided not to drive much more today in Harvey's rain since I was in no hurry to get anywhere.  I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Seymour, Indiana.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Went back to Montgomery to Caterpillar this morning.  Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long before they brought my machine back from getting repaired.  Loaded a Caterpillar 826F Compactor that is going to Louisville, Kentucky.  It's wheels and blade have been shipped separately.  The wheels on the machine are only temporary wheels that are used only to move the machine around the plant and property.  They are removed for transport.

Here is what it looks like ready to go.

By the end of next year this plant will be closed.  Caterpillar is moving most of it to Little Rock, Arkansas.  I'm guessing that the oppressive Illinois taxes finally got to be too much for them.

Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois for the night.  Tomorrow I'll meet my escort at the Illinois / Indiana State line.  He will be with me to delivery in Louisville.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Went up to Montgomery, IL first thing this morning to load a Caterpillar 326K Compactor.  As It was being put on the trailer I saw a hydraulic fluid leak.  A big one.  Took it back off the trailer and parked it off to the side.  They said that it would be a while before it would be fixed.  They said that in order to get to where it was leaking they would have to take the cab off.  About an hour later they took it back over to the Caterpillar plant across the street to fix.  I waited.  At closing time it still was not back.  I left my trailer there and went back to the TA truck stop in Morris, IL for the night.  Will try again tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Well after sleeping most of the day, I finally got another load.  It is tomorrow up in Montgomery, Illinois.  So I drove up to the TA truck stop in Morris, IL for the night.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove in to Fenton, Missouri and delivered the excavator.  Don't have another load yet so I went up to the Daily yard in Morton, Illinois for the night.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Left Baltimore at 3 this morning.  Nothing exciting today.  After yesterday, I didn't need exciting.  Although I did pass a nasty truck wreck in Dayton, Ohio.  A semi truck took the curve on the overpass too fast and fell off the bridge.  Other than that, I'm done for the weekend at the Flying J truck stop in Spiceland, Indiana.  That is about 40 miles east of Indianapolis.  Sure am glad I didn't go to Texas!!   Victoria, TX got the eye wall of the hurricane!!

Friday, August 25, 2017

Got up real early this morning to head in to Baltimore.  While doing my pre-trip inspection I found a problem with the air bags in the trailer.  Called road service to come fix it.  Three hours later it was fixed.  The load leveler was broken.  I left and drove in to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland.  As I was setting up to deliver the machine, A piece of lumber fell on an air line for the trailer and broke it.  While waiting for another road service truck, I was able to unload the machine.  Road service showed up and fixed the air line.  I put everything back on the trailer and went to another area of the Port for my next load.  Got there just before they closed for the weekend.  Loaded a Caterpillar 325F Excavator that is going to Fenton, Missouri.

Left there and went to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for the night.  Going to get an early start in the morning.  Have to be out of Maryland before noon on Saturday.  I need sleep real bad !!!!  Glad today is over.  Good night!!

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Nothing exciting today.  Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Grantsville, Maryland.  Will deliver tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Left at 3 am this morning and drove to Caterpillar in Montgomery, Illinois and loaded a Caterpillar 824K Wheel Dozer that is going to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland.

Left there and drove until I ran out of hours.  Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Crawfordsville, Indiana.  I'm exhausted, and my back hurts.  Good night!!!

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

As soon as my 10 hours off was up, I left Ashland, VA.  Made it through Washington DC without any traffic problems.  That is amazing.  But that's why I waited until 3 am to go through there.  Had a real good day. Drove through three separate very heavy rain storms in western Ohio.  After 668 miles and running out of hours,  I stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Mount Comfort, Indiana.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Left Raphine, VA at sunrise this morning and drove in to Portsmouth, VA to the port and delivered the truck.  My next load is back in Montgomery, Illinois.  Because it took all day to unload, I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Ashland, VA.  As soon as my 10 hours is up, I'm outta here.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Had several goals to meet today.  The first one was to get through the Lexington, KY area before the curfew started.  The second was to get through the West Virginia Turnpike today because they do not allow permitted loads Saturday or Sunday.  The third was to get to the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia.  

As soon as my required ten hours off was up, we left this morning. Made it through Lexington with no problems.  First goal met.  The rest of the day was through the mountains.  Had rain for most of the trip too.  Stopped at a rest area on the West Virginia Turnpike do do that required stupid 30 minute break.  When it was time to go I started out.  There was a truck broken down at the end just before pulling out blocking the only way out.  I had my escort car block off the entrance so no one would come up behind me. Then I had to back all the way out of the rest area then drive through the cars only area to get out.  Got out of that mess and made it off the West Virginia Turnpike.  Second goal met.  Continued on and made it to the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia with less than 30 minutes left on the clock.  Third goal met.  Will be here for the weekend.  417 miles today and was quite a workout for both me and the truck.  I'm exhausted.  Good night.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Went over to Caterpillar first thing this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 775G dump truck that is going to the port in Portsmouth, Virginia.  Then it goes on an ocean cruise to Israel. 

Left there and headed that way.  Picked up my escort car at the Illinois / Indiana state line.  He will be with me until I deliver.  Timed it pretty good and got to Louisville, KY just as curfew ended.  Heavy rain going around Louisville.  Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Waddy, Kentucky.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

My next load is tomorrow in Decatur, Illinois.  Drove down there today and stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop just down the street from Caterpillar in Decatur.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Left Denver at 11 pm local time.  Chased a thunderstorm all day on I-80.  Made for great lightening viewing.  Finally caught up to it then drove through it east of Omaha.  Stopped at the Pilot truck stop in Des Monies, Iowa when I ran out of hours.  Had only 3 minutes to spare.  Now the thunder storm can catch me.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Went over to Henderson, Colorado first thing this morning and delivered the excavator. Didn't have another load yet so I went back to the truck stop in Denver and got the truck washed.  Then found a place to park and wait.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Another great day on the road.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Denver, Colorado.  Will be here until Monday morning after curfew.  Deliver not too far from here.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Had to time leaving this morning in order to enter Missouri at 9 am when their curfew was over.  I timed it perfectly again.  Crossed into Missouri at 9 am.  Another great day on the road.  Light traffic, good weather, and all the weigh stations were closed.  Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Salina, Kansas.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Left at sunrise this morning.  Started off in the rain but by noon I had driven out of it.  Clear blue sky the rest of the day.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Went over to Newport News first thing this morning and loaded a Liebherr 926 Excavator that is going out to Henderson, Colorado.  

I got done so fast that I had to wait for the Newport News curfew to get over.  When 9 am arrived I hit the road.  Stopped for the night at a small truck stop in Alta, West Virginia.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Left this morning and drove to a small truck stop in Bowers Hill, Virginia.  It is right next to Norfolk.  I'll load a few miles from here tomorrow morning.

Monday, August 7, 2017

At about 4 this afternoon I got my next load.  It is up in Newport News, Virginia.  I started off that way and stopped for the night at a small truck stop in Canadys, South Carolina.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

FINALLY !!!!!!  Football is back.  The first pre-season NFL game!!!  Only pre-season, but it's a start.

I'll be back on the road next week.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Drove home this morning.  Will be home for a few days.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Could not enter Georgia until a half hour after sunrise this morning.  Timed it perfectly when I left Knoxville this morning.  had some bumper to bumper traffic in Atlanta.  Big surprise there!!  Then drove the rest of the way to Ocala and delivered the wheel loader.  Then up to the Petro truck stop in Orange Lake, FL for the night.  Heading home in the morning.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Had a good day on the road even with off and on rain.  Got stopped in Tennessee just north of Knoxville.  He though I was in violation of the Knoxville curfew.  BUT I was not.  I showed him on my permit where I was legal.  He agreed.  Then he did a Level II inspection, which I passed with flying colors.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Farragut, Tennessee.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Got started a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove the rest of the way to Bellevue, Iowa and delivered the dump truck.  Then drove over to Montgomery, Illinois and loaded a Caterpillar 950M Wheel Loader that is going down to Ocala, Florida.

Left there and drove to the Petro truck stop in Monee, Illinois for the night.  Too much bumper to bumper rush hour traffic.  I'll get an early start in the morning when there isn't so much traffic.  

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Left long before sunrise this morning to beat the Lexington, KY curfew.  But then had to stop before getting to Louisville, KY because I still did not have a Indiana permit and did not beat the curfew there.  At about 9:30 my permit finally arrived and off I went.  Made it about five miles and blew an air line in the trailer.  Had to pull over and call road service.

And here is what it looks like fixed.

Well, that killed off a whole lot of the day.  I did manage to make it as far as the Daily yard in Morton, Illinois for the night.  Not anywhere near as far as I wanted to get today.  I'll still be able to deliver tomorrow but getting over to reload tomorrow will now be a real challenge. 

Monday, July 24, 2017

First thing this morning went over to Cayce, South Carolina and loaded, in the mud, a Volvo A40F Articulating Dump Truck that is going to Bellevue, Iowa.

Left there and drove up to the Pilot truck stop in Corbin, Kentucky for the night.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Had the truck serviced first thing this morning.  Oil changed, chassis lubed.  You know, that like stuff.  When that was done I left and drove up to the new Petro truck stop in Columbia, South Carolina.  I load Monday not too far from here.  I'm glad I choose this place to spend the weekend.  Instead of the normal Petro restaurant, it has a Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant.  A thousand times better!!!  The food is great.  Had a half rack of ribs for lunch, and a steak for dinner finished off with a warm fudge brownie and vanilla ice cream tonight.  Very popular place.

It also has a bowling alley !!!!!  Staff says there is usually a waiting list to get a lane.

It's been a while since I have been this stuffed!!!   Feels good !!!!

Friday, July 21, 2017

Left this morning and drove in to the port in Savannah, Georgia and delivered the compactor.  Then went to the TA truck stop in Richmond Hills, GA for the night.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Nice day on the road, nothing exciting.  Stopped a little early tonight because I was getting low on hours and was worried that I'd get stuck in Atlanta bumper to bumper traffic.  So I stopped at the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia for the night.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

This morning went over to the Caterpillar plant in Montgomery, Illinois to load a Caterpillar 825K Compactor that is going to the port in Savannah, Georgia then on a big boat to Jakarta..  While waiting for them to come load the machine I wathced a couple wheel loaders on the test track.  One of them was a huge one.

On the other track was a smaller one.

He finally came over to load me and we got busy.  Got it loaded.

Left there a little before noon.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Effingham, Illinois.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

As soon as my 10 hours was up I left.  Drove straight through stopping only once,  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Morris, Illinois.  They had changed my loading place to Montgomery, Illinois instead of Decatur.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Back to work today.  Got up at 3:30 this morning and went over to the truck wash and got the truck washed.  I also cleaned the mud out of the inside too.  Then to breakfast and then to the laundry mat.  Did six loads of laundry.  After that, back to Daily.  Did a few things there.  Then went to Wal Mart.  Then back to Daily for a nap.  This afternoon I got my next load.  It is in Decatur, Illinois.  I left and drove out to the Flying J truck stop in Smithton, Pa for the night.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

As soon as my 10  hours was up I got out of there and finished driving to the home office in Carlisle, PA.  Taking a few days off.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Got up at 3 am and drove the rest of the way into Cambridge, Mass. to the MIT campus.  I never want to do that again!!   WOW!!  Tight squeeze getting in and out.  To make it worse, it was raining.  The job site where I delivered the crane was a total mud mess.  There is mud all over the inside of the truck.  It took all morning to get the tracks back on the crane and get it off the trailer. Finally got out of there and headed to Carlisle, PA.  Made it as far as Scranton, PA to the Petro before I ran out of hours.  As soon as my 10 hours is up, I'm outta here.

Monday, July 10, 2017

I HATE COMING UP TO THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went over to the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge for my 10:30 am crossing.  There were about seven trucks lined up to go.  At 11 am they finally stopped traffic for us and they took us across the bridge.  Then it took another fifteen minutes to get through the toll booth.  Was not able to make the Cambridge curfew so I had to stop at the closest truck stop to Cambridge.  It is in Shrewsbury, about two hours away!!  The only good thing is that I can drive tomorrow morning between 3 am and 7 am so I'll go the rest of the way before sunrise.  Such a pain in the butt coming up here!!!

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Drove over to the TA truck stop in Maybrook, New York.  Will be here until Monday morning.

Friday, July 7, 2017

Got started a half hour before sunrise this morning.  The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge that goes over the Hudson River in New York only allows oversize loads across at 10:30 am and 2 pm Monday thru Friday.  No weekend crossings.  On top of that they charge $100 PLUS the bridge toll to cross it.  I was unable to make the 2 pm crossing today so I can't cross until Monday.  How STUPID!!!!  More ridiculous government restrictions!!!!  Since I was two hours short of making it I decided to stop at the Petro truck stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania for the night.  Tomorrow morning I'll go the rest of the way to the TA truck stop close to the bridge for the rest of the weekend.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning and stopped at the first scale I came to.  I totally guessed wrong on placement of the crane.  I was over 4000 pounds overweight on my trailer axles.  SO, I had to move the machine.  Three hours later it was done.  Scaled again and it was perfect.

Left there but didn't get anywhere near as far as I wanted to today.  Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Burbank, Ohio.  I'm exhausted!!  My back hurts and I'm going to sleep.  Good night !!!!!!

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Went in to Chicago first thing this morning to load a Liebherr HS855 Crane.  Started off OK, but it went down hill from there.  Put the crane on the trailer but when it came time to take off  the tracks, they didn't have the correct crane rigging.  Had to wait for that to get there.  Then a bunch of bolts would not come off so they had to cut them off with a torch.  I finally got it all loaded and secured and out of there at 3:30 this afternoon.  Needless to say, I didn't get very far.  Stopped for the night at a convenience store with a few  truck parking places in Boswell, Indiana.

This thing is VERY top heavy and heavy.  Have not passed a scale so I have no idea how heavy I am.  Will do that tomorrow.

Monday, July 3, 2017

Got started real early again.  Drove up to the Petro in Gary, Indiana.  Will be here until Monday morning.

Sunday, July 2, 2017

My next load is Wednesday in Chicago.  So, in order to avoid a lot of heavy holiday traffic, especially going around Atlanta, I left this morning. Had absolutely no traffic issues today.  Drove up to the Flying J truck stop in Oak Grove, Kentucky for the night.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

As soon as my ten hours was up I hit the road.  Drove home to Jacksonville, FL.  Will be here until next week sometime.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Well, today didn't go as planned.  Didn't get confirmation of my second escort car until 9 am.  That's when we left for Portsmouth.  When we got to the tunnel we stopped at the inspection area.  When going through the tunnel all oversize loads must stop for inspection.  Once that is complete, they close off the highway and send us thru along with a highway department truck.  We have the tunnel all to ourselves.  Once through, the highway truck radios back and they open the road again.  He peels off and we continue.  At the Portsmouth exit we picked up our other escort car.  She took the lead to the Port.  Of course I arrived at the Port at lunch time, so I sat and waited.  It was a huge cluster, well, you know.  To make a long story short I didn't get out of there until 3:15.  I drove to the Petro in Kenly, North Carolina for the night.  I'm beat!!  Shower, dinner, and sleep!!!