Monday, July 9, 2018

Went into Bossier City, LA first thing this morning.  What should have been a simple crane pick up and set down on my trailer turned into quite an interesting adventure.  Once the crane operator got there they put it in position to lift the building.  Once he got set up, I backed up to the crane and next to the building.  They rigged everything and then he lifted the building.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of what happened next.  When the building lifted up off the ground the crane almost fell over!!  Everyone went running as the back of the crane came up off the ground.  The operator quickly put the building down saving everything from disaster.  Scared the crap out of a lot of people!!  He tried it again with the same results.  I did get a picture of it after he put in back on the ground the second time.  Notice there isn't anyone anywhere near it.

Here is a close up of the crane still tipping.

They ended up taking everything off the building and re-positioned the crane much closer to the building.  Then they tried to lift it again.  This time it went up.

Then he put it over my trailer. 

He set it down but it was too far toward the rear of my trailer.  He had to lift it again to move it forward and center it.  He lifted it and as he was moving it forward the crane started to tip again.  This time it really almost went over.  I wasn't able to get a photo of the worst part but I did get one showing the back lifting.  Trust me, it was twice as high as the photo shows.

When that didn't work, they disconnected everything again and I pulled forward.  They re-positioned the crane again and they were able to place the building in the right place on my trailer.  I chained it down.

I have a pilot escort car for the entire trip up to West Jefferson, Ohio.  He was there with me for the entire "show".  We left there and drove up to the Petro truck stop in North Little Rock, Arkansas for the night.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Traffic was much better today.  Drove to the Petro truck stop in Shreveport, Louisiana this morning.  Got the truck washed when I got there.  

Saturday, July 7, 2018

After a few really great, but all to short, days off I went back to work early this morning.  My next load is in Bossier City, Louisiana.  I started off that direction.  Everything was fine until I got to Alabama.  Bumper to bumper through almost the entire state of Alabama.  Because of that, I didn't get near as far as I had planned.  Stopped for the night at a convenience store with truck parking in Lucedale, Mississippi.

Monday, July 2, 2018

Went in this morning and delivered the dump truck.  Was out of there by 7:15 and on my way home.  Will be home for about a week.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

This morning drove down to the Caterpillar dealer in Ocala.  Parked outside the gate until they open in the morning.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Left at sunrise this morning.  About an hour in came to a complete halt.  There was a wreck about 5 miles ahead.  They were landing a helicopter in the road.  Heard that there was a fatality too.  After about 45 minutes traffic started to move again.  Here was the wreck.

Then came the South Carolina detour.  The detour was not 248 miles.  That was the total mileage in South Carolina.

Traffic remained heavy all day.  In the Savannah, Georgia had another 45 minute delay from another wreck.  Can you see it?  Look close...

No?   Try this view...

Here is a close up...

Had a few more "slow downs" from all the traffic but no more bumper to bumper.   With all the delays it was totally impossible to deliver today.  I barely had enough hours left to get to Jacksonville.  But I did make it there to the Daily terminal.  I'll stay here until Sunday.

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Left at 3 am this morning.  Had no traffic problems at all in Washington DC or Baltimore, just as I had planned.  Got to the Port a little early and had to wait for them to open.  When they did, I went in and loaded a Caterpillar 730C Dump Truck that is going to Ocala, Florida.

Got out of there in great time.  But all that time saved soon was lost.  Traffic was very heavy.  Most of the Baltimore beltway was bumper to bumper.  Most of the way between Baltimore and Washington DC beltway was bumper to bumper.  Some breaks, but not many.  The Washington DC beltway was bumper to bumper to about Andrews Air Force Base.  Cleared up until I got on I-95 south of DC, then back to bumper to bumper again with a few breaks.  Didn't really clear up until after Quantico.  Traffic was still very heavy.  Passed a Google Maps car today, but wasn't able to get a picture.  But below is a picture of it that I got from the internet.

Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Kenly, North Carolina.  Going to bed.  Good night.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Left at sunrise this morning and drove into Portsmouth, Virginia to the Port and delivered the dozer.  On the way in the Apple Maps car passed me.

My next load is up at the Port in Baltimore, MD. I started that way but stopped very early at the Flying J truck stop in Ruther Glen, Virgiinia.  I just didn't feel like dealing with the Washington DC traffic today.  I'll go to bed very early tonight and get up very early tomorrow morning and get ahead of it.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

My pilot escort car met me this morning at the truck stop and we left.  Picked up our second escort car when we had to get off the Interstate for a construction detour.  When we made our way back to the Interstate the second car dropped off and we continued on.  We got to the bridge were I needed the West Virginia Bridge Monitor a little early so we had to wait about a half hour for him to arrive.  When he got there we went across the bridge.  They blocked traffic while I went across at 30 mph in the center of the bridge.  After I cleared the bridge they opened the road back up again.  The bridge monitor dropped off and so did my escort.  I no longer needed anyone.  I continued on solo.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia.  Still need my Portsmouth City permit.  

Monday, June 25, 2018

The good news is that my West Virginia permit came in early this morning.  The bad news is that I need two pilot escort cars and a bridge monitor.  With the back log, there aren't any escorts available today.  Plus couldn't schedule the bridge monitor until 10 am tomorrow.  So my escorts will meet me in the morning.

I'm obviously not the only one with this problem.  There are 9 dozers, and 2 excavators in here waiting.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Since I still don't have a West Virginia permit I had an easy day.  Left early and drove down to the Flying J truck stop in Catlettsburg, Kentucky.  Its the last truck stop before West Virginia. It appears from the parking lot here that I am not the only one waiting for a WV permit.  There are quite a few oversized loads sitting in here.  Hope it doesn't take too long Monday for my permit to come in.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Arrived at the Caterpillar Training Facility in Edwards, Illinois just as the opened for the day.  Good timing!!  Delivered the dump truck.  Then went about 15 miles back to East Peoria, Illinois to the Caterpillar plant and loaded a Caterpillar D9T Dozer that is going to Portsmouth, Virginia so it can go on an ocean cruise.

Left there in pretty good time.  Went to the scale.

Got back on the road.  Found out that I won't be getting my West Virginia permit until Monday, at the earliest.  Their permit office was closed on Wednesday and they are backed up. I decided to stop a little early today, since I'm not in any hurry.  Plus I didn't feel like dealing with Indianapolis rush hour on a Friday.  Stopped at the Love's truck stop in Pittsboro, Indiana.

Here I am for the night.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Had a few more "adjustments" done to the trailer this morning while waiting for FedEx.  Once my package arrived I was outta there!!  Drove to the TA truck stop in Harrisville, Pennsylvania for the night.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Hit the ground running this morning.  After breakfast got two new front tires. Then back to the Daily yard.  The truck maintenance shop changed my windshield and did a "C" maintenance on the truck.  While they were doing that, I did six loads of laundry, then went to Wal-Mart.  This afternoon when all that was done and everything put away and back together I could relax.  Tomorrow morning I am expecting a FedEx delivery.  As soon as that gets here I'll be back on the road again to Illinois.

Monday, June 18, 2018

Was at the Port first thing this morning and delivered the tractor.  Then went to a different area of the Port and loaded a Caterpillar 740 Articulating Dump Truck that is eventually going to Edwards, Illinois.

Unfortunately I didn't have any permits yet so I had to wait (so did my escort car) for a couple hours for them to come in.  When they finally came in we left.  Stopped by the scale at the TA truck stop on the way.  I was too heavy on the trailer axles.  I was heading to Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the night so I decided to fix it there.  Also if I fixed it now I would not have made the Harrisburg curfew. So off we went.  At the Maryland / Pennsylvania State line my escort car dropped off.  Don't need one in PA.  I continued on to Carlisle.  I stopped at the Flying J truck stop to get the weight right on my trailer.  Took 3 attempts to finally get it right.  After that went to the "home office" in Carlisle.  Need to have a few things done on the truck and possibly some other things.  Will be here for at least a day, maybe two.  Right now, I'm exhausted and going to bed!!!!

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove the rest of the way into Baltimore to the TA truck stop.  Will be here until Monday morning.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Started a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Had a very nice, uneventful day on the road.  Just the way I like it.  Yesterday and today passed a lot of the NASCAR trucks.  They were all heading west. Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Belmont, Ohio.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Went down to Waterloo, Iowa for my next load.  Loaded a John Deere 9570 Tractor that is going to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland.  This is my favorite tractor.  I love to drive these!!!

Left there and drove down to the Daily terminal in Morton, Illinois for the night.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Started as soon as it was legal for me to move, a half hour before sunrise.  This is the way I should have gone to deliver in Bloomington, Minnesota. Makes perfect sense, right?

Well, leave it to Government to screw things up.  This is the way the State of Minnesota sent me.

From the Petro truck stop in Albert Lea, MN it took 3 hours, 45 minutes to get there.  After I delivered I went back to the Petro in Albert Lea.  It took an hour and a half.  I saw absolutely no reason why I could not have gone straight up I-35.  Government!!!!!!  Anyway, I'm back at the Petro for the night.  Drove 576 miles, and delivered.  Just barely had enough hours to get back to the Petro.  This is one of my favorite places to stop.  Very good truck stop.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

A little bit of a late start due to a thunderstorm.  But once I got moving the weather cleared after a while and I was back in the sunshine.  Had to stop much earlier than expected today.  Seems that someone in Carlisle didn't order my Iowa or Minnesota permits.  I stopped at a convenience store with some truck parking in Bethany, Missouri for lunch and waited for my Iowa permit.  It didn't come in early enough for me to continue on today so here I will sit until tomorrow morning. That will probably make delivery tomorrow not possible.  Oh well.  Not my fault.  My Minnesota permit came in too.  Wait until you see the stupid route I have to take in Minnesota!!!  Over a hundred EXTRA miles!!!

Monday, June 11, 2018

This morning went over and loaded a Caterpillar 982M Wheel Loader that is going to Bloomington, Minnesota. 

Left there and drove to a new truck stop in Lowell, Arkansas.  It is a very nice place but not a lot of parking.  Going to sleep early tonight.  Have a headache and my back and feet hurt.  Oh well.  :(

Saturday, June 9, 2018

84 Days until...

Can't wait!!!!!

Friday, June 8, 2018

My truck was due for it's 90 day inspection, and so was the trailer.  The trailer was also due for routine maintenance.  That was supposed to have been done before I got the trailer, but wasn't.  The plan for today was to leave Texarkana at about 3 am and drive up to the TA truck stop in Prescott, Arkansas and get the work done there.  Then get to Little Rock, AR first thing in the morning to load.  The plan was working fine until I got to Prescott.  The truck had no problems with the inspection.  The trailer, however, failed big time!!  There were all sorts of things wrong with it.  Wheel seals, a tire, ABS, and some other things.  But the biggest problem was the breaks.  They said it would take all day to fix everything.

After getting approval from Daily to fix it, the guys at the TA got right on it while I went and ate breakfast (which the TA paid for) and took a nap.  I woke up at about 1 pm and went to check on it.  Much to my surprise, they were almost done with everything!!  They bought me lunch and said that when I came back it would be done.  

I left there at about 2:30.  Just had enough hours left today to drive up to the Petro truck stop in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  I'll be here for the weekend.  Will load Monday morning.

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Drove the rest of the way into Fort Worth, Texas this morning and delivered the excavator.  My next load is in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  Started off that direction.  Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Texarkana, Texas. 

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Started off the day with some bumper to bumper traffic in the Birmingham, Alabama area.  Aside from that the rest of the day was smooth sailing!  Drove 594 miles today.  Stopped for the night at the Perto truck stop in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Hopefully I can deliver tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Didn't have my Tennessee permit yet so I slept in.  A little after 9 am I decided to go up closer to Tennessee to wait.  Stopped at a truck stop just south of the line.  About an hour later my permit arrived.  Then I went into Chattanooga and delivered the excavator.  Then drove over to the Komatsu plant in Chattanooga and loaded a Komatsu PC240LC Excavator that is going to Fort Worth, Texas.

Didn't have a Tennessee permit yet for this load but since it was only about 15 miles until Georgia I left anyway.  Don't have a Georgia permit yet either.  Continued on to the Pilot truck stop in Rising Fawn, Georgia for the night.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Went over to the Port of Savannah this morning.  Didn't have the right paperwork so I had to wait for it to come in.  When it arrived, I loaded a Caterpillar 325FL Excavator that is going to Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

Left there and headed toward Tennessee.  About 20 miles west of where the wreck was the other day I came to an abrupt halt.  Another wreck had I-16 at a stand still.  Sat there for about an hour.  That got cleaned up just in time for me to get to Atlanta at rush hour.  LOTS of bumper to bumper traffic south of Atlanta.  Smoothed out a little going around on the west side of the beltway.  That didn't last long at all.  A lot more bumper to bumper traffic on the north side of Atlanta.  When I finally made it through that mess I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

This morning dropped my trailer and swapped into a different trailer.  Then drove up to the TA truck stop in Richmond Hills, Georgia.  I load tomorrow morning at the Port of Savannah.

Friday, June 1, 2018

Left Atlanta a half hour after sunrise this morning.  Had no traffic issues in or leaving Atlanta.  Everything was going very well until I got to about mile marker 106 on I-16.  Then things came to an abrupt halt.  There was a very bad car crash just past exit 111 and the Interstate was shut down.  They were diverting everyone off at exit 111.  When I got there I pulled into the truck stop at that exit to wait it out.  Altogether it took about an hour for them to re-open the Interstate. Once open again, I was back moving.    South of Savannah on I-95 came up on round two of bumper to bumper traffic.  Another wreck!!   Fortunately it was not as bad as the other one.  It took a while to get through it, but I finally did.  When I got to the Georgia / Florida state line I picked up my pilot escort car.  He was with me the rest of the way to the Port.  I just barely made it there in time to deliver today.  Delivered the dump truck.  Then went to the Daily yard in Jacksonville.  Will be here until Sunday.  

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Met my pilot escort car at the Illinois / Kentucky state line.  Traffic cooperated through Nashville.  When we got to the Tennessee / Georgia state line she dropped off and I continued on.  Don't need one in Georgia.  I'll get another one when I get to Florida tomorrow.  As usual, traffic slowed down a lot and had some bumper to bumper traffic north of Atlanta.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Atlanta.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Wasted a whole day sitting here waiting for my Tennessee permit.  It finally got here this afternoon but not early enough to go anywhere.  Will leave here a half hour before sunrise in the morning.  In the mean time, I got a lot of sleep, which was nice.  Also Alberto went by, although I would have never known it if I didn't look at the radar.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Went over to Caterpillar first thing this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 772G dump truck that is going to the Port in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Left there before noon for a change!!  Drove to the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  Talked to my Kentucky and Tennessee pilot escort this afternoon and found out that Tennessee's permit computer has been down since last week. That's why I don't have my Tennessee permit yet.  Also found out that all the truck stops between here and Tennessee are full with other trucks waiting on their Tennessee permits.  So when the system comes back up, who knows when I'll get my permit. There are a lot ahead of me waiting for theirs.  My escort driver said that I should stay here until it comes in.  She said that I am in the best place I can be in for now.  I called my dispatcher and talked it over with him too.  He agreed, much to my surprise.  So, here I sit until Tennessee gets their act together.  After a much needed shower I walked across the street and had dinner at Chili's.  Real food for a change!!

Monday, May 28, 2018

Left at 2 am CDT and drove the rest of the way to the Pilot truck stop in Decatur, Illinois.  Got here just after 9 am CDT. Load about 2 miles from here in the morning.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

As soon as my 10 hours was up I left.  That was about 2:30 am CDT.  Drove to the Petro truck stop in Oak Grove, Missouri.  When I got here I changed out a bunch of my orange flags.  Most of them were in pretty bad shape.  They look a lot better now.  Yesterday a friend of mine told me that he was having a bad week.  He damaged his hand when it got caught in his trailer. To make matters worse, he got a ticket in Illinois because they put the wrong start date on his permit and he didn't catch it.  When he got to the scale, they caught it.  They wrote him an overweight ticket because he did not have a permit.  It will cost him just under $40,000.  That is not a typo.  He sent me a copy of the ticket.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove to Aurora, Colorado and delivered the dump truck.  My next load is way back in Decatur, Illinois on Tuesday.  I started off heading that way.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Oakley, Kansas.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Excellent day on the road.  No traffic issues at all.  I love it out west!!!  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Colby, Kansas.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Pulled out at 3 am this morning.  Really like starting early like that.  No traffic issues at all. Drove to the Petro truck stop in Kingdom City, Missouri.  Did two more loads of wash when I got here.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Went back over to the Port of Savannah and picked up my trailer.

Left there and had a good day on the road.  Just a few small "hick-ups".  The first one was on I-75 between Forsyth and  Atlanta.  There was a high speed chase that terminated on the south bound side of I-75.  Our side, the north bound side, was backed up from all the "rubber neckers".

Here is the "bad guy".

After that, had a couple road construction slow downs.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop, actually I'm next to it in a dirt lot, in Monteagle, Tennessee.  The Pilot was full, as usual.

Monday, May 21, 2018

Went into Springfield, GA first thing this morning and delivered the Material Handler.  Then went over to the Port of Savannah and loaded a Caterpillar 745 Articulating Dump Truck that is going to Aurora, Colorado.  I'll have pictures tomorrow.  I didn't have enough hours left today to go anywhere so I left the trailer at the Port and went to the TA truck stop in Richmond Hill, GA.  I'll go get it in the morning.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Left this morning to time my arrival at the Tennessee / Georgia state line for a half hour after sunrise.  Very nice day on the road.  Traffic was light and no problems going through Atlanta.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Port Wentworth, Georgia.  I deliver about 20 miles from here in the morning.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Nothing exciting today.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Monteagle, Tennessee.  Actually a dirt lot next to the Pilot.  The Pilot was full.  Gee, what a surprise!!

Friday, May 18, 2018

Good day on the road.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Bloomington, Illinois.  Lots of detours in Illinois. Have a long one tomorrow morning, that's why I stopped here for the night.  Also doing 2 loads of laundry while I'm here.  I almost forgot, here is my scale ticket.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Drove about 40 miles north to Deerbrook, Wisconsin first thing this morning to load a Caterpillar MH3037 Material Handler that is going to Springfield, Georgia. Got there at about 6:15 CDT.  Had to teach myself how to operate it.  Loaded it on the trailer by raising the machine with the outriggers and, using the boom arm on the machine, pushed the trailer under it.  That took a while.  Secured it to the trailer.  Fortunately they had a truck scale on site.  I went over and scaled.  It was almost right on the money, but it was too high.  

Called the "home office" in Carlisle and explained the problem.  They sent me a diagram showing how it should be loaded.  It didn't tell me how to do it, just showed me what it should look like.  That was a huge help.  So I did what the diagram showed but it messed up the weight so I had to move the machine.  Had to move the machine a total of four times before I got it as close to right as it's gonna get.  It took all day to do this.

This thing is a lot bigger and heavier than it looks.  I'll get a Cat Scale weight tomorrow. When I finally left there at 2:30 CDT I was totally exhausted.  I went back to the truck stop that I was at last night, took a very l-o-n-g hot shower, and had dinner.  I ache all over, especially my back.  Can hardly walk.  Going to sleep. Good night.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Left this morning a half hour before sunrise.  Drove up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and delivered the wheel loader.  I load tomorrow morning in Deerbrook, Wisconsin.  I headed in that direction.  Stopped for the night at a nice little truck stop in Whittenberg, WI.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Had a good day on the road today except I had to wait almost two hours for my Illinois permit.  Even so, I still drove 503 miles today.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Effingham, Illinois.

Monday, May 14, 2018

Went over to the Port of Savannah, GA first thing this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 980M Wheel Loader that is going up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Took forever to load.  Had a hard time getting it centered on the trailer.  Not as easy as it sounds!!!  Also helped another Daily driver load his machine.  He had not loaded a large machine before and needed assistance.  He had only had his trailer for about a week.

 Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia for the night.  I'm exhausted!!!! Good night.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Left this morning and drove up to the TA truck stop in Richmond Hill, Georgia.  Stopped on the way and had routine maintenance done on the truck and trailer.  Load in the morning at the Port of Savannah.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Went in to the Port of Jacksonville on Blount Island this morning and delivered the dump truck.  Then went over to the Daily yard and dropped my trailer there.  Then I went to the tire shop and got two new front tires.  After that went back to the yard and parked the truck.  Then got in my pick up truck and ran a bunch of errands.  My next load is Monday up in Savannah, GA.  I'll be here until Sunday.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Hit the road a half hour after sunrise.  Lots of bumper to bumper traffic getting to Atlanta.  Once I got the the beltway traffic got back up to speed again. Just south of Atlanta on I-75 passed a bad crash. Fortunately it was on the other side.  The Interstate was shut down.  Before I got to it 3 ambulances went by heading to the hospital.  All with lights and siren on.  There was stuff scattered all over the highway from the SUV that rolled over multiple times landing upright in the grass off the road. There was another car with damage next to the median guard rail.   There was about six fire trucks, a dozen cops, a roll back wrecker, and lots of people watching.  Glad it was on the other side.  Our side was backed up from all the rubber necking.  The other side was at a stand still for four miles.  Farther down the interstate they had closed the interstate and were diverting traffic off at the exit.  That back up was two miles.  So glad I was going the other way.  Other than that, the rest of the day was uneventful.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Kingsland, Georgia. My Florida pilot escort car will meet me here in the morning.

Just found out more info on the crash I passed.  9 people ejected during the roll over.  7 were kids.  One fatality. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Left this morning a half hour before sunrise.  My pilot escort car was waiting for me at the Illinois / Kentucky state line and fell in behind me as I passed by him.  Good day on the road. This is what I see when I look in the mirror.

Had a small amount of bumper to bumper traffic in Nashville, Tennessee.  When I got to the Tennessee / Georgia state line my escort car dropped off.  I don't need one in Georgia.  I continued on to the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia for the night.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

My next load was in Decatur, Illinois.  Yesterday I drove down there to the Pilot truck stop.  This morning I was at Caterpillar first thing.  Unfortunately it took forever for them to load me. When they did, I got a Caterpillar 772G dump truck that is going on an ocean cruise from the Port of Jacksonville, Florida. I weigh over 130,000 pounds.

Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois for the night.  Tomorrow I'll meet my pilot escort car at the Illinois / Kentucky state line.  He will be with me until I get to Georgia.