Monday, August 16, 2021

 After a much-needed restful weekend, I went over to the Port of Savannah and loaded a Caterpillar Counterweight that is going up to Milford, Massachusetts. 

While there the guy from the Port asked me if I would be able to help out another driver load an excavator that he was not comfortable loading.  I said "sure". So, after I got everything squared away with my load I went over to him and loaded his excavator for him on his truck.  Then I left.  Drove to the Petro Kenly 95 Truck Stop in Kenly, North Carolina for my 10 hours.  As soon as it is up, I'm leaving. Phones off.  Going to bed now.  Good night.

Friday, August 13, 2021

 Left at 2 AM today.   Drove the rest of the way to Savannah, Georgia, and delivered the stuff.  My next load is at the Port of Savannah.  Was hoping to reload today but I didn't have enough hours left to do it.  I'll get a reset in over the weekend and pop on over to the Port Monday morning and snag my next load.  Until then I'll be sleeping a lot at the TA truck stop in Richmond Hill, GA.  Did 660 miles today. 

Thursday, August 12, 2021

 Went the rest of the way to Kokomo to a Chrisler plant there.  Went to the engine manufacturing plant.  Delivered the CNC Machine.  Next load was in Lafayette, Indiana.  Went there and loaded a Caterpillar Engine, Generator, and a parts box that are going to Savannah, Georgia.

Left there and drove to the Flying J truck stop in Waddy, Kentucky.  I'll be outa here as soon as my 10 hours are up.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021

 Left at sunrise this morning and drove to the Love's truck stop in Tipton, Indiana for the night.  Deliver in the morning.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

 Went back over to the Port very early this morning.  Loaded a CNC Machine that is going to Kokomo, Indiana.

Not much to look at, but has a bit of weight to it.

Left there and drove out to the TA in Wheeling, West Virginia for the night.

Monday, August 9, 2021

 Left at sunrise this morning.  Pushed it hard today and made it to the Port of Baltimore in time to deliver today.  After that went to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for the night.  I reload in the morning back at the Port.

Sunday, August 8, 2021

 With my reset out of the way, I left an hour before sunrise this morning.  Nice day on the road.  Only a little bumper-to-bumper traffic in the construction on I-70 east of Indy.  Drove to the Flying J truck stop in Millersport, Ohio for the night.

Friday, August 6, 2021

 Left real early this morning and drove to Mason City, Iowa, and delivered the motor grader.  Had it off before they even knew I was there.  Next load is in Waterloo, IA.  Went there and loaded a John Deere 8RX 370 Tractor that is going to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland.

Left there but didn't have many hours left for today so I stopped at the world-famous Iowa 80 Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa.  I'll do my reset here and get started again Sunday morning.

Thursday, August 5, 2021

 Left a half-hour before sunrise this morning.  I only had around 7+ hours to work with today.  Stopped for the rest of the day at the Pilot truck stop in Osceola, Iowa.  

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

 I gained a bit over ten hours today.  I left at about 1 AM CDT.  Just a little bit of bumper too bumper traffic in Dallas from a wreck.  Other than that, very uneventful day adding another 575 miles to my tally. Stopped for the night, with only 11 minutes left, at the Pilot truck stop in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

 I only had about 6 hours available today.  Went the rest of the way to Carmine, TX, and delivered the wheel loader in the mud.  The next load was over at the Port of Galveston.  Drove there and loaded a Caterpillar 140 AWD Motor Grader that is going up to Mason City, Iowa.  These things are fun to drive!!

Of course, it started to rain as I started to load.  It stopped as I was finishing.  By the time I had finished, I was just about out of hours.  I parked in a small area across from the Port entrance for the rest of the day and tonight. The blue "X" marks where I parked.

Thought you might like to see the controls for these machines. Notice, no steering wheel.  It steers with the left joystick.

Left Joystick

Right Joystick

Monday, August 2, 2021

 Drove another 575 miles today to the Love's truck stop in Waller, Texas.  I'm only about an hour away from delivery but I ran out of hours today so I have to deliver tomorrow.  

Sunday, August 1, 2021

 Left Raphine, VA at about 1 AM.  Drove 716 miles to the TA in Meridian, Mississippi for the night.

Saturday, July 31, 2021

 Left Scranton, PA at about 4:30 AM and drove into Bridgeport, NJ.  Timed it perfectly.  Got unloaded real quick. Then drove up to Carlisle via Baltimore for my next load.  Went to the "home office" in Carlisle and loaded a Volvo L90H Wheel Loader that is going down to Carmine, Texas.  

Was out of there by 11:30 AM.  Drove to the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia for the night. 511 miles today.  Not too shabby!!  But I'm tired.  The phone is off.  Good night.

Friday, July 30, 2021

 Went the rest of the way into Honesdale, PA this morning.  Got there around 7 AM. Found out that the rail car had to be disassembled this morning. It is going to a place in New Jersey just outside Philadelphia to be overhauled and refurbished.  I was transporting the car's wheel assemblies.  Another Daily driver was transporting the car.  

I made a short video of some of the preparations for transport of the rail car.

Here is my load.

I left there around 2 PM and went to the Petro truck stop in Scranton, PA for the night.  

Thursday, July 29, 2021

 Left this morning in the rain. Rained off and on most of the day.  Drove up through Pennsylvania and met my pole car at the PA / NY state line on I-86.  Uneventful day along I-86.  But then we went north on two-lane back roads the rest of the way up through the finger lake region of upstate New York.  Went over the Erie Canal.  If you want to look it up, that is Lock 25 on the canal.

I had an excellent pole car driver.  There were several dozen low power lines that I had to zig-zag around as well as an untold number of low tree branches.  But here was the tightest spot on the trip.  A bridge over the Seneca River.  I was 14 feet, 6 inches tall, and 10 feet wide.

I squeezed under that with, and I'm not kidding, one-inch verticle clearance between the tractor and the bridge.  Then it was on to deliver the tractor.  My next load is back in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. I started off in that direction.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Binghamton, New York.  

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

 Left a half-hour before sunrise this morning. Made it around Indy with no problems.  With all the construction going on there and I-70 east of Indy, that is quite an accomplishment.  Stopped a bit early today because of the lack of parking availability ahead of me.  Stopped at the Petro truck stop in Girard, Ohio. Tomorrow I'll get a pole car when I get to New York.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

 Good day on the road.  Nothing exciting, and that's a good thing!!  Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Pittsboro, Indiana

Monday, July 26, 2021

 They were able to get the replacement slack adjusters very quickly this morning.  Didn't take long to install them.  

They were done before my permits came in.  Once they came in I was back on the road.  Had no traffic problems going around the "Twin Cities".  Continued to the Petro truck stop in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Sunday, July 25, 2021

 Friday Carlisle told me that my trailer was due for an inspection.  Tried to get it done Friday but the shop here at the Petro said that they didn't have anyone available to do it until Sunday morning.  

This morning I was at the shop when they were supposed to open at 8 AM local time.  They didn't get there until 8:15.  They eventually brought the truck in to do the inspection.  The trailer failed.  They said it needed 2 slack adjusters for the brakes. They took one off because the only place to get parts that was open today needed to see one to see if they had any in stock.  So they took it over there and, of course, they didn't have them.  Now I have to wait until Monday sometime for them to be located someplace else.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

I didn't get any permits so I'm here until at least Monday sometime.  Yesterday, while loading, I saw and heard the military jets flying around. There was an occasional sonic boom too. Didn't think much of it because I'm around military bases quite a bit.  Well, I found out why they were flying around so much.  The Fargo Air Show is going on this weekend.  The airport is not far from here so I watched the Blue Angels perform this afternoon.

Internet Photo

Friday, July 23, 2021

 Went the rest of the way up to Warner, SD to the job site where this transformer was to be unloaded.  I was a little early.

Once the crew got there things moved pretty fast.  They unloaded that 46,000-pound transformer with no problems.

My next load was up in Fargo, North Dakota.  I went up there and loaded a Case 500 Tractor that is going to Auburn, New York.

By the time I finished with that I was totally exhausted.  I went to the Petro truck stop in Fargo for the night and to wait for my permits to come in.  So far, no permits have come in so it looks like I might be here for the weekend.

Thursday, July 22, 2021

 Left early this morning.  Thought you might like to see what Kansas is famous for (besides The Wizard of Oz).  The State flower, sunflower!

Very uneventful day on the road.  I like those!  Made it through Nebraska and up into South Dakota.  I love it up here!!  Stopped for the night at a very small truck stop in Wolsey, South Dakota. I'm just about an hour away from delivery.  The crane set up today so they will be ready for me when I get there. Shouldn't take too long to get unloaded.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

 Left early this morning.  Had no traffic issues going through Fort Worth, I went through before rush hour.  Didn't have any issues going through Oklahoma City either.  Stopped for the night, after driving 600 miles, at a truck stop in Newton, Kansas.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

 Left early this morning and drove into Laredo.  Got there an hour and a half early.  Had to wait for them to open at 8.  When they opened I found out that I wasn't given all the numbers that I needed to load.  Had to call Carlisle to get them.  So instead of loading 2nd, I loaded last. When they finally did load me, I got a transformer that is going up to Warner, South Dakota. It's a bit top-heavy.

Left there and started north.  Lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic in San Antonio and some more in Austin.  Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Jarrell, Texas.

Didn't see a lot of out-of-the-ordinary border protection stuff.  There were a few mobile video surveillance units set up, but that's about all.  There were, however, a lot more state troopers along I-35 than there normally are down there.  Didn't see them doing anything other than sitting there.  Didn't see any military or out-of-state agencies.

Monday, July 19, 2021

 Left Lufkin very early this morning and drove the rest of the way to the Port of Galveston.  Got there about an hour and a half early.  Once they opened, I went in and delivered the 944K parts.  My next load is way down in Laredo, Texas.  Right across from the Mexican border.  

I started off in that direction.  I stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Pearsall, Texas.  Didn't want o go all the way to Laredo today since I load tomorrow.  Didn't want to spend the night that close to the border.  Not safe.  I opted to stay about 2 hours away for better security.  Tomorrow I can go in, load, and get out.

Saturday, July 17, 2021

 Left early this morning. No issues on the road today!!  Yeah!!! Drove through Arkansas and into Texas.  Stopped, after driving 577 miles, at the Love's truck stop in Lufkin, Texas.

Friday, July 16, 2021

 Early this morning I drove the rest of the way to Decatur, Illinois.  At the Caterpillar plant there loaded a radiator and 5 crates of parts for a caterpillar 994K Wheel Loader. They are going to the port in Galveston, Texas. Then they are going on an ocean cruise to Chile.  

This is what a 994K wheel loader looks like all put together.

Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Matthews, Missouri for the night.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

 Got up at 1 AM EDT, was on the road at 1:45 AM EDT.  I had to get to the Kentucky / Ohio state line between 5:55 AM EDT and 7 AM EDT.  In other words, a half-hour before sunrise (5:55 AM) and when the Cincinnati curfew starts (7 AM).  If I didn't get there in time I would have had to wait south of Cincinnati until 9 AM when the curfew ended.  I timed it just about perfectly.  I crossed into Ohio at 6 AM.  Continued on to Washington Court House, Ohio, and delivered the tractor.  Next, I went towards Indianapolis, Indiana.  I-70 east of Indy was a total mess!!  I went around it like a lot of other people did.  Still made better time than staying on I-70 in all that bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Then I got to the Indy beltway.  It too was a mess.  No way around it. Finally, I made it to the International truck shop, where I had the work done on my truck and left my trailer.  I dropped the trailer I was using and got mine.  After that was done I made my way through all that traffic to the Thermo King shop in Indy.  Two nights ago the A/C went out again on my APU.  I was lucky.  They took my truck in right away and started working on it. After a couple hours, it was fixed, hopefully for the last time.  Then I went to the Love's truck stop in Pittsboro, Indiana for some sleep.  Good night!

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

 Left a half-hour after sunrise this morning.  Lots of bumper-to-bumper traffic in Atlanta.  Thought I'd never get through there!!  Then more of it in Chatanooga, Tennessee. No problems going around Nashville.  Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Franklin, Kentucky.  Will leave in the morning to time it so I get to Ohio a half-hour before sunrise.  Have to beat the Cincinnati curfew.  

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

 Left Vero Beach at about 2:30 this morning and drove straight up to Garden City, Georgia and delivered the twin backhoes. From there I drove up to Grovetown, Georgia and loaded a John Deere 8370 Tractor that is going up to Washington, Ohio.

It is a bit wide.

My Georgia permit doesn't start until tomorrow so I stayed put for the night. 488 miles today too. The phone is off and I'm going to sleep.  Good night.

Monday, July 12, 2021

 Went to Fort Myers first thing this morning and delivered the JLG Lift.  Then drove over to Miami.  Had some bumper-to-bumper traffic getting there.  Loaded two used John Deere 310 Backhoes that are going to Garden City, Georgia.  When I was about halfway done chaining them down the heavens opened up.  LOTS of heavy rain and a bit of thunder and lightning, for good measure.  That lasted about 45 minutes until it had slowed down enough to get back at it again.

By the time I was finished I was soaked through to the bone!  When I left there almost every major road in the Miami area was a total mess with traffic.  I was, however, able to find a way out of there with minimal bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Drove to the TA  truck stop in Vero Beach. I won't even begin to tell you what a total disaster my dinner was in the restaurant here.  I'll be out of here as soon as my ten hours are up.

Saturday, July 10, 2021

 Left very early this morning and drove to the Love's truck stop in Ft. Myers, FL.  I'll be here until Monday morning.

Friday, July 9, 2021

 Took the truck over to Thermo King first thing and dropped it off.  While they worked on it I did errands.  They were able to find the refrigerant leak and fix my A/C on the APU.  I got it back right at their quitting time of 5 PM.  I took the truck back to the Daily yard in Jacksonville.  There was a JLG man lift on another trailer that was brought in earlier in the week.  I unloaded it from that trailer and put it on my trailer.  It is going down to Fort Myers, Florida.

It has been about 4 years since I have driven one of those so I had to give myself a refresher course on it.  Got it all secured to the trailer.  I'll leave early in the morning.

Thursday, July 8, 2021

 Finally some good news!!   I got my truck back this morning.  After getting my truck, and hooking up to my trailer, I drove to Savannah, Georgia, and delivered the generator.  Then I drove to the Daily yard in Jacksonville, Florida.  Tomorrow I will be at Thermo King to get the A/C fixed AGAIN.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

 This morning checked out of the hotel and went back to the truck at the Petro truck stop.  Took it to the International Dealer in Knoxville.  They hooked up the computer to it to get the codes describing the reason the "Check Engine" light was on.  They said that a sensor was overheating and that they got a rarely seen code.  They needed to get the truck inside to dig deeper into the problem.  At that point, I knew I would need another hotel room.  I got one fairly close by that had shuttle service. The shuttle turned out to be a local taxi that the hotel paid for. That driver was the worst I have ever seen.  He drove like a maniac and scared the crap out of me.  To make matters worse, the seat belt didn't work.  I was so glad to make it to the hotel alive.  Anyway, I'll be here for God only knows how long this time.

Sunday, July 4, 2021

 

It did it again.  Now my APU air conditioning stopped working. Yes, that's right, the same one that just got fixed!!  I'm in another hotel until Tuesday morning.

Saturday, July 3, 2021

 I left at 2 AM this morning. Nice peaceful drive until I was about an hour north of Knoxville, Tennessee.  Once again the "Check Engine" light came on.

Instead of continuing on, I went to the Petro truck stop in Knoxville, Tennessee.  I'll wait here until the folks at the "home office" in Carlisle, PA decide what they want to do.  I know what I'd like to do with it, but I don't think they will let me have the dynamite to do it.

Friday, July 2, 2021

 Late this morning I got my next load.  I was recovering a load from another driver that broke down and his truck had to be towed.  His truck was towed to the same place my truck was just repaired at in Indianapolis.  I went there and dropped off my trailer there.  I also got the paperwork for the load out of his truck.  Then I drove, bobtail, to the TA truck stop in Whitestown, Indiana and attached to his trailer that was loaded with a Caterpillar 3516 Engine and two parts crates.  They are going to Savannah, Georgia.

Left there and drove to the Love's truck stop in Richmond, Kentucky.  I'll be here until my 10 hours are up.

Thursday, July 1, 2021

 I left Florida last night at 8 PM and drove straight through to Indianapolis.  When I got there I got all my stuff out of the rental car and loaded up the truck.  Then took the car back and dropped it off.  Uber brought me back to my truck. Then I went over to Thermo King in Indianapolis to get my APU fixed. Once that was done I left there and drove another hour over to the Petro truck stop in Brazil, Indiana, where I left my trailer, and got it.  Parked there for the night. Another 1,000+ mile driving day.  I'm tired.  Good night.

Thursday, June 24, 2021

 Today I checked out of the hotel and got a rental car. I left Indianapolis, Indiana at 1:30 PM and drove home.  Stopped only 3 times to get fuel and a bit of food-to-go on the 1,030-mile trip. I got home at 5:30 Friday morning.  Will be here until Thursday.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

 Nothing new.  Still in a hotel.  Parts to repair the truck are on national backorder.  They have no idea when they will get here.

Monday, June 21, 2021

 This morning Daily made the arrangements for the truck to be towed to an International Service Center.  I checked out of the hotel while he hooked the truck up to the wrecker.  Towed me to the Service Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Of course, they didn't have the parts in stock, so I'm at another hotel. 

Sunday, June 20, 2021

 Well, here we go again!  The truck broke!!

Monday morning it will have to be towed someplace to get fixed.  I'm back in a hotel again.