Left this morning and drove the rest of the way to the Port of Jacksonville and delivered the Caterpillar parts. They are going to Singapore. My next load was back up in Pooler, Georgia. That is right next to Savannah. I went there and loaded a Sany SSR120 Roller and a parts box that is going to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Left there and drove to the Petro truck stop in Florence, South Carolina for my 10 hours. Even with unloading and loading I still got 488 miles in today.
I left at 2:30 this morning. There was a wreck on the east Atlanta beltway, I-285, just east of the I-75 interchange. Traffic was backed up on I-75 for several miles. I found a way around it. When I stopped at a traffic light on my detour something happened in front of me that I have never seen before.
Wasn't a big deal, just something you don't see every day. Had no other traffic issues today. Stopped after driving 631 miles and ran out of hours for today, at Grady's truck stop in Metter, Georgia.
Left at sunrise this morning. Had to get ahead of the St. Louis curfew that started at 6:30. I did and made it to Fenton, MO with 12 minutes to spare. Delivered the wheel loader. Then drove up to Decatur, Illinois and loaded five palettes of Caterpillar parts for a Caterpillar 794AC Mining Dump Tuck that are going to the Port of Jacksonville in Florida.
Left there and drove to the Pilot truck stop in Marion, Illinois. I'll leave here at about 2:30 AM EDT.
I left a half-hour after sunrise this morning. My plan from yesterday worked. I had no traffic issues through Chattanooga or Nashville. Very nice uneventful day on the road. Drove to the TA truck stop in Troy, Illinois. That is just outside of St. Louis. I'll be here until Tuesday morning because of the holiday.
I left a half-hour before sunrise this morning. Had about 10 to 15 miles of slow-and-go traffic just south of Atlanta. Then some more bumper to bumper traffic going around Atlanta and a little more just north of Atlanta. Continued on to the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia for the night. Didn't go any farther today because Chattanooga was a parking lot. I decided to go through there in the morning when there is less traffic, hopefully.
I left the yard at about 4:30 this morning and drove to Ocala and delivered the telehandler. My next load was 7 miles away. Went there and loaded a John Deere 624K Wheel Loader that is going to Fenton, Missouri.
I left there and drove back to the Daily yard in Jacksonville. Had to have some work done on my trailer. While there ran a few errands. The terminal manager asked me if I could go over to the Port of Jacksonville and assist another Daily driver. He had a large forklift on his trailer and didn't know how to get it off. I went there. It was a bit of a workout. Had to put a couple pins in to attach the hydraulic ram to the lift part so it could move. That took a bit of time and energy. Those things are heavy!!! Anyway, we got it done and I took the forklift off the trailer and parked it for him. He was very grateful because he didn't know how to do any of that. It is going overseas and all the instrumentation on the machine was in a foreign language. Had to figure out how to run the machine with no help. It was a good thing I knew what to do and how to do it.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I left. That was at 1 AM EDT. About an hour north of Charlotte, NC on I-77 traffic was backed up and not moving when a semi truck caught fire. I got to the stopped traffic shortly after it happened. The cops had the Interstate shut down. The fire trucks were arriving at the same time as I came to a stop. I was only about 2/10 mile from it but couldn't see anything because of all the stopped traffic ahead of me. I heard one of the tires explode. We sat there not moving for just about 30 minutes. Once that was over I continued on. Made it to the Daily terminal in Jacksonville, FL for the night. 504 miles today. I'll deliver in the morning. I'm tired!!! Good night.
Left this morning at 2 AM EDT. Drove to McConnellsburg, PA, and got there at 6:45 AM. Got all set up to load and they told me that my machine was not ready and wouldn't be ready until Thursday, the 26th. I had to wait until 8 AM for my people to get to work to find out if they had anything else available from here, or somewhere else to go. It wasn't until about 8:15 that I got my answer. Fortunately, they had another machine from there going to Ocala, Florida that I could take. I loaded it, a Caterpillar TL 1255 Telehandler.
I left there and drove to the Flying J truck stop in Ft. Chiswell, Virginia. Another 638 miles in the books for today. Going to sleep soon. Getting started again very early tomorrow morning.
So far for the year, I'm the 10th highest mileage truck out of approximately 250 Daily trucks.
I left this morning at sunrise. Drove the rest of the way to Kingston, NY. The worst part of the trip was the last 35 miles. It was on windy 2 lane roads in NY state. But I made it and delivered the crane thing. My next load is back in McConnellsburg, PA. I started off that way but stopped for the night at a service plaza on I-87 in Modena, NY. I'll start again when my 10 hours are up.
I left a half-hour before sunrise this morning. Another 617 miles behind me today. Stopped for the rest of the weekend at the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia. I'm out of hours and my Virginia permit does not allow Sunday driving.
As soon as my 10 hours were up, I left. That was about 2:45 AM CDT. Drove the rest of the way to New Orleans, LA. Beat the rush hour traffic too. Loaded a Manitowoc Crane Carbody. OK, now you are saying "...what the heck is that!!" Well, it is basically the substructure of a very large crane. The tracks attach to the side of it and the rest of the crane sits on top of it. It rotates on the pin that is sticking up out of the middle of it. This is it sitting on the ground waiting to be lifted, by crane, onto my trailer. Totally stripped down it still weighs about 50,000 pounds. It was purchased by a company in Kingston, New York. It takes 14 trucks to move the entire crane. I was the second to load. The "house" or the main part of the crane was the first and it went yesterday.
We left this morning a half-hour before sunrise and drove the rest of the way to the Port of Galveston, Texas, and delivered the tractors. He had never driven one of those before and asked me to show him how, so I did. My next load is over in New Orleans, Louisiana. I headed that way. Stopped for the night at the Petro in Beaumont, Texas.
We left a half-hour before sunrise this morning. Had a very good day on the road. Nothing exciting. Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Domino, Texas after putting another 575 miles behind us.
This morning I loaded a John Deere 9R 540HPPC Tractor that is going to the Port in Galveston, Texas. This one is a little bigger than the last one. I am overweight, overwidth, and overheight.
A friend of mine showed up and was loading a tractor a bit smaller (but not by much) than mine. He is also going to Galveston. We are going to go down together. We left there and headed south. Made it past St. Louis before the curfew so we don't have to worry about that tomorrow. Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Bloomsdale, Missouri. My permit route through Arkansas and Texas is not the same as last time, it's longer. Here is Arkansas.
Left a little before sunrise this morning and drove the 3.5 hour drive to Kansas City and delivered the dozer. My next load is way up in Waterloo, Iowa. Drove up there but didn't make it in time to load today. Will load first thing in the morning. I parked at John Deere for the night.
I left Galveston at 3:30 AM CDT and very soon after I got on I-45 got stuck in a roadblock. They are doing major construction on I-45. Crews were switching the closed lanes, so the cops stopped all the traffic while they did that. I could have slept for another hour!!! Oh well. Once I got through that it was smooth sailing for the rest of the day. Stopped for the rest of the weekend after putting another 585 miles behind me, at the Love's truck stop in Big Cabin, Oklahoma. I'm totally out of hours so I have to do a reset tomorrow.
Left a half-hour before sunrise this morning. Drove to Galveston and delivered the tractor. Didn't have another load yet. The bridge coming out of Galveston is weight restricted to 80,000 pounds due to damage to the bridge. It is really messing up loading out of Galveston. None of the big stuff can move. So I headed back to Houston. About halfway back they found a load for me back in Galveston. So I turned around and went back and loaded a Caterpillar D5 dozer that is going to Kansas City, Missouri.
I didn't have many hours left for today so I parked for the night at the parking area just outside of the Port gate. I'll get started tomorrow when my 10 hours are up.
Got a late start this morning but timed it perfectly again. Arrived at the St. Lewis curfew right at 9 AM when the curfew ended. No issues on the road and traffic wasn't too bad either. I pushed it pretty hard today. Drove 665 miles stopping once for that stupid required 30-minute break. Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Domino, Texas.
Left early this morning and drove to Fort Dodge. Got there just before they opened. Delivered the telehandler. Next load was back in Waterloo. Drove there and loaded a John Deere 9R 490HPPC Tractor that is going to Galveston, Texas.
Left there and drove to the Love's truck stop in New London, Missouri for the night. Will be starting a little later than usual. Have to time it so I get to St. Louis at 9 AM when the curfew ends.
Yesterday, while loading, the tag light on the trailer got smashed. As soon as my 10 hours were up I left. That was about 1:45 AM. Didn't sleep very well last night so I got sleepy a couple times and stopped to take a nap. Stopped at the Daily terminal in Bettendorf, Iowa, and got my tag light replaced. Continued on and stopped when I ran out of hours at the Flying J truck stop in Evansdale, Iowa. Even with all the stopping I still did 653 miles today.
Left real early this morning and got to Baltimore just before they opened. Delivered the wheel loader. My next load was over in McConnellsburg, PA. Drove there and loaded a JLG Telehandler that is going to Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Checked out of the hotel this morning and went back to the Daily yard. Stopped along the way and got fuel and the truck washed. With all my "chores" done I can veg out for the rest of the day.
Still raining!! Got up early and went down the road to the laundromat and did laundry. They have some huge machines there and I washed all my blankets and quilts. Then went back to the Daily yard and went back to sleep. Early afternoon I drove to the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, PA, and checked in. I had a room with two double beds. The TV didn't work and they had to send someone from maintenance to come fix it. It's always something!!! The "shindig" started at 5:30.
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The food was pretty good. The speeches were too long (as usual) and the door prizes were pretty good. I got another jacket for 10 years. Hard to believe that I have been at Daily for 10 years. The time has just flown by. I guess it is really true that time flies when you are having fun.
Once all the door prizes were finished I left and went back to my room. I'm not into all that schmoozing that goes on at these things.
Last night I got an email telling me that my truck was due for an oil change and lube. I also got a call from the person that handles the random DOT drug tests at Daily. She said that my name came up this month. We set up for it to be done sometime before 3:30 PM this afternoon at a place just down the road from the Daily Yard in Carlisle, PA. It has been a couple years since my name came up on the random list so I was not surprised.
Left New Paris, Ohio a little after 2 AM. More rain again all day. On the road, I scheduled to have the truck maintenance done at the TA in Wheeling, West Virginia. I arrived there at about 6:30 AM. There was a truck in the bay already but I was next in line. The guy at the desk said that "...it might be a while, the mechanic procrastinates a lot". I went and had breakfast, came back, and took a nap. I woke up at 8:30. The other truck was still in the bay being worked on. I decided not to wait so I canceled my appointment and left. While on the road called and scheduled an appointment to have the work done at the Petro in Carlisle at noon. I arrived at the Petro right at noon. They were just finishing up another truck and said I was next. I had time to go to the Daily yard and drop off my trailer. I got the maintenance work done at the Petro and left there at 3:05 PM and went straight to the clinic to do my drug test. After leaving my "golden deposit" at the clinic I got my paperwork and went back to the Daily yard. Tomorrow night is Daily's annual "Safety Banquet". I'll be going to that. I'll have a hotel room tomorrow night courtesy of Daily.
Left real early this morning and drove to Davenport, Iowa. Got there before they opened. When they opened, loaded a John Deere 624 Wheel Loader that is going to Baltimore, Maryland.
Left there and headed toward Baltimore. Started raising shortly after entering Illinois and it rained steadily for the rest of the day. At least it held off while I was loading, for a change. Had a bunch of bumper to bumper traffic going around Indianapolis. Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in New Paris, Ohio.
Left at sunrise this morning. Nothing interesting on the road today. Made it to Mokena, Illinois and delivered the wheel loader. My next load is tomorrow morning in Davenport, Iowa. I started off that direction. Stopped for the night at the TA in Morris, Illinois. 563 miles today.
Left early this morning and got to Clayton, NC a little before they opened. When they opened, loaded a Caterpillar 938M Wheel Loader that is going to Mokena, Illinois.
I was out of there by 8:30 !!! Pretty good day on the road. A few slowdowns from construction. Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Ripley, West Virginia.
Was at the Port of Savannah when they opened this morning. Loaded two Caterpillar CB2.7 Rollers. One goes to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and the other to Charlotte, North Carolina.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I drove back to Jacksonville. Will be here for a few days.
Left Jacksonville at 2 AM and drove down to West Palm Beach. Delivered the mini excavator. Left there and went over to Fort Myers and delivered the wheel loader. After that headed back north toward Jacksonville. Did another 627 miles today and had only 15 minutes left on my clock for today when I stopped at the Flying J truck stop in Dade City, Florida.
Didn't sleep at all. Left Cartersville at midnight thirty. Drove to the Daily yard in Jacksonville, FL. Now I'm going to sleep. The phone is off!!!
Left in the rain real early again this morning. Drove to a John Deere dealer in Williamsport, IN, and delivered one tractor. Got there way before they opened. After I got the tractor off I had to wait for them to come into work to accept it. After that, I drove up to another John Deere dealer in Kings, Illinois, and delivered the remaining tractor. My next load was in Davenport, IA. Went over there. Loaded a John Deere 544P Wheel Loader that is going to Ft. Myers, Florida, and a John Deere 35G Mini Excavator that is going to West Palm Beach, Florida.
Left there and drove to the Daily terminal in Morton, Illinois for the night. Drove 610 miles today. Set up my TV and good 'ole DishNetwork receiver took a dump!! This is the second time this has happened.
Left the TA real early this morning. Just west of Baltimore my trailer developed an air leak. I stopped at the rest area and checked it out. Determined that I could continue on. Instead of continuing west I went north instead and drove to the Daily yard in Carlisle, PA. Got to the shop just before everyone came in. When they got there they fixed my trailer right away and I was back on the road. The rest of the day was uneventful. Drove 598 miles today. Stopped at the Petro truck stop in New Paris, Ohio for the night.
My new paperwork didn't come in until about 11:30, their lunchtime. I got fuel then drove over to the Port, picked up my trailer, and waited for them to come back from lunch at 1. I was first in line when they came back. Got checked in then waited another hour for them to tell me where to unload it. I finally got it off my trailer. Then went to another place in the Port to pick up my next load. Checked in then went looking for my tractors, I was getting two. I found the first one and brought it over to my truck. Then went looking for the other one. Couldn't find it so I got in the first tractor and drove around the Port looking for it. Found it. Took it over to my truck then went back and got the first tractor again. Loaded them on my trailer. One is going to Williamsport, Indiana, and the other to Kings, Illinois.
It was pretty late by now so I went back to the TA for the night.
I went to leave this morning and found that the electric cable to my trailer came loose and it got pulled out of the plug. So I had no trailer lights.
I sent an email to our shop then went back to bed. When they came in they sent someone from Carlisle down to fix it. Two hours later he got there and fixed it. I drove to the Port of Baltimore. When I got there I still didn't have the paperwork that I had been asking for for four days. I had to wait some more. It finally came in and was incomplete. SO I had to wait more. When the correct paperwork came in it was ten minutes after the Port guys had gone to lunch. Union shop, they lunch from 11:30 to 1 PM. Now I had to wait until 1 PM for them to come back from lunch. Once they got back from lunch, I was 9th in line to get checked in. Half an hour later I got checked in. Then they told me that the ship has left already. I have to start over again with other paperwork. I waited another 2 1/2 hours for the correct paperwork but it didn't come in. I dropped my trailer there and bobtailed over to the TA truck stop for the night. Will try again tomorrow.
