This afternoon I went over to the Port of Jacksonville and loaded a Volvo A25G Dump Truck that is going to Texarkana, Arkansas. While I was securing it to the trailer noticed that I had a flat tire on the trailer.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I drove home to Jacksonville for the weekend.
I left this morning to time it so that I got to Georgia a half hour after sunrise. Had no problems going around Atlanta. Some slow n' go traffic south of Atlanta though. Continued on down to Chiefland, FL, and delivered the tractor. From there I went to the TA truck stop in Lake City, FL for the night. Another 600 miles today.
Left about an hour before sunrise this morning. Had a pretty good day. Got another 605 miles behind me. In Kentucky, I got stuck in a bit of a traffic backup caused by a semi-truck crash that they were cleaning up.
Don't know how anyone could survive that. Made it through Nashville with minimal traffic problems. WHEW!!!! Continued to the Love's truck stop in Christiana, Tennessee for the night.
When I left at 11 PM CDT from Concordia it was 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24.4 Celsius). We didn't get any more weather, it just got very windy. I drove through the cold front on my way. When I got to Waterloo it was 38 F (3.3 C). I was 18th in line to load this morning. When it was finally my turn, I loaded a John Deere 8R 280 tractor and four tires that are going to Chiefland, Florida.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I left. Drove the rest of the way to Sedalia, Missouri, and delivered the track loader. From there I went to the TA truck stop in Concordia, Missouri. 668 miles today. I had only 8 minutes left on my driving clock when I stopped. My next load is tomorrow morning in Waterloo, Iowa. Supposed to get some really bad weather tonight. Right now, as I'm writing this, we are under a severe thunderstorm warning. It rained some and we had some pea-sized hail but it has since stopped - for now. The rest of the night should be interesting.
Here are last month's adventures.
This morning I drove over to Ephrata, PA, getting the truck washed on the way. Loaded a Caterpillar 963K Track Loader that is going to Sedalia, Missouri.
This was supposed to be a permit load but it turned out not to be. I like that!!! Left there and had a good day on the road. Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Millersport, Ohio. Glad to be here. My back is a mess tonight. Hope it is better tomorrow.
Left at sunrise this morning. Traffic was heavy all day. Lots of RVs and Canadian cars heading north. The snowbird migration is in full swing! LOTS of bumper-to-bumper and stop n' go traffic today. Thought I'd never get to Myersville!! But I did and delivered the dump truck. From there I drove up to the "home office" in Carlisle for the weekend. I load Monday not too far from here. Glad today is over!!!
I left Vero Beach at 3 AM EDT and drove to the Port of Jacksonville. Loaded a Caterpillar 730 Dump Truck that is going up to Myersville, Maryland.
Left there in real good time. Heavy traffic on I-95 all day. In South Carolina had a lot of stop n' go traffic. Also had two construction detours. Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Dunn, North Carolina. 646 miles today.
Left at 11:00 PM EDT last night. Drove to Cutler Bay and delivered the mini-excavator. Was out of there by 6:30 AM. Beat the traffic going in, but not coming back out. Lots of bumper-to-bumper and slow 'n go getting back out of Miami. My next load is in Jacksonville. I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Vero Beach, FL.
As soon as my 10 hours were up, I left. Drove 716 miles today stopping only once for that required 30-minute break. Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Brunswick, Georgia with only 3 minutes left on my available driving time clock. Not too shabby!!
At 8:30 PM EDT Sunday night I left. That was when my 10 hours were up. Drove the rest of the way to Carlisle, PA. Got there a few minutes after midnight. When the guys from the shop came to work, they took the trailers off. My 10 hours off were up at about 10:30 AM EDT and I left for my next load 3 miles away at the Keen yard. Loaded a Volvo ECR88D Excavator that is going to Cutler Bay, Florida.
Left there and drove to the Love's truck stop in Toms Brook, Virginia for my 10 hours.
Left the yard at midnight. Drove 625 uneventful miles to the TA truck stop in Ashland, Virginia.
My trailer is fixed now. Here is what was bad and what was replaced. This is supposed to be round, not oval.
Here is the bolt that was in it.
Glad it is all better now. This afternoon we loaded two trailers on my trailer. I'm taking them up to the "home office" in Carlisle, PA.
I'll leave here tomorrow.
I left at sunrise this morning and drove the rest of the way to Covington, Louisiana, and delivered the wheel loader. From there I drove home to the Daily yard in Jacksonville, Florida. Will be here for a few days. The trailer needs some work done on it. 581 miles today.
Left at sunrise this morning. Drove to the Petro truck stop in Hammond, Louisiana. Thought I'd never get here. Long exhausting day. I'll be here until Monday morning.
Left a half hour before sunrise this morning. Pretty uneventful day on the road. Passed two separate semi-truck crashes today. One was in the woods on its side. The other was in the median on its side. Other than that, I'm on back roads now. Because of limited places ahead to park for the night, I opted to stop very early in a place I knew had parking places. I'm in a convenience store with a few truck parking places in Dewitt, Arkansas.
Left real early this morning and drove the rest of the way to Davenport, Iowa. Loaded a John Deere 744 Wheel Loader that is going to Covington, Louisiana.
Had to wait for my Iowa permit to come in before I left. I waited for a half hour while all the rest of my permits came in. I finally said "...the heck with it!" and left anyway. I was 25 miles into Illinois when my Iowa permit came in. Had a very nice day on the road. Rain off and on. Drove 575 miles today. Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Bloomsdale, Missouri. You should see the stupid route they are sending me on!!! Shortly after I get into Arkansas it's bye-bye Interstate highways all the way down to I-10 in southern Louisiana. Don't know why they didn't just keep me on I-55. Good night.
Left a half hour before sunrise and drove straight through to Lafayette, Indiana, and delivered the dump truck. Next load is in Davenport, Iowa. Started off that way and stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Remington, Indiana.
Left a half hour before sunrise this morning. Pretty uneventful day. Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Hayti, Missouri. 485 miles today.
Went to the other side of Houston this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 730 Dump Truck that is going to Lafayette, Indiana.
These things are not real easy to load by yourself. You can't see the trailer when loading so you have to do it by feel. Sometimes I get it right the first time, and sometimes I don't. Today was an I don't. Took about 3 or 4 tries to get it right. Left there and headed north. Stopped and scaled up. As I suspected, it was too heavy on the trailer axles. Had to move the machine back a couple feet. Once that was done I was on my way again. Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Henderson, Texas.
At about 9:30 PM CST Friday night, I left and drove to the Daily yard in Houston. Going back to sleep.
As soon as my 10 hours were up, I left. That was at about 9:30 PM CST. Drove to San Antonio, Texas stopping only once for that required 30-minute break. 727 miles today. When I finished I had 1 minute left on my clock today. I'm exhausted. Going to sleep. Good night.
As soon as my 10 hours were up, I left. Drove 700.2 miles today and stopped with 8 minutes left on my clock at the TA truck stop in Meridian, Mississippi. The delivery location was changed from Houston to San Antonio.
First thing this morning I got my trailer lights fixed. Then drove to Shippensburg, PA, and loaded a Volvo L90H Wheel Loader that is going to Houston, Texas. While loading I ripped out my air lines and electric line to the trailer. I did good!!!
The International dealer in Harrisburg was sending a service truck here to do the warranty work on my truck. He was supposed to be here early this morning. He didn't arrive until 1 PM EST. I was lucky to get a car from Daily so I spent most of the day driving around Carlisle bored out of my mind!! He finished at about 5:30 PM. I hooked back to my trailer and now half my trailer lights don't work!!!! I'll have to get that fixed in the morning before I go. It's always something!!!!
This morning I drove the rest of the way to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, MD. Got there and was 27th in line to check in. Once I got checked in I went and unloaded the tractor. A forklift from the Port came over and unloaded the tires. I was reloading right there so I went and found the machine, a Chinese wheel loader that is going to Shippensburg, PA. The Port people that unloaded it from the ship left the batteries on and the batteries were dead. Had to wait for a guy to come around and jump-start the machine. Once we got it running, he left. I let it run for a bit to charge the very dead batteries. When I started to move it, it stalled. GREAT!!! The batteries charged enough to light up the dash but not enough to start it. Had to wait for the guy to come back and jump it again. He came and we got it running again. This time it didn't stall when I moved it. It was surrounded by a lot of other machines so I had to "wiggle" it out of there to get it over to my trailer. Got it loaded on my trailer but didn't shut it off until I was ready to leave. The Port forklift brought over two small boxes and placed them on the front upper deck. They weren't heavy.
I finally got out of there and drove to Shippensburg, PA, and delivered it. After that went up to Carlisle, PA to the "home office". They have to do some warranty work on the truck.
Left a half hour before sunrise this morning with hopes of delivering today. My hopes were quickly dashed when I figured out how long I had to go to get there. If Waterloo hadn't screwed up and loaded me when they should have, I would have been able to deliver today. The weather didn't help much either. The rain started when I was in Pennsylvania. By the time I got to Maryland, it was starting to change to snow.
Left early this morning and stopped at Iowa 80 on the way because I needed to get some stuff that I knew they had. Did real good until Indianapolis. There was a crash on the beltway that had traffic backed up several miles. I decided to chance it and went around Indy the other way, which was not on my permit route. I got lucky and made it without getting caught. Continued on to the Love's truck stop in Springfield, Ohio for the night. Another 586 miles today.
Left real early this morning and drove the rest of the way to Mason City, Iowa, and delivered the excavator stuff. From there drove to Waterloo, Iowa, and loaded a John Deere 7R 290 Tractor and a couple tires that are going to the Port of Baltimore in Dundalk, Maryland. It took them an hour and a half to load me. Ran out of hours so I had to spend the night at the Flying J truck stop just down the road. 522 miles today.
As soon as my 10 hours were up, I was back on the road. Drove straight through the middle of Dallas with no traffic issues at all. Drove 648 miles today to the Flying J truck stop in Nevada, Missouri.
Delivered the genset first thing this morning in Corpus Christi. Next load was up in Victoria, TX. Drove there and loaded Some stuff from a Caterpillar excavator that is going to Mason City, Iowa.
From there drove to Richie Brothers Auction in Humble, Texas. Was to load an excavator bucket that another truck was unable to take when he loaded the machine. But unbeknownst to us, I needed a loading appointment. They wouldn't load it without one. SO, I called my dispatcher and told him of this development. He said to disregard it and continue on. They would send someone else to get it. I left and drove to the Flying J truck stop in New Caney, Texas for my 10 hours.
Early this morning I drove to the Flying J truck stop in George West, Texas for the rest of the weekend. Now I can catch up on a LOT of sleep.
Once again I left when my ten hours were up. When I started off this morning the temperatures were in the 60s. Drove through a cold front and watched the temps drop. By the time I got to Irving, it was in the mid-40s. Drove to Irving, Texas, and delivered the four parts boxes. Left there and headed towards Corpus Christi, TX where the genset and a parts box will be dropped off. Stopped for the rest of the day at the Flying J truck stop in Waco, Texas. Another 626 miles today.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I left and drove to Griffin, Georgia. I wasn't supposed to load until tomorrow but I got very lucky and was able to load today. That doesn't happen very often. Loaded four parts boxes that are going to Irving, Texas and a Caterpillar Genset, and a parts box that are going to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Left there but didn't get too far before the shrink wrap disintegrated. Had to stop just west of Atlanta and cut it all off. They did a lousy job wrapping it.
Last night I got an email that said my truck was due for maintenance. So when I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Meridian, Mississippi I went to the shop and had it done. 635 miles today. I'm pretty tired tonight. Good night.
Left at sunrise this morning and drove the rest of the way to LaVergne, Tennesse, and delivered the wheel loader. My next load is Friday morning in Griffin, Georgia. I'll head that way tomorrow. Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop a mile from where I delivered.
Left a half hour before sunrise this morning. LOTS of bumper-to-bumper traffic from south of Houston and all the way through Houston. Took forever to get through there. Then more delays from construction!! Very frustrating morning. To top it all off, just north of Houston a bird flew into my mirror and knocked off the plastic cover.
Because of all the delays, I didn't get as far as I wanted to today. I pushed it, against my better judgment, and tried to get a bit more miles instead of stopping when I normally do. The truck stop that I had in my sights was totally full. I was lucky to even get back out again. It was very tight. So I went to another, and it too was full. I ended up stopping for the night at a convenience store with some truck parking in the back. Crap for food options.
Went over to the job site in San Antonio this morning and delivered the drill stuff. My next load was over in Freeport, Texas at the Port. Drove the 4 1/2 hour drive over there and loaded a Caterpillar 972 Wheel Loader that is going to LaVergne, Tennessee.
Left there but didn't go very far. Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Angleton, Texas.
Left early this morning and arrived at the TA truck stop in San Antonio, Texas before 9 AM CST. Will be here for the rest of the weekend. deliver Monday morning.
When my 10 hours were up I left. It was 70 degrees. Drove through the rainy cold front going through Alabama. When I got to Slidell, LA it was 43 degrees and very windy. Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Beaumont, Texas. 635 miles today.
Drove up to Pembroke, Georgia this morning, stopping along the way to get the truck washed. Got there at about 7 AM EST. There was some confusion about what I was supposed to take. Once that got straightened out I got loaded with a counterweight and a drilling sleeve that are going to a job site in San Antonio, Texas.
I left at about 2 AM EST and drove the rest of the way to Boynton Beach. Delivered the skid steers. My next load is tomorrow morning in Pembrook, Georgia. I started off that way and stopped for the night at the Jacksonville yard. Didn't have enough hours left today to get up to Savannah. Pembrook is just west of Savannah.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I left. Very good uneventful day on the road. Drove 660 miles stopping only once for that stupid required 30-minute rest break. Stopped for my next 10 hours off at the TA truck stop in Lake City, Florida.
Left real early this morning to beat the Dallas rush hour traffic. Arrived at the delivery site with no problems. Delivered the excavator. Left there and drove to a Caterpillar dealer in Cleburne, Texas, and loaded two Caterpillar Skid Steers and two buckets, and two forks that are going to Boynton Beach, Florida.
Left there and drove to the Love's truck stop in Monroe, Louisianna for the night. For some reason, I'm really tired tonight. Phone is off. Good night.
As soon as my 10 hours were up, I left. Drove 625 miles today stopping only once for that stupid required 30-minute break. Stopped for the rest of the weekend at the TA truck stop in Terrell, Texas.
Went over to the Port of Savannah first thing this morning and loaded a Volvo EC160EL Excavator that is going to Fort Worth, Texas.
Left there and was on the road at 9 AM EST. Had some slow-'n-go traffic just south of Atlanta. Stopped a little earlier than I wanted because of a fatal crash just east of Birmingham, Alabama. I stopped at the Love's truck stop in Moody, Alabama.
Well, I finally finished everything in Jacksonville so now it's time to get back on the road. I drove to the TA in Richmond Hill, Georgia for the night. I load at the Port of Savannah in the morning.
Once again, when my 10 hours were up, I left and drove to the Daily Jacksonville terminal. I'll be here for a couple days.
When my 10 hours were up, I left Beaumont, Texas, and drove to the Love's truck stop in Mossy Head, Florida. Yes, that really is the name of the town.
