Wednesday, February 7, 2024

 I left at about 11:45 PM CST last night.  Had a pretty good day on the road until I got to Knoxville, Tennessee.  I got there smack dab in the heart of rush hour.  There was quite a bit of stop-and-go and bumper-to-bumper traffic there.  A little while later I had a brittle air line snap.  While I was waiting for road service to come I found that I had a flat trailer tire too.  Never heard it or felt it blow.  Road service arrived and fixed the air line.  I then drove to the Petro truck stop in Glade Spring, Virginia, and got the tire replaced.

I stayed there for the night.  I will deliver tomorrow at a coal mine.

Here is the fun route through the mountains to get there from here.

Just to give you an idea of what is going to the coal mine, this is a Caterpillar D10 Dozer.  It is huge! The red arrow points to the piece I have.  The rest is coming in several other trucks.

Hope that helps.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

 When my 10 hours were up I left.  That was at about 2:30 AM CST.  Had no problems with traffic in Houston, TX, Lake Charles, LA, or Baton Rouge, LA.  Amazing!! Good day.  Drove 664 miles to the Love's truck stop in Sandersville, Mississippi for my next 10 hours off.

Monday, February 5, 2024

Went a few miles down the road to Longview, TX, and delivered the dozer first t thing this morning. My next load was way down in San Antonio, TX.  Headed that way.  When going through Waco, TX I was about 3 miles from where the Branch Davidian Compound was.  That is the place where President Bill Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno murdered hundreds of people when the FBI and ATF attacked the place and it eventually burned to the ground with all the men, women, and children inside.  For more info about the massacre, CLICK HERE.  Had some bumper-to-bumper and slow-and-go traffic in Austin and San Antonio.  Finally made it to load.  There is a used Caterpillar D10 Dozer being shipped to McClure, Virginia.  It takes several trucks to move the entire machine.  The machine was loaded up already on a 12-axle setup and he left shortly after I got there.  Initially, there was a bit of confusion as to what I was taking, but after a few phone calls, we got it figured out.  So the guy went to find my stuff.  After a while, he came back with one piece and went to look for the others.  He returned with nothing else. The other pieces were taken off the dozer by the mechanics (as they were supposed to) but they were put inside the cab of the dozer.  SO, most of my load left already.  We put the one and only piece on my trailer, I secured it, and left. 

One of the easiest loads I have ever had.  I went to the TA truck stop in San Antonio for my 10 hours.

Saturday, February 3, 2024

 I left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  There were two cruise ships in port this morning.  I like to see those.  They are much nicer to look at compared to the freighters I usually see. Galveston really floods out quickly!!  Just an average thunderstorm had the roads ponding with a lot of water.  I'd hate to see what they are like during a hurricane.  Had rain most of the morning.  I drove to the TA truck stop in Kilgore, Texas for the rest of the weekend.  I'll deliver a few miles from here on Monday morning.

Friday, February 2, 2024

 I left at about 3 AM EST and drove the rest of the way to the Daily terminal in Houston.  I dropped my trailer and went to Baytown to make my deposit in the cup.  When that was done, I went back and got my trailer. My next load was in Galveston at the Port.  I went there and loaded a Caterpillar D6 Dozer that is going to Longview, Texas. A long journey!!

After loading, I went across the street from the Port entrance and parked for the night.  I'll leave in the morning.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

 Last night I started at 11 PM CST when my 10 hours were up.  Had no problems with traffic.  Drove straight through Dallas and Ft. Worth without difficulty.  Drove the rest of the way to Lubbock and delivered the wheel loader right when they opened.  Don't have another load yet, but they said to head toward Houston. So, off I went.  After driving 675 miles I stopped for my 10 hours at the Petro truck stop in Weatherford, Texas, that's about 25 miles west of Ft. Worth on I-20.  While there, Carlisle called and said my name came up on the list for a random drug/alcohol test.  So tomorrow I'll go to the Houston yard, drop my trailer, and go pee in a cup at the test collection place they are sending me to. In the meantime, I'm going to sleep.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

 When my 10 houyrs were up I left.  I didn't get quite as far as I would have liked.  The Dallas / Ft. Worth area roads were a sea of bumper to bumper traffic this morning.  I really didn't want to get stuck in that mess so I stopped at the Pilot truck stop in Caddo Mills, Texas.  I'll go through Dallas in the middle of the night when, hopefully, the traffic will be flowing better.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

 At about 1:45 Am EST, when my 10 hours were up, I left.  Very nice uneventful day on the road.  Drove 641 miles to the Love's truck stop in Jackson, Tennessee.  I'll be back at it when my 10 hours are up again.

Monday, January 29, 2024

 I waited for my 34-hour reset to be finished before I left Carlisle. At about 10:45 AM EST, I left and drove to Shippensburg, PA, and loaded a Volvo L90H Wheel Loader that is going to Lubbock, Texas.

I left there and drove to the Petro truck stop in Raphine, Virginia for my 10 hours.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

 When my 10 hours were up, I left.  That was at about 8:30 PM EST.  I drove the rest of the way to Carlisle, PA.  It rained the whole way.  I got there at about 1 AM EST. I was going to unload the truck when I got there but decided to wait until morning when the rain stopped.  At about 9 AM I unloaded the truck.  Later on, I went to Walmart and restocked some stuff.  Then I did a few loads of laundry.  Now I'm done and will relax for the rest of the day.  I'll load tomorrow afternoon when my reset is completed.

Saturday, January 27, 2024

 I left last night at 11:30 pm EST.  Very nice, uneventful night on the road.  Drove 562 miles to the Flying J truck stop in Ruther Glen, Virginia for my 10 hours.

Friday, January 26, 2024

 Drove the rest of the way to Lake City, FL, and delivered the dozer this morning.  From there I drove to the Jacksonville terminal to get my trainer lights fixed.  I also need a new printer.  I had to order it.  This afternoon my printer arrived and works great!  The mechanic fixed my trailer lights, so I'm good to go.

This evening I loaded a Daily truck on my trailer.  The driver that had it quit and the truck needed to go back to Carlisle.

I'll get a bit of sleep then leave in the middle of the night.

Thursday, January 25, 2024

 I left very early this morning so that I would arrive in Trussville, AL just before they opened.  Started off in heavy fog.  After a little while it changed to rain.  Of course, it was raining hard when I was loading a John Deere 650K Dozer that is going to Lake City, Florida.  

I was soaked through to the skin everywhere.  Even my jacket soaked through.  Left there and headed south.  Had a very good day, even though it rained most of it.  By the time I stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Valdosta, Georgia it had stopped raining.  I thought I would be able to deliver today but I was a little too short on hours.  552 miles today

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

 Yesterday on I-294 in Chicago, about 20 miles from where the car crashed into me last August, I Had another "episode".  I was in the far right lane (the construction zone used the shoulder as the lane), there was a truck 2 lanes over from me.  He decided to change lanes without looking and almost hit the truck that was passing me.  Fortunately, no one got hit.  Enjoy the video.

That was yesterday.

This morning I left a half hour before sunrise.  Rained all day.  Made very good time and drove all the way to Greenwood, Mississippi, and delivered the tractor.  My next load is in Trussville, Alabama.  I started off that way.  Stopped at the Pilot truck stop in Winona, Mississippi for the night.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

 We got the ice storm that was predicted.  That meant I couldn't leave.  The pink in the radar picture below is ice.  The green is rain. I was where the blue dot is.

The Illinois website for traffic conditions looked like this.

Things got better by 11:30 AM CST.  That's when I left. Once I got on the road I had no problems.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Effingham, Illinois for the night.

Monday, January 22, 2024

 This morning I checked out of the hotel, returned the rental car, and was dropped off at my truck at the International dealer.  My truck was fixed!!!  I left there and drove to the Petro truck stop in Racine, WI to wait for my next load.  I didn't have to wait long.  My next load was in Sturtevant, WI, about 10 miles away. I went there and loaded a Case Magnum 380 tractor, 4 tires, and 2 boxes of stuff.  All that is going to Greenwood, Mississippi.  

As I'm ready to leave I see that half of my trailer lights had stopped working. Just great!!!  I left there and drove to the Love's truck stop in Wadsworth, Illinois.  That is right at the Wisconsin / Illinois state line.  Spent over 5 hours there getting them fixed.  I stayed there for the night since it was after sunset when it was finally fixed.  The weather is not supposed to be very good tomorrow morning so I may be here a little longer than I want to be.  We shall see.

Monday, January 15, 2024

 It was a very cold weekend here in the parking lot of the Caterpillar dealer in Milwaukee, WI.  This morning it was -4 F (-20 C).  I tried to take the wheel loader off the trailer yesterday but the machine was frozen and wouldn't run.  This morning when they arrived for work I told them about it and they sent a service technician over to fix it.  To make a long story short, it took 6 hours of him working on it to finally get it off my trailer.  In the meantime, my truck started to act up.  The "Check Engine" light came on.  Then the "Water in Fuel" light came on.  Then last but not least the truck was about to derate.  If it derates it would need to be towed.  

Fortunately, there was an International repair shop about 1/4 mile from the Caterpillar place.  I was able to get there.  Dropped the truck off and they gave me a ride to the hotel just down the street.  I have no idea how long I'll be here.  A couple days for sure.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

The local news said that the crash that for hours shut down both north and southbound bound lanes of I-57 in Ina, Illinois yesterday was caused by two cars and a semi-truck colliding and catching fire.  There were injuries, but according to the newscast, no fatalities.  At 9 PM last night, the northbound side was open but the southbound side was still closed.

 I left a half hour before sunrise this morning. That mess had been cleaned up and I didn't see any signs of it.  It was windy with blowing snow today.  Blue skies above.  Roads were pretty good until the northern part of Illinois.  North of Bloomington The crosswind was very, very strong.  Lots of blowing snow from west to east.  Between I-80 and I-88 on I-57, the road was very icy to go along with the severe crosswinds and blowing snow.  There were wrecks everywhere!!  Made it through there and continued on the the Caterpillar dealer in Milwaukee where I'll deliver Monday morning.  They are still plowing the parking lot here.  Hard to tell exactly how much snow is on the ground here, but it is at least a foot.

Friday, January 12, 2024

 I left a half hour after sunrise this morning.  Heavy wind to start the day.  Didn't start raining hard until I got to Tennessee.  Then it rained hard all the way through.  Surprisingly, I didn't have any traffic issues all day, not even through Nashville. Made it all the way up into Illinois.  Then I had to stop earlier than I wanted to because it looked like I-57 was shut down in Ina, Illinois.  Have no idea why, but I didn't want to get stuck in that,

I stopped for the night at the  Love's truck stop in Marion, Illinois.

Thursday, January 11, 2024

 I was a little later getting back to work because of a battle with the flu.  I'm over it now and back at it again.

This morning I drove up to Pooler, Georgia, and loaded a Caterpillar 950GC Wheel Loader that is going up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I left there in pretty good time.  Had about 5 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic just north of Atlanta but that was all.  Made it a lot farther than I thought I would today.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Cartersville, Georgia.

January 1, 2024

 

December 25, 2023

 

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

 Left at about 3:30 AM EST and drove the rest of the way to Morrow, GA, and delivered the drill.  I was out of there before 8 AM.  From there I drove to the Daily terminal in Jacksonville, Florida.  Will be home for the holidays.  See you next year.

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

 Last night I ended up getting 3 new trailer tires.  Really messed up my sleep.  Even so, when my 10 hours were up, I left.  When I stopped for the required 30-minute break, I took a nap.  Two hours later I woke up and continued on to the TA in Commerce, Georgia.  I'm about 2 hours from delivery.  Will do that in the morning. Hopefully, I can get through Atlanta before the crush of rush hour.

Monday, December 18, 2023

 Delivered the wheel loader first thing this morning in the rain.  Then I drove down to Frederick, Maryland, and dropped off the thing.  After that, I drove to Strasburg, Virginia, and loaded a drill and a box going to Morrow, Georgia.  I was a day early to load but they were ready for me.  Got lucky!!  I didn't know I was a day early.  Oh well.  

While loading I noticed that I had a couple bad trailer tires.  After loading I went straight to the Love's truck stop in Tom's Brook, Virginia for the night and to get them replaced.  Here is the worst one.

They have quite a line waiting for service so who knows when they will get to me.

Friday, December 15, 2023

 I left Davenport at about 5:30 PM CST last evening.  Lots of "shooting stars" tonight.  Had an uneventful drive until I went through the Gary, Indiana area.  On I-80 heading west just east of Gary I passed a high-speed police chase.

Continued on to the TA truck stop in Youngstown, Ohio for my 10 hours.

When my 10 hours were up, I left.  Drove to the Petro truck stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  Will be here until Monday morning.

Thursday, December 14, 2023

That thing I picked up in Wyoming is not going to Davenport like I thought, it's going to Frederick, Maryland.  Last night I left as soon as my 10 hours were up.  Had no problems on the road.  Night driving is so much better.  I drove 695 miles to John Deere in Davenport, Iowa where I'll pick up a machine.

I loaded a John Deere 544 Wheel Loader this morning that is going to Dunmore, Pennsylvania.  Couldn't leave until my 10 hours are up,

I sat in their parking lot until I could move again.

I left at about 5:30 PM CST.  Will drive all night again.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

 Last night I drove to Evanston, Wyoming, and picked up this little thing.  It's doing to Davenport, Iowa.

Left there and headed east.  About halfway through Wyoming got into ice fog.  Coated everything with a fine mist of ice.  The trees and grass were really gorgeous!!  Couldn't get any photos of it, too dark. Made for some slick spots on the road.  It is very tiring driving in that.  It cleared up around Cheyenne.  Stopped for my 10 hours at the Love's truck stop in Sydney, Nebraska.

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

 Finally got my next load.  I'll leave tonight at about 7:45 PM MST drive to Evanston, Wyoming, and pick up a small rack of some kind that is going to John Deere in Davenport, Iowa.

Monday, December 11, 2023

 Went to deliver this morning and when I got there they changed the delivery address, so I had to go about 17 miles to deliver.  It took an hour to get there.  I finally delivered.  Then I went back to the truck stop to wait for them to give me my next load.  Nothing today, hopefully something tomorrow.

Sunday, December 10, 2023

 Left early this morning.  Very nice drive through the mountains of Utah.  Went through the town of Moab, the gateway to the Arches National Park.  It was a beautiful drive.  The highest elevation was 7,400 feet.  Stopped at a truck stop in Salt Lake City, Utah for the rest of today.  I'll deliver about 1 mile from here in the morning.

Saturday, December, 9, 2023

 Last night just as I got settled in I got an email that said my truck was due for an oil change and routine maintenance service.  I called the shop at the truck stop where I was.  They said they had no wait and come on over.  I did.  I got the oil change done and out of the way.  Then I went to sleep.

Since I got to bed late, I got started a little later than I wanted. Even so, I still got started very early this morning.  Had a very nice uneventful day on the road.  A coyote ran across the road in front of me and when he got to the side of the road he stopped and looked at me as I passed him by.  Always like to see wildlife.  I also saw a great shooting star.  It was a very bright downward streak of light with a bright "pop" type flash as it burned out.  Very cool!!!  Drove 602 miles to a small truck stop in Monticello, Utah for the rest of the day and part of the night.

Friday, December 8, 2023

 I was asleep around 6 PM last night.  Woke up a couple times during the night, but basically slept good.  Left a little later than normal because I really needed the extra sleep.  It felt good!!   Drove up to The Big Texan this evening for a really good meal. The place always looks great at Christmas.

This time I had the 18oz ribeye steak.

A woman was trying the 72oz challenge, but she couldn't finish it.  She didn't even get half of it eaten.  Now with a full belly, I'm going to sleep.  Good night. 

Thursday, December 7, 2023

 

Early this morning I went back to where I left the flatbed trailer and secured the load with chains.

That is the chassis for a rock crusher.  I took it 8 miles down the road to where it will be assembled.  After unloading I went back to the Daily yard, dropped off the flatbed, and picked up my trailer.  My next load was in Waco, Texas.  I drove down there and loaded a bunch of parts for something, I have no idea what.  They are going to Salt Lake City, Utah.

I left there but didn't go very far.  Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Waco, Texas.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

 Went the rest of the way to Wichita this morning and was early for my appointment.  Loaded a New Holland C362 Skid Steer that was going to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  

Daily wanted me to go to the OKC terminal before I delivered.  I was to drop my trailer and take a flatbed trailer to a place in OKC and load a Terex chassis.  It was going about 13 miles away to be delivered.  Then go back and get my trailer and deliver the skid steer.  When I got to the Daily terminal in OKC I got the other trailer and was told that I would only need straps to secure the Terex chassis.  I went over there to load.  When they brought the chassis over and loaded it on the trailer I knew that straps would not work.  I needed chains.  They were back on my trailer at the Daily yard. I left the trailer there and Bobtailed back to the yard.  By this time it was too late to deliver the flatbed load so I got my trailer and went over and delivered the skid steer.  At least that was done.  Then went back to the Daily yard for the night.  I'll finish the flatbed load in the morning.

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

 I left when my 10 hours were up.  Drove the rest of the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and delivered the motor grader.  My next load is tomorrow morning in Wichita, Kansas with a loading appointment of 9:40 AM CST.  I headed that way.  Stopped for the rest of the day and night at a very small convenience store with truck parking in Leon, Kansas.

Monday, December 4, 2023

 When the Port opened at 8 AM CST, I went in and loaded a Caterpillar 150 Motorgrader that is going to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The last one I had was steered with a steering wheel.  This one was done using joysticks.  I like the joysticks so much better.  I left there in pretty good time considering that there were over 20 trucks there to load this morning. Stopped at a scale and found out that I was 2,420 pounds overweight.  This was supposed to be a legal load.

Called the office and they ordered a Texas permit for me. Didn't need an Oklahoma permit because I'm registered for 90,000 pounds in Oklahoma.  So there I'm legal.  Waited a little over an hour for it to come in, then I left.  I stopped at the TA truck stop in Dallas, Texas for my 10 hours.  Didn't get anywhere near as far as I wanted to today.

Sunday, December 3, 2023

 This morning I went to Walmart then to the truck wash and fuel.  After that, I drove to the Port of Galveston where I'll be until tomorrow morning when I load there.

Friday, December 1, 2023

 I left at about 10:30 PM CST last night in the rain.  It rained steadily until about 10 miles east of Lafayette, LA.  Then it was very heavy rain with thunder and lightning.  That lasted until I was well past Lafayette.  Past quite a few wrecks that appeared weather-related.  I was doing great until I-10 in Texas west of Beaumont in the construction zone.  Came to a total standstill.  Sat there for about an hour.  Have no idea what caused it.

We finally got moving again and I continued to Carmine, TX, and delivered the wheel loader in thick heavy mud.  Made a mess out of everything.  From there I drove back to Houston and went to the Daily terminal. Arrived there with only 22 minutes left on my clock.  674 miles today.  I'm tired.  Going to sleep now.  Good night.

Thursday, November 30, 2023

 I left at about 1:30 AM EST this morning. Nothing interesting today.  Drove 650 miles to the Love's truck stop in Sandersville, Mississippi for my 10 hours.  

Here is the list of countries my blog has been read in over the past 30 days.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

 First thing this morning I went to Shippensburg and picked up a Volvo L90H Wheel Loader and brought it back to the Daily yard in Carlisle.

After dropping that off I went back to Shippensburg and loaded a Volvo L70 H Wheel Loader that is going to Carmine, Texas.

Left there and drove to the Love's truck stop in Max Meadows, Virginia for my 10 hours.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

 We had snow flurries all morning today.  My trailer was finished this morning. They replaced the missing board and added 4 new "D" rings.

Glad to have those "D" rings.  I use those a lot. My next load is tomorrow morning in Shippensburg, PA.

Monday, November 27, 2023

 This morning I took my truck to International in Harrisburg.  Sat there most of the day with it while they checked it out.  When they finished I took it back to Carlisle. Meanwhile, my trailer went into the shop to get the board that fell off replaced on it and add a few more "D" rings.

The trailer will be ready sometime tomorrow morning.