Saturday, March 21, 2015

Easy day today.  Started at sunrise and drove up to the TA truck stop in Greencastle, Pennsylvania.  Had to stop because of the stupid "nanny state" laws.  In Maryland and Pennsylvania I can't drive past noon on Saturdays.  Will get started again Monday morning.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Went into Pooler, GA this morning and loaded a Komatsu 785 Dump Truck chassis.  They used two cranes to load it.  Took forever to get out of there.

I am 102,200 pounds.  When I got to South Carolina it took an hour and a half to go 25 miles.  Bumper to bumper.  After that cleared up the traffic was fairly heavy all day.  Stopped for the night at a truck stop in Stony Creek, Virginia.  463 miles today.  Feels good to be "back in the saddle" again.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Well, after taking way too much time off I am finally back at it again.  I load tomorrow morning up in Pooler, Georgia.  This evening drove to the TA truck stop in Savannah, GA.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Was on the road at 3 am today.  Delivered the first batch in Summerville, SC when they opened this morning.  Then on to the next one.  Stopped in Savannah, GA for fuel, food, and a shower.  Then on into Jacksonville, FL and delivered the rest of the load at the port.  Then went home. Will be there for a little bit.  Have lots to do!!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The day started off real good.  Drove in rain until about 15 miles north of Knoxville, TN.  Then I broke through the front and the sky slowly cleared up.  In North Carolina about 5 miles north of South Carolina I got stopped by the cops.  Apparently there is a sign somewhere behind me that said "No Trucks Left Lane".  I never saw it and was in the left lane, there were only two lanes.  Got another roadside inspection, which was fine.  Also got a ticket for being in the left lane.  Stopped at a small truck stop in Inman, South Carolina for the night.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Early this morning we got some snow that changed to ice, and by mid morning changed to rain.  Glad I didn't have to go anywhere this morning.  At about 9 am local time I got my load. It was down in East Peoria, IL. Drove down there to the Caterpillar plant and loaded two loads. One going to Summerville, SC and the other going to Blount Island, FL.

From there I drove to a truck stop in Crawfordsville, Indiana for the night.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Went in to Burr Ridge, IL and delivered the Gradall.  Pulled in and all the way around the building where they said to unload.  After unloading I started to leave but couldn't get out.  The exit was too small for my truck.  I had to back all the way around the building  and back out the way I came in.

In the photo below, the blue arrows show the way I went in.  The blue "X" is where I unloaded.  The red arrow shows where I tried to go out but couldn't.  I backed out the way I went in.

Also remember that the entire area was snow covered and the driveway was packed snow, which was really ice.  There were snow/ice banks all around and on the sides of the road and driveway.  There were also a lot more machines in there than what is pictured.  It was cramped in there.  I did not have anyone behind me guiding me either.

I don't have another load yet so I went to the TA truck stop in Morris, Illinois to wait.  More weather is on the way.  Supposed to get rain/ice mess tonight.  They are saying that tomorrow morning rush hour is going to be a real mess.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

They got it right for a change.  We got about an inch of snow. Here is an edited time lapse video of it.

Sorry, its not very exciting.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Got started real early this morning.  Drove to the Petro truck stop in Gary, Indiana for the rest of the weekend.  Supposed to get a little snow tonight.  They say about an inch.

Friday, February 27, 2015

As usual, things were going too smoothly.  There was another truck that loaded right after I did yesterday.  He brought another tank just like mine.  When the cranes got here this morning they decided that they wanted to unload the other one first.  I had to pull out and park on the road while he backed in where I was to unload.  Of course, once they unloaded the other truck it was break time!!  So I sat some more. Didn't get out of there until 11 am.

Next load is in New Philadelphia, Ohio.  Went down there and loaded a Gradall XL4100 Excavator that is going to Burr Ridge, Illinois.  That's a Chicago suburb.  

Didn't feel like going any further today so I stopped at a small truck stop just down the road.  I'll start real early in the morning.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

This morning loaded a mixer tank that is going over to Hillsville, PA.

As you can see in the photo it was snowing.  It snowed all the way to Hillsville, PA.  Back roads were a mess, but the interstate was fine.  This is where I parked for the night at the job site in Hillsville.  Backed in off the road.

Here is what the tank looked like after traveling in the snow.

Crane will be here in the morning.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Much to my surprise they finished everything on my list of things to fix last night.  That was fantastic!!  ARI has unbelievably good customer service!!!  

My next load is in the morning in Sandusky, Ohio.  I drove over there to a small convenience store with truck parking for the night.  Load 7 miles from here in the morning.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Left just before sunrise this morning and drove up to Pontiac to deliver.  I forgot how slow things move in a "union shop"  I arrived at 8:45 this morning.  Backed into position and waited.  Then they took their break.  Most places get a 15 minute break.  Not in a "union shop", they get 30 minute break.  After their break was over it was another 45 minutes before any activity was around my truck.  It is amazing that any work is ever done at all!!  And they just don't understand why big companies are  moving to right to work states.  Finally got finished at 1 pm.  Then I had to wait at the gate to get out for security to come unlock it.  That took another 30 minutes!!

Then I drove to the Petro truck stop in Angola, Indiana for fuel, dinner and a long hot shower. After that drove over to ARI in Shipshewana, Indiana to get some work done on the truck.  Have an appointment for tomorrow morning but they are going to start on it tonight. Great!!!

Monday, February 23, 2015

After a good breakfast I drove to the TA truck stop in Monroe, Michigan.  I deliver tomorrow morning up in Pontiac, MI. 

It is friggin' cold up here!!!!    5 degrees when I came back from dinner!!  And it is still early!!!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Here is a time lapse video of me plowing the TA parking lot yesterday.

Spent the afternoon plowing again.  Here are a couple pictures I took while stacking snow.  You can see my big truck in the background.

I also shot a video for you from today.  This one is not time lapse.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Well, we got about 3 inches of snow.  No ice or rain.  This morning I went over to the TA and asked them if I could plow their parking lot.  Much to my surprise they said yes and gave me the keys to the truck.  I spent the entire day plowing snow.  Started at about 8 this morning and finished at 5:30 this afternoon.  I had a blast!!!   Here was my ride for the day.  You can see a little of my handy work in the background.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Another great day on the road.  Pretty uneventful except for a little bit on I-75 north of Dayton, Ohio.  A Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper had pulled a car over.  As you will see in the video below, it got interesting.

I changed lanes and passed them.  A minute or two later the car passed me, and the chase was on!  I was doing 55 MPH at the time.   After they went by I never saw them again so I have no idea what the outcome was.

I stopped for the night, and probably the weekend, at the TA truck stop in Wapakoneta, Ohio.  After dinner I had four new drive tires put on.  The weather is supposed to get bad tonight.  They say that sometime around midnight we are supposed to get 4 to 6 inches of snow, and freezing rain. Then tomorrow afternoon it is supposed to change over to all rain.  If is is anything to look at I'll have some pictures and maybe some video tomorrow.  Stay tuned....

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Pretty uneventful day on the road.  So far the weather has been great but it has gotten a LOT colder up north!!  There is "weather" on the way.  Hope I can keep ahead of it until I stop for the weekend.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Denmark, Tennessee.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Finally got word that my next load was ready up in San Antonio.  So off I went.  Got there and loaded a Chiller that is going up to Pontiac, Michigan.

It weighs about 52,000 pounds.  Left there and drove to a very small convenience store with a few truck parking spaces in Canton, Texas.  My light bar had gotten out of synchronization. So when I stopped tonight I tore the whole thing apart, took 4 links out of one of the chains, lubricated it, put it back in sync, then put it all back together.  Good as new!!  I don't have my Arkansas permit yet so I can't go into Arkansas until it comes in.  I'm still at least 2 hours from there so hopefully it will come in first thing in the morning before I get there so I don't have to stop and wait for it.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Nothing yet.