I was the first one in the gate this morning. Loaded a Link-Belt 210X4EX Excavator that is going to Skowhegan Maine.
I left in the rain this morning and drove the rest of the way to Medley, FL, and delivered the excavator right when they opened. Then, I headed toward Pooler, GA for my next load. Took forever to get out of South Florida today. Lots of heavy traffic and bumper-to-bumper traffic. But that was expected during rush hour. I parked for the night outside the place where I am loading in the morning In Pooler, GA. 609 miles today.
Early this morning I drove down to the Flying J truck stop in Ft. Pierce, FL until tomorrow morning. When I got here there was no line at the truck wash so I washed the truck. That means it will rain tomorrow.
Delivered the Caterpillar stuff in Ocala first thing this morning. Then drove up to Pooler, GA, and loaded a Volvo ECR 145EL Excavator that is going to Medley, Florida.
As soon as my 10 hours were up I left. Drove 721 miles to the Petro truck stop just north of Ocala. Stopped with only 4 minutes left on my driving clock today. That's cuttin' it pretty close!! I'll deliver first thing in the morning.
First thing this morning I loaded a few things for a BIG Caterpillar Excavator. They are going to Ocala, Florida.
Left there and had a pretty good day. Some bumper-to-bumper traffic in Houston. Stopped for my 10 hours at the Love's truck stop in Iowa, Louisiana.
When the staff arrived to work this morning I got my paperwork signed and I left to head to Victoria, TX for my next load. It takes 7+ hours to get there from Odessa so I didn't get there in time to load today. I stayed there for the night and will load first thing in the morning.
I left at midnight EDT (11 PM CDT) and drove the rest of the way to Odessa, Texas. I arrived at about 7 AM CST. When I got there the gate was open so I went in and unloaded the motor grader. There were only a few mechanics working in the shop but no one from shipping/receiving was there. I didn't expect that there would be. I was surprised that the gate was open. After unloading I parked just outside the gate to wait until tomorrow morning.
I left at about 1:15 EST this morning. That's the best time to go through Atlanta. Drove 662 miles today to the Petro truck stop in Shreveport, Louisiana.
I left early this morning. Passed a fatality wreck in Georgia. It was on the south bound side of I-95. The south bound side was totally shut down. It was hard to tell what happened but I saw a semi-truck, tank truck, laying on it's side all burned up. It was bad! I think there were other cars involved but couldn't tell. Anyway, I went to Richhmond Hill, GA and delivered the mini excavator right when they opened. From there I drove to the Port of Savannah and loaded a Caterpillar 140M Motor Grader that is going to Odessa, Texas.
Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Jackson, Georgia for my 10 hours. Going to sleep early so I can start early.
Another driver had loaded a mini excavator on a step-deck trailer that was going to Richmond Hill, Georgia. When he got there to deliver they didn't have a ramp for him to unload. He brought it here to the Jacksonville yard and unloaded it. I put it on my trailer and will deliver it in the morning on my way to Savannah to load.
Left Jackson, GA a half hour after sunrise this morning. Drove the rest of the way to Lutz, Florida, and delivered the dozer. Then drove to the Daily Yard in Jacksonville. Will be here for a few days.
Well, the Gators didn't do very well against Georgis yesterday. But no one expected them to anyway. At least it wasn't a shutout.
I'm glad I stayed put yesterday. Traffic was still a mess in Chattanooga at 6 pm last night.
When I left this morning it was a lot better.
When I got to the weigh station in Georgia found that I had a flat tire on the truck. I stayed there and had road service come out to fix it.
I finally got out of there at 12:30 pm. Made it around Atlanta without much trouble. BUT south of Atlanta, it took over 30 minutes to go five miles.
Needless to say, I didn't get very far today. Stopped at the Pilot truck stop in Jackson, Georgia. Good thing I stopped when I did. I got one of the last 3 parking spaces left.
I was going to leave this morning to time it so that I got to Georgia a half hour after sunrise, BUT there was a multi-vehicle wreck in Chattanooga that totally shut down I-24. Instead of leaving, I went back to bed. Woke up an hour later and saw that the Interstate was open again so I left. After getting through Monteagle, Tennessee I saw that the Interstate in Chattanooga was again shut down. This time a semi rolled over blocking the Interstate. I stopped at the Love's truck stop in Jasper, TN to wait it out. I'd rather sit in there than on the Interstate.
I left a half hour before sunrise this morning. Nothing interesting at all today. Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Oak Grove, Kentucky.
Arrived at the Caterpillar dealer in Eau Claire just before they opened. Delivered the wheel loader. Then drove down to the John Deere plant in Dubuque, Iowa, and loaded a John Deere 750 Dozer with a blade that is going to Lutz, Florida.
Left there and drove to the Daily Yard in Bettendorf, Iowa for the night. Lots of great autumn color up here.
I left a half hour before sunrise this morning. Great autumn colors all day (yesterday too). Did pretty good until I-90/94 in Wisconsin a few miles before I-90 splits off. Long construction zone down to one lane. Big traffic back up there. Then towards the end of the one-lane part, two semi trucks got tangled up and crashed. One was a flatbed and the other a regular semi-trailer. What a mess!!! They were well into the clean-up phase of the wreck when I passed by. It took over 45 minutes just to get to it.
I was hoping to deliver today but that changed things. I'll deliver in the morning instead. Stopped for the night, after driving 540 miles, at a truck stop in Tomah, Wisconsin.
Left a half hour after sunrise this morning. Had some bumper-to-bumper traffic in Atlanta. Drove 541 miles today and stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
I left a half hour before sunrise this morning and drove the rest of the way to Ocala and delivered the wheel loader. My next load was back up in Pooler, Georgia. Drove there and loaded a Caterpillar 950 GC Wheel Loader that is going to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
