Saturday, August 21, 2010

Got back on the road this morning.  Only had 8.5 hours available to drive today before reset.  Drove to Tucson, AZ where I'll be until Monday morning.

Friday, August 20, 2010

I went over to pick up my next load.  It was bowling equipment in Chino, CA going to Ft. Worth,TX.  Was only a few miles from the truck stop I was at.  Basically it is stuff to build a bowling alley.  Got there at 9am local time. They started loading me shortly after I got there.  After I had the load on and secured they told me that there was a scale across the street so I could see if I was OK on my truck weight.  I was very happy to hear that and went and got on the scale.

 My gross, according to their scale, said that I was at 69,960. GREAT!!  So I went back across the street and tarped the load.  That took HOURS!!  The thermometer on my truck said 119 !!  It felt it too!! I was exhausted after finishing.

When I finished I started to drive off.  When I got out on the freeway the weight felt a lot heavier than 70,000 pounds so I went to the truck stop I had left in the morning.  Scaled up and sure enough I was overweight.  82,180 pounds.  I was over by 2,180 pounds.  It was now 4:45 pm local time.  I called them on the phone & told them my weight. They stayed over after closing to unload some of the cargo to get me "legal".  Have no idea why the other scale was so far off.

When I got there I had to take the rear tarp off, fold it up, then unstrap the cargo so they could unload. I got no help from them at all.  One guy stood there & watched me pull the tarp off, spread it out on the ground and fold it up.  Never offered to help or anything!!  And I still had not had lunch.  In the photo below, the bundle with the paper that says "medlite" was what they took off.  That bundle alone weighed 3,000 pounds.

Then I re-secured the load and re-tarped it again.  Of course after unloading that bundle they went home.  I finished at 7:15 local time.  Was so exhausted all I could do was go back to the truck stop.  I scaled up again.  This time I was legal, 79,020.  Parked, took a well deserved long shower, tried to eat something and fall in bed.

Thursday, August 19,2010

Delivered my load this morning in San Diego at a place in the southern most part of San Diego.  Real close to the Mexican border.  Then drove up to Carson, CA for my next load.  Thats when things went bad.

I arrived at the warehouse in Carson at 11:55 am local time. Checked in at the shipping desk. The guy at the desk said that they had just gone to lunch and would be back at 13:00 local time. I asked if I had to come back to the desk when they came back from lunch? He said no, just wait in your truck they will know that you are there. I said OK and returned to my truck and waited.
At about 15:00 local time I got tired of watching everyone else get loaded except me so I went back in to the shipping desk and asked again if I had to do anything else to get loaded? There was a different guy at the desk this time. He said no, just wait in your truck, he knows you are there. I, again, said OK and returned to my truck and waited.

Finally as the last truck (except for me) was being loaded at approximately 16:15 local time, I talked to the fork lift operator. He said that he didn't know anything about me. I gave him the slip of paper that security gave me when I arrived. He looked for my load and could not find it in his paperwork. He went inside and could not find it in there either. He said that the woman that handles the paperwork had gone for the day and there was nothing else he could do.

I left and drove 3 more hours in LA bumper to bumper traffic to get to the nearest truck stop in Ontario, CA which was 61 miles away. Needless to say, I'm not a "happy camper".

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Strarted off good.  Got through El Paso before the sun came up and missed all the traffic. Went through a Border Patrol check point on I-10 just west of El Paso.

Border Patrol Check Point on I-10 West of El Paso, Texas

Had some nice scenery on I- 10 as the sun came up.

I-10 east of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Looks better in person, but you get the idea

Stopped for lunch in Eloy, Arizona.  Went back to the truck and it would not start.  Goodie!!  Fortunately I was at a TA truck stop.  Got them to bring the service truck over and jump start my truck.  I knew I had weak batteries and they finally gave out.  Put the truck in the service bay.  They checked out the batteries.  Two of the three were very bad.  Replaced all three.  They aint cheap!!  Then my sun glasses broke!!  Three hours later I was back on the road.

My nerdy sun glasses

Here is a photo of the US / Mexico border.  The "famous" border fence.

The fence is the black line under the power lines.

Just inside California on I-8 is the Imperial Sand Dunes.  Best place to ride an ATV.  Sand dunes just like the desert.

Went through another Border Patrol check point on I-8 in California.

Stopped for the night at the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo, California after driving 692 miles today.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Got a good start this morning.  Drove for a few hours then stopped for fuel in San Antonio.  While I was fueling up I walked around the truck and checked the load and trailer (I always do that when fueling).  I found a screw in one of my trailer tires and that two of the tires were wearing real bad. 

Replaced that tire and got back on my way.  That was the only excitement (if you want to call that excitement) from the road today.

Stopped for the night at the Petro in El Paso, Texas after driving 684 miles today.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Delivered my load of bricks this morning.  Then went to Plaquemine, LA to pick up my next load. 
Its going to San Diego. Drove 419 miles today and stopped for the night in Sealy, TX.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Short trip today.  Drove 513 miles down to Lafayette, LA.  Staying at the TA truck stop until Monday morning.  Deliver about 5 miles from here.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Delivered the PVC pipe in Pikesville, TN.  They put the biggest dope on the fork lift. It took him 2 hours to unload me.  Would have been even longer but he accidentally pushed two bundles off the side of the truck. They came crashing down!  I was sitting in my cab watching this idiot thru the mirror. Glad no one was under those pipe bundles when they fell.

Then I drove over to Spring City, TN and picked up my next load.  45,080 pounds of bricks. There are 12,880 of them back there.  They are going to Lafayette, LA. 

Stopped for the night in Gadsden, AL at the Petro truck stop.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Finally got a load from Weatherford, Texas going to Pikeville, Tennessee.  46,000 pounds of PVC pipe.    Drove past the new Dallas Cowboy's Stadium.  It is georgous.  Didn't get a very good photo of it though, too much traffic.

Stopped for the night after driving 677 miles in Jackson, Tennessee.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Well, I'm still sitting here in Dallas.  Kristeen (my wonderful dispatcher) tells me that freight has dried up this month. Makes me a bit nervous. I did turn down a load that needed tarping and sounded like it was going to be a disaster to tarp and keep tarped going down the road.  Its just not worth the aggravation!!  I'd rather sit another day than deal with a mess like that.  We will see what tomorrow brings.

Tuesday, August, 10, 2010

Monday, August 9, 2010

Delivered this morning in Grand Praire, TX.  Thats basically between Dallas and Ft. Worth.  Now I'm back at the truck stop in Dallas for a 34 hour reset.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Drove 556 miles today down to Dallas.  I love Texas interstates!  Deliver tomorrow morning not too far from here.  Thermometer on the truck says that it is 106 degrees.  I believe it!!  Its HOT here.

Drove past Parkland Hospital on the way.  For those folks that don't remember, that is the hospital President Kennedy was taken to and pronounced dead.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Got up this morning feeling a bit better.  Drove from Delta, Ohio almost straight through, stopping only twice to pee, to Lebanon, Missouri.  624 miles.  Passed a pretty cool car on fire somewhere around Indy.  That's about all the excitement today.  Just a nice drive.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Delivered the insulated panels to a power plant that Duke Electric is building.  Its a huge coal power plant in Edwardsport, Indiana.

Just think how much they are spending on crane rental!! 

After I finished there drove to Delta, Ohio and picked up my next load. 10 rolls of steel.  Got the load on, tied down, and tarped then went to the scale.  My drive axles were 860 pounds overweight.  All together I was 160 pounds overweight on the gross weight. Sooooo   I had to go back, untarp, unsecure the load and move a couple rolls around. When that was done I re-secured the load and re-tarped it and went back to the scale.  Fortunately the re-arranging did the trick.  The weight on all the axles was fine but I was still overweight on the gross.  That's ok because after the fuel burned off in about 150 miles the weight would be under 80,000 pounds.  Just can't fill the tanks.  It doesn't look like much but believe me, IT IS!!  I was so exhausted all I did was take a well deserved long hot shower and fall into bed.  Slept like a rock!!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Another uneventful day on the road.  Drove up to Haubstadt, Indiana.  Spending the night at the Flying J.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Picked up my next load in Deland, FL.  Insulated Panels going to a power plant in Edwardsport, Indiana. 

Stopped for the night in Cartersville, Georgia.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Drove over to Deland.  Pick up a load tomorrow morning that goes to Indianapolis, Indiana.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Delivered my load in Plant City, FL this morning. Now waiting on my next one.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Drove 491 miles to Ocala today.  Parked the big truck & went to Mom's in the little truck.