Saturday, December 17, 2011

Left Manchester, TN as soon as the sun came up.   Made it all the way through Atlanta with no bumper to bumper traffic!  Got as far as Lake Park, GA on I-75 (exit 2).  Can't drive in Florida past noon on Saturday so I had to stop. I'll be at the TA truck stop until Monday morning sun up.

Friday, December 16,2011

Left Bloomington, Illinois as soon as the sun came up,  Very uneventful day on the road.  Was not able to get through Chattanooga, TN before curfew so I had to stop early tonight at a truck stop in Manchester, TN. Had a great diner at Charlie's Steak House two doors down from the truck stop.  I'm stuffed!!  Finally a good meal out here!!!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

This morning drove into West Allis, WI and delivered the counterweight.  Then drove over to Mequon, WI and picked up my next load.  It is a rock crusher screen and two boxes of parts.  It is going to the port in Jacksonville, FL.  From there it is being shipped to Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Once that was loaded and tied down I got on the road.  Didn't get too far before I ran out of daylight.  Stopped at the TA truck stop in Bloomington, Illinois.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Left Bloomsburg, PA early this morning.  Once I got to Ohio it started to rain.  It rained the rest of the day and is still raining. Very uneventful day on the wet roads.  Hit some bumper to bumper traffic in Chicago (what else is new??!!??).  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Racine, Wisconsin.  Deliver not too far from here in the morning.  Here are the photos of my load:

Hard to believe that white thing weighs 20,000 pounds!!  It is a counterweight for a machine like this:

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Went into the Port of Newark (NJ) to deliver this morning.  Because I had to wait until sunrise I got stuck in a lot of bumper to bumper traffic on the way in.  Finally made it. Then I waited!!  Didn't get unloaded until about 1:30. Fortunately my next load was only a few blocks away.  Went over there and got loaded with a box of crane parts and a 20,000 pound counterweight.  Photos will be tomorrow.  This load is going to West Allis, Wisconsin.  That is just north of Milwaukee.  By the time I got out of the port I hit afternoon rush hour traffic and got stuck in more bumper to bumper traffic.  Needless to say, I didn't get very far today.  Stopped at the TA truck stop in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania for the night.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Got on the road at sun up this morning and drove through Pennsylvania to the TA truck stop in Columbia, New Jersey, that's I-80, exit 4.  Stopped there for the rest of the day because I would not be able to get into the Port of Newark, unload and re-load before they closed for the day.  I would also run out of hours.  So I'll go in tomorrow morning and, as Larry The Cable Guy says, Git 'R Done!!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Nothing special today.  Got on the road as soon as the sun came up. Drove to the Petro truck stop in Girard, Ohio.  That is just west of the Pennsylvania state line on I-80. Got there at 12:30.  My Pennsylvania permit does not allow me to drive on Saturday after 12 noon (another STUPID Government regulation!!) or on Sunday.  I'll be here until the sun comes up Monday morning.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Went into Granite City first thing this morning.  Loaded a laser cutting machine.  It is one of those machines that cuts metal with a laser.  It is being shipped to Brazil. 

Fortunately there was another Daily truck there loading other parts for this machine going to the same place.  We worked together tarping this monstrosity!  The photos don't show all the sharp edges and things that would rip up a tarp.  Also the top was all open, except for those two orange bars. That gave very little support to the tarps.  It took a while but finally got it done.

After finishing my truck we worked on his.  Fortunately I got the easier one!!  His was really a mess!! Neither one of us could have tarped our loads alone.  What a mess!!  We finally finished and got on the road.  Didn't get very far before running out of daylight.  Stopped for the night at a rest area on I-70 in Indiana east of Indianapolis. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Left Hebron, Ohio (just east of Columbus) early this morning and drove into Riverdale, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and delivered the crane stuff.  My next load is on Friday morning down in Granite City, Illinois.  That is on the Illinois side of St. Louis.  I drove down to the TA truck stop in Troy, Illinois to wait until Friday. The load is only a few miles from here. The next load is an oversize load and requires a crane to load.  The crane is scheduled for Friday morning.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Went into the Port of Baltimore to pick up my next load.  It takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r in there!!  Union workers go at their own pace, S-L-O-W !!!!  Its amazing that anything gets moved in or out of there.  Anyway, I finally got loaded.  Two counter weights that are 20,000 pounds each and a small box of crane parts that are going to Riverdale, Illinois.

This is thre crane that they go on:

Fortunately the rain held off, for the most part, while I got loaded.  But it rained for the rest of the day.  Not heavy rain, just rain.  I could tell when I crossed the cold front. The temperature went from 54 degrees to 42 in just a short time.  Now its down in the 30s.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Hebron, Ohio. 

Monday, December 5, 2011

Had my front axle aligned this morning and then put a new tire on the left front.  Drives much better now. My next load picks up tomorrow at the port in Baltimore, MD. After I finished getting the truck fixed I drove down to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for the night.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Left the service plaza on the Ohio Turnpike this morning fairly early.  Shortly after getting started it started to rain. After a while it changed over to snow. By the time I got to the east side of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania and western New York it was snowing hard. That heavy wet snow. Slight accumulation in the grass and on the road only on the bridges.  As I continued east it changed back to rain and then stopped. The rest of the trip was clear. Drove in to Covington, PA and delivered the wheel loader. Then drove to Halifax, PA and delivered the skid steer. After that drove to the Petro truck stop in Carlisle, PA for the rest of the weekend.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Drove the rest of the way into Dubuque, IA and picked up a John Deere skid steer.  Then drove down to Davinport, IA and picked up the last part of this load, a John Deere 544 Wheel Loader. Both are going to Pennsylvania. One to Covington and the other to Halifax.

Drove to a service plaza on the Ohio Turnpike east of Toledo, Ohio for the night.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Left the truck stop this morning and drove into De Witt, IA to deliver the generator.  The crane was late and then when he got there he drove past us three times before he figured it out. Us flagging him down helped too.  To get the generator off my truck and placed where it was going to live the crane had to go into the parking lot and lift the generator off my truck and then up and over the trees. 

After that drove across the state to Vermillion, South Dakota and dropped off the feeder.  Then turned around and went back to Elk Run Heights, Iowa to the Flying J truck stop for the night.  Next load is in the morning in Dubuque, Iowa.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Started off again in the rain and a short period of sleet.  It stopped after a few hours.  Then it got clear, a lot colder, and very windy.  Blew me all over the place.  Drove to the world famous Iowa 80 truck stop in Walcott, Iowa for the night.  Deliver the generator about half an hour from here in  the morning.  Crane is scheduled for 8 am local time. Then off to South Dakota to drop off the feeder.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Went into Woodruff, SC this morning and picked up the first load.  Easy one.  It's a feeder going to South Dakota.

Then drove a short hop over to Mauldin, SC for the second one.  This is a Caterpillar C-15 Generator.  It is going to Iowa.

Got on the road and drove in the rain all day.  Glad I loaded both loads inside!!  Rained real hard in some places.  Drove (again) up the prettiest Interstate highway east of the Mississippi River.  I-40 between Asheville, NC and where I-81 meets I-40 in Tennessee.  Its a little bit up and down but is is VERY twisty and turny.  Drive through a gorge. Takes a while to get through the approximately 75 miles of it.  Very nice scenery, even in the rain. Stopped for the night at the Pilot in Georgetown, Kentucky.  That's just north of Lexington.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Had an absolutely fantastic week off.  Really enjoyed being home.  It went by so fast. Now I'm back out on the road.  Drove up to Enoree, South Carolina to a small truck stop for the night. I pick up two loads tomorrow morning.  First one is just a few miles from here in Woodruff, SC.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Got on the road early this morning.  Drove home.  Will be off for the Thanksgiving week.  Be back at it again Monday the 28th.  Nice to be home!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Still raining when I woke up.  Got on the road early this morning and drove in the rain all morning.  Sometimes it was pretty heavy.  Finally drove out of it.  Went to the Charleston Air Force Base and delivered the fork lift.  After that went to spend the night at the TA truck stop in Savannah, Georgia. Soon the weather I drove out of today will catch up with me.  Good sleeping !!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

This morning went to Brimfield, IL and picked up a Caterpillar 928 ATFL fork lift.  It is going to Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina.

Got on the road.  Nice drive until Cincinnati.  Rain and bumper to bumper traffic.  Got there at rush hour.  Continued raining the rest of the way tonight.  Stopped at the Love's truck stop in Richmond, Kentucky.  Have a headache. Ate, took a long hot shower and lots of Motrin.  Now time for bed.