Saturday, January 12, 2013

Left Paducah, KY this morning before sun up.  Had rain from north of Nashville, Tennessee down to Huntsville, Alabama.  After that it was overcast the rest of the day.  Stopped for the rest of the weekend at the TA truck stop in Marianna, Florida. Short day, only 577 miles today.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Left Woodhull, IL this morning in heavy fog.  Drove up to Dubuque, Iowa and delivered the excavator.  Then reloaded with a John Deere 850 dozer that is going to Panama City, Florida where it is going on a boat to Mexico.

Got on the road.  The fog had lifted some in Dubuque but as soon as I got out of Dubuque it got heavy again.  It had eased up by the time I got to Davenport.  As I got further south the weather improved a lot.  Eventually it cleared up.  Drove another 622 miles today by the time I stopped for the night at a truck stop in Paducah, Kentucky.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Got started just before sun up this morning and drove 624 miles, stopping only once for fuel.  Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Woodhull, Illinois.  It rained all day and it is still raining.  Will deliver tomorrow morning in Dubuque, Iowa.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Loaded a Hitachi Z 290 G Excavator this morning. It is going to the John Deere plant in Dubuque, Iowa.  I'm a bit heavy with this one.  Gross out at 106,000 pounds.

After I scaled I had to flip the neck of the trailer down.  That only took a couple minutes but the pins wouldn't line up and that took 2 long and frustrating hours to finally get them in.

 Finally got on the road and drove to a truck stop in Cookeville, Tennessee for the night.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Delivered the big box this morning and went back to the Petro truck stop to wait for my next load.  Finally got one this afternoon.  It loads in the morning up in Kernersville, NC.  It is a big excavator going to Iowa.  Drove up there and spent the night at the plant where I'll load in the morning in Kernersville.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Left Jacksonville early this morning and drove up to Garden City, GA.  That is just outside of Savannah.  Loaded a big box of machine parts.  

Got on the road and drove to the Petro truck stop in Atlanta for the night.  Deliver in the morning not too far form here in Smyrna, GA.  No next load yet.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Left Vero Beach just before sun up this morning.  Drove in to Miami.  Delivered south west side of Miami, just west of the airport.  Those guys were funny.  They couldn't wait for me to unload that machine so they could play with it.  After I got empty, there were no loads for me down there so I drove home for the weekend.  Next load is Monday in Garden City, Georgia.  Have a 10 am loading appointment.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Went down the road this morning and loaded a Caterpillar M322D Material Handler.  This is going to Miami, Florida.  

Wouldn't make it to Miami in time to deliver today so I stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Vero Beach.  Will drop this off in the morning.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Had a GREAT time with loved ones over the Holidays.  Went by so darn fast!!

Picked up my truck from Peterbilt today.  It is all fixed.  The inside looks like a bomb went off in there.  There is stuff all over the place.  Went back to the Daily yard and spent the rest of the day putting it all back together again.  When it was almost done I drove up to Brunswick, Georgia to a truck stop there.  I load 3 miles from here in the morning.  Got here just in time to see the Gators in the Sugar Bowl.  Hope they do better in the second half.  They are pathetic in the first.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Went over to Peterbilt this afternoon.  My truck is looking better.  It was in the paint booth.  Was painted this morning, now in the dryer.  The truck should be ready next week.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Stopped by Peterbilt this afternoon and checked on my truck. They have it all torn apart   I am surprised by how much they have done!!  They took off the damaged portions of the side of the truck, which I expected of course.  But what I didn't expect is that they took out the driver's seat and the inside cabinet.  They have all my stuff piled up on the floor outside the truck.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Took the truck to Peterbilt to have the repairs done to the side where that other truck backed into me.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Delivered the skidder this morning.  After that I drove home for the Holidays.  Sure is nice to be home.

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Georgia permit didn't get here until after 1 pm.  I finally got on the road.  On I-75 just before the Atlanta Bypass ( I-285) there was a huge crash.  They had the entire interstate shut down.  I heard about it on the CB radio.    I jumped off the interstate north of the traffic stoppage and took US-41 south.  That road paralleled the interstate.  I was not the only one with that idea, the road was jammed!! When I got down close to where the crash was I heard that they had three lanes open.  I got back on I-75 and continued on.  By the time I passed the crash most of it was cleared up.  The only thing left was the overhead road sign that was being loaded on a roll back wrecker.

Because of the delay in getting the Georgia permit and then the long delay in bumper to bumper traffic from the crash, I was unable to deliver today.  Stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Hogansville, Georgia.  I'm about 10 miles from delivery.

Sunday, December 16,2012

All that rain that I drove through yesterday caught up with me today.  Started to rain just after breakfast and has rained all day.

Saturday, Devcember 15, 2012

Started off in the rain this morning.  Drove out of it after a few hours and it was sunny and clear for the rest of the day.  Drove to a truck stop in Ringgold, Georgia.  That's as far as I could go without a Georgia permit.   Hope it comes in early Monday.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Unloaded the excavator first thing this morning.  Next load is in Washington, Illinois.  That is just outside Peoria.  Drove down there to the Caterpillar Proving Grounds.  It is a place with a concrete race track for Caterpillar machines to run tests on.  The place is huge!  There are a lot of dirt areas for other machine testing as well.  It is in a very remote area.  I suppose to keep competitors from seeing their new stuff that is in development and testing.  Had to go a ways down a very windy two lane road to get there.  They told me they are getting a big machine next week that they are going to have to unload from the truck way down on the main road because it it is too big to bring up on the truck. They will have to drive it up from there. Anyway, I loaded a Caterpillar 545 Wheeled Skider.  It is used in logging to drag the cut trees out of the forest to the loading area.  It is a little heavier than it looks.  I gross out at about 91,000 pounds.

This thing is going to LaGrange, GA.  Got on the road and drove down to the Pilot truck stop in Okawville, Illinois.  Didn't get my Georgia permit today so I won't be able to get very far tomorrow.  Oh well.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Great day on the road today!!  Drove 682 miles stopping only at two weigh stations that wanted to see my permit.  Started just before sun up from Lebanon, Tennessee.  Stopped for the night at the John Deere plant in Dubuque, Iowa where I deliver in the morning.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Loaded a John Deere 290 GL Excavator first thing this morning at the Plant in Kernersville, NC.  It is going to another John Deere plant in Dubuque, Iowa.

Scaled out at 106,740 pounds.  Was a little too heavy on the drive axles so I flipped the neck down and re-scaled.  Perfect!  Got on the road and drove until I ran out of daylight.  

Tennessee sunset:

Stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Lebanon, Tennessee.  That is just east of Nashville on I-40.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Went in to Ring Power in Ocala this morning and loaded a small Lee Boy 7000 Paver.  It is going up to Simpsonville, SC.

Got on the road and drove up to Simpsonville, SC and delivered the paver.  Next load is in Kernersville, NC.  Drove up to Kernersville and spent the night at the John Deere plant there.  692 miles today.  Not too shabby!!