Saturday, January 7, 2023

 As soon as my 10 hours were up I left.  Drove the rest of the way to the Daily terminal in Morton, Illinois.  Will be here until Monday morning.

Here is where I went last month.

Here is where I went in 2022.

The past 3 years.

Friday, January 6, 2023

 Drove the rest of the way to Griffin, GA this morning and loaded five Caterpillar engines that are going to East Peoria, Illinois.

Left there in good time.  Saw that there was a huge traffic back up starting on I-75 about 5 miles from the Atlanta beltway (I-285) so I was able to go around it.  Didn't lose any time because of it.  Didn't have any traffic problems in Chattanooga or Nashville.  Stopped for the night in Kuttawa, Kentucky at the Pilot truck stop.  Drove 524 miles today.

Thursday, January 5, 2022

Spent my time off having a great time with family and friends. But now it is back to reality.  I load tomorrow morning in Griffin, Georgia.  This afternoon I left Jacksonville and headed that way.  On the way my GPS unit decided to quit working so I stopped for the night at the Pilot truck stop in Cordell, GA. I had the most points on their "frequent flyer" card so that is where I decided to buy a new GPS unit.  Using those points cut the price in half.  While setting up the new one, it decided to quit working so I had to take it back and exchange it for another one.  I can't ever do anything just once!!! Unbelievable!!!!

Sunday, January 1, 2023

 

Sunday, December 25, 2022

 

Thursday, December 15, 2022

 Well, we got the rain.  Went to Clayton, NC this morning and loaded a Caterpillar 966M Wheel Loader that is going to Savannah, GA.  It will eventually end up in Yokahama, Japan.  

As you can see, it was pouring rain.  Left there and drove down to the Port in Savannah and delivered the wheel loader.  From there I drove to the Daily yard in Jacksonville, Florida.  I'll be home for a couple week to enjoy the holidays with famiy and friends. I'm exhausted and glad to be here!!

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

 My permit route had me going around the north side of Baltimore on the beltway.  Within 10 minutes of getting on the beltway, I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  It stayed that way almost all the way around Baltimore. Cleared up between Baltimore and Washington DC.  Much more going around DC.  Finally got out of that mess and continued on to Raleigh, NC, and delivered the wheel loader.  Spent the night in a parking lot just down the road.  It used to be a K-Mart.  Tomorrow morning I will load in Clayton, NC.  Supposed to get a lot of rain tonight and tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

 Got a little bit later start than I wanted because of the Washington DC curfew.  But I finally made it to Chantilly, VA, and delivered the tank and stuff.  From there I drove up to the Port of Baltimore and loaded a Caterpillar 966 Wheel Loader that is going down to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Left there and went over to the TA truck stop in Baltimore for the night.  

Monday, December 12, 2022

 I left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Had a good day on the road except I got a flat tire on the truck in Virginia.

Stopped and got it fixed, but that made delivery today impossible.  I stopped for the night at the Love's truck stop in Tom's Brook, Virginia.  I'm a little over an hour away from delivery in the morning.

Sunday, December 11, 2022

 I decided not to do a reset there.  There are several other trucks delivering with me in Virginia. They were leaving when I was arriving to load in Texas, so they had a good half-day head start.  We are supposed to deliver Monday.  After checking how many hours I had left this week I decided to keep going and try to catch up or at least get close to the others.  My load should be the first to be unloaded since everything else sets on top of the tank.  Having them wait for me would not be a good thing, plus the crane is expensive to have sitting around doing nothing.  So at 1:30 AM CST, I left.   Had light rain all the way.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Greenville, Tennessee.  Couldn't go any further because permit loads can't move in Virginia on Sunday.   I think I made the right decision.  Looks like a couple of the other trucks are here too.  Lots of other oversize loads here waiting to go into Virginia tomorrow.  Now its time to sleep.

Saturday, December 10, 2022

 Left at sunrise this morning.  Light rain all day.  Had some bumper-to-bumper traffic in West Memphis, Arkansas. Other than that, an uneventful day.  Stopped at the Love's in Dickson, Tennessee.  Will do a reset here. Start again Monday morning.

Friday, December 9, 2022

 Got up early this morning and drove the 2-hour drive to Denison, Texas.  I was early enough that I beat all the rush hour traffic in Fort Worth and Dallas.  Arrived to load at 6:30 AM CST.  They loaded the fuel tank.

I secured it to the trailer while the workers attached the foot grates on the top.  They had to cut each section to fit.  That took over an hour.  THEN they said that they had more things to be transported.  That was not listed on my paperwork, only the fuel tank.  I called Carlise and cleared it with them, that way the rate increases.  It took forever to get it all on.  They are all going to Chantilly, Virginia.  I didn't get out of there until 12:15 PM CST.  

I drove to the Flying J truck stop in Texarkana, Arkansas for the night.  Didn't get anywhere near where I wanted to today.

Thursday, December 8, 2022

 Left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Drove the rest of the way to Midland, TX, and delivered the excavator.   My next load is back in Denison, TX.  That is 6 1/2 hours away.  I started off in that direction.  Stopped for the night at the Petro truck stop in Weatherford, TX.  That is about 30 miles west of Fort Worth.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

 

Left at sunrise this morning.  Very good day on the road.  No traffic issues at all.  Passed two separate semi crashes in Texas.  Both off the road.  One was jackknifed and burned.  It had been there a while.  The other was on its side with the trailer contents spread around.  The wrecker company was there trying to clean up the mess.  Stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Tye, Texas.  That is just west of Abilene.  536 miles today.

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

 Left a half hour after sunrise this morning.  A bit foggy and a little bit of rain.  It cleared up after I got to Alabama.  Other than that, nothing interesting today.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Tallulah, Louisiana.

Monday, December 5, 2022

 Went to Pooler an hour and a half early this morning.  There were 12 trucks ahead of me waiting in line for them to open at 7:30 AM EST.  Once they opened and I got in I went to check-in.  Carlisle didn't send me all the info I needed to check-in.  So I had to wait for that.  Finally got checked in and went over to load.  They loaded my machine on another Daily trailer.  I had to wait again.  They finally came and took the machine off his trailer and put it on mine.  Loaded a Volvo EC200 EL Excavator that is going over to Midland, Texas.

Finally left there at about 11:45 AM EST.  Drove to the TA truck stop in Jackson, Georgia for the night.  

Sunday, December 4, 2022

 While at the Jacksonville terminal I had another air leak fixed on my trailer, also did a few other things too.  This morning I drove up to the TA truck stop in Richmond Hill, Georgia so tha I can load in Pooler tomorrow morning.

Friday, December 2, 2022

 Left well before sunrise this morning.  In Tennessee, I could drive at night but could not get to Georgia before a half hour after sunrise.  Well, I timed it perfectly.  I arrived at the Georgia state line exactly a half hour after sunrise.  Didn't have any traffic issues at all today.  Didn't rain either.   That was nice.  Drove all the way to Jacksonville and delivered the dump truck.  Boy, that thing is fun to drive!!!  My next load is Monday in Pooler, Georgia.  I'll be at the Daily yard in Jacksonville until Sunday.  I'll head up there then.  604 miles today.  I'm really tired.  Good night.

Thursday, December 1, 2022

 I left a half hour before sunrise this morning.  Pretty good day on the road.  Lost about 45 minutes in construction bumper-to-bumper traffic just north of the Tennessee state line in Kentucky.  Made it around Nashville without much difficulty.  Stopped for the night at the TA truck stop in Antioch, Tennessee. Supposed to rain tomorrow.  Goodie!!!

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

 Hit the road at 1 AM CST.  Drove to East Peoria, Illinois, and delivered the engines.  When I started out today the temperature was in the mid-50s and windy.  By the time I got up to Illinois, it was very windy and temperatures were in the low-20s.  My next load was up in Sugar Grove, Illinois, about 2 1/2 hours away.  Drove up there and loaded something I have not moved before, a Terramac RT14-R Dump Truck that is going to Jacksonville, Florida.  

Left there and drove to the TA truck stop in Morris, Illinois.  Ran out of time.  567 miles today. 

Here is an internet photo of what one of these trucks does.