Home for the Holidays

It has been a very long time since I updated this blog with whats been happening so instead of trying to remember everything and trying to play catch up.

Because I live in Florida, it is extremely difficult to get in and out of this state with freight so I sometimes run into problems with gettting home or leaving home once I am here.  Christmas was one of those times.  Both getting home and leaving were complicated by the fact that this company has well over 300 drivers that live in Florida and the majority of that number wanted to come home for Christmas.  The company ran out of loads coming into the state when trying to get everyone home and I, like many others had to take loads into Georgia and then deadhead home from there.  For me it was a 500 mile deadhead.  For some it was more, others less.  Unfortunately, they waited until the last possible moment to get me a load going to Georgia which made it nearly impossible to get home in time to open presents.  Getting out of Florida has been a treat also.  Originally I told the company that I would come back on Monday the 27th but because I didn't get home in a timely manner I decided to stay here until Tuesday.  Boy was that a mistake!!!  90 loads spread over 300 drivers does not make for a smooth departure out of the state for a large number of drivers.  Yes, I was one of those and it is now Thursday and I am finally getting out of the state.  I think next year i'll take Thanksgiving off instead of Christmas!!

Happy Trails

Mike

Back Roads, Wildlife, & Plan Comes Together

11/30/10
One of the benefits, I think, of driving is taking the back roads across this country. Meaning US highways and some State routes. To pick up my load in Stuttgart, AR, I did just that. It took me through several small towns, like Homer, LA population 499. At least that is what the sign said. Town had the old wooden houses painted white and in need of painting. Several white fences, also needing a good coat of paint. While driving through towns like this I often wonder where they go for jobs and shopping. Granted I only go through on one route, but usually one gas station/convenient store and maybe a general store.

Usually there are a few "old timers" sitting either on porch or front yard. They seem to always wave as the world goes by. I wave back and wonder how much history have they seen.

On US 167 just outside Fordyce, AR, I came upon "hollowed highway". A section of this road was dedicated to Paul "Bear" Bryant.

12/1/10
As I cross the mighty Mississippi River on I-57 entering into Illinois, the sun was going down. Just as fast, the temperature was going down as well. During this time of gray lightning, the wildlife tend to either start moving for the night or get ready to pack it in for the night. Kinda like there is a day shift and a night shift. The wind was starting to die down and off to my left there was a good size coyote trotting across a field. Didn't appear to be chasing anything, just cruising. A few miles further north there were two "V" formations of geese heading south. Looked really pretty with the red sky behind them. And finally before it got too dark, I had seen 10 deer. Even got to get a glimpse of a buck in rut chasing a doe. What is the most amazing part of all this? Many drivers didn't see any of it! They are too worried about were the "bears" (cops) are and think they are in a hurry. They miss so much.

12/2-3/10
I got to my destination a little over an hour early. Figure I check in and chill out in sleeper to watch Santa Clause Coming to Town. Just get comfortable when there is a knock on sleeper! No, it wasn't Santa, they already have a door for me and will take about forty-five minutes to unload me. That doesn't happen very often. So I called night dispatch to see if they had a load assigned to me or will have to wait till morning. They had a "drop & hook" load out of Morris, IL. About 77 miles from where I was. Man, a plan finally coming together!

I get unloaded and book down to Morris. Drop my empty trailer and grab the loaded trailer. Pull out to a side street they have for truckers to sleep and/or take their break. After a good night sleep I head south towards Texas. I was able to get out of area before the snow hit. They were expecting 3-6" of the white stuff!

To be continued .......

Merry Christmas and safe travels

Home Time & Ups - Downs

Well, I hope everyone had a safe and belly filling Thanksgiving. I was able to get some time off in Tennessee with my wife and family. Had a wonderful time and time was well spent. I even was able to go to Ben's cabin he is building on some mountain property that my in-laws own. Got some work done, but when time to put tar paper on roof, had to wait for Curtis to get home and time. Because big boy here and heights don't get along! If you know what I mean.

I had planned on returning back to driving with five days remaining on "scan week" so I could get decent mileage. As turns out, I got about half the miles I was hoping for. Kind of frustrating, but I do realize there were numerous drivers returning with the same "plan". I am hoping I can recover the mileage next few weeks. I had a "pre-plan" that was right inline with my plans, but they either canceled it or gave it to another driver. Then they send me a new load assignment. Here is the kicker; same stinking load assignment as the one I had prior. Only it picks up and delivers 24 hours later than the original plan. Things that make you go hmmm!

I was talking with Mike yesterday and he was dealing with freezing temps and snow. Once I got parked and was watching weather, as there were storm lines moving in, a tornado warning issued! It was south of my location, thank goodness. But that is the scope of weather we deal with this time of year. Definitely watch radar and wind speed regularly.

Funny signs: this one I have only seen in New Mexico so far. It's a billboard as well. As I was driving to it, all I could make out is a huge white billboard with something sticking out from it. As I got closer I realized the sticking out part was made to look like a human waist and legs! There is a small printed line at the bottom. You almost have to be right on it to read it. It said "wear a seat belt"!

Safe Travels

Weather is becoming more of a factor

To continue the story from the last post, I finally received my new load assignment but it did not pick up until the next day so I ended up doing another 34 hr reset anyway.  Got the load picked up and made it to the Iowa/Nebraska line and shut it down for the night.  Today I made it all the way to Cheyenne, WY which is where the load was going.  The load was not due to deliver until tomorrow morning but it was a drop and hook so I was able to take it in to the receiver and drop it off and pick up an empty trailer.  As soon as I sent in my notification that I was empty I received a message to head to Nebraska for my next load.

When I got just about to Cheyenne with my last load, I ran into a pretty significant snowfall.  I had been watching a storm that was coming across from the west coast for a couple days and was hoping I could beat it to Cheyenne.  I almost made it there before the storm but not quite.  I was going to spend the night in Cheyenne but with the storm coming in and a report about a strong wind storm forming over Nebraska, I thought it would be in my best interest to get the deadhead miles out of the way before the weather got real nasty.

Not sure where I will go next but I am sitting in central Nebraska waiting to be assigned my next load.  It should come in tomorrow but then I don't know if I will leave right away.  Loads from this area can sometimes leave right away and sometimes we have to sit for a day or so.  I will update again soon.

Happy Trails

Mike

Flirting with Ice and Snow

As promised, I am updating from my destination in Illinois.  I was fortunate that during my pickups all of the shippers apparently wanted to get done early for the day and get home to start their Thanksgiving holiday.  I was able to get all three pickups done about 4 hours ahead of schedule.  With getting an early start, I thought I could possibly make it to my destination with enough time to be able to go to my mothers house for a nice turkey dinner.  Mother Nature had other plans!!  I made it as far as Big Cabin, OK and ran into a line of storms that was producing tornados and the whole southeast corner of Oklahoma and southwest corner of Missouri were both under tornado warnings and watches.  I checked the radar and it looked like the line would move out after a little while so I went into the truck stop and drank some coffee and had a little bit of conversation with the waitress.  After killing some time I went and checked the radar again and found that although the line was moving, it was also redeveloping over the same areas and the conditions were not getting any better.   Finally I got too tired to continue so I went to bed shaking my fist at the sky (that doesn't help by the way).  Waking up the next day I found that the weather had cleared where I was at so I was able to continue.  I made it through Springfield, MO and ran into the rain again but checking the radar it looked like just moderate rain so I kept going.  I would periodically check the radar to see when I would be out of the rain but it kept moving with me and the freezing rain and snow was catching up behind me.  Fortunately I made it to my destination before the ice caught me but just as I got here it started snowing.
It was a close chase, but I won the race.  Unfortunately it delayed me enough that I couldn't get to moms house for turkey :-(  I did stop at a Denny's to have my Turkey Day dinner and was very disappointed in what they offered and how it was prepared and served.  But that is yet another disappointing Denny's story that I am not going to talk about at this time.
I unloaded this morning in Danville, IL and am still waiting on my next load assignment.  As I said in my last post, freight has slowed down considerably and it is taking quite a while to get my load assigned.  A little frustrating but again, I am trying to keep my stress level down so therefore am attempting to stay as calm as possible about it.  I really don't want to do another 34 hour reset.  I have already had 4 of those 34's in the past 3 weeks and I obviously cannot continue to have them if I expect to be able to make a living out here.
I will leave it at that and update when I know where I go next!

Happy Trails,

Mike

Holidays and Freight

Hello all!  It has been a little while since I posted anything and that is mainly because I went home for a week and left the wonderful world of trucking behind.  I took a total of 7 days off and enjoyed every last one of them.  I got to visit with my daughter who was home from college and my step-daughter and her husband.  I got to meet my daughters boyfriend and we all spent the day at a high school marching band competition.  ( My daughter was drum major in the marching band while in high school so that has been a big part of our lives )  I enjoyed being in the family atmosphere and look forward to my next time off at Christmas time.

This is the time of year when freight really slows down.  Most of the product for the holiday season has already been shipped to it's destination and manufacturers are reducing inventory for the end of the year so the result is less freight for the same amount of trucks.  I have definately felt this slowdown myself in the last several loads that I have had.  I have made some adjustments to the way I run to accomodate these changes and keep myself from sitting so much.  Real simple solution!  SLOW DOWN!  Instead of pushing the load as hard as I can, I have found that if I run less miles per day on the load, I will end up not having to sit for so long at the end.  It is obvious that I am not going to be able to get off of the loads early so I have to make due with what I am given.  This has also reduced the amount of stress I feel just because I am not freaking out over not gettting put on another load.

I had another one of those wonderful trailers yesterday that another driver dropped with numerous problems.  When I picked the trailer up, it had a flat tire and the refrigeration unit would not start because it had a dead battery and then when I got to the receiver and opened the doors I found the air chute which is supposed to be attached to the ceiling of the trailer to direct air to the back of the trailer was torn down from the ceiling in several locations and needed to be replaced.  This is definately becoming more and more of a problem and it would be nice if the company would do something to the drivers that leave these trailers it this kind of shape.  It makes for lost time for the driver that doesn't leave trailers like that....like me!

My load I am picking up is going to Illinois and I have been monitoring the weather up there.  It shouldn't be too bad but there is the possibility of running into something cold, wet, and slippery.  To top it off, I get to drive up there on the busyest travel weekend of the year and they are predicting that this will be heavier that previous years.  I only have to go through one major city once I am out of Dallas so HOPEFULLY it won't be too bad.  Keep me in your prayers throughout the holiday weekend and I will update once I get to my destination.

Happy Trails

Mike

Seasons changes more frequently when you drive!

I have been in three different seasons in one week! Started in Illinois with temps in the mid 50's and sunny. Very nice weather, even drove with windows down for a bit. Then get load assignment taking me to California. I was on I-80 for about 75-85% of the trip so far.

In Omaha, NE, I hit my first snow storm. What started off as rain and temps hovering around 40-45 quickly turned to snow and temps around the freezing mark! This happened about 20 miles outside of Omaha. Once in town they already had at least 1-1/2" on the ground and still coming down. Pretty good size flakes, if not for driving in it, it would have been pretty. However, I was driving. I could see the water mist coming off my tires so I knew roads weren't froze over yet. I reduced my speed and continued on. Of the traffic and road conditions, the one thing that gave me the most problems was these "forearms" on my windshield! Snow was gathering up on my wipers and at one point looked like forearms! They were huge and NOT doing there job properly. Need to invent heated wipers. The have heated everything else!

Made it through Omaha and heading for Cheyenne, WY. Now, it wasn't as bad as Omaha, but I had to deal with snow showers off and on until around the Laramie area. Temps now in the low 20's. Had to get fuel in Laramie and the wind was blowing pretty good. Needless to say, didn't take long to fuel up! Snow finally stopped, but the wind continued until I got to Utah.

Woke up Sunday morning to a windy, cloudy, and cold 28 degree day. As I finally left Wyoming and started south on I-15 the wind started to decrease and by the time I got to Arizona, the clouds gave way to sunshine! Finally! Just in time too. There is a stretch of interstate that goes through Virgin River Gorge and is a really pretty drive. I stopped one mile from California state line and it was sunny and 69 degrees. So from Illinois to California, I went from mild fall weather to winter, then hit nice spring weather. I'll take the spring!

Funny signs: This one goes to the states that has rock training. You know what I am talking about, the sign that says "watch for falling rock". Now looking at some of these hills/cliffs, that takes extensive training to allow one rock to fall at a time. Is there a fine or corrective action if more than one falls?

Until next stop, safe travels

Different issues of trucking

It has been several days since my last posting. Has been kind of up and down since that last posting. Some days you couldn't ask for a better job. Cruising down the interstate with sun shining, slight breeze, and good music playing on the satellite radio. Even other drivers (both truck and car) are enjoying the travel. You can see a difference in most drivers and the way they drive. It's very enjoyable.

Then you have the bad days, cloudy and/or raining, windy as all get out, and there is a difference in other drivers as well. With that, us drivers also has to deal with "sitting" around waiting on load assignments or waiting on receivers or waiting on shippers. Now the receivers and shippers are a given, BUT waiting on load assignment is very disturbing and uncalled for. Reason, when a driver is on his/her way to a receiver, there are at least two days of travel. That gives the planner two days to plan for a load to keep that driver moving. There may not be a load in that immediate area, but there is a load within a few hundred miles of that location. Many times the planners will finally get a load for you and when you get there, you find out they have either been waiting for you to bring trailer or load is already loaded since the day prior. And you have been just sitting there not making any money at all. You could have been there a day earlier and already heading to your destination.

Other issues to follow, now a little lighter side. While talking with Mike we got to talking about some funny road signs. One is the deer crossing signs. We didn't know deer cross the road from the right to the left. According to the signs anyway. Now Mike did finally see a deer crossing sign indicating deer crossing back from left to right. I think that was Indiana. So now we know we know how the deer get home. Sure is a long way! There are many out there. I am going to attempt to have a new one every so often to keep you thinking.

Until next stop, safe travels

Night Time is the Right Time

I left Ontario, Oregon on Tuesday evening after getting loaded and started my trip to Atlanta, Georga.  Because of how late I got loaded, I ended up driving through the night for the next 3 nights to arrive in Atlanta on Friday.  I have always enjoyed running at night because of all of the obvious reasons but one thing that really bothers me about running at night is all of the animal activity and the possibility of hitting something big like a deer or elk or something else.  One thing I do like about this truck I have is the fact that the headlights are very bright and light up the road in front of me quite well.  I don't have LED headlights and wouldn't put them on my truck because they are way too bright and when another vehicle comes up behind me with those type of lights, it is blinding.  With having good lights on my truck it gives me a little more confidence while running on the back roads that I sometimes find myself having to run.  When I had my T2000, the headlights on that truck were so poor that it was sometimes scarey driving at night because you just could not see very well at all.
Another advantage to driving at night is that you can jam out to the tunes on the radio and nobody can see you making a fool of yourself inside the truck.  I get the opportunity to practice my air guitar and air drums and don't have to worry about others seeing me doing it.
Traffic is obviously lighter and I can get better fuel mileage both on the interstate and on the back roads because of the lighter traffic.  The cooler temperatures also help with improving my fuel mileage too.  I get caught by alot less red lights running at night and it is alot easier to time the lights when rolling through a town when there is very little traffic from the side streets to trip the lights.  That is something that some of these towns really need to work on.  There are times when running through a town late at night and a light will change for no reason and will stay red for a long period of time.  The only thing something like that accomplishes is to waste fuel by causing people to stop and then restart.  You would think that with the emphasis that is being put on greenhouse gases and emissions that they would be looking for as many ways as possible to eliminate fuel waste and something like that would be extremely easy to fix and could possibly save thousands of gallons of fuel.  Just a thought!
I am currently in Atlanta and will be unloading on Sunday.  I don't know where I am going to next but am supposed to be going home next weekend after being out for close to 2 months.  I am really looking forward to going home and spending time with my wife.  I also get to spend time with my daughter that is in college because she was able to change her schedule to be able to come home at that time too.

Happy Trails

Mike

First Snow of the season

Had a nice run out to Oregon this weekend and got to stop by my mother's house on the way.  Most of the trip though I was fighting a fierce head wind and the middle of the trip was nothing but a slow steady climb up into the Rockies so my fuel mileage really suffered.  I was able to make up some of the mpg's once I got into the mountains though.

This time of the year and beyond we have to be careful in planning out our trips due to the possibility of some pretty nasty winter storms that can pop up while traveling in the mountains out here.  I was fortunate and the only weather I ran into was rain so far but it looks like there were some that were not so fortunate last week as the hills had some snow left on them from last week and the mountain tops were pretty much covered.  I did not have to go over any major mountains so did not have to deal with the snow that is on them now.  I am still awe struck each and every time I come out here and drive through these mountains by some of the breathtaking views that I see.  I wish my camera would do some of them justice but I just cannot zoom in as close as I need to in order for everyone to see it as my eyes see it.

I really wish all of our loads were like this last load I brought out here except for the whole bad fuel mileage thing.  I was able to take a day and visit family and then drive three 11 hour days to get the load here and still arrived with time to spare.  The sitting around and waiting on loads and driving only a few hundred miles on some days just drives me nuts.  I for one like to keep moving.  Right now I am doing some of that sitting that I despise.  I unloaded this morning and am waiting on my next load assignment.  I could possibly be loading out of the same place I delivered to but don't know for sure yet.

Happy Trails

Mike

Family visit, shipper/receiver tension

One of the benefits of driving all over the country is I am near family and/or friends almost everyday. However, with time restraint on most loads, time for a "quality" visit is few and far between. That is what I was able to do on my last assignment.

I was able to spend time with my aunt, uncle, and "fav cuz". While talking over dinner, we were trying to figure out last time I had seen them. I think we came up with five and a half years. I really enjoyed time with them and hanging out with fav cuz. She has overcome so much and I am very proud of her.

The second part of assignment I was able to spend an afternoon with my brother. Even got to watch a Jr High football game. Although they lost, was nice to watch. Always nice to see my lil bro.

While driving during the trip I was listening to Road Dog Radio (radio station on satellite radio for professional drivers). They where discussing a major issue for us drivers. The relationship between drivers and the shippers/receivers. In many cases we are not allowed to enter their buildings. Not even for use of the bathroom. It was brought up for discussion because last week during the record setting "low" storm in the north, there were numerous tornado warnings.

While delivering at a Smuckers warehouse in Ohio, there was a tornado warning issued for their immediate area. There were 12 - 15 drivers at their docks. The guards locked the gate and told the drivers to stay in their trucks and they would let them know when it was over. Sorry, but that was just unprofessional and inhumane treatment of those drivers. A vehicle is not where you want to be during a tornado. My family and I will no longer buy their product.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments about drivers being sent to their trucks during a tornado warning. Also, join us in not buying their product.

Until next stop, safe travels.

Super Storm 2010

I heard an interview on the radio on Tuesday with a driver who was in a truck stop in Tennessee.  He said he was sleeping on his 10 hour break and was woke up by the rocking of his truck and said he got up and looked outside just in time to see the trailer that was parked next to him be lifted up by the wind.  He said it was lifted up enough that he could see daylight underneath the trailer tires.  Now that is some powerful wind!  I was fortunate enough to be traveling in a northeast direction for the majority of the storm and therefore had the wind at my back but yesterday after I had unloaded I had to drive about 150 miles pulling an empty trailer to pick up my next load.  That was not a fun experience as most of that trip was done with the wind hitting me broadside.  My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that was effected by this massive storm but especially to the family of the young Notre Dame student that was killed when the wind blew over the scissor lift he was on.
I picked up my load and started heading west.  The way my hours worked out, I was able to stop and spend the day with my mother and have a wonderful home cooked meal!  It was nice to take a day off in the middle of the week but I will definately be making up for it over the next few days.  I will be putting in three 600 mile days in order to get to my delivery on Monday.  That is the way I like to run.  I also got a new DM this week and so far I like the way he works and hopefully we will be able to work well together in the future.

Happy Trails

Mike

New York City and other tidbits

My trip to the "Big Apple" this past time was much more enjoyable. Going in and coming back out when the majority of the population is sleeping is the way to go. There is more construction going on, but easier to negotiate when there is less traffic. Got unloaded around noon and got a load assignment shortly after. Taking me from Hunt's Point in the Bronx to Shirley on Long Island. Picked up at Uncle Wally's Muffins. Man it smelt good there. This load is heading to Alabama.

Early this morning I came by yet another accident in Pennsylvania on I-81. The accident was in the northbound lanes, I was heading south. I know there was at least one fatality involved as the car was on back of wrecker and still had white sheet over front of car. I don't know how it happened, however could see the end result. On the back of the trailer there is a "bumper" hanging down. We call it the DOT bumper. Found out it was brought about to keep cars from running up underneath the trailer. The car this morning did just that. It hit the back hard enough to fold that bumper up underneath the trailer. It peeled back to roof of car to the back window of a four sedan. That takes a lot of force. Like I told Mike, I would hate to have to walk back to that. The image would stay with you for along time. Like I said earlier, I don't know what exactly happened or who was in the wrong. I do know that the family of the driver of the car and truck needs our prayers and thoughts.

When you are out driving, please don't text and use Bluetooth if need to make a call. I have seen numerous times of drivers weaving back and forth. Only to find out they distracted while driving at highway speeds. That is both cars and truck drivers. Accident waiting to happen. No text is so important that you have to risk your life and the life of another driver.

Until next stop, safe travels.

Friends are priceless

Being on the road brings many challenges in trying to maintain things at home.  I got a call from my wife this morning saying she was in the middle of washing clothes and doing dishes and now she has no water.  We are on a well and there are several parts to the system that could cause this to happen.  I tried to walk her through some tests to see if we could isolate the problem and found it to be an electrical problem with the float switch in the aerator tank.  That being said, my wife is not an electrician but we have some wonderful friends that are always there to help her out when she needs help.  Just want to say THANK YOU to Doug and Debbi specifically but also to the rest of our friends that are always there to help if needed.  You all make it possible for me to be able to do my job and not have to worry that things will be OK at home!!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all!!!!

Happy Trails

Mike

Hangin in Big D

Not a whole lot going on today.  I arrived early this morning at the Dallas yard and dropped the load that I had after going through the safely lane and clearing my truck mechanically.  After that I just went to sleep.  That was around 5am and I slept until about 1pm.  Just in time to listen to the football games.  Unfortuneately, my Bears lost today :(  
On my way here from California, I stopped in Tucumcari, NM at the Flying J and took my 10 hour break.  When I woke up I went in and had breakfast at the newly remodeled Denny's that they have there.  Breakfast was very good but the service was not.  This is not the first time since the Pilot/Flying J merger and the change over to Denny's in the Flying J that I have noticed a deficiency in the service provided by Denny's specifically toward truck drivers.  I have stopped at several of these new Denny's restaurants and for some reason they seem to be catering more to the locals that were coming in rather than to the drivers.  I have been tempted to say something to the management on several occasions asking them if they realize that they are now operating in a truck stop, but have not at this point.  The first time, I was passed over to be seated 2 times in favor of local friends of the hostess which had clearly come in after I was there and just recently in Tucumcari,  I was seated at the counter with other truck drivers and myself and 2 other drivers sat there for 15 minutes before someone came over to take care of us.  As I was leaving, apparently another driver and his wife were not happy with the service they had received and were speaking to the person at the cash register about it and the response that I heard from the cashier was that they don't consider themselves to be a part of Pilot except that they pay them lease money.
I have always liked Denny's and their food but if this continues, I will vote with my feet and I think that others will do the same thing.  If it continues to happen then Pilot bailing out Flying J would have been for nothing because they will end up in the same situation they were in before.  You would think that management would make sure that this area of the truck stop is the better part of their services they offer since this area is where the majority of the profit in these businesses comes from.  Personally, I hope they do fix the problem because I for one do not want to have to eat at the fast food places that both the Pilot and Loves Travel Plaza's (can't really call them truck stops) offer to the drivers.
I have been assigned my next load and will be picking up tomorrow morning and heading for Ohio for a Wednesday delivery.  I was hoping for something I could run today but all they had was a Tulsa for late tomorrow.

Happy Trails

Mike

Family & Friends, always there

As many of you know, I started a Facebook page about a month ago. I was hesitant to start one as I haven't updated my MySpace page in months, if not year. However, the Facebook is easy to update and doesn't take that long.

Since starting the page, I have added my friends I currently talk to on a daily basis as well as my family, that has a page. I have also added a Army buddy from way back when. I haven't heard from him or his wife since he was stationed in Georgia back around 93 or 94. I have added several friends from when I ran a website called TeamRacin back in the late 90's to mid 00's. I have missed their chit chat and talking with them. So I guess I can say that so far, I have enjoyed my time on Facebook. Also, judging by the number of posts and photos some have, I would say, get a hobby. :-)

While I was talking with Mike early this morning, I was traveling on I-55 in Missouri heading to Illinois. I seen a huge Buck standing in the median looking at traffic on my side. It took by surprise because until I actually got to him he was looking in the other direction. I didn't see his eyes until he looked in my direction. Told Mike that he was big enough to end my day. Thank goodness he was just looking while I passed and didn't try to take out my grille.

It was a cloudy day and uneventful until I got just outside Dayton, Ohio and (from CB talk) a four Wheeler tried to cut off a big truck. I refer back to my previous post about accidents.

To finish up I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Nicholas, a good friend's son. Celebrating his first with a party today. Wish goes out to Rich (Chinese_Sniper). A good friend from PS3 online. And a wish going out to Theresa's son Chris. She is a good friend from TeamRacin days.

Until next stop, safe travels

To Cruise or Not To Cruise, That is the Question

Being lease operators, Mike and I must pay for our own fuel. It is the most important way to influence our check. Better the fuel mileage, the more we send home to momma. I have been getting decent mileage, however, during our daily talk, I realized that I was relying too much on my cruise control. So today, I left the cruise off and manually maintained speed. I must admit, I was rather surprised by the results at end of day. I had been on the same route with different conditions, but close enough to somewhat compare. My fuel mileage increase over .5 miles per gallon. May not seem alot, but with the size of tanks and the miles we drive that is significant. Tomorrow should be more improvement as less hills.

When I left Amarillo this morning, I was able to watch nature's fireworks. There was a pretty good size storm line to the southeast of I-40 and was able to view the lighting for the better part of the morning. I checked the radar and the storm line that came over Amarillo the night before was just leaving Oklahoma City on the east side. So I stopped to buy some silicon, because when someone put the wires through the firewall of the truck, they forgot to replace a grommet to seal the hole. This caused a water leak on the driver side whenever I drive through heavy rains. I get the hole good and sealed, then hit the road. I then checked the radar and just my luck, the storms broke up. At least I got the hole sealed for the next rain event.

Until next stop, safe travels

I believe I have reached launch capability

One thing that I always dread is getting stuck out here in Cali.  You can get out here and if your hours aren't good, you end up running up and down the state for a week.  Not fun and not many miles.  I think doing the 34 hour reset when I got out here was a good idea as it gave me the hours I needed to exit the state.  That is what I call launch capability...ie. I can launch out of the state far enough that I don't get sent right back in.

I took a short load up to central Cali to get to an area where the freight is good.  That is where the picture came from.  I was heading north on I-5 north of Lost Hills, CA and captured a beautiful sunset.  I'm not sure what rock those people around there have been hiding under but it only took me 1 picture to find those hills they claim to have lost!!!  Had on a load of Christmas candy for CVS Pharmacy which I unloaded this morning.  They were actually quite fast at getting me unloaded.  From the time I hit the dock, it was 45 minutes and I was pulling out the gate.  Very fast by most receivers standards.  I did my pretrip on the trailers reefer and found that it kept throwing error codes so I am currently at the Thermo King repair shop in Turlock, CA having it repaired.

Later this evening I will be picking up my load bound for TX.  It is a multi stop load that doesn't start delivering until Tuesday.  I am looking to get off of this load early cuz it has way too much time on it.  We will see what the weekend has in store for me.

I think John is experiencing the storms that I dealt with while doing my 34 hour reset in Victorville, CA.  The entire time I was there, it rained and stormed and was pretty much gloom and doom.  Hope you enjoy your bout with those storms John!!!

Happy Trails

Mike

Little Change & Communication, Works Well

After being "on the yard" it is nice to get back on the road. It is hard to explain or understand, but once it is in you, you miss the road.

While there I was able to discuss my issues concerning my Driver Manager (DM). I have been attempting to work through these issues with the DM. But as most knows, it takes two to work through issues. And the major tool in doing this is communication. No matter what issue there is, communication will get you through it.

Communication was hardly happening and when it was there it was not necessarily the truth. Then trust became another issue. As issues began to build, so did my frustration. It started affecting my attitude.

The talk I had paid off, for the moment. It seems like things are starting to turn around. At least there is a line of communication here now. Time will tell.

One reason many of us like this job is the independence from someone looking over your shoulder. However, when there is a question or assistance is needed, we need to be able to communicate with someone. So far now, it is fun again.

Until next stop, safe travels.

Dispatch Error?

It has been an interesting almost 24 hours!!!  I called my Driver Manager (DM) and he told me I was going to pick up a load at midnight after I finished my 34 hour reset and I would have to run hard to get it to it's destination by 0500 this morning.  So I went to bed yesterday afternoon so I would have plenty of rest before running thru the night.  I woke up and went to the shipper only to find out that the load doesn't pickup until 1300 today for 0500 tomorrow!  Called dispatch and no other loads available in this area.  So back to bed I go for another 7 hours of sleep.  If nothing else, I will be well rested!!!

Happy Trails

Mike

Waitresses...A Rant!

Being on the road is a very different lifestyle from what most people are used to.  One thing that truckers have to manage is meals.  There are many different ways that we keep ourselves fed while out on the road and one way is by utilizing truckstop restaurants.  I prefer to eat at restaurants but have to mix it up by using other means in order to keep my expenses down.  All this is to get to the point of my post.  For the most part, the women that serve drivers in the truckstop restaurants are very good at what they do but from time to time you come across a waitress who thinks that we should feel privileged to be served by her.  My waitress tonight was one of those type of waitresses.  I understand that there are many factors that can influence the type of service we get when we are being waited on and I take those factors into account when I make my judgement regarding the quality of the service I am receiving.  Everyone does the same thing when they go out to eat.  You evaluate the waitress and tip her based on her performance.  Tonight I had dinner at the Old Outpost Cafe at the Pilot in Hisperia, CA and was served by a waitress named Shannon.  The experience was completely disappointing entirely because of the attitude that the waitress had and the service she provided because of that attitude.  I wasn't the only one in this waitresses section that was disappointed and the customers in the other waitresses section were completely satisfied with the service they were receiving.  I overheard her complaining to the other waitress about a table she had waited on that had a $45 bill only left her a $1 tip.  That should probably have been a hint to her that her service was sub par but instead of looking at it that way, all she could do was complain about her lack of tips for the evening.  Point is, this is the job that you were hired to do and you are expected to do it to the best of your ability regardless of your personal feelings or situation.  If it is not possible for you to perform your job then you should find another line of work.  We as drivers are held to a very high standard and if we do not do our job properly, the consequenses are very harsh.  They should be harsh due to the nature of our job.  Not all jobs share the same dangers or consequenses as our line of work but that should not be an excuse for not doing the job the way it is supposed to be done.

Happy Trails

Mike

In the big "D"

As I sit at Wal-Mart distribution center in Terrell, TX, I'm watching birds land on the front grills of trucks. They have learned that there is a free and easy "buffet" of bugs there. Makes me wonder if that is what they are trying to do while I am driving down the road and they fly right at my truck! Until they realize I am actually moving!?

Once I was unloaded at Wal-Mart, I came to our terminal, or as we call it "the yard" for my 60-80 day safety talk and winter work shop. It's good that Stevens brings in every driver every 60-80 days and talks driving safety. It helps keep the driver from getting complacent with their driving and from taking chances. Wednesday thru Friday Stevens is having their 30 year celebration and driver appreciation day. However, I am wanting to be on the road Wednesday so I can get back to making money. Got to keep momma happy.

While here on the yard, I meet my first trainer, Tony. We got along really well and he showed me quite a bit concerning Stevens and their policies. He is a good trainer.

I may not post tomorrow as there is really not much to talk about taking a workshop and safety talk. I will let Mr. Mike handle tomorrow's duties.

Until next stop, safe travels.

Headin to Cali

Today I travelled through Wyoming and Utah.  I actually drove in SNOW today.  It was the wierdest thing in the world!!!!  I was in southern Utah and there was a mountain on the East side of the highway that had alot of snow on top of it and as I approached the area near the mountain I was actually driving in snow.  The wierd part is that it was 60 degrees out and the snow never hit the ground.  It fell to about the top of my windshield and then appeared to evaporate because it disappeared and did not leave any water drops on my windshield.  I thought maybe I had been driving too long!!  I deliver in California tomorrow and will have to wait to get more hours before I will be able to get a load out. 
I am still fighting off the leftover effects of being sick last week but am feeling better every day.  I found out today that my brother-in-law had something very similar to what I had and was down for 3 weeks so I feel very fortunate to have gotten over mine as quickly as I did.
I spent most of the day listening to football games on my XM satellite radio and unfortunately, my Bears lost today.  A very frustrating loss.  On a positive note though, Notre Dame and Florida State won yesterday.  Those are the 3 teams that I follow.  I also like NASCAR racing and listen to most of the races on the radio but follow the Sprint cup more closely than the other 2 series.  I am one of the frustrated Dale Jr fans.  I sure hope that some decisions are made soon that put him back on the right track!!

Until next time .... Happy Trails!

Sunday 10/17/10

Had a good driving day today. Sunny with little breeze and a few passing clouds. Days like that has you enjoying your job.

Not much to see out here off of I-20 between Ft Worth and El Paso. However, the sunrise was really pretty this morning. Lots of orange-red color in the clouds.

On the way to Ft Worth I seen yet another accident. The second one in as many days. Both involved cars. I hear people saying that trucks cause lots of wrecks, however I will disagree with them on that. Four wheelers (truckers name for cars/trucks) has a major role in them that involve truck to car accidents. I have seen them pull right in front of me after passing. Even start merging in before completely passing. Just because we have 18 wheels, it doesn't mean we can stop faster than cars. When cars are coming off an on ramp, they would be in front of me and when they look in the mirror they hit their brakes. Should there be other drivers behind them they have to either hit their brakes or go off the right side of the ramp. I have seen this numerous times and several close calls. No need for doing that all they have to do is maintain speed and merge in.

Until next stop, safe travels.

Hello and welcome

As Mike mentioned before, I am new to blogging and the less "senior" of the two. I am currently from Texas, however, plan on moving family back to Tennessee.

My experience in trucking is not as long as Mike's. I had driven in 1994 for close to a year then got out. Too young I think and didn't really have priorities to focus on back then. I returned to driving in January of 2010 and, for the most part, enjoy it.

As Mike stated about updating, I hope you will follow along on our adventure. Please feel free to post comments about a post or our thoughts. They will be screened as we want to maintain a family friendly blog.

Until next stop, safe travels.

Our new Blog

Well John has come up with another one of his 'ideas'... He says, hey Mike lets do a blog!  Hey Mike, what is a blog?  This is typical John.  You have to excuse him as he is from Texas!!  Me, I'm from the sunshine state... Florida.  I have a total of 15 years of driving experience which has been scattered over the past 26 years.  I have driven for large over the road truckload companies and also have driven for very small private companies delivering exclusively to their clients.  Some of my driving experience includes local deliveries in straight trucks too.  My experience is primarily with dry box and refer trailers.  I hope to be able to use this blog to relay some of the experiences that I encounter out on the road and also offer my 'well rounded' opinion to anyone that will listen.  I hope anyone that reads this will enjoy and follow on a regular basis.

Mike