Going back trucking with PTL

Well it's been awhile. Sitting at the TA in Wildwood, FL waiting to deliver my load in Orlando early Sunday.

How did we get here. Well they gave me a truck that was in Jackson,TN at the International dealer. Take a ride down there with 4 other drivers going to pick up trucks in various places (MS, Atlanta, Dallas). We get to the dealer and he says someone just took that truck. WHAT..... We find they had left about 20 minutes ago. They were told to turn around and pick me up. This was an error on that dispatcher. So we meet up about 30 miles north and I drive back to Murray.

We get to Murray, they get out and I go threw the inspection lane. I'm now out of service for an oil and fuel leak. I go to the shop and they say Monday. I say ####. I have not been feeling well so I did not mind just chilling in my new (2011 prostar with 428K) for a bit.

They knock on my door at 6:30AM Sunday. Get the truck fixed and also a few items I found. So Monday rolls around and I get my first dispatch to Schoolcraft, MI from a trailer on the yard. Go hook up to the trailer and while doing a pretrip i hear a an air leak up by the drives (i think it is the leveling valve). I go back to the shop and they say we will get to it.

Finally in the shop after 2 hours and the mechanic says I can't find any leaks. I say it only leaks when there is weight on it. So back out to the yard and under the trailer again. Oh look we found it its the leveling valve well duh. Back to the shop for another 2 hours ( they had to get the part).

Back to hook up to the trailer again and off I go ( had to stop at the outbound scale to get my new IFTA stickers).
I ended up arriving 1.5 hours late due to all the problems.

Get my next dispatch right away, I like that. This one picks up in Battlecreek MI going to Olive branch, MS. So I hop on over there and pick it up. Had to sweep the trailer out in -4 weather, wow that's cold. I go drop the empty, pick up the loaded and send in my loaded macro and get back a message " your trailer is due for a CSA inspection call Maint." I tried to call 4 times no answer. My dispatcher and I decided to take it to W Memphis, AR and drop it there.

I get to W Memphis (not a very nice place) they do the inspection as I am coming in. I am put out of service for a non working front marker light. I drop the trailer and park for the night. Morning comes and I go tho the shop and he says just wait. They get it fixed after a bit. I get my next dispatch picking up at the same place I was going to and delivering in Orlando, FL. My dispatcher says take it by the house and get the rest of your stuff. Then she says hey why don't you take the original trailer you had and drop that load and then pick up this one. that's what I did.

The only complaint I have so far is I have to sit on this load for a full day. I asked if I could deliver today and they said no (Publix)

Well so far I am liking it here.

 

After dropping the load in Publix outside Orlando i went over to the Loves on I-4 EX44 to wait for my next load.

Next load comes in at 20:30 picking at 14:00 the next day about 40 miles from here, this load goes to Dacula, GA to another Publix warehouse for a Tuesday delivery at 16:00.

Pick up the load, its 45,289 lbs of bottled water. So, I figure i will run over to I75 for my fuel stop and scale there. I look at my truck GPS and it says no Scale house for 152 miles. WRONG there was a scale house about 15 miles up I75. I get pulled into the scale and wait and wait and finally get the green light. What a relief.

I get to my fuel stop and scale. I'm at 35,000 lbs on my drives with 3/8ths of a tank of fuel. I push the tandems all the way forward (I was in the 6th hole) put in 50 gallons of fuel and re scale. My gross is 79,260 and all legal now.

I drive on up to where I will deliver and park in the staging area waiting on 15:30 to get unloaded.

It's snowing here can you believe it.

Frogot to add. My first weeks miles are 1200 (not a full week)....

 

Went over to receiving at 15:30. The lady says "oh we not receiving today, come back tomorrow". Are you kidding me.

The roads are unsafe for the employees to come to work.

It will be worse tomorrow. The south can't handle the snow.

 

Still no luck receiving is closed for the day again. They should buy some salt....

Did get a new FM today hopefully taking the training wheels off.....

 

Finally got this load delivered. Waiting on my next one. I asked for one to CA. Let's see what happens. FM just answered "Just hoping for something decent today. We are a bit short on freight."

Bummer.

 

Got my next load assignment. Picking up in Cartersville GA at the Bud plant going to VA. I had a full 14 and it would be tight it delivers 1/31 at 12:00. Go down I85 across I285 no problems. I then go up I75 north get about 10 miles from my exit to get fuel and everything just stops because of an accident. after about an 1 hr I get to the exit for the Love's where I have to buy fuel, they require you have full tanks because of the weight. It took an hour and a half to fill up because of all the trucks there. Finally get to the plant and it takes 1 and 1/2 hours to drop my empty, pickup my loaded and scale out because of lots of other trucks there. I send in my picked up at shipper macro and set my ETA is 12:00. I should have looked at my available hours closer. I could not make it, ran out of my 14 and had to request a reschedule.

I hate when I screw up like this. This is my first load with my new FM. I don't think he's happy.