Calex Express....My New Home!

No it wasn't him. You are the second one to ask that today. Who ever the driver is our thoughts and prayers go out to them. Thank God no one was hurt. Things can be replaced, a life can't.

 

Did you consider calling the company and speak to the person in charge? Minimally you can start with safety. If there is a problem with a driver drinking on the road, then I want him off the road for my safety. If I had proof positive information about a driver drinking or doing drugs while operating a CMV, then I wouldn't hesitate to call him out. We are talking about the safety and welfare of the general public. Please, bring it to the attention of the people in charge and not use this forum as a tool to gossip. I'm not saying you are wrong for bringing it up, just direct it to the proper chain of command. A blog about a particular trucking company is not the place, a phone call to the proper department is.

 

Well I'm empty in Portland and 24 hours into my reset. I was given my dispatch early Wednesday morning. My truck was in the shop getting a complete service. Louie said the 1st p/u wasn't until 3pm in Kirkwood NY, then the 2nd one was back in Pittston that evening. I got my truck out of the shop before noon, got my brand new chains put in my storage box I put on my deck plate, found my trailer then fueled and left. The trailer I was assigned to had just come out of the shop with 6 new tires, a complete brake job including drums, new shocks and a complete reefer service.

I got to Kirkwood at 2:45 and was loaded by 3:15. I've loaded at both places before. The product we pick up in Kirkwood is taken off the trailer in Pittston and put back on with the new product we pick up. I was back at Pittston just in time to see Air Force One coming in for a landing at Scranton with the President. Not for nothing, but this is about the 3rd time in the last 30 years I've seen this, all this does is make complete chaos on the roads that are being shut down for his arrival. One other thing, I think it's a little bit of over kill to fly him from Washington DC to Scranton on a 747. I mean it's only 250 miles for Gods sake, put his a..s..s.. on a bus. Anyway, I got done in Pittston at 5:30 then went to the Petro to scale out and have dinner.

After eating I decided to plan my route. I went on line and got the weather for Wyoming, not looking good. I did some calculating and decided to go up through Wi, Mn, Nd, Mt, Wa then drop into Or by the Tri-Cities. That way there is actually 27 miles shorter then running Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. I spent about an hour going over all my trip plans, fuel stops and where I would end each day. The whole trip is 2990 miles and I had until 6am Monday to get here. I left the Petro around 7pm and made it to Lamar Pa and called it a night. I woke up the next morning, showered and was on the road by 6:30. I got a good night sleep and woke up in a truck driving mood. I drove nonstop to the first service plaza in Indiana and had lunch. From there I went to Gary for fuel and saw if I left quick I would be ahead of the Chicago traffic. I made it through Chicago with no problems and made it to the T/A in Janesville Wi for my break. Not a bad day at all, 712 miles and done at 7:30pm. I was up and rolling at 5:30am Friday morning.

I stopped in Fargo ND for fuel and lunch, It had gotten pretty cold the whole trip through Mn, it now was about 15 degrees out. My plan was to get to Mandan ND for my break. I got there at 7pm my time, ate then watched some TV. I was up and rolling right at 5am Saturday. I kept checking the weather through Montana, especially the 3 passes I had to go over. It was looking good. I went over Pipestone Pass and all it was was a little light snow and the roads were just sanded, one down two to go. I stopped in Laurel Mt for fuel and a shower. I left there and had enough time on the clock to get to Missoula Mt for my break. I got there at 6:45 my time, ate, then checked the weather and pass information for Lookout Pass. Everything was good through the night so off to bed I went. I planned on being up and rolling at 5am. I got up the next morning and opened my curtain to nothing short of a horror show. There was about 6 inches of new snow on the ground and still snowing.

I got up, made myself a cup of coffee, then went on line again to check the road conditions for Lookout Pass. I wasn't too concerned about the roads up to the pass, but I wanted to make sure they didn't have the chain law up going over the pass. I called the 511 number and the recording told me something completely different then what I was seeing out my window. I then went onto the national interstate weather site I find extremely useful and was told the same thing. So off I went. It was dark, it was snowing and I was now committed to going. I got onto the snow packed highway, couldn't see a #### thing and made it 7 miles to the closed weigh station. As I parked my phone rang and it was my wife. She asked me how I was doing and I told her I just left, made it 7 miles and am now parked until it gets light out. I explained to her that if i was to run off the road at least it would be daylight and I could see where I would land. She wasn't the least bit happy to hear that. Right at the crack of dawn I left. It's much easier on the nerves when you can see where you're going. I started at the 96mm and Lookout Pass is at the Mt/Id state line. By the time I started climbing the pass the roads became dry. Unreal. My next to go over was 4th of July just outside Wallace Id. That too was dry. I now had a renewed sense of energy and now felt I could conquer the world, or at least the last 400 miles.

I now had to start watching my clock. I had it figured down to the last hour as to getting empty. I stopped at the Petro outside Spokane, fueled and had lunch. I called my first drop to see if I could get directions, even though my new Rand McNally 510 told me it was real simple to get to. I called and low and behold someone answered the phone. I asked them for directions and they asked me what time was i going to be there today(Sunday). I told them I wasn't scheduled to be there until tomorrow(Monday). They said that they would be there until 5pm and if I could get there before then they would take the 20 pallets off. I got there at 2pm local time and was empty at 2:30. I figured I was on a roll so I called the next drop which was only 5 miles away from my first drop. A nice young lady answered the phone and gave me directions. She said no one was there and that the reason she was there was to do paperwork. But she did offer me a choice to unload it myself with a pallet jack or wait until the morning. I opted for the pallet jack choice. I asked her what kind of donuts and coffee she liked, she told me and right where I turned to leave my first drop was a donut shop. It was the best $5 I ever spent. I got there, backed in and in 15 minutes had the last 7 pallets off the trailer. I then went to Jubitz and started my reset a day early. I'm now 25 hours into my reset and just got this filthy, sand covered truck washed. I also got the trailer washed and a washout. I couldn't believe how dirty the inside of this trailer was. I also noticed that I have a hub oiler leaking on the trailer and one of the tires that wasn't replaced is starting to peel away from the casing, so that's what I'll have done in the morning when I wake up at 7am my time.

I got here yesterday with 28 minutes left on my 70 hour clock. Here's something to ponder. I left the house last Monday morning with a fresh 70 hours. In exactly 7 days I used all my hours and legally logged 4250 miles. I had multiple days of 700+ miles, slept every night and did it all with Electronic logs. I'm tired yes, but at least I earned my keep! Be safe all, God Bless.