Beginning the Long Awaited CDL Process

OK, where did leave off? Oh, yeah.

The closure lasted for an hour. I was monitoring the Wyoming DOT road closure board, which gets updated every 10 minutes. As soon as they lifted the ban I started moving. Another trucker gets on the CB and says something to his buddy like "Where's he going?". I chimed in and told him the roads open, sun's out, time to get out of here.

As I climbed the ramp, I could see the parade of other trucks following suit. The road was a little messy, but passable. I didn't let up until I reached Livingston, Montana where I parked for the night. Next morning, I hightailed it out of there and headed to my last fuel stop in Ellensburg, WA.

I'm sitting at the receiver right now in Kent, WA waiting for my turn to be unloaded. I got here a little early for my appointment (advantages of being on EST).

My list of firsts will continue as I have preplan to PU in Springfield, OR, and deliver to Woodland, CA. I would assume they'll start working me toward the east as my home time is coming up in another week and a half.

AT, I thought about end running on 16/14 to reach Sheridan, but I figured the reduced traveling speed, wasn't really worth the effort. As it worked out, it turned out to be a long coffee/ lunch break.

Hey Sammycat, I thought the same thing when I typed in Buffalo. Hope I didn't get you too excited. I'll get there.

 

Hello Everyone.

I'm camped out at a Pilot in Winnemucca, NV heading east to Chicago. I've been running real hard these last 2 weeks and I've been fighting my 70 hour clock as of late.

As I mentioned, I picked up a load in Springfield, OR and ran it down to Woodland, CA. This was the heaviest load I've hauled yet for USX. The cargo was over 45K and I grossed out at 79,180. It took 3 shots scaling out to get the tandems just right. She was real heavy in the nose of the box and getting the weight off the drives was a challenge. I ended up at 11,580, 33,860, and 33,740. And, that was without me in the truck and light on fuel. Needless to say, I visited every scale house on the way.

That load delivered yesterday morning which was the first day of my 70 hour clock being an issue. I started the day with less than 8 hours available and this was a live unload which can chew up a lot of time. I had a pre-plan waiting which is the load I'm on now, going from Fairfield, CA to University Park, IL. It's a 2100 mile run and I made sure that USX was aware my 70 was not looking good. They said take it, run it, and keep them apprised of my HOS. If it becomes a problem, they'll re power the load with a team, if they have to, to ensure on-time delivery.

So by the time I was loaded, I had just over 4 hours available. I scaled this load out (another heavy one, but I set the tandems perfect at the shipper...go figure) and headed east on I80 toward Donner's Pass.

The worst thing about heavy loads is they slow you down in a big way over the hills. My objective was to reach my first fuel stop in Fernley, NV, just east of Reno. Getting up those mountains took it's toll on my hours. By the time I reached the summit, it became a race against time, and needing to deal with Donner didn't allow me room to make up any time with the speed restrictions on trucks. This was my first time through Donner, the roads were dry, but it was dark and traffic was moderate. Dry road conditions are not an issue, it's no worse than running the gorge in TN. But if you get some real weather up there, you better have your game face on and stay frosty, because a mistake will find you at the bottom of one of those ravines. Personally speaking, I had fun.

Anyway, I made it to Fernley with about 30 minutes to spare on my clock. The bad part: I only gained back about 2 hours today. So this morning I left Fernley and headed east on 80, past the hot springs in Nightingale (they're cool) and stopped here at the Pilot with 32 minutes left. I have to stay here until my 10 hr break is done and I'll get back 9 hours, 11 minutes after midnight. Add that to the 32 minutes left over from today and I should be able to run pretty good tomorrow, weather permitting.

So that's where I am right now. Sorry if I'm bending your ear, uh, eyes, but I felt like writing.

Oh. Important fact for my fellow new drivers who may venture out west. The vastness of these states is inescapable. It's possible that you may have a break down and need road assistance. In good weather it's not usually an issue, but in the winter, road service might take some time to get out to you. If your truck can't run, you need to be prepared with plenty of water, food and warm clothing. In most cases your bunk heater will supply warmth, but be prepared.


Ok. Here some firsts for Wedge.

Saw my first herd of buffalo......well...it wasn't really a herd, more like a large group.......like a small bowling league. They were huddled together, most likely discussing where to hold their next Kegger Tournament.

Saw my first tumble weed. He made a suicide run for my truck, I barely escaped, but I'm OK. Thanks for caring.

There's a lot to see traveling along I90 such as, Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower, Little Big Horn just to name a few. Definitely has been put on my places to vacation list.


California (from what little I've seen) seems very nice. It was warm and the people were nice. Kinda like Florida with mountains and younger people.


States I have not seen: North Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico.


That's the latest from me. I'll be sure to keep you updated as I move along.



Thanks for reading.

-Wedge

 

Congrats, Markus.

Glad to hear you passed your road test. You'll do fine with SNI. It's great company to start with, not a lot of bad press. Remember, its going to be as good as you make it. It's a place to start, so work hard and learn all you can.

I'll be sure to read your thread. I've got some time today.


Good luck, my friend.

 

Hey Wulfman, good to hear from you. I hope Crete's treating you well.

The Loves is where I stopped. Of course I came in when it was dark, and left 10 hours later (still dark). I know there where mountains around but I couldn't see them.....that dark thing again.

No shortage of scenery, to be sure. I have to remember to use my camera more often.


Stay in touch.