Driving OTR with US Xpress

Yeah, I've been quiet. I've been running pretty hard as of late.

I tried to get on TTR when I had a moment of free time. It happened to coincide to that period when their server was down. Tried a couple of times over the following days and the server was still off-line. Of course when it finally did come back up I was running like crazy again. I agree my contribution of posts has been somewhat weak as of late.

My truck has been running fine up until Monday morning when I was blessed with a "check engine" light. I brought it to Freightliner in Anderson, IN which is where I am right now waiting on parts.

Guess it's time to update, eh?

 

Hello There.


I have been remiss. I must apologize.

I know my postings, as of late, have been minimal. Since coming out after the Christmas holidays I have been very busy..........driving........and writing. I have been putting considerable effort into my novel. That is, and has been, a time consuming enterprise.

Trips and Stats.

For 2012, my total miles were just over 97,000. It's lower than I had hoped, but I attribute that to being attached to the Shippenburg office for the first 1/3 of the year. My OTR miles increased once I was re-assigned to my old FM out of our Tunnel Hill office. There isn't a problem with the Shippenburg office, but IMO, they are regional in nature and the longer runs were less common. Hence, lower weekly totals.

My last session out (post holidays) I stayed out for about 5 weeks. I averaged about 2,400 mi. per week which is about what I ran last year for the same time. Not much to write home about.


Coming back out in February, my first week is always low due to 4-5 days of home time. Miles were 1,269 for about 3 days work.

This past Friday settlement sheet: 3,521 miles. And, I was on track for similar numbers this week until....................You guessed it.
I was on my way to the Dollar general DC in Marion, IN when the "Check Engine" light came on.


So I made my delivery on Monday morning and I've been at Freightliner ever since. The DPF system is affected and I'm waiting on parts from Springfield, OH.


Frankenstein has finally spoken........aaarrrrggggg!


Other Stuff and things I've learned

I set a new record for myself. Pulled into a rest area and shut down with 26 seconds left on my clock. My drive time for that day: 10:59:34.



Socks stick to velcro..........in case you needed to know.



Because the On-Board navigation in my driver tech is not always dependable (plus I was bored), I've named my Driver Tech...........BOHICA (fans of the TV series 'The Unit' should know what that acronym stands for).



Never park your truck in a space at a TS that happens to be on a corner. Or else when you wake up in the morning there's a 1 in 6 chance that's just what you'll be missing...............a corner.



New Drivers:

If you can't figure out where to park your truck when you're at a receiver, look for this sign:






And all those half filled bottles of soft drink you see lying around at the TS..........


................let the guys wearing the surgical gloves pick those up.






Thanks for reading.
-Wedge

 

Hey BubbaTrucker.

I sent you a PM with some info that may help.