Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Lucy got some 'splainin' to do.

 

I bet it was to do with the cold weather we've been having. I've noticed that hooking up is a little more difficult and I put it down to the grease in the kingpin locking jaws getting thick and sticky. This impedes the jaws snapping fully shut around the kingpin.

That driver was turning around in the yard so was probably going slower than walking speed. Made a hell of a boom when it dropped but didn't appear to receive any damage. They lifted it back up with two yard jockey trucks and the driver reconnected to it. Don't know what, if anything happened as a consequence.

 

2017 seems determined to fizzle out rather than end on a high. The past week has just been slow. Don't know if it's due to the holidays because last year I kept running way more than this year. It's doubtful I will make my income goal now.

I found out yesterday that I am now part of the Canada fleet. I've been over the border every week this month it seems. I just passed through Canadian customs this morning and an alarm went off when the officer swiped my passport. I asked him if that means I am denied entry and he said the alarm went off because I now qualify for Canadian citizenship because I have been so often...AND that I am denied entry due to incomplete customs paperwork.

 

It was this time, last time I got detained it was a lumber load. Longest I have had to wait was 6 hours though, no chance of any layover. It would be good if drivers could check the status of the entry paperwork before crossing the bridge. There is a PARS check website, but every time I have used it the numbers come up as invalid even when I got through.

 

Would like to work for the "green machine" company but they turned me down a few months back. Guess pointless to apply again? I'm thinking of doing a refresher first.

 

Made the slow crawl from Gary to New Castle in the Great White Mess this afternoon. Dodged two spinouts in front of me along the way, about lost my RH mirror to a near-sideswipe because I guess JB needed to spice things up, and had the trailer break traction at *four* mph in the big turn from 465 to 70 East. Finally get parked at the J in New Castle and three steps into the door the radio starts in with "Don't Fear The Reaper". Yeah, alright.

 

I was doing 15 mph on stretches of I90 in NY and PA after leaving Canada. Drives were slipping and sliding, but stopping on the shoulder seemed much more treacherous. Made it to the shipper in Erie and I have everything crossed that they allow me to spend the night here as my 14 is up and the truck stops and rest areas are already overflowing.

Yup, after today the last week of 2017 is definitely my worst week of 2017.

 

Apply again, company needs may have changed since you last applied. I wouldn't pay out of pocket for a refresher. I doubt it will make a difference to Abilene.

 

My other choice is Schneider. They said they can put me through a refresher but you have to commit to SNI for about six months or I can pay just 500 bucks for a refresher myself.