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

Got empty in Jacksonville yesterday at 1400. I want to say it was a very uneventful trip from Oregon, but I can’t. Saturday afternoon as I was pulling Sherman Hill with my 44K of imported Chinese fruit drink, my red triangle exploded on my dash telling me that my coolant was critically low and to shut down. I was almost to the top, temp was fine so I got off at Happy Jack Rd and became a mechanic. Tilt the hood, and yep, critically low. I let it cool down and did my best impersonation of Sherlock Holmes. Couldn’t find a leak, so I filled it up with a gallon of coolant and continued on. Next morning on the other side of Lincoln, the same thing. Filled it up again, checked for leaks, none and even checked the oil to make sure it wasn’t going into the engine. Oil was good. Coming into St Louis, it happened again. This time I pulled into the TA in Foristell and called it a night. 4am Monday morning, I called into breakdown and got a work order to put it in the shop. After 45 minutes of checking, they do a pressure test on the system. Just as I was walking from the drives on the driverside, I see a stream of coolant shooting up from just under the cab alongside the fuel tank. Bingo, it was a coolant leak for the rear heater system that had a split in it. Changed the line, new clamp and 4 gallons of coolant later, I was out the door.
Poop happens, didn’t delay me at all, and I need to give the Foristell TA shop a thank you. Great bunch of guys that know how to work on trucks. I’m now sitting at the Loves in Savannah finishing up a reset. Picking up a load off the yard here at 4am going to the Richmond yard then hooking a multi stop load going to Montana, Idaho and Washington.

 

Got to the yard Thursday early evening. Moved into a brand new ‘22 Volvo with 205 miles on the clock. And spent all morning yesterday getting about a half a dozen minor issues taken care of with it before I was able to leave. Hooked to my new trailer at the loading dock and had to wait while a local driver brought in one more shipment to put on the trailer.

In the 9 years here, and this now my 7th new truck assignment, this is the first time I’m leaving Richmond with a new, dentless, scratchless trashedless trailer.
22xxx truck, 10xxx trailer. I’ll post pictures after I’m through western SD, Montana, West Yellowstone, Monida Pass and Cabbage Hill. Great way to break in new equipment.