Truck Load Rates Halt 8 Week Slide 2.0

I'm still getting calls daily from brokers looking for reefers out of CA and I've been out of the game for close to a year. Heck I wasn't using brokers for the last 3 years I drove and they still call. It's harvest season out here for table grapes, peaches and a lot of other ag products. Ag shippers are desperate to find trucks, but not desperate enough to pay enough to get reliable carriers. A lot of these growers may be out of business next year if we don't get some rain and snow in the mountains this winter.

Speaking of peaches, I bought a lug today and I've eaten 4 already that are the size of a softball. A perfectly ripened peach is about the best thing I can think of at my age other than taking a normal crap.

 

Well, ain't that a peach of a thought, lol.

 

I resumed work last Thursday. I try not to go much beyond 300-400 mile radius from home for contingencies involving major break downs (affordable towing) and unpredictable deadheads and also for ability to spend nights at home in between trips or en route - so far only 1 night in the truck perhaps 2 nights this week. I try to redefine my operations so that they don't involve much OTR life even at the expense of lesser revenue.
Here's what I was able to get from a dry van spot market freight:
1.WI-IA $1350
2.WI-IN $1200
3.IN-WI $800
4.IL-OH $1389
5.OH-WI $1713
6.WI-IL $900
Total mileage 2550 returning $7352.
Predicting to burn 390 gal: purchased 220 gal for $3.9 (mudflop last week) and today 150 gal for $4.9 - regular posted price at WB I-90 service plaza in Howe, IN - must be some sort of a special because anywhere else is 30-50c higher If you come this way, you may want to think about filling up.
Fuel and tolls will have cost me $1800 leaving me with about $5500 to cover anything else that future holds for me.
I'll finish on Tuesday after spending the labor day weekend at home. Then I may take the rest of the week off to do minor maintenance which I hope to be able to accomplish within my own means. I need to paint the front and tail portion of my trailer floor as it gets rusty and install some thick plywood or even a plate inside on the front wall before they make holes with fork lifts.

 

About a year ago, I started using reading glasses, +1, which is something I did not have to do before. Looks like I need to use them more and more. Perhaps +1.5 is what I should use now.
I definitely spend too much time reading and typing stuff on this ####### phone and it must be the problem for my eyesight.
I must revisit my local library and get back into habit of reading nothing else but old fashioned books printed on paper.
My son started high school two weeks ago and to my surprise and disappointment, they only gave him two textbooks! All the rest is electronic, he is also advised to use a tablet with an e-pan to take notes. I tried to use it I have to say that this is a joke. As a kid, I remember being tought calligraphy and a fountain pen was my favorite writing tool.
Poeple are entrapped by those smart phones, they don't even know how to free themselves from it. I sometimes think about smashing it with a hammer and see how life would go on without it.

 

If I had a tablet when I went to school I might have made it further than the 9th grade. Writing has always gave me a very bad nerve issues. I can type a lot longer than write and it hardly bothers me unless done for 30 minutes strait. Not everything is bad or good.

 

That's called getting old. For most people when they turn 40 it's about time for reading glasses. I feel lucky that I made it past 40 without needing them but had to start using them about 2 years ago. All the blurry everywhere gets aggravating. When you have good eyesight you sure do take it for granted, or I did. My stepdaughter graduated in 2018 from high school amd I remember thinking it was crazy they didn't even teach them how to write cursive. Yeah schools don't teach that anymore. Not public ones.

 

I had vision problems a little over a year ago. Turned out to be issues with diabetes. I got started on some meds and have since got my eye sight back. Was very scary situation for me since I have always had great vision. I will be 46 this year and was never overweight or out of shape. Doctor did not think I had a chance to be diabetic but numbers came back as I was.

 

We're the same age. My blood sugar has always checked out good, knock on wood.

 

Just wait until you need to get bifocals.

 

Yeah so is that what we have to look forward to now?