Railsplitter's Crazy "Trucking Daze" thread...

Okey-dokey, we have some shots of winter driving, but there's also a story to these pics... so I'll add a link because newer hands might learn something by reading that story. Here we go, I'll probably have to use two separate posts to cover these storm pics, since I'm only posting 10 pics at a time... I reckon the shots will come through better if they're not stacked up to the rafters, lol.





I was on "rolling roadblock" duty here, keeping 4-wheelers from passing all these trucks, lol...



The line ahead was even longer, lol. Next two shots show the same rig jack-knifed across both lanes and shoulders of westbound I-70 in rural Illinois...




"This looks like a good place to drop my wagon!"



This guy rolled into the "comedian" and then he got out and threw his cowboy hat on the ground, lol...



Conditions worsened and the icy road turned into skating rink material... note the spacing between trucks, how it should be done for you hands just starting your 'trucking careers!' Also note idiot 4-wheeler on that truck's D.O.T. bar in the left lane...



And here's a shot of a little buildup on the landing gear, lol...



Had to take a rubber mallet to that buildup to knock it off... didn't need any extra weight while nearly grossed-out at 80,000 lbs. I was hauling lead solder waste when I ran up on this particular storm, here's the link I promised with the story about that trip, plus I have more wreck photos coming up pronto, lol...

sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/tales-adventure/2011/mar/01/ice-storm/

 

And we continue with a shot or two of the State Line Petro lot, lol...




Wrecks in the ditch or "comedian" on the way home from Pennsylvania...






Moving on, we have a fog bank over the Wabash River...



"This is where the customer wanted us to drop the home, right?"




That was in Kalifornia, this one is in Oklahoma... not the clearest pics, but you get the general idea.



If you newer hands ever find yourselves hauling manufactured homes for a living, be sure to get off the road when the wind picks up, otherwise you'll wind up in the same scenario, 10-4?

 

Hmm, what's next? This one came all the way across, probably in the middle of the night when the driver fell asleep...




Routine traffic jam... next we have a train wreck, looks like the bridge gave out under the weight.



Mexico... where old cabovers go to die, then get resurrected as NAFTA trucks, lol...



Truck camping in Lark Canyon, East San Diego County during time off... I'd take family & friends out there and let 'em sleep in the truck.





Pimpwagon on fire in O'Reilly lot, Henryetta, OK...



Hydraulic truck lifts... first at a dump, then at a Princella Yams plant.

 

More dump action, first shot shows my truck bombing down the backdoor dirt road to Maricopa County Landfill in AZ, the graded road was smooth enough for the 90-m.p.h. truck to do 70, lol. Maybe you can see the mile-long dust trail behind my rig, that's what I was trying to catch...






Myrtle Beach... had a blast here for a full day & night after delivering a load to Conway, SC. Ocean water temp was 75* F, easy, lol...





Boat-haulin' lowboy hard aground (i.e. high centered) between the T/A and Petro in K-Town (Knoxville, TN), and yes, he's blocking traffic, lol...




Nice sloop though... gotta give him credit for that, lol. Hmm, howzabout a company yard fuel island at sunset? A little glare from the Canon cam, but...

 

Short break to feed 5 cats and set up a nice double shot of tequila... with lime & salt, of course. Hang loose, I gots some classic pics on the way, lol...

Okay, I'm back like a bad rash to post more pics... and that Cuervo was delicious, lol.

Reason I'm doing this is to let newer hands know that they can still enjoy some paid tourism, but with all the electronic tracking devices nowadays, they're gonna have to get creative, lol. Wrap that SatComm dome in foil and tape it securely, then tell dispatch you were parked under a bridge or next to a tall building, lol. In my day, after paying my dues and gaining some experience, I gravitated toward smaller outfits which deliberately ran paper logs and also ran long, as in runs from coast to coast. Less time wasted at the docks that way, and more time to factor in some paid tourism, especially in a 90-m.p.h. rocketship tractor after losing the wagon, aye? Hiding the wagon, I should say...

I used to joke with fellow company employees about rolling up on D.O.T. scales while juggling lit torches, chainsaws and logbooks, lol... and I actually have some hilarious anecdotes to relate at some future time, y'all will get a good laugh outta those. But for now, we'll continue our whirlwind tour of the country at company expense... I was a real hand when it came to burning company fuel, lol. I never even WANTED to buy my own truck, I was having too much fun the way it was... granted, there are serious advantages & disadvantages to owning your own rig, and I caution ANY new hands to stay aboard a company truck for awhile until you figure out whether you wanna COMMIT to owning a truck.

Moi, I did things a little differently because that's the way I roll, and my PRIMARY OBJECTIVE in going trucking was to see the country and have fun doing it, 10-4? Unlike many drivers who cried in their beer about being stuck somewhere away from home, I was cracking my trucker's atlas to see what I could check out on the company's dime, lol. 34-hour restart? More like a solid day and night of paid tourism and hard partying, lol. I set a record for burning company fuel while goofing off: 358 miles on the odometer, I'll be sure to throw in a link to the story when I get to those pics, lol. And I have some classic tales of adventure to accompany certain pics, those photos taken during the very same adventures, yeah?

And before I get started with more pics, let me just say that I regarded my assigned road tractor as a 10-ton RV, and I equipped that RV accordingly so I could pull some wilderness & camping adventures while totally STYLIN' IT, as far as gear, clothing & provisions were concerned. You'll soon see what I mean... and as an expert small craft sailor & experienced technical rock climber, I naturally gravitated toward venues where I could take boat rides or tackle some bad boy peaks or crags. I carried field gear & solo climbing gear aboard my truck, and I had a 4-man inflatable raft under my bunk for float trips during time off away from home, lol. Like I said, I DID THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY FROM THE AVERAGE DRIVER.

Okay, let's go to Steins Ghost Town for a little paid tourism... easy objective, right off I-10 at Exit 3 in New Mexico, no excuse for NOT checking it out should you shut down nearby, lol. As a climber, I not only sussed out the ghost town, I eventually pulled a full-on USA INF recon of Steins Peak, that impressive mountain which looms over the old railroad & cavalry town... and the quality of the rock there is excellent, totally solid with good holds, not too much friable junk or rubble. For me, trucking was a way to explore these hitherto unknown venues out in the boondocks, way too far from my 'Home 20' for me to EVER realistically explore them otherwise... better to do it on the company's dime & factor it in during a long run, lol. Here we go...












Pretty cool ghost town, I like the old glass bottles on the shelves, lol. That's an old Singer sewing machine, and a couple of old school washing machines in the mix. For me, it'd be a coin toss, living in that stone casita or in that shotgun shack in the last pic, lol... each would have advantages & disadvantages. Alright, lemme post these so we can get on with the mountaineering action, 10-4? That shot with the stagecoach shows Steins Peak in the background, and that is where we're heading NEXT, aye? Beautiful peak, and the crags are awesome, as you shall soon see... when I pull a recon, I pull a recon, don'tcha know?

P.S. That horseshoe rocker was actually quite comfortable, lol...

 

Okay, lemme get this old truck pic outta the way, then we start trekkin', lol... this pickup is also at Steins.



Now, for the field experience...






Looking down from atop the crags... note the truck traffic on I-10, lol.




Walking off the mountain...





Remember, drivers, exercise is good for you, lol... so get out of that cab when ya can & get a little exercise!

 

Hmm, one more Steins Peak shot, this one's looking straight up at some overhanging blocks on the east end of the mountain... dunno how many technical rock climbers are clued into this area, but it's a "cragging center" just waiting to be developed, lol. The rock is decent too...



Here's a sweet KW with airbrushed artwork on both tractor & trailer...




The pics don't do that KW justice, it was awesome! Here's another classic rig, hard to read the first pic but you're looking at Crackerhead Transport! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Now THERE is a hand who just doesn't give a #### about the D.O.T. anymore, lol...




In a way, ya gotta admire his defiant attitude, lol...



Here's Picacho Peak near Eloy, AZ... an island in the sky, but the rock is friable, total rubble, so ya gotta be careful, aye? Proper footgear is essential!




Hard to see, but that's E/B I-10 stretching away toward Tucson in that last pic, lol...



Another jam... and then we have a vehicle which has seen better days, lol.

 

Onward, pagan truckers! Lol... just a play on words, 10-4? Let's see, what do we have next? Howzabout White Sands?






You can see more White Sands pics in that link I posted on Page 1 of this thread... funny to think that this "beach" is right near my current home, lol.



Looks like the Columbia River above, here are three big ol' Petercar hoods and a funky "new wave" cabover on a fuel island somewhere, lol...



Had a load to Charlottesville, VA, so I toured Monticello... Thomas Jefferson is probably my favorite president of all time, I ain't big on modern scumbag politicians, lol.





And a little snow on US-60 in AZ...

 

Meh, what else we got tonight? Let's see...











That peak seen in Pics #1-8 is Mt. Livermore in West Texas, second-highest peak in the state (not counting subsidiary peaks of Guadalupe). Bad boy climbing venue with perfectly solid rock for holds, here's a link to the story that goes with these pics... look closely in some shots and you'll see my rig parked far below, lol. Pic #9 shows a peak near Livermore.

sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/tales-adventure/2011/apr/07/mysterious-mt-livermore/

Last but not least, we have a building in St. Louis that looks like something out of a Batman movie, lol...