From School to Superior Carriers

5/28-5/31

Its been a nice run over the holiday weekend. I started Friday out by meeting one of my swimmers that I coached through high school for lunch at the Amish restaurant across from the terminal. It was nice to catch up with someone I haven't seen in 3-4 years and actually have a conversation that isn't centered around a truck stop lunch counter. It also doesn't hurt that she is 23 and drop dead gorgeous.

My load arrived on the yard around 13:30 and after a little map study I headed out. I had planned to run 70W to the Penn Turnpike but the load turned out to be hazmat. There are 2 restricted tunnels on 70/76 so I had to reroute around them. I ran 70-68-79 back up to the turnpike. Shut down at one of the Ohio Tpk plazas.

Saturday I ran over to the Iowa 80 TA and shut down there.

Sunday I ran to Bosslemans in Big Springs Ne. I noticed as I was pulling grades my voltage gauge would drop below 12. On the down side it would go back up to around 13. When I shut down for the night It wouldn't stay above 12 and none of my inverters would work even with the truck Idling. It was nice and cool out so I turned off the truck and all of my electrical stuff except for my CPAP machine.

I decided to have it looked at and was about to head east about 20 miles to the TA. The batteries had recovered by morning. They are only about 3 months old. My voltage levels were around 13 so I headed West knowing there was another TA in Cheyanne. That being a larger city I figured my chances were better getting it fixed on a holiday there.

The TA did an electrical check on it and discovered that oe of the posts on the alternator was broken. 2 hours later I was on my way with a new alternator installed, a fresh shower annd breakfast in my belly. Once again I appreciated the way my boss handles things. One 30 second call to his cell phone and I am approved and good to go. There was another driver there fighting with his company trying to get repairs approved. He was shocked at how fast my $650 bill was approved.

The truck is running great and I am poised 108 miles away from my delivery point a day early. Tomorrow I am going to call and see if I can drop it in there a day early. If not I am early enough that I will get 34 hr reset in collect some layover pay. I would prefer to keep moving but it is what it is.

 

6/1

Well delivering early wasn't to be. Log Ops wanted to do just that until they found out I would get a restart in delivering at the original appointment time. I am now doing my first 34 hour restart in a truck stop rather than a hotel. Part of the reason is this is an intransit heat load so I need to idle the truck. The other reason is driving anywhere will negate the reset.

Its all good though. After unloading tomorrow they are dead heading me 650 miles to Sacramento to pick up a load going home to Browns Summit NC. I am sure there will be a tank wash stop in there somewhere. I am looking forward to it. The farthest West I have been on I-80 is Carlin Nevada.

 

6/2

Well it looks like I am going to do more sitting than driving for another day, this time in Salt Lake City. I headed out this morning around 5:00 AM local time to drive the 110 miles through the canyon into Salt Lake City. Got turned around a bit but finally found the plant at 7:30, 30 minutes before my appointment.

They had me back in in front of a dock about an hour later and I was happy to learn that they would do all the unloading using my hoses and fittings. 4 sections 80 feet and this is a hazmat Alkylbenzenesulfonic acid load. Everything was going great until about half of it came off. Then they stopped the flow, capped the hoses and had me pull out and park on the street. I have been there for 6 hours and counting.

I am told that I am at the mercy of "the blenders". Apparently they have to make and package product before they can unload the rest of the tank. I have about 1.5 hours before my 14 runs out. Fortunately I can park here on the street for my break. I sure am glad they pay us to sit in the truck and watch movies. I would still rather be running.

 

6/3

Not knowing when they would call me I decided to get some sleep and hit the bunk about 10 PM. I got the knock on the bunk at 5:45 AM so with a full nights sleep and a reset I finally got this load off my truck. It really couldn't have worked out better from a money stand point. I will get paid for 21.5 hours for that load alone. The tank wash got me out in under 2 hours and I was on the road to Sacramento by 9:45 AM. I would have ended up collecting less than 8 hours layover pay if they had unloaded me quickly and wound up sitting somewhere else.

I load in Sacramento at 9:30 AM headed to the High Point Yard

 

6/4-6/5

Got down to Sacramento with 30 minutes to spare on my appointment. They proceeded to take 9 hours to get me loaded. Most of it was waiting for a COA. The also made me return to the rack where they dumped 10 gallons of additives into the dome. I finally got ready to go but it was right at rush hour and I only had 2.5 hours to drive and didn't want to run out of hours in Donner Pass and have to park on an exit ramp.

I locked up the truck and went for about a 2 mile walk to get something to eat. The allow us to park at the plant and there is a break room and bathroom right there for us to use. I headed out about Dawn and enjoyed the drive through the mountains with no time pressure.

Shut down in Wendover NV for the night and splurged on a Casino buffet. It was pricey but after 2 weeks of truck stop food and sandwiches in the truck I enjoyed the heck out of it. All you can eat Prime Rib, Crab Legs and Shrimp for $19.95.

It is also notable that I have 5 different SPCR drivers that were either loading or heading to Sacramento to load for Either Iowa City or the East Coast. This is new business and a nice back haul from California. No more 1500 deadheads back to Houston, Memphis or Chicago. Several were O/O's who normally wouldn't take those loads to the West Coast.

 

There is one guy out of High Point who doesn't even have a pump or compressor on his truck. Runs nothing but Sherwin Williams Dedicated and doesn't need it.

This is the longest I have been out in one stretch. Will end up being 18-19 days once its all done. Its going to be tight on my 70 getting home without a restart. That would suck.

 

If you are dispatched out of High Point ask Scott if he has any West Coast snot loads and get in on that good back haul from Sacramento.

 

6/10

Made it home yesterday afternoon. It was tight. I only had about 45 minutes left on my 70 when I pulled in the yard. I managed to make it through the DOT Blitz uninspected. That is a good thing as an inspection would have pushed me over my clock and cost me another night out on the road.

I understand that rule is necessary to prevent companies from working drivers to death but I wish there was a way to extend it somehow. Maybe if you take a 12 hour break instead of 10 you can run enough over the 70 to get home.

I am doing a mountain of laundry and not planning to go out before Monday. This should be a short week since I have a vacation planned starting Saturday the 19th. I am hoping for one out and back dedicated run back by Thursday or Friday.

I am going to drive to the Grand Canyon with my 80 year old father and 16 year old son in a Class C RV. It will be nice having a full kitchen, shower and bathroom in my vehicle. It will also be nice stopping at places I pass along the road but aren't welcome in a big truck.