From School to Superior Carriers

I have had a beautiful drive this week after loading in Sacramento Monday. Other than a traffic delay in the construction zone just outside of Reno it was clear sailing across I-80.

The product I was hauling turns into a solid at 72 degrees. It was loaded at 155 but needs to be steamed up to 160-165 prior to unloading. I arrived at the tankwash in Bluegrass Ia around 3:30 PM. Product was 165 by 8:30 PM. It took about 4 hours to unload the next day at 5:00 because product had hardened in the pipe between the external and internal valves and had to be steamed at the plant.

I am now sitting in Markham at our terminal. I got the load I wanted. Millsdale Il to Greensboro NC. I was hoping to load tonight or early in the morning. Looks like I will sit here all day Saturday. I have a load appointment for 2300 Saturday. Bummer but at least I am heading home.

Another blessing with the late night load time is there is a Teamsters strike going on at Stepan where I will load. I have to cross a picket line to load. They have a security company that we are supposed to call for escort into the plant. I doubt too many people will be out on the line at 11:00 on a Saturday night. Crossing a picket line is another first for this big truck driver.

 

8/1-8/7

The strike was a non issue. There were a few thugs with signs at the gate. They had a security guard who met the truck about a half mile away. At the gate they had lots of portable lights set up and were videotaping every truck as it came into the plant. At sign in there were a couple of extra check boxes where you told them y or n if the strikers had damaged anything on the truck. I mentioned it and the scale attendant said they had an O/O claim that his truck was damaged crossing the line 3 hours after he left the plant. Even companies have to CYA.

I had originally planned to run this load with 2 10 hour breaks so I could get back onto a daytime driving schedule. I realized sitting under the rack that that wasn't possible and still make the delivery on time. Fortunately I had gotten lots of rest during the 32 hours I sat at Markham experiencing dispatching brilliance. The plant loader told me that they had the product and could have loaded me earlier that day. Dispatch never made the call they told me they would make to reduce my wait time.

I headed out with my load home around 1:30 AM. I had hoped to make it as far as Charleston WV giving me a shorter run the next day and allowing a few hours of sleep while it was still dark. With a 7 AM delivery I could have gotten up around 3-4 AM and run it up there. Around 9 AM I got so sleepy I had to stop in Jeffersonville Oh. I took about a 13 hour break heading out around 10PM to make sure I would have enough time to get unloaded at 7 the next morning and still get to the terminal.

I made good time and even had time to stop for breakfast before delivering. I got to the plant and had my first backing accident. It was pretty much a bone headed move on my part. I was jacking it into a pretty tight hole. There was another truck staged on the street at a 90 degree angle to mine. His nose was sticking into the hole about 6 feet next to the one I was trying to hit. I got in a little too far to the right but thought I had room to let the trailer encroach into the empty hole so I could get straight and work it back to the left. I scratched a little paint off the nose of his truck with my trailer fender and bent his bumper with a drive tire. Fortunately the damage was all cosmetic. I would have felt worse had I caused the guy to lose work. We were able to straighten the bumper out by hand so you couldn't tell unless you looked real close..

I got back to the terminal with my tail between my legs after unloading and sat down with my TM to do all the paperwork. Dispatch was ready to send me back out the next day with an out and back dedicated load. I had been out 2 weeks with nothing more than 34's at home for the 2 weeks before that so I asked to take the rest of the week off.

I will probably head back out Sunday 7/8

 

Just got my dispatch for next week. Its a polymer load to a waste water plant in Brooklyn NY delivering Monday 8:00-14:00. I have heard about this load from other SPCR drivers. I believe dispatch tries to give it to outbound system drivers since its not real popular for obvious reasons. One good thing is they allow you to park at the plant which is gated with 24 hour security. For Brooklyn it doesn't look too bad to get in and out of... all yellow main roads on MS Streets and Trips. We shall see. This will be my second trip into Brooklyn.

 

I I will probably run it up to our terminal in Paulsboro NJ Sunday afternoon/evening. Then leave there around 9:00 AM. That gives me 5 hours to go 120 miles and its after rush hour. I prefer to find a customer for the first time in daylight. Hopefully I can be headed out by 3PM. If its much later I can take my break at the plant and leave at 00 dark 30 Tues morning

 

Haven't seen the paperwork and directions yet, 12266 Flatlands Ave is the address. Must be a big uphill run if it took 5 hours through a 3 inch hose. This one calls for 20 feet.

 

That's not good. Hope he is OK. That should make for some longer clean out times. They might even start refusing to clean a few products.