My Prime Adventure

Well delivered the Potato load in Wisconsin.

I have officially done my first full solo load from start to finish. And I'm pretty #### happy about it. I did a great job running. Kicked some ### the other day doing 550 miles in 9 hours. Run wasn't too bad, worst problem being my arch nemesis, the wind! Kind of weird driving in a straight line while holding your steering wheel at a 45 degree angle.

Anyway, now heading to Chicago to pick up a load then delivers 20 miles from the shipper. So...ya. Unfourtantely I'm deadheading to Chicago so the evil wind comes into play again.

Anyone have any advice in driving a really light truck with an empty trailer in wind? Cause its pretty freaking hard.

Well thats all. Crashing early tonight to get a jump start to beat Chicago traffic.

 

Well today was interesting to say the least. I already #####ed to ORD about it, but now everyone else gets to hear! Yay.

So I wake up around 3am and start heading to Chicago. I get through Chicago without any real problems. To be honest, outside of some idiot drivers, Chicago really isn't too bad to drive in. The nice thing is they know there traffic sucks so they try to make it better by having huge highways and tons of different ways to go.

Anyway. So following the Qualcomm directions like a good little rookie and I turn onto a street. This is what I ended up with.



Believe me. You haven't lived until you do a blindside alley dock onto a 2 lane road during Chicago morning rush hour. Thanks to a friendly guy walking by, I was able to do it and got to the drop yard to get my next load.

Got to the drop yard at 0800, delivery was at 0830 30 miles away. So I knew I was on crunch time as I lost time on the whole trying to escape that road thing. Drop my trailer and go to get the other one. Well, the crank handle was broke so I couldn't lower it. So I tried to dock it anyway.

Rookie mistake.

Kingpin gets caught past the fifth wheel.

So after cursing up a storm and beating my poor defenseless trailer with my fists. I finally go stea...borrow...a wooden plank from the drop yard and use it to prop my kingpin over my fifth wheel. Then I brought the tools out and fixed the crank handle.

Finally. I leave the drop yard at 0845. So I'm running a little behind, my FM already knew I had got stuck early so it wasn't a huge deal. I get to the reciever. There is no sign anywhere, so I keep going waiting for something to appear.

BIG ####### MISTAKE.

I end up on a road (not a truck route at all I soon found out) that ended up taking me up some back hills in Chicago. Basically, I ended up driving up a 10% grade around a turn then going straight down to a 15 mph turn. Oh, it was pouring too. So after spinning all the way up in 3rd gear. I finally manage to get out of this hell hole.

I have to admit. I have never been that scared in my entire life. This road was a complete and utter hell and was terrifying to the core. In between screaming and praying, I was cursing up a storm.

Why a receiver would be located right before a road like this I will never know. Why in the hell a road like this right after a receiver does not have a truck turn around. I sure as hell will never know.

Anyway. Ended up making a big circle and coming back to the receiver building. I park at the receiver walk inside. It's actually the building across the street.

Ok.

So I turn around and go across the street and park. I walk inside. Receiving is on the other side of the building.

Ok.

So I finally get in and check in with receiving at 1030. My FM wouldn't talk to me.

So after having to do a blindside alley just to turn around, I finally dock up. Three hours later I hear a knock on my trailer. I get out and one of the warehouse guys is standing at the dock next to me. He tells me the dock is full and he needs me to move 4 spots down.

By now I straight up didn't care. So I pull out. Back up and put it in the other dock. They unload me in about 30 minutes and I was out of there. Finally. I get to sent to the Sam's Club DC to pick up the load to take me home. Wait. It's going to Madison Wisconsin.

Anyway. Now I sit at the Petro near the DC, doing the Sam's club run in the morning then a preplan to Kentucky.

It's been a long day. It's been stressful as hell. It was a scary as #### at times and fun at other times. Is this job frustrating? At times hell yes. But I still wouldn't trade it for anything.

Just never going back to that receiver again...