Good night from...

Somewhere on the IN pike. Deliver at 2000 in Carlisle tomorrow. Then fun trying to find a place to park at 2200.

 

In MI ... unload in about 6 hrs and head back to IL.

 

Did you plan it that way or did it just happen? If you planned it was it to get more miles? Did it work out and was it worth it?

 

To be honest I think it just happened. There was a couple of times I nearly took a 34, but instead went with the flow and kept running. I did MANAGE my hours very carefully in order to make it work. Example: After unloading in Kansas City and parking in a truck stop I found myself with 5 hours left on the day with 5 more coming off the next day. So I had my POD reset my PTA for the next morning which allowed me some much needed rest (but NOT a 34) and gave me enough hours the next day to actually run.

I'm on E-logs but keep a separate paper recap in order to plan. I know you can just look at the 8-day in your E-Logs but I like having it on paper in the paper log format.

 

Here in Carlisle now. Waiting to get MT. They actually wanted this load early. Looked at MAC 30 today so far twice, one was from PA to Macon, GA, del fri morning, 750 miles for 2 days, and then one 45,000 lbs, pu in a.m., 0800, and del 783 mi Thurs morning, 0800. Good luck on that one. Going to Clinton, IA, and just tried again, 675 miles, del in 2 days. They are not getting about just short loads comming outta here, . this one, del in the Windy, and then be in the Gary area on a Friday morning. I don't think so.

Get me out of the truck. while waiting to get mt, the little wifey, and I mean little, just go on a cleaning jag. She found all of the cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner.

 

I do the same thing when I am trip planning or plotting out an 8/2 split sleeper especially if it goes through midnight when I'm getting hours back. However, I've stopped doing it on paper log sheets because it qualifies as keeping two log books and DOT frowns on that. Use a notebook; you have the same graphical format as log sheets and we already know how to draw a line representing hours and seven boxes with another line underneath.
Frank

 

Sunday I was in London, OH hanging out trying to nap so I could function at 2am Monday for my delivery 18 miles away. I got news that my sister in Dallas had suffered a massive and fatal heart attack. She was 56 years old and in excellent shape; exercised, ate right and all the good long life stuff. I sent a message (mac0 freeform) to Laredo with the news and asked them to forward it to the planners for the Ohio area to, if possible, get me a load to Dallas by Wednesday night so I could go to her funeral Thursday morning.

Instead, I got machine gunned with Plus 1 pplans. First was to Jolliet, 908 miles, that ordinarily I would have accepted. (The schedule was really tight but mac22 is my friend. I'm going to start calling it Minus 1.) The others were no more than 400 miles and all live at both ends; day killers. All were north and east as well. I got and rejected 7 pplans by 8am CDT Monday when I finally got a message through to my DM.

She called me 20 minutes later and asked me if I wanted a Lancaster tcall or a load to Laredo with an extra day added on. I took the Laredo since I need to get through San Antonio to pick up my mail, etc. She was at the planners desk when she called and I heard her tell him to dispatch me and use the fuel route that stays interstate and not the more straight line cross country farm roads. She told him she was worried about me driving since I probably would be distracted a bit. Does anyone wonder why I believe Laredo is the best terminal and my DM is a saint?

I'm in Steele, MO north of Memphis at a BP truck stop that serves Indian food. How cool is that? However, I just cannot picture the average trucker ordering Chicken Tandori and Nan. I picked up a load of tires at Michelin/BF Goodrich in Fort Wayne, IN that I'm now wondering how it was loaded. My trailer keeps getting fatter with the carpet load bulge. I think a bunch of us were in the same area in Ohio the last few days.

Frank

 

Sorry about your sister Frank. I will be praying for you. And your familyy.

 

hehehe,yeah i just checking on you Swifties....lots to do...yeehaw!

 

I DO NOT keep my paper recap on a paper log, I simply start out with 7 lines that I fill out with my daily times, then once I hit the 8th day start crossing off the top most day. I "stupid proof" it further by writing the date of the time on the right side and the date it comes off on the left.