Watkins & Shepard - The Adventure Begins October 8th

So I delivered my load south of Atlanta and then drove the empty trailer back up to our terminal in Dalton, Georgia. My load out of there wasn't going to be ready until very late at night, so I took my ten hour break (didn't get any sleep other than a half hour nap though.... you can't really shift your sleep schedule that much in one day and expect to sleep). We have a mechanic's shop at that terminal, so I had them work on a few minor things that were wrong with the truck... most importantly (to me) the fact that the driver's door had issues. At my first delivery, I couldn't get out of the truck (the passenger door does not open at all and is a lost cause) with the door unlocked. No amount of shoving would budge it. The door latch itself was undone, but a part of the door lining was catching, which is why the door wouldn't open. My options were to Daisy Duke it out the window (no thank you... probably wouldn't have been able to get back in anyway) or pry it open with my hammer. So I had him look at that. A piece of the door lining plastic was catching on the frame, so he bolted it securely so it'd be out of the way and I haven't had any problems with it since. The fuel gauge had plummeted to empty that morning (despite being almost full), so he looked at that. I'd filled the tanks the night before and there wasn't any leaking fuel on the ground (and you could see the fuel in the tanks if you looked inside). The piece that goes into the tank itself to check the level was really corroded. He didn't have the piece there to fix it (he could have ordered it for the next day if I was going to be there), so I'm having to do some extra calculations based on mileage to make sure I don't run out of fuel. It also means I get to talk to the company's fuel expert guy almost every day because I need fuel stops more often than my route says just to make sure I don't run out.

I took the load from Dalton up to our terminal in Kentucky (arriving very early in the morning). From there, I was taking an empty trailer up to just east of Indianapolis. I had until midnight to drop the empty and pick up another trailer there, so I went ahead and took my ten hour break at the Kentucky terminal (much-needed sleep!) before I headed north. I arrived at the shipper in Indiana around dusk, dropped and hooked and then drove two miles to a rest area for the night.

I have a window between now and Monday morning to make my delivery in Mississippi. I've used up almost all of my hours, so I'm taking a 34 hour reset mid-trip. I'm just outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky. I've got friends here, so it'll be nice to be out of the truck for a few hours and have dinner someplace that's not a truck stop.

After I deliver, I should be able to get a load going to the northwest and maybe get this truck to Missoula. Not sure what's happening after that.

Things I've learned:

Rest stops are much quieter (and less-crowded) than truck stops at night. Unless I specifically need a shower or laundry, I will always try to plan so that I can end my day at a rest stop. After dark, truck stops get full and it's difficult (and sometimes impossible) to find an open space. Also, if you're a newbie like me, there might be an open space.... but you and your primitive parking skills will never be able to get your truck into it. Much easier to get there earlier in the day (to beat the rush) or skip the truck stop altogether.

Also, if you wait until night time to take a shower, you'll have a long wait. If you stop at a truck stop in the middle of the day, there's lots of open parking and often no wait at all for the shower. So much easier.

Take along more than a week's worth of clothing. I've been on the road for a week and (and to three of our terminals after I left Conover) and this truck stop that I'm at now is the first place that I could do laundry. If I had a few more changes of clothes, it wouldn't have been such a pain. Again, plan ahead.

 

I have no idea. That might be against company policy if it's a preset thing. The truck I'm in now doesn't have the idle shut-off.

 

I hope so too