Good night from...

Still in Tucson, AZ.

I got a load from the Costco near Phoenix heading for Las Vegas, but I could not be dispatched until the trailer was ready.
I headed there, as it was 130 miles away. Half way there I get a message saying that the customer cancelled the order.

Just as I pull into the Flying J, about half way there, I get a call from Phoenix. They wanted me to pick up an abandoned truck at the Tucson drop yard and bring it to Phoenix, so I headed back here.
As 'luck' would have it, the truck keys were not to be found. It looks like the ex-driver kept them.
And, as 'luck' would have it, it is a KW - so it is a real pain in the rear to get a replacement key.
So I am stuck here until tomorrow, in 85 degree heat with no A/C (it stopped working when I came back from my last home time).

Fun times!

 

.... oooooohhhhh ..... 85 degrees..... I almost broke out my shorts and t-shirt when I got out of the midwest and got back into this 40 degree heat wave in Albuquerque....

 

rc...find out who are in charge of the dedicated routes ad start talking to them. say you r interested and like to get on when a spot opens.

 

A rest area going north on I-25 in Wyoming. Was planning on getting to exit 126 b4 shutting down, but when saw a second sign that said strong winds, gusts to 35, shut it down. I have about 6k in the box.

 

Whats up neighbour!!! Lol. Petro in laramie

 

Sign here says 55plus. ....I think its like that all winter lol

 

It's starting to cool down now, so it's not so bad.
But when I try running the engine to run the fans it just blows hot air, even after a couple hours off.
And the engine temp rises to 200+ pretty quickly, even though it is now only about 70 outside.

 

If you can otherwise do it always take the load ... any issues can be dealt with after the fact ... No bob tail - it's on the planners to get you to an MT or get the CSRs permission to BT to the shipper. Safety equipment, it's the customer's rules, the customer can supply the equipment - safety vests, hard hats, eye protection and strap on steel shoe covers.

My load to Cali wasn't going to deliver until Friday ... got a Tcall set up at the mother ship for Wednesday.

 

You did it perfectly.

I have a set of boots with me. They don't have steel toes, but I'll use them if the requirement is there because they look like they have steel toes.
Mainly, I have them for those deep muddy situations, or deep snow and slush and water when sneakers are totally inadequate.

The 'CANNOT BOBTAIL' is problematic sometimes, because sometimes you can. Costco in Morris, IL is one.

The thing is, you correctly handed the ball back into their court - and they lost it.
They could not provide you with the assurance you needed, so they took the load off you.

Never accept a pplan like that without QualCom messages that clear you of any conditions.
It is a sure service failure otherwise.

 

Made it on time at 06:00 am for my Phoenix live unload after driving all night from Albuquerque. The truck ran well, but still intermittent check engine light and fan light coming on, once I saw white smoke coming out the exhaust, and now the clutch is getting sticky at times trying to get it in gear from a full stop (like have to JAM it in, it won't stop the gears spinning at all).

My delivery is at Shamrock Foods in Phoenix, a special delight for those that have enjoyed this customer. You have to park up to 1/4 mile away on the street and walk to the guard shack to check in, then get routed to whichever warehouse will unload you. I was routed to a particularly tight little set of doors with inexplicable TALL curbs and landscaping in front of several of the doors that makes it extremely difficult to get into the docks. I had to wait over 20 minutes for a driver to get her load into the dock before I could get into mine, and fortunately had the easiest dock in this set, just pull straight out into the street and back straight in.

Now I'm being unloaded, and hope within the next two hours it will be done, buttoned up, paperwork all QC'ed, and drive the 11 miles to the Phx terminal before my 14 expires...

... then it's off to the office and shop, to change the license plate, the truck number decals, update the permit book, and then see if I can get it into the shop to see if they can really figure out what's going on with this truck or have the decency to put me in another truck. If I stay in this truck I have a feeling I'm going to be spending a LOT more time in shops or calling On Road.

I regularly use The Weather Channel web site to check the weather. On it they have this option, showing wind direction and strength:

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/currentweatherusnational/uscurrentwindsgusts_large.html

It always seems to have "deep blue" in Wyoming....