Running with JCT

LoL no it's not mine. Got the photo's from another driver. It's not in service yet. But if it's like some I've seen with the PACCAR MX 500hp and a 10 speed it should be about the same as the Cascadia. But that's a big variable from one driver to another.

 

I am delivering in Paul's Valley OK in the am, super early. Then I will be heading over to the yard to get some maintenance done on the tractor. ( overhead, one of those nice pillow mattresses. LOL and a few other things.) So if I get out of the Wally World early enough I will see you up there.

 

Hi everyone, just caught myself up on the thread. Started out of the house almost 3wks ago; day 1: no load avail, after that, a couple of 700mi loads to the mountains of VA, back to FL for a paltry 1400-mile week but I was a good sport about it, no problem, the miles will come, right? Next a 1200 mile DeLand, FL to Denton, TX run that ran late due to the big southern ice storm trapping me in Hattiesburg, MS , surrounded by ice and closed roads. Same storm as the one Sharpp dealt with in ATL. By the time I delivered in Denton texas I was so hungry for miles that I accepted a 2400 mile, 37K load wth 2 pickups in TX, and 4 drops, scattered through OR and WA,. Ran two 650+ mile days, ready for a third, when Oregon required chain use for I-84 west of Ontario due to a significant snow event. No problem, by the time I hit the Ontario Loves for fuel, conditions improved enough to drop the chain requirement, and I could make it to Baker City on my remaining hrs, leaving only 125 miles to get to my Hermiston, OR delivery the next morning.


Well, by the time I got to within 7 miles of Baker, it started snowing again, and things got "a bit slippy" as my hero Bear Grylls would say, lol... Coming down the last innocent-looking hill towards my exit, - surprise, could not slow down! Braking action nil, as we would say in aviation, so no chance of making the exit. Did a missed approach and continued straight ahead, the terrain flattened out, and I took the next exit and came back down the interstate, taking my exit no problem from the flat side, pulling into the Baker City Truck Corral around 4pm with 18-min to spare! It kept snowing long after that, however, and chains were again required to be used all the way past Cabbage Hill... and because I tend to agree with most drivers I've met who say if it's bad enough to require chains, it's bad enough to stay put, I stayed put the next morning, especially in light of my slippy episode the previous day.


By noon it was back to "carry chains" only, so I got back on the road, but my next 3 drops were rescheduled over the next couple days as a result. Things went fine for my Hermiston and Portland, OR area deliveries, and I tried to head north out of Portland toward my final drop in the Tacoma, WA area before yet another big snow/ice/freezng rain event hit that afternoon. But no dice, my friends; even though I hit the road just as the first flakes fell, I ran into traffic, backed up from what I found out later was a 27-vehicle pileup on I-5 southbnd, several miles into my northbound journey. It took me 4 hours of crawling along to make 50 miles or so, roads getting worse the whole time from heavy snow. I was running out of hours and options, and ended up parking in a weigh station on I-5, MM-14 in WA for the night, again with about 23 minutes left on my 14hrs, and again unable to get to another delivery appointment. What a waste of good hrs, I thought...


The next morning the weigh station was still snowbound but the roads and traffic were better, so I expected to make it to my "night only" receiver that night, however it was now friday, and that meant they didn't take deliveries again until late sunday night, ugghh! So here I am sunday at the Pilot near Olympia, WA , with a fresh 34hr-restart and a new appt just after midnight that will finally, finally empty me out! I can't believe it all, but somehow after almost 3 weeks out I'll have 5,296 paid miles, for an average 1,854 per week, not counting any paid miles the rest of tomorrow and the next day, so might up the average. I didn't think I had even done that well. And it looks like temps will be just warm enough to keep things thawed out so I can escape from this craziness! (Probably into more deep south ice storm craziness, maybe?)


Knew this would be a long post, but this trip has been nuts... Note to self - take next winter off!

 

Turbo, Glad you are about finished up there in the frozen North, I hope you get a good one back south without the issues of these last 2 weeks. I guess it takes some of this to be grateful for the easier runs, Which will come. Hang in there man, Now if you were on a set amount each week for your payment I would be upset with you. But since it isn't like that anymore, You will do fine! Did flyboy stay home?

 

Glad you made it in safely. I ran into some freezing fog on my way in. But I'm now parked safely at the yard.

 

Sorry to hear about all the head aches you've had TurboJet. As good as things tend to be here at JCT it is important for people to see that life and weather can adversely affect our desired running styles. I too found myself up on Cabbage last week and for the first time in 9 plus years I was chaining up. While in the past when I could cook the books to help avoid chaining situations that is no longer the occasion. So I have modified my though process towards chaining. If the weather is not horrible, just icy snow packed roads and chaining will allow me to stay on schedule I'm more inclined to do so. Especially if I'm only going to be on chains for 40-50 miles to get to clear roads.

 

I am solo this trip, which is for the best... the porta-potty at the weigh station was mighty cold, and snow was blowing in through the air vent holes while I was sitting in there, making for a less than pleasant experience...

 

Terry, I too am thinking of getting more familiar with my chains and being ready to use them the way you describe!

 

Now does jct run just 48 or can you stay western?

 

If I was given the chance to turn my key in for the key to that truck I would in a heart beat. I have liked that truck since it first hit the truck shows.