Parked Here for the Night

Thanks! Actually, pounding out the miles was the easy part. The hard part was trip and sleep planning to make the driving work. I'm normally not under that kind of schedule pressure and have more flexibility and time to do other stuff to keep the business going. Thankfully, I did not have to do too much load finding, carrier setups, invoicing, or handle any roadside emergencies this week.

 

One more thing Mr. Red... I have A LOT OF RESPECT for owner operators... There's soooo much to be done besides just driving the truck and picking up and delivering loads... Being an o/o truck driver is not easy at all... THAT for me is the REAL HARD WORK (maybe more mental than physical)... My hat goes off to you sir...

 

Exactly.... for me, that aspect of the business, finding loads, negotiating, planning, scheduling, paperwork, charging customers, dealing with equipment issues and maintenance , etc, etc... THAT is what I consider the hard work...

 

Sitting at a small truckstop in Lancaster, NY with a Tim Hortons. Signs say no overnight parking but there is about 6 trucks here and the manager said it's no problem at all. Delivery is literally across the street in the morning.

Cool night tonight only about 65. Called an ex gf who lives about 5 miles away to see if she could keep me warm. Unfortunately she declined. Gonna have lunch with her to tomorrw though then pick up a preloaded trailer in Westfield And head to St. Louis

 

I made Dalhart, then loaded in Mule shoe for green Forrest. I guess I really burnt the road up today a little over 500 miles total. Gonna take some getting used to.

 

Stopped here at the TA in Wytheville, VA after a very frustrating time with a shipper. I arrived for an 0930 pick up on FRIDAY only to be told their was a production problem and the stuff I was picking up wouldn't be out of the plant until MONDAY morning. So I was stuck in Charleston WV for an entire weekend and I'm 2 days behind and the week hasn't started yet. Luckily, I was able to negotiate some detention pay. I have 2 hours left in my break, then I'm going to try to burn some miles tomorrow and get back on schedule. If I can get to the receiver in Jacksonville tomorrow, and IF I can get unloaded relatively quickly, I will be a happy camper.

 

Sitting in the door for offload.

Now I'm not going to pretend how lumping services operate, it doesn't come out of my pocket so I don't question it but what's with the service that tells you we will give you a price AFTER offload? Does that not sound like there is plenty of funny business that can go on there?

 

The service at the Family Dollar will quote you a price but the quote is subject to change if something goes awry.

 

Waiting to unload poseurstroke engines at the Ford plant in Louisville, KY