Good Night From II

I am indeed a stupid idiot. I almost wish that the truck had just ran me over when I got infront of it to try and stop it. I'm not liking this feeling of embarassment and shame that I'm giving myself.

 

jv terminal... no loads for me today. guess its still pretty slow. so stayed and watched the 2 football games. ravens and patriots(won) was a good close game. seahawk(won) and panthers was a blowout. watch the 2 games tomorrow. been a slow week so far for me. at least i got rid of this sickness finally . anyways...be safe

 

Taking my break at the Big Cabin TS in OK a little east of Tulsa off I-44.

Ran 540 miles of backwater secondary roads littered with small towns and stop lights today..that's always fun. I'm 4 hrs from my drop scheduled for Mon @ 11am. Asked CSR if I could drop early Sunday. Nope, customer not open on the weekend. Wonderful

Was gonna roll for fuel in the morning in Ottawa and go hang at Edwardsville till delivery but now I'm thinking I'll just hang here till its time to deliver. Don't need a 34 since I've got plenty of hours coming back but I might as well get something beneficial (70) back for the time I have to wait.

 

At the Petro in Rochelle, IL.

On a SNAFU two stopper loaded backward by the shipper causing me to sit for the weekend. My last stop ( will be a revisit. I was there Thursday ) is only 100 miles away. I'm not complaining, got my SiriusXM and football to listen to. I did make sure I was getting paid for the extra miles since my dispatch wasn't miraculously reversed like the load was. Lol

That's trucking.

 

I did a bit of research on this, and guess what... the DEF system is designed to ALLOW the DEF to freeze. DEF freezes at 12F. The plastic tanks will expand, the lines will expand. There is a DEF heater that will thaw it out when the engine is running. The computer is programmed to accommodate that.

 

FYI to company drivers... You can get a couple bottles (up to $50, I believe) on your Comdata when you fuel. Just select the "additional items" or "pay inside" option, and take your antigel to the counter.

The same trick works with coolant. I haven't tried oil.

 

Kymi, that's a typical rookie mistake. I was told that you couldn't pull the 5th wheel release if the pin is under tension. I can tell you that's not always the case. I pulled the pin, and the tractor started rolling forward toward the runoff pond. As I watched the wheels bump over the curb one by one, I saw my job going away with them. The truck stopped literally two inches from the last wheel being over the curb.

Yeah, I check the parking brake before pulling the handle. Yesterday I had my hand on the handle, let go, walked around the front of the truck to verify the light was on, then went back and pulled the release. I do NOT want to have that conversation with my DM...

 

Near Ann Arbor, MI at the TA.
And it's snowing here.

I delivered my load to Costco but they didn't have an mt available, and the special instructions were that I COULD NOT!!! bobtail out.
I called the number and was told that I would have to wait for a live unload.
4 hours later I call again expressing my 'disappointment' because it would be at least another hour before they would begin the unload, and the guy called the store. They had me move a trailer loaded with pallets to the side so they would have an empty dock and cut me loose.

So I was without an mt for my next load and I call a DM. The DM calls a planner.
The result was my reposition to Denver was canceled and I was sent 2 plans - one for getting me an mt 140 miles away and the next a load going to Cheyenne, WY.
OK, that sounds good.

But I didn't have the hours left on my 14 to pick up the mt until tomorrow morning. Not really a problem because the load to WY has enough time.

But now it's snowing here, and I'm bobtail. I still have 120 miles to go in the morning to get the mt.
120 miles bobtail, and with one patch of ice...

I was planning to leave around 0500. But now I think I'll wait a few more hours so I'm in full daylight.
I'm going to take my time to the mt, and the next load can be adjusted as needed from there.

 

Flying J just outside of Lansing with no delivery appointment yet. I think I might have seen blsqueak on I-90 eastbound in Cleveland today. How bad is the snow in Ann Arbor?

 

Should be 1-3 inches, according to NOAA.
Looks to be about 2 inches right now at 2000, still coming down fairly light but steady.

I would not normally worry about this light snowfall if I were in a 4 wheelie or with a trailer.
But bobtail?
Even going slow is dangerous, especially with off ramps and bridges.