Where is everyone #5

...never been threatened at a truck stop before.

Until now. That was an odd encounter...

 

I wish someone would.

 

I’ll be frank... I ain’t a fighting type...

Wish this guy came back around though. Would’ve had a load bar in my hand by then...

 

Survived the night fiasco taking a 20' wide through Georgia. Now, the permit issued by the state of Georgia says "Travel on I-75 starting at the I-285/I-75 Northern intersection (MP 258) to Tennessee and vice versa has been restricted to a night movement only (8:00 PM or later) during the ongoing Northwest Corridor?s construction in order to alleviate traffic within the construction?s boundary. Continuous travel, beyond the boundary, will be permitted to those loads that are affected by this restriction in order to facilitate scheduling."

I'm fine with this arrangement as it makes going into and around the Atlanta metro area much less of a headache HOWEVER- The state of Georgia is doing this construction work AT NIGHT! So there I am, 2 pilot cars, 1 in front and 1 in the rear and 2 state police cars, also 1 in front, 1 in the rear and bam, we're buried deep in a many mile backup because they have the road closed down to 1 very narrow lane against the left wall. So of course, everyone on the highway behind me is absolutely positive that I'm the cause of the backup so no matter how many flashing blue lights, sirens and flashing yellow lights, these people are going to do whatever is necessary to get ahead of me, driving into the load, under the load, in the dirt around the state trooper, you name it, they were doing it. Then, we finally arrive at the actual closure which they have generously provided all of about 11' of lane for the entire south bound side of the interstate. Here I am 20' wide with 8' sticking off the right side of the trailer and the balance off the left. So in the lowest gear possible on an 18 speed I head into the construction zone doing the duck and weave between bridge pillars, signs, machinery and oh, lets not forget, Live Human Beings right next to the travel lane paying ZERO attention to the load coming at them, over the top of their fancy little cones at exactly head height. The front pilot was blowing her horn, the trooper was running his siren and there they stand, staring at the pretty blue lights all the while I'm coming up behind them with a load perfectly positioned at their heads, air horn blowing and spending more time stopped waving my arms wildly in the light of the cab trying to get these people to MOVE than actually moving forward.

Did I mention there were THREE of these construction zones north of Atlanta, granted one had the two left lanes closed so it was somewhat easier to navigate however we had to stop twice in that zone to move construction signs off the shoulder so I could get through. I'm sure we had traffic backed up to downtown Chattanooga by the time we got to the Kennesaw junction.

And just to throw salt in the wounds, about 2:45 this morning, somewhere in the middle of nowhere around Milledgeville the truck throws a Check Engine light, diagnostics only says "hook up diagnostics tool" so I have been sitting at Kenworth in Garden City, GA for 13 hours now and they still haven't taken a look at it. It appears there are only 2 mechanics here so I don't foresee anything happening before they lock the gates at 11:00 PM. However on a good note, if you drive a POS port container truck, you can pull in, and get pulled right in. However if your driving a brand new 2019 KW that's under warranty, you gets to sits in the shat hole parking lot for the entire day.

Rant Over - Still sitting at MHC Kenworth in Garden City, GA. Have a bunch of local moves to do this week so hopefully at some point in between these moves they will find the time to service the truck bearing their brand name. If all else fails, I'll get a Freightliner hood emblem, knock all the plastic off the truck, paint it 11 different colors, find a container chassis to hook up to then I will be able to pull right into a service bay.

 

I gotta hear more

 

You, apparently , are not abrasive enough....

I can give you instruction, for a nominal fee of course

 

If I was any less of a person I’d be taking my load bar into the neck of a black man right now...

“Aiming for the head, really?!?!”

I’m as non confrontational as it gets. The second you start threatening me you have a minute head start on leaving my sight before all hell breaks lose.

“THATS RACIST!!!”

Listen, I’ve been out here a year and a half or so. Have had my share of ########. Any time I’ve been physically threatened for something as little as a 7 minute inspection to fix a blown headlight... sure #### it’s a black guy in a POS 90’s Freightshaker.

 

Im not and all never pretend to be.

I’m not a fighter. I’ll defend. That’s it.

 

Seems to be alot of that these days.

 

That's Awesome! I hope to one day have enough time, money and room to do the same thing! Hopefully find a cabin over like one of the ones my Pops had when I was little.