Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

It's going to be a fun day for you tomorrow...

Saturday
Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Temperature falling to around 11 by 5pm. Wind chill values as low as -7. Blustery, with a north wind 16 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.

 

It'll be a balmy 70F in my truck tho. I got food, I got coffee, I got Internet, I got a truck stop with showers. Don't strictly need a 34, but I'll take one if the roads are treacherous.

 

Recovered a load off of the yard this morning and delivered it in Mississippi around 8pm. Huge backup on the I 65 right at the Kentucky and Tennessee border. So I’m in a rest area on the 55 South of Memphis for the night. Drop this scrap trailer on the yard tomorrow and then off to the hotel for a 34, and football Sunday. Working Monday and Tuesday then home for the rest of next week. So glad my boss is back…..

 

Looks like a pretty good day to not drive a truck.

 

Yeah not worth it,I'd be turning back over lol.

 

Looks like a day to be thankful for a parking spot and a DM who is not trying to push you out into that storm.

 

Life continues to be exciting. Blower on my cab AC (and heater) is sounding like a NASCAR engine. Goes out periodically before cranking reluctantly back up. Currently girding my loins to deal with Breakdown who will want me to travel these treacherous roads to some Knight location or some dealership rather than have the TA right here fix me up.

 

Accidentally added 100 miles to my trip to drop the family dollar load since I thought I knew the shortest route up here off the top of my head, lol! Oh, well still made it and parked with a whole 14 min left on my 70 and recaps so starting my 34. No empties made parking nicer too.

 

'Tis a season of miracles.

Firstly, the dude on the Breakdown line did get me in to the shop here at the TA. Took a long time, and a conversation with his supervisor was involved. But eventually they agreed to not send me out on the road.

When I checked in with the shop at 4:30pm, they said they wouldn't be able to get me in until 10:00pm at the earliest. The young lady was positively gun shy as she related this information, but I assured her in my warmest tones that I wasn't gonna lose my rag over it. There's a line ahead of me, and I get that, and this Snowpocalypse isn't making anything easier on anybody. So cool, I'll hang out here and y'all call me when you're ready. Have a nice evening.

Thirty minutes later, my phone rang. It was the shop, telling me to bobtail in.

It pays to be nice to the people who control when you get seen.

The NASCAR sound from my blower turned out to be an intake vent clogged with ice. Was all over the filters, and chunks would occasionally break off and fall into the blower assembly, which would then make a horrible racket. Cleared all of the ice out and it's good as new.

Was touch and go getting out of the repair bay. As usual, the repair took 30 minutes and then another hour and a half for all the paperwork to be done. A significant amount of snow had accumulated by the time I left, and there were a few moments where I thought I was going to get stuck.

The differential saved the day, however, and I am now once again hooked up to the trailer. Like a moron, I forgot to put it in PC on the way out. So my 34 is ruined. But I expect to be here all day tomorrow anyways so I'll get the reset in regardless.