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

First thing I thought when I read the message was that implies that we pay out of pocket for a wash now otherwise.

 

This truck gets washed whenever the dudes who wash the trucks on the yard give it one. Or if I get the free one for a PM.

I have on two separate occasions paid for a truck wash out of my own pocket without any expectation of recompensation, but both came after a week in Georgia and Alabama during love bug season.

 

The past few days:

Friday -- Earned a day of layover due to a lack of freight out of Richmond. Was given a Hill Phoenix load to Kansas City, delivering to one of the underground warehouses. Load was due to be ready at 4:30pm, due 8:00am Monday morning.

Saturday -- Hill-Phoenix load fell through because trailer wasn't ready. No ETA. I wake up every morning around 5:30am, and I really like to have this bucket in gear by 6:00am. Absolutely cannot stand sitting around burning daylight waiting to start my driving day. As such, I was not interested in sitting around burning daylight waiting for HP to get their act together. Asked for a different load, one that stood a better chance of letting me roll out of the yard right then. As luck would have it, they had a Boar's Head load heading to Groveport that needed to be rescued from the Love's truck stop in Covington, VA. Not sure what happened to the original driver, but his truck wasn't there, so I assume some kind of mechanical troubles. Told 'em that sounded good to me.

Sunday -- Bobtail from Groveport to Morehead, KY. Pick up an empty trailer. This was complicated by the fact that the empties were double parked, and the lone empty Abilene trailer was behind a DART trailer. Got a yard jockey to move the other trailer, and boy did they take their sweet time. But move it they did.

Hauled the trailer to Kimper, KY, which is a podunk burg nestled in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Turns out they've got a Kellogg's plant down there, and I left my empty trailer in their tender care in exchange for a trailer load of breakfast cereal. It's rare these days that I get to drive down a road I've never been on before, but I managed it Sunday, driving US-119 through KY and WV. Gorgeous drive.

Monday -- The load of corn flakes delivered to Breinigsville, PA. Load assignment said it was due on Tuesday, Feb 7th. But the load assignment also had a note from the load planner: "Deliver ASAP." And I got a phone call from Silas informing me that I was good to drop it on Monday if I wanted.

Showed up at the receiver at 3:00pm and was told "This isn't due until tomorrow. Bring it back tomorrow morning." I shrugged and went and found a place to park.

Today -- Delivered the load of corn flakes to the receiver this morning as instructed. Was told "You coulda dropped this yesterday." Well not according to the lady who was here yesterday, I couldn't. "Oh no, it's fine. Dunno why she told you that." Great.

After that came a little three-card monte with the trailers:

* Hook empty in Breinigsville.
* Take empty to the Medline warehouse in Port Reading, NJ
* Hook preload in Port Reading.
* Take preload to Medline warehouse in Montgomery, NY.
* Hook empty in Montgomery, NY
* Take empty back to Medline warehouse in Port Reading, NJ
* Hook another preload.
* Take preload to Medline warehouse in Perryville, MD

In amid all of that was a trailer with an expired inspection sticker, which the TA in Bloomsbury was able to resolve in an alarmingly brief period of time.

And now I'm at the TA in Elkton. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

Me too Kemosabi, HHSW Hamilton Twsp. nj

 

Got a new driver manager, out of Wytheville. We had the usual conversation about the best way to get the most work out of me. I told him I didn't mind driving to the northeast, and I guess he took me seriously because I have a load assignment to pick up a shipment in downtown Philly. The place requires a $50 payment for an escort if you don't have a TWIC card, which seems absurd to me. I can't imagine that whatever "service" they provide with this escort will be worth $50. Sounds like a cash grab to me.

But this is apparently standard business and not the first time Abilene has sent a driver there. So now I have to go get a $50 advance on my fuel card because Driver Carries No Cash.

 

I probably would have bit the bullet, and moved it myself. And dumped it where it could cause the most grief to everyone else.....

 

Got to the shipper in havre de grace 1000 this morning but load wasn’t ready yet, said would be noon and come noon it was ready. They got it mostly loaded but the last crate wouldn’t fit so they had to pull it all back off and stack the two pallets on top of crates to get it all to fit. Ran me up against my 14 but made it to Wytheville as my clock hit zero. Be in WM to drop Friday. Passed up an interesting accident scene involving a crotch rocket on I66 this afternoon. Looked like the rider was speeding then lost control and slammed into the side of a bridge and hit so hard the rider flew off the bike and over the side of the bridge and the bike bounced over to the other side of the interstate into the median in pieces. Not sure if the rider survived.

 

I gave it serious consideration. But I couldn't get past the thought of any pre-existing (or subsequent) damage to the other company's trailer being blamed on me and Abilene.