Adventures of a Flatbedder at Roehl

Sitting in a nice truck stop on I-94 in Alexandria, MN. Picked up yesterday in Gwimm, MI and then found a small hole in the wall to shut down for the night. Headed to MN for a two stopper.
Woke up to a blizzard. Was driving 35-40 MPH for a couple of hours before getting some daylight. Then another hour before actual sunlight. Then it got REALLY cold. Lowest Temp I saw was -12, but heard from the gas station attendant in Superior, WI that it was -18 this morning.
OK, so one thing to remember when driving a skateboard in winter, TARPING and UNTARPING SUX!! Had to untarp my two lumber tarps to remove THREE pieces today. They were 12 feet long and exactly in the middle of the load. Luckily on top, but still. Oh and it was -5 and a slight wind. Man that sucked! Not sure if I warmed up while out there or if I lost feeling to my fingers (jk) but it did get easier. And to anyone near I-94 in MN tomorrow, I DON'T CARE WHAT THE TARP LOOKS LIKE, its on and its safe!

 

Well finished up Brandon, MN. Got to unload INDOORS and tarps were very easy to roll up and put away. Was so happy that everything fit in my side boxes without any issues.
From there picked up at SSAB in Roseville and dropped in St. Paul Park for a relay. Making the trip from Brandon to Roseville was fun. Started snowing, a wet snow, and roads got real slick. Accident at the 494/94 split. As I was going by started sliding myself. Hate a skateboard in the snow when empty. No weight whatsoever on those super singles and they get squirly. So saw a few more on I-94 and then RED lights in front of me. Started braking and , here we go again. Brake, slide, brake, slide. Had to get on the horn to let the car that was stopping in front of me know that here I come. Luckily regained some traction and no issues.
I recommend learning the Roehl way and giving the extra seconds. I was giving plenty of room and taking it all up when I needed to. Got into the shipper no problem and then the sun comes out.
Back at home for the weekend and not going out until noon on Monday. Drive safe out there!!

 

Thanks Meltom. I wish something like this website would have existed 12 years ago when I first started driving. I may have ditched the first ex and continued driving.

 

Came out of the house today. Left at noon instead of O'dark thirty. That almost became a problem. Guess there was some Qualcomm issues and when I got to truck I didn't have my load assignment. No Problem I still need an MT trailer. I pick one out hook up and then see the maybe saying you can send megs again. OK I send msg and get my load assignment. Do my prettily on trailer. Funny, I had this trailer last week. So getting ready to leave and notice my 5th wheel sensor is RED. drive around yard, still red. Disconnect, reconnect, and still red. Hhmmm, not good. Call up maintain and they say if you got under, check, pushed release in, check and did pull test, check, then it must be bad or misaligned sensor. You are OK to go.
Head toward shipper, pushing time now because of issue. Light never chose green and actually the reed even goes out. Have to stop in Neenah anyway so make arrangements to see maintain there.
After loading and about halfway there I look down and what do I see? Green light. Think the weather is playing games on the sensor. Either way let neenah know its no issue and will just go with it.
Drive safely out there!

 

Take your time, remember what you learned, and don't be afraid to ask for help. Oh, and keep the load securement book handy, every once in a while it will help you out when you are not sure what to do.

Welcome aboard Texan and hope to see you out there!