BD69: The Owner Operator Chronicles

So I kind of got stuck running a load into Texas. Not that it was a bad load, it was light and paid very well. However, upon unloading and deadheading over to my reload, I find out that it's not even close to ready for me due to a power outage that nobody saw fit to alert me to when I called. So, looks a bit like I'm going to be stuck here until after lunch tomorrow. Just got off the pipe with the owner and evidently he raised all sorts of a stink with the shipper. The upshot is I get $500 to sit until 1200 tomorrow and $100 every hour after that. Now that's not to bad a deal there, basically a guaranteed free tank of fuel and a chance to take a nap.

More later...

 

Went to sleep last night in Tallulah, LA at 64. Woke up to 63 at 0230. 30 miles down the road I hit the storm line and lost 20 degrees in about 10 miles. By the time I got to Paris, they had had snow and freezing rain and the roads were skating rinks. Now it's about 38 with a good stiff north wind blowing. Supposed to warm up tomorrow and the wind should die down, so I kind of dodged a bullet today not having to throw rags in a 20mph winds with bigger gusts.

 

I am heading to Montana next week, this was a steel run that came up on our board that paid really well and only weighed 26k. As for the trainee, who I call Work Monkey, he's doing outstanding. Seems to have an instinctive grasp of securement and isn't afraid to work a bit. Ankle is good, still gets a little stiff from time to time but nothing I can't push through.

 

I saw what you did there.

 

Trucking is a strange business at times, more so when you think you have a week planned out. Was supposed to head towards Montana in the morning until my phone rang about an hour ago. Broker I work with once in awhile called and had a load headed out of SC headed to Oregon and it had to be there by 1500 Friday afternoon. This load pays twice as much as any single load I've ever pulled. Even had a very good paying backhaul attached to it to get me back to NC. The catch was I couldn't load it until 0730 tomorrow and its 4 hours away and it'll take at least 4 more hours to load and secure and it had to be in Mcminnville by Friday before 1500. That'll leave me with about 48 hours on my logs to run 2911 miles. So I have to average 60.5 mph to get it there. Ordinarily, that would not worry me at all but I'm going to spend 1000 miles or so driving through cold like I've never seen or had to deal with. Bought a case of hand warmer packs and a roll of duct tape to wrap my fuel filter housing in an three bottles of 911 just in case.
So, if any of you guys could let me know where I could find #1 diesel across I80 I'd sure appreciate it. The only place I've ever seen it readily available was in North Dakota but to be perfectly honest, I haven't really paid much attention to it, I've never actually needed it before. Hope you guys with DEF trucks are full now, that stuff is going to be a serious issue if y'all get caught in this deal.