Beep Beep Roadrunner

Meant to mention that I had arrived at Nashville about 1800 and went to the sleeper. They called me about 0145 to say the load was ready. Perfect, by the time I get my boots and jacket on will have 8 in the sleeper. Got paperwork and hooked to trailer and weighed. Returned to terminal, dropped trailer and went for breakfast. Went quite a bit past the required 2 hour break to complete the 10 but still had several hours to drive legally. Still made 365 miles today after all. I really hate my job sometimes-- having to do things twice like re-work a load.

Forgot to mention while I was waiting for the magic time to tick so I could leave the sleeper, also loaded up my coffee pot with filter and grounds, grabbed thermos and walked into the driver lounge and brewed up some fresh coffee and pre-filled the thermos with piping hot water to conditon it to stay hotter longer. I love my job.

 

OK so more production driving today on this load from Nashville TN to Livermore CA. Got up in Sayre OK and went to Amarillo TX for shower and buffet breakfast- 2nd morning in a row for a TA/Petro buffet yum.

Went a little further and stopped at the Rt. 66 casino there west of Albuquerque and took $100 bucks to the craps table. Played for a bit, even made several winning bets for the crew-- I think their bets won 5 times so that's $50 bucks for them. One of the best hands was when I put a red chip ($5) on Pass Line and one in the Field, the guy threw an 11 so both bets paid 1:1. I then took all four chips and put them on the Pass Line and the shooter threw a 7, again won 1:1. Now I let all 8 chips ride the Pass Line again. Again the shooter throws a 7. I pull 2 chips off and let the 14 chips ride the Pass Line now. Next he throws a 5 so that is now the 'Point' which has to be made again for my $70 Pass Bet to win 1:1. Couple more throws and he rolls a 7 again so the house wins but I "Pushed" because my original $10 bet was taken down earlier. Anyway at one point I was up about $50 bucks but ended up leaving with $81 bucks, not too bad and considering the lavish tips I gave the crew as well for the half hour I played.

We're in Gallup NM now. It is time for an oil change so got that done at the shop here. Was explaining to my tech how every time I get an oil change they have to pressurize and prime the fuel pump for the truck to start. He nodded then Abby and I went for a walk. Later when we came back he showed me a 10amp fuse that he pulled out of the in-line connection to the fuel pump. It wasn't burned out; it was the wrong size-- needed to be 30 amp.

All these years shops have been telling me I need a new fuel pump-- about $1000 bucks. I never did it because though it is an inconvenience for the oil change dudes, it only needs to be primed once every 6 weeks or so. In the back of my mind though I did really want it to function properly so I could change my own fuel filters halfway to oil change time. Never wanted to risk it in case the truck wouldn't re-start.

Anyway we have about 16 hours left and 900 miles to go- not feeling it....

 

Made it to Livermore CA with an hour to spare. Drop trailer in dock and allowed to leave it here while I go home. Will be looking for a Seattle re-load tonight or maybe if they have a Salt Lake City or Phoenix would be nice to get close to 3000 miles for the week.

Worked the hours like this--
Depart Gallup NM drive straight to Kingman AZ, take 2 hour break and 3rd morning in a row for sit down buffet breakie lol.

Drive again straight to Boron CA, was shooting for Love's in Tehachapi- thought it might be cooler up in the hills but traffic was bumper to bumper slow leading up to the Pilot in Boron. Did 8 hours in the sleeper there then got up and drove straight to Livermore CA. 5, 5 and 5 hours in the saddle.

Take a short nap here then go home for a shower and laundry.

 

OK so wanted to cover the oil change thing again. Over the years getting oil changed at TA and/or Petro, they typically put the new oil in then show me on the dipstick. Then we go through the whole routine to get it started for a couple minutes then they show me the dipstick again and how low the oil is showing. Then they put more in and the next day invariably, it is over full. I believe that is what caused the oil pressure sensor to blow out one time.

The tech who did mine this time I noticed filled the new oil filter about halfway with oil before he screwed it on. He said what happens is a lot of techs don't do that, and when you start the engine the filter has to fill up thereby giving a false reading on the dipstick. I read on another post an O/O who had them stop filling at 11 gallons and just fill up a couple jugs and the O/O would bring it back up to the proper level later. That is what we did-- filled 2 empty jugs then paid then left. Next morning and this morning after being shut off for 10 hours, the dipstick is showing exactly perfect.

 

Getting reloaded to Portland OR direct and final destination. Perfect, can go visit family in southern WA after.

I was thinking earlier about the west coast ports shutting down or slowing down and how it might affect loads originating from the West. Been reading about it and watching the news reports, seems a lot of shipping is being re-directed to Canadian and Mexican ports, ships are going the other way through Suez Canal and thru the Panama Canal for Gulf and Eastern ports. Stayed in Gallup NM the other night and it was nonstop trains going east carrying what appeared to be empty intermodal cans, perhaps repositioning to eastern and Gulf ports.

I am reminded of a job I was on in 2005, got hired on to a company that had several water jobs going, one was in the yard and we heard the crew put squeeze collars on the pilings in the yard to extend the dock out but did not use any hangers and when they poured the concrete, the load was too heavy and pushed the entire forms and pour down into the drink. I wasn't there at the time, was working on a foundation for a few days for a millionaire who wanted his house built in the bay. We drove pilings out in the water in a specific pattern then put squeeze collars and hangers on them then used the crane to set all the 'gluelams' (large wood beams basically smaller planks glued together to form one large timber since old growth is too valuable and scarce to make large timber beams now-a-days). Across all these beams we laid 4x6 every 12" and nailed down plywood decking everywhere, taking care to special cut the plywood around the hexagon pilings such that only half a sheet went around the piling with a mind for easier stripping later. An ironworker crew would come in later and lay down rebar everywhere along with plumbers then a laborer crew would come in and pour about 18 inches of concrete tying all that together as the foundation of the new house. At about 150 pounds a cubic foot you can see why it is important to use hangers on the pilings so the forms don't slip down.

From that job a couple three of us new hires were transferred over to the 'Big Job' at Port of Oakland Berth 30. Our first couple of days were spent pushing brooms. I kept my tool belt on all the time pushing the broom and the big foreman came over to check us out one day as he was always looking for new talent. He picked me to come work on his crew. We were expanding the dock out laterally I think about 30 feet for the entire 2000 foot dock. The big cranes were already in place down at the end just waiting for us to finish. They were from China and the Chinese crew came in every day and climbed up in them and put them through their paces. I often wondered if it was an attempt to 'hurry' us up seeing these guys coming in every day with really nothing to do. Sort of a subliminal pressure tactic. These big cranes ran back and forth on the dock on railroad tracks. The tracks themselves were about 5 times larger (same shape and everything as standard rail) than your standard rail we are used to seeing.

Another company came in and drove an 18 or 24 inch octagonal piling out about 20 or 30 feet out in the water (can't remember) every x amount of feet from the dock for its entire length. Our job was to put squeeze collars on these pilings along with hangers to support H beams on each side which landed back on other squeeze collars and hangers on existing pilings up under the dock. These beams were the 'falsework' that was going to hold up crews and forms for concrete pours.

So they had about 3 main crews working out there, one crew setting the beams and building the forms, another crew stripping off the previous forms where the concrete was already poured and another crew working on the rail-beds. I was kind of a 'floater' and worked with all the operations at one time or another. I had a skill most of the guys didn't, I could weld so they would have me crawling around in and through all that rebar mat to weld hangers on pilings that were missed. I recall putting my ground on the rebar mat and just tacking little lengths of rebar over to jump the juice whereever I needed it instead of crawling back and moving the ground all the time. This saved time and energy and my foreman was happy.

Probably my favorite part was working with the rail bed crew. We'd set special painted channel iron in the pit on each side that would be poured full of concrete to support the rails. Quite a bit of welding to brace these off so they would stay in place during the concrete pour. On top of these we would place a steel template which held 18 or 24 inch bolts, don't remember now, anyway the bolts are mostly sunk into the pour with just enough thread for a washer and nut. These bolts hold down the rails. They also have to be placed perfectly with a laser, elevation and windage wise.

So it was like a well oiled machine, concrete being poured almost every day, forms being stripped, templates being brought out of pours and moved forward down the line, big loaders dragging 100 foot sections of rail and dropping them gently as possible into the beds on short 12x12 timbers. They'd come along and lift the rail at each little timber and a guy would pull out the wood and set the rail down between the bolts hopefully without tearing up the threads. Get everything lined up and the surveyors come in and make sure the rail is the right height and straight with the world. Another guy on the crew-- his only job was to splice the rails together using a special crucible, looked like a big brick bandage around the 2 rails coming together. He's light it off and a spectacular fireworks show would go on for a few minutes. Then we'd get down with little pea grinders and smooth the 'weld' down to make the rail look like it was always one piece.

We finished the topside some months later and they had a series of big layoffs. I was put on the 'patch' crew which sucked, we'd go down under the docks on 'whiskey floats' (the tradition is if you fall into the water, you have to buy the whiskey lol). which were 3 - 5 12x12's about 20 or 25 feet long bolted together and floating work platforms. You'd have 2 or 3 guys on each float with buckets and bags of grout. We'd hand mix some grout hopefully to the right consistency and plaster it up under the dock anywhere they was a hole or need of a patch, say a spalled off section of concrete. Worst thing ever to get a good patch and the whole thing falls off into the water and you have to do it again. \\

We had to work with the tides, high tide and big rolling waves could crush a man under there. We had those handheld air horns for when boats went by too fast, we'd honk and yell at them to slow down because in a few minutes we'd get our world rocked under there. One day the tide came in faster than we expected, the foreman came down in the skiff to tow us out. It was just me and an apprentice on the float. My apprentice was having a hissy fit and the foreman made him come into the boat to shut him up. Tide was coming up too fast for them to be able to tow me out and it would have been really bad to abandon the fload as it would have ended up in the middle of San Francisco Bay. I laid down on my back and ran my feet on the bottom of the dock and got the float moving longitudally (sp?) out toward the end of the dock-- maybe several hundred yards. Was doing well except for the sections where the pilings were, the concrete beams hung were lower than the dock and many times my head and chest would get squished up against the concrete as I passed under-- had to time it just right as the waves ebbed and flowed. We got out to the end the foreman just hugged me, he wanted to help but could only watch helplessly as I saved the float. I was soaked to the bone lol.

Anyway that is my West Coast Port story.

 

I posted the rate sheets up there for terminal runs from SEA. If you can see it, look at the SEA column and follow it down to each state on the left hand column. So SEA to Texas DLS (Dallas) is $1.05. Then the FSC adds to that whatever it is that week. Analysts are prediction $10 barrels of oil which would take FSC down to zero$. March 1st we get a raise, some of the T2T's get a $0.05 bump up.

The other option is agent freight out of Washington-- you call the RR agent and arrange a load to whereever and negotiate the rate yourself with them.

 

OK so last reported was supposed to have been reloaded in Livermore for a Porltand direct. Got a call early in the evening asking if I could take the load along with a "hot" pallet-- leaving around midnight and deliver in Portland by noon. Well I have 9 hours to work with starting at midnight- and even if I had 11 that is not a legal distance to travel in the time given. I don't know if the guy was testing me or serious. He mentioned he had another driver telling him he could do it, maybe was checking with me for my thoughts.

Around 0230 get a call, figure load is ready, but the guy says not enough freight to fill my trailer, they are emptying it out and parking it out front, will try for another load in 24 hours. So now I'm kinda thinking because I do not 'play ball' maybe they sent my load on some other truck.

Spoke with an RR agent next morning, got permission from corporate to book a load and we are one our way to just south of Seattle now. The permission thing was because I was sitting too close to a terminal- we pleaded that they didn't have freight and I needed to get moving under a load- got new shoes to buy lol.

But then again this lack of freight out west could be due to west coast ports shutting down slowing down. Agent said loads are being posted and most are being snapped up within 60 seconds at shippers first price per offers. She had called me, put me on hold and had the shipper on the other line, switching back and forth with this intense urgency that I needed to make a quick decision before the load was gone. Sometimes you wonder if they just put you on hold and really nobody else on the line lol. Anyway, I booked it for delivery Friday morning and got loaded within the hour of arrival no problems. Will try for another terminal load out of SEA Friday night as that is any terminal's best chance at getting loaded out (Friday nights)

 

OK so emptied out at customer south of Seattle and called SEA planner again to see about outbound Friday night. Nothing shaking all day. Looked like I would have to wait til Monday but they did offer layover pay. Got a call back some time later if I wanted to take a RR trailer pool loaded trailer to Houston TX. No charge, it's just that they have a customer who preloaded their stuff in some of the trailers and custom blocks/braces them and that's why the load could not be transloaded onto my trailer.

Should work out brilliantly, day or two before I arrive will call Houston about outbound loads, if nothing then call Dallas. Will have to get loads back to Seattle to pick up my trailer again, which will also be preloaded before I get there.