Calex Express....My New Home!

I'm home. Got here last night around 7pm. Left the house at 5am and got my 2 drops off and was back home at 8:30. Believe me, this wasn't any easy round. Without any problems it's a very time sensitive run. Tuesday and Thursday nights amount to very little sleep. Throw in a breakdown then the poop hits the fan.

I left Monday at 2pm, drove up to Jacksonville in the rain, got backed in at 7pm was loaded at 8pm and ready to head to Columbia for Tuesday morning. As I was leaving the brewery the rain had stopped and so did my wipers. I got to Kingsland for fuel and to check my wipers. The bar that goes from the wiper motor to the wipers had come off the motor and was just hanging down going back and forth, which meant the motor was still good. I tried reattaching it on to the post and couldn't so I said the hell with it and left. Tom was an hour ahead of me going to Spartanburg so I kept calling him to make sure it wasn't raining. I made it to Columbia and got empty the next morning.

After getting empty I deadheaded to Greenville for a drop and hook going to Mountain Top Pa for that night. Tom was there so we both left the same time. I was watching the weather the whole way thinking I could make it to Pittston and get them fixed Wednesday after getting my 2 pick ups on. About 12 miles from the TA in Roanoke I blew out an inside drive tire, which took out the airbag and the airline. I limped into the TA at 5pm. 7 hours later and $1500 lighter I was now out of hours for the day and completely off schedule.

I called Eddie who was the dispatcher on call about 9pm to tell him the problem and that I wouldn't make it to Pittston for my pick ups. This is the reason I work here, I was asked by Eddie how can we make this work in order to get me back on schedule. I told him that if someone could load my load and meet me in Greencastle then that would put me back on track and not be late with my drops. At 6am I got a message on my computer from dispatch that my load was being loaded and a driver would meet me at the TA in Greencastle at 1pm to switch trailers. It worked out just like I asked it to, got to my first drop at midnight Wednesday night and was on schedule the rest of the run.

While I was waiting for the driver to bring me my trailer I put the truck in the shop again and got the $2.95 part replaced on my wipers just in case it should rain. My only complaint with all this is I lost out on 360 miles this week, which is ok, at least my load wasn't late. The other thing that has me thinking is that the company laid out a ton of money on this truck, rebuilt engine, new radiator, a ton of other work, new A/C compressor, dryer and a host of other work. At the end of the day the truck is still 11 years old with 1.3 million on it. It runs good, I love the 13spd and for the 3 nights a week I'm in it, It works just fine. My wife told me this morning that the truck reminds her of an 80 year old getting a heart transplant, new heart yes, but still 80 years old. She's right, new major components but a 3 dollar clip breaks and I have no wipers.

 

Jason called me Friday morning with my reload for Monday. I have to deadhead to Greenville SC for a drop and hook going to Mountain Top Pa for Tuesday. Louie has been off this past week and Jason has been wearing both hats, and of course 3 of us on dedicated runs had truck trouble and I know for a fact he was up to his eyeballs in problems. I'll be leaving around 8am in the morning, get there around 7pm and drop and hook.

I installed my inverter in my truck yesterday. It was a little more detailed then when I installed it in my Volvo. I built a shelf for my microwave and ordered a Koolatron cooler. It's the only thing that can fit in the space I have. Being gone only 4 days a week I don't need that much food. The inverter and microwave was the important issues for me.

 

I heard they sent you up to Two Chefs for the pick up.Thanks. Hopefully this week I'll have no issues and do my run myself.

 

I'm home. Got here last night at 6pm, left at 5am to make my last 2 drops and got back home at 8am. Here's a few pictures of my new(old) truck. It's the oldest in the fleet with the most miles, but it works just fine for my run. For the 3 nights a week I'm in it, and for what I make, I'll keep it. This trailer I have this week? What a sled. In fact, I can't slide the tandems so I told Jason to load me with a Greenville load, at least I won't have to worry about my weight.