Calex Express....My New Home!

Yuck......looks more like Alpo dog food.

 

With a little salt and peeper and Tabasco sauce Alpo would probably taste better!

 

Well I'm home. Got home last night around 11pm. I deliver in Fort Lauderdale Monday morning at 7am. I already have my preplan for Tuesday. I need to be up in Griffin Ga. Tueday evening for a drop and hook going to Maspeth Queens for Thursady. Then onto the terminal for a west coast load. Louie told me that freight is very busy and that he needs to load me right after I empty out. No problem, I'm home with my wife and dogs for the holiday. Oh, I got my truck back. It's amazing what a new Turbo and other fixes does to a motor. Remember that loaner truck I took to California 2 weeks ago? I sensed something was wrong with that truck and I asked about it. The driver that had it before me avoided a head on crash with a 5 time drunk driver and swerved to avoid him. The drunk hit the tandems of the tractor which took them out from under the truck. The shop put the truck back together with all new componets and I had it for the first trip to Ca. I knew something wasn't right with this truck! My only thought about this was thank God the previous driver avoided a head on. As far as the drunk goes, well after 5 times being arrested for drunk driving I figure his days on this earth are numbered. Hopefully he goes alone before taking some innocent person with him.

Here are a few pictures from my last trip to California.....

The first one shows the temp outside going up Hwy 95 towards Needles, that does say 116 degrees!
The second one shows me at the dock getting loaded in Mecca Ca.
The third one shows the load ready to ride.
The fourth one has me praying I don't break down.

 

I left the house this morning at 5:45 for the drive down to Fort Lauderdale for my 7am delivery appointment. I bumped the dock at 6:45 and was back home at 10am for the rest of the day off. I'll be leaving tomorrow around 9am for my deadhead up to Griffin Ga. to drop and hook for Queens. Be safe all, God Bless!

 

I don't have too many posts, but I read this forum almost daily and I gotta say, I think this is my favorite thread. I've been interesting in trucking since I was in HS believe it or not and JohnBoy, the way you detail your travels and journal your day to day life as a trucker has me itching to apply and get in cdl school tonight. Really appreciate you taking the time. Peace

 

Well I'm sitting here in Bloomsburg PA at the Buckhorn T/A at the 232 mm on I-80. I left the house on Tuesday around 10am to head up to Griffin GA for a drop and hook for a load going to Maspeth Queens.

I got up to the shipper around 8pm after what seemed like a forever trip coming out of South Florida. I had enough time to make it to the SC welcome center where I took my 10 hour break. After getting parked and getting out to walk off my 700 mile day I got back into the truck to set up house. I threw all my stuff on the bed when I left so it was time to play house and get comfortable.

I ended up heating one of my wife's meals on a little stove I have in the truck and even though it was midnight, it sure tasted good. I failed to tell you that when I was on my way back from California I must have picked up a bed bug from the motel I stayed at in Fresno and took him/her across the country with me and then into my regular truck. By the time I got home last Friday my right arm looked like a meat market experiment gone bad! I spent the better part of Saturday completely stripping my truck, took my new mattress out and steamed cleaned it, took all my clothes out and washed every one of them twice, and got a spray called Pronto to spray the inside of my truck. It must have worked because I am bite free and bug free. Thank God, I couldn't take another sleepless night in this truck.

I woke up Wednesday with enough time to make it to the Vince Lombardi service plaza on the NJ Tpk. I had a 9am delivery appointment for Thursday and planned it so I wouldn't go into the city at rush hour. I got to the plaza, found a parking spot, heated up another of my wife's home cooked meals and watched a movie. For some reason I wasn't looking forward to driving into the city this trip but I couldn't find anyone that was willing to do it for me so off I went at 4:30am. I left at 4:30am and was parked in front of the consignee at 5:30am. Exactly one hour to go across the GW Bridge, the Cross Bronx, the Whitestone Bridge, and the L.I.E. to Grand ave. Not bad even if I do say so myself!

I was backed into the dock at 9:15 and empty by 10am. I hadn't spoken to Louie since last Thursday so I called in an empty call and heard these words, "I have NO freight, California or Florida". I have learned not to get emotional when I'm told no freight, especially on a Thursday or Friday. He told me to come to the terminal and see him when I got there. I left Queens around 10:30 and was on the Cross Bronx by 11 looking at my very empty fuel gauge.

I made it to Columbia NJ and put 50 gallons of fuel in then headed to Pittston. I dropped my trailer and went to the fuel lane to fuel my truck. I had no write-ups on my truck and was sitting in the cab when my phone rang. It was Louie telling me that he had a Florida load that was loading tomorrow and to see him first thing in the morning. This is what I mean when I say I don't worry about a no freight message. I have gone from Florida to California back to Florida then finally California all on a Friday while dispatch sorts out the loads. I told him I would see him in the AM and that I was headed to the truckstop to shower and sleep.

I finished fueling and stopped off to see Mort in safety. As I was sitting in the office his phone rang and it was no other than Louie telling Mort to send me upstairs. I went upstairs and lo and behold he handed me my dispatch sheet. The load loads tomorrow in Lewisburg PA going to Orlando for 6am Monday. I'll be home sometime Saturday late afternoon and leave out around 3am Monday to deliver in Orlando. I'll get a reset in at the house and be able to restock and do laundry with the intentions that I'll be going out west next week.

So that is the state of Johnboy for now, I was tired, sweaty an in need of a shower when I got here. Now I'm just tired. I'll be up at 6 in the morning to drive the last 75 miles to my pick up and be headed south by noon. Be safe all, God Bless!

 

You must be livin right JB

 

Well I don't know about livin right. But I do follow Good Orderly Direction.

 

Well I'm home.......again. Got home about 3 pm. Need to deliver in Orlando 6am Monday. Already have my preplan. Got to be back in Griffin GA for a drop and hook going to Scotia NY for Wednesday. Talk soon all.

 

Might that be a load of vinyl for pool liners ???? haven't had much time to update been running pretty steady ...got to hang out with Dmp the other night stopped for dinner and just had a bs session ... Took a extra load to the island sat. for billy figured it would be a easy day.. the island on a saturday ... boy was i wrong turned into a 13 hour day.. i can do that run in 9 on a normal day... i am amazed at all the 4 wheeler traffic on a saturday... heading to philly in the morning ...