Calex Express....My New Home!

Keep in touch with Mort every few days. I know that I won't be giving you your road test, I'm on my way to California and won't be back home until the 8th at the earliest. I saw the new truck on Friday when I was getting ready to leave. I think it looks pretty cool.

 

Hey there Al, I'm sure they would switch you over to regional when you're ready. Be safe, we'll meet up soon I'm sure.

 

Well I'm sitting here at the T/A in Commerce City Colorado. I have to kick off 9 pallets of frozen food at a cold storage place 2 miles from here. I just fueled and showered and I'm waiting for my brother to pick me up and go out to dinner.

Let me tell you about the ordeal on Friday to get my truck fixed. I got to the yard around 6am, backed into the front of the service bay and enjoyed a cup of coffee while waiting for the shop to open. Exactly 7am the place came to life and I was backed in for a service, which was completed in 45 minutes. Next I had 2 write ups that needed to be addressed, one was my driver side mirror has been vibrating so I wrote that up, second I developed an air leak near the place where they changed out the air valve last week.

I have learned in my almost 13 months here that nothing is an easy fix with our shop. This turned out to be a rather lengthy job. The mechanic working on my truck had to take a major amount of crap off just to get to the air line. After removing the line they called around and found out no one had this in stock, so they had to go to a hydraulic shop to get one specially made. I had a noon pick up and Louie said if I couldn't make it on time he would get me a loaner truck to go make the pick up, then come back and wait on my truck, urghhhhhh.......not a good way to start a trip.

My pick up was 34 miles from the yard and I figured the latest I could leave was 11:30. I'm not gonna go into a rant about our shop, but if there's one part of this company that has a problem, it's the moral of the shop, let's just say not good. The mechanic that works on my truck is good, friendly and we talk about what issues I write up. I'll leave it at that.

I hooked to my trailer, saw it was completely serviced, had new tires put on, and that the reefer was serviced. I needed reefer fuel so I took care of that, pre-cooled the trailer to -5 and left. I got to US Cold Storage at 11:55 for my noon appt. I got checked in by a very cute, friendly Penn State fan and was given a door. I was done about an hour later, signed my bills and left. I made it to the last service plaza on the Indiana turnpike in Portage around 1am and fell dead asleep. I got up yesterday and left around 11am. I made it to Walcott Iowa to the "Worlds Biggest Truck Stop" as seen on TV last week before I left the house. I usually don't stop at tourist traps but I needed a shower so I mingled with a couple of bus loads of Chinese tourists and had my picture taken by a few. I left there and made it to Alda (Grand Island) Ne. and called it a night. I got up early this morning and got here around 3pm, showered, called my brother and went out to eat. On my way back we went to my delivery to see where it was and saw that there's overnight parking. I'll leave here around midnight and hope to get my 9 pallets of product off at my 5am appt time, then it's over the Rockies to Las Vegas for my break.

 

I'm in Vegas at the T/A. It was a good day today. I got backed in to my delivery at 4am and was empty and rolling at 4:45. Yesterday on my way to Denver, I heard a truck driver story about expecting snow at the 9000ft level. I can't believe some of these drivers and their stories. It was a total fabrication, the snow level was actually at the 10,000 ft level, not anything major, just some snow mixed with rain. It was still dark as I went through Eisenhower tunnel, which is at the 11,300 ft level so I wasn't able to see the tops of the mountains covered in snow.

On my way here to the T/A I stopped and got my truck and trailer washed, then fueled when I got here. I'm only 255 miles to my last drop in Anaheim and I'm suppose to deliver on Wednesday. I called the reciever and told them I'm a day early and could they take their product, they said sure, but couldn't give me an actual time so they will work me in sometime tomorrow. Not a problem at all, I'll start my reset as soon as I get there and be ready to roll a day early. Louie called today and said I'll be loading Thursday for a Sunday night delivery back in Pottsville PA. This will be another 6000 mile paycheck in the last 3 weeks.

 

I'm at the circus, not really, I'm actually at the T/A in Ontario finishing up my reset. I got empty this morning and drove back here to hang out until i'm ready to leave after 6pm local time tomorrow. I should be loaded and headed back to PA by Thursday. Garylobo left me a message this morning, he got empty up in Seattle and was deadheading down to Salinas to load. This was the 3rd time I've heard them deadheading a truck 1000 miles to load.

 

We are the house carriers for Wegmans.

 

I highly doubt it. My wife usually does our grocery shopping at our local Publix.

 

I finished my reset and got dispatched early this afternoon. I have 2 p/u's tomorrow, one in Firebaugh, the other in Turlock. It's a load of Honey Dew melons that delivers noon on Tuesday in Pottsville PA. Right now I'm sitting in Wheeler Ridge at the T/A. My trailer was a real mess on the inside so I got it washed out when I got here. I should be loaded and sitting in Reno tomorrow night. Talk soon. Be safe all, God Bless.