Day by day adventures of a new solo OTR driver

Got a text at 2:45 am saying my trailer was loaded, only 15 hours late. Glad i didn't hang around. Now it's just a nice 1600 mike run to Cali.

Reason they were so late? They were still making the product, so they had nothing to ship. Serious problems at that place.

 

All you need for those loads are two load bars. One for the bottom and one for the top of the rear of the load so it won't shift. I personally don't have problems with those loads. Every time I get one it's a live load and live unload. But yes, I've had already sealed trailers at other shippers, but never Coca Cola.

 

Nice day today, 503 miles in 8:17 driven. Two more days of this to Cali

 

Glad to hear you had a good day DFO. I enjoy reading your posts

 

Nice to meet you too. It's actually hit or miss at P&G there depending on which guard inspects the trailer. Some are super picky, others just act like they inspected it for the cameras.

Just as an FYI, if you're driving south out of Maine on 95 there will be a #### ton of traffic in the afternoon. All the vacationers heading back home after the weekend.

And I got one of your favorite loads. 40000 lb load taking every PA back road up to buffalo ny. You should check out US 30 west of chambersburg pa. Fun times with a heavy ### load.

So I was put putting up the hill in 6th gear, watching my mirrors and all the pissed off 4 wheelers lining up behind me, and all of a sudden I thought I saw a huge orange spark fly out from my tandems. So I started watching my d/s mirror really closely but I saw nothing. Thought it might have just been a reflection in my mirror.


so when I reach the top of the hill they have one of those pull offs where you stop to check your breaks. So I just got out to check the tires to make sure I was just imagining things.

Trying to upload the pictures but having problems with phone. Anyway, a sharp piece of metal became separated from the body of the trailer sometime within the first 100 miles right above the tandems and the metal was just contacting the tire and was taking a huge gouge out of the tread wall. The rubber was all hot and sticky and obviously the rubber was the bright "spark" I saw. It was just molten rubber coming off of the tire. Lucky I caught it lol.

Basically just had to use a pry bar to bend the piece of metal back up and it's fine now. Just have to contact SEM so they do a more permanent job.

 

At the Dallas Oc and we are JAMMED pack in here

 

View attachment 53848

Here's the tire

 

In Indy OC about to get ready to leave to country tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the excellent read and all the valuable information, DFO. Headed to CDL school next week and hoping to get on with SNI. Your thread has given me a great overview of what I can actually expect once I get out there. Hope things smooth out for you real soon...