Diary of a current Swifty

Nope, must have me mixed up with someone else. If they want to get rid of me, they'd have to run me off at gunpoint.

I happen to love trucking. It's the first job I've ever had that I don't dread doing everyday. I used to have to drag myself out of bed to go to work. Not anymore!

 

Well, I finally got a trailer Saturday night, and it turned out to be a mess. It had a little hole in the roof, a turn signal light out, the door seal was coming off, and the sidewalls were bowed out. I took it through the "quick lane" at the shop, and the mechanic told me to just get another empty. Which, with some hassle, I was able to do. I left the terminal about 2 hours after getting the first empty, and got to Proctor and Gamble in Jackson just as a storm broke loose. It was a drop and hook and went quickly, but I was drenched by the time I was done. It was raining so hard, I could hardly keep my eyes open!

I tried to find a parking space at the Loves which is right there at the same exit, but they were full, so I went up the road to a parking area (rest area with no restrooms) to spend the night.

The delivery was a food warehouse and took about 4 hours, which actually isn't bad for a food warehouse. Then I went down to Lincolnton, NC to get a preloaded trailer going to Houston, TX Thursday morning (pd miles-1050). My DM asked if I wanted her to try to set up a T-call, but I said I'd keep it. As I've said before, I like to stretch my driving time out instead of burning it up and having to take a restart.

 

I'm at the dock in Houston being unloaded, and I just got a preplan. It picks up at 1500 here in Houston and delivers tomorrow at 1100 in Brookhaven, MS (pd miles-372).

 

Depends on the load. Usually, I've got plenty of time. There are occasions, though, when I get a rush load where I barely have time to stop for a potty break. It's all about what the customer wants.

I spent most of yesterday in a loading dock. It took 6 hours for the delivery location to unload me, then it took 4 hours for the pickup location to load me. When I was finally set, I had 1 1/2 hours left on my 14. That meant I had to set the alarm and get up early this morning. And I still didn't make delivery ontime. I actually haven't made delivery yet at all.

I12 was closed, so traffic was routed onto US190, which is just a two laner and not designed for freeway traffic. I ended up losing a few hours navigating that mess, and so Swift rescheduled my delivery appt for 0630 tomorrow. I've also got a preplan to pickup in Monticello, MS which delivers in Mount Olive, IL Monday morning (pd miles 616). The preplan said to pickup this afternoon, so when they rescheduled this delivery I asked if they still wanted me on the preplan. They said yes, that I could pickup anytime, shipper is open 24/7.

I'm glad to be going north. It's hotter than you-know-what down here in the south. And, yes, I'm idling.

Three cheers for air conditioning!!!!