Driving OTR with US Xpress

Thanks, docholaday.

I've been pretty busy these last 5 weeks. I'm looking forward to this break in the action.

 

I haven't given a lot of thought about becoming a trainer. Although it would get me into a new tractor.

I'll most likely stick with the solo gig through the summer and then decide if I want to lease, teach, go O/O, or just stay company.

 

Hello There.

I finished my run from St. Paul, MN to Forest Park, GA, dropped the loaded trailer, picked up an empty and checked in at our Ellenwood terminal for my home time.


And as fate would have it, I was once again called upon to pick up another load before I go home. Of course I was loading up my car for the ride home, and would never have seen the message if I didn't go back into my truck to get my phone.


I imagine I could have outright refused, but so far it seems that my willingness to go the extra mile has been paying off in the long run.


It's an easy task. I'm picking up a load about 3 miles from the terminal and will haul it back and drop it in the yard. The only negative is that it delays my home time. I will adjust my PTA based on how much time I end up spending here.

Here's the bad part.....It's a live load. And this place is loaded with trucks waiting their turn to dock.




Well, it's money, right? They call........I haul.





Thanks for reading.

-Wedge

 

Just a quick update:

I waited 6 hrs to pick up that load from the warehouse located near our Ellenwood terminal, only to leave empty.


Their computer system went down and they were unable to load trucks for a while. By the time their system was back up, I had been their 6 hours and had less than an hour available. I had no choice but to leave. There were still trucks ahead of me waiting to be loaded.

I was not staying overnight at that shipper. All of my gear had already been put in my car at the terminal. Picking up this load was supposed to be a quick.


I tried.


Anyway, it's great to be home. I'll be heading back to the terminal most likely on Monday morning.



Have a great weekend.

-Wedge

 

Hello There.

I'm back in the saddle after 3 days off at home. I enjoyed every minute of it. I took care of some odds and ends, including the taxes. I have to shell out $2600 to the feds.


But I'm better now.


Showed up at my truck at 0900 on Monday in Ellenwood, loaded up my gear and waited on dispatch. At 1030 I got a dispatch to bring a pre-loaded trailer to Iron Mountain in Duluth, GA. Just a short hop of about 40 miles.

While I was being unloaded, I received a pre-plan that picked up 8 miles away in Norcross, and delivers in Marcy, NY on Wednesday, a nice 1000 mile run. It was a drop and hook at the shipper, and delivers to a Walmart, DC. I'm pretty sure it's a D&H there as well because it has a 24 hr delivery window.


I ran about 300 miles yesterday and stopped just short of Charlotte for the night. I could have run more, but truck parking on I77 North of Charlotte late at night can be hard to find.

Today I ran 651 miles and I stopped in Harford, PA, about 1 1/2 hours from the DC. As soon as my 10 is finished I'll run the load in to the receiver.



So that's it for now. Time for some grub.




Thanks for reading.

-Wedge