First time in port

TWIC card?

 

Up 95 to Newark from where? Avoid 95 through Maryland near Washington DC betweem 6am and 9pm. If you have to take that route because it's best do it outside of those times. Otherwise add 4 to 6 hours to your travel time if you drive 95 either direction around DC. Traffic will delay you that long. It will delay you a minimum of 2 hours.

If at all possible plan your trip to drive through/around DC between 10pm and 4am so you can drive right through without the traffic jam.

 

I'd only put dunnage under 1 end just to make up for the camber of your trailer. If the container is a "hi-cube"
you might want to check your height...

 

Yes if you are going into a port with actual ships at the dock on the other end, you need one of those. And if you have wife with you, she gets to stand at the gate outside all day until you are loaded.

Things have changed since 9-11. In my time once in a while if you looked hangdog hungry enough one of the crew will bring you a plate. Not a word of english but you allow them to dote on you as a father would because they miss the children back home overseas. That was long time ago. And a happier time too. Thats why I like to talk about the ports then. It was a seriously happy time almost carefree. Yes you had work to do and so on, but its no big deal then.

 

transportation workers identification credentials
homeland security stuff required at a lot of the ports

 

Also forget 95-695 at between roughly 2PM and 7PM daily. Forget the north loop between 95 eastside to 70 west between oh.. let's see 4 am to 10 am and again after 2 PM to 8 PM. If you need bypass, PM me with your point of starting to drive to Jersey and I'll build you a route.

 

I'm pretty sure the port of Albany charges $50 to $75 for an "escort" when you don't have a TWIC card
Kind of a racket...

 

forgot to add, in my early years i was riding along with a driver, showing me the port of Newark as well, but i turned down the job. just did not like it myself. i think it scared me that if the chassis locks did not work right, and the container falls off (i actually had seen that a time or 2 in my years), i didn't want that responsibility.

i had seen containers on the NJTP north bound in the local lanes when i'd be going back up north from the NEMF terminal in Elizabeth, with believe it or not, the container yards right behind us, and the rows of chassis standing upright along the fence area.

 

yes, ONLY WHEN he is satisfied on the container sitting on his deck, does he say "OK"......not ever before...lol

but yeah, until then....DON'T SAY OK......!!!!!!!