Glad I moved over to Poly Trucking

Well I'm in Florida. Lol it can only be clear where I am. Sorry....

 

Well, he's not leaving GP just yet. On his way out, the guard stopped him at the gate and told him his truck is shut down for service inspection. He's been at the terminal since yesterday morning and this is the first he's heard of it. Now he's trying to get a hold of someone to get a loaner truck so he can get the load to Waco. He's not happy!

 

They should have given him a printout when he checked in. At least it is something simple, so his stay in a loaner won't be long. Waco is close enough to roll back to the yard once he's empty...if he has the time, the shop office opens at 5 or 530, since he is only going to Waco and back, he may be able to get them to give it a day extension.

Loaner trucks are on a list on the desk under the tv in the drivers room. He just picks one and fills out an inspection form from the file tray on the same desk. He'll have to go to shipping and have them change the truck number assigned to the load or the gate won't let him leave.

 

It doesn't always work but I try to choose a load that will get me as close as possible to the 1000 miles PM trigger and then get a load heading out west were I might be able to get in another 3-5000 miles before having to get the PM done and perhaps even get it done outside the shop in the best of all possible outcomes. Another trick of the trade at Poly world

 

Well it's 415 am and I am not going anywhere. The Love's lot is a parking lot...no way in or out. Trucks are getting stuck trying to pull out on the frontage road headed for the interstate. With my piddly 13k lbs, there is no way I am chaining in TX just to beat the ice. I just hope the broker can make it to the office to call the customer to reschedule...they are a TX based broker, and it looks like the DFW area got some of this crap as well. The TxDot website says 8 to 10 am will be when the 'avoid travel' advisory will be ending for the routes I am going to be traveling on. Hopefully the customer will take it later today or early tomorrow.

 

You would be suprised how many trucks go in that ditch in perfect weather. Not enough space when they pull up after fueling and not enough brains when they exit.

 

Hey SS did you make it to Dallas? I live just north of Greenville and noticed on Google traffic before leaving home this morning that 30 east bound was at a standstill. Finally left home and drove to my terminal which is off 30 outside of Rockwall, and hoped in the truck and got onto 30 west. Roads are perfect btw BUT as I was driving through Rockwall I passed a wrecker with a Conway Truckload Freightliner in two pieces and another wrecker pulling the trailer. I'm wondering if he was the one that wrecked on the I-30 curve in Greenville.

 

I made it to Kilgore this afternoon. I called the broker and warned her that I wasn't gona' make it. She wasn't shocked. Seems a lot of loads into this area are waiting out the storm. 1030-1100 I hit the road. I-30 from the Love's to US-271 was rutted down to wet pavement in the slow lane and 'why the *bleep* am I out here" butt clinching slick in the passing lane. US-271 from MT Pleasant to Pittsburg was bare and dry in places. Once you got south of the city limits of Pittsburg it was just like I-30. I hope they get on the ball on I-20 west. As of 14:45 on Monday it was closed. I am headed that way empty tomorrow to pick up my FL load home...I wish I owned a truckwash around the north central TX area...I have dirt-cicles hanging off my trailer and truck, and so are a lot of other trucks. Streakin Beacon must be loving winters like these.

I found out something else that isn't working on this loaner. The passenger side mirror heater. And my bottle of salt water is in my regular truck in GP. With all the smutz that I sat through...there must have been a 1/4 inch on the vertical glass of my mirror.

I have to admit, the broker for this load (Barton Logistics)is one of the nicest people I have ever spoken to...you'd think I'd have known this lady a lifetime. 830 area code...that's around JD's part of Texas I do believe.

 

My husband is not a happy camper....again, lol. This talking him down from getting all worked up is getting old already, but I will keep it up. His service thing was because when he got back to GP, he listed what was wrong with the truck, so they wouldn't let him leave until they looked over it. Well, since he was only going an hour away, they let him deliver his load this morning, but now they can't get to his truck until tomorrow, and he has to be in MD on Thursday morning. He went through the list of loaners and none of them have an inverter to plug in his fridge, tv, microwave, etc. So he'd be stuck with pretty much NOTHING for the week, and all the food in his fridge will go bad, as well. He's still working on what to do. If they can get his truck in tomorrow morning first thing, then he'll be okay, but if they take all day, it'll be tight and/or late. He's just really frustrated right now trying to figure everything out and dealing with the lovely shop! You guys were not exaggerating about the shop and the truck problems...

 

He might consider one of the Coleman coolers as a back up when he has to switch to a loaner. I carry a small plug in inverter and a cooler just for those cases where I have to switch and don't won't to lose my food.

Well made it up to Knoxville via the southern route with no problems. Hopefully the gorge will be clear when I roll through there in the wee hours tomorrow morning to finish this load off near Asheville.