Good Night From II

There was no critical event. My trainee surmised the Qualcomm message must have been generated by braking to slow down behind the cars. I never woke up. The messages continued to be generated most of yesterday, then stopped. All the rest were when driving flat straight roads. No braking or turning, and impossible to go overspeed.

Arrived at the Troutdale terminal. Shop opens 6:30 and I'll need to find out how soon they can get to us. I'm impressed with this terminal. Clean showers, front loading washing machines, Seattle's Best Coffee, and a healthy selection of food.

 

I'm impressed with the Troutdale terminal. Good clean showers. Front loading washing machines. Taking advantage of both while the truck is in the shop.

First impression of the false positive critical events is that this is a Qualcomm upgrade issue. It needs an upgrade.

 

Doing a 10 at the same Loves in Roscoe IL. Never even made it out of town.

I guess I've been overdue for a bad day and today was it. Got jacked pretty hard by the receiver who was also my next shipper for a load to NC. Got there on time this morning for live unload..took them 5 hours. While unloading the truck part racks they hit the roof of the trailer and punched a nice sized hole in it. I had to take it to a nearby T/A for a temporary patch. Go back for the reload and wait 4 hours for a dock assignment. Once docked waited another 3 hours to be loaded. I spent almost all of my 14 either waiting to get unloaded or reloaded.

Barely make it to Loves to fuel, scale and find parking. Then more excitement!! As I pull in to fuel the place is packed and busy..there's a Swifty in the lane to my right parked ahead after fueling. A Melton flatbed is wrapping up his fueling behind him next to me. I fuel, get DEF and pull up to go in for a much needed quick potty break. Get back out and swing back around to scale. swift is still sitting there..I could see him eating as I went past. Uh oh!!

While I'm scaling the big ole boy from Melton was heading up to the Swiftys cab. Since I was right there on the scale I lowered my passenger window to hear. Melton's hollering and somewhere in all that Swifty said something and Melton went up his truck after him through the window. Meanwhile a couple other flatbed guys come over and join in as Swift is trying to get his window up. He threw it in gear and took off around the parking lot and went to park...wrong move. Melton and the others were all over him yelling at him to get out..and a crowd starts forming..more like a mob. At this point I'll say that Swifty was not from this country by his heavy accent. Maybe from across the Atlantic. Swifty came to his senses and left the premises and none too soon. I think there would've been bodily harm done if he had stayed.

Just another day OTR!!!

 

OMFG... that's a funny story right there, HousTank. Swifty deserved to learn a lesson, hogging a fuel island and THEN going to find a place to park? Are you kidding me? What an embarrassment to Swift.

 

Troutdale got all the issues with the truck button up. Qualcomm upgrade solved the false positive critical events problem, they glued down the top of the seal on the windshield so it isn't shrieking anymore at speed, and replaced the coolant sensor and wire. Other than the Qualcomm upgrade, the other problems can be directly attributed to Jurupa Valley's shop not doing its job when they had the truck for three days during my home time last month.

For anyone that needs a windshield replaced and wants it done right, get it done at Troutdale. Another driver had to get his windshield replaced and Troutdale calls a mobile windshield service to come and do it. By comparison Jurupa Valley replaces windshields themselves. I've watched them do it and it isn't something that gives me great confidence. There's technique and art to getting that windshield on RIGHT and quickly before it starts setting up. The guys that do that all day, everyday, have it down to a science.

 

What they need to do is fire the terminal manager.

 

I feel you, I have 2 daughters and my wife keeps wanting to try for that boy but I worry about a 3rd girl with my luck.


Doing my 10 in Santa Maria, took a load to Paso Robles and then was supposed to pick up a Purina in Maricopa 1700 appointment time, I managed to get there at 16:45, the guy told me they are waiting on freight and will be a couple hours.....4.5 hours later I was finally loaded which ate up my 14. If they would of got me loaded in a normal time I would of been home tonight with a great day of miles completed. its funny Purina has been complaining about us not getting there until after appointment times and throwing fits yet when I am given the load and get there on time they tell me I have to wait hours......

 

Wolfyinc...my vote is go for it!!

Back in Corbin KY at my favorite Loves taking my break. Will finish this load in Mount Holly NC in the morning. Another 3000+ mile week in the bag. 1st quarter after New Years is gonna suck when the miles slow down some.

This has been a pretty good year with Swift as far as loads and running areas. Miles have been very consistent and I haven't been on the west coast in over a year, no east coast in 2 years, nice runs out west, no running the Appalachians on I-81 at all this year. The vast majority of loads were in between the Appalachians and the Rockies and Canada to Mexico. Hope it stays that way for a lot longer.

 

I feel you with 2 boys, just think the pink, the ruffles, the bows and little flowers I miss while my kids talk about guns, tanks, and warplanes. C'est La Vie.... That said if I got knocked tommorrow Steve would be 60 by the time it was born, This is when Steve breaks out the chair and bull whip to keep me off him, unless you have money like Larry King you don't keep having babies like Larry King.

 

I tell her we are not quite ready financially or have a big enough home yet, she argues we werent ready for the last one either but I always make it work. I would rather be prepared for it instead of plunging into something that will make life difficult again.