Sorry to be late with this update but better late than never.
It was a long 7 weeks out this time but not as bad as in the past.
I usually get real frustrated at about 5 weeks and that's why I
usually just stay out 3 - 5 weeks at a time. Being 7 weeks this time
I was amazed that I didn't get frustrated until a week before going
home.
One thing I should point out before getting to the update is as you
read it, you'll notice something. And that is the miles are down. In
the Trucking Industry, the first sign in the Economy that it sees;
even before the Government and the Public does, is movement of
Freight. And it is slow; slow for everybody. I was at the Pilot in North
Ft Worth, TX (I-35W Exit 65) at lunchtime and it was packed to overflowing with Trucks with empty trailers; even Flatbeds. I just did a Drop / Hook earlier down the road a piece. I waited over an hour for something and got a Deadhead trip to south central Colorado (approx 700 miles). I arrived the next afternoon and waited a day and a half to leave with the load going towards Atlanta, GA.
With that said, on with the Update.
1. Going to SC for a load towards Springfield, MA. Yeah, New England
again but Mass. isn't all that bad. I was routed across the GW bridge
but I decided to go over the top and a little more above it to get to
Mass. I took I-287 to I-87 to I-84 to I-91 to get to Springfield. A little
longer but far less traffic and much less stressful.
2. Next load is in Gloucster, MA; right on the water I discovered, going
just north of Lansing, MI. I get to town and it is overflowing with
Tourists and locals but very friendly towards a Big Truck on narrow
streets. I get into the Shipper, check-in, then get to the door; right
next to the Bay. I walk over to the edge and I'm about 30 feet above the water (must have been low tide) and the Truck is 40 feet away at the door. Definately don't want to be here when a storm is off shore. Get loaded and out, heading west towards MI.
3. Get unloaded and deadhead to Holland, MI for new load. This one is going back to Atlanta where I do a Drop / Hook and get a quick load to Albany, GA. Get that done and surprise; no loads. I sit at the Pilot long enough to get a reset of my hours. Been less than a week too.
4. Got a fresh 70 hours now and a load finally right there in Albany. A
Haz-Mat load going to W. Helena, AR (across the line from Greenville,
MS). Get loaded and deliver the next morning.
5. Got a Pre-Plan and once unloaded became my trip (KLLM sometimes
takes Pre-Plans off a Driver without notice) to deadhead to Arlington,
TN for a drop / hook and take load to Buffalo, NY. Two days later at
Receiver, I do a drop / hook there. And the waiting game starts again.
The next day, the wait is over and the FUN begins.
6. I finally get a load (Broker load this time) and I need to deadhead to
Dunkirk, NY. I get to Shipper and load is not there but in Erie, PA. I
inform Broker and my Dispatcher and they both see and agree load is
actually in Erie, PA. I call new Shipper for directions and tell them I'll
be late due to the Broker messing up and Shipper says "no problem." Turns out my appointment time is later in the day and not when I was informed. I get to Erie and check-in. I get a door; which was good cause Trucks have to park on a soft shoulder off the street and it was really soft, even for light weight rigs. I finally get loaded after moving to 3 different doors
and off we go to Ontario, CA. I get there 3.25 days later and do a reset
at our Terminal. 1.5 days later I make the 1st drop in Ontario and off
to Livermore, CA to do the final drop. A fresh 70 hrs helps also.
7. I get another Deadhead trip south to Guadalupe, CA for a load the
next day. I finally get loaded and rolling in the afternoon heading; you
guessed it, Atlanta, GA. I was routed south to I-10 in LA but I didn't
go that way to get to I-10. Neither did the other KLLM driver. We both
went west towards Bakersfield and I dropped down on US395 and the other went to I-40. I needed a PM on truck so I got rerouted to MS yard. (Why I was going I-10 and other driver going I-40, the shorter way to Atlanta). I get to Jackson, MS Terminal, get PM done, and I have a new load.
8. I deadhead to Morton, MS to get the load and back to Jackson yard.
The next day went north to Batesville, MS to swap with a Team and I
deliver their load in Batesville and they take my load to wherever. Why
a swap, I can't remember but when I got unloaded I had to be in Memphis
by 1530 to get loaded with new trip.
9. I made it to Memphis in time but 2 Trucks and 2 LTL's ahead of me.
I check-in and wait. I get my load for Quincy, IL and go. The next day I
arrive at one of my favorite places to go; The Underground Warehouse
outside Quincy. For those who haven't been here, you need to get a load
going there and check it out. They dug into this "Molehill" of Limestone
and made a Warehouse. Plenty of room to drive a truck but somewhat dark. (Just don't get a load or unload from Docks A, B, or C. They're in the back corner and it is somewhat difficult to jocky a 53 foot trailer in this corner. I had to go into that corner one time but I did get trailer backed into door). It was hot and humid outside but inside; a nice 55 to 60 degrees. I got a Pre Plan before getting there and I re-loaded out of there for Murfreesboro, TN.
10. Get to TN and unload then deadhead to Decatur, AL for a Haz-Mat load going to Wyandotte, MI. This is a Friday and it delivers Monday so you guessed it, I have time to do another reset. I do that in MI and get unloaded on Monday. I get a new load in Toledo, OH.
11. I arrive at Shipper in Toledo but load not ready. We do Drop / Hook here but mine is a live load. Finally get loaded (Haz-Mat) and off to Gonzales, LA (SW of Baton Rouge off of I-10). I'm routed down to I-10 and I-610 and back on I-10. Just south of Slidell, LA on I-10 is the "Twin Spans". These bridges got hammered by Katrina and it was the 1st time on them for me since Katrina. Let me tell you it will be my last time on them until the new spans are done. I'll take I-12 and be out of route before going on the "Twin Spans" again. There is a weight limit for Trucks of 35 tons. I was just under that. Speed is 45mph but I was going 35 and 40. I remembered that they took the good parts of both bridges to make one "ok" bridge and then rebuilt the other bridge from scratch. West I-10 is the "ok" bridge. Right before you get to the other side, the roadway becomes a "makeshift" surface that appears to float on the water. I got to that portion at about 35mph and I thought I was going to float away. I didn't of course but you just get that feeling. I made it across to dry land and onto the Receiver and unload.
12. Next load is in W. Monroe, LA going to Ft Worth, TX. I get to Shipper,
get loaded, and onto Ft Worth. I arrive for a Drop / Hook the next day and get an empty. This is where I finally get a Deadhead to south central Colorado that I mentioned at the beginning so I won't repeat it here. If you missed reading it, go to the top of this thread.
13. At Shipper in Center, CO for load to, you guessed it, Atlanta, GA. I was routed to Ga by way of I-25, US64, 412, 270, I-40. I went this way one other time earlier in the year but not this time. I went I-25, US87, I-40 to Amarillo, TX. If you don't mind being out in the middle of nowhere with no shoulders in the Panhandle of OK, be my guest. It's great if you like being by yourself and no traffic, which I prefer. Also if you like going through small towns with long red lights, which I don't prefer. That's why I went the other way. It was about 30 miles longer the way I went but you will get to I-40 Exit 101 sooner the latter way than the former way. I get to Atlanta finally and do a Drop / Hook.
14. This new load is going to Chambersburg, PA. I get there that night for
unload and sleep until the morning and re-load across the street for; you
guessed it, Atlanta. I get to Atlanta the next day and sit 1 more day to
unload at Noon. I get new load (4 Drops) just south of Atlanta. This is the
Load from H * * *.
15. I get to Shipper for Drop / Hook. 1st drop is in Cleburne, TX 2.25 days
later on Sunday night. $30 later I'm done and drive to San Antonio for
all the rest of the drops. The 2nd drop was free and also got there at door
and slept a few hours. Receiver was really nice and I wouldn't mind going
there on a dedicated run. Go about 5 miles to 3rd drop but I'm 4 hrs early
so I have to wait. When I got done (and $120 poorer) it was early afternoon and my last drop isn't until 0100 the next morning. I went to the Petro to sit and sleep until about 2030 when I left for the last drop. I have been to this place before in late Spring so I knew I couldn't go until after nightfall. See, there is a wide shoulder on each side of road in front of this receiver but no Trucks are allowed to park there during daylight hours; only at night. Local police will give you a ticket if there during daylight hours and it ain't cheap. And the Receiver will not let you in until 2330 at the earliest. My appointment was for 0100. I finally got to my door at 0300 and emptied and out at 0530 (plus $55 poorer). Went back over to the Petro for a Washout and waited for load. I hadn't had a load like this in a while; Friday pick-up and finish on a Tuesday morning and $205 poorer and only 1100 miles paid. That's why I called it "The Load from H * * * ".
16. A few hours later I get a new load and deadhead to Austin, TX for a
Drop / Hook going to; you guessed it, Atlanta, GA. I made Jackson, MS
and dropped load on the yard cause the Truck had developed a small
problem plus I needed sleep. Next morning I learn my load is off me and
I wait for another. I get it the next day so I was able to reset the 70 hours again. My new load is going to Forest Hill, LA (southwest of Alexandria).
17. I make it into Forest Hill, LA and the Receiver. I check in and go back
to truck to back into the door. I see a Landstar arrived while I was checking in and he wasn't too happy. I don't know why but I had to get into my door so he could get into his. I wasn't blocking him or anything and I did arrive before he did. Never asked him why he was mad. While we were waiting to get unloaded, I did see he was on his computer and his phone still not happy so I guess he couldn't find a load to his liking for the weekend. Anyway, I did get a Deadhead to Waco, TX to get a load the next day that was going to Victorville, CA.
18. I made it to Waco the day before and arrived at Shipper for the
Victorville, CA load. While being loaded I get a swap msg and to swap
at the Petro in San Antonio. This was Friday and I'm due home Monday
and the load I'm getting; you guessed it again, is going to none other than
Atlanta, GA. Well, just south of Atlanta. Anyway, I roll to San Antonio
and wait for swap. I guessed it would arrive around 1500 and I was 5 mins
off. It came at 1505. Did the normal swap thing and roll out. And to my pleasure, I got to go a different route than going back up on I-20. I got to stay on I-10 to Mobile, AL, then take I-65 to I-85, etc to Receiver. Plus the receiver is a Drop / Hook. I just might get home on time. I arrive Sunday afternoon to receiver but no emptys yet. Had plenty of trailers there but they were still loaded. My appointment was for 2330 that night so I called Dispatch and there weren't any emptys anywhere. I could Bobtail out but would have to go to the Atlanta yard but no emptys there either. I just stayed and did a live unload cause then I would have an empty to go home with. I hung up with Dispatch and I got a msg saying "once empty, roll home for time-off ". Like; DUH, no kidding Sherlocks. When I did get empty, it was late and I just went right back where I was when I arrived, parked, and went to sleep. I left about 0600 and Man, what traffic at 0600 on a Monday morning south of Atlanta. Once on 675 and 285 and 85, no problem. Just I-75 was bumper to bumper. Made it home at 1230; right when I like to be home from the road.
For the 7 weeks; I did 3,053 miles a week. Now this isn't all paid, just total
odometer miles per week. Figure 2,793 miles per week on average paid.
That's 8.5% of the total miles on the odometer not paid; which is about the Industry percentage for HHG (Household Goods Mover Miles) not paid.
Like said at the beginning of thread, the miles were off but it's because of the Economy right now. Also I noticed that with August, I didn't get a single load going to a Distribution Center of some sort that was for Christmas. These loads usually always start in August so they are at the DC's for sorting and re-loaded on trailers to get to the stores by the end of September or early October. That didn't happen with me at all and why I said at top of thread that freight is down cause of the Economy plus the empty trailers in Ft Worth at the Pilot.
This is just my prediction for the 4th Quarter of 2007; it is going to be slow going and freight will be hard to find. The public isn't going to buy much until closer to Christmas and that won't be enough to pull the Economy up to the levels it was say at the start of 2nd Quarter of 2007. And I guess my miles will be low this next time out (be out 3.5 weeks) but I predict I'll just make the 3rd Quarter Mileage Bonus. I'm on track right now with extra miles already credited so from the 4th to end of month, I only need 325 miles a day and still make the Bonus.
For 7 weeks and my opinions on the Economy, I'd better shut up and end this, LOL. Hope you enjoyed reading about this outing. I'll update again at the end of the month.
KLLM; Back Where I Started
Discussion in 'KLLM' started by Ledbetter, Apr 15, 2007.
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