Rug_Trucker Goes OTR What I Am Learning

Just did a search on Chizek. Should be called Chizzler!

 

Dang been a while since I posted on my thread!

Heading home for Christmas day.

My biggest check to date is coming tonight at midnight! Gross was less than $2 short of $1150. Taking home $848 after paying my medical.

Wish I could do that every week!

 

Got 70mi. from home and dropped the truck. GF came and got me. I was out of hours. I was going to get 10 back on Sunday. Returned to the truck Christmas night and drove through freezing rain and black ice. Lots of wrecks! I ended up with company I did the math and got a 34hr reset in by 7:15am. I rolled to Springfield MO and parked at the receiver. Very quiet. Better than a truck stop.

I got a load out of Springdale AR and dropped at Wally world DC in Seymour IN,

Got a PP for Evansville IN to Baltimore MD. I came in for a drop and hook. Told it was a live load. Backed into the door and nothing happened. Called the guard shack told them I had to go as my 14 was almost up. I couldn't stay on the property and if I parked on the road outside it is a $250 fine to the company to repair the damage. I went to the Pilot 12mi. away.

Got back here ASAP 6am! Because it is the week between Christmas and New Years the guard shack won't open 'til 8. Wish they had mentioned it last night when they called to say I was loaded.

Had a wonderful argument on the Qcom with my DM yesterday.

Did I mention the 10th of January is 11 months?

 

Haven't been doing anything with this for a long time.

I did qualify for my vacation. I don't want to give up my truck as I have had it almost a full year.

I asked about stringing out my hometime by adding a day here and there from my vacation time.

I got home this past Sunday morning. Took the 2 days I had earned, then added 1 vacation day. I got a preplan Monday evening to pick up today at 1pm in Shelbyville TN going to Kimberly Clark in Paris TX. I know I will get a KC load or Campbells soup load out. Hopefully a KC load as they are lighter, and longer runs!

I like Texas. Ideal would be a Westward rolling load way out West!

 

I got another KC load. I didn't read the PP very well. It was to be a live load. I gave the info to the shipping window and they sent me down the street to Wepak. I bobtailed in! Had to turn around and get an empty from KC.

There was several 14ft high trailers there. Even 1 57footer! I am going to Romeoville IL.

Now I have to figure how to log the time change on Sunday!

 

Well I got all the way to Grant OK to the Choctaw casino. 25mi after they finally got me loaded. My 14 ran out. I went to the casino and saw that if you join the "players club" you get $10 off the $19.99 buffet. And joining was free! I got some cheesy gold beads so people the employees would know I was a newbie. I didn't gamble, ate lots of shrimp, crab legs and went back to my truck at the truck stop and crashed.

I had to load down there at Wepak. a load of "Huggies." I hauled that to Romeoville IL. I was going to putt along and take my time. Then got motivated. I had an open window and my ETA was set for late today. I got a preplan that loaded Monday. Then did the math. I had accepted it. I ran from Grant OK to Troy IL. I sent my ETA for 11:30 this morning and declined it with a message to the weekend crew that I was looking for something sooner and wanted to keep running. They pulled the PP off me at 1:20am and sent me a new one. I didn't look at it as I was too tired to make a decision.

The time for the PU at Sears was for 11:30. No window for the pick up. I messaged back and forth told them I could deliver on time. Told them OT PU wouldn't happen. If it was OK I would be happy to grab it. Now I am sitting in Quincy IL at Walmart 1mi. from Sears for my 7:30 live unload.

I turned down a preplan that had me doing a live load at 2pm in Keokuk IA 38 Swift miles away. And 450 or so to deliver in Pryor OK by 10:30am the next day. The route that I think would be best has a lot of 2 lanes, lots of little towns. Might be a bunch of steep hills in there too. either that drop down into St.Louis for evening rush hour.

It was like the Kingsford charcoal load I pulled a little while ago out of Parsons WV. Steep, curvy, narrow and slow. The time frame to do that one was silly. I knew it, messaged my DM and did it. I was only 1 1/2hrs late, it was a drop, and I did my mac22.

We'll see what they sent me at 1 am tonight Funny, I declined that load and they haven't taken it off me. That was 3 hrs ago. Better unplug the qualcom. I do leave my phone on. I don't always here the text message tone.

I am out for 3 weeks this time. I am going to tack 1 vacaton day on my hometime. Take 4 off.

 

Seems everytime this week I think I need to take a 34 they find me freight that fits my schedule. I am not due home until the 30th. I have a lab/doctor appointment the 31st. The 30th is one day short of 3 weeks. I am going to take 3 days! They don't comp you for how late they actually get you home from the real time you set.

I went to Random House in Crawfordsville IN. I popped the hood and wiped down the power steering box. It has a leak. I sprayed it with WD40 yesterday and cleaned it real good. I am going to keep it wiped down until I can get to the Memphis shop.

My EGR cooler is probably leaking and the coolant is going out the stack. I have to add anti freeze to it every once in a while. I smell it, can't see a leak! common for the Cummins ISX.

I had a leak on the RF steer axle. the cover with the sight glass was leaking and slinging oil onto the wheel. It is held on with Torx screws. I have some of those sockets so I snugged it up. it was 5 screws so I did the tightening sequence like putting on a tire with 5 lugs.

My thing about the new "truckers" is many aren't mechanically inclined. Yet they drive a truck!

I had a S cam on a trailer "cam over" and lock 1 wheel last week backing into a dock at a Home Depot in Virginia Beach VA. I tried to back it off the slack adjuster and it wouldn't budge. My 14 ran out while waiting for the mechanic that breakdown called. Home Depot had no problem with me spending the night there.

I have 3.5 hours to run today left on my 70. Then I pick up 10.75 tongiht. I am heading to Lee's Summit MO. 1pm tomorrow. I have to leave out early and roll in the darkness. Fun! Fun!

I think I am going to name my truck the "Memphis Belle." Not original, but why not!