Stevens Transport aviary

GAH
Went to bed at midnight, got up 6am, checked radar, forecasts, INDOT and local stations wx. Looked mixed. Interstates around Indy are better, wet at 28 degrees though is not good.
Here north on I69 it's still ever so lightly misting, and freezing to everything cold. And it's been in the teens for a while here. 2/3 of windshield is iced, with snow over blades etc all frozen in place.
Truck doesn't want to start, so intentionally run APU for half an hour, it starts but sounds windy, like too big a fan on it. Open hood and walk around with idle set high. Can't feel anything, fan isn't running now, but still sounds like an air hose leaking, but not as loud as a gladhand etc.
Warm it up, see how slick Indiana 5 is, see traffic going by but not at high speeds. Figure I'll venture out anyway, as I need to get the truck moving and I want to get something done. At least I'll go 5 miles south to next exit. Exit after that is a big Loves.
By the time I'm off the merge ramp and on the interstate, the windy sound from under the hood is far louder! It sounds like it goes up slowly, then slows down slowly, compared to engine RPM, so I'm thinking turbo or charge cooler or exhaust leak.
Engine yellow light comes on, red one blinks on but goes off, and message center says ENGINE CODE 154 then Boost PR then Special.
Yellow light stays on.
BTW, I69 has slush over zipper, incomplete plowing, sand and salt, and slush all over both outside lines at times.
Hmmm.
Shoulda stayed home.
I've got that mixed feeling of relief and anger as I decide I'm not going much further, at least not in the am.
Next exit, a 4wheeler is parked, no blinkers, more or less IN THE RAMP LANE. What passes for one, anyway. And passing her on that was not going to happen as she was standing by the back of her car in sleet. I'd have doused her good if I even tried at 20MPH.
So, there goes the more or less useless exit anyway. Nowhere to stop really. Onward five miles to Loves.
At 45MPH. Now the engine is limited, and that seems about as fast as it wants to go, and I don't want to go any faster anyway. The interstate isn't BAD, but it's not good.
Then a 4wheeler coming north slides sideways, overcorrects and makes it spin, and is coming more or less across a non-barricaded grass median toward my south bound lanes. It's plowing snow up and probably won't make it across, but I'm off the gas slowly and seeing I got room to stop if I need to, not being followed too close.
It does stop before entering our lanes, but by about ten feet, and it threw some snow into the left lanes. I see one person wave as I go by about 35 and peep the city horn.
She ain't getting out of that without a tower.
I more or less idle my way to Loves with blinkers and brights.
The road really isn't all THAT bad, but I've seen enough. And there's fresh freezing mist on my hood, mirrors and wipers and 27 degrees.
CB most are saying it's good around Indy and cities, but about the same as here out in the betweens.
But they were in the betweens as much as a couple hours ago. That is, before sunrise.
Still.
Loves looks TOO good, and the engine is coding, and I've got a roaring noise under accel. And I'm almost maxed on weight even with low fuel.
Get the truck parked, see a Stevens alliance in a t700 leaving out but he don't answer CB, so I wish him the best and check out my engine while calling Road Rescue.
They answer way before I expect, and I'm still walking around the engine. It's coming from the water hose at the block where the hose clamp has let the hose move too far out from under it. Not separated yet, but close. The roaring noise is AIR blowing out of it!!!! Not coolant, AIR.
RR says fill up the coolant. I go get two gallons after moving the hose back under the clamp to the ridge and tightening the clamp. It fits well and no rust on clamp, so didn't need new one. Probably got pulled too hard under hard strain of this load or previous ones. These Pillsbury rail loads are massive!
Anyway, she only takes half a gallon, and running took a bit more of that gallon. Warmed her up, moved her around, no roaring, no temp strangeness, warm air out heater vents etc.
Nothing changed, all still seem fine. No engine code.
See quite a few trucks, some pull in to stay, about half pull back out. I'm not moving until I stop getting new ice on my mirrors and wipers. At least.
Radar shows only the lightest precip in widely scattered areas all over. Warmer once I get more south, but nothing over 32.
GAH
Winter weather advisory for freezing mist, freezing drizzle, light snow until 1pm. Interstates should be good to drive though I'd think, but it says slick spots will be likely, extreme caution if travelling, etc. I'm waiting until then to even think about it. Three hours yet. And right now new ice/rain drops on windshield and both mirrors have new ice obscuring them since I cleaned them after filling coolant and driving the lot.
I won't know if the engine codes again until I get back to highway speeds saysv RR, who is sure the coolant hose and noise wasn't anything to do with the code. It's probably turbo problems he says.
And air blowing out of the top radiator hose that connects to the block and the interchanger? Not even a gallon to filll up the system.
I'm suspicious.
But, now three hours to kill, when I'd rather have almost delivered this load instead in those three hours.
Another BLEH
And the load should have gotten there last night if it wasn't for winter weather in Indiana.
The streets in the old hometown are clear on major roads, but the residential side streets are still packed snow, and now getting freezing drizzle on them.
SO glad I'm not driving those instead, like I used to have to! LMAO
The little county road out to my house was like snowmobiling!
Anyway, got a movie to watch I guess. And just got my preplan for a pickup at the new customer for noon tomorrow. That should be very doable. Even if it stays like this until late today I can get to Columbus then Louisville by then. And I feel better knowing what I should be doing next.
I should have stayed at home! Honestly. I should have taken the road from home to town as a warning and just gone back home for the day and done a phone in wx shutdown.
Oh well. At least I found out I had a hose pulled lose. Probably while starting it this morning after almost two days off. I don't remember it bucking hard, but who knows. It couldn't have had that hose loose long and driven and only lost 3/4 of a gallon of coolant. But it was blowing air anyway. And I wouldn't have an engine code I can't drive the truck to see if it comes back or not. GAH!!!
Hope you guys are in better weather and no tractor issues!

 

No more engine codes and the roaring noise is gone. That had to be an air duct, not the radiator hose. No coolant missing from reservoir. Well, a tiny amount, but ground is even everywhere I dipped it.
Made delivery, waiting for an empty refer to take to new customer in morning.
After morning freezing drizzle and light snow, afternoon mostly dried as I went south and east. By Columbus the roads are dry and clear.
Looks pretty foggy and wet down towards Louisville for the morning. Nothing I expect to affect me except to slow me at times if it stays thick through mid-morning. It can down there in places for sure! And freezing temps. Things could get slick on a moments notice sometimes.
Another massive load up to the rail yard. Probably a rail load going to Indy or Ohio when I get there, or shortly after.
Good luck getting home if you drop across the street and someone notices! You should know that by now! lol
And Emu, there is a chain gang in Stevens you should ask about. lol
Ya'll keep it upright and in the middle.

 

All your questions are answered somewhere in this very thread more than once. But it's a lot reading, so here goes.
If you go with Stevens, unless you're single and have no dependents or lots of payments, you're going to struggle with Stevens. One month no income at all, then two months at $350 a week, minus deductions of around $100 plus.
You get the pennies per mile you're quoted in school after that, but you might not get many miles. 2,000 a week is a good guess, but it will vary both ways quite a lot.
I was flexible, willing and reasonable. There were $800 weeks, but I was tired and wore out. And the deductions ate that up pretty well too. Plus you're spending it to live, and your bills. Anyone back home who depends on you for money is going to be fending for themselves, really. There were $300 weeks too.
I guess I proved myself or somesuch, and because I'm from the middle of the regional fleet area, I got on a regional dedicated route. I've done pretty well until winter weather moved in and my major routes became toboggan runs for hours on end. Now I'm not getting much moved around, but I could do it faster, I'd just be risking minor fender-benders in shopping mall traffic between me and the interstates where more shoppers are running around like maniacs between the malls and shops and hopefully home pretty freaking soon. On the way down here you could tell there nutcases driving as fast as they could to get wherever. Every couple of minutes another maniac would blow past in heavy traffic, weaving and braking and nailing the gas about all at the same time.
I'll sit on this until traffic dies down, then drop it at the rail and pick up the next that may or may not be there already. Maybe I'll even take a split berth and do my two hours up in Chicago before heading out for KY.
At least the weather is clear and the roads clean here and ahead.