Stevens Transport aviary

Oh, forgot to tell you about the weekend!
I picked up at the rail in Chicago with barely enough hours to deliver in Columbus. Didn't get home again, fifth weekend in a row no hometime. Supposed to go home each weekend or two because we don't go out for six or more weeks then get a week off. But lately haven't been home since Christmas.
Anyway, pick up the trailer, loaded with 44K, and when I do my PTI I see a flat tire. Sigh. Takes two hours for the guy to show up, because I'm not pulling that much weight on a flat tire. Then he can't jack the trailer up!!! He tries with two jacks and four jackstands, but he can't get it high enough to get the tires off. Another couple hours later a guy shows up with a special jack and they eventually get it up and change the tire.
So, five hours later, I'm rolling toward Columbus. Get past Indy nonstop and pull over for the usual reasons. Gotta go, ya know? I come out and figure I can make the delivery with half an hour to spare, maybe.
Start the truck, and nothing. It turns over nice, but no start.
Get road rescue on the line, she talks me through the usual and then changing the relays, then says it's probably fuel filters.
For the second time in one day on the same load, I'm getting serviced in the field.
SIGH
They come out, try changing a fuse by the battery box, nothing, then change the fuel filters. She starts up.
As I'm signing the papers, it starts raining. Rain! It's 28 degrees and raining. It was over 35 during daylight, but now it's after sunset and getting cold, and raining. Check radar and see it's right along I70, and I'm not going to be able to miss it.
Double sigh.
So since the roads aren't icing up, I roll out. Get a few miles down the road, and there isn't any spray coming off cars passing me while I'm doing 55. The road is nice and shiny, and all black asphalt. I pull off just before the Ohio line and check radar. Snow north of I70, rain south of it, and all pink on it, ahead and behind me. I have to stop.
Have two hours left on 70 hours, and about two hours from delivery point. UGH.
So, I break, and morning is nice and clear and I make the delivery, but now I won't get my reset in until after Monday. And I know there is snow forecast, but it wasn't forecast to be like this then. It was just snow likely.
So, what a weekend. I end up resetting at the T/A in London Ohio, and now I'm wondering if I'll even be able to roll out of here, or if I'll end up here for even longer.
I like this regional thing, but being stuck in the mid-west winter weather is a HUGE pain in the posterior! And not being sent home for six weeks is also a big bummer. If I was OTR I could look forward to a week off, but I don't think that applies on this fleet.
Maybe it does? Does it apply if you're kept out for six weeks that you get one day off for each week you're out, even on regional when you're supposed to be sent home every or every-other weekend? I'll have to make some calls and see.
Anyway, that was my super-fun-and-fantastic weekend.
Hope you all avoid the mess coming in! White hurricane ho!

 

If I have to kick and scream to get that 5 days, then yeah, I'd almost be better off going back to OTR.
Tonight I'm stuck at I70 and US35 in Ohio. I went from Columbus to Wellston to pickup, and got this far before the rain turned to freezing rain and the temp dropped under 30. This is my fuel stop, and there wasn't jack crap to stop at 20 miles ago when I started getting ice on wipers and mirrors.
Looking at the radar, I'm going to be here a while. I might get lucky and hit a clear spot sometime in the morning and get a little closer to Indy, but right now Indy is an iced over mess.
It's going to be another short week.