Swift - Starting the New Year training with Swift 1/7/13 - A long read...

Hmmm....I gotta look into all these hour planning strategies more closely when I'm not so tired. Sounds like there are some great ideas out there. I've heard from one of my mentors about running on recap as well. I need to start fresh with some fresh thinking after this next hometime to maximize my income.

 

OK so I'm currently at a somewhat rundown Flying J in Ellensburg, Wa. I'm almost "home"!

I'm currently sitting and waiting for the On road mechanic to come sometime around noon tomorrow to bring me a new air dryer since mine failed.

I had been running around the SLC and Idaho area for a few days and my home time date of 8/25 was approaching. Swift asked me to take a short tcall load down to SLC as a favor so I did. I went back up to Jerome cheese in Idaho and picked up a load going back near Seattle to bring me home. I noticed some poor brake performance and checked my lines at a scale house. My blue line sat dangling unhooked. I have never seen this before and was a little perplexed. I hooked it back up, it seemed secure and I went on my way. Hours later, approaching some stopped traffic I felt the brakes being weak again. I pulled over going up a steep incline between Yakima and Ellensburg and checked the line again. It was dangling. The odd thing was that the connection wasn't really loose. I hooked it up, wrapped some duck tape around it to see if that would make a difference after I had already banged the glad hand a little tighter. This time my air pressure wouldn't go back up as it had the last time. I was stuck.

I got on road to come out and I had a bad governor (I think) and a bad air dryer. He would have to order parts. Last night I stayed there on the incline with my reflective triangles out. In the morning the two furthest ones were run over. Scary stuff. Someone also blew their airhorn going by early this morning. I was partially in the gravel with about 6 feet from the shoulders painted line.

Mechanic came back this morning and rigged it up so I had the use of one of my tanks to get me about 1/2 a mile up to the scenic viewpoint parking lot. He drove me down the mountain to this Flying J about 8 miles away to shower and use the bathroom and so he could get some breakfast. We went back up to the truck and he dropped me off. Parts are being picked up in the AMand he should be back here about 12. He suggested, if I felt compelled, to limp the truck down the mountain to the Flying J to wait for him in the morning. He left and I was alone for a while at the scenic viewpoint. However as nature started to remind me, there was no bathroom up there and privacy went away as a few trucks pulled in next to me. Taking a leak wouldn't have been a problem but anything else was. I was dreading heading down the hill a for a couple of reasons. 1) I couldn't use my splitter since the tank that supplied air to my splitter wasn't hooked up. So my maximum gearing and speed was 4th gear and 22 miles per hour. Wasn't a big deal earlier moving the truck up the hill less than a mile away but now I had to go 8 miles. Bigger deal on a 65 mph interstate doing 22 mph. 2) I had to manipulate my progress so I didn't allow my one working air chambers pressure to drop below 60 psi but I couldn't let it go much above 120 psi. So I tested it out before heading down, revving the engine and testing how much air pressure was building at my anticipated highest rpm. I adjusted the release valve accordingly and set off down the hill. Basically I had to pull over and stop whenever the pressure got too high to allow it to drop back down to near 60. Once I stopped I had to make sure I got going again right when it dropped back down towards 60 psi or run the risk of the brakes popping on. I did this all the way down staying in the shoulder as much as possible and timing everything so I wasn't in the way of any trucks heading down. It was a little sketchy to say the least. My load was repowered at the scenic view point before I headed down so I was bobtail at least. Otherwise I would have been left to using the underside of my trailer as a secret bathroom. The 8 mile crawl took me close to an hour before I parked here at the J. I made it and hope I never have to do that again. I probably will but I can dream.

So I'm guessing that after I'm repaired tomorrow I'll be bobtailing back to the terminal to start a few days off on my home time. I have to pick up the new tabs for my bike and go to the DMV to get that new license that incorporates the medical card into it. Its been over 3 months since I've been home to WA and I'm really hoping my bike starts when I get there. Favors from friends or from my bike mechanic get expensive so I would be happy if it just starts and I can run the now bad gas out of it. I'm also meeting up with my exfiance I haven't seen in 9 years, other than Facebook photos. She is the reason I moved out to WA from Jersey to begin with. She's attractive and I think a sure thing. I have needs so this should be a good thing. (Can I say that here?) Gotta find a motel/hotel/no-tell tomorrow night. This better play out the way I hope as I turned down a couple of good runs to coordinate with the time she requested off from her job. Probably the last time I'll do that as I need to focus more on making money and less on satisfying biological needs. Enough said. My apologies but I guess this is the life of a trucker.

Truck is going into the shop once I hit the terminal. The antenna on my passenger side broke (again) for some reason (no, it didn't hit anything other than wind it seems) and it is once again duck taped over the roof. I got a few flat spots I noticed on my drives and my Qualcomm needs to be reset before I kill it violently.

I think I have said this before but at this point I can't imagine doing anything else other than trucking. I feel like this whole lifestyle has somehow permeated into my veins over time, slowly and thoroughly. I almost feel like I'm going to miss my truck and being on the road and I haven't even started my home time yet. I do look forward to getting on my bike again but I feel like I'm a little 'away from home' outside the truck. I guess I can analogize it by comparing it to a crate trained dog that is not very comfortable in his little cage at first, welcoming every opportunity to have his freedom from the cage. At first. But then slowly that dog starts to go into his cage even when he doesn't have to because that is where he is comfortable. That is where his blankey and toys are. Before long that is the preferred place. Like my truck.

After this next home time I'm going to see if they will let me leave my bike key with the guy at the front desk so I can have the bike picked up by a bike hauling company while I'm back on the road. Im getting it trucked out to Virginia where it will get more use. I'm hoping this all works out.

 

I'll keep an eye out for you. I should be heading back to the terminal tomorrow afternoon if all goes well. I'll look for ya there when I get there. I'm almost dreading trying to find parking there already....