THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE - DFO gets a truck and hops on Schneider's IC Choice Program

What a friggin day (or night actually) that was. So I got up to leave Winchester VA around 7:30pm... walk around my truck and oh look a small puddle of coolant is underneath it. The coolant filter is at it again. It started leaking when I got my PM done last time, the mechanic who worked on it must have spun it around to see what it was then tightened it back up. I never could get it to seal again. So I bought another last time I was home and put it on. Apparently this filter decided it wanted to leak as well after a few trips. So, coveralls on, lay in the dusty lot and tighten it up a bit. Problem solved, off we go.

First off I head to the pickup in Chambersburg. Then take the LEVEL 13 GOATPATH from Chambersburg over to the PA turnpike. I am so glad I do this **** at night it would be impossible during the day. Got the truck in one lane, trailer in the other trying not to run over the line of parked 4 wheelers parked on the curb through the middle of town. Truck swung as wide as I can through the roundabout, trailer still riding up on it, then hit the 7% grade heading out of town up some 2 lane bull**** mountain road then hit the 2 mile 7% downgrade with a 20 MPH truck speed limit and more turns with my trailer on one side and the truck on the other. Jill wants me to do this **** ALL THE WAY TO OHIO. Yeah **** that. Run the 4 extra miles to the turnpike and off we go.

Stop for some food and send a message in to support shift asking them to confirm that I am supposed to bobtail to my next pickup. KEEP IN MIND IT IS AROUND MIDNIGHT WHEN I SEND THIS MESSAGE.

All is good until I start getting near Pittsburgh and see the one sign ROAD CLOSED 5 MILES AHEAD. Finally get the AM traffic station to come in to listen to the detour but it sounds like some bull**** *** detour to me. Finally I reach the point of ALL VEHICLES MUST EXIT so I pull over and ask the trooper if the detour on the radio is OK for the big truck. He tells me yes so off I go.

So there's like one sign for this detour along the route and then the signage just STOPS. I'm trying to get the AM station to come back in but its quicky driftig away. Luckily I hear enough to get myself through. Some bullcrap 30 mile out of route detour going south off the turnpike down towards Pittsburgh then back up on Route 8 through the middle of town up another ****ing mountain.

FINALLY reach the turnpike and get on the toll booth. 50 billion signs warning about the eastbound lanes being closed and yet this 4 wheeler still goes through, realizes he can't go eastbound, then just REVERSES BACK UP THE ****ING TOLL BOOTH LANE AND SITS THERE IN REVERSE AT THE BOOTH LIKE HE EXPECTS ME TO BACK UP. He then starts ramming his ticket into the machine (LOL) and continues sitting there. After 2 minutes I'm just repeatedly tapping the city horn at him. Finally just before I reach "empty air tanks on air horn" stage the guy from the toll booth comes out, tells the 4 wheeler something and he tears off westbound.


Ok so finally cruising westbound, cannot see ANYONE behind or in front of me, just the way I like it. Until an hour later I see traffic coming to a dead stop up ahead. Some 4 wheeler was on ITS ****ING ROOF IN THE MIDDLE OF 76 WESTBOUND. ON. ITS. ROOF. BY ITSELF. A SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENT.

HOW????¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿?¿?¿¿¿¿

I DON'T KNOW.

I look on both sides of the westbound lanes. NO INDICATION OF ANY HIT. I seriously think this vehicle came OVER THE DIVIDER from the EASTBOUND SIDE and landed on its roof on the westbound lanes. I JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

I do hope that everyone was OK, I don't know.

After the fire department showed up and like 5 firefighters pushed the car on its roof over to open one lane up, I take off for Ohio again.

Finally reach my drop in Ohio.

Drop that load, still no message from support shift about bobtail. Try to call the customer but no one answers the phone. Screw it, I bobtail off.

After 2 more Detour adventures through backwoods Ohio, on roads so bad I had to use my jake to slow down for turns otherwise I would have gotten about 15 hard brake events from my tires locking from being in the air every time I hit the brakes, got to the shipper. Of course he asks if I brought an empty. Nope, they specifically told me to bobtail I tell him. "Of course they did" he sighs. Oh well, got my load, not my problem.

Leave there and head west.

Arrive at the truckstop around 8am. AS I'M FUELING UP BEFORE SHUTTING DOWN FOR THE DAY, SUPPORT SHIFT REPLIES "YES YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BOBTAIL TO THE CUSTOMER" which was A. 8 ****ING HOURS AFTER I SENT THE MESSAGE and B. NOT WHAT THE CUSTOMER WANTED, THEY NEED EMPTIES.

And to top it all off, go to crank my APU up and it sputters and sputters and dies. Flip the reset switch and try it again and same crap. Finally get smart and use the panel to turn it off just after it starts sputtering before it dies so I don't have to keep hitting the reset switch. Got it to start and run on about the 5th time. I put a brand new fuel and inline fuel filter on not long ago, so I'm not sure what is up. Maybe the fuel pump is dying. Hopefully it can last long enough to wait until I get home next time. Otherwise I will eBay a fuel pump and get it shipped to Carlisle and put it on there. Will probably be there around Tuesday unless I luck out and find a load of northern PA.

What a night.