High-Seas to Highways

[dewercs2]

I'm in Walcott tonight waiting to load at Betendorf in the morning...
I have truck # 402T as a neighbor, He's loaded but sleeping..... This is the truck I almost took when I switched trucks but it was a smokers truck.
I have a 3 stop run from here to Yankton, SD to Billings, MT and final in Kent, WA.

see ya out there.....

[devildice]

I'm in Walcott tonight waiting to load at Betendorf in the morning...
I have truck # 402T as a neighbor, He's loaded but sleeping..... This is the truck I almost took when I switched trucks but it was a smokers truck.
I have a 3 stop run from here to Yankton, SD to Billings, MT and final in Kent, WA.

see ya out there.....

Hey, I'm #402!!! guess I need to update my tag line

[broncrider1]

bought time you fixed that....darn smokers

lol
anyhow im at home and you know how to reach me if needed

[devildice]

11/02-04/07
Nothing too exciting has been going on these past couple of days. I just continued to make my west.

I was told on Friday that I would be making a slight detour down into the Denver area, Wheat Ridge, CO to be exact to pick up a mis-delivered piece of freight Monday morning. It’s all good to me as it will count as an LTL and that’s another $100 in my pocket.

I arrived in Wheat Ridge late this morning and shut down at a TA just one mile from the customer. When I got here, there was some sort of outside BBQ going on. For $10 you got a choice of a half of chicken or half slab of ribs, baked beans, corn on the cob, corn bread, coleslaw, a brownie and choice of iced tea or lemonade. I thought the price was a little steep, but dang the food was good. After filling my belly, I attempted to take a Sunday afternoon nap but it was cut short as I awoke sweating. I thought Colorado would be cold, or at least cool this time of the year, but it’s not. It’s currently 86 degrees outside.

So I cleaned the inside of the truck and just threw a load of laundry in. The rest of the day will be spent watching football and just relaxing. Tomorrow I will shoot down the road and make my pick up and then it’s off to Salt Lake City.

[dewercs2]

Im in Avoca, Iowa at a Wings Truck Stop. I moved down the 80 to get closer to SD and didn't see a TA, Pilot or Flying J on the route so I stopped here. All the truck stops listed in the litle truck stop book from here on up the 29 said were all small.
I've lubed the truck/trailer, and did the brakes found a small air leak coming from what I think iis the air compressor. It's the unit on the left side of the cummins block, near the frame. It has a red line air line coming out of it. I tried to tighten the line but it wouldn't move. I jiggled the line and heard something snap into place. I think it was the fitting inside seating itself. So I'll look at it again tonight and then in the morning to see if I hear any air leaking.
What is up with this? DevilDice.... anything go bad on your new truck yet?

Oh... By the way since DD never mentioned it... I received a low knock on my door the other night it was DD giving me his impersonation of a lot lizzard...

Well since I've been on here with nobody parked next to me on either side... I've just had two reefer trucks park next to me in these few minutes....WHY?? :twisted:

Well.. I'm getting up at 4am to head out I think I'll start banging on the trailer checking straps and stuff in the AM just to wake them.
:twisted: :twisted: :wink:

[devildice]

What is up with this? DevilDice.... anything go bad on your new truck yet?

not really. on 370 I had that air leveling valve on the tractor go out and that was all. So far (knock on wood) nothing with this one. Hey, what does it mean when the computer says "driver level 1 reward"??? This is obviously a Cummins thing and although I waited and waited for money to drop out from under the dash, nothing happened. So what does it mean?

Oh... By the way since DD never mentioned it... I received a low knock on my door the other night it was DD giving me his impersonation of a lot lizzard...

opps... i did forget to mention running into you the other day in Iowa. I'll probablly see you in Missoula this week too.

[dewercs2]

Rewards level 1... nothing it says that on mine too. Maybe for not idling?
Ever get the fuel bonus? I wonder if it's been raised since fuel is more expensive...?
Oh forgot to add. Inverter isn't working. Powers up the microwave and at 50% shuts off.... Or... it will run but only have the light inside the microwave but not cook anything. So I wonder if the inverter is frying my microwave when it only gives it half power..... I'm thinking this needs to be fixed since I'm trying to save a little money by eating good stuff in my RV. I bet they say it's the microwave... :sad:

[devildice]

Rewards level 1... nothing it says that on mine too. Maybe for not idling?
Ever get the fuel bonus? I wonder if it's been raised since fuel is more expensive...?
Oh forgot to add. Inverter isn't working. Powers up the microwave and at 50% shuts off.... Or... it will run but only have the light inside the microwave but not cook anything. So I wonder if the inverter is frying my microwave when it only gives it half power..... I'm thinking this needs to be fixed since I'm trying to save a little money by eating good stuff in my RV. I bet they say it's the microwave... :sad:

How many watts is your microwave? Mine is 700 and I can not have anything else running when using it or else the inverter will trip off.

[Goin Fer It]

danske

arty: :rock: Congratulations! My husband said when he was in the yard you were testing out and he said your trainer said you were going to pass and without any problems!

And congratulations on the nice trip with good miles.

Goin Fer It's Wife

[Goin Fer It]

How many watts is your microwave? Mine is 700 and I can not have anything else running when using it or else the inverter will trip off.

My husband said he will usually start the engine when he uses his microwave. He said when he does that he does not have any problems.

Congratulations DD on the nice trips and great miles you have been getting.
I hope my husband gets a trip west after he delivers today! Watch he will probably get sent down to Texas again

I hope you get more loads into Texas and he gets some more loads this way!

Glad to see that all is going smoothly for you now and things seem to be looking up.

Goin Fer It's Wife

[dewercs2]

I bought the microwave at Wal Mart. The box said 850watts cooks at 600watts. I looked at the inverter and it says it will handle more then what I need. The guys in the shop said the inverter should have no problem handling this microwave.

I've tried to idle for awhile to charge the batteries but it still doesn't work. BUT.....We should'nt have to idle (burn fuel) to charge batteries to run a microwave. If we have to idle then it hurts the company......and also the driver because of excessive idling...we loose the fuel bonus....( GFI'w, Has your husband ever received a fuel bonus?) or even worse...YIKES... the speed gets dialed back to 65mph max.

But as always.... Davis is quick to fix the problem for the driver.. in this case me. They have always been real good.

I don't remember if I posted about the slight air leak... not again...
It's coming from the little box(compressor) mounted low on left side of the block next to the frame. It has a red plastic air line coming out of it. If I jiggle it I can get it to stop. I tried to tighten the nut but couldn't budge it. I even tried to loosen the nut again not moving. anyway.... I called in and told the shop that I'll be there wednesday for repairs.

Tonight I was trying to get to Alzada, MT but had to shut down in Rapid City since I ran out daylight and close to being at 14hrs. I stopped in Mitchell for fuel and had to get a shower... 2 1/2days and I needed it.... anyway... treated myself to Subways too... and then hit the road.

I figure I can get to Billings and offload at the customer in the morning. I think I'll shut it down in Butte tuesday night and then run into Missoula wednesday morning. Or I'll just Bonzi to Missoula and see my favorite waitress...

DD you have the luck for LTL's I've yet to get one...it's not for lack of trying though. In Yankton I lost 26500 pounds and have 25ft of deck space open. When I get to Billings I'll lose another 5700 pounds and maybe gain another 2ft. I'll have to call in again and see what they have for me since the regular person there is off for a another day or two.

Ok... I need to make phone calls.. My son tried out for travel baseball coach on sunday. My wife just called and said this coach wants to take my son to some type of scouting baseball game "Showcase" where baseball scouts from college's and pro's go to scout all the kids playing a game. I guess it's in L.A somewhere in 2 weeks. GREAT........ And I'm out here...... :x :evil: :!:

[devildice]

11/05-08/07
Not much has happened over the last few days other than one screw up on my part which I’ll explain in a moment. Other than that, I have been busy putting miles behind me and making my drops.

Now for my screw up….. My first load to deliver was in Salt Lake City, UT. I get there, make the drop and off I went heading towards Stevensville, MT. all is good to go in my world. Well I get about 350 miles north when I get a call from my truck manager. He asks if there was any way possible that I delivered the wrong freight. I say sure it’s possible, but I doubt it as I am very thorough and organized and the paper work matched the load. So he puts me on hold while talking with the customer. To make a long story short, I turned around and high tailed back to Salt Lake City. My truck manager said I would be paid for the extra miles.

I could not make it all the way back due to the fact I was just about out of hours for the day so I shut it down in Pocatello, ID. While I am there, I am baffled as how this mix up could have happened since the paper work matched the load. I get to the customer just before they opened the next morning and make the switch and then headed once again back towards Stevensville. The whole time I am trying to figure out what happened.

As I am making my way, I decide to pull over and look at the notes I took when I was dispatched these LTL loads. There it was, sure enough the dispatcher had told me that correct information. That meant that somehow, someway, I and only I could have mixed up the bill of ladings and mis-delivered the load. I still can not figure out how I did it, but I must have as it is the only thing that makes sense.

I got into Missoula last night and after making my drop in Stevensville. This morning I went about 2 blocks down the road and dropped off the “mis-delivered” freight I picked up in Colorado. How ironic is that? Anyways, I went to talk to my truck manager and told him that I believe it was my fault and although I would love to be paid for the extra miles I ran, I would not feel right and apologized for my mistake. He was surprised and appreciative of my honesty and we ended out conversation on a good note.

I now have just one load left on deck that delivers in Seattle on Monday. I originally planned to run there today and deliver it tomorrow but because of my little screw up, I am low on hours and decided I would stay here in Missoula and reset my log. This also affords me the opportunity to do my weekly maintenance on the truck, wash some close and just relax.

My trainer is here as well as a couple of other drivers I know including dewercs2 and so it was nice to shoot the **** and catch up with everyone. I will hang out here until Saturday and then start creeping towards Seattle unless they find something to fill the rest of my deck tomorrow.

[Orangetxguy]

11/05-08/07

The whole time I am trying to figure out what happened.

As I am making my way, I decide to pull over and look at the notes I took when I was dispatched these LTL loads. There it was, sure enough the dispatcher had told me that correct information. That meant that somehow, someway, I and only I could have mixed up the bill of ladings and mis-delivered the load. I still can not figure out how I did it, but I must have as it is the only thing that makes sense.

Hey DD..an easy way to keep multiple LTL's straight while making the delivey, is to tag each partial with it's delivery address, when it is put on the deck. You can use colored chalk to write the city of delivery, or do something as simple as a copy of the BOL, placed in a sandwich baggie, attached to the item.

Just a suggestion.

[devildice]

Hey DD..an easy way to keep multiple LTL's straight while making the delivey, is to tag each partial with it's delivery address, when it is put on the deck. You can use colored chalk to write the city of delivery, or do something as simple as a copy of the BOL, placed in a sandwich baggie, attached to the item.

Just a suggestion.

Good suggestion....thanks!

[dewercs2]

I usually write 1 or 2 on each item somewhere.... Strapping, paper, cardboard or wrapper. If I can't write on it... duct tape works good.

I'm in Eugene, OR with my load of lumber. I got to use my sidekit tarp for this load. It's only two units high all the way back. I'll scale in the morning with a full tank of fuel here at the TA in Eugene.

This is a load that is headed to DD's home state... I drop in Austin.

Now.... I wonder how I'll be routed... Down CA to the 10 or the 40? or up to the 84 and across wyoming and down CO way....?

[steelhauler2007]

Your coming to my area.I live about 50 miles from Austin.Where are you dropping at? I might have delivered there before.

[Goin Fer It]

It sounds like you guys could have used some cookies in Missoula! My husband should have been there. It seems as though he misses it when more than one of the members from this board are in Missoula. Oh well one of these days maybe all of you will meet up.

[b]DD

At least it was a fixable mistake! Not like hitting a light pole! It is always a learning experience.

Glad to see you are getting nice loads with great miles.

Goin Fer It's Wife

[danske]

I was in Manheim, PA on Halloween when I last was on the Internet. After leaving the town library I had a cheese steak sandwich(No, I wasn't in Philly), watched a high school soccer game, and enjoyed the kids walking around in their costumes.

I got up very early November 1 to make my last stop in Baltimore, MD. I missed my turn(There was no street sign) and ended up at the Francis Scott Key Bridge Toll Plaza. I parked the truck and went inside to get help with directions. 2 LEO's told I could go thru the toll lane, make a 180 under the bridge, and get back to the customer place. That work out great. I was unloaded 2 hours before my appointment time.

But there was no freight for me on Thursday or Friday. I was laid over for the weekend in a dumpy TA truckstop that charges for parking. I did find that there was a Greyhound bus terminal across the street(No, I wasn't quitting!). Saturday morning I jumped on the bus to Washington DC. I hiked from Union Station to Capitol Hill, the National Mall, Washington Monument, the Whitehouse, Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. The Wall was the most sobering and quiet place of all. I am a veteran, but I didn't serve in Vietnam.

Some friends of friends have a place in Kensington, MD that is just north of DC. I rode the subway and a taxi to their home. I spent Saturday night there and went to church with them on Sunday. After church it was back to to the subway to Union Station and the bus terminal. I was in my truck Sunday night.

Monday morning my dispatcher assigned me a load from Towanda, PA to Tacoma, WA for a total of 3012 miles. The loaded wasn't ready until Tuesday morning but I was the first truck in line at the gate on Monday evening. I was woke up at 5am EST. Once loaded, strapped, and tarped I worked my way down to I80 and headed west. There was a little snow flying over Snowshoe Pass in PA but nothing sticking.

Yesterday I stopped in Laurel, MT to fuel and make my daily check call. It was 11am when I left the truckstop and my company office closes at 5pm in Missoula. I had to drive 340 miles in 6 hours if I was to make it to the office before end of business. I made 2 brief stops with one on top of Homestake Pass and arrived in the office with 10 minutes to spare.

DD was there in the yard Friday night. He helped me reroll my lumber tarps(I had my metal tarp on the load) as I screwed it up at the customer in Baltimore. After that we went out to eat, I did my laundry and off to bed. This morning I had a minor power steering fluid leak fixed and changed 1 drive tire that wasn't holding air(the mechanic found a very small leak at the valve stem).

DD and I drove together today from Missoula to Spokane. He had 2500 lbs on with me at 43,000 lbs. I asked him if he would push me up Lookout and 4th July Passes, and he offered to throw out a chain to pull me.

I am spending the tonight at my friend place in Spokane Valley. Tomorrow afternoon it is off to Tacoma for an early Monday morning deliver. Just as soon as I am empty and I drop my Tripak off at the Flying J in Tacoma, I am headed home for some time off!!! I have an already book schedule while there including building a wood bin for my girlfriend and going to the Oregon Coast Friday night with her. I do have to make the time to equip my truck with a couple things(eg. a ladder, microwave, cooler).

I should be back out next Monday so I will be missing Thanksgiving at home. No worries, I have plans to stay out until Christmas time, so I will do okay to get that holiday off at home.

[devildice]

11/09-10/07
I spent the last couple of days relaxing and resetting my log in Missoula. I got my weekly maintenance done, some laundry and just visited with Davis staff and other drivers.

Friday evening “danske” rolled in and after chewing the fat and helping him re-roll his tarps, we ran down to a local eatery for a hot meal. He is on his way to Tacoma for a Monday delivery and since I am headed to Seattle, we decided to run together to Spokane today (Saturday). He has some friends that live in the area and went to their place to visit and I went down the road to the Petro.

Since I have less than 300 miles to go, I am not setting my alarm and will hit the road whenever I get up and motivated to finish the final leg of this trip. I will shut down at the customer’s front door tomorrow for a first thing Monday morning delivery.

[devildice]

I usually write 1 or 2 on each item somewhere.... Strapping, paper, cardboard or wrapper. If I can't write on it... duct tape works good.

I'm in Eugene, OR with my load of lumber. I got to use my sidekit tarp for this load. It's only two units high all the way back. I'll scale in the morning with a full tank of fuel here at the TA in Eugene.

This is a load that is headed to DD's home state... I drop in Austin.

Now.... I wonder how I'll be routed... Down CA to the 10 or the 40? or up to the 84 and across wyoming and down CO way....?

Lucky you!!