High-Seas to Highways
#281
08-08-2007, 05:31 PM
Originally Posted by devildice
I just left today and loaded out of Butte. You're a day late and a dollar short  But "dewercs2" is there, he was testing out and should still be there in the morning.I am glad you are finally out and with your first load! What is your truck number? Drive safe! Goin Fer It's Wife
#282
08-08-2007, 05:51 PM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
Originally Posted by CardinalFan
Yes, Please keep the posts going , I am enjoying reading them and it is helping me learn a few things. I got some good news today. I start Driving school at Sage next Monday and found out today that my schooling will be 100% paid for by the Trade Adjustment Act. A benefit I recieved from a plant Closure a couple years ago. Congrats on heading into Phase three. Good luck!!
#283
08-08-2007, 05:56 PM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
Originally Posted by Goin Fer It
Originally Posted by devildice
I just left today and loaded out of Butte. You're a day late and a dollar short But "dewercs2" is there, he was testing out and should still be there in the morning.I am glad you are finally out and with your first load! What is your truck number? Drive safe! Goin Fer It's Wife my truck number is 370 and is now posted in my sig-line  I am sure you know already, but GFI called me today to congratulate me. It was a pleasant suprise!!
#284
08-09-2007, 11:18 AM
Originally Posted by devildice
My first solo trip 08/08/07
I got to the yard at 8am this morning and planned on doing a load of laundry, make a few 4’ V-Boards and a couple of other miscellaneous things. Instead, at about 8:30am I was told I had a load. I would be picking up in Butte, MT and delivering in Fort Madison, IA. I got my routing, said my goodbyes and by 9am I was rolling. I got to the shipper at 11:15am and wouldn’t you know it, the guy that does the loading is on lunch. I know what I have to do so I get all my stuff prepped as best I could while I awaited his return. About 12:45 he finally shows up and starts to load me. I do not want to disclose what my cargo is at this time, but when it is loaded, they split the load between the front and back of the trailer. Anyways, the guys starts on the front and when he has it all on there, the trailer nose is leaning seriously to the left, NOT good!! Even the loader made a statement on how he has never seen a trailer lean so much. I am on level ground, have the right amount of tire pressure, my suspension air bags are full……this should not be happening. I go ahead and call my truck manager to tell him of the issue. He says try moving the truck about 30 or 40 feet to see if maybe the ground is not as level as it looks. I try it, and it does help a little but not much. Next I ask the guy if he could unload me and let’s see what happens. After he gets everything off, we look closely at the trailer and sure enough you can see where it is warped or twisted down in the left front and right rear. I tell him to try loading the back partially and then the front and then the rest on the back and see if it helps balance things out. If not, I would have to call my truck manager and more than likely head back to Missoula. Well it worked. The trailer is sitting nice and level with just a hair over 45,000lbs on deck and all is good to go. I get my loaded routing and head on out. I was planning and hoping to make it to Rapid City, SD before shutting down for the night but only got as far as Laurel, MT which I am NOT happy about at all (Securing and tarping a load by yourself can be just a tiny bit exhausting) but I will make up for it tomorrow as I want to drop this load by Friday. It isn’t due until Monday, but I would prefer to get it off Friday and take a chance on a new load to carry me through the weekend. We will see. I really like that part of Southeast Iowa. Of course, like the rest of the state there is nothing but cornfields everywhere this time of year. At least you don't to go thorough your 2 favorite states on this trip. BTW, you aren't headed to the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison are you? Probably not, as you don't have enough driving experience to qualify! :lol: Anyhow, fair winds and following seas as you are now the Captain of your own prairie schooner!!
#285
08-09-2007, 03:55 PM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
08/09/07
I made it to Mitchell, SD today and shut her down. I was hoping to get to at least Albert Lee, MN but I got slowed down by road construction, heavy traffic in Sturgis (it’s bike week for my fellow bikers) and frankly, this truck does not like climbing hills very well. All those things combined slowed me way down.If my calculations are correct, I have just a little over 500 miles to go to my customer’s front door. In an attempt to get there before they stop receiving, I will get up early and get the wheels turning no later than 4am. With that said, it’s time to shut down for the night.
#286
08-10-2007, 08:48 AM
Be careful up there, devildice. That is a different country up there. :P I used to run all over South Dakota.
How ya like them big ole hills up there? Makes ya appreciate the plains that we have. :P
#288
08-10-2007, 10:17 AM
Yeah, actually, it is pretty in South Dakota. Big, open, rolling hills. From a farmer's point of view, I couldnt imagine farming in South Dakota. I went up there on wheat harvest for 6 years. Big hills. I bet there aint 100 square miles of flat ground up there. :P
South Dakota has a lot of the old west tourist attractions. A lot of Native American artifacts, and stuff, too. Like, Sitting Bull's tombstone in Mobridge, SD. It also has the Badlands, and Mount Rushmore. The last year that I went on harvest was in 2001. My grand dad died that summer. I flew on a crop duster :P from Pierre, SD to Denver, then from Denver to DFW. I went to his funeral, and then flew back up there. While I was back home for grand dad's funeral, the family that I worked for went to the Badlands. They took some time off to go there. I have never been to the Bandlands, but they said it was something else. South Dakota reminds me of the old west. Hard to imagine, being up there, and not south west, but you have to remember Little Big Horn, Wild Bill, and all the other stuff that went on during the days of the wild west. South Dakota does have it's history, and it is interesting. A lot of old towns, and lots of tourist places.
#289
08-11-2007, 07:51 AM
I will definatly have keep a camera handy when i get OTR someday. You here all this storys about how new drivers are sick of the trainers and this and that.But, don't relize the things you get to experince that most people dont and your getting paid for it. If trucking is the same as when I was a youngin(still am young, 22) I say the scenory and experinces are worth the wait.
DD, what kinda puter you using to type on? I always wondered how you get good connections out there?
#290
08-11-2007, 08:02 AM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
08/10/07
I got up at 3am and was on the road by 4am. It should be an easy run with plenty of time to get there before they stop receiving at 1pm. I go inside the truck stop to wash up and fill my thermos with hot coffee. Well I look at the clock on the wall and it says 4:15am and like a bolt of lightening, it hits me. Time change dummy……you never figured in the time change from Mountain Time to Central. Oh great!!!! Now there is absolutely NO time to spare. I get out on the road and put the pedal to the floor. I had no choice but to stop in Albert Lea, MN for fuel and thought for sure it would really screw me up time wise. Well to my surprise the fuel island was empty and I was literally in and out of there in less than 20 minutes. I kept the left door shut the whole time and kept recalculating the time/distance. I kept in touch with my inbound dispatcher so he could at least be looking for possible loads should I get there in time. I was about 35 miles away and knew I was not going to make it. Although this load is not due until Monday, I really wanted to get this load off for 2 reasons…..1) so I could re-load and run this weekend…2) to show my truck manager that I will be a reliable driver. I get to the customer at 1:30pm local time. I run my butt off on a gamble that I could make it and I have now missed it by a lousy 30 minutes. It surely was not for a lack of trying. I start to park the truck and here come a guard waving his hands at me to stop. Oh great, now I can’t even park here??? He comes over and tells me if I hurry up, they will unload me right now. HOOOORAY!!!!!!!!!!! I call my dispatcher to give him a heads up and then roll on into the plant. Since it was Friday, the guys there where chomping at the bit to get me unloaded so they too can call it a day. No sooner do I have my straps off, they were pulling the load off. I definitely earned my pay today as the outside temperature (at least between the buildings I was at) was 104 degrees!!!! By the time I was done putting all my gear away, I was drenched from head to toe. And I mean literally I call back my dispatcher and he tells me to head up to a little truck stop in West Burlington and to call him back in an hour. I call back and unfortunately he has nothing for me. He tells me I can Deadhead up to I-80 truck stop in Walcott, IA and that is where I am this weekend. I did get some layover pay and I could think of a million other places that would be worse to sit. By the way, if you’ve never been to this truck stop before, you must visit it at least once......this place is HUGE!!! But be forewarned; leave your wallet in the truck! So I officially delivered my first load safely and early. |
