01/19-21/08
Well I got good news and bad news in regards to my truck. The bad news is that it had a cracked exhaust manifold and a failing turbo. The good news is that they had all the parts to fix it and it would take them about 3 hrs. So 3hrs and $2,100.00 later I was on the road :sad: . I immediately noticed a major difference and now the truck is running like a champ!
I left out of Albuquerque around 1pm Sunday and put the pedal to the floor. By the time I got to Kingman, AR I decided to go ahead and shut her down and make the final run in on Monday.
I was up and rolling by 3am Monday morning and kept the pedal to the floor up to the California state line. There I slowed her down to about 65 (speed limit is 55 for big trucks). I have never delivered late and did not want to start now. Long story short, I made it to the customer 1 hour after my scheduled appointment time. Even though I communicated with the customer and Davis and they said no problem, I still must chalk it up as my first late delivery.
Once I was unloaded, I called in my empty status and was transferred over to the CA dispatcher. She must have been at lunch because her phone just rang and rang. I went ahead and bounced over to the TA in Ontario as I am sure I will be here for a day or 2.
Boy what a cluster that place was. Because it was MLK’s Birthday (federal holiday) there were a ton of empty trucks. When I arrived, the sign said the lot was full, but I noticed that there were a couple of spots in IdleAir that were open. As soon as I hooked up (didn’t turn on the service yet) I called the dispatcher and she had a load for me right there and then. And the best part was that it was just 12 miles down the road from me.
I called the customer and they said I could either come right now and load or wait until tomorrow morning. Easy decision so I bounced over there. This load is only about a foot high on my deck and weighs in at a whopping 29k and is headed to Wala Wala, WA. The bad part is that is only going to pay about $1.60 after it’s all said and done. But at least it got me the hell out of L.A.
Once I got rolling I made best speed north (about the best you can do in L.A. traffic) and decided to shut down in Wheeler Ridge, CA for a hot shower and a good nights rest.
