Once unloaded in Paducah they deadheaded me 178 miles to St. Louis, MO to pick up a load of Budweiser going to Ft. Wayne, IN to deliver the next day, Thursday. They had the load ready to pick up by the time I got to St. Louis so I was able to drop and hook and be gone in 30 minutes. This was good because it was already 4pm and Budweiser sits on the Mississippi River near downtown. I was able to get out of there and back across the river before traffic got to bad. Got over to Brazil, IN by the time my hours ran out which got me within 3 1/2 hour drive of Ft. Wayne.
I delivered to Ft. Wayne and got a load from over near Gary, IN on the other side of Indiana going to Rock Island, IL. It was a load of doors from Masonite. I delivered this Friday morning at 8am. It came off real quick too. My next load was only 3 miles away from where I delivered. I picked it up and it is a HazMat (Hazardous Materials) load going to Laredo, TX. It delivers on Monday morning early. I don't get HazMat loads very often, maybe one per year. My company doesn't pull a lot of them.
The law now is that every driver has to have a FBI background check before they renew their CDL (Commercial Drivers License) if it has a HazMat endorsement. You have to have this endorsement on your CDL in order to pull a HazMat load. Each time you renew your CDL you have to take and pass a HazMat test to requalify. The FBI checks is a new law since 9/11. I had mine done this past time home and just got notification that I was cleared yesterday. They say it can take up to 60 days or more, but I had my notification back within 3 weeks.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Southern Loads
After delivering in Houston I got a load of Clorox product out of downtown Houston going to a WalMart in Pauls Valley, OK. I dropped that the next morning and they gave me a load out of Nestle Purina in Edmond, OK to pick up Saturday morning going to a Winn Dixie warehouse in Hammond, LA. This ran over the weekend and just stayed in Shreveport Saturday night thru Monday morning. The delivery appointment wasn't until 2pm on Monday. A nice cold front passed through Monday with lots of rain. I kept running through it and then out in front of it and when I would stop it would catch up to me again.
After dropping the load in Hammond they gave me a load out of Arabi, LA, which is a suburb of New Orleans, to pick up Tuesday morning. I left a little early to get there since I had to drive all the way across New Orleans to get to this place. Was pretty smooth sailing really. Since Katrina hit, the rush hour traffic is not near what it used to be. You see signs of the devestation still with lots of vacant buildings still setting around. They have most of the garbage cleaned up though.
The load was supposed to load at 7:45am, but when I got there at 7am they said the pick up number I had was no good. I had to leave the premises because they are so tight there is no room for extra trucks. It took 1 1/2 hours for them to decide I did have the right number and someone had screwed up by not getting it to the security guard at the gate. The load is going to Paducah, KY and delivers Wednesday around noon.
The docks were very tight at the shipper, this is Domino Sugar which has been there forever. I had to back into the dock with a truck already in the dock on either side of me. When I got in there my mirrors had cleared the other trucks mirrors about 1/2" on the right side and just barely touched the one on the driver's side. Since the trucks and trailers were all the same length, I found I could not open my door on either side. It would open about 3" and hit the mirror on the other truck. I had to get the driver on the left side to open his passenger door so his mirror would swing forward and I could swing mine in behind his mirror. It gave me just enough room to squeeze out the door. The problem I had was the Swift driver was Mexican and could not understand English very well. He did not know what I was asking him to do. Was starting to get frustrating getting out of there until another Swift driver explained it to him. I was about ready to give him an English lesson.
After dropping the load in Hammond they gave me a load out of Arabi, LA, which is a suburb of New Orleans, to pick up Tuesday morning. I left a little early to get there since I had to drive all the way across New Orleans to get to this place. Was pretty smooth sailing really. Since Katrina hit, the rush hour traffic is not near what it used to be. You see signs of the devestation still with lots of vacant buildings still setting around. They have most of the garbage cleaned up though.
The load was supposed to load at 7:45am, but when I got there at 7am they said the pick up number I had was no good. I had to leave the premises because they are so tight there is no room for extra trucks. It took 1 1/2 hours for them to decide I did have the right number and someone had screwed up by not getting it to the security guard at the gate. The load is going to Paducah, KY and delivers Wednesday around noon.
The docks were very tight at the shipper, this is Domino Sugar which has been there forever. I had to back into the dock with a truck already in the dock on either side of me. When I got in there my mirrors had cleared the other trucks mirrors about 1/2" on the right side and just barely touched the one on the driver's side. Since the trucks and trailers were all the same length, I found I could not open my door on either side. It would open about 3" and hit the mirror on the other truck. I had to get the driver on the left side to open his passenger door so his mirror would swing forward and I could swing mine in behind his mirror. It gave me just enough room to squeeze out the door. The problem I had was the Swift driver was Mexican and could not understand English very well. He did not know what I was asking him to do. Was starting to get frustrating getting out of there until another Swift driver explained it to him. I was about ready to give him an English lesson.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Texas
I delivered the one drop in Huntsville, AL at 8am Monday morning and they had it off in about 30 minutes. I next had to drive to Nashville for my 12pm appointment at the second drop. I got there at 11:15am and only had 3 air conditioners to come off there. The last drop was only a half mile away, so I was finished by 1pm.
I sent maintenance a message that my opt idle system was not working right. That is the control that turns the truck on to cool and heat the cab, and also to recharge the batteries if they get low. If it stops working the truck won't idle more than 2 minutes before it shuts down. That can be a real problem if it gets really cold or uncomfortably warm when trying to sleep. Hard to sleep if getting up every 2 minutes to turn the truck back on.
They gave me a load from Wilson Sporting Goods there in Nashville going to the south side of Atlanta. I dropped that early Tuesday morning in a driving rain which was the leading edge of Tropical Storm Ida. Then I drove carefully back the other side of Atlanta to Marietta to our terminal there. I got there at 7:45am and it was 8pm that night before they finally got me in the shop. Took them 10 minutes to pull a sensor out and replace it. Works fine now.
Picked up a load of insulation Wednesday going back to Houston which I deliver in the morning. Now that I sit in Houston and they have a no idling law. It is over 80 degrees in the sleeper and close to 7pm at night it is going to be miserable sleeping.
I sent maintenance a message that my opt idle system was not working right. That is the control that turns the truck on to cool and heat the cab, and also to recharge the batteries if they get low. If it stops working the truck won't idle more than 2 minutes before it shuts down. That can be a real problem if it gets really cold or uncomfortably warm when trying to sleep. Hard to sleep if getting up every 2 minutes to turn the truck back on.
They gave me a load from Wilson Sporting Goods there in Nashville going to the south side of Atlanta. I dropped that early Tuesday morning in a driving rain which was the leading edge of Tropical Storm Ida. Then I drove carefully back the other side of Atlanta to Marietta to our terminal there. I got there at 7:45am and it was 8pm that night before they finally got me in the shop. Took them 10 minutes to pull a sensor out and replace it. Works fine now.
Picked up a load of insulation Wednesday going back to Houston which I deliver in the morning. Now that I sit in Houston and they have a no idling law. It is over 80 degrees in the sleeper and close to 7pm at night it is going to be miserable sleeping.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
I did get a load home from Kansas City. Was to load at 8pm Friday night, they didn't have the load ready until Saturday morning at 6am. The load went to the WalMart DC in Palestine which is 55 miles from the house. I dropped it Sunday morning and headed to the house.
Monday morning I had to spend all day cutting down a dead pine in the back yard. Well wasn't that dead, but it was right next to the storage building in the back yard and if it did get weak and a wind brought it down then it would take out the storage building or at least the fence on two sides of it.
I went out and stood out couple of hundred feet and measured the height of the tree with a stick then laid the stick horizontal to the ground to see how far out the tree would reach. Came within about 10' of the fence near the house. I only had a range of 10' to left or right that I could bring it down without tearing up something.
I drug out the chain saw and filled it up. I walked up to the tree from the direction I wanted it to fall and run my hands down both sides to mark where I wanted to put the "V". Started the "V" and cut it into the tree less than half way through and about 18" up from ground. Once I had it cut I took a sledge hammer and knocked out the wedge of wood. Then I got behind the tree and made a cut downward at a slight angle into the back of the "V". Then the tree dropped right smack down right where I wanted it. Imagine that. It was 72' tall and the top went out right where I thought it would. The limbs even missed the sprinkler head in the yard. Pictures of the tree are below.
Also some pictures of some leaves changing in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee during October.
I just left home Friday with a load out of Houston going to Huntsville, AL with one drop and 2 drops in Nashville, TN for Monday.
Monday morning I had to spend all day cutting down a dead pine in the back yard. Well wasn't that dead, but it was right next to the storage building in the back yard and if it did get weak and a wind brought it down then it would take out the storage building or at least the fence on two sides of it.
I went out and stood out couple of hundred feet and measured the height of the tree with a stick then laid the stick horizontal to the ground to see how far out the tree would reach. Came within about 10' of the fence near the house. I only had a range of 10' to left or right that I could bring it down without tearing up something.
I drug out the chain saw and filled it up. I walked up to the tree from the direction I wanted it to fall and run my hands down both sides to mark where I wanted to put the "V". Started the "V" and cut it into the tree less than half way through and about 18" up from ground. Once I had it cut I took a sledge hammer and knocked out the wedge of wood. Then I got behind the tree and made a cut downward at a slight angle into the back of the "V". Then the tree dropped right smack down right where I wanted it. Imagine that. It was 72' tall and the top went out right where I thought it would. The limbs even missed the sprinkler head in the yard. Pictures of the tree are below.
Also some pictures of some leaves changing in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee during October.
I just left home Friday with a load out of Houston going to Huntsville, AL with one drop and 2 drops in Nashville, TN for Monday.
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