This Week

Been busy. After Metairie, LA I picked up a load of imported coffee going to Cincinnati, OH. From Cincinnati picked up a load of plastic bottles going to Harrisonville, MO just south of Kansas City, MO.

Then got stuck, they had loads that would get me home for home time, but I didn't have the hours to get them delivered by the appointment time. Ended up getting a load (after being offered 3 different loads I couldn't deliver) that picked up after midnight Friday night going to Houston. Doesn't deliver until Monday so a lot of time wasted. Wouldn't have been so picky but have a CAT Scan on my ear that follows one I had last year for a comparison. Had to get in by Monday in order to drive back to Houston to get it done on Tuesday morning. Ended up losing money this week by not moving much over 4 days.

Ever now and then I get low on fuel on these trips. Everything is done by computer when you get your load assignment. When you report in that you are empty you also let them know how much fuel you have. Their Fuel Solution computer system assigns you fuel stops along the way on your next load. The computer is a little ignorant when it comes to head winds, or heavy loads and mountains though. Sometimes I have to call my home terminal and request an extra fuel stop. It is imperative that you stay on top of your fuel mileage and know how much you are burning. I have become pretty accurate with it over the years.

I have a digital reading on the dash that gives your miles per gallon read out, which is an estimate that is rarely right on the money but at least within 5 gallons or so usually. The fuel gauge is all but useless. It does OK until it hits a 1/4 of a tank. Then the orange warning light comes on and the gauge drops like a rock down to the "E" within a hundred miles. This gets a little disconcerting to say the least. The digital readout saying you have used approximately 140 gallons and the gauge says much more. I have two 100 gallon tanks on the truck. You can only get 95 gallons maximum in each tank, then as a rule you can only pick up all but about 10 gallons out of each tank. So that is 170 gallons of usable fuel. I have run down to 160 gallons once. Didn't like the feeling much since the gauge had been sitting on "E" for almost 200 miles. Normally I never let myself use more than 150 gallons without getting fuel somewhere. I think I did that one just to check and see if I could have a heart attack. Didn't work.