Dec 7 - Dec 22

13,392 paid miles in 15 days 6 hours out this time out. Each team driver gets credited with half that, paid at their own pay scale. Hub miles totalled 13,826 not counting the BT home, so we drove 434 miles (3.24%) out-of-route (OOR). We had a PM done in Carlisle at 40,614 miles, so our next one is due @60,614. Miles now are 54,520, so it looks like we will be getting one done over the road next time out.

Originally, we were to pick up our tractor from the PM & pick up a relay at the Carlisle PA OC & take it to El Paso, but the relaying driver ran out of hours just inside the PA state line from NY on I-81, so they took us off that load. Instead, they sent us down I-81 to take a load of Corningware from World Kitchen in Greencastle PA to Target DC #3801 in Midlothian TX.
41+1303: 1344

Dec 9, we ran JC Penney from Haslet TX to Statesville NC. If you follow Schneider's directions to Haslet, they work...as far as they go. You just have to continue straight, cross the railroad tracks, go straight thru the traffic light, and turn into the curvy driveway BEFORE you see the gate. And the Statesville JC Penny empty lot is actually west of I-77 x49B in an old drive-in movie lot.
12+36+1087: 1135

From Statesville, we picked up a relay at the Charlotte OC to Tracy CA, then deadheaded over to Nestle Foods in Modesto to take 43k pounds of Carnation fat-free condensed milk to Breinigsville PA.
27+16+2639+30+2794: 5506

From there, DH to Kraft Foods in Dover DE to take 41k pounds of Jello pudding to Aurora IL (deja vu), but we drop relayed it in Hilliard for a more important, 3,258 pound (very light!) load to West Valley City UT.
115+484+1660: 2259

They had us BT up to Kimberly-Clark in Ogden to take 28k pounds of Huggies to Sulphur Springs TX. This took us down US-287 through southeastern CO and the panhandles of OK & TX, a nice drive on a nice night. Boise City OK is quaint: the junctions of US-56/64/287 all run a circle around the courthouse downtown.
39+1308: 1347 paid (1423 hub)

After a live unload, it was DH to FedEx in Irving TX to help them move the masses of packages to Toledo OH. I could not believe how many packages I saw whizzing overhead on the conveyor belts! I also couldn't believe how they loaded the trailer: boxes stacked loosely back to the 48' mark...on a 53' TRLR, with nothing to hold them there. They pull the trailer from the dock and seal it before the driver can do anything. I can only imagine the mess awaiting the unloaders in Toledo.
90+1098: 1088

Our final load was DH from Toledo to Middletown OH, near Dayton for a live load @0630 on the morning of the 22nd. This worried me because that part of the country was under a winter storm warning, and that storm ended up hammering the region...AFTER we got out of there, thank God! We successfully delivered the load to Proctor & Gamble in Mehoopany PA an hour early later that night.
169+544: 713

Schneider Pay News

We will be getting a pay raise starting Feb 6, 2005. That means, for example, if you are a team driver with 2 years driving experience, you will make 41¢/mi before bonuses. If you make all bonuses, the total is equivalent to 45¢/mi.

You get bonus pay for all paid miles in the quarter:

• 1¢/mi if you keep engine idle time below 15% (5% if your tractor is equipped with the Webasto cab heater). My idle is <2%. I have the Webasto.
• 1¢/mi if you have no more than one "service failure". A service failure is when you fail to make on-time pick-up or delivery for a reason other than safety. Valid reasons for being late are road closure due to weather (I-80 in Wyoming, for instance); an accident in which you are not at fault; etc. Poor planning on your part is not a valid reason. I've nver had a service failure.
• 2¢/mi if the team truck turns at least 60,000 paid miles. Made it every quarter but one.

So, if the truck turns 60k paid miles in the quarter (30k credited to each driver), that would be:
$12,300 base pay ($0.41/mi X 30,000)
+ $300 idle bonus
+ $300 service bonus
+ $600 team mileage bonus
$13,500 total pay for the quarter, a rate of $54k/year. Not bad after 2 years on the job.

Even without the bonuses, it's not bad. Say your truck turned only 58k miles. 58,000 / 2 = 29,000 miles X $0.41 = $11,890 for the quarter, a rate of $47,560/year.

Team Driver Mileage Pay • East Region • Van (effective Feb 6, 2005)
(pay per mile applies to all loaded and empty miles, based on the Household Movers Guide)

YEARS PER MILE
0-1/2  $.38
1/2-1  $.39
  1-2  $.40 
  2-3  $.41
  3-4  $.42
  4-5  $.43 
  5-6  $.44
  6-7  $.45
  7-8  $.46
Over 8 years: $.005 longevity increase every other year, with a maximum at 30 years.

$.02/mile QUARTERLY BONUS | $.02/mile QUARTERLY TEAM BONUS*

*Quarterly Team bonus is paid to each team driver when the team drives at least 60,000 miles (30,000 per driver) in the quarter. The bonus is paid on team miles for the quarter.

• Teams equally divide total miles driven.

 Detention pay starts @3 hours.

Check what your pay would be if you were driving for Schneider:
https://webapps.schneiderlogistics.com/online/driverpaybenefits/search

Interested? Tell 'em I sent you.
http://www.schneider.com/schneiderjobs/drive_experienced.html

And remember, "If you bought it, a truck brought it."

Nov 22 - Dec 3, 2004

We were told to BT to Tunkhannock PA to pick up MT and then take it to the drop yard in North Bergen NJ to await "expedited freight". The assigned MT was not there, so I BT to the local Frightliner mechanic shop that repairs Schneider trailers. They had one outside ready to roll, but it was only a 48 footer. Schneider said go ahead & take it. 30 minutes after arriving at the yard, I still had not received instructions as to where to pick up this "expedited freight". Finally, they send our load: Drop the 48' trailer, pick up a 53'er & take it to Chester PA to pick up...paper towels destined for a Wal Mart DC in Cullman, Alabama!? That's an expedite load? Oh, well.

After dropping in Cullman, they had us BT all the way back up to Knoxville TN to pick up a relay bound for Otay CA. That was nice because that is 10 miles from my father in San Diego. He came down to see me & we had lunch at the Otay Truck Stop. NEVER eat at the Otay Truck Stop! After eating, we watched some guy haul in three slabs of raw beef and two mounds of lettuce out of the back of a SUV on an 80 degree day.

From Otay, they sent us up to Fontana to pick up a relay, but halfway there, changed their minds, sent us to Chino to pick up an MT, where there were none, so we ended up BT to Buena Park. That load took us to Breinigsville PA, a nice long run. But with the ebb comes the flow...

Dover DE to Aurora IL: We took our load of Kraft (Stovetop Instant Stuffing) SR-47 out of DE into PA and US-30 are painfully slow. If you get this run, skip I-294 in IL and take I-80 to exit 112 and run SR-147. It is much less traffic and avoids a lot of tolls.

South Holland IL to Ocoee FL: We took an Overnite load out of IL & IN before the snow got too bad, but those big snowflakes were hypnotizing. Southern IN brought fierce winds.

Alachua FL to Zanesville OH: Dollar General needs to learn how to add. The BOL said we had 43k pounds, but when we scaled out, it turned out to be more like 33k. I thought it was pulling light.

Columbus OH - Wilkes Barre, no, Middletown PA: Went to pick up our load to Wilkes-Barre and there is no such load! We sat there for nearly six hours before they figured it out and sent us to Middletown in the end.

We BT to Carlisle to drop tractor off for a PM. We have 40,200 miles on the truck (42181) now. Lori came down in Zejlko's car to pick me up.

Nov 9-19, 2004

Bobtailed to Carlisle, picked up an MT to take to Montgomery PA. Took a load of rolled steel & aluminum to Pharr TX.

Picked up an MT at Pharr & took it to Laredo, but got a frantic message from Schneider after dropping it at Laredo: "That trailer is still loaded!" Funny. I never considered three empty pallets as a load, so I called them on it. Turns out "the Mexican sub-contractor did not update the events log." OK.

In Laredo, we picked up a load to Columbus OH, then took a load from the same place in Columbus to Santa Fe Springs CA. We were 'sposed to take a loaded trailer from the same place (love those drop-&-hooks), but they needed an empty to do a live load. So, I waited for them to unload the trailer I had just brought in, then went to the dock foreman to say I was here. "Where's your empty!?", he gruffly said.  "Right there", said I, pointing to the trailer they just finished unloading. "That's YOUR empty?!", he asked with an attitude. I replied truthfully: "That is the trailer I brought in." There was no way I was going to bobtail around Los Angeles looking for an empty, like another poor soul had done. I was pulling out with my load just as he was bringing in his empty.

We took that load from Santa Fe Springs to Cincinnati OH. There was supposed to be a second stop in Columbus OH, but that part of the load was cancelled. So, instead of having to drop the final load in Columbus, find an empty, and go to our next load in Hilliard OH, we simply live unloaded in Cincinnati and took our empty to Hilliard. Same paid miles, just easier on us. 

Finally, we took a relay from Hilliard to Kimberly-Clark in Chester PA, then bobtailed "back to the house". 9000 miles in 9.5 days...not bad.

Oct 26 - Nov 06, 2004

My first weeks out were relatively easy. Carlisle PA to Rialto CA, Buena Park CA to Lakeland FL, Palatka FL to Charlotte NC, Charlotte NC to Buena Park CA, Buena Park CA to Breinigsville PA, then home. Almost 11k miles in 11 days.

One problem was the snowstorm that hit between Amarillo and Vega TX. DOT did not shut down the highway, and they should have. I ended up sitting at idle for two hours or so just west of Vega. I followed a local driver down the access roads that parallel just about every Texas interstate. We drove right past most of the backup, but got caught behind some stuck traffic ourselves.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/110204/new_snow.shtml
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/110404/new_517895.shtml

Back on the road

After much deliberation and consultation with Lori and Jessica, I have decided to take to the road once more. Driving is the only job that I ever really came close to enjoying, and they both support me in my decision, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

So, on October 25, I took my rehire road test with Schneider. It seemed I had never left the driver's seat. Everything came naturally and, save for a few minor mistakes, I was given the green light.  While I was in Carlisle, I knocked out Winter Training as well.

2004 Aug 18 - Sep 3

I continue to track Lori while she is over the road.  Here is their route from Aug 18 to Sep 3

Long road here

Legal mumbo jumbo is over, and I am now a custodial parent! Wow. It's hard being a dad.  Sometimes, I wish I could just jump back into the semi & head on down the road, leaving my troubles behind. I put in a wood floor & mirrored closet doors in the bedroom, replaced various plumbing hardware, dug out the clogged gutter drain, along with a bunch of other homebody type stuff I'm not used to.

I still keep my mind "on the road" (my respect to Charles Kuralt) by trip planning for Lori while she is on the road.

June 2-13

Here is the routes we drove.

In Texas when I'm s'posed to be home.

We unloaded in Phoenix and picked up another load bound for... Pennsylvania!? No. Laredo TX :-( We won't be getting home til Monday at this rate.

Out of hours

We are sitting at the Rip Griffin in Moriarty NM because the company made us run so hard, we ran out of legal hours to drive!  We are hooked up high speed thru our Truckstops.net subscription.  We were supposed to be home this Saturday, but anyone in trucking knows how that is: dispatchers are like military recruiters--"If you take this load for us, we'll get you home with good miles!"  Yeah, sure.

Long time, no entry

Sorry, but life got a bit more complicated lately.  I'll add more sometime soon.

Springtime!

It's the first week of Spring, and we have been blessed with good weather, save for some rain.  We started out picking up titanium dioxide, used in making paint, from Ashtabula OH. We took that down to Laredo TX where a Mexican driver will take it to Mexico City.  We took a load of refrigerators out of Laredo destined for a Circuit City store in Alabama, but were taken off that load when I was in Sulpher Springs TX.  They had me drop relay the load in Dallas and sent us up to Haslet TX for a time sensitive JC Penney load that had to be in Sumner WA ASAP. Then, I deadheaded up to Everett WA to pick up a promotional load of Scott paper towels bound for Black Mountain NC. We are going to drop it in Charlotte.  We are now in Indianapolis awaiting a PM on the tractor. We are on our way to Charlotte NC.

We are close to closing on a house in Bloomsburg PA, so that I might be closer to my daughters and possibly even obtain custody of them! :-)  If anyone in that area would like to offer me a job there, by all means, please email me.

Spyware

Had to include a warning about downloading junk programs off the internet.  Read this: http://download.com.com/1200-2023-958495.html

Back on the road

Our load out of Salt Lake area was from the Freeport Center in Clearfield.  We picked up a loaded trailer full of flour: 37,000 pounds of white, and 5,000 pounds of wheat.  It was destined for Garden Fresh Foods in Kennesaw GA, but Lori wasn't feeling well and did not get as far as expected, so we ended up relaying it at the West Memphis OC. 

From there, we picked up a Kimberly-Clark load from Conway AR to Neenah WI, then deadheaded down to Cudahy WI (near where former comrade Lili LLanas lives) to pick up a RoadRunner load going to Selma TX, near San Antonio.

I dropped the trailer at Selma, and we bobtailed down to Laredo to pick up a load of shoes bound for Parker Oasis Food in Hillside NJ.  We relayed that load in Hilliard OH, near Columbus, and deadheaded back to Seville for our TAH (Time At Home). In northern KY, we ran into snow!  We haven't seen snow in awhile.

So, we did eventually make it to Laredo.

un-broke down

Wednesday night, March 10: Smith Detroit Diesel of Salt Lake City got us going again.  They said the oil filter seal had blown.  I told them of our Feb 23 PM we had done at the Gary OC...

I had shown the mechanic at Gary the leak around the filter.  He said it was from "excess idling".  I told him he was full of ... er, I informed him that we ran team, and did not idle very much, but he insisted.  So, I guess when the seal blew out at 65 MPH, it was because we weren't idling fast enough??  The Gary OC mechanic's error cost Schneider over $750 in towing, parts, & labor, all because he wouldn't replace a $20 part.

Also at Gary, they had replaced a driveline seal at the forward differential.  In replacing the drive shaft, they had stripped the U-joint bolt so the towing guy in Salt Lake had a difficult time removing it.  Smith Detroit Diesel said if we had not blown the oil filter seal, that the drive shaft would have eventually vibrated loose and would have torn up itself and the truck.

Lesson learned: no more PMs at Gary.

Still broke down

Well, we are still waiting for our truck to get fixed here at Smith Detroit Diesel here in Salt Lake.
We stayed at Days Inn, where I had to reprogram the TV for cable.
We ordered Papa Johns (mmmm... garlic sauce) and I bought a Diet Coke from the vending machine. The Coke can had a discount coupon associated with it, good for free admission to the PGA tournament... in 2001!
I called the 1-800 number to report an abandonded vending machine :-) They took my info and mailed me a coupon for a free six-pack. That's good, 'cuz my belly was getting out of shape... what's that? Oh. A six-pack of Coca-Cola, eh? OK, I understand now.
The company ended up relaying our load to another team here, so we are no longer going to Laredo.

Breakdown on the ID/UT border

We blew an oil seal or something. Are now in Snowville UT awaiting a wrecker to come up from Salt Lake City to tow us to Detroit Diesel repair place. More later when we get to motel. BTW, posting this via our Verizon Wireless connection card in the Ranch House Diner in Snowville UT.

Oregon

We are sitting in the Tigard OR operating center awaiting our load.
We arrived hereby way of Laredo TX, E. St. Louis IL, and St. Charles MO. We took Rubbermaid items to Laredo from Mogadore OH. In Laredo, we picked up a relay load of engine parts & dropped it off in E. St. Louis. Then, we were "live loaded" in St. Charles and delivered the plastic rolls to Nike in Beaverton, just north of Tigard.
Now, we await a load of parts from Freightliner
We will be taking the Freightliner parts to... Laredo TX!
This morning, we switched driving in Baker City at the Truck Corral.
You can see it here: http://www.sinclairoil.com/baker-truck-corral/
Click here to see the route we will be taking.
The hills & mountains of Idaho and Utah were beautifull under the full moon last night. The moonlight reflected off the snow covered peaks...
You just cannot beat the view out my office window

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Good: We have somehow managed to avoid really bad weather so far this year.

Bad: We were forced to wait 16 hours for a load Thursday afternoon until Friday morning at Central Freight in Irving TX.

Good: While waiting at Central Freight, I was able to surf the web and check email using their service.  I also browsed their computer network, all by simply powering on the wireless 802.11g card in the laptop.  They have an unsecure network which broadcasts its SSID, so poking around their network was no problem. So remember, Central Freight in Irving TX is a "wireless hot spot".

Bad: We had to wait on a PM in Gary IN.

Ugly: Our truck, 2004 Freightliner Century S/T number 39789, needed warranty work done for a leaking driveline seal and a fuel pump that was leaking onto the ECM (Electronic Control Module), extending our wait.

A view out my office window

Interesting names

Who can say they have been to such interesting places such as Batman's secret hideout, the Bat Cave. Here's another view.
Have you ever heard someone utter "Holy Moses!" Well, click here and now you know where Holy Moses Wash is.  Here's a map and picture of where it crosses I-40 southwest of Kingman AZ.
And what trucker wouldn't want to be in the hammer lane? Well, too bad, because it's in California and trucks are allowed neither in the hammer lane nor on Hammer Lane in Stockton.  Here's a photo at I-5, milepost 478.

Perspectives

Lori pointed out to me that I tend to log "just the facts" and do not make entries regarding the good things that happen on the road. In reviewing my entries, I see she is right (as she usually is)... what a boring 'blog I have created! I guess it comes from my years in the military writing performance reports and compilations of statistical data (which is why I retired & went truckin' in the first place). From now on, I will log things that make Truckin' a job that is "worth the trip".

Jan 10, 2004

I took another break at the Pilot in Covington IN, at I-74 Exit 4.&nbsp; I ended my driving at the Indianapolis IN OC at 0315.&nbsp; Lori took over from there, dropping the trailer relay at the yard in Columbus OH, and taking an empty up to Seville.

Jan 9, 2004

I took a break at the Flying J in North Platte NE and ended my driving at the Bosselman in Grand Island.  Again, we had breakfast at Grandma Max's restaurant.

I went to bed at 0545 and slept solid until 1630... we've been on the road longer than normal, and it is taking its toll on me.  I woke up after Lori had parked at the Iowa 80, touted as the "World's Largest Truck Stop".

We ate & showered there, and I watched the end of "Gangs of New York" in the movie room. I drove out at 2030 & stopped for a break in Goodfield IL, at a rest area on I-74.  Illinois has good coffee in their rest area vending machines, and the machines let you use your own mug. Back on the road at 2315, I drove through midnight.

Jan 8, 2004

I left Overnite in Salt Lake City UT and drove empty through the snow and, by now, freezing rain, to Icon Fitness in Clearfield UT.  If you ever get a load assignment to pick up here, be prepared for a long wait.  These idiots don't even stage the load until after the truck arrives. Well, once the truck arrives, if you haven't already staged the load, why bother!?  Why not just drive only one of your little tow motors all over the warehouse and load the trailer one pallet at a time?  Oh yeah, that's right... that is how you do it.  I arrived 2245 local time, and was not loaded until 0415, 5.5 hours later.  However, a half hour of waiting can be attributed to Schneider having provided me no pickup number.  But I provided the pickup number to Icon shipping at 2345... it still tokk them five hours to get me loaded and on my way. I arrived at the Pilot in Ogden for fuel & to weigh the truck at 0645 EST, 0445 local.  Guess what!? Yep, we were overweight on the tandems, even after sliding them all the way back to the 14th hole.  Back to Icon, 14 miles away!

After showing the loadmaster the scale ticket, he was going to take two pallets off, with which I agreed.  Then he said he would reload so that the single stack was over the trailer axles.  What was he thinking?! Just take two pallets off the rearmost stack, making the rearmost stack the single stack, and that will relieve more weight from the tandems than moving the single stack forward, over the axle. It would be a lot quicker, too.  Jeez.  All in all, we spent, nee wasted, more than eight hours dealing with Icon on a load that should have taken maybe one.

I went to bed (finally) and Lori drove us back to the Pilot for a reweigh, and took us eastbound on I-84.

I woke up about two hours outside Laramie WY. Lori took US-30 around Elk Mountain instead of I-80 over Elk Mountain due to high winds. We stopped at the Pilot in Laramie, I-80 Exit 310. We ate at Wendy's. I took a shower while Lori got ready for bed in the truck.  I drove out at 2015, stopping for fuel at the TA in Hillsdale, east of Cheyenne, then drove through midnight.

Jan 7, 2004

I arrived at the Des Moines IA OC, I-80 Exit 136, at 0130 and departed at 0215 after fueling and getting a trailer marker light replaced. I did not stop until the Bosselman Travel Center in Grand Island NE, I-80 Exit 312 north. Along the way, I saw three big rigs off the road from the previous day's snow, only one of which was still upright.

I backed into a spot. Lori woke up, got dressed, and we went inside for breakfast.

I went to bed at 0800 and woke up outside Rawlins WY, where we stopped at the Rip Griffen, I-80 Exit 214.

I drove out at 1715EST... and immediately hit snow. 45 minutes later, I pulled in to the Loves at Exit 173 in Wamsutter. I took another break in Fort Bridger WY and delivered the load to Overnite in Salt Lake City UT at 2315. 

Against better judgement, I decided to save 15 miles by taking I-80 over Parley's Summit instead of the more level I-84 toward Ogden and US-89 south to I-15. Of course, it was snowing over the summit and down the extremely steep and long downgrade into Salt Lake, but I drive safely and made it without incident.

By the time I completed my paperwork and hooked up to our empty trailer, it was midnight and I could not see my own tracks through the freshly fallen snow.

Jan 6, 2004

Tuesday

I arrived at the Gary IN OC at 0230.  Having topped off with fuel and scaling there, I left at 0315.  I wanted to get through Chicago during the wee hours when I could actually drive 55.  I got us to the TA in Russel IL, right on the Wisconsin border. It was -5, five degrees below zero, so of course I idled the truck.

Lori woke up after awhile. She went in to the TA for a shower and to check email and pay bills online.  I went right to sleep at 0500.

Lori delivered the load in Neenah WI.

I woke up while she was on US-41 southbound in Illinois, headed through Chicago... again.  It seems Schneider has to send you through Chicago during peak traffic times at least once every time you are out. We were bobtail, headed for a drop lot east of Bedford Park to pick up an empty.

The trailers were parked four deep!! There was no way we were going to pull out trailers until we founf the one they assigned us: they were buried in snow, and the rest of the lot was a sheet of ice!  We hooked up to an empty one up front, MAC19'd it, and headed for the gate. We would get stuck on the ice twice before leaving the yard.

We arrived at Overnite in South Holland IL at 1630. Lori ordered a pizza to be delivered. After eating, I drove out at 1930. I stopped at the Pilot accross from the Iowa 80 truck stop in Walcott IA @2230.

I drove through the midnight hour.

Jan 5, 2004

Monday

From Fiarview TN, I drove through Nashville in the wee hours of the morning all the way to Knoxville, where I stopped at the Pilot at I-40 Exit 298. Lori took over at 0415, and I went to bed.

While I slept, Lori made the delivery to JC Penney in Statesville NC and picked up a load from Kimberly Clark in Hendersonville NC destined for Neenah WI.

I awoke right where I had gone to sleep earlier: the Pilot in Knoxville. We each got a shower and walked to the KFC nearby for meal.  I now remember why I do not frequent KFC since the Colonel died: although quantity is sufficient, that cannot make up for poor quality. My "potato wedges" were more like fried crust.

I drove out at 1730, stopping for breaks in Richmond KY and Memphis IN. I drove through the midnight hour.

Jan 4, 2004

Sunday

I pulled out of the Rip Griffen in Moriarty NM at 0115.  At 0515, I arrived at the TA at I-40 Exit 81. Lori took over at 0600.

I slept hard and did not wake until 1600 when Lori pulled into the Pilot in Russelville AR. We ate at the Wendy's there.

I was on the road by 1715. At 1815, I had to get a cup of coffee at the Shell at Exit 142, just outside Little Rock. Back on the road at 1830, I made it to West Memphis for fuel by 2030. It was raining. Driving again at 2100, I arrived in Fairview TN at the Flying J at midnight, in the rain the entire way.

Jan 3, 2004

Saturday

I updated this journal after my dad left Fontana for San Diego. He arrived safely home, & called me to let me know.

I drove us over to Buena Park to pick up a load from JC Penney. We were there about 0830EST/0530PST. Lori drove us out of there and I went to the sleeper at 0900. We were bound for Statesville SC.

I awoke in western Arizona around 1500, and took over driving in Flagstaff. I-40 Exit 193 is where there is another Little America. At 2115, I stopped in Gallup NM for fuel & coffee, and returned to eastbound I-40.

Nearly immediately, I started to experience snow & freezing rain. The ugly stuff continued from mile 30 to 60. After that, it was mostly snow.

At midnight, I pulled into the Rip Griffen in Moriarty NM. My eyes sure needed the rest after the hypnotic effect snow can have at speed.

Jan 2, 2004

I still was not feeling 100%, and drove only 80 miles before stopping at the Rip Griffen in Moriarty NM for a break. After freshening my coffee (usually free at the Rip), I drove on all the way to the TA in Gallup NM, where I fueled and parked.

I don't know what the heck they did at the PM, but we are now using much more fuel. We usually get 6-7 MPG. Since West Memphis, we've been getting 5 or so.  This bears further observation.

Lori woke up, and I convinced her to have breakfast with me in the restaurant. I had the 2x2x2 Special, similar to Denny's Grand Slam. We talked about Jessica's situation, and I told her my dad was interested in seeing us in Fontana.

Back in the truck, I went to bed, and Lori drove off into Arizona.  I didn't wake up until just outside Barstow CA. I slept good! I needed it. I grabbed the phone, saying I needed to let my dad know when we'd be in Fontana.  Little did I know he was already on his way there: Lori had called him to arrange our meeting.  It was supposed to be a suprise, but I spoiled it.

Coming south on I-15, we averaged about 20 MPH from south of Victorville to the I15/215 split due to rain & fog. When traffic was coming to a halt near the Base Line Rd exit, I decided to jump off there, and take the local roads the rest of the way. We drove east to Cherry Ave, then south to Valley Blvd, to the Fontana OC. This took us right past California Speedway on Cherry.

My dad & Nancy were there when we arrived. We chatted in the OC for hours. It was raining and foggy outside.

Happy New Year

Lori had fallen asleep long before midnight. I celebrated the new year at the West Memphis AR OC, along with a driver I had met before somewhere.  Neither of us could remember where we had talked earlier, but we remembered each other's face.  Funny, you meet so many people in different places. He had ordered a Dominoes pizza, and offered me a slice. I ended up eating half the pizza, and he even bought me a Coke. His delivery wasn't until the 2nd, and he was just 250 miles away from the consignee.

I took off at 0300. I stopped at I-40 Exit 142 in Arkansas, just as Lori was waking up. We had breakfast at the Waffle House. I went to bed. Lori drove us on into Oklahoma. We stopped in Calumet at the Loves, and continued on down the road. I went back to bed, as I was not feeling 100%.

I awoke to Lori asking me if I had the 2004 permits.  I remember the company sending a broadcast message out in November: "DONT 4GET 2 P/U 2004 PERMITS". I remember asking for them at the OCs in Seville, Carlisle, Gary, Charlotte, and West Memphis: none of them had the 2004 permits as late as mid-December and, frankly, we got tired of asking and just plum forgot about them!  Well, Oklahoma hadn't! I was wondering why the OK scales were open. They are NEVER open.  But here it is, first day of the new year, and the states know they can rake in the $$$ by targetting us drivers who have simply made a slight oversight.  Never mind that our vehicle is registered for 2004, and they know this.  They ticketed Lori for simply not carrying paperwork showing registration. B@$T@RDS  We were the 4th Schneider truck they had nailed that we saw, and we are sure there were many more from what we heard on the CB.  Why in the world had Schneider not sent out a reminder message when the permits were actually available, rather than a month prior??  Lord knows, they message us for all kinds of useless stuff.  Why had not any of the OCs, upon admitting us at the gate, ask, "Have you picked up your 2004 permits?"  Oh, well.  $125 ticket times how many drivers?  Maybe next time, they will have their act together.  Normally, I have the permits updated at least two weeks to a month ahead of time, but Schneider did not make the 2004 permits available until too late.

Lori got us to Amarillo TX. Lori went to bed. I called Jessica. We talked for 30 minutes. I made it to Santa Rosa NM.

Dec 31

I arrived at the Michelin plant in Greenville SC, but not before missing a turn where US-25 went right and I went straight into a residential area.  I realized this as soon as I was half-way across the intersection, and stopped just on the other side.  I got out my Kyocera 6035, opened up the MapQuest web-clipping app, and got a map of the local area to include my destination.  Sure enough, I was supposed to have turned there. DOH!  Thank God I'm a techno-geek.  I carefully checked my surroundings, and as it was 0030, no one was on the road except us trucks and the occasional drunk driver. I carefully maneuvered my truck to a point where I could turn around, and got back on course.

I dropped the MT in their dirt lot (almost got lost in the ruts!) and picked up our load of 1,212 tires destined for the Ontario DC in California.  Again, we were to drop-relay the load, this time in the Fontana CA OC.  I drove us as far as the Pilot at Exit 16 on the Atlanta circle (I-285), where I fueled, and Lori took over driving. She got us all the way to the West Memphis AR OC via I-20 and US-78.  I awoke at 1 pm to a mechanic knocking on the side of the truck wanting to do a PM (Preventive Maintenance). Our truck (39789) was due for one, and Lori had arranged for one with our STL for 2 pm.  I told the mech I was sleeping, and we weren't scheduled until 2. He replied they had a slot open now, and wanted to get on it.  How can I argue with that logic?

As it turns out, they finished the PM in less than two hours, but in typical West-Memphis-OC fashion, nobody told us!  They did not make a courtesy page, such as "tractor 39789 is ready" or anything!  Of course, it was many hours later that we found this out.  Argh!  I was on the computer right there in the same room as the fuel desk the whole time.  Anyway...

Dec 30

I got us from Ridgetop TN down I-65 to I-24, through Nashville, down the big mountain, through Chatanooga, onto I-75 and into the Pilot at Dalton GA. Lori drove around the Atlanta circle, I-285, and into the K-Mart DC in Newnan GA. Then she went to KC in La Grange GA where she picked up a load to KC in Beech Island SC.  This was less than 300 miles, so we should expect to see "short haul premium" in our paychecks.

At Beech Island, I took over and drove the MT we picked up to RoadRunner in Charlotte NC.  We were supposed to take a load from there to Seattle WA, but they changed it to Portland OR. We were not looking forward to that, as the Pacific region was experiencing massive snowfall. Lori went to bed.

I arrived in Charlotte at 2100, dropped the MT, sent in my MAC 19, and went in to see RoadRunner dispatch. He took my truck number and told me to wait with the rest of the bobtails. There were ten other bobtails there, but plenty of Schneider orange trailers in the docks.  While waiting, I received a satellite message: "OFF LOAD: CHARLOTTE TO VERNON"  I went in to dispatch to inquire if they knew what was going on. Seems they did not have enough freight for Portland, so he changed our destination to Vernon (in California), but he did not have enough freight for that run, either, so he cancelled the run altogether.

When I got back to the truck, they had already sent our next load: pick up MT trailer at the OC ten miles down the road (ZERO paid miles), which may or may not be there, and take it to Greenville SC.  Forget that!  I hooked back up to the MT I had just dropped, sent in MAC 19, and motored on to the Michelin plant in Greenville SC.

Dec 29

I got us as far as the Pilot in Oak Creek WI. Lori drove into Green Bay. After dropping at the OC on the west side, she picked up a Proctor & Gamble load of paper products on the east side, but not before going through the seemingly obligatory trailer search.

She hooked up to an empty at the Green Bay OC, and called our STL (boss) to make sure it was assigned to her before she tried to depart the OC.  Our STL told her that trailer number was shown as being in Maryland, and asked her if she was sure the number was correct.  Since she was on the cell phone and standing right in front of the trailer in the Green Bay OC, she assured him that it was, in fact, not in Maryland, and our STL assigned it to us, and she was allowed to depart the OC to pick up the P&G load.  You other Schneider drivers know that this is not an uncommon experience (send in your MAC 19s!)

Lori drove through the afternoon Chicago traffic and got us to the Gary IN OC, where I took over.  We fueled, scaled, and drove a half hour down I-65 to the Pilot in Hebron IN where we enjoyed some McBurgers & fries.  Lori went to bed, and I drove to my next break in Memphis IN @2100 and finished the day at the Ridgetop Truckstop in Ridgetop TN, just north of Nashville.

Dec 28

In the morning, Lori drove us out of Bloomsburg. At New Paris OH, I took over and drove us into the Indianapolis OC.  We dropped our trailer of engine cores for someone else to take to Springfield MO, and we hooked up to an empty to take up to the Pamida DC in Lebanon IN.  The load we were picking up was destined for Ishpeming MI, a run Lori and I had made just about a year ago.  This time, however, we were to take it only as far as Green Bay WI.

At the Pamida DC, I dropped our MT after sliding the tandems to the rear, and hooked up to loaded trailer TA767494. I completed my pre-trip inspection, pulled out about ten feet, set the brakes, walked to the rear pulled the tandem release pin. I got back in the cab and released the tractor brakes, keeping the trailer brakes locked, and backed up, moving the trailer tandems forward.  I set the brakes again, walked back, and engaged the tandem pins.  Back in the cab, I released the brakes again, and noticed a continual hissing from the trailer brake knob.  I had experienced this before, and had an inkling as to what it was. So, I set the tractor brake, but left pressure applied to the trailer.  I walked to the rear again and, sure enough, air was leaking from one of the brake chambers.  I got back in the cab and tried to back up so I would not be in the way of the trailer jockey, but found I could now not even move the trailer. Great. So, I sent a message to the company, and they replied that a mechanic would be there, "ETA 1.5 hours". This was at 7 pm.

At 10 pm, the mechanic arrived with a new brake chamber, and I was on my way at 11:45 pm.

Dec 27

In the morning, I took my daughters Jessica and Jennifer shopping at the Columbia Mall.  There has been a lot of development in the Exit 232 area in the last year.  There is now a Home Depot there, and they are putting in a Super Walmart. Wow!  I remember when there was not even a mall there.

Schneider was nice enough to route me through Bloomsburg so that I could meet with the kids' mom, Tina, "in the afternoon sometime" to discuss problems she and Jessica were having.  That is as specific as Tina would get. So, at 1 pm, I called & got the answering machine. Same at 2 pm... and 3 pm. At 4 pm, I took the kids home... to an empty house.  Tina was still not home.  At 5 pm, before Lori and I had dinner, I called again. Jennifer answered: "Mom's not home yet."  After dinner, at 6 pm, I got to talk to Jennifer again because, "mom's still not home". Jessica wasn't feeling well, and had made some tea, taken a bath, and went to bed. At 7 pm, Jennifer was still enjoying the computer game "Zoo Tycoon" I had bought her, and her mom was still not home. When I called again at 8 pm and Jen told me her mom was still not home, I had pretty much given up any hope that Tina and I would be able to discuss the emotional well being of our daughter.  At least Jessica, Jennifer and I had the opportunity to spend some time together.

Dec 26

Delivered the cereal to a Wal-Mart DC north of Zion Crossroads VA.  Lori had to deal with the consignee, thank goodness.  Lori was more diplomatic than I would have been.  They told her either she could hand unload the trailer or else pay for a "lumper", a paid trailer unloader.  I would have told them to get bent and to wake me up when they had finished unloading their freight from my trailer.  Luckily, I was sleeping when all this happened.  She then drove to Langhorne PA where we picked up a load of engine cores.  I drove us from there to Bloomsburg PA, where I was to meet with my daughter and her mom to work out some family issues.

I arrived at the TA Travel Center in Bloomsburg (I-80 Exit 232) at 8:30pm. I disconnected the trailer, put on the kingpin lock, and bobtailed to have dinner with my daughter, Jessica. We dined at the Perkins and talked for two hours.

Christmas

Christmas: the arbitrarily designated day to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  The appropriate greeting is "Merry Christmas".  Not Happy Holiday, not Merry Xmas or any of that other garbage the politically correct crowd want to shove down your throat.  Christmas is a Christian holiday. Live with it!

We spent Christmas day with Lori's brother, dad and family.

Christmas night: I drove us out of Deerfield OH with our load of Post Cereals destined for Virginia.

Dec 15-24

Picked up plastic articles from Newell/Rubbermaid in Wooster OH. Delivered 'em to Wal-Mart DC in Menomonie WI on the 16th.

Dec 16: Arrived early in Marshfield WI at Figis company. Dined with colleagues at the Country Kitchen there. You should have seen the 4 bobtail Schneider trucks crowding the parking lot :-)  When load was ready, we took the perishables to Memphis TN.

Dec 17: Picked up a relay load of fiber from the West Memphis AR OC. Delivered it to a Wal-Mart DC in Hermiston OR on the 19th.

Dec 19: Took empty trailer from Hermiston OR to Kent WA.  Picked up loaded trailer of Starbucks coffee.  Got caught in freezing rain in Ellensburg WA. Delivered coffee in Bolingbrook IL on the 21st. Took empty trailer to Neenah WI.

Dec 22: Took load of diapers from Kimberly-Clark in Neenah WI to Kimberly-Clark in Graniteville SC.

Dec 23: Took paper towels/tissues from Kimberly-Clark in Beech Island SC to Target DC in Galesburg MI.

Dec 24: Took load of cereal home from Battle Creek MI. Will deliver in Virginia after Christmas.

Dec 1-12, 2003

Our first load out from Seville was apparell & toiletries from The Limited in Reynoldsburg OH to a distributor in Los Angeles CA.

Dec 3: From there, we took the empty trailer to be loaded by Global Links Express in Inglewood CA, where I had to back into the shipper's driveway from the street and do a 90 degree back to the dock. Whew! We took that load of mesh sponge (those bath scrubby things) to The Limited in Reynoldsburg OH, an exact reverse course from where we had just come.

Dec 6: A RoadRunner LTL load from south of Cincinnati OH to two stops: Denver CO on the 7th and Salt Lake City UT on the 8th.

Dec 8: Picked up pads & tablets from AmPad west of Salt Lake & took 'em to a Wal-Mart DC in Brookhaven MS on the 10th.

Dec 10: Picked up toilet paper from the Kimberly Clark mill in Mobile AL. Delivered it to Des Plaines IL on the 11th.

Dec 11: Picked up a relay load of Kolcraft mattresses from the Gary IN OC destined for Pennsylvania, but we only took 'em as far as Seville, where we drop-relayed on the 12th.

Log Lapse

I have been too busy and tired to update the log in November and December, but will try to do so now... retroactively, of course.