Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Jan 10, 2004
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.
Saturday, January 3, 2004
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...
Friday, January 2, 2004
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.