Hi gang…

This tour started out with a nice surprise… two extra nights at home!

On Tuesday I attended Spring Training at 10am at the Charlotte OC.  It was mostly a review of safety practices and policies followed by a quick check ride with one of the instructors.

At 1pm I was to meet with another training instructor for a backing remedial, which is the result of the incident I had a little while back.  I walked in to the OC cafeteria about 3 minutes before 1 and sat down to wait to be paged (standard procedure).  A number of instructors went to the fuel desk and paged other drivers, and after waiting about 20 minutes there was a “last call” page for me to come back to the training room.

At this point I am going to censor myself.  I had wirtten several paragraphs describing the remedial, but let me just say that I still have a lot of respect for the training staff in Charlotte in spite of my experience.  With regard to the particular instructor who worked with me, I can only wonder how that buffoon became a member of an otherwise competent team.  But in Schneider’s defense at least I never saw him during my initial training.

After finishing with that I walked in to the office to report to my STL, and was informed that I had been randomly selected for a drug screening.  I was to proceed immediately to the clinic (a few blocks away) to provide the required product, and asked to call in with the related secret code number when finished.  Since I had just visited the men’s room before receiving this assignment I decided to stop by the Coke machine on the way out, hoping that I could adequately resupply in the 15 minutes it would take to drive to the clinic.

But alas a pitiful dribble is all I could muster at the critical moment, and it did not constitute a suficient quantity to satisfy the “milk maid” that administered the test.  Therefore I spent the next two hours sitting in the clinic waiting room making regular visits to the water fountain.

The fourth time the receptionist shouted ”Mr. Jordan, are you ready yet?” across the room I decided that indeed I was ready and finally ended this last ordeal of the day.  On a positive note, this extra little task exhausted all the remaining time I had for the day and therefore allowed me to head straight home.

There was a much nicer surprise awaiting me the next morning when I was offered a chance to step in for an ill driver on the load listed immediately below.  And of course it resulted in yet another night at home.

And by the way, there was yet another great surprist this week.  During a conversation with Adam he congratulated me on meeting all of my first quarter bonus criteria.  So in spite of being told earlier in the year that I wouldn’t receive my bonus it was in Friday’s paycheck.   Woohoo…

• Date(s): 4/18
• From/To: Charlotte, NC to Greenville, NC to Charlotte, NC
• Mileage: 446
• Cargo:  Auto Parts

Another driver was out sick today so I got to take his place on the Ford dedicated account.  His daily run is from Charlotte (relay PU) to Greenville (live unload / reload) and back to Charlotte (drop relay).  He drives almost 500 miles a day and is home every night.  Sweet gig; hope I can luck up on something like that soon.

• Date(s): 4/19 to 4/20
• From/To: Salisbury, NC to Bensalem, PA
• Mileage: 522
• Cargo:  Bulk Rubber Mulch

After 5 nights at home the spell was broken and I was headed back to the northeast.  This was a decent load with no particular surprises, although it was the first time I hauled a bulk product loaded and unloaded (both live) with a front end loader (more like a bobcat actually).  The operator at the delivery was even nice enough to sweep out the trailer after unloading.

• Date(s): 4/20 to 4/21
• From/To: Levittown, PA to Indianapolis, IN
• Mileage: 653
• Cargo:  Paper towel dispensers

This was a live load with a relay drop at the Indy OC.  Good mileage and a pleasant drive on Saturday.

Hey gang… I’m updating from home for a change!  After three and a half weeks on the road I got here for TAH on Friday afternoon.  On Saturday we hosted a wedding shower for our youngest son and his fiance, giving us a chance to visit with friends and family.  On top of that our sons and their ladies spent the weekend with us, which is a treat we particularly enjoy…

• Date(s): 4/10 to 4/11
• From/To: Midway, TN to Indianapolis, IN
• Mileage: 377
• Cargo:  Pallets

Had to wait an hour or so to get three trailers moved that were blocking my load, but otherwise a decent trip up to the Indy OC.

• Date(s): 4/12
• From/To: Indianapolis, IN to Gas City, IN
• Mileage: 84
• Cargo:  Store Merchandise

Picked up this relay and took it just up the road to Gas City for a live unload.  I’m getting used to the fact that a few days before TAH the loads get a little ‘quirky’ as they start routing me home.

• Date(s): Gas City, IN to Statesville, NC
• From/To: 4/12 to 4/13
• Mileage: 573
• Cargo:  Cardboard cartons

The pickup was a live load about three blocks from my last unload, followed by an easy drive to Statesville for a live unload.  Afterwards I drove the 40 miles to the Charlotte OC to drop the empty and start a much anticipated three days at home.

Hello from a rainy Indianapolis OC.  It’s Wednesday afternoon and I’m sitting on a relay load with a 6:30 live unload appointment for tomorrow morning.  Since there’s a little free time and Internet access together I thought I’d get an update posted.  Hope you’re all doing well… 

• Date(s): 3/31 to 4/2
• From/To: McCook, IL to Mechanicsville, VA
• Mileage: 813
• Cargo:  Dessert Preparation

This is a relay load I picked up at our drop yard in McCook, which is a community in the middle of the Chicago metropolitan area.  And for once I was happy to pick up a relay, ’cause the shipper was also in the city and probably wasn’t as easy to get to.  The driver who picked up the load didn’t have a change to get it weighed so I stopped by a TA in Gary, IN to do so.  It took a little tandem sliding but I was able to get the load legal.

There was good mileage on this load but it also had a live unload scheduled for 11 pm on Monday, and I could arrive on Sunday evening.  I called Adam to see if he could do anything to help me avoid the delay, and he tried but there was nothing he could do.

It’s the first of April and the beginning of a new quarter, which for a few brief hours gave me another chance to earn a quarterly bonus.  But apparently somewhere in my subconscience is a burning desire to keep that from happening, because when I arrived at the food warehouse to make my delivery I immediately backed my trailer into another drivers truck.  I felt I was being careful, even got out to look a couple of times, but to no avail.  The damage was no more than a scrape on a piece of fibreglass, and the driver was quite understanding, but as they say the damage was done.

The food warehouse finished unloading me by ~3am, and even though I had more hours left on my clock I decided to stop for a little rest.  My log didn’t reflect it, but it had been a tough day.

I had to have the mandantory talk with my STL the next morning, and of course she quickly reasoned out exactly what caused my ‘incident’ and how it could have been prevented.  I just went along with her quietly.  After all the bottom line is I was driving the truck and it was my responsibility, regardless of any other circumstances.  Trying to explain to someone who has never “been there” was pointless.

• Date(s): 4/2 to 4/3
• From/To: Williamsburg, VA to Raymond, NH
• Mileage: 665
• Cargo:  Store Merchandise

This was a drop-and-hook load from one Wal-Mart DC to another, and with decent mileage to boot.  It was a good load and I was ready for one.

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought spring officially started a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve even seen trees starting to bud and grass turning green in VA, but it seems the New England area is running a little behind this year.  On Monday I drove as far as Perryville, MD before stopping for the night, and when I hopped out of the truck it was COLD.  Then on Tuesday I was driving through a cold rain and then snow by the time I made my delivery that afternoon.  Jeeze, I’ve seen enough of this stuff!

• Date(s): 4/4 to 4/7
• From/To: Rumford, ME to Danville, KY
• Mileage: 1213
• Cargo:  Rolls of Paper

I was awakened several times during the night by the noise of an engine passing back and forth past my rig, accompanied by a strange scraping sound.  I guess I never woke up enough to recognize what it was, but by morning’s light I could see where someone had scraped the fresh 6″ of snow from the parking lot during the night.

It was still snowing lightly as I started up I-95 toward ME, and the farther I went the harder it snowed.  The Interstate was in fair condition with only occassional covered stretches, but what worried me was that the last 40 or so miles to the shipper was on a state highway.  And sure enough when I got that far there were parts of it that hadn’t seen a snow plow.  The only thing to do was slow down and stay very alert for the slightest indication that the truck was beginning to lose traction.  A couple of other drivers came up behind me, but I must have been making reasonable progress ’cause they kept their distance and didn’t seem impatient.

Some guys chatting on the CB said the area got 15″ of snow the night before, and I have no doubt that it’s true.  However the shipper had done a good job of clearing paths to their trailer lot so I was able to drop my empty and pick up the load with no problem.

As I started back down the road toward I-95 about an hour later I was startled at the progress that had been made in clearing the roads.  Not only was it completely cleared of snow, but in a few spots it was already dry!  Granted the temperature was hovering around freezing and the sun was peeking out from time to time, but the change in such a short time was amazing none the less.

Snow showers, sometimes quite heavy, continued throughout the rest of the day but the roads remained clear and I made it as far as Newburgh, NY by day’s end.  And that same weather stayed with me until I delivered on Saturday morning in Danville, where it had become a beautifully sunny but chilly day.

• Date(s): 4/7 to 4/8
• From/To: Kimper, KY to Carlisle, PA
• Mileage: 637
• Cargo:  Prepared Food

This trip started with a drive across the Kentucky back country.  The roads were pretty good, but it was some of the most rugged terrain I had traveled through.  The steepness of some of the grades made me glad I was pulling an empty trailer.  The shipper was out in the middle of nowhere, and by the time I got there it was late and I was once again out of hours for the day.  Fortunately they allowed overnight parking, so I spent the night there and picked up my load the next morning.

Then it was back north, and believe it or not back through more heavy snow squalls along the route.  I made it to the Harrisburg, PA OC where I was to drop the load for relay.

• Date(s): 4/9
• From/To: Carlisle, PA to Mount Carmel, PA
• Mileage: 84
• Cargo:  Rolls of Paper

This was another relay pickup at the OC that had a live unload just up the road.

• Date(s): 4/9 to 4/10
• From/To: Lebanon, PA to Midway, TN
• Mileage: 549
• Cargo:  Paint

Live load in Lebanon, then an uneventful ride down to another Wal-Mart DC in Midway.

I like driving a truck… I wish I did it for a living!  Sorry to start a post on a negative thought, but lately it seems I spend more time sitting than driving.  I’m currently parked at a truck stop on I-64 near Lexington, VA.  This is where I spent the night, and I’ll have to sit here until ~8pm before I drive to Mechanicsville for an 11pm live unload appointment.

 In fact out of my last 9 loads, 8 have had a live load or unload.  On top of that almost every load has had an appointment on one end or the other (or both) that forced me to sit when I should be driving, often for half a day or more.   It may just be a string of bad luck, and I certainly hope it is, but it doesn’t come anywhere near the “90% drop and hook” that the recruiter and class instructors bragged about.

For those not familiar with the business, the frustrating part of sitting is that you’re not being paid.  Our salary is based on cents-per-mile, so as the tired old saying goes “If the wheels ain’t turnin’, you ain’t earnin’”.  We do receive a small amount of compensation if we’re delayed at a shipper, but that doesn’t apply to the unneeded time between appointments.  As a result my last few paychecks have been miserably small.

• Date(s): 3/28 to 3/29
• From/To: Baltimore, MD to Norwich, CT
• Mileage: 315
• Cargo:  Copper Cathodes

This was another live load with a live unload at the other end and included an extra bonus; a scenic drive through the middle of New York City.  I survived that, and otherwise it was an uneventful trip.

• Date(s): 3/29 to 3/31
• From/To: Bridgeport, CT to Joliet, IL
• Mileage: 922
• Cargo:  OTC Drugs

I don’t particularly like running the northeast and midwest areas, especially around big cities.  Joliet is south of Chicago but close enough for their traffic to suffer.  Courtesy is nonexistant, even among many truckers.  But at least I was able to head west from CT and avoid another trip through NYC.

The shipper’s dock was in a very small and busy alley behind a building shared by a number of businesses.  When I arrived there were three other trucks waiting to be loaded, so I checked in with the shipper and waited.  All of the other trucks were day cabs pulling short trailers (what you’d normally see making local deliveries in the city), and they had to maneuver a bit to get to the dock.  Getting my OTR truck and 53′ trailer in there was a bit of a trick, but I was able to work it in after a few restarts.

When my turn came the shipper had to act as traffic control to get me in because the two trucks that had arrived after me kept trying to jump in while I was trying to get backed up to the dock.  One driver seemed ready to fight, but while he and the shipper were ‘discussing’ the issue I managed to back around him and get set up for loading.

At least I had the best smelling rig there; that Oregano from a couple of loads back was hanging tough.  I would finally be able to drop this trailer in Joliet.

There was a little spare time built into the schedule on this one (as in most lately) and I took advantage of it by stopping at our Seville OC (near Akron, OH) to take care of a little maintenance.  The trailer needed a tire, and my tractor had an air leak that needed attention.  Both were taken care of in a timely manner and I was once again on my way.