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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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Trip 86 - Used International - Cement
Truck ... to Guymon OK Wow ... it's been five months since my last road trip ... a lot has changed since then. For now my road trips will be on weekends and maybe one every month or two. 9/22/05 Hadn't planned on taking a trip this weekend, until Thursday when I called in and said I could be available on Friday ... once they asked if I could be gone the weekend I offered to do a run to Galveston ... right into the hurricane. But instead of Galveston it was Guymon ... Oklahoma. My first question was "How do I get out of there (Guymon)?" ... so I did know what I was getting my self into ... Lucky I was finishing up what I had been doing ... I spent the next two hours trying to find out how I was going to get home ... I had broken my first rule on my first trip back, 'don't take a trip until you know how much you are going to make.' The good news was the customer was willing to give me a ride, but that did not effect the cost of the rest of the way home ... This run would pay $450, fuel paid ... sounded great for a day and half's work ... but that was before I started checking on finding a way home. This is what I found ... $150 - Greyhound $300 - Rental Car - TX $850 - Rental Car - KS $320 - American Airlines / Travelocity Greyhound was out ... My only shot at Greyhound was the 11:30 PM bus out of a depot 40 miles away. I would not arrive home until 6:30 Monday, not an option ... As of now, Mondays are not an option. The fact that it would be a 32 hour trip had NOTHING to do with it ;) KS Rental car ... again 40 miles away, but with the drop charge made it not really an option. TX Rental car ... 100 miles away ... in the wrong direction ... and at 1,000+ miles it's a full days drive. But with gas at $2.50+ a gallon it has pushed the cost of the rental to over $300. Flying - at only $20 more than driving it sounds like my best option, but add two nights motel to that and I'm down to $150 for three days work ... I keep trying ... I try to find flights via Las Vegas, Phoenix ... LA ... finally I find a $80 flight out of Dallas. By taking American Airlines from Amarillo to Dallas ... and doing a 6 hour layover ... I've got the cost down to $200. I will make $210 on this run / $70 a day. 9/23/05 8 AM - I meet one of the regular's at the office for a ride to my truck. Sounds like the drivers are being kept as busy as they want to ... It's a longer ride than it had to be to my truck, the car doesn't have a cruise and he doesn't hold it at the speed limit. Look who's talking ... Mr.55 or less. We get to my truck ... it's ready ... I'm not, I've had two hours to get my paperwork done and I haven't. Truck is a 1995 International with a stick, starts, everything seems to work ... until I try to write down the milage ... odometer isn't working. I call dispatch, they say to check with the shipper ... Opps, turns out that the odometer is backlit, and when the headlights are on the dash lights dim ... shut the lights off and I can see the odometer ... had to call dispatch back ... Opps ... took me a couple of times up and down the gears to realize that the shift layout on this truck was not the usual pattern. Also was a couple of miles down the road before I decided I'd better CHECK the fuel tank ... gauge says full, but ... Rolling ... I-90 ... I-35 ... no scales in MN (the way I went), no open scales in IA ... or MO. Truck was full of fuel at pickup so I didn't pay much attention to fuel to start with ... gauge was not dropping very fast, it looked like I should make it to MO ... the home of cheaper fuel. So far fuel had been $2.63 in Des Moines at Flyin J $2.62 at the Conoco on the MO border ... But OUCH $2.74 in Bethany at the Conoco, but I can't go any further ... opps ... and fuel doesn't get any cheaper in KC ... Farming updated ... combining beans in MN, combining corn by southern IA ... ... and by the time I get to KC, it is rush hour ... but KS rush hour is usually a breeze, and is again today ... slow and go ... right through down town. Biggest problem is the down shifting, it's like the cruise is stuck on, the gears won't release ... have had to use the clutch a few times to down shift. Just south of KC I hit my first (and only) open scale ... Uneventful ... first time I've run with my placard in the back window instead of in the dash. Dispatch is been on a big push for the drivers to run 'legal' ... placards are either to be on both sides or in the rear window. About an hour later ... ( ( ( B A N G ) ) ) ... first thought is I've lost a tire ... I can see it laying in the center of the road. I backed up to the tire ... but it's only half of my re-tread. I've never blown a tire before ... I pickup the trash, throw it in my truck, call dispatch and move on ... Bump, bump, bump ... one rough ride. With only have the tread gone it was one very rough ride. I was fairly sure that there was a repair shop at the TA down the road, although I've never stopped there. Also there would be another couple of stations before I wanted to shut down for the night within an hour ... ( ( ( B A N G ) ) ) ... At first, I thought that I had lost another tire, but I had just blow a big hole in the same tire ... now with no air in the tire the ride was not as rough ... Good news ... there is a repair shop at the TA and the wait was only a half hour ... I should have gone to eat ... I'm in and out within the hour. The cost to the customer will be $291.99 ... this truck is going collect, so I'm to get the money when I drop the truck. Had I not blown a tire I would have been shut down before dark ... not supposed to be running the mixers after dark, can't see if the drums are turning. Emporia, KS ... 500 miles ... Motel 6, they should know us well. The University Inn is still closed, so no $29 motel. The Motel 6 is $31 after my CDL discount ... empty place, it's after 9 PM and there is only a half dozen cars in the lot and no trucks. But some good news ... there is now a restaurant open on the same side of the freeway as the motel. Good food ... recommended by the motel clerk. I'll be there again. Do to Hurricane Rita, I spend more time than usual watching TV. 9/24/05 Ten hours after shutting down, I'm rolling ... I fuel at the Flying J, just to top the tank off ... routine, from here I should be able to make it almost the drop. I'm not paying the fuel, but I still don't want to leave an extra in the tank. I paid $2.73 at the 'J, and a few miles down the road ... in the middle of nowhere (Kansas) ... fuel is $2.59. Not too late in the season for road construction, still two spots on US 50 in KS ... I got through the first one when they were still setting up the cones (as it was still getting light). At the second spot I had to wait for a pilot car ... nothing major. Love's, Hooker OK ... I've made it 300 miles on the second tankful ... I should be able to make it the last 20 miles, and still leave it with over an 1/8 of a tank of fuel. I try making calls but my cell keeps jumping between towers and disconnecting me. There is no room at the this place to wait, either before or after you fill ... I have to wait before I fuel, and back out after I fuel. I've been confused about this map since I first looked at it ... now that I'm close, I look at it again, and turn it a different way ... Ahhhh, now it makes sense. I find the drop ... no one there. But behind the fence, the doors to the buildings are open ... Then a cement truck went went past ... I expect that they'll use the radio to alert the boss ... and they must have, someone showed up. Another one of my rules I've broken ... Always call ahead myself ... I should have on Friday once I was rolling. What was I thinking, doing a Saturday delivery without calling ahead? The guy that stopped by said I'd have to wait ... and suggest I go back a mile to the truck stop and grab a bite to eat. He does do a quick check of the truck ... asks about the air conditioner ... "What air conditioner?" ... Yep, there was one ... He doesn't know when my ride, and the one who will sign will be back ... dispatch had said I'd be there about 6 PM, I'm five hours early. Another good meal ... the waitress suggested the Philly, I'll stop by again ... but next time the food will most likely to be to go ... as this has never worked out to be a stopping spot, not the right amount of miles from anywhere. Back at the drop the guy is back about the time I'm done cleaning out my truck ... and a short time later my ride arrives. She ... has been coaching her son's soccer game ... and I was supposed to be watching one back home today ... Maybe the ride will go faster if we have something in common to talk about ... ... And I remember to ask for a check before we get back in the car. Oh ... she opened up the back of her SUV for me to put my things ... guess the last two drivers where packed for a week or two on the road , but me ... one back pack. Turned out we did find a lot talk about and the next two hours flew by, hopefully for both of us. I did not know until we were on the road if we were heading 40 miles to the bus depot, or the 100 miles to the airport. She didn't ask, and I didn't offer to take the bus ... We headed to the airport. On this trip it wouldn't have made a huge time difference in time for me ... my flight tomorrow is at 9 AM. Didn't dare buy a ticket for for today and didn't dare wait until I got to the gate. Money wise it does make a difference ... The Greyhound would have cost me $20, and then the cab to the motel would have been another $30 ... and this free ride cost me nothing. I had spent time before I left home look for cheep motels on http://www.roomsaver.com/ and printed out a couple of coupons ... one for the Travelodge, the other for the Ritz. As we came into town we did not see either, my ride finally suggested the La Kiva, as she had stayed there before ... The sign out front said $39 so I agreed. We said good-bye, she turned down any cash, and was gone ... another two hours back home. "$45" ... 'What about the $39 rooms on your sign' "Oh, those are in the back wing" (I didn't care, I would stay in the basement if the room was $29) After checking in, I decide to re-check my flight time ... ))) 'what?' ((( ... the coupon I had was for this motel ... I just missed out on $8. Did spend quite a bit of time the rest of the night kicking myself for leaving $8 on the table. Another rule broken, always re-check any data. This is not the first time this has happened, where I've had coupons on my person and not used them ... I had reminded myself many times on this trip 'remember to take public transportation in Amarillo' ... 'remember to take public transportation in Amarillo' (which would have saved me $30 if I had taken the Greyhound). But I forget to tell myself to use coupons ... After my big Philly at noon, I'm still not hungry ... Next door is a Cracker Barrel ... I walk on ... past the 'Men's club' ... and a $26 motel ... and stopped at the convince store for a juice and walked back ... exciting evening ... wow. 9/25/05 2 AM ... I wake up ... and check my pockets to make sure that I have left the keys to my truck in Guymon and not in my pocket. I used to have a routine down to double check myself ... no keys, back to sleep. My alarm goes off at 5:45 ... free breakfast at 6 ... full plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, tater-tots and toast. Food was good, juice was a little weak ... Next for my free ride ... not sure if this is their usual shuttle or not, this was someone's personal van ... but it was free. Saw something I'd never seen at the airport before... we had to stop at security before entering the airport ... the guy said it started right after 9/11. No wait for my ticket, to problem with security. I was surprised that an airport this small had this many flights ... about 20 a day, most all of them going to Dallas. So I would have had plenty of choices, if price wasn't an option. 45 passenger plane to Dallas, one person on my side, two on the other ... will have to remember that for another time. The Aisle seat on the wide side is the only place my backpack will fit. I'm not really tired but, what else do I have to do ... I dose ... they do serve a drink before we land ... Am clue-less when we leave Amarillo, but I recognize where we are coming in to Dallas ... we circle past the airport and before we land, over an amusement park (Six Flags?) and a ball park. Was expecting a rougher landing in such a small plane ... was surprised when we pulled up to a warehouse instead of the main terminal. This one is for the small planes, walk down the walkway ... across the concrete and into the building, where we catch a bus to the main terminal. I find a sign that says that my airline is in terminal 'D' ... so I catch the next tram ... the long way. I've been to this airport before ... we've had to wait until two hours before our flight before we can get our tickets and get to anything other than the bathroom ... so my plan is to stay on the gate side of security until I can get back in ... The Dallas airport is split into five sections (plus the warehouse), this one is empty ... it's 10 AM and I can not see another person as far as I can see ... either direction. Occasionally a sales person will walk out of their store ... Seven hours to go ... Why did I get here so early? I don't know ... I watch the news for an hour ... or so ... I wake up and a football game is on. I move to a quieter locations And I go for a walk ... Most of the airport is closed, I don't find one open gate .... out of 40. I can't find anything I want to spend $6 on ... not when I've had a free breakfast. I've been sleeping in chairs so long I can't get comfortable anymore ... so I find a place on the floor by the window, in the sun. AND I set my alarm so I don't miss my flight ... Finally it's time that I can get my ticket. Surprise! Tickets aren't sold by another airline anymore, Sun Country now has their own counter. And there is no line ... In under a couple of minutes I'm back behind security. Neither ticket is flagged 'Special Search' ... They haven't opened my bag at either location ... On more walk before we board, and I find the walkway to another section of the warehouse ... I could have walked four of the five sections to keep from getting board ... and maybe I could have found something worth eating on one of the wings. By the time I get back, they are boarding the plane, a half hour sooner than I had expected ... until I looked at my ticket ... For some reason we head out the same way we come in ... but I'm busy watching another plan that took off the same time as we did ... hoping at some point soon we'd head in opposite directions. We did ... We circle twords Fort Worth and they twords Dallas. I'm 15 rows back, the last row the stewardess will serve ... I'm hungry ... for some reason the plane is almost full but I'm in a row by myself. But it gets me a bonus, she hands over two sandwiches and two cookies ... and says I can keep them both when she realizes I'm alone. But today it's not my favorite, their turkey sandwich, but a ham sandwich instead and I eat them both ... the cookies I save for a couple of kids at home. I've been well feed today and it hasn't cost me a cent, not even for vending food. I had been concerned about the after effects of the hurricane disrupting the flights in Dallas ... but the storm stays east and there is not a cloud in the sky as we fly (in TX) We do hit some rough weather somewhere in route ... and we are within 10 miles of the airport before we drop below the clouds and I can ID where we are ... we are 'Home again, safe at last.' |