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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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.. the trip continues from HERE 220501 CA-TX 1 city bus to Beaumont TX ... spending the night at Beaumont TX Breakfast - At a full $100+ hotel and we get a nuke sandwich in a paper bag ... and a water. Running a few minutes late so we pull out at 7:45 instead of 7:30. Not a fun trip via I-35e through Dallas. Road construction and narrow lanes. 1st stop is at a Loves on I-20 in the south of Dallas. The auto pump is blocked so I pull into the truck lanes. One of the two I can use is open, it is Sunday AM so I just pull in to the pump and grab the hose from the next fuel island. Before I am done there is another CNG truck wanting to fuel. The odds of two of us at the same place at the same time are very, very rare. I finished up fueling by the time they got out of their cab. 2nd stop was for an early lunch at a Flying J at a Taco Bell. Weather is nice so we eat by the bus. 3rd stop is the Blue Beacon truck wash in Houston. BB could see online that rain was coming through Houston so we were expecting a short line. This place has three wash bays and I pulled in line behind an RV that just pulled into the wash. We were in and out in under 15 minutes. There were a few crashes but none that slowed us down too much. 4th and final stop is the Comfort Inn in Beaumont. We are early so no issue finding a place to park. But once I park I don't like moving my unit again. So we walk to the Subway a couple of blocks away. We walked past a Sonic because BB would rather not eat there. The only other food on this side of the freeway was a Taco Bell (lunch) and a fish place where one item was $100+ a plate. On the other side of the freeway was a Cracker Barrel and a Black Bear. Both good places but required wheels. It is also hot here and still a chance of rain. Load board (Sunday) US - 617 Four of those new trips are going from Denton to MN. Now I need to decide which trip, if any, we want to grab tomorrow. I finally got a reply on the message I sent yesterday AM. Those trucks I questioned are box trucks ... listed as tractor/gas. 220502 TX-MN 1 city bus to Beaumont TX (delivered) 1 sleeper tractor Faribault MN (Tuesday) ... spending the night at Beaumont TX After I did my write-up last night for yesterday, I started doing my paperwork for this trip ... OPPS. ... Back in Williams TX when I was fueling the pump shut off at $75 because of a credit card limit. So I had to use a different credit card and pay inside. I had gotten a receipt for the first fuel at the pump. When I was done fueling the 2nd time I went into the store and got a receipt ... and never looked at it until now. Even when I wrote all my trip info I never looked at it. Luckily for me I was able to reach someone at the station who was able to find the receipt and email it to me. WHEW. We do not to get going early so we sleep a little later. Breakfast - burrito and yogurt. I decide to check on the four new Dodge Center trucks out of Denton. The trucks are going to the cement truck builder, they are all chassis. Again no. No need to pack up this AM, we will come back after we pick up the rental car. We head out 8 AM. Our first 'stop' is four miles away at the Hertz. There is room so I pull into their lot and come out a different driveway. After dropping BB off. When I head back to the freeway I notice the main freeway overhangs the frontage road with signs saying '7 foot.' And I am 11 foot, 11 inches. No problem, it only overhangs one lane ... a little. It is only another couple of miles until I am at the drop. When I arrive I do not see anyone around, all shop bays are empty. Finally I see someone through the window of a door. It is the person I need. After a brief inspection they sign off. He wanted the frame for the license plate remounted but did not want me to take the plastic off the front?? He also asked if the AC worked, I said no. So he walked to the back of the bus, removed a plate and showed me that the AC was pre-set to 83 degrees. He changed it to 74 and by the time we were done with the paperwork it was chilly in the bus. I am in and out in five minutes and we are on the way back to the hotel ... and I am busy talking about the drop. When BB has a chance to get a word in edgewise, she tells me that there is a truck to MN back on the load board. So as soon as we are back in the hotel room (After BB has to stop and get a cup of coffee) I call dispatch instead of emailing them. Dispatch does not 'know anything' about the truck but gives me the drops phone number and the VIN. I call and the drop gives me the model and says it is a 'sleeper cab.' (When I get the paperwork from dispatch, the model is showing on the paperwork. Dispatch does have the info when I call and either does not know it or does not care) One of the questions dispatch has is when I will pick it up, the other driver was a no show and it should have been picked up last week. I start by giving a vague answer. I explain that I do not know anything about this shippers pick up hours. A few minutes later dispatch calls back. The shipper requires a 24-hour notice so I can not pick the truck up until tomorrow. (... as I am writing this, BB is looking at the paperwork we have had since this AM and the model number the drop gave me is not the same as is on the shippers paperwork ... so we do not know what I will be picking up tomorrow.) We have not made plans to return the rental car until after we see what I am picking up. If it is a chassis there will not be enough room for our luggage. Also, we had looked at changing rental cars when our plans changed and it would have saved us a few dollars. But keeping the car that we planned on dropping in MN keeps that option open. As soon as we have the paperwork printed out, we head out. There are a few options to get back to Dallas, we decide on the same route we took here. The first stop heading back is at the same Loves as yesterday. As long as we are there we order Arby's. The next stop is Madisonville at a Shell station for the restroom. And before Dallas, we stop again at the Loves in Alma for another break. Final stop for the day is the Comfort Inn in Denton about two miles from tomorrow's pickup. Lots of food within a few miles but we end up at Schlotzsky's. I got a French Dip Calzone. Good, but too big to fit in the dip cup. Load board US - 632 IA - 279/277 220503 TX-MN 1 sleeper tractor Faribault MN ... spending the night at Emporia KS We will be running later today so we were not up at the crack of dawn. Breakfast ?? The scrambled eggs were quiet dry, I took the last link of sausage, the apples were bruised and soft and both orange juice's were water (I left the cups of water under each so others could see) I call my dispatch for today to confirm a couple of things now that I have seen the paperwork. We leave the hotel at 9:30. When Google's Siri said we have arrived we were across from Bay and Bay and from there the road became someone's driveway. So I did a U-turn and went back to Bay and Bay. We had to wait for new trucks to pull in their drive and then we followed. We started looking at all of the semi tractors and drove around the lot. On the far end of the building there were the 'stacks' of tractors. But we never saw the lock box to get my keys so we drove around the building again. Coming around one of the corners there we met a semi, he looked like he was going to make a wide turn so I pulled into their 'washout bay.' And the driver sat there ... Opps, that is where he was going to go so I quickly got out of the way and parked somewhere else. We are still looking for the lock box ... Then I asked BB what the name of the company was at the end of the street. Opps, we are in the wrong lot. So we head to the correct one. There are a few drivers hooking up so we ask one of them where the lock boxes are. Right behind us, they are sunken into a stone wall. There is also some one parked there from 8 AM to 4 PM who will find your keys and tell you where your truck is. Mine was easy. It was the 2nd truck we came too ... right in the middle of a huge pond. I'm guessing my truck has been setting there for a few days. I had BB drive and back up along side of the truck so I could step from one to the other without standing in water. I pulled it out of the water, luckily everything is concrete here. Then we did my inspection and loaded our luggage before BB headed to the airport a couple of blocks away. It wasn't until after I had moved the truck the first time that I realized it was a stick. I usually don't even think about it, but there are a couple of people on FaceBook that can not drive a stick and they have gotten stranded more times in a few months because they do not know how than I have ever had stick shifts since I have been with this company. Up shifting is no problem. I still am having an issue with the downshifting. The rental car place is in a tin shed at the edge of the airport on a dead end street. It took a couple of back ups to get turned around. Then off to get fuel. 3rd stop of the day was the TA for fuel. As I pulled into the pump the low fuel light came on. So no 'free fuel,' I can not leave the truck with the low fuel light on. But at least it was not on fumes. Plan was to put in 75 gallons as I have no idea what mileage I will get and this is the cheapest fuel we will see. I only started the pump on one side of the truck and I could only get 72 gallons in that side. Close enough. I thought the mileage would go up but it is staying right about 7 mpg. Truck is governed at 62 mph. Not much difference than the bus. 4th stop was Loves in Ardmoor for DEF and food. But the trucks were backed up out onto the street to fuel and I did not need DEF yet. So we parked by McD's and walked over to Loves. No where to sit and eat so we got a GodFather's Pizza and stood in the parking lot. From the time we got there until we pulled out there was a younger man walking around with his hand on his head, sometimes like it hurt, other times like someone would hold a phone. He was walking all over the parking lot first at Loves and then at McDonalds. Just aimlessly. He did not look like he was out for a walk. Clean cut, but he acted like a street person. 5th stop was a Conoco in OKC for DEF. This place will not take my credit card at the pump either so I could have just as well stopped at a major truckstop. A lot of the private places will start the pumps without going inside. I only need a couple of gallons to get to the drop so that comes to under $10. But there was some entertainment here. The only other vehicle here was a pickup waiting for a pump. Or parked where he would have been waiting for a pump if they were in use. Then I saw the person with a funnel. He was using a pop bottle and a funnel to put fuel in his truck. He had gotten that close :( Then after a few bottles he starts his truck and drives away ??? My guess is that the station would not let him use a gas can so he got upset and took his business elsewhere. 6th stop was a Loves in Tonkawa for more fuel. I do not need it yet but we are stopping and it is cheaper than further down the road. And my mileage is not changing. 7th stop is an Oasis in Towanda at the Dunkin Donuts :) ... for food. They serve breakfast all day. Good food. No sweets today so we can have double tomorrow. 8th and final stop was the Comfort Inn in Emporia. Small lot but I found a spot. ... for a while. Then the front desk calls and says I have to move. When I go out someone has parked in front of me, leaving me only about six inches between my front bumper and the side of their truck. Not sure that was not on purpose. ... I was told to move my truck across the street to Pizza Ranch. After I park I go inside to me sure it is OK. Not really but it can stay. Sounds like they have put up 'no truck' signs before when the hotels send trucks over. There are a couple of other trucks taking up more than their share of room but they are still sitting here. Load board US - 681 IA - 267/268 Plan is to pick up our car tomorrow and be in Albert Lea for the night. Deliver before noon on Thursday and them be home for a few days, maybe two weeks? Lots to do, our weeks fill up fast once we set a time we will be home. Yesterday they added four more trucks going to the same place as I am. All four were gone right away. Today they added three more, they are still there. 220504 TX-MN 1 sleeper tractor Faribault MN ... spending the night at Albert Lea MN This AM there were still trucks in the hotel parking lot that were there last night when I had to move mine. And there were new trucks taking up more than one spot. My guess is I was parked where someone else wanted to park and they threw a fit. Likely the person who tried to block me in. Breakfast was the usual. Once I get my truck inspected I go to check out. The person at the desk says they can not give me a receipt because it is '3rd party billing.' I explain that we have not had an issue in the last six years ... they will not budge. I just say I will deal with it later and walk away. Once out of the hotel I get a call from BB, she is wanting to know if I have checked out yet. I have a warning light on my truck. Too late. It is a low coolant light. The coolant has dropped below the 'min' line. My first thought is the truckstop, but then I remember that WalMart carries a lot of these items for a lot less. And we are about two blocks from a WalMart. After driving through the McDonalds parking lot, thanks to Siri, and some tight turns and no truck signs we are at WalMart. They have more than one kind of coolant that meets the specs. I grab one jug and check out. There is long list of how to add coolant listed on the tank. I just poured it in. As soon as I have filled it to 'min,' I re-start the truck and the light goes off. One hour lost but all else is good. ... some people. A tractor with a set of pups pulls into the WalMart parking lot. And parks behind the only car in the furthest half of the parking lot. The front of the car is against a light pole, so no way out. Acres of other places to have parked his truck. ??? Our 2nd stop was the rest area near Williamsburg. From there I call the drop. No special insturctions. 3rd stop is the rest area near Holt. Some truck driver is blocking the path is someone was not going to park. Luckily the parking lot is not full, at least not when we were there. 4th stop is for fuel in Osceola. I had hoped to make it further but the low fuel light came on when we came up the exit ramp. The plan had been to fuel in Des Moines where fuel was cheaper. $1 cheaper (total.) While here I also called about my plans for my time off. I will be heading out as soon as we get home tomorrow. Fuel stop was a Pilot. We also had Subway while we were stopped. 5th stop was at the rest area in Dows. From there we make hotel reservations. 6th (kind of) stop was at Forest City to pick up our personal car. Only about 40 RV's in the employee lot. There was up to 200 last month. BUT ... ... there are also RV's parked where the un-built RV's are usually parked, plus there are Mini-Winnie's on every hard surface in Winnebago Park. Dozens? Hundreds? Once BB starts the car I head out and she drops off the our last trips paperwork. Other drivers are heading out. I notice that my mileage is going up at 55 mph, so I keep it at 55 mph until BB catches up. She never does. I had once mentioned taking back roads to lessen our out of route miles. BB took that route, I did not. After last night I decided I would not park in the hotel lot. There is room to park on the street, at the dead end. I just fit. 7th and final stop is at the Comfort Inn in Albert Lea. As soon as we are checked in we head to the Erbert & Gerbert's. Load board US - 694 IA - 268/266 As I was idling my truck my fuel gauge went back up. Before that it was almost in the red and I was ready to fuel first thing in the AM. I may still do that. We have done good on this trip, I do not need to squeeze another $5 out of it. Tomorrow we will drop within the hour of leaving the hotel. Another two hours and we should be home ... for a week or two. 220505 TX-MN 1 sleeper tractor Faribault MN (delivered) ... spending the night at home No alarm, we are 40 miles from the drop. Breakfast - Eggs and sausage and grape juice. Ham patties are the other type of meat they have sometimes here. I did ask. And when I did, someone else commented that their kids were disappointed because they thought they were going to get bacon for breakfast here. (not sure how they decide which meat is served) When I do my morning inspection I find a $20 bill near my truck in the weeds. :) My lucky day? There had been another semi tractor that had parked in the parking lot area overnight so it does happen. They also jumped the curb and mad a mess of the lawn as they were leaving. My fuel gauge has gone up overnight but I am done being cheap. Last night I figured I would need seven gallons to get to the drop so that is what I will add. 1st stop was across the street at Loves. There are stations about every ten miles to my drop so I could have waited, maybe should have but I just wanted to be done. As I was pulling in to Loves there was a transporter driving a 'vac' truck pulling out. I wasn't quick enough to get a picture and now I do not remember the manufacture. It was not the one I have driven for. I never did look at a map for my drop but I knew what it was near. Turns out it was on a different street than I thought, but I could see it from where I thought it was. 2nd stop is the drop. PDI. It looks to be a Pre-Deliver Inspection location for a larger company. No sales, no service shop here. I didn't ask. I did ask a couple of questions but the person I was talking to had only been there two months and didn't know much outside of his job. 15 minutes and I was checked in and gone. Or ready to go. We decided to send in my paperwork so I could get paid. Opps ... I lost my receipt for the coolant I bought yesterday AM. I'm guessing it got stuck in with the food receipts I threw away this AM. No receipt, no reimbursement. That kind of off-sets the $20 I found this AM. We wait to send in my paperwork until we get home and I got through everything again. Nope, the receipt is gone. 3rd stop was in Burnsville at the Honey Baked Ham store. I order three sandwiches and get two. Luckily I looked before we left the lot. 4th and final stop is home. As soon as the car is unloaded I am off to do a different kind of driving. Forecast is for rain in a few days and would like to get as much done before it starts to rain. Load board US - 662 IA - 276/271 Because we planned on being home a few days we have now scheduled appointments. If we do any driving in the next 10 days it will be something local, one day type. |
