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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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.. the trip continues from HERE 220908 MN-IA 1 'Mixer'/Chassis to Granite Falls MN (delivered) 1 Straight truck to Coralville IA 2 RV's to Draper UT (Friday) ... spending the night at Cedar Rapids IA Breakfast - we both ate leftovers in our room. We are ready to pull out at our usual time of 7:30. Plan was to add a couple of gallons of fuel near the drop to keep the low fuel light from coming on when I parked it. But in the 30 miles to the drop the gauge didn't move ... until I made the turn away from the fuel station. It dropped and bounced back. So I did not add anymore fuel today. 1st stop was the drop. I walked into receiving and he signed without looking at it. By the time he was done making a copy for himself there was another person in his office talking about the truck I brought in. They both walked out and looked at it while I cleared my things out. They seemed to think they were getting one of the trucks with two pusher axels instead of one. ... somehow I tightened my wingnuts of my plate so tight I had to use a wrench to get it back off ?? Before we leave town we take care of my paperwork, within the hour I am paid. I also call the next shipper and they know about my truck. 2nd stop is the Holiday gas station in Hector. Nothing looks the same anymore. Even Google Maps wanted us to 'return to the roadway' because the road is now four lane ... and this must be the new lane. Google gave us lots of options but we stuck to simple. My drop was on US-212 so we took that to US-169 to within a couple miles of city streets to our next pickup. 3rd stop was at Erbert & Gerbert's. BB got a sandwich, I just got a cup of soup. They, not me, spilled my first one. Then when I got the soup it was too hot to eat right then so we headed off to the shipper. 4th stop was the shipper in Coon Rapids. The people at the front desk couldn't help but knew enough to send me to the correct person. He walks with me out into the lot, points it out and says the keys are under the seat. He doesn't want anything signed, but I do. WOAHA ... Not my week. First I get a 'mixer' without a mixer. Now I get a box truck without a box. When I walked up to it I just figured it was a Cartavia type truck. It wasn't until I had moved the car closer to the truck that I realized that this was a box truck ... with the box sawed off. At 1st BB said our things would not all fit in the cab, but they did. Stacked a little higher than the dash. So <> two chassis in a row and I don't do chassis ... intentionally. This truck is under 10,000# so no DOT to worry about this trip. We had talked about changing our rental car drop to Coon Rapids but this truck will be no issue at the airport because that is where it is supposed to be dropped. 5th stop is the airport. BB had looked at all kinds of ways to get to the airport, I just go the way I know. Turned out to be the same way. There is an issue with this truck so I decide not to park at the cell phone lot. Instead I drive past the airport to see if BB is there yet, she is not. So I drive down to a nearby clinic that is always nearly empty. As I am parking, BB calls so I head back. 6th stop is Cannon Falls at the Casey's to make a phone call and use the rest rooms. Trips are leaving the load board and fewer are being added. We call and get to trips to Drapper UT. We had looked at other trips this AM but parts of those had all been taken and this had always been the best paying trip without counting on a 2nd leg. 7th stop is the Flying J in Evansdale for fuel. It has been a long ride for BB. She is not used to riding in trucks with me. And never in a 'chassis.' You really feel the bumps. The one from CO to MN was not nearly this bad. Sometime on this ride a dispatcher called with a truck in Salt Lake City going to MO. It is a tractor. She didn't leave a message but I am guessing that is why she called. 8th and final stop will be the Comfort Inn, but first we stop at Pepper Jax for food. Someone walking in the parking lot lets me know I am missing something. Then he comments that his RV is a lot taller than he had thought when he bought it ... hopes it doesn't look like this some day. Load board US - 201 IA - 52 Tomorrow ... Friday. We will walk across a somewhat busy street and pick up our rental car. Then come back to the hotel and load all of our stuff in the car. Then it is about a half hour to the drop. I may stop and add more fuel. It was full when I picked up, do not want to drop it on 'E.' Not sure anyone but me cares. Then we figure it will take about five hours to drive back to our car in Forest City, pick that up and drop the rental in Mason City and return to Forest City. Another hour to do our inspections. That will likely have us pulling out of the lot at about 4 PM and getting to Des Moines by 6 PM. Based on that, we are about 100 miles behind our 'norm.' If we get to Omaha/Lincoln, then we will make Laramie night two and Draper night three. So we may try to make up the 100 miles by driving over 500 a day ... or not. If we don't find work heading back we will be back sometime on the 15th and then do local work for either company until the 29th when we will be spending the long weekend with some grandkids. .. the trip continues HERE |
