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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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221121 IA-WI 1 RV to Neenah WI 1 mixer to Dodge Center (Tuesday) ... spending the night at Tomah WI At 8 AM we both start hitting redial. I get through but it goes quick enough that BB doesn't get through to our 2nd dispatcher before I am off the phone. No one picks up at the 2nd number and after three tries I get a text. So I reply with a text ... and then don't look at my phone again for a few minutes. Dispatch had replied right away. When I see it, I reply again and get the trip (Or so I thought) Within about 15 minutes we are out of the house. Traffic is very light for a 'rush hour,' almost like a Sunday morning. I had actually called both the dispatcher and a back up dispatcher. About an hour down the road the backup dispatcher calls me back and says that another driver had 'taken/spoken for' that trip last Friday. I guess that is why the load was still on the load board and hour after the other dispatcher said it was mine. 1st stop is the Wendy's in Owatonna for a breakfast sandwich. Their computer went down because a service was there working on it. So we paid cash ... and they knew how to make change. Before we got to the shipper, the 'backup dispatcher' called back. First they asked which one of their trips I was on now ... I'm not. I'm moving at RV. Then they asked which truck of theirs I was moving next. None. They don't have any short enough to move before the holiday. They 'hemmed and hawed' before agreeing to give it to me. But we got it. By now the 'rental dispatcher' has updated their list. Both WI trips are gone, the Bagley trip is gone. But the four Lake Benton trips are still there. Those were our 2nd choice for today. As we are arriving at the shipper we see they do have another 100 RV's staged, ready to move to the ship lot. We should have more choices after Thanksgiving. 2nd stop was the shipper. By now it was close to 32 degrees and sunny. Almost nice if you don't stand out too long. We are able to be in and out in 30 minutes. Only one other driver picking up. When I get my paperwork I ask and find out that we can call on Wednesday for trips leaving over the weekend. I have about a half a tank of fuel. Sounds good. Starting out on the side roads with a tail wind my mileage starts out at about 18 mpg. Once I get to freeway speeds I had hoped to get to La Crosse before fueling where fuel was under $3. But with 100 miles to go my low fuel light is on and I end up up driving another 20 miles after the RV stopped showing my range, at 30 miles range. 3rd stop was the Kwik Trip in Stewartville. Not sure what math I used but I only wanted to put in enough fuel to get to La Crosse but instead of my range being 90 miles after fueling, it was 150 miles. BB had looked at prices earlier, I had not. So before I got back on the freeway I pulled to the shoulder and looked at the price of fuel in West Salem, just past La Crosse. That way I would know if fuel was cheaper before, or in, West Salem. But none of the stations in La Crosse are visible from the freeway so I kept going. Did see a couple of eagles today. They are starting to gather in this part of the Mississipi now. 4th stop is the Kwik Trip in West Salem. I only put in six gallons so the second stop was not worth the extra time. But it did give me a better idea of how much fuel to add. This time when pulled out I had enough fuel to get to the drop, plus one gallon extra. So I hope I gain a few extra miles. It is now about 3 PM. It will be 5 PM plus before we get to Oshkosh. Sunset is before 4:30. We would be driving well after dark on rural, two lane roads with lots of active wildlife. We opted to shut down early in Tomah. The dealer does not open until 9 AM so we have the two hours we need to get there if we leave at 7 AM. 5th and final stop was the Quality Inn in Tomah. Food is from the #1 rated place in town. This time we thought ahead and ordered one order we could agree on ... and split it. I'm still full, with only eating half of it. Once we checked in the hotel, I got my paperwork for the next truck printed. It says 'front discharge mixer.' Sounds like a center drive to me. If so, it will be my first. Load board US - 248 IA - 69/68 MN - 18 WI - 7 Tomorrow - If we get an early start, we should be at or near the drop by 9 AM. We have dropped there before but do not remember if it is a quick check or a detailed check. We should be done there before 10 AM. From there it is a 30 minute drive to the next shipper. Then we MAY be able to get in and out of the shipper in 30 minutes. Leaving the shipper about 11 AM. A four hour drive to the drop. Hopefully be to the drop by 3 PM. My contact there leaves at 4 PM. Not sure about after hours drops. That leaves Wednesday still open to work. 221122 WI-MN 1 RV to Neenah WI (delivered) 1 mixer to Dodge Center ... spending the night at Rochester MN Plan was to get rolling by 7 AM. Alarm at 6 AM, I grabbed two yogurt and a juice. Windows were frosted, BB scrapped, I just used the washer fluid and heater. The hotel is on the same road that will take us to Oshkosh. Then 15 miles and I will be at the drop. At first I think I have put in too much fuel. I was thinking that running at 55 mph was going to up the mileage. It did, a little. But a gaining a couple of miles per gallon over two hours doesn't amount to much. By the time I get to Oshkosh, the low fuel light comes on and I have about 10 miles to go. Can't run it much closer than that. I had hoped that I could gain a little time this AM and get to the drop by 9 AM. But the the speed limit at 55 mph and a dozen towns it took until 9:30 to get to the gas station a couple of miles from the drop. 1st stop was the Kwik Trip in Neenah. Final dealer fuel and a rest room stop. A small station and a busy one hole restroom. 2nd stop was the drop at the next exit. BB is already there. My contact is walking to the front desk when I walk in and we walk out together. 15 minutes and we were in and out. From there, it was less than 30 miles from the next shipper. I decided to take the city streets. 3rd stop - Oshkosh - the shipper. We hadn't looked at any areal photos, we just drove to the address we had. An empty building, an empty lot. We quickly look up the shipper online and head there. It is a gate with a security guard. I call the shipper's number listed on my paperwork. He tells me where I should be. He's talking faster than I can write ... I think I get most of it so we drive around the outside of the complex looking for the correct gate. We there and a sign says 'exit only,' enter at gate 15. So we drive the rest of the way around the complex and back to where I was when I made the last call. I had mis-took the 8 MPH sign as the GATE 8 sign. So this time we talked to security. Sorry, I can not enter with my personal car, walking in isn't an option. After the guards talking amongst and making phone calls, it is decided that someone will drive my truck outside of the gate where I can pick it up. Not what I was expecting. Neither was the truck. The truck they brought me was not a new center steer. It was a used standard mixer. It had been here for testing and trouble shooting. I still have no idea where they new mixers are built. This is part of the defense complex. By now I know I will be running later than planned. When I call dispatch I ask about a late drop. They didn't make themselves real clear at first so I asked again, and again. Finally they said 'We say ... no drops after 2:30 PM.' OK. I understand (but I have blind dropped with my other company and never had an issue) So instead of being home tonight we will be in a hotel again. My local company had talked to me on Friday about short trips this week and now they are calling again. I call back. And I will call them again tomorrow once I've dropped. They still have four local trucks to be moved. They will try to get them covered, at least some of them. We won't get up there until noon or so after dropping in Dodge Center. I was expecting a new truck full of fuel, I got a used truck that I will need to add fuel to. I'm not sure how far it will get me, but I run it as far as I can. I have run this road a few times in the last couple of months so I know where the fuel is. 4th stop - Turns out I can make it to the Loves in Oakdale, with the low fuel light on. But I am still guessing at my mpg. BB catches up to me by the time we cross into MN. I had thought of stopping at the usually closed weigh station but there is a car there that could have been a cop car so we stop at the next exit. 5th stop - roadside at the Houston exit. From there BB calls and makes a reservation for tonight. 6th and final stop is the Sleep Inn in Rochester. Tight turn to get in, I have to back up once. But I have parked here before so I know that it is possible to get out in the AM. Just carefully. Instead of our usual 5 West we order from the BBQ place. Good food. Stuffed. Load board US - 297 IA - 88/87 MN - 18 WI - 7 14 RV's for Boise ID, -0- for California. Tomorrow AM would could call for work to leave Sunday. We will wait and see what gets put out tomorrow. Not likely that all 14 ID trips will get taken and they are the best trip ... as of right now. Tomorrow we need to drop a truck, stop at the clinic and be back in town in the evening early enough to drop someone at the airport. There are still all four Lake Benton trips plus the four local trips. We can keep busy, if we want. 221123 WI-MN 1 mixer to Dodge Center (delivered) ... spending the night at home We had been told that breakfast was from 7 to 10 AM. But when we got down there a few minutes to 7, people had already been eating and were leaving. I think the person who checked us in last night was in 'weekend mode.' Three kinds of eggs, I chose the western omelette. No OJ, just water so it was straight apple juice this AM. We were still ready to pull out before 7:30. When I checked my fluid's I saw that my coolant I noticed it was low. And when I started the truck the low coolant light did come on. It would go off and on so I stopped to buy some. Kwik Trip Rochester. Just a couple of blocks down the street. The fuel lines were full so I parked on the other side of the building while I ran in. One kind of coolant so that was what I bought. It took about a half gallon to bring it up to the full - cold line. Last night when I shut down I did get a whiff of coolant but didn't check it out. No spots under the truck this AM ... To get to the fuel pumps and to get out, we have to drive around the back of the building. I did. And someone was coming in backwards next to the fuel pumps. I paused and let him go first. So he pulled ahead and parked. Now I had no where to go. Either wait for the fuel pumps to clear or turn around. I turned around. It only took four forwards and backwards to get turned around. The guy who parked in my way saw what I was doing and just got out of his truck and walked inside ... 2nd stop this AM was the BP a block from the drop. I thought I had plenty of fuel, even up to getting off on the ramp. But when I turned the gauge dropped below the 1/4 mark. Then it came up again. And then down again when I slowed for the stop sign. So I did a quick turn into the BP. Put in two gallons. Card reader wouldn't work so I had to go inside. When I went back inside to get my receipt, the cashier met me at the door, they were brining my receipt out to me. 3rd stop was (almost) across the street. The drop. BB was already there. Interesting person in the office here. Mostly ignores the people coming and going. When I said I had a truck they asked if it was a chassis. "No, a cement mixer.' At first it was kind of a blank look and then ... 'with a check engine light on?' Once we start talking she is quite personable. She signed and we were done. Next, I call dispatch to find out how I am getting paid. Turns out this shipper pays all fuel on both CNG and diesel. Same as my local company. So no big money by running on their fuel. After that I call my local dispatch. The person who was working on the short runs for today is NA. We head to Burnsville to the clinic. Still no local dispatch. 4th stop - the clinic. Wow. ER was full and people were sitting in chairs in the halls. I've never seen that before. I hadn't heard this first hand, but it sounds like a few days ago one of the nurses in our family that takes phone calls ... was so busy that day that after the first hour of phone calls, could not schedule any more appointments and had to tell the rest of the people that day to go to ER. I've heard the same thing in IA. Hospital's are twice as full as usual. Finally when I come out, and have waited in the car another 15 minutes, I get ahold of local dispatch. They have everything covered for today. But, must not have wanted to leave that message, because they wanted to talk to me. Talk me into running more trips for them on Monday. Not likely to happen. We hope. We did not call in this AM for trips. We will watch the load board the rest of the day. We did a few more stops and a few more errands. Final stop for the week. Home. We watch the load board and they do put out more trips including four for CA. I call, but make it clear that we want to run the southern route. It adds just under the 5% extra miles we are allowed, but between that and the fuel and hotels we will be over. I am talking to the newest dispatcher and he says no. (In the past it has been OK) I didn't think quick enough to ask to talk the boss ... I just said 'no thanks then' and Good-bye. Pretty sure that was not what he was expecting. Last trip west the weather was all clear, all good, the day we accepted the trip. By when we left the next day, a storm was rolling in. So we had to push it to beat the storm. This time we would be looking at calling in four days before we leave. Too far in advance for heading west in the winter. We end up not taking trips. That means we will be sitting Thurs, Fri, Sat and now Sunday. But by the end of the day, they had added trips to Reno. So if the weather is clear that is our first choice heading west. Boise would be 2nd. But if the weather is not good west, there are still four trips to Greer if the weather is clear to the southeast. That might be our first choice if the SE dispatcher had more work. They did have more work earlier it sounds like four (six?) trucks heading to California. Load board US - 286 IA - 90/89 MN - 9 WI - 8
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