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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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230516 IA-CA 2 RV to CA - Davis and Vacaville (Wednesday) ... spending the night at home ... this is written before yesterdays write-up. Long four days. Found out last week that we had nothing holding us here but there was nothing good on the loadboard and I still had yard work and gardening to do. AND, by Saturday I was tired of playing with my smart phone. The screen had been freezing for a half / hour at a time so I could not swipe to get it started ... or answer a call ... and a call. Then it went green a few times, one time for over an hour when I couldn't use it for that reason. So first I bought a flip phone so I'd have something I could use. Then I spent a couple of days trouble shooting it myself and stopping at stores. Finally Monday I found someone to look at mine. After a half a day they tell me it is un-repairable ... and now doesn't work at all. Before I would have been able to get my contact info, messages, etc off it it. Now I can not. Ended up buying a re-built phone. Phone is fine but there are a couple of issues with it that I can't work around so I may end up not using it after spending $$$ on it. Today I stopped back at a couple of more places to see if they had any suggestions. Company store says no. Repair shop said no, then we kept talking because it wasn't making sense to me. Finally the repair shopped looked closer and now I have a new issue on my old phone that would cost $100 to repair. I'd still have the original issue. Work. RV dispatch did put a few out. 1st was two to Wausau, would have paid OK, more than sitting home. Didn't take them. Then there was two to 1,000 Oaks. But I don't have any contacts in my new phones so BB had to call and wasn't quick on the draw. She ended up getting put on hold and by the time they came back one of the RV's was gone. There were a few more during the day that would have worked. Never over 25 at one time. Lots of times there were two to the same place, but not at the same time so we didn't take the 1st one and by the time the 2nd one showed up the 1st one was gone. Finally there were two going two on I-80 west of Sacramento. We got them. Two different places, about 22 miles apart. And by grabbing them today we have an extra day to get there but we have work. Tomorrow we should get to Lincoln, Thursday to Laramie, Friday to Wendover and Saturday to Rocklin. If all goes well. And we don't need to be back for three and a half weeks. Besides RV's there also had been two trash trucks going to IA that would have paid good. And there has been three shop trucks near Wausau going to TN that I want to move some day. But those shop trucks always seem to be going somwhere that doesn't pay to move just one. Loadboard US - 156 IA - 15/14 MN - 4 WI - 4 Tomorrow I need to stop at a clinic on my way out of town. Likely leave about 7-7:30 and be to the shipper by 10. Gone by 11 and shut down by 7 PM. 230517 IA-CA 2 RV to CA - Davis and Vacaville ... spending the night at Lincoln NE No alarm but up close to usual time. Rolling by 8:30. Before we get to the freeway, we see a car laying on its side in the travel lane. Not sure how it happened, it's a 30-40 mph zone. 1 cop was there directing traffic. Quick stop at the clinic, signs say for faster service, make an appointment. I'm in and out in about five minutes so not sure how much faster it could be ... By stopping at the clinic we are less than two hours from the shipper so no more stops today. Corn is coming up in IA, or not planted ... depending on the farmer. Water is going down, the last rains must have come after the corn was planted. We get to the shipper, find our RV's, move them to the inspection area and then ... talk. I asked one driver where he was going ... 1,000 Oaks (so he got our trip) He wasn't leaving until tomorrow so he had plenty of time to talk. And we drivers have plenty of things to talk about :) He was moving a 'Rome,' it is a wheelchair accessible RV. We hadn't seen one before, but when we left we saw two more in the line up and there were visitors looking at them. This driver also told us that our drop in Gilroy CA has closed. We just drove past it last trip and didn't realize it (?) And this driver was one of the test drivers when they upped the fuel surcharge we get paid on the 4WD RV's. The shipper/carrier told them how fast to drive, where to stop, what route to take. This guy did OK, but the other driver lost $130 on the old fuel rate. We weren't taking them anymore because of what they were paying for fuel. But we do now. We did finally get inspected and out of there. BB looks online and the cheapest fuel for me is right here in town. So we back track a mile and I fuel at Kwik Star. And we eat shelf food at Kwik Star. They are giving away samples of chicken macaroni. I take one, not bad. I also have a rib sandwich. Was going to get soup too but that seemed to be too much. We ate outside on the curb. This place only has 3-4 stool for people to sit and it is a nice day. BB leads from here, cheapest gas is at the Loves in Ellsworth but she isn't sure she can make it. We don't. We stop 25 miles short at a BP truckstop. Turns out that gas is the same price there so it works. Next stop is Adair rest area. We've seen lots of transporters today. Box trucks, semi tractors, others. But not any Buses, RV's, trash trucks or mixers. I had hoped to make it to Loves in Omaha but when we stop in Adair I realize I am loosing range and the low fuel light will be on. So we look at other options and see that the Sapps in both Omaha and Council Bluffs are less than the Loves. I go for the Council Bluffs as it is another 10 miles closer. Then my range goes back up so I could have made Omaha. Once we fuel we decide to eat. BB isn't up for Burger King so we eat at Apple Barrel. It is Sapps sit down food. We both had breakfast. It was good. We were in and out in 30 minutes. The Apple Barrel in Omaha closed and now has re-opened as a Burrito Bros. As has the one in York Sapps. Another hour and we are at our hotel in Lincoln. Quality Inn. It is after 7 PM and there is still plenty of place to park. BB had wanted to wait and eat here so we wouldn't be driving so late but then she got hungry ... And she had wanted to go for a walk tonight but she is feeling the smoke for the fires in Canada. It is hazy here, didn't realize it this AM but someone posted a picture of the sunrise over Forest Lake and it was hazy then too. 1st stop - Burnsville clinic 2nd - Forest City Shipper 3rd - Forest City Kwik Star (Trip) fuel for me and food for both of us 4th - BP for fuel for BB 5th - Adair rest area 6th - Council Bluffs Sapps for fuel and food from Apple Barrel 7th - Lincoln Quality Inn Loadboard US - 160 IA - 19/15 MN - 4 WI - 5 From here it is about 500 miles to Laramie WY. We aren't using fuel at the same rate and fuel is not the cheapest for diesel and gas at the same places so we are partly stopping based on fuel needs. I posted the below on Face Book today 20 years ago yesterday I moved my 1st driveaway truck. At the time I was working a temp factory job and thought driveaway would be more fun than that. So I took the job until I could 'find a real job.' At some point I quick looking for that real job. This line of work has a very high turnover, but there are a few of us who have lasted 20+ years. There is one driver who has been there longer than I at my local carrier. Here are some mile posts ... 2003 - May 16 - First day doing driveaway 2005 - Back to back trips, wife laid off all year, only family income 2006 - Moved 1st city bus 2007 - Finally reached the 48th state, plus 8 provinces 2008 - Housing crash - only moved 8 units all year (found 2nd job) 2012 - 3 mo as dispatcher 2013 - Most trips were as a shuttle driver 2014 - My wife starts traveling with me 2015 - 1st trip with 2nd company 2016 - 1st trip with 3rd company, last trip with 2nd company, wife gets CDL 230518 IA-CA 2 RV to CA - Davis and Vacaville ... spending the night at Larmie WY Breakfast - Last time we were here I think it was grab and go, paper bagged. Because they are re-doing this hotel. The breakfast area is done, but it is still just biscuits and gravy for hot food. So I had yogurt. When I was done, I realized that when they had cut the cartons apart they had cut open my container. 12 hours later and I'm still alive. For a few minutes this AM I was confused. I don't have any numbers set up in my phone and no access to voicemails so I was looking at my call log to see if I had missed anything important. I see one number has called including after I thought we had gone to bed. After Googling the number and talking to BB I finally realized ... it's my new flip phone, I've been calling myself :) A BUS. A La Crosse bus ! Is sitting in our parking lot this AM. It is #1 (1701) so likely the first one of this batch :) ... later in the day the only bus driver I keep in contact with posts a picture of that bus. We had been at the same hotel. We have never met but message often. When I start my RV, the 'landing gear' has dropped. So I need to retract that. I've done it before so not an issue. Just a couple of minutes. But then I notice the 'release parking brake' light is on. For a moment I'm wondering if that is why my mileage is so bad. I run into get a hotel receipt and when I come back the light is off. Before we got to our first stop, we meet a bus going to Augusta GA. Going I-80 adds over 200 miles to the trip. And, this is unusual. BB also so a bus at a rest area that I missed. Not often that happens. But she didn't notice any markings on it so not sure where that one was going. I'd like to get a bus to La Crosse or Des Moines but we'd either have to hustle or sit. The earliest we'd pick up is Monday and then have less than four days to get 1,800-2,000 miles to get it delivered before the long holiday weekend. We also saw a couple of RV's in transit running together. Then we saw one alone at the rest area, parked crossways in front of the building. Later we past the other one. Someone must have needed an urgent stop. I stop for fuel and fuel at the truck islands, BB doesn't need fuel yet. 2nd stop is at a Runza for lunch. BB had thought she had found something she liked last time but it must have been from their limited run items. Me too. But she got a burger and I got a runza and both were good. It is almost in the parking lot of the shipper where I've picked up trash trucks. Only saw one out back, none where the done ones go. Now it's BB turn to stop for fuel. This time in Ogallala at WalMart. Cheapest as usual. Last time we were here they must have been short staffed as the fuel building was not open. Today it was again. While BB is fueling, I call the place I bought my used phone. Yes, they will take it back, not sure how much I will lose but one less thing to think about for now. We saw the two RV transporters running together again. Actually stopped at Wendy's. I'm not making the mileage that I thought I would. Every time I fill the tank I have a range of 285. It hasn't changed in the first almost 900 miles. Usually it increases a little each fill. Then another stop for fuel for me. This time we stop at Maverick as fuel HAD been cheaper here. But it has gone up $.10 since this AM and is no longer cheaper, but not enough more that I want to drive across the freeway to save less than a dollar. Out of (almost) no where, it starts to rain. And dump. I finally loose BB so I pull off at an exit. Just as I'm pulling off it sounds like a few pieces of hail. Or very large drops. Once BB catches up, she looks at the radar and the storm is mostly past us. We head out. About two miles down the road I see snow on the shoulder but not really anywhere else. And lots of ponds. When we pull into the scale/POE, the first thing BB says is "Did you see all the HAIL on the shoulder." That hadn't crossed my mind. It was about three inches deep. That would have done some damage to our RV's if we had been just a few more miles down the road. We get our permits, but this area is remote so we can't make a hotel reservation. We get to Laramie and park at the truckstop and walk across for Mexican. They ask if I want red or green sauce on my food. When we ask, they say neither is hot. My lips were burning the whole meal. Got the food down, hope I can sleep and it isn't too much for my stomach. Then we take the city streets to the hotel. There is one that is blacktop, the rest are dirt. We take the blacktop one. When we check in, the clerk is on the phone telling someone how to get to the hotel. The bridge at this exit is gone. If we hadn't eaten first we would have had issues. It sounds like a few guest have gone past to the next exit ... 25 mile done the road. And back. 50 miles, one hour. We will have to deal with it in the AM but it will only be a couple of extra miles for us. I've decided not to stop for fuel until our next stop. BB will stop before we leave town. Loves at that exit is $.25 less so it is worth it (or no one would stop) Tonight looks much better than most of the day but we still can't see the hills because of the smoke so we don't take a walk. BB has an issue walking here anyways because of the elevation. That plus the smoke would not be good. BB saw somewhere that visability was about a mile today. I took a few pictures while driving. Camera, not phone. Loadboard US - 182 IA - 12/11 MN - 13 WI - 6 Tomorrow is another day of shorter miles between stops because of fuel, fuel prices. We do plan on getting to Wendover. Not sure about after that. We had planned on Rocklin CA but being the weekend the price is almost $200 per night for Saturday. Tomorrow we do need to call the drops, call for permits, call my bus dispatcher. 230519 IA-CA 2 RV to CA - Davis and Vacaville ... spending the night at Wendover UT We went to bed early and were awake early. BB finally got up at 5 AM local. BB still had half her food from last night, so that was her breakfast. I only saved two bites of mine so I had that ... still made my lips burn ... and a small yogurt. I was still stuffed from last night. Luckily it did not keep me up during the night. BB hadn't slept real well so she wanted a 2nd cup of coffee this AM so we got going a few minutes later. Still frustrated with my phone. I finally have BB look at it and I find out that that (*) is supposed to be entered before the phone number :) So now all my calls are being forwarded to my flip phone and I can get my messages. But we also found a new issue. Oh well, it is now just taking up space until I can return it. 1st stop was across the freeway, but a few miles to get there because the bridge was gone. Right next to the Loves there had been an 'original' truckstop, from before all the chain stops moved in. They had re-done the place a year or two ago to try compete. They lost. Now the building is gone. Another 100 miles down the road and it is my turn to fuel. I usually don't fuel with the trucks when I'm driving an RV but our diesel discount is making it worth it. And for a while I was worried that I would run out of 'fuel money.' We got a good look at the 'big dig' today. It was running, moving but it is now a long ways from the freeway. A few miles later I see something on the left shoulder, but we are coming around a corner with a hill and there is a truck to my left. By the time I get a good look at it ... it is four elk, one on the highway side of the fence ... so they were close. But I don't have time to get a picture. Two other pictures I missed. I'm not used to taking pictures while driving anymore. Can't do it with a phone camera. $$$ But I'm using a real camera, still distracted driving, but. The other two where the pile of crashed trailers near the worst of WY I-80 and a 'farm yard' at the edge of town. Rawlins has an area at the edge of town that is 40-80 acres and there are side by side sheds with horses or cattle. They look like each one is owned / rented by someone different. BB (and I) doesn't want to eat at Hardee's/Carls Jr so we make an extra stop in Rock Springs at the Quiznos. Good but I think they forgot to put something on it. I'm still kind of full from last night so I get a small. BB also has soup besides her sandwich which is rare for her. 15 minutes down the road and we stop again in Green River for fuel for BB. While we are there we call our drops, call for our permits and call the bus dispatcher. Dispatcher just says call back on Monday. When BB calls her drop she gets some guy at home. His personal cell is on her paperwork but he no longer works there. And the hours on the paperwork are wrong. Another hour down the road and it is my turn to fuel. Cheapest fuel in WY. I'm finally getting better mileage today. The last two days it had been in the 8-9 mpg range. Today it has been 12.5 mpg the last two fills. Now to re-figure where my last fuel stop will be. While we were here we made reservations for tonight. We did it earlier in the day than usual as we had been watching availability and price since last night. Price was going up, availability was going down. We don't usually stop here at Fort Bridger but money talks. It also makes for our longest stretch between stops. 2-1/2 hours. Almost all down hill so I was up to 14.5 mpg :) but that didn't last on the flats. Still lots of snow in the hills east of Salt Lake, completely covered. Across most of WY there were still drifts of snow. By snow fence, in raven's, in ditches, but not on the flats. Because we didn't have to fuel in Tooele we stop at the Flying J. When we fuel at the TA we have to cross three lanes of traffic in a couple of blocks to get back on the freeway. We are at our 'cheap' hotel in Wendover. $100+ tonight. Motel 6 and Knights in are cheaper but we haven't stayed at one of those in years. We end up eating at the food truck again. I got a Philly this time. New for them. The rest is all more Mexican type food. Good, too much for the second night in a row. Now I have been in contact with the driver who was dropping in La Crosse. They said the dispatcher called them tonight ... when they are on vacation ... looking for drivers. Sounds like a good chance they will need drivers :) Loadboard US - 159 IA - 6/5 MN - 14 WI - 5 We finally decided to use rewards points to get our room tomorrow night in Rocklin. Price was still almost $200 and they were almost sold out. JUST IN CASE ... we don't make it to Rocklin, we have not booked our Sunday night room but those are not close to being sold out. Tomorrow will be another day of stopping where fuel is cheaper and for last fuel fill, etc. Another 500 mile day and then Sunday off. Re-set. So that I can run hard if we get a bus back to the midwest and we try to make it. Long days ... or sit over the weekend somewhere. .. the trip continues HERE |
