Jan 1 2005: Hey Magician, we did what they said couldn't be done...

23,607 views at 8:35pm.... Not to mention 32 pages..

Hopefully, 2005 will see more stories from the road by the ever growing CAD population...

I was wrong 33 pages

 

YOU'VE PICKED A FINE TIME TO LEAVE ME LOOSE WHEEL

A few weeks back I was pulling the routine 25 tons of sand towards the company?s Zebulon concrete plant. I eased into the left lane to pass a very slow moving Ford van, I guess I pissed the van driver off cause he started to speed up as the trailer passed him. Of course I didn?t pay much attention to the stunt it happens to just about every professional driver.
What I did notice was a black object shoot out from under the left side of the trailer, my first thought was I ran over something in the road but when I saw the left side tag wheel tuck in I knew something was wrong. I then looked out the right mirror and saw a shit load of little rubber pieces flying everywhere, I didn?t hear the BOOM but the right side tag tyre had let go with a vengeance and as for the van I think the driver had second thoughts about racing me. I lifted the tag axle and proceeded to the concrete plant and dumped the load.

While at the plant I showed the tyre to the foreman and discussed the future of the remains when a Good Samaritan pulled up and handed me the trailer side turn signal. I put the parts in the truck and eased back to the home domicile.
The mechanics gave me less than a warm reception as I pulled up to the shop. Thirty minutes later I was on my way back to the sand pit for the next routine 25 ton sand load back to Zebulon.

Trailer loaded and tarped I trucked my way back up the very tiresome Hwy 264. I had just passed the I-95 interchange and noticed a driver from The Waggoners pulling onto 264 I eased passed the truck with no problem. I then noticed that the driver of the car carrier was not happy that I passed him and he immediately swung into the left lane, I guessed he was going to try to impress me.
I had just passed the exit for my domicile when a per chance glance in the left mirror showed me the left tag wheel tucking in again, then a quick look to the right showed me the NEW right tag tyre rolling along side the trailer bouncing once on the shoulder and rolling onto the highway and of course in front of the Waggoners truck.
?Oh shit!!? I thought ?Not again!?
I raised the tag axle and this time pulled off onto the exit ramp to try to remove the tyre from the road, the Waggoners driver flipped me off like it was my fault the tyre came off. I let him know he was #1 in my book also. I did call the Highway Patrol letting them know about the tyre, I then called Waggoners and asked the safety guy if it was common practice for their drivers to run ?Left Lane Roadblocks?.
I did get the tyre out of the lane of travel and eased on towards Zebulon.

Arriving at the concrete plant the foreman noticed the bare wheel and yelled at me for not getting the tyre repaired, I told him the tyre was repaired and the new one is lying on the side of west bound 264.
Yes the domicile mechanics were not very happy when I came back with a bare aluminum right tag wheel, I did tell them the tyre was right at the exit ramp if they wanted to go get it.

Two tyres, same wheel and the new one lasted all of about 50 miles?
Just another fun day as a "Dirty Old Rock Hauler" or "Rocky Old Dirt Hauler"

Just a brief note: I was offered a postion with a local newspaper as a reporter, hmmm I wonder....

 

Ah Doc one minor correction to that story. Dirty old sand hauler! :P

 

:shock: This is what I'd call a bad day :?

 

In the 15 years I drove truck I have had 3 tires & rims pass me up with one rolling down along the ditch and completely clearing a 2 lane state highway intersection and after landing rolling along for another 500 or so feet before it got tired and layed down :roll:
During my time pulling containers I lost track of how many times I looked in the mirror just in time to see a tire shred to pieces but one of the few I remember best was running on I55 in IL and noticing smoke from a right side trailer tire and pulling over and found the tube smoldering\burning in the tire, I grabbed my thermos and emptied what amounted to a cup of coffee into the tire and after pulling ahead to try and put the tube out I knew I needed more water and didn't have any, yes I know we are required to carry an extinguisher but for some reason I forgot about it but being a male and having a full bladder I went about putting out the fire in the best way I could think of at the time.
One tire on the way there wasn't enough because after getting to the rail yard and waiting in line for a while I heard a loud bang, knew the sound well enough to know it was a tire letting loss just didn't know it was the other tire next to the burnt tube tire, to this day I wonder if the tire guys figured out the smell in that one tire???

 

CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR part 4

Two items:

One I collect "T" shirts mostly with company logos and some with off the wall sayings, ie: I Do All My Own Stunts, etc...

Now the disclaimer: I am not ANTI-UNION, I was proud card carrying member of Local 194 located in Union, NJ...

The turbulent ?80?s not a great time in history for the trucking industry. Deregulation had created a huge mess and caused a few big name companies to go away never to return.
This was also the era when Overnite started their march into Teamster Territory.

Overnite opened a facility in Carteret, NJ which, was once, a Time-DC terminal and it caused a big uproar amongst the teamster outfits in the same area. Never could figure out why this move would cause such distress, hate and discontent but I digress?
I had met an Overnite driver and he was wearing a really cool ?T? shirt emblazoned with the Big ?O? anniversary and I asked if the shirts were for sale to non-employees, they were so; I drove to the terminal and bought two. When I got back the boss?s yard the other drivers asked about the shirts and the next thing I knew 10 drivers went and bought shirts. Nothing like advertising for a competitor!!!

Several weeks later 10 of us were at a consolidating warehouse in South Hackensack which, the boss, had half interest in when we got a call from the boss telling us that Pilot Freight had closed their doors and be ready for the back lash from an angry mob. We kind of blew it off and went about our business when, Jose the yard man, came running in yelling there was a lot of trouble in the yard.
Big Ben was the first out the door and confirmed Jose?s suspicion as he saw five trucks surrounding an Overnite truck and five drivers yelling and threatening the hapless driver.
The rest of us followed Ben out into the yard and towards the gang of 5. I took notice of the trucks: one from Roadway, one from Yellow, one from a non-descript company and two from Red Star. In all the commotion someone yelled out there were 10 more Overnite drivers coming out of the building. As if it were planned we all had the Overnite shirts on that day!
The Roadway driver told me that he was going to tear the Overnite driver apart and I asked why. I was told that Pilot had closed and it was Overnite?s fault. I looked at the Big ?R? driver, shook my head and told him that he?d better find another place to be since the warehouse manager called the police plus, I asked if the one driver caused the shutdown of an ailing company. I didn?t get any response; I knew none was coming either?

Meanwhile, Ben?s deep voice caught my attention as he confronted the leader of the ?pack?, one of the Red Star drivers. I wandered a little closer to the fracas and realized the guy in question was the same one I had a run in with after McLean had closed.
The Gem of Red Star kept cursing at Ben and threatening the Overnite driver at the same time. Ben was about the most gentle person anyone would ever meet but this day I can attest to the fact that he lost his cool, he picked the driver up, set him on the fender of the Red Star Ford and told him in no uncertain terms that he should leave before someone would have to come and claim the remains.
The entire yard grew eerily quiet and as if summoned by a ?Higher Power? the other drivers started leaving, the other Red Star driver told his now, quite humbled, buddy that he wanted nothing more to do with the childish games and wished him all the luck in the world?

When the police arrived Ben let the driver off of the fender and told the officers about the incident, the Red Star driver didn?t make a sound, I guess he was sure the 6?8? Ben would stuff him in the exhaust stack of the Ford.

Not sure what the outcome was concerning this little blotch in trucking history.
Damn, I?m glad the ?80?s are long gone

This is dedicated to Ben, the Gentle Giant...

Little trivia... For those who have seen Central Transport trucks(tank line out of Highpoint, NC) and possibly Colonial Freight trucks from the distant past.
Has anyone noticed the colour scheme for Overnite, Central and Colonial are the same.... Does anyone know why? I do...

 

DOC you are always holding us in suspense the trait of a good writer

 

OK classic for you I'll give away the answer!!!

The gentleman who owned Overnite... Mr. Cochrane and the owner of Central/Colonial Archie Honbarrier are cousins.

Before Central was absorbed by Superior Carriers(Which they are not) the trucks were painted in the grey and blue scheme identical to Overnites' as was Colonials trucks...

 

DOC it is amazing the amount of info you have stored in your brain still waiting for that book

 

Yeah, me too!!!

I wonder if there's a site for Transit Bus Operators or, Greyhound/Trailways drivers. I bet they would have some tales to tell.

Driving a bus: The only driving job(with the exception of livestock) where the freight talks back!!!

Back around 1990 I had a spat with the boss and tried to "broaden" my horizons by hiring on with the local transit company in Raleigh. The company, Capital Area Transit, hired me(what a shock) and I went through the obligatory training. To say the job was extremely interesting would be an understatement. I used my POV to learn each and every route the system had which made my solo appearance on the streets much less painful, not so sure about the passengers though!
One strict rule was enforced, DO NOT TOUCH THE PASSENGERS!

Well, all was going swimmingly for about a month or so, I landed a steady run and managed to keep the commuting Raleigh people happy with the exception of the select few that no one could ever please.
One particular morning run was just winding down when a lady passenger got on and sat behind me. I will add here that the partition between the driver and the first passenger seat was missing. Just as we approached the downtown area I felt something in my hair which was shoulder length. I looked up in the mirror and asked the lady what she was doing. She told me she loved my hair and then asked if I was single. I was shocked by the question and did tell her that I was not single and the hair was not mine either!!!
Needless to say I gassed on the throttle to make a quick ride to the downtown depot.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that driving a city bus in a college town(NC State) can be a real eye opening adventure as some of the late night runs had proven, especially on Friday night!! :shock:

A wise person had once coined the phrase "All good things must come to an end" The person was wise beyond their years. The bus gig came to an abrupt end on a Thursday morning when a dude boarded the bus and proceeded to give me a rash of shit over the fare, I tried real hard to avoid a confrontation with this person but when he spit on me the "golden" rule went out the window, unfortunately a supervisor was at the stop when the dude flew back out the door.
I just stepped off the bus handed the supervisor my load count, wandered to a pay phone, called the wife then the boss and went back on the road.
I did have to answer to a commision set up by the Mayor of Raleigh, I stood my ground explaining that I will tolerate alot of stuff but someone spitting on me was not on the tolerence list.

So much for the career change!