High-Seas to Highways
#431
09-17-2007, 04:13 AM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
Originally Posted by broncrider1
i wish i had known you were in walcott, as i was there too...and we even left around the same time
maybe next time around huh J/K 
#432
09-17-2007, 04:15 AM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
Originally Posted by dewercs2
Sorry I haven't posted in a few days.....
I was in Missoula for about 3 days. I had to test drive my truck about 3 times up the sissy course and into that driveway that us trainiees have to drive out of to get issued our own truck. I ended up coming out of truck 374t and was issued 402t. I looked at the outside and it has a new chrome tank and the wheels have been polished so I was think'n cool Im getting a truck that has been taken care of by the previous driver. I spoke to the yard guy and he was scrubbuing the floor boards of the truck to make it look good for me. I went around to the passenger side and poked my head inside the truck......  I was greated with the aroma of cigerattes :sad: and since I don't smoke I was a little bit upset that I would have to deal with my new home smelling like an ashtray. I was in my truck cleaning and wiping it down and after an hour I went in and spoke to my truck boss. I explained that I was not a smoker and the truck I was to move into was a smokers truck. He said no problem and gave me a list of 2 other trucks to look at. 8) So back out to the lot I went. I looked for the first truck on the list and could no find it. I was told it was not road worthy yet. So off to look for the other truck which I found next auto repair shop. I looked inside.... 8) I'll take this truck. So now I'm moved into a 06KW with a cummins 450 ISX motor. I like this truck!!!!I took off from Missoula on Friday night and as I was getting into Bonner, MT the check engine light came on. To turn back or keep going sprung into my mind but the heck with it... Off to Laurel, MT I went. I called in on Sat am and told Davis what was going on and they transferred the call to the shop. I pulled the code and was told it was a coolant sensor. I told them that the motor was running fine and that there was nothing else wrong. I was tod to contact the shop on Monday. I have been driving this for 2 days now and it rides so nice. The power to climb hills and not worry about anything is such a relief! Im in Walcott right now and still need to have this load to S. Carolina. The original date to deliver was Monday the 17th. But with being in Missoula for the 3 days knocked that off date off. Well gotta get to sleep... Paul 339T
#433
09-17-2007, 04:17 AM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
9/16/07
Although I had every intention to get up early and start running, I found myself moving a little slow and easy through my “morning ritual’ and did not hit the road at my pre-planned time. Once I did get rolling and the morning fog burned away, it turned out to be a beautiful day for driving. Sirius radio was playing all my favorite rock & roll tunes all day which got me pumped up, adding to and making the drive delightful. I ended up running hard despite my slightly slow start today and shut it down in FT. Bridger, WY. I think I am back in my “groove” again and it feels good. I don’t think I mentioned this before, but while I was at home this last time, I did something to my left shoulder that made it feel sore. Well for the past week it seems to have gotten more aggravated. To top it off, the other day while I was in E. Palestine, OH, I was cranking down on one of the winches when it made a “pop” sound and felt like someone just jabbed a hot knife in it. Over the past few days I have rubbed “Icy-Hot” on it and popped a couple of aspirin to help dull the pain. This seemed to work for an hour or so (just enough to let me fall asleep) but that is about it. It had gotten to the point to where I could not sleep well as every time I rolled over on it, the pain would wake me. Well today at the TA truck stop in FT. Bridger, I decided to blow some of my hard earned money and get a massage. I showed the lady the spot that was hurting and she rubbed/massaged it with some smelly “medicine” stuff. Well I must say that it was the best $30 bucks I have spent in a long time because my shoulder feels great, and its 3 hours later. Anyways, I only have about 900 miles to go to Albany and plan to knock out at least 2/3rd’s of that tomorrow. I doubt that I will be able to get these loads off by the 18th as I wanted to, but it will depend on what the receiving hours are of the 3 customers I have. If I don’t get any of it off, it won’t be the end of the world since they’re not even due until the 20th.
#434
09-17-2007, 11:19 PM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
09/17/07
For a while there, today was my last day with Davis and my last day in the trucking industry as I was ready to throw in the towel. :cry: You see, the day started off just fine as I woke at 4am, did my usual morning routine and was on the road just before 5am. I am cruising down the road listening to Sirius radio, traffic is extremely light and I just know it’s going to be a great day. Well so I thought. I cross into Idaho and less than 50 miles in there is a Weigh Station. I pull in and roll across the scale and then given the green light. Only next to the green light the sign that says “park and bring in your papers” is lit up. O.K……no problem. The DOT officer says “did you see your weight?” I did not but replied with a “yes”. He says “you’re over weight on your axle” as he shows me a little print out. Huh? No way!!! 4,000lbs over on my drives!!!!!!!!!! :shock: I think to myself, that can’t be right. I seen what the weight of each coil was when I was loaded and my gross weight is just a touch over 70,000lbs. He writes me a $67 ticket, which by the way, is the very first ticket I have ever gotten in my entire life.  ops: He also says I will need a special permit to get me to the next safe haven and it will cost $50. I did not want to argue or challenge the officer so I took the ticket and went out to the truck. There, the Sailor/Biker/Trucker in me came out with a fury as I cussed up a storm in frustration. :evil: I call into Davis and tell them what just happened. My Truck Manager, although sounding a little condescending with his “you should of, could of” B.S. was rather calm cool and collected. He said go on down to the nearest truck stop with scales and scale out. Maybe, just maybe the DOT scale is wrong. Yeah right, fat chance. :roll: I get to the Loves truck stop in Heyburn, ID and scale out. Low and behold, the DOT officer WAS wrong…..I am not 4,000lbs over on my drives, I am only 3,840 over. :cry: I call my Truck Manager and he says to ask if there is any type of fork lift service near by that can shift my load. I ask and they tell me to check across the street. I go and ask them and they say “yeah we can help you, how much do the coils weigh”; I replied “about 3500lbs each” and I just need to move 2 of them and replace them further back on the deck”. Well he shakes his head and says he is sorry but his fork lift can not handle it but does suggest another place down the street. I go to that place and they say “yeah sure but our fork lift will cost you $60 an hour”. Well what choice do I have?? So I go get the truck and drive over to the place and remove the tarp and chains. I get to looking at the space available and think it my be close because of the other stuff I have on and I had better measure it. Sure enough it will not fit unless the ENTIRE load is shifted back to make room. So you guessed it, I unstrap everything and they start moving it. They get done and I feel better now, only a few hours are wasted and I should be all nice and legal now. I re-chain, re-strap, and re-tarp the load and head back over to scale it again. Shit, I am still over weighing in at 35,020!!! :evil: Over 7,000 pounds moved and all it did was made a 2,800lb difference. I knew that it would not change the entire 7,000+ lbs, but I expected more than 2800. Long story short, I ended up sliding the 5th wheel almost all the way forward, took and put up the rear of my side kit and then placed all of the rest of the side kit, including all the stakes, all my remaining chains off the headache rack as well as all my straps and strapped it all to the last 2 feet of deck space on the rear of the trailer. After I re-tarped it I went to scale yet again and I am STILL over!!!! *F* this *S*, I am ready to quit! However, this time I am only over by 580lbs and I believe, or hope anyways, that if I run my fuel down low I might be able to knock a couple hundred of those pound off and although I will still be over, it will only be by 200lbs, at least that is what I am crossing my fingers for. So, about 6 hours later and $200 (fine, permit, fork lift, scales, etc) I have learned a VALUEABLE lesson, and hope others will learn from my mistake……..when the load is close to weight, scale it!!!!!! No if, ands, or buts about it. On a brighter note, another Davis driver pulled in just as I was finishing up and although I did not need any help at that point, I did appreciate him coming over with his gloves on ready to lend a hand. I explained to him what happened and he just chuckled, saying he has been in my shoes before and feels for me. He also stated that it happens to everyone at least once. Not sure if that is true, but for a ½ of minute it did make me feel good. Anyways, I decided that I was just too dang tired to go anywhere and will stay here the night. Any thoughts of delivering this load early, even a day early, are nothing more than wishful thinking. The load will now be delivered on its originally planned date. Oh, and one last thing……..to top off my wonderful day, I am at a Love’s truck stop, I hate these places because they are so small and therefore I never fuel at them, which in turn mean I do not earn any credits on my reward card, which in turn means I have NO shower credits and I am filthy. Since I am already $200 poorer, I guess I will have to settle for the old fashion way and just wash up the best I can……..what a freaking day!! Get this, right after typing this entry; I go to get my air card so I can post it online. Well it is not where I usually keep it, no problem it probably bounced off the shelf and fell on the floor like it has a couple of times in the past. I look and look and look, tearing apart the sleeper looking for it. 20 Minutes later, I look on the passenger seat and there it is. I must have put it there at the same time I grabbed the laptop and forgot. This day needs to go bye-bye real fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#435
09-17-2007, 11:55 PM
Yup DD. You've just been where all of US have been before. I'm just surprised that you made it so far along the road, without getting that ticket !!
But..now you know. Scale that load, especially when you have a load like you have on, where it comes from 2 different shippers! Had you scaled at a TS before picking up the second portion of the load, you could have adjusted at the second shipper. Hang in there "Sailor boy"..your gonna do good!! Oh yeah..sorry I don't know ya...you could'a called, and you could have run out to a friend's place there in Rupert and they would have adjusted you..for free. Don has an 10 Ton overhead crane in his shop. Very handy when it comes to moving loads.
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#436
09-18-2007, 01:24 AM
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 2,065
Originally Posted by Orangetxguy
Yup DD. You've just been where all of US have been before. I'm just surprised that you made it so far along the road, without getting that ticket !!
But..now you know. Scale that load, especially when you have a load like you have on, where it comes from 2 different shippers! Had you scaled at a TS before picking up the second portion of the load, you could have adjusted at the second shipper. Hang in there "Sailor boy"..your gonna do good!! Oh yeah..sorry I don't know ya...you could'a called, and you could have run out to a friend's place there in Rupert and they would have adjusted you..for free. Don has an 10 Ton overhead crane in his shop. Very handy when it comes to moving loads.
#437
09-18-2007, 03:02 AM
DevilDice... Sounds like that was a day from hell for ya....
... So, is Davis going to reimburse you for anything? I'm in Corbin, Ky at a Loves. I like these places, as long as they are the new ones. Im taking a page from your book and trying to run early morning and then jump into a truck stop before everyone else does. Today was my first day doing it and it wasn't to bad. I almost started out to early before my 8hrs of sleeper were up so I just went back to sleep for 45 minutes. I spoke to Iowa this morning and told them that I had a concern with the fact that I was told to go to Saluda North Carolina but only see a Saluda South Carolina on the cities index of our map book. Turns out there are 2 Saludas and one is not listed... nice... :roll: ops: Glad I didn't go to South Carolina instead. So Im headed to North Carolina and only have approx. 280 miles to go. I was able to knock out 610 miles today which gave me a shorter distance to go tuesday. I'm gonna see if the cust wants me to deliver the 18th instead of the 19th...Anybody know why everything here in the south ends with "Ville". I guess it's not only the south.... CA has Victorville..... The things your mind start to ponder as you drive.... A couple hundred miles ago I thought of this new slick tool for drivers....but Now what was I going to invent....? Hey Greg.... Oh... did I mention I have a new truck.....with a big fancy engine.....Ooo La la....sweeeeeet! Feels like I went from a ridgid Harley to a Road Couch.....Ahhhhh.... Practically drives its self..... :wink: I better stop now.... My luck It'll break down on me.... :lol: Paul 339t
#438
09-18-2007, 03:53 AM
Originally Posted by devildice
09/17/07
For a while there, today was my last day with Davis and my last day in the trucking industry as I was ready to throw in the towel. :cry: You see, the day started off just fine as I woke at 4am, did my usual morning routine and was on the road just before 5am. I am cruising down the road listening to Sirius radio, traffic is extremely light and I just know it’s going to be a great day. Well so I thought. I cross into Idaho and less than 50 miles in there is a Weigh Station. I pull in and roll across the scale and then given the green light. Only next to the green light the sign that says “park and bring in your papers” is lit up. O.K……no problem. The DOT officer says “did you see your weight?” I did not but replied with a “yes”. He says “you’re over weight on your axle” as he shows me a little print out. Huh? No way!!! 4,000lbs over on my drives!!!!!!!!!! :shock: I think to myself, that can’t be right. I seen what the weight of each coil was when I was loaded and my gross weight is just a touch over 70,000lbs. He writes me a $67 ticket, which by the way, is the very first ticket I have ever gotten in my entire life. ops: He also says I will need a special permit to get me to the next safe haven and it will cost $50. I did not want to argue or challenge the officer so I took the ticket and went out to the truck. There, the Sailor/Biker/Trucker in me came out with a fury as I cussed up a storm in frustration. :evil: I call into Davis and tell them what just happened. My Truck Manager, although sounding a little condescending with his “you should of, could of” B.S. was rather calm cool and collected. He said go on down to the nearest truck stop with scales and scale out. Maybe, just maybe the DOT scale is wrong. Yeah right, fat chance. :roll: I get to the Loves truck stop in Heyburn, ID and scale out. Low and behold, the DOT officer WAS wrong…..I am not 4,000lbs over on my drives, I am only 3,840 over. :cry: I call my Truck Manager and he says to ask if there is any type of fork lift service near by that can shift my load. I ask and they tell me to check across the street. I go and ask them and they say “yeah we can help you, how much do the coils weigh”; I replied “about 3500lbs each” and I just need to move 2 of them and replace them further back on the deck”. Well he shakes his head and says he is sorry but his fork lift can not handle it but does suggest another place down the street. I go to that place and they say “yeah sure but our fork lift will cost you $60 an hour”. Well what choice do I have?? So I go get the truck and drive over to the place and remove the tarp and chains. I get to looking at the space available and think it my be close because of the other stuff I have on and I had better measure it. Sure enough it will not fit unless the ENTIRE load is shifted back to make room. So you guessed it, I unstrap everything and they start moving it. They get done and I feel better now, only a few hours are wasted and I should be all nice and legal now. I re-chain, re-strap, and re-tarp the load and head back over to scale it again. $&!+, I am still over weighing in at 35,020!!! :evil: Over 7,000 pounds moved and all it did was made a 2,800lb difference. I knew that it would not change the entire 7,000+ lbs, but I expected more than 2800. Long story short, I ended up sliding the 5th wheel almost all the way forward, took and put up the rear of my side kit and then placed all of the rest of the side kit, including all the stakes, all my remaining chains off the headache rack as well as all my straps and strapped it all to the last 2 feet of deck space on the rear of the trailer. After I re-tarped it I went to scale yet again and I am STILL over!!!! *F* this *S*, I am ready to quit! However, this time I am only over by 580lbs and I believe, or hope anyways, that if I run my fuel down low I might be able to knock a couple hundred of those pound off and although I will still be over, it will only be by 200lbs, at least that is what I am crossing my fingers for. So, about 6 hours later and $200 (fine, permit, fork lift, scales, etc) I have learned a VALUEABLE lesson, and hope others will learn from my mistake……..when the load is close to weight, scale it!!!!!! No if, ands, or buts about it. On a brighter note, another Davis driver pulled in just as I was finishing up and although I did not need any help at that point, I did appreciate him coming over with his gloves on ready to lend a hand. I explained to him what happened and he just chuckled, saying he has been in my shoes before and feels for me. He also stated that it happens to everyone at least once. Not sure if that is true, but for a ½ of minute it did make me feel good. Anyways, I decided that I was just too dang tired to go anywhere and will stay here the night. Any thoughts of delivering this load early, even a day early, are nothing more than wishful thinking. The load will now be delivered on its originally planned date. Oh, and one last thing……..to top off my wonderful day, I am at a Love’s truck stop, I hate these places because they are so small and therefore I never fuel at them, which in turn mean I do not earn any credits on my reward card, which in turn means I have NO shower credits and I am filthy. Since I am already $200 poorer, I guess I will have to settle for the old fashion way and just wash up the best I can……..what a freaking day!! Get this, right after typing this entry; I go to get my air card so I can post it online. Well it is not where I usually keep it, no problem it probably bounced off the shelf and fell on the floor like it has a couple of times in the past. I look and look and look, tearing apart the sleeper looking for it. 20 Minutes later, I look on the passenger seat and there it is. I must have put it there at the same time I grabbed the laptop and forgot. This day needs to go bye-bye real fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to hear about your day! I am not sure but I think hubby scales out quite a bit. I know more than once he told me it was over and he had to go back to the shipper and had they take some off. It is a hassle but when he was with May for his short time he got a scale ticket for I believe 300 over and it was $98.00. I am sure Davis will reimburse you for the money spent. I hope tomorrow is better for you! Goin Fer It's Wife
#439
09-18-2007, 03:56 AM
Originally Posted by dewercs2
Hey Greg....
Oh... did I mention I have a new truck.....with a big fancy engine.....Ooo La la....sweeeeeet! Feels like I went from a ridgid Harley to a Road Couch.....Ahhhhh.... Practically drives its self..... :wink: I better stop now.... My luck It'll break down on me.... :lol: Paul 339t Goin Fer It's Wife
#440
09-19-2007, 06:04 AM
I just spent half the night reading this because I stayed home from work because of a severe cold. Thanks for helping me pass the time
Excellent thread
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