11/26-27/07
I didn’t do much yesterday just as planned. I did run into one other Davis driver that has the same load as I do and we decided we would run together on Tuesday.

We awoke Tuesday morning to about 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and heavy snow falling. We got rolling about 5:30 this morning and I swear the Montana Department of Transportation does not care about the roads since I-90 was not even touched! We crept along at 30mph and after struggling to see in the snowy darkness and not being able to determine where the shoulders of the road were, we decided it would be a lot safer to pull over and waited for daylight.

Once it was bright enough to see better, we continued to creep along. We made it to Look Out Pass and were greeted with the “Chains Required” sign. Although there were many trucks going over the pass without them, we decided not to chance a ticket or accident and went ahead and put ours on. This was the first time I have had to actually put them on and it was not as bad as I expected, in fact, it was rather easy. Just like putting them on a 4wheeler but on a larger scale. As we went up the pass, I really did not see the need for them but sure did feel a lot better going down the other side with them on.

4th of July pass was clear and the roads were nice from Spokane to North Bend which is where we are shut down. There are at least 4 of the 8 trucks here. The one driver that I ran from Missoula with and I were originally scheduled to make our drops on Thursday but the customer said he would take it tomorrow. North Bend positions us about 40-45 miles from the customer so it should be an easy run in tomorrow.

Hopefully I can get emptied and reloaded and out of this area before the 2nd storm hits.

 

I hope you heal soon and are able to return to driving if that is what you still want to do.

 

dewercs2

Thanks for updating us! I enjoyed speaking with your wife and you on the phone.

Please keep us updated!

Do you know who had the truck before you by any chance? Just curious.

I am glad that you made it out alive. For you and your family were very blessed that night.

Take Care

Goin Fer It's Wife

 

Sorry you did not get through town earlier in time for leftovers. I don't know what is up with this you keep coming through here and my husband is down in Texas :shock: I joked about that before he got this load I said watch DD will be running the I-90 and you will be in Texas, sure enough it happened.

I hope you get out also before the next snow hits. I think they are calling for 2-4 inches here tomorrow night and also snow on Thursday.

Goin Fer It's Wife

 

Hey, I have been driving and not on the net for some time. DD called me last week and told me about dewercs2 accident. I am sorry to hear about it, but I glad he is okay.

I delivered my load to Pella last week on Tuesday. Was assigned to pickup a load of mesh wire in Centerville, IA on Wednesday. Wednesday morning the truck would not start. This is the 4th time in a month. Shop had me go to KW dealer in York, NE where they swapped out all 4 batteries; Been good since.

Loaded in Centerville on Wednesday that was going to Casper, WY. Problem was it could not be delivered until Sunday(800 miles in 4 days :sad: ). I drove to York where the batteries were replaced. Thanksgiving morning I greased the truck and checked the brakes. Was going to drive only to Scottsbluff, NE, but ended going to Evansville, WY which is right outside Casper. Spent Friday doing a complete vehicle inspection and watching TV in the driver's lounge(I don't/won't have a TV in my truck!). Saturday, I hiked 8 miles round trip into Casper to shop at Wal-Mart and the Mall; I needed the exercise. I went right passed the construction site I was to deliver at on Sunday.

Delivered early Sunday morning and drove over to the Flying J in Casper(It is a very small truckstop). I changed clothes and went to church. Back to the truck and got to bed early. Monday morning I was dispatched to pickup in Greybull, WY; I thought this would happen and wish I could have got the dispatch earlier.

I am now at the I80 truck stop for the night. Tomorrow it is off to Pennsylvania and I hope to deliver in Washington DC Thursday afternoon.

Well off to bed; Tomorrow is another long day. I do hope that dewercs2 and jvnd are back on the road soon. Night!

 

Kinda ironic how that has been happening (GFI in my neck of the woods and me in his) :lol: I too am hoping that I get reloaded and out of the area before the next snow storm but I am not holding my breath on it.

Oh, and Thank you very much for the offer for "turkey day" leftovers, that is very kind of you.

 

Thanks DD for the best wishes. You bet I want to drive . I really enjoyed it. Can't wait to get behind the wheel. I just talked to my trainer and he had some surprising news about Davis. I'm not sure if anyone else knows so I'll wait a couple of days before I say anything since I am hearing it second hand. If it's correct I won't be back with Davis. Hey Danske it was nice meeting you in Missoula also. Remember "Pappy Boyington" rules? Hahaha

 

i know i know....lol

then again i am an o/o

never know....you might be back...to bad about yer accident though...thats a tought break especially when starting out

 

11/28/07
There were 4 of us Davis drivers here at North Bend last night. One, the guy I ran with from Albert Lea, MN to Missoula, MT went in first. I and the driver that I ran with from Missoula to here went in next and the 4th followed about 30 minutes behind us. While at the customer waiting in line, 2 other driver rolled in to unload. I guess one driver unloaded yesterday so that left only one left to unload either today or tomorrow.

Anyways, once I called in my empty status I was given a choice of 2 loads. One was going to New Hampshire and the other was going to Sandow, TX. Since I have felt like a ping pong ball bouncing from coast to coast lately, I chose the Texas load for a change of scenery……..ok, well maybe that was not the only reason since I live in San Antonio and have not been home in about 7 weeks or so. I will load out of Wenatchee, WA on Friday morning and head on down to Sandow. I have not gotten all the details on the miles, but it should be decent at about 2,000 or so.

Now onto some news…..There has been a rumor floating around for some time that I never mentioned before. I did not want to say anything because all I knew was that it was a rumor and not fact. Well that rumor was confirmed to be true today. Davis Transport will be converting over to 100% Owner Operators by the first of next year. So what does that mean for the current company drivers? Well it appears that most, not all, will be offered to Lease Purchase their currently assigned truck (or one of their choosing that is available based on a first come first serve basis). Those drivers that Davis feels are shall we say less than productive will not be offered the deal and let go. For those that are productive drivers but choose not to take the LP deal will be given assistance in finding another job.

So what does all this mean for me? Well I had not planned on announcing this until after the holidays, but I have been for some time now considering becoming an O/O. To make a long story short, long before all this news came about; I found a truck and trailer and started the ball rolling on purchasing it. I am buying a 2001 Western Star with a 2003 Transcraft Eagle II 48x96 spread axle trailer. I am picking it up in about 2 ˝ weeks and will be bringing it back to lease onto Davis after the New Year.

I know there are many that will criticize me for doing it but that’s o.k. I hope there will be a few that at least wish me luck in my new endeavor even if they think I am making a mistake. I have been researching this for about 2 years now and ever since signing onto Davis I have been getting the information on each load as it would pay to an O/O as well as all the maintenance cost etc. Yes there are many, many pro’s and cons to it, and NO I do not know everything there is to know about it but I feel I know enough that I can be successful.

I could continue to crunch numbers all day long every day, but until I get off the side lines and jump into the game, there is no way of knowing what the outcome would be. I am fortunate enough to have a few friends that are O/O’s (including here at Davis) that are ready and willing to assist me should I have questions or need advice. I have also be assured my some higher ups at Davis that they will do everything they can (although most of it will be up to me) to help me be successful. If I am successful as an O/O with them, then they to are successful. One of my family friends that is an O/O that runs his own authority, told me that one of several key aspects is to always remember that you are businessman first, and a driver second. He said that if I always keep that priority then I should come out on top.

So, when the New Year comes and I cross over to the other side of the fence, I hope that those of you that follow my thread will wish me luck and success.

Anyways, now that the “big” news is out of the bag, back to my boring adventures. I am once again shut down at the North Bend TA for the night. When I called my customer for directions, the gal told me there was no where on or near their property for me to park over night. So tomorrow I will check out the atlas and truck stop guide and see where I can position myself for a quick and easy run into their facility. Hopefully I will find something.

 

Yes the news is true, just posted about it in my journal.