i really didn't want to take this short run from the yard to IA. Only about 240 miles. The short ones usually don't pay enough for the trouble, but no-one else was available to do it. This one is really turning out to be trouble. Last night two of my older straps broke while running down the interstate. Luckily they weren't both on the same piece or it probably would have fallen off the trailer. I had to pull off a ramp and replace the two busted straps. I hate working in the dark on the s...

After making my delivery in Milwaukee today I was sent to Beaver Dam, WI to pick up some fuel tanks used for generators. They're heading to the Generac plant in Iowa. Wasn't I just in Iowa this morning? Deja vu again. I'm still in WI but only about 3 1/2 hours from the Iowa delivery point. I'll be getting an early start in the morning. The customer wants delivery by 10am. Maybe. maybe not. We'll see. Once I make the delivery I will be picking up some finished generators from the same plant...

I spent the night at the Iowa 80 truckstop in Walcott, IA. It's billed as the world's largest truckstop. I could have and should have kept going instead of stopping here but I was tired (still fighting this bug) and haven't been here in a couple of years. The place is truly large. It has a full restaurant as well as a some fast food places and is much like a small shopping mall selling everything from truck accesories to clothing. There are also a number of antique trucks on display which ...

My final stop at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City is not getting off to a roaring start here. First off the dumbass gave me directions to wrong gate and cost me about 15 minutes getting turned around and traveling to the correct gate for which I had driven right past the exit to get to the wrong one. I finally got to the correct gate, got through the security inspection and to the delivery location on the base only to find the area, a fuel depot, far too small to easily maneuver in and it took ...

Ever since I started working for this company we have been paid via an actual paper paycheck that had to be picked up at the office. That's all well and good but if you were still out on the road on payday you had to wait until you reached the yard to get your check. And then of course you had to hope the bank was open while you there so that you could actually cash it. It was a real pain in the arse. The company has finally switched our payroll over so that we get our pay directly on our ...

My truck is restocked on groceries but I just didn't feel like nuking anything so I came inside for dinner. I ordered the New York Strip. What a disappointment. The steak was tough and the baked potato even tougher. A real waste of $16. Back to the truck now to wait for the indigestion to subside. Yuk.

It turns out my dispatcher had added up the dimensions of my load but neglected to add up the weight. When he finally got around to it it turned out it was far too heavy. Back to square one. He put together a load that is going to Hanibal, MO, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City. Not exactly what I had expected but is ok. I'm back at the hotel for tonight and will leave out tomorrow. With this bad cold that's fine with me. I went over to Appleby's for dinner and then over to the hotel next d...

I got up this morning at the hotel. I sucked down some much needed coffee, showered, shaved for the first time in three days, and dressed for work. I was expecting my load to be ready for me to secure it and start making my way toward OK. When I reached the yard I didn't see any loaded trailer that looked like my load so I went into the office to see what was up. It seems that while he had been adding up the dimensions of the pieces to be sure they would all fit on the trailer he forgot to...

As I suspected, the tiredness I had been feeling was the early stages of some damn bug I've picked up some place. After doing a short run down to O'Hare airport yesterday I returned and went to bed. I managed to sleep for 14 hours but it didn't help, I still feel like crap. I'm going to be running a load down to TX with a stop off at an Air Force Base in OK, which is ok with me. The boss initially asked if I could make the OK stop Friday but I told him I'm really not feeling well and maybe...

Tonight was a typical night at the yard. After doing the things that had to be done I went down to the bar at the bottom of the hill for a bite to eat and a few brews. Naturally a few of our drivers and the guys from the office also wandered in. Some folks seem to bond, some folks don't. I guess I'm one of the "don't". All of the folks I work with know my name and are all friendly, but we aren't close. Some of them do seem to be close and know a lot about each other's personal lives. I am...

I made my delivery in Minneapolis yesterday. It was raining and cold and took far too long in my opinion. Standing in a cold rain does seem to make everything take too long. Once the machine was unloaded they loaded up the forklift I was to pick up there and I started making my way back across the state to the yard. It wasn't really a hard day at all but for some reason by the time I reached the yard I was exhausted although I'm not sure why. I was looking forward to some rest. The boss...

Today was a pretty laid back day for me as is appropriate for a Sunday I suppose. I slept in until 7:00 at which time Socrates lost patience and insisted that I get up. I bobtailed down to the truckstop for some much needed coffee and a nice hot breakfast. While enjoying my morning repast I got my paperwork all caught up on the laptop so that I could print it all out and drop it in the mailbox back at the yard upon my return. Getting paid can get to be somewhat important from time to time,...

After putting off my first stop this morning I made my way to the yard so our shop could perform the annual DOT inspection on my truck. I made it to the yard about 11:00am. The shop closes at noon on Saturday. After getting the truck serviced and doing all of the expected small talk with everyone, I made my way down the hill to the bar. At this point the boss was down there and I found a seat next to him. I've always liked Pete and I've had the impression he's liked me as well. We chatted...

Things are starting to cool off a bit. It seems like it's a month early, but that's the way the weather can be. When I awoke this morning in Southern KY it was downright chilly. It was also very, very foggy which made the first 100 miles or so of my day rather slow going. I've made contact with both delivery points and have set up times for delivery. Saturday morning in WI and Monday morning in Minneapolis. After delivering the WI stop I'll make my way to the yard so I can get my paperwork...

I'm in NE Georgia to pick up a press heading to Minneapolis. Being a piece of machinery designed to be indoors, it has to be tarped to prevent water damage during transport. The thing is 4 feet wide by 6 feet long by 11 feet tall. And it's pouring rain. I hit rain yesterday and it hasn't stopped yet. We can't load the thing in the rain as it would get rather wet which would not be a good thing. I am also not entirely interested in tarping something in the rain. Those big tarps are hard eno...