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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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Trip 51 - Used Mack - Cement Truck ... to Seattle, WA Was going to try again to take my truck from a couple of weeks ago to Seattle … knew about it a couple of days ahead of time so I got a very cheap airline ticket $97 for a Friday flight. The run is only three days, so I wanted to change my pickup date from Monday to Tuesday, but once I got the ticket I couldn't get a hold of dispatch to find out if it was OK … if not, I will spend an extra day in Seattle, the price of the ticket makes it worth it … so I have to show up Monday. They have no problem with leaving Tuesday, but have no work for Monday other than go get my truck out of the shop. Bad news, 10 miles from the shop the engine light is on again … back to the shop they won't be able to look at until later today … But great news just hours later … dispatch has other trucks going to Seattle, and I'll still be able to use my ticket ! 8/10/04 Tuesday AM, running with the driver that I did my longest trip last year with … 6 days, five nights. A couple of minus' … we have to take a two hour shuttle to pickup our trucks, and they are used trucks. Someone got the better deal today … two new cargo vans to CA. They'll be driving 10 miles per hour plus faster than us, no scales and a lot nicer ride. Trucks start, that's always good … 141,000 miles on my truck … had thought I might pay the fuel on this trip, glad I didn't … boss hasn't raise the fuel surcharge for weeks, even though fuel has gone up every week … and this is one of the Mack's with a five-speed, not geared for mileage … should have done the math on the other drivers truck last week so I'd know how it pays, guess I'll know in a few days. This should be a 2-1/2 day run … guess this is our ½ day, it's almost noon by the time we've done our inspections and are rolling … which puts us three hours behind last week … not much chance of making it to Miles City tonight unless we run till three AM. The majority of farmers in these parts have some fairly new equipment, but did see a couple of farmers baling hay out here, one's equipment was all pre-70's ... the other had tractors from the 50's but his baler was a little newer ... then there was the guy who was driving his tractor with hay baler right down the Interstate ... These trucks always come with a full tank of fuel, they weren't full, so we pull of to the customers tank for our fill … a couple of hours later we are fueling again, this is going to be a long trip if we can only run 150 miles on a tank, but don't want to find out where 'E' really is … No problems in MN … in ND we fuel and hit an open scale … more fuel, more fuel … four fuel stops today before shutting down at dark at the Motel 6 in Bismarck … $44. Today looked pretty much the same as this stretch did last week. The other driver doesn't want a meal so I'm off to the Perkins by myself … it's 10 PM by the time we shut down so everything else is closed … back at the motel he's still got the TV on, but sees it my way and the day is over. 8/11/04 Beats last week where we couldn't run until 10 AM … we are off by 8. Fuel at the first truck stop we see and fuel again at the Flying J in Beach … last of the cheap(er) fuel. When we hit Miles City I finally have a cell signal so I'm checking in and miss the other driver flashing his lights at me … should have been break and fuel time, there was a Pilot there which would have gotten us to Billings. Instead we have to stop at a 'Town Pump' in downtown Forsyth … which for me was a good thing … with a fast truck I can make it to Forsyth on my first day out, but have never done it because none of the motels are on the Interstate and I had no way of knowing the cost … the only one with a big sign is at $55, which is over my limit. They do have two options I saw … a Rest-wel for $26 and a (something) Rail with truck parking … so next time I'm solo. The other driver called dispatch from Forsyth and had our WA permit's faxed to the Flying J in Billings, not sure why … we wouldn't need fuel that soon and that place is #2 behind the Flying J in Gary, IN as the biggest pain's to get in and out of. As long as we are stopped we fuel … we only logged a half hour off but I think it was more than that … should have shut my phone off yesterday across ND, it wore the battery down looking for service and now I find out that the lighter in this old truck doesn't work … gotta, gotta get either an AC charger or a second battery for this cell. The first four MT scales were closed today so we stop at Billings … "Did you flag these drivers in?" one of the help asks the others … no, we just knew we had do stop … to avoid that $135 fine if they come after us. Guess we could get this permit ahead also, they had a couple of calls for that while we were waiting … place does now take credit, so I did … still running low on cash, need to save enough for our cab to our motel after our drop … thinking that will be about $50-60 to split. We did a good 500 miles yesterday so we need 650+ today … logged 683 miles by the time we hit Butte. The mileage isn't adding up, must be something wrong with the odometer or they have a wrong size tires on this thing. We knew there is nothing cheep in this part of the country … he calls ahead to the Motel 6 … $60. There is a coupon for the motel next to the Flying J for a little less, oh well with the Motel 6 we know what we are getting. They have us park at the Pilot/Town Pump … Had seen the news that Town Pump was going to co-brand their truck stops … think we hit half of them this trip. Tonight the other driver does want a meal so we walk to the Town Pump … lot's of seats … one waitress. The other guy ends up eating his salad with his fingers, because she never came back … and there wasn't any silverware on any of the other tables either. I ordered a French dip … tasted good enough, but came with maybe a ¼ of the meat that most of them do … when I opened the bun, I could see the bun between the thinly sliced pieces of meat. And the service was slow. By the time we got back to the motel, we had about six hours till our wake up call. 8/12/04 Sun is just coming up when we head out, not supposed to run these mixers in the dark … can't see if the drums are turning. The drum turning was a real problem to start with yesterday … it kept slowing down and stopping, finally I wedged a couple of the large paperclips so that the drum lever couldn't vibrate to a stop … did the trick. Fueled at the Flying J across the Interstate, wrong move … fuel at the Town Pump was four cents less. Somehow made 200 miles on that last tank full, up from the 150 from the first tanks … wonder if the odometer being wrong has anything to do with that. Somewhere along the Clark Fork river, I saw three people in a little boat ... two guys fishing and a woman at the oars ... ah-ha ... that's why guys like to take their wives fishing ... then an hour or so later, I saw another three in a boat ... now I'm thinking the one at the oars is the fishing guide. Clark Fork is a beautiful area ... the road winds between the mountains crossing over the river, the railroad and an abandon railroad ... would be nice to see that section of railway turned into a bike trail ... looks like the ID section has been ... parts of it anyhow, from Wallace into Seattle. When we stop for our ID permits I ask about the fine for failing to get that permit … 'Life in prison' was the only answer I could get out of them … Normally I don't downshift either going up or down the mountains … most of the time we have automatics so it's not an option … but today going up the MT side of the MT / ID line, in the single lane through road construction we got behind a semi and had no choice but to down shift. So I just stayed there going down the other side … Whoa … heart just skipped a beat … coming down the side of the mountain the transmission jumped out of gear … do not want to find out how it feels to use those runaway ramps. But within a couple of l-o-n-g seconds I was back in gear. Stop at another Town Pump / Pilot for a morning break and to make some phone calls. Some people are just sick … the cleaning crew should get hazard pay for the mess they were going to have to clean up. Later I try stopping for fuel just past Walls, ID in a town called Kellogg … but the other driver waves me on … ouch … my gauge had been bouncing between ¼ and 'E' so I told him we were stopping, but when I got back to my truck the gauge had settle on ¼ so we didn't fuel. Made it all the way to the Post Falls Flying J … 305 miles. Not sure what is going on with this mileage … 141,000 miles these trucks should have been broken in … did we get some bad fuel the first fill? For the rest of the trip we need to push it, the drop is open 24/7 but we want to be to the motel at a decent hour … no stopping to eat so I grab a couple of burgers from the McD's next door. As soon as we find out how we are getting from our drop I'll be calling motel's … printed out a couple of coupons with shuttle service to the airport, but … If we have to cab it, we may want to find something closer to our drop for a few bucks more if they will give us a free shuttle. WA … I should have logged all the info for Exit 101 last week, much nicer ride and I followed the other driver the whole trip. WA scale, no problem … even though it's noon, there was some minor traffic delays in Spokane. By the time we get to Spokane it is getting hot ... finally turned on the air, the other driver had been running his and it kicked his engine temp up over 200, so he was wondering how it was going to do in the mountains (should be cooler in the mountains, but). On our first long climb I noticed I was losing him which shouldn't happen, his truck has been out running mine for two days ... then I looked down out my gauges ... 200+ ... off went the air ... only time all trip I pulled off to wait for him (at the next rest area) ... making sure he wasn't overheating ... he wasn't, so we were off and but so was the air. Glad I'm doing my first trip across Northeastern WA in the daylight … Had I taken the refer like I was supposed too, I was going to make it as far past Spokane as I could the second night. NOT a good plan … there is nothing past Spokane … in 300 miles, you have Ritzville … Moses Lake … Ellensburg… and a Best Western in the winter resort area … plus maybe two or three places to fuel. By now dispatch has gotten the other driver a flight out of Seattle … $100 more, but that's still under $200 … and he's on an earlier, more direct flight. I'm going to be checking if I can switch to that flight. The other driver had wanted to stop at the Columbia River overlook … I was leading and not sure where it was so I pushed our 'break' past our usual two hours. Shouldn't have done that, we didn't make it to the view area and it was now past 4:30 and dispatch would be closed … didn't do our PM check-in. Did have a message from dispatch when I checked my phone … good message … the guy at the drop will take us to the motels by the airport … YES! Just in case, I called dispatch … they were working late again and picked up … all is set. Find the Columbia River Scenic View area, stop view, take a couple of pictures … and make some phone calls. Now that we know that we have a ride from the customer, I start calling motels … he had stayed at a Days Inn before so he wants to call them. First I call the Travel Lodge ($44) … sorry, they are now a 'Quality Inn' and the price is now $79 … next I call the Rodeway Inn … yes, yes and yes … they have rooms, they are still $49, and they have an airport shuttle 24/7 (not really … I don't think a lot of flights come in between midnight and 4 AM. Plan is to stop at the Flying J at Ellensburg to add a few gallons, enough to make it to our drop … 10 gallons should do it. These tanks are not like the newer fuel tanks … on the newer ones you can get 2/3 of your miles on the top half of the tank and then the gauges drops fast … on this one we are getting more miles out of the bottom half than the top half. Had problems finding this Flying J, the exit is marked well, they do have a highway sign … but nothing on the building or pumps, all those signs say it's an Exxon station … had to circle back to get to it. A few more miles and we are off of the Interstate … two lane state highway … some three lane depending on if you are going up or down hill … and road construction. When we got off I-90, there were two turn lanes … I followed the semi's, I shouldn't have … I had to stay behind them for the next 20 miles, with a Gordon truck in the lead … 35 mph up and down the hills. Finally for the last five or so miles it was four lane … at one point I had to scramble to find my paperwork … with no prior notice there as an exit for Hwy 169 … the other driver had referred to our highway as that, but ours was Highway 167. Found it … our drop, now to back around to park the trucks … only one truck length between the road and his shop. Two of our drivers dropped trucks for him on Monday, by tonight those trucks have already been completely reworked and are ready to be painted. C.O.D. … cost of the transport only … never done one before … (now I know what the boss makes on these / or this trip anyhow.) Now I know that the mileage on this truck is wrong, other than fuel and motel stops … which usually at about 10 miles … we followed the computer exactly … and drop 160 miles more than we should have. Does sort of mess up a logbook, I was adding extra time so that it wouldn't look like I was going over the speed limit. The other drivers gauges weren't working at all so he was no help. The customer gives us our much appreciated ride … took us a couple of turns to find the hotel, it sits way off the street behind two other motels, and has a very small sign at sidewalk height. We check in and then head out to find food … the other driver suggests Denny's but I try to stay away from our local chains when on the road. Our closest option is the Holiday Inn next door … we find the bar, but not the restaurant … as we are looking at the menu, I notice it is called 'Top of the City' … ah-ha … the restaurant is at the top of the motel. We ask, and the same food is available upstairs so up we go. Now this is trucking … eating at a revolving restaurant at the top of the tallest building for miles … with waiters / waitress' who alternate as vocal entertainment. Not a very busy place, a couple of guys from the bar followed us up here when they heard they could get the same food up stairs … plus a couple of groups of a dozen … and maybe two other tables. Not one of their better nights. Food was good, much more meat on my French Dip sandwich than last night …$10 for the sandwich and lemonade … not a bad price for a place like this. View was great, when we sat down we could see the sunset, by the time we were done eating it was dark and we could see the airplanes lined up in the sky in formation waiting to land. The room does one complete spin in an hour … when we'd gone a turn and a half I realized it was time to go … didn't get to hear our waitress' turn at the mike … sounded good on an earlier birthday duet. (am now sitting in Phoenix airport … message just came over … 'Passengers on flight ### to Spokane, your flight has been CANCELED … please come to our customer service area to discuss your options' … ouch) 1/13/04 5:15 AM local … the other driver is already up before our wakeup call so I shut off my phone, thinking that would also shut off the alarm … it didn't … it went off when I was in the bathroom, wearing down my battery. My cell was in the other drivers truck most of yesterday getting charged, now its back down to two bars again. We are down and checking out 15 minutes before we want to catch the shuttle … doesn't help, the other driver is using the ATM when they start loading and there is not enough room for everyone … he's not happy and gets a little vocal until he realizes there is another couple that didn't make it in that has less than an hour to flight (or so they said). By now there is another ½ dozen people wanting to board … they squeeze in the two and are gone … back in 15 minutes, kids have to sit on laps this trip too. Didn't think about it then, but we could have walked to the airport faster than wait the 15 minutes for the shuttle to come back … not sure how security looks at people walking into the airport grounds … doubt there is a sidewalk. At the airport there are about 30 ahead of us but the line moves quickly. I'm hoping to switch flights and get home a few hours earlier … no luck, the gal at the counter won't do it (I don't remember her exact words). The whole while we are in line there is a guy discussing / arguing with one of the agents about a flight to FL that was canceled … lets see … they are evacuating people by the 1,000's due to the hurricane … what part of canceled due to weather doesn't he understand? Security … first time for everything … bought my ticket early enough that I wasn't flagged 'SSSS' for special screening. At the boarding gate I try to switch flights again … this time the gal is more than willing to help … until she has to ask some something as she's working the computer … "Sorry, you bought your ticket at a discounted rate … the computer will not allow us to change the ticket without collecting the difference." … no thanks … I got my ticket for under a $100 … the going rate for that seat is around $250 (I didn't ask) … nothing I was going to do in those three hours tonight was worth $50 an hour. Last trip out I asked the airline about waiting for late connecting flights … 'We don't wait' … but today at Las Vegas I and others heard the captain saying we were waiting for a flight from LA … and one guy got on about 15 minutes after everyone else. A couple hours later this really hit home to a bunch of passengers when they began to realize that now they were going to miss THEIR connecting flights out of Phoenix. First we have to wait for a passenger, then we have to wait for the runway … about an hour delay … when we lifted off I could count the planes behind us … 16 … backed all the way up to airport, so I'm assuming there were more planes waiting at the terminal … can't block the runways so the arriving planes can't get in. Have to remember to bring something to drink to the airport, instead of throwing everything before I board. $3.00 for a bottle of lemonade. And have to remember to check my tickets … on this leg I am seated in row one of coach again, where I can't put my bag / laptop under my seat. This time I do fit it overhead but the 'fasten seatbelt' light is on for most of the first hour so I can't get to it … could have if I'd have gotten any other seat. The ride wasn't too rough, but the pilot was flying between the storm clouds, banking right and left with the clouds just off the tips of the wings. And I don't have a window seat either, and when I don't … that's when the captain gives the play by play … 'there's a crater off to the left' … 'over Durango, CO right now' … 'should be able to see the Denver runways in about 18 minutes,' And sitting in the first row of coach I get to see that first class gets food on this trip … all eight of them … looks good … One expensive meal though, at last check it was $300 more than I paid … that plus they have a wider seat. |