 |
|
|
|
|
...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
|
NOTES - NEED TO BE WRITEN UP Airfare's 4PM + LAX/ONT 6PM + LAS Here is a sample of how the airline prices went up over five days. I have watched them go up faster, farther, but this is the first time I have logged the prices. Due to our late arrival in LA, our only option ended up being LAS / Las Vegas ... we also checked Loflin / Bullhead City, one day the tickets were $120 the next day they were gone. Ended up flying Sun Country for $200. The driver I ran with from the previous trip had gotten an $87 ticket on AmWest, but we were delayed 8 hours at PU and he had to let the ticket go ... the chances you take buying early, cheap tickets.
Trip 79 - New Pete - Cement Truck ... to Fontana, CA ( LA ) //05 Friday 11th ? 1) be home by Monday 2) 2nd driver 3) do printouts > airfares > cheep sleep > route / mile.com 4) get breakfast at TS, two sandwichs? Why? Burnt back of hand 5) which ticket to buy / waiting for the other driver to decide 6) can't make it to DSM of first tank / fuel $.09 more in Boondocks 7) am going to drive 50 all four days and 'will show other driver how to save $$$' 8) fuel in MO same as DSM 9) only make 500 miles 1st day > 11 hours / stay at s8 10) steakhouse across street closing for day > eat at CK > other driver orders steak > birthday Knew who I was going to be running with, had run with this driver once before, 'early to bed early to rise.' But we should still be able to be home on Monday. I've done my homework, printed out a list of cheapest flights, of cheep sleep motels and the mile.com report for the route we are actually going … Dispatch always routes us through Denver. I've looked at airline prices, but was going to wait until the other driver decided what he wanted to do … so I wait. We make it all of an hour down the road before our first stop … Kwik Trip, don't need fuel yet but … as long as we are stopped I get breakfast … a burrito AND a ham and egg sandwich, what was I thinking? I never eat this much. Wasn't paying attention when I grabbed the burrito and burn the back of my hand … and couldn't eat all my food. Should have been able to make DSM on the first tankful, couldn't … not with these trucks, have to stop in Boonedocks for fuel. This driver was planning on running the speed limit … I wasn't, so he agreed to slow down … and I was going to 'show him how to save money buy driving 50' … or so I thought, but this truck is sucking the fuel. Fuel in KC is the same as DSM, shopping for fuel isn't what it used to be. Everything is taking longer today … a lot longer. The other driver doesn't seem to care if this trip takes three days or a week … but wants to run together. We have to push to make it under 14 hours / 11 driving … We've had to push to make 500 miles our first day … it's going to be four long days. We check into a Super 8 just south of KC, nice place, being remodeled. There is a steak buffet place across the street but they are closing so we walk next door to the Country Kitchen. Place is fairly quite for a Friday night … don't remember what I had, the other guy had steak. If I had known that, we could have gone to the steak buffet and seen if they would have let us in. Watch a couple of stacks of trucks pull into the joint Country Kitchen / Super8 parking lot, then leave. Only to be back minutes later and pull in from a different angel and park … suppose that was easier than trying to back the stack in to position. At the end of our meal the waitress offers us cake … its her birthday. Then the waitress' start talking and the conversation goes down hill from there. Neither of us drivers are playing along. Time for lights out. ****************************************************** Saturday 12th ? 1) Breakfast at CK / buffet? 2) don't fuel at Emporia > fuel same price at Newton Conoco (no fuel rec) > AmBest next door is more (is also 'full service') 3) 55 mph drivers 4) trucks passing in 'no passing' zones … old lady > kid driving > next car is cop 5) passing downhill, no one … until no passing zone 6) Texahomah 'is always' 56 cents less than Hooker - wrong 7) 670 miles to Huch > if driving at 62 mph = 3 day trip 8) Edy's drivers at Pratt > I waste / spend ½ hr > say 'hi'/ hear why they left our company 9) Pratt - TS with no food? 9) Edy's we pass as they fuel in Guymon, they pass us as we fuel in Texahoma 10) push to SR> or this will be 5 day trip 11) fuel $.10 more in SR than Tuc 12) Ramada = $56 < weekend rate 13) 83 degrees / sun burnt arm 14) I call for airfares … other driver is going to fly 'standby' 15) tell the other driver 'tell me how flying standby goes' 16) playing the oldies LOUD 17) stay at R / eat at tx/mx / other driver speeks fluid spanish 18) restrooms at B Visa TS are for 'customers only' > bad news 19) 'shoot and release' game farm 20) wind has visiblity down to ¼ 21) 14 hour day again > push to make miles 22) am loosing 1-2 hours a day running with other drivers 23) XIT feed lot 24) cemetary's 25) rough road from tuc to SR 26) Buy juice in logan, outdated, drink one bottle anyways, was still at station, shoule have returned it Day 2 Some people like to start the day with a good breakfast, I don't but go along … and I certainly don't need a buffet for breakfast but that's what I get … back at the Country Kitchen … pretty blah. Yesterday was way too long, I don't seem to be able to control how long we stop but I may be able to control how often we stop … I decide to bypass the FJ in Emporia and we make it to Newton and fuel at a non-truckstop, fuel is a few cents cheaper there than the AmBest next door … And the same price as it was at the FJ. Am trying to keep track of where the good places to stop are, based on what time we leave or if we try to make the trip in three days … Hutchinson is 670 miles from this customer, so at 62 mph this would be a good stop … but no cheap motels on the main drag. Suppose they are all in the downtown area. Somewhere earlier I had seen a couple of Edy's trucks, now we see them again in Pratt … we had only stopped for a quick break, but I decide to say 'Hi' … end up talking to the couple for most of a half hour, knowing that I was probably getting on the nerves of my co-driver … I've been pushing and pushing to keep moving and now I stop and talk. Turns out these Edy's drivers used to work for the same company that I do, but they had back to back bad runs and even talked to the owner before parting ways. Seem to be happy where they are … seem to have enough refer trucks to keep them busy, one of them has a bad back so they have been staying away from the cement trucks. This can be a great 'job' for retired couples if it works for both of them. First time I've stopped at the Sinclair / Paso Truck Stop in Pratt … not really a truckstop … does have truck parking and diesel and a couple of tables … but not much for food and no showers. They have signs on the door that 'this is not a bus stop' and that 'restrooms are for customers only' … also have a sign in the bathroom that says 'this is a restroom / the Super 8 next door has showers for $8.' We pass the Edy's trucks in Guymon … about 150 miles down the road, we hadn't fueled in Pratt and we keep rolling to Texahoma … where they pass us. Warm day for this early in the season … 83 degree's today … forcast is for back down in the 20's for over night lows in a couple of days … I know I'm getting old, but there are still songs of the 60's that are best played at full volume … lucky for me that those songs are few and far between. Weather has been OK … only problem is a couple spots where visibility drops down to ¼ of a mile due to the winds, the dust. Cemeteries look different here than up in the northwoods … up keep cost have to be lower. Mostly fenced area's of rock with a marker, some have a little garden fence about the size of the casket … and most seem to be a mile or two from town. Have to check my other notes, but I think we ended up driving 55 once we found that our mileage was not going to be good at any speed on this trip. But that is still 10 mph or more, slower than the other drivers wanted to drive. Out here those 'no passing' zones don't seem to mean a whole lot. When some one starts to pass it seems to be up to the vehicle being passed and the on-coming vehicle to drive on the shoulder. At one point there is an on-coming car that pulls over and stops long before they get close enough to be in any danger. 'Must be an old couple' I thought, but when I get close I can see it's a young kid … maybe 15 - 16 … then I realize that his passenger is a lady well past retirement age … kid had both hands on the wheel, bet he was getting an ear full about now. I haven't been able to figure out even the truck drivers, when they know they are coming up on a passing zone … why not back off, then hit the gas so that you are going close to the speed limit by the time you catch back up to the slow vehicle and the passing zone. But instead they stay right on my bumper until there is a place to pass, then hit the gas … sometimes only one truck gets past at a passing zone because of how long it takes them to get up to speed. Then the other trucks won't let me (and others) back in and we have to drive on the shoulder. At one point there is a passing zone going down hill, but the trucks aren't up to speed and they are most of the way down hill before they start passing … and they continue to pass the vehicles ahead of me after the road is back in no passing zones. By stopping in Newton we should be able to make it to Hooker, but the other driver insists that (further down the road) there is a station in Texahoma that 'is always $.05 - .06 cents cheaper.' I can't remember that station but go along, he says it's not a truck stop, but does have a diesel pump. Surprise … fuel is not cheaper, think it was about four cents more than Hooker and Guymon … too late now, from here on the fuel prices only goes up. XIT feed lots … huge. On one of these trips I see a cowboy moving three head of cattle from one lot to another, or to a truck … still using horses, even in the feed lots … horses aren't just for the open range anymore. Been by these lots a few times and I always seem to see something new. Usually it's the other driver that wants to stop, this time I need to … stop at Nura Visa to use the restroom. Sign says 'restrooms are for customers only' … well I have been a customer in the past even if I'm not one today … and I KNOW I have never used these restrooms before … I would have remembered. Feel like I should be looking for a sign somewhere that says 'Mexico' instead of 'New Mexico' … but then I wouldn't be able to read the signs, would I? This whole town looks like it was vacated 20 - 30 years ago (about the time the freeway went in) … which may be about the last time this restroom was cleaned. I had thought we would we'd be stopping at the NM scale, but it was closed so I decide to stop in Logan to talk to the other driver … he is ready to stop in Tucumcari, its getting dark and we are running out of hours … but I / we push on to Santa Rosa … do not want this to become a five day trip. As long as we've stopped to talk, we use the rest rooms and I see some good juice … two kinds … 100% juice. So I get two bottles of each, but as with most dark juices, I can't see the expiration date until I start drinking … No good … taste's good, but the bottle I'm drinking from is expired … 6 weeks ago. Both of the bottles of this flavor are expired, but the two bottles of the other flavor are still good. We were still in parking lot when I found this out and should have gone back and complained and gotten some more good juice. Didn't … Haven't been stopping Tucumcarri for fuel, the Love's is small, congested and seldom cheaper … but today it was cheaper … $.10 cheaper than the Loves in Santa Rosa. The 50 miles from Tucumcarri to Santa Rosa is the worst stretch of road on this trip, only behind MN. But these Pete's don't seem to be as bad as the Kenworth's we took to PHX last year. In the past we've stayed at the Motel 6 in Santa Rosa, but this guy is a Ramada kind of guy … sounds like gets points or something. Just as long as it stays cheaper than what I would have paid running solo. This is the weekend so it costs us $56 … $28 each which will include breakfast. For supper our choices are DQ, Denny's, a Oriental buffet or a Am/Tex/Mex place … Blue Moon? One of the original Route 66 café's. Did find out that the other driver can speak fluent Spanish … food is good …I'll be back. I make my calls to the airlines, but the prices are too high … and going higher … for the other driver to agree to buy. Claims he is going to fly 'standby' … after a couple of discussions on this, and trying to get him to tell me which airlines still allow it, I finally tell to 'let me know how that (flying standby) goes.' ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** 3rd DAY Gallup would have to be where we spend night two on a three day trip … we are 270 miles short, but this is going to be a four day trip so we are still OK. Ouch $33 for my half of the motel, even small town motels have a huge tax, should have stayed in Tucumcarri in one of the $19 rooms. We're ready to go at 6:30 AM but the motel's free breakfast food isn't ready, some food isn't out yet. So I ask … 'It's only 5:30, breakfast doesn't start until 6:30.' Opps, forgot about the time difference. There is already enough food out so we eat, just with fewer choices. Did see one Edy's truck next door at the Motel 6, but not a second truck? Did one break down, or is it hidden in another lot … or is it another driver? We see a lot of abandon railroad beds and I pay attention to all … the freeway bridges over … grass. Am interested both in the railroads and the bike trails, and the history. There is a stretch of bed out here that is unusual, the rails and rock and bridges are gone. But they never took out the supports for the bridges … and there are no warning signs. In most places they take out the bridge supports and slope the grade to the river or whatever is below. Not here … supports are still in so there would be a huge drop for someone on a four-wheeler was not paying attention. Can't make it to Gallup for fuel so we stop at mile maker 36 (twenty miles short of Gallup). The truck stop is now a Pilot, think it had been private-label until recently … its bad news … these people are both un-organized and slow. Trucks are backed up for every pump. After fueling I go to get myself a Sub … waiting in line there are a few kids ahead of me. Looks cute … a teen age couple taking their two little sisters out to eat on a Sunday afternoon. After a few minutes the line moves enough so that I get a different view … Opps … one of the 'little sisters' who I had thought was maybe 13 when I saw her from the back turns out to be someone's 40 year old mother … Opps. Could have stayed in Flagstaff, the other driver is ready to shut down but that will make for one very long day tomorrow and could cut it too close time at our delivery … we will need to be creative on the log books but we push on. Supper tonight is at the Flying J in Kingman … we sleep next door at the ? 1st Value … 1-4 people for <> $33 … now this is my price range … sorry, no Ramada's at this exit. Have stayed here before, this time I look for all the signs, this used to be a Motel 6, the pool, the shower, the layout, the office … now there is a Motel 6 a block down the street on the other side of the road … away from the truck stop … and railroad tracks. Details. I call again on flights … the other driver is still planning on flying standby. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* Sunday 1) can't make it to Gallup … 1,300 miles (270 short) 2) $33 for MY HALF of the motel bill - a ramada 3) over hours again, under on miles 4) waited for 6:30 breakfast … ralize that will be 7:30 our time 5) One Edy's truck next door (he will pass us tomorrow in CA) 6) Old train bed, bridge sides (drop offs) no warnings signs 7) Checking on flights again 8) Supper at FJ in Kingman 9) Could have stayed at Flagstaff and still make Mon delv 10) NM pilot at mm 36 is bad news > very slow 11) Can't tell the difference between 13 yr and 40 yr old @ subway 12) Awake at 3 AM, neighbors inviting others up for party 13) This place WAS at m6, layout / rooms / checkin area *************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** I'm awake at 3 AM … our neighbors upstairs seem to be having a party … not so loud in the room, but they start hollering out to passer-bys to come up and join them. I do get back to sleep, sometime. On our trip together last year I had left this guy when he wanted to stop and eat I wasn't going to waste my on-duty hours, so far this trip I have been staying with him … now I could leave him, we are done sharing motel's and he doesn't have an airline ticket yet. Sometime before I get to the airport I get a ticket … $210 … after watching them go up, up and up. It seems to be fairly consistent when I run with other drivers, it takes 1- 2 hours a day longer, I spend more on food and I tend not to buy my airfare as far ahead of time … and on this trip, two of the three nights I didn't even save that much on motels. I used to be easier going when I first started, but now I look closer at how much money its going to cost me to 'go along to get along.' But I don't think I'm as picky as this guy yet … he goes by the rules … not a bad thing … example was when I wanted to leave this AM … 'it's not time yet.' We were four minutes early … and we weren't near our trucks yet. The Grand Canyon Train is running … expect it gets quite busy come summer, and the motel rates go up. Dust storms aren't quite as bad today, visibility does get down to <> 5 miles at times. (Again, not sure if it was this trip, but) At the Pilot at Exit 9 in AZ it was a mess, traffic is backed up over the freeway bridge … doesn't help that some trucker has parked in the exit ½ of the drive area … then a RV tried to get to the RV pumps but with someone still at the pumps they are still part way in the driveway … traffic is down to one narrow lane. One truck in, one truck out. Sorry, I'd have called a tow truck on anyone parking in the driveway blocking traffic … told the people at the counter that too. Yes you may loose one customer, but what about all the rest of us who remember what a pain it is to get in and out and try to avoid your business forever??? Somewhere on I-40 in CA … we are passed by a single Edy's truck, could be the same one from the Motel 6 yesterday … or maybe there are a lot of them on the road right now. Finally … we have gotten over 7 mpg … going down hill from Flagstaff … 7.1 mpg. On the two prior trips I had gotten 9+ mpg on this tankful of the trip. Only averaging 6.5 for the whole trip … so much for showing the other driver how to make money by driving slow. This will end up being the only trip (out of five) where I will need to stop in CA and fuel … pay $2.49, put in five gallons … Pilot on I-15, the place is a mess to get in and out of … lot is just laid out strange. Too many stops, too much fuel on this trip, but we have driven this trip my way and this was all we could get out of these trucks. We haven't eaten yet today, had thought the other driver was going to eat this AM at the FJ … maybe he was, but when I wouldn't go with him he just got something to go. Now we've dropped our trucks, called the cab and are hungry. The cab says it'll be 45 minutes so we walk next door to the 'Three Sisters Truck Stop' … shop says the food is OK but they don't eat there … seems mechanic's don't like to eat at truck stops … too many questions. Safer to get their food to go. We ask how long a burger takes … 'Five minute's' says the waitress … well a half hour later, still no food so I tell the other driver he can pay for the food and that I'm walking back next door to the shop / our drop to watch for our cab. I'm barely out of the building when I get a recorded call saying 'your cab has arrived' … so I speed up my pace. He's just pulling in as I'm walking back into the lot … I flag him down and he drives next door to the truck stop where I go back in … our food has just come. The other guy finishes paying and we roll. This cab driver does know where he's going … and so do I … this trip I'd know if he was going in circles. We get to the station, some one again helps us buy our tickets and we wait … huge burger … way too many onion rings … I'm stuffed. Must have been most of an hour before the train came because I was able to finish my food. Spend too much time with someone and you find out things … things that they may have never told anyone else … most times we will never see each other again … some times it's a side you'd rather not know about. Other times it can be quite entertaining. Some time today the other driver finally broke down and bought a ticket … I had asked the last three airlines directly 'do you sell standby tickets?' …'NO.' Once at Union Station we need to catch the bus … we wait, and wait, I never do remember which bus number it is or what time it runs … I just remember which of the dozen bus stops to stand at. Today we have time and the other driver is wishing we would have taken the train all the way to the airport … that was one of the things that I had printed out, was the train schedule. It's not the suggested route, the suggested route is take the train from the customer to Union Station, then catch the bus to the airport … one transfer. If you take the train you have to transfer three times / four trains and it takes longer, but would beat sitting at the airport. The other driver has a daughter out in LA so he points out places he knows of as we ride by. By the time we get to the airport we have missed the earlier flight (wasn't ours, but sometimes you can get on an earlier one) … now we have to wait, so we have plenty of time to eat … again. Security gave me a good once over … I had left a wrapper from my breakfast bar in my pocket and it was enough to set off their alarm. Try to remember to get everything out of my pockets before security, missed that … this time. This time its California Pizza, garlic chicken … other driver gets another flavor. Walking to the gate we can't agree which gate we are at, his ticket says one gate, mine says another. So I ask … there are two flights for the same carrier leaving at the exact same time, and who says the airlines are hurting for money? Shortly after we sat down there was a girl that sat down across from us (so I knew what time she got there), a while later we had moved but I could see that her area had completely emptied out and there was a gate that kept paging a female passenger. Finally I had to go ask her / wake her up … hated to wake her up if it wasn't her flight … but this is an airport not a motel. I said 'Mam, Mam' and then the name that was being paged … even tapping the shoulder, didn't wake her. Finally I bumped her elbow so her head fell forward … 'Are you going to _____' I asked her … she nodded 'They've been paging you, doors are closed.' … she still didn't seem fully awake … I had told her the doors were closed and still she slowly got up and walked to the counter … and then walked on the plane. I remember the same thing happening to me in LAS on a prior trip, except I was smart enough to get take the chair by the gate so the attendant woke me up. This gal had slept through a couple of minutes of a security alarm going off. No a good sign … the fact that an alarm can go off for a couple of minutes before being shut off … and no one seems to notice … like it happens every day. Go a window seat, got to watch … both an airport traffic jam, watching one plane back out, so the next one can pull in, so the one that backed out can leave … and the loading / unloading of the packages … these guys dropped a box when they were unloading. No one seemed to notice, but they seem to count things when they load / unload … and sure enough, a while later some one was back looking for something … found the box and left again. The other driver would be taking a bus straight home, I would take the bus back to the dispatch office … so we have parted ways. Monday 1) pilot ? 2) sleeping girl at airport, had to wake her 3) pizza for supper 4) missed earlier flight 5) order food at 3 sisters truck stop / run back to catch cab / wait for food 6) 3rd driver ?? 7) $2.49 fuel / 6.5 mpg 8) watching the crews at the airport > they drop box > watching them look for lost for a while 9) one plane backs out / one pulls in before first can leave 10) 2 flights leaving at the same time 11) $210 LAX / calling for rental car 12) 6:26 AM "not time to leave yet" 13) Edy's driver passes us in CA 14) Dust storms today are vis <> 5 miles 15) Finally get a tankful over 7 mpg, downhill (7.1) 16) Grand canyon train 17) Traffic jam at airport 18) Security > wires > wrappers > door ??? |