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DUMP ON A KENWORTH - NEW - TO WASHINGTON, DC
Tuesday - 1/18/11
7 AM - Haven't been to this location
before, a 2-3 hour drive/shuttle ride. Total of four drivers going to the same
location. A couple of the drivers have tried to find the address on their
GPS/computer without any luck so it's down to looking at building numbers. But
there aren't any. When we are close, the driver stops and asks, then asks
someone else in the parking lot. It's the next building.
Two reasons
we didn't see it, we were no longer on the highway and the customer name faces
the highway … and the company name is not on the building, only their
logo. The name on the building is the parent company which we didn't have.
Good news is that the trucks are inside, it's somewhere sub-zero
today. One brave sole at a time gets out to check as each truck is brought up
and either gets in or comes back with the VIN. Stick shifts, haven't seen that
for a while, and the fuel is on 'E,' not surprising. Back inside the building
to sign, not sure pens work at the outdoor temps.
One of the guys is
flat lined on 'E' so he's heading the 2 miles in the wrong direction into town
to the closest fuel, another driver follows him. I and the fourth driver have
enough to get to the truck stop in the direction we are going, about 10 miles
away. I'll find out later that when the other drivers got to the station it was
closed, the attendant had a family emergency and the replacement hadn't gotten
there yet, so those guys were delayed an hour or so.
About eight miles
down the road the, warning lights started coming on … Low DEF (diesel
exhaust fluid), but I was almost full. I fuel and buy some DEF just in case the
gauge isn't working, it was. Only put a little in before it started running
over. Luck this tank was where I could get at it, some aren't and the fluid has
a burn to it if it gets on your skin/clothes.
Light still didn't go
off so I had to call dispatch who had to call the customer, which meant down
time waiting. By now another warning light had come on. By this time the other
driver with me was gone, he's not one to sit around.
Dispatch says to
run it another half hour and call back, I head out and the warning light goes
off but the 'Low DEF ' message will stay on the rest of the day. About two
hours of non-Interstate before hitting the main highway, some two lane, some
four lane.
Two lane highway and lots of … Polka. On the radio,
when one station fades just find the next one :
Not much else for
excitement, caught up to the first driver at the first IL toll booth but I
didn't have my cash ready and he was gone again. Then a warning light was back
on, so another call to dispatch. Repeat, drive another ½ hour and call
back. Almost stopped at an Oasis after 25 minutes and called because it was
still on but didn't, good thing as it went off right after that.
Once
we've cleared Chicago, three of the drivers make contact, one other one is on
his own. South Bend is far as I'll make it, don't remember what is past that.
Other driver gets there first and pulls off at the wrong exit, and then gets
dis-oriented so he's sitting at the toll booth when I pull up. The neither of
us can find the Super 8, we can see it, just can't find it.
Once we do
find it … $55 plus tax?? Even when we say three rooms the price won't come
down. So off to the Motel 6 at the 'right' exit. The other motel I've stayed at
is now closed, it was a Days Inn and then something else, and now vacant. $33
after tax? Much better, so we each get our own room, the third driver has made
time and gets there a few minutes later.
By now it is 9 PM, our time.
10 PM local and the family restaurants are closed so McDonalds it is. One wrap
for me, two McDoubles, one McChicken, fries for the other guy.
Wednesday - 1/19/11
No cheating on the log book here, toll ticket on,
toll ticket off. The driver I was running with yesterday is new, not traveled
much and didn't follow the time change correctly so was up an hour early. He's
ready to roll, I still need to do my log and inspection so we part ways, the
third driver will be behind us again. No one is that interested in running
directly together … fine with me.
Down the road the 3rd driver
passes me, guess he's not running the 55-60 mph we asked to yesterday. My 'Low
DEF' light is finally off, maybe it just takes a (truck) re-start to clear the
computer. Once I get a vehicle running I don't shut them off unless I have to.
Oh yeah, Chicago yesterday … 22 degrees and raining. Same thing
again this AM. Other times there was fog. Not ideal driving weather. Later
today the temp will warm to 32 and start to snow ??
Dropping to 55-60
changed where we were going to stop last night, had hoped to make it to
Perrysburg, OH. But we knew that was going to happen when we had already burnt
three of our 14 hours before we left the customer. But being a creature of
habit, I still stop at Perrysburg for fuel. The other drivers stop on the
tollway saving them a few minutes.
Need to contact Pilot/Flying J, I
had 'authorized' my perks card so that I could start the fuel pumps without
going inside but it's not working. Still I'm off and back on the toll way in
under 15 minutes. Five motels at this exit and I've stayed at them all.
I'm reaching for something in the cab and hit a button, now I have
'info.' So now I can check my mileage, trip mileage. So far I've been driving
60 and been getting 7 mpg. I kick it up to 62 and in 30 minutes have brought
the whole trip up to 7.2. So up to 63 and 7.3 mpg after an hour. Then I bump it
to 64 and it takes it a couple of hours to get to 7.4. When the speed limit
drops to 55, the fuel drops back to 7.3. But once back to 64 the fuel continues
to climb to 7.6 by the end of the day. This was the same for all three trucks,
so it was not likely the fuel, or the highway as we were in the hills today
once I set it at 64.
So slower is not always better …
Back at the motel this AM I had looked online, another driver had looked at his
GPS and the 3rd had looked at a map. All of us agreed we were going to not
follow the dispatch route. The 'suggested route' took us into/onto the DC
beltway at 5 PM.
It looked maybe 10 miles further to stay west of the
city and come in from the west directly to the drop. (turns out the fourth
driver came in the same way)
Somewhere in PA there is a tunnel, on one
side it was snowing and nasty but coming out the otherside it was a different
world … no snow or bad roads. $80+ in tolls for IL, IN, OH, PA. Cash.
Breezewood, PA is where we get off the toll road and unto I-70. It's
the only place I remember where you have to get off an interstate and go five
blocks through town before getting on the next freeway. And this is one of two
intersections where I get confused. When I get back on the freeway I am heading
west, not east so today I looked at a map to see why … because I am
heading west, just slightly but mostly south, not east at all.
Now
looking at a map I see that this intersection will never be corrected. This was
intentional. There is actually <> 5 extra miles of interstate to get
people into that town. Logically the intersection should have gone south of
town where the roads actually meet. Politics, not common sense built this
intersection.
I had thought we'd be staying about an hour or two from
our drop but by kicking it up we can make it all the way with time to spare. I
do see one motel an hour out for $49 which would have been the best deal. The
other drive calls ahead and Super 8 is $79, when we get there we see that the
Best Western is also $79, the Red Roof is $69 and everything else is up from
there, Hilton/Hyatt chain. This is when Corp Lodging comes in handy, $70 after
tax at the Best Western for two. At this price we'll bunk together. Third
driver had the Red Roof set on his GPS and isn't going to try to find the Best
Western with his truck … yet will walk across the street later to join us
for a meal ???
The guy at the front desk had to check to see if they
had three rooms, they did but we ended up only using one. This area is a
reverse of most areas, Full Sun-Thurs, slow on the weekends. Even the bar
specials reflect that. One driver wanted to join in the Texas Holdem so we hung
out until it was his turn to play then the other two of us left.
I'm
still up on the computer when the 'gambler' gets back to the room, he didn't
win.
Somewhere during the night I get up to turn the heat off, then
back up to turn it on but cooler. The other driver is laying on top of his
covers … he'll later tell me that he didn't turn it down because I was
under all the quilts. I wasn't, I was only under a sheet, but may have looked
like it in the dark.
I had warned the other guy that I snore, but he
said he could sleep through anything. Turns out he slept through someone
pounding on our door at 3 AM. Some girl had the wrong room ??
>>>>>>>> TRIP ADVISOR - Best Western, Menassas, VA
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
"When checking
pricing, also compare what you get. You'll stay here."
4 of 5 stars
Date of review: Jan 22, 2011
We knew getting this close to DC that it
wouldn't be cheap, rooms started at $79 at the Red Roof and Super 8. Turns out
it was the same price at the Best Western. And the Best Western had a bar/food
on site, plus free breakfast in the AM.
Place was just about full, they
had to check to see if they had three rooms when we got there. The outside,
stairs, etc could use freshening up but everything was A-OK on the inside.
Holiday Inn is a better class place. Plenty of room in the two bed - room. Sink
both in and outside the bath area. Plenty of power outlets, no show of wear on
the chairs, beds with plenty of padding, plenty of heat. Did have to run the
hot water for a while, but a different world from the 6 and 8.
Breakfast,
again a WOW. I'm guessing a 15 foot spread. The usual juice and coffee, all
kinds of bread, bagels, etc. Didn't look at the cereal but I saw the sign. Make
your own waffles. Hot food included sausage, pancakes, wraps (not sure what
kind), gravy for biscuits. Didn't see them but another person said eggs.
Yogurt. And something I have never seen before ... to go containers.
AND,
I didn't join in, but they had 'Texas Hold em' at the bar, free starting chips.
Don't know the rest of the details.
... and the food at the bar, all good.
* Reviewer ratings for this hotel:
o 4 of 5 stars Value
o 4
of 5 stars Rooms
o 4 of 5 stars Location
o 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
o 4 of 5 stars Service
o 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
* Date of
stay: January 2011
* Visit was for: Business
* Solo Traveler
*
Member since: November 28, 2010
* Recommended by this reviewer?
Yes
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday - 1/19/11
More than 10 hours off last night,
can't deliver until 8 AM, shuttle isn't until 10 AM so we get to our drop
closer to 9 AM.
The other drivers have their GPS so I follow them,
it's about 6 miles. But that's enough so that today is not a 34 hour re-start.
The fourth driver is already there, a quick checkin and we are waiting but not
for long, the van is there early. We had gotten three different prices on the
same van, finally go a final price when the other driver called to set it up
and pay. $36 each. Not a bad price for 55 miles. Train was only a ½ mile
away but the last train in the AM left a few minutes before we could drop, and
we'd have to switch trains/buses 2-4 times and will still come to $20+.
Turns out re-routing our trip yesterday was a REALLY good idea, the DC
beltway we were supposed to take is under construction, narrow lanes, sharp
lane changes, backed up traffic. Most of a two hour ride to get 55 miles going
against traffic after the rush hour.
Plenty of time to sit and wait,
no earlier flights. First I find food, not much in our area and I don't want to
go back through security. Wendy's, a bar and Pot Belly's. I get soup and a
sandwich from Pot Belly's. Chicken salad on whole grain, good, but I think I
should have had something else on it ?? Signs say 'mall pricing,' but I didn't
look at Wendy's to see what their prices were, wouldn't have a clue on other
prices.
I was able to find power in a vacant section of the airport
until about an hour before flight time, then decided I should be closer to the
gate. Gate had changed but not far, did see power again but I would have had to
sit on the floor, instead I paced.
I had looked at my ticket wrong, I
had seen there was no seat assigned and remembered that when I tried to change
I got an error on the kiosk so I went to the counter to get a seat …
thinking it was a full flight. "You have a seat." Duh … I did. It was the
second leg of my flight that didn't have a seat, and this one was almost full,
couldn't change seats but no chance of getting bumped. Back home I only take a
few steps in the wrong direction before I realize where in our terminal I am
… I can take the walkway and save myself a mile of walking. Bus is there
shortly and I'm on. The first bus had a guy who when he wasn't talking was
'rapping.' Then in downtown I change buses and there is a guy who is talking
… or trying to talk to everyone. One quirk was that every time a woman
would get on he'd stand and say "A real man stands when a lady enters." And
he'd do this 2-3 times every time a woman would get on.
Downtown I
have always gotten off the bus and one stop and walked to the next block to get
on … today I look back as I'm walking and realize that I would have gotten
on my bus at the same stop … after eight years? I have two choices, I take
the first one. Never taken this one before so have to ask where the stop is.
Just before my stop I see a sign, it's below zero.
And I have 3-4
blocks to walk, it gets cold fast. Only one set of foot prints on the sidewalk
since the last snow. I'm quite cold by the time I get to our lot … and I
can't get the lock open. I call dispatch, the code hasn't changed, finally, the
office send over the closest driver, he opens this lock daily and knows it
takes 'brute force.' They didn't tell me that.
When I get home I turn
the oven on at 400 degrees and stand in front of it, it helps. |
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