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NEW INTERNATIONAL REFER TO KANSAS CITY
USED HINO REFER FROM KANSAS CITY
I was all lined up with good
runs for the next two weeks 10 days working and only one day off, then it would
be my long weekend.
BUT
… no marker/tail lights on the first
truck I picked up. They (and I) thought it would only take a minute to fix
… 10 hours later I dropped it off at a dealer who wouldn't be able to look
at it for a 'couple of days.' Because of the weekend, border crossing and
customer hours that was the end of that trip, for me anyways.
And by
the time the trip was canceled, the dispatcher I was working with was leaving
for the week and didn't know what anyone else had been working on and the
others were gone. It looked like a bleak week.
6/14/2011 -
Tuesday
First I get a call that dispatch needs my paperwork from the
failed trip … NOW. It includes the truck title so I can see why they'd
want it, but last night I wasn't just going to throw it in with the other
paperwork where everyone had access to it.
Then about noon I get a
call saying the 2nd truck I picked up yesterday from the shop was ready to go
to KC as part of a round trip. They said I could leave Wednesday morning, I
asked why I couldn't leave now … Tuesday. Don't want to keep sitting.
Dispatch checked with the customer and I could do my swap at noon,
later than I wanted but it would still get me home Wednesday night. I think it
was about two by the time I got out of the garden, ready and to the office.
As soon as I'm rolling I call the customer even though I know dispatch
just talked to them. Customer wants to know what time I want to be there …
I ask what hours the guy works, then I find out that he will be picking up my
truck from the shop (not a good sign) by 10 AM. That gains me two hours on my
getting home time.
Pretty quiet going south, as usual had enough fuel
to get to Clear Lake and then I shut the refer off to conserve fuel to make it
to Kearney, MO without sweating it. Just south of Albert Lea I started seeing
detour signs for I-29 but didn't hear anything on the radio about why (I
finally checked when I got home). I knew there was nasty weather coming through
but I came in behind it. But the rivers were way up on southern IA, to the
point of there being flash flood warnings. More crops lost.
Once I was
sure I'd make Kearney, I turned the refer back on. It would have been nice to
have stopped at Toot Toot's, Ma and Pa Kettles or Stouds. But I was going to
have to run the refer all night so I wanted to leave my truck at the truck
stop. The motel suggested a bar and grill but by now it was 10 pm and too late
to eat a big meal.
Food was Arby's, beef, cheddar and bacon plus some
potato cakes. Bacon was way spicy compared to what I'm used to.
I have
no idea how much fuel the refer was going to use overnight so I filled before
shutting down. Parked in the truckstop and walked to the motel. Motel said it
was OK to park in the back so I moved the truck to the motel.
>>>>>>>> TRIP ADVISOR - Econolodge, Kearney MO
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
"Billboard is
misleading"
3 of 5 stars Reviewed July 1, 2011 NEW
Front desk was
helpful on finding the best price … BUT their billboard on I-35 is
misleading. "$39 Sunday to Thursday" … that rate only applies if you stay
in the same room for 4-5 days. Actual price is $50+ even with corp pricing.
Tonight I was sort of stuck. I had a truck with a refer that needed to run
and wasn't sure how motels dealt with that. At this motel I could park my truck
across the street at a truckstop.
As far as the motel, room was fine.
Clean, warm/cool, quiet. Didn't have any breakfast but it looked like the
basic, juice, cereal, bread/rolls, etc.
Arby's is next door, Mexican fast
food at the truckstop and Subway and a bar & grill across the highway.
Pictures attached …
* Stayed June 2011, traveled
solo
o 3 of 5 stars Value
o 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
o 3 of 5
stars Cleanliness
o 3 of 5 stars Service
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
6/15/2011 - Wednesday
When I pulled off the highway
last night there were signs that road construction would start at 9 AM. So I
decide I'd better be rolling by 8:30. Up by 8 AM, good thing I set my alarm
… I was still out.
Fueled again, only used five gallons of fuel
to run the refer all night. Customer uses the same tank for refer and engine so
they are paying extra taxes by only having one tank.
Been to this
location last trip so no problem finding it again. I was there by 9:15, and
checked the row of trucks for my return truck. Not there so I decided I'd just
wait for the guy to get back with my truck. By 10 AM I still haven't seen him
come into the lot so I call him … he's here and so is the truck. Yep, a
semi waiting to unload had been blocking it from view when I pulled it. It was
not parked with the rest of the trucks. OPPS. Lesson learned. Always call when
arriving.
Time lost.
It only took 15 minutes to do the actual
swap and I'm rolling. 15 miles down the road the truck starts to do the bog and
then the check engine light comes on. It continues to bog and the light stays
on so I pull over at an exit, shut down the truck and re-check the fluids.
Everything is still good and the light is off when I restart so I roll.
10 miles later at another hill same thing, re-start resets and I roll.
Then a third time so I call dispatch but I keep rolling. It comes on again and
I pull into a truckstop to wait for direction. The customer has a new
computerized phone system for calling in for repairs and we don't have enough
info so I wait.
Finally we decide to add more fuel, treatment and
after an hour down time, roll. By now I've driving 50 miles and had gotten the
feel for how it's acting. I decide to run at lower RPM's. It works. I start at
18 (hundred) RPM's, then 19 RPM's and finally after two hours back on the road,
20 RPM's. At 20 RPM's it bogs and the check engine light comes on.
Driving at 18 RPM's isn't that hard, the hard part is keeping it below that
number when you hit a hill and the truck downshifts. But I am able to make it
the last 250 miles without any more issues. I am also able to make it with only
stopping for fuel once.
Detour for I-29 start in KC and by
mid-afternoon I start to hear stories about the flooding around Omaha.
Including that a levee near Hamburg, IA failed Monday and that if the 2nd levee
fails it would leave that town under 10 foot of water. I think it was
southbound that closed first followed an hour later by the other lane. Makes it
sound like they weren't expecting it to be raising that fast.
…
Home again … safe at last …
;) |
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