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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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2 RV's, 1 to Reno NV, 1 to Davis CA ... spending the night at home We've been talking for days, but by 8 AM we were still talking. A few minutes after we called in and got our 1st choice. No questions asked. The 1st few times we called the lines were all busy and we went to voice mail so we kept dialing, not knowing if they were even open. Then mid afternoon, we get a message that they are closing/closed. But it is a small town, the crew rides their snowmobiles in if they need to. :) Dispatch always asks a few questions. When we are going to pick up, when we are going to deliver, etc. We will try to pick up tomorrow ... and deliver ... February ... (that gives us most of the month) IA is closed right now, I-80 was closed East bound when I called in and then there is always Donners Pass. BB looked at one place in WY and they expect high winds for the next week. IF all goes well, we will be sitting in Reno Monday night and deliver Tuesday AM. Then it is less than three house to Davis. The pay on this set is about $15 more than the longer run, but a rental would have been half the price. Still we chose this run. We got a few inches of snow today so I spent some time shoveling. And running our van to melt the ice off the windows. Looks like it rained before turning to snow last night. Load board US - 314 IA - 116 MN - 2 WI - 1 Oldest trip on the load board out of IA is a month old today. And there are still two no-tows going to IL that would have been easy money for a days work (except for the weather.) The only trip on the board over 2,000 miles is going from Nappanee IN to Jct City OR. The next longest are the ones out of IA. Someone posted on FB today that someone else had put a 60 ft bus in the ditch in IA. Tried to find out more but haven't. Sometimes I let the west coast dispatcher know I am coming as soon as we leave IA, this time I will wait until Monday and see how far we have gotten. We are spending the night at home so we will likely get down to IA about noon. We want to give the highways some time to get cleared off. Here in MN it quit close to noon, but it must have gotten worse in the PM in IA as they were open in the AM but closed later. 210205 IA-CA 2 RV's, 1 to Reno NV, 1 to Davis CA ... spending the night at Omaha NE Because of the weather, we hadn't planned on getting going very early. But at the last minute we did set the alarm so we were up and just about ready to roll at 7:30. Made a couple of stops before leaving town. Roads weren't bad, or good. Enough patchy spots of ice to not set the cruise. We are just south of town when I see a bus that should be there, but I don't get a real good look at it. Then about a minute later, I see a 2nd bus. CA is shipping buses to MN again :) Those runs really pay good, not down time, no 2nd rental car. But ... it is not very often that I get what I see being moved. :( One quick stop at a rest area near Owattona. In most places the left lane was clear, but I stayed in the right lane as I didn't want semi's passing me on the right, on the ice, with the wind from that side. Once we got to IA the left lane was not clear. And then once we got off the freeway the road was mostly hard pack. Stopped at Kwik Star/Trip to fuel so the tank is full when it sits for a week or two. It is cold. A couple of degrees on either side of +5 all morning, with a stiff wind. Dispatch now has new rules for making after hours pick-ups. For most of the last year there just wasn't any after hours pickups. Not sure we will be doing any after hours pickups until the weather is warmer and the days are longer. They took our temps and gave us our paperwork, and said 'hurry back.' Both RV's were easy to find, and there was one plowed spot to park our van. Cold. I guess I haven't spent much time outside this year at these temps with the wind. My fingers didn't get warm until I was eating lunch an hour later. This RV doesn't have screws for the license plate so instead of using my own, I use cable ties. The 1st one just snapped when I tried to bend it. I was more careful with the next two and they have stayed. No issues but it took our usual hour to do our inspection. Because of the bad roads, we stayed on the better roads down through Garner and then to Clear Lake. Gas is back down at Pilot so we fuel there and then park and eat inside. I think +10 degrees and sun and no wind is our limit. Not +5 and a stiff wind so we ate inside. Just as we were getting to Pilot I got the dreaded call, issues on the farm again. But I am on the road, so someone else will be dealing with it. Subway was our food. Next stop was Ankeny at the rest area. Depending on how bad the roads were, we may have been shutting down in Ankeny. But the wind seems to have died down and the temps are going up so we will keep going. My 'anti'crash' software on the RV kicked off almost right away so no cruise. It re-sets every time I restart the RV but all I managed to get was one mile before it kicked off again. We saw a few trucks and cars in the ditch but not as many as I had expected. It sounds like east of Des Moines was worse than where we are heading west of Des Moines. Did see one set of pups where the 2nd pump had both sets of right tires up in the air. All that was holding in from tipping over was that it was embedded in the 1st pump because of how it was twisted. Then a stop at Adair. I had gotten another phone call so I listened to that instead of using the restroom. From here we made a hotel reservation at a 'new' (to us) hotel in Omaha. As the other hotel does not allow anything larger than cars in their lot anymore. We knew when we got into Omaha that we were going to have to get across traffic in the 1st two miles. So when the two highways merged we go over four lanes ... and then the two furthest ones ended or exited so we had to move back left again :) But we got where we were going. This Comfort Inn is some kind of event center so there is lots of room for parking. The map only showed a Burger King across the street. But once we are here we see the hotel has an in house bar and restaurant and there is a pizza place in the gas station next door. When we get in, there are a few people in one group ahead of us. It seems they are trying to fit 16 (or so) people in as few of rooms as possible. Finally one of the staff takes some of them up to see a room and then we are helped. As soon as we are in our room we call down to the restaurant and order. Food was ready quickly but when we were ready to go back up to our room. There was a line ... and we are on the 7th floor. Usually we do the stairs, one floor up or two floors down. Today it was 7 floors up. I'm usually winded by the top of the 2nd flight of stairs but I did OK today. Weather ... I-80 is closed in WY when we left home this AM. Some places there were rolling closures and other places just closed. Tonight ??? Same. Don't know if it ever did open today. The forecast for one area is bad through Saturday. So we will see how far we get. And now there is bad weather supposed to hit eastern Nebraska tomorrow. So our plan for tomorrow is to stop every 60 miles instead of the usual two hours. And we hope that 60 miles doesn't take the two hours. I did call the bus dispatcher saying we hoped to be available on Tuesday. Sounds like he is already backed up with drivers waiting for work. Maybe we will spend a few days in CA again? Not good. When I tried to start my laptop tonight I was getting blue screen error messages. I did order a new lap top already, but I hadn't planned on bringing that one on the road with me. Load board US - 324 IA - 134 MN - 6 WI -0- 25 of the trips on the IA board are from today, about 20 more than yesterday. 2 of the new ones are going to Greer SC. Where we like to go on the southeast to get return trips. 210206 IA-CA 2 RV's, 1 to Reno NV, 1 to Davis CA ... spending the night at Sidney NE Alarm at 6 AM, breakfast at 7 AM. For our exercise we walk down the 7 floors, but not back up them. Breakfast, scrambled eggs, real ones. Someone else was dishing up the eggs so I could see them. I haven't usually been even looking at the hot food lately. And we were down early, so only one or two people ahead of us (touching the common surfaces.) So I had eggs and sausage, an orange and juice. No yogurt today, it was all diet. It was snowing when we got up, likely had just started. 1st stop is going to be a couple of miles down the road for fuel. Within the first mile on the road we see three spinouts. Traffic is going slow and so are we. We get to the BP and fuel, but BB's wipers are freezing up so that she can't see so we decide to sit for a bit. Once we are done fueling we pull across the street to the McD's truck parking but it isn't well marked and we can't get WiFi like I had hoped so we move down the street to Cracker Barrell and park. At this point we are wishing we stayed in the hotel a few more hours. We look at the weather, the road cameras and sit. After an hour frustration gets the better of us and we decide to head out. In 20 miles there is a truckstop, we plan on stopping there. We followed a snow plow onto the freeway leaving Omaha. Looked like a good plan, the plow will set the pace and the roads should be clear(er.) But a couple of miles down the road, the plow pulls to the shoulder and stops so we have to keep going. At this point the roads are like they get in the snow, one travel lane is clear from the constant traffic, but that lane goes where ever, from one lane to the other and from there to the shoulder. We were in the right lane where the plow had been, but the 'clear' lane was the center lane. And then the clear 'lane' came over to right lane. And that is what the semi next to me did, came right over on me. Luckily the snow on the shoulder was not too deep. The stripped line was easily seen and he should have been able to see me, and hear my horn, but he just kept coming over. Other than that, traffic was moving, but slow. 1st stop is Greenwood, 20 miles in a half hour. BB cleared off her wipers, used the rest room. And we decided to push further. 25 miles this time. To a truck stop in Lincoln. On this leg we got behind traffic that was going mostly 45 mph so the ride wasn't too bad. The right lane is mostly clear, the center lane is hard packed, and the left lane has not been plowed or driven on. The 3rd lane ends at the truck stop so it will be interesting ... 2nd stop was in west Lincoln at a Shell truck stop. The car parking hadn't been plowed and the snow was six plus inches deep. A quick restroom break and we push on. The weather and roads have changed, gotten a little better, so we shoot for a 60 mile stretch. Back on the road and for the rest of the day the roads are ... a surprise. Some places both lanes are clear. Others one is clear and the other is hard packed. And other places both lanes are hard packed. It seems to depend on when the plows plowed vs how much traffic drove before the road was plowed. After Lincoln it stops snowing and less blowing. 3rd stop is the Petro in York for Pizza Hut shelf food. We both get a macaroni dish. It is still cold and windy outside so we find a corner with a table and eat inside. It is right next to the outside door so we get fresh air every couple of minutes. I forget to get water, but it is soft food and no issues. When we get to tonight's motel, I realize that all I drank today was the small cup of juice this AM. 4th stop is in Cozad at the Casey's so BB can get more fuel. There is a trash truck sitting there and the driver is walking to it. I catch up to him before he gets into the truck and talk to him. He works for our company and is heading to SLC, but the truck he is driving is a CNG ... and the pump in Cheyenne is down so he has to go through Denver and take I-70 where chains are required. He doesn't have chains so he will need to buy them, and the re-route will add 200 miles to the trip. Other than the trash truck, we saw two other RV's from another company that passed us. And one center drive mixer, driven by our company. We didn't meet any transporters heading east. Or we didn't see them, because we were watching the road in front of us. When I get back on the freeway, I set my cruise. And it stays. 1st time in 500 miles that the weather has been good enough that I want to set it and the weather is good enough that the weather doesn't shut it off. The cruise works the rest of the day, but often the road is not good enough for me to want to use it. We did drive 60-65 mph most way, even on hard pack. Most places at least one tire was on dry pavement. 5th stop is Ogallala for fuel. The Walmart sign says fuel is $.03 more than the other stations but we head there anyway. It is our usual stop. The price at the pump is the same as the other stations, just the sign is wrong. We make reservations for our hotel and push on. 6th and final stop is Ogallala at the Comfort Inn. The person at the desk comments that it has been a while since they have seen us. It has been a few weeks since this was our stop. Tonight there are already four vehicles ahead of us. This is about a 100 room motel and often there are less than a dozen cars. So we may be one of their 'known' regulars. Once in the room, we call the SIDNEY 3 Margaritas (not the one in Denver) :) 10 minutes later we pick up our food. When we leave the restaurant, we see that the Walmart lot is quite full of trucks. As had been the truckstop back in Ogallala. Unusual at this time of day. My little write-ups don't do justice to the stress of the AM drive. Now we look at the road ahead. I-80 is now closed in WY starting at Cheyenne. This AM and yesterday the road had only been closed to 'high profile vehicles' starting at Laramie. The winds near Laramie are supposed to die down Monday AM (not tomorrow.) We will get as far as we can tomorrow and if the road opens we will go for it. If we don't get past Cheyenne tomorrow, we will not deliver until Wednesday. The partial closure this AM had been from Laramie to Rawlins, about 100 miles. Now the total closure is from Cheyenne to Rock Springs, about 200 miles. Load board. US - 336 IA - 156 MN - 6 WI -0- So dispatch added 22 more RV's than were taken off and we aren't near the end of the month. Because the bus dispatcher said there may not be work this trip, we are doing the math for if we have to head back in a rental car. There is more work in IA. 210207 IA-CA 2 RV's, 1 to Reno NV, 1 to Davis CA ... spending the night at Cheyenne WY We made it, 106 miles today ! Breakfast, nuke and go. All yogurt was peach. I think it was all peach last time we were here also. Likely the same yogurt waiting to be used up. It snowed overnight and I could see where two cars had parked. And one more was still here. So about as busy as usual. Five trucks that were there before us were still there when we left at check out time. The freeway from Laramie to Rawlins was still closed to high profile vehicles this AM so we weren't in any rush to leave the hotel. The closure was supposed to last until this evening. I think WY puts the closure in place when the winds are at 45 mph. But our company says we are supposed to shut down when the winds are at 35 mph. So even if they open, we may not go. We pull out at 11 AM, 10 local. Roads are clear and I get to use my cruise, for about 50 miles. Then the wind shuts the cruise off and I am hanging on with both hands, and now driving at 55 mph. We pass one exit where three tow drivers are sitting with their travel trailers waiting it out. Our first stop is the Port of Entry. The lot is full, five transporter buses plus the trucks. Only two people ahead of us at the counter, and I didn't think of looking at their road warning screen. Our 2nd stop is the Loves a few more miles down the road for Wendy's. Their parking lot isn't full, but people are parked about every fifth space so only one spot I can fit in. Because of the high winds, we eat inside. Again. As we are sitting there. WY closes the road to high profile vehicles all the way from Laramie to Evanston. 300 miles. The road from Cheyenne to Laramie is open to all, but the winds are still over our travel limits. And getting to Laramie doesn't buy us anything. We still wouldn't make delivery on Tuesday. So we get reservations at a hotel and head there. 3rd and final stop is the Comfort Inn in Cheyenne. When we get there, we see the sign that says they are having a craft show today. We did not look around but it was still going on. So we got a total of 106 miles today. I am in the habit of clearing my dash screen messages right away. I wish I hadn't today. Most of the messages are in yellow and tell me when the cruise isn't working, the hill assist isn't working ... and when it is time to take a break after hours of driving. Todays message was different, it was in red and said DRIVER TAKE A BREAK NOW. I had only been driving for 10 miles since I had stopped at POE. But the winds were rocking my RV and my speed was up and down. At about 5 PM, WY removed the restrictions on most of I-80. Now the restrictions are just on travel from Laramie to Rawlins. Where it was this AM. As of now, the weather forecast says the winds should die down ... Monday night. So we will try to get to Larmaie tomorrow. Another 100 mile day. ??? When it came time to eat, we were going to order from the 'Little Philly Shop' again. But they are closed on Sundays, as are a few other places we looked at. So we walked two blocks in the cold and wind to Sonic and had their new Philly. Plus I had there version of a malt. Plan is to set the alarm and be ready to go if ALL roads are open. No reason to get going early and then sit in Laramie all day. As of now, we will wait until they kick us out at 11 AM. Then drive to Laramie and eat and fuel. That should get us to 1 PM. Then sit and wait. We might even drive after dark if the winds die down then like the did in the rest of the state today. The Red Lion hotel across the street has a large hotel for a few customers it now has. Right now it is being taken advantage by a few of the tow drivers, who like us, are waiting for the roads to open to all vehicles. 8:30 - All roads are open. But we aren't going anywhere tonight. 210208 IA-CA 2 RV's, 1 to Reno NV, 1 to Davis CA ... spending the night at Laramie WY Road was open last night at 7:30, closed this AM when we got up at 6 AM. This place has two people working the breakfast area. We order, they bring it to us. Today's hot food is 'eggs,' hash brown and chicken fried steak' (steak for breakfast?) Plus I got juice, a grab bag, and a Pop Tart. (they forgot my yogurt and so did I, until now.) I call down and get a late check out. This place says that we can check out as late as we want, 'they treat their Dimond Members right.' I pick 1 PM but should have picked later. So we sit in the hotel all morning until it is time to leave. Then we go across the street to the Exxon where gas is $2.03 before heading out. As we leave town, I set the cruise and think this is not too bad. ... for about five miles. Then the cruise kicks off and I am hanging on with both hands. That was it for the 65 mph. Most of this leg was done at 50-55 mph. We even passed a few trucks that must have been doing 35-45 but the road was open and today's posted speed limit was 75 mph. 1st and final stop was Laramie. We stop at the Exxon because there is more food choices there than at the truckstops. Exxon has Chesters and Papa Johns. But we walk across the street to Blu Taco's. There was also a McD's and Subway within walking distance. My taco's were blue. Soft shell. BB had something else. We did eat inside again. half dozen tables but no one else in the store and they were on the other end of the building. When we get back, I call the RV dispatch and tell them we will be late. He says he once spent three nights in Laramie. Then I call the bus dispatcher and tell him I am NA for tomorrow. He is glad to hear that, he has 16 drivers in the hotel and only two buses for today. He tells me to call him once we get past Donner's Pass. That will be our next issue once we get past this area of WY. Then we sit for most of three hours waiting for them to open the road. I-80 is supposed to open at 5 PM, we are hoping to will open sooner. A better plan would have been to have left the hotel at 3 PM, then drive the hour here and be ready to roll at 5 PM. BB is watching the roads AND the weather. 5 PM comes and goes and the road restrictions aren't lifted. Then she looks at the weather again. Now they are expecting wind gusts over 70 mph around 7 PM. So we decide to get a motel now. As we are pulling out, four tow drivers who have been sitting near us are pulling out. And I am wondering if they are still going off of '... this restriction will expire at 5 PM.' But we take the city streets to get to our hotel and from there I can see four tow drivers pulling off at the next exit. Not sure why they would have moved. They had good spots and this truck stop is full, trucks are lined up on both sides of road. We check in at the Comfort Inn at Laramie. Someone has taken 'our spots.' We usually get here early enough to have our picks of spots. When we get in the room, I re-check the road restrictions. THE ROADS ARE OPEN. No restrictions. ... but the wind forecast hasn't changed. So we wouldn't be going anywhere even if we hadn't made a hotel reservation right away. And the forecast hasn't changed. There is now snow forecast between Laramie and Rawlins for tomorrow. We hope we can make it before it starts to snow. From here it is 500 miles to Wendover, but we will likely shut down near SLC. Nicer hotel and it is 900 miles to BB's drop. With this RV, I had put my license plate on with cable ties. But BB has told me that my plate is sticking straight out in the wind, and I can see that the ties are coming loose. (Cheap ties?) So while we are stopped, I take my plate off and put it in the back window. But it is tinted so I use my bolts and anchor it on with my hardware. So 100 miles yesterday, 50 miles today ... there isn't any town 25 miles down the road from here. Next town and next hotels are 100 miles. Load board US - 305 WI - 119 MN - 1 WI - 1 The one trip in CA is still there. Had we gone to the southeast, there are 25 out of NC. One coming back to WI. Maybe next time. ... the trip continues from HERE |
