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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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210331 IA-IL 1 trash truck to Elk Grove Village IL (delivered) 2 RV's to IL, 1 to Rockford, 1 to Huntly ... spending the night at Charles City IA EASTER 2 RV's to Reno NV Can't deliver until after 8:30 so we are in no rush. We are still kicking around a lot of options as to what to do. I call central dispatch on a truck near me. They quote me a price, fuel included. Their answers are short enough that I forget to ask them what it is or anything else about the truck. Breakfast is bagged. A frozen sandwich, orange, pastry and water. We are on the same street that my drop is on. Saw one semi on the way that was not paying attention. We got to left turn and he was in the inside lane. He came within a foot (or so) of the signal post with all trailer tires up over the sidewalk. There is a reason semi drivers are supposed to be where they can take the widest swing. Got to the drop and went inside. I was told my contact was busy, but I could go out and clean out my truck ... so I said I would be waiting by my truck. Quite a while later, my contact comes out and half way to my truck says that I needed to bring my paperwork inside. I told him what I was told and what I said. Then grabbed my paperwork and went inside. When I get inside, I can hear my contact telling the receptionist what I had said ... until he saw me, and then he stopped mid-sentence. ... and I was told to sit and wait. So I did. Normally I would have waited outside, but this person wanted things done their way. Less than 15 minutes later he had the paperwork signed and handed to me. While I was waiting I could see that this location had gotten 10 trucks from my shipper in the last two weeks and another 10 before that. The most resent one being yesterday. I'm guessing that was the one that needed to be here tomorrow. As soon as we were done, we got off their property and drove to the McDonalds down the street and parked and BB sent in my paperwork while I called in. I'm done with them, now on to ??? We keep watching our load board for something 'good' to show up. Next stop in the oasis near Belvidere. At this point, we have decided to head home ... via Forest City IA. It will add a couple of hours to our trip, but we will be closer if something good shows up. Then we decide to call for a trip so I pull off at the next good spot, a New Holland dealer. We are going to take two RV's to IL, we will drop one in Rockford IL, then pick up a car in Rockford (one of the few places that has cars) and then drop my RV 45 miles down the road in Huntly. But first they try to talk us into taking a trip to MT instead. Sorry, we are going to be home on Easter Sunday. Then I ask about when I can call in for work after Easter. We want two RV's to Gilroy, but they want us to take two RV's to Reno and will pay extra. I have <> committed to other spring work so I need to make a phone call first. I call, no answer so we head out. A ways down the road I get a call back, we aren't on a freeway so I pull to the side of the road. I may get one day of spring work in on Saturday but the rest can wait. It will be at least a week if we go west. ... then I also hear that a former in-law is in rough shape. They don't say it, but I put two and two together and the odds are not good. 10 years younger than me. :( We are trying to get back to Forest City in decent time so I don't take the time now to call dispatch back now. 60 miles of Highway 20 east of Dubuque is only two lane. Makes for slower travel. A lot of that stretch follows the top of the hills and you can see for miles in both directions. Dubuque Iowa at the Chik fil A for food. At first we can't get in the parking lot and instead drove to Jersey Mikes but we can't find a parking spot there either. So back to Chik fil A. Now we find a spot to park and only one person is inside ??? While we are there, I call dispatch back and accept the two RV's to Reno. I guess when the runs are hot enough that they are paying extra, the 'must pick up in 24 hours' rule doesn't apply. Somewhere along here, BB gets a phone call, which she doesn't answer. But they leave a message. From BB's face I know it is not good news, but she has to tell me what. Now Rockford doesn't have any cars ... and we are heading there. She calls the number on the message and that person says they are sold out 'until next week.' But the finally give BB a number to their manager. Those phone calls went into the 'hold mode' so BB called another location in town where the prices were higher. They do not have any cars either. There little off airport location has 77 cars being picked up tomorrow. But they can have a car for us on Friday, 8 AM ??? BB made the reservation. Evansdale near Waterloo we stop for fuel at Flying J and the restroom. Between stops and two lane road we have lost some time, it will now be after 4 when we get to the lot. For a while, BB did not want to pick up today, but that would mean we had an extra nights motel and wouldn't get home until Saturday. A little after 4 PM we get to the lot, get our paperwork and get our inspections done within 45 minutes. We both have fuel enough to get to the motel so non-stop it is. Charles City at the Sleep in for the night. Then Kwik Star/Kwik Trip for food. As of now, our plan is to get BB's RV dropped, then call to see if we can get a rental before Friday. If not, we need to call dispatch and tell them that one RV will not be delivered on time. Either way, we should still be home on Friday. Either in the afternoon or evening. Load board US - 547 IA - 214 MN - 9 WI - 11 Alarm in 8 hours. 210401 IA-IL 2 RV's to IL, 1 to Rockford, 1 to Huntly (delivered) ... spending the night at Dubuque IA This is being posted a day late because somehow the host for this website is blocking this hotel or network or something. If I hot spot my phone, I can still see the website, but I don't want to hotspot it that long. A good reminder to keep more current on transferring these pages to my personal website. Breakfast - is open like it was 2 years ago. Hot eggs, potatoes, biscuits and gravy. But only peach yogurt so none of that. Did have juice. We get out of the hotel by 7:30. Frost. BB tries scraping it and then uses the wiper fluid. 1st stop across the side street at the Kwik Star/Kwik Trip for fuel. BB puts in 10 gallons, I put in 12. 2nd stop is just before Dubuque in Peosta, we both decide we don't need more fuel yet so this is just a restroom break. I should have about 20 miles to spare in getting to the next stop and our range should be going up. My local company had called while I was driving and I called back once we got stopped. But by the time I called back they had the run covered. Just as well, I am not in town. 3rd stop was for fuel at the Road Ranger in Winnebago IL. That is when it clicked why BB's RV is going to a place called Winnebago … it is the name of the town. I told BB I was going to put in four more gallons but ended up putting in five more in case we needed to do some running to find a car or motel. 4th stop is BB's drop. In and out in less than a half hour. 5th stop. Then a few miles down the road to the Loves for food at the Hardees. Before we get to Loves, we stop at a Mobil station. All there is is the fuel pumps, and an air pump. This pump is free and you set the pounds pressure you want to pump. 70# is as high as it will go, my front tires need 70#'s but my back tires need 80#'s. My low air tire pressure dash light has been on since I started this morning. It was not on yesterday so I thought the light would go off once the tires got warm. It hasn't and I can't deliver with the light on. So I finally checked and 3 of the 4 tires are low. When we get to Loves, they do have an air pump also. This one is not free. And I do not get in figured out right away so we end up having to start it twice. But finally all the tires are at the recommended pressure and the dash light goes out. Whewww. And to make phone calls. BB had been calling but was always kept in the hold cycle without talking to anyone. Finally she got someone at the airport where we have a car reserved for today. Same story as yesterday … "We are sold out until next week." So she calls the place we have a car reserved for tomorrow at. No cars today, but we can still get one tomorrow … or call back at 4:30. At some point we finally started looking at other options, other locations. No cars today. Tomorrow one company has a car for $350 for the day, instead of $150. Then we realized there was a 3rd rental car place where we had the other two reserved. I called them. (BB was done making calls.) This guy is helpful. No cars, but we talked and he said he would go out and do a car count and call me back. ? We had nothing to loose and it was getting late so we headed to where he was located. It is also where the better hotels were located if we didn't get a car. 6th stop, the rental car place. We had pegged 3 PM as our cut off, leaving much later and I would not make delivery and then we would have a car while the clock was ticking. We get to his location and there is a line … so we got in it. He hadn't called back and we could see why. When he got to us, we said enough so he knew who we were, he apologized for not calling back. Yes, he would have a car and asked what we be OK. We don't care, as long as it is today and runs ? As soon as we were sure that he was sure, I left BB and headed to my drop. That was a long couple of hours, making calls, not wanting to call dispatch to say we missed a delivery. 7th stop was for final fuel, then a half mile back and … 8th stop is my drop. I pull into the service area where employees are standing. One walks over and tells me where I should park. I get parked and as I am taking a picture of my mileage, the inspector walks over and asks for the paperwork. Because I left BB without a car yet, I had all the luggage for both of us. I had to get that out of the way so that the guy could do his inspection. I set it to the ground and then carry it to the curb. He is done and heading in to make copies. I still have to get my plate and placards off so I am a couple of minutes behind him. When I get inside, he asks for the fuel level and mileage, both which I can show him on my phone so we don't have to go back out. I am there less than 15 minutes and I am clear to go. But no BB. Last I got was a text a few minutes after I left the rental car place telling me that she is still waiting. But within 10 minutes she is there, we get everything loaded and we are ready to go. We are barely back on the road and I get a call from dispatch. With my local company. 2nd call today. No, I can not take a mixer to Nebraska, I am in Chicago (same as when I talked to this one yesterday) 8th stop is the Belvidere oasis, again. 9th stop is Winnebago, again. But this time at Culvers for food. Sometime during the day today I got an email saying my package had been signed for. I'm glad. Then I don't have to write a nasty gram to my company and the shipper. The package is my reward for being with the company five years. It is some 'trinket' that is likely worth five dollars. It is because I am a driver. Drivers are usually not home during the day when packages are delivered. And it required a signature. The other par that doesn't make sense is the value of the package is likely <> $5. Last week I received a laptop that did not require a signature. That laptop was worth closer to $2,000. The scenery. Ridge, the road between Rockford and Dubuque is on a ridge. One area is called Eagles Ridge, other area's are named also. Nice view but not a road I want to take in the winter. On some of the two land, and some of the four lane also, the grass or drop off is up to the white line. -0- shoulder. 10th and final stop is the Best Western in Dubuque. BB looked at the reviews of the others and tonight was worth it. It had been a long stressful day not knowing if we were stuck in town or not. And we are not. Now we have most of a days drive to do tomorrow but we should be back in my town soon enough to make an appointment. Then Saturday I think I am going to go and play in the dirt. Load board US - 538 IA - 223 MN - 9 WI - 11 There is really nothing more we can do about all the runs on the load board so I haven't been looking at most of the details. BB did look at IN tonight and there is one going to northern MN again. I would have loved to take it. If it had been there yesterday AM, it would have been mine. The only way it would have worked now, is to have left from my drop tonight and gotten to the pickup about 8 PM. Then driven to my house on Friday and parked the ½ million dollar RV in my yard for the weekend … and we have road restrictions. Then Monday we would have had to drop it in MN and somehow gotten to IA to head out late for the Reno run. With our car already in IA. This trip did work, it did pay. Not having a car even when you have reserved one is always in the back of our minds. 210402 IA-IL 2 RV's to IL, 1 to Rockford, 1 to Huntly (delivered) ... spending the night at home We slept in this AM, alarm went off at 6:30. Breakfast, yogurt and a nuked sandwich. This hotel is quite large, it looks like an old 'Holidome' that has been added on to. Today is a 'drive' day, not much for traffic so mostly at the speed limit. 1st stop is for fuel and restroom at the Kwik Star/Kwik Trip in Janesville. 90 miles later, the fuel gauge finally drops to 'F.' 2nd stop is the RV lot to pick up our car. 3rd stop is the car rental place. From there I start making calls. I get to dig in the dirt tomorrow. And I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow, BUT my other lab tests I was supposed to do this time have expired ... yesterday. I was supposed to take them 60 days after my last test. 60 days was yesterday. No leeway. A third call was to the shop for our van. No answer, anytime today. I am guessing they are closed for Good Friday? Then I call my clinic to see if I can get my lab tests re-instated. All I want is to have my Dr's nurse call me back. Instead the person who finally answers the phone says they can handle it ... but after a half hour on the phone, can't. And doesn't leave a message for my Dr's nurse. 4th stop is the Culver's in Clear Lake for food. 5th stop is the clinic for my lab. There is no longer anyone at the front door asking questions about Covid. Just someone who asked where I was going, but they didn't ask BB anything. (She was just there to use the restroom) The person at check-in could not help me about the additional labs. All they could do is check me in. When I was called in to the lab, that asked if I was just there for the one test. I said yes ... because the others had expired. Well ... they took it on themselves to call my Dr. They couldn't get through but took my phone number in case they made contact later. After I leave and about 15 miles down the road I get a call, from the lab. They have made contact with the Dr, got the lab requests re-instated, and will run the tests on the blood drawn. :) Again today, someone who went the extra mile. Thank you. (BB answered and put the call on speaker) Within 10 miles from home, I can see break lights ahead on the freeway. So I have slowed down. But the lane next to me has not. I can see them hitting their breaks hard. Then a pickup hits it's breaks right beside me. At first I think he is going to hit the car ahead of him. But at the last second the swerves and comes in to my lane and for a second, directly at me. He misses us by about three feet and ends up parked in the grass past the shoulder facing the wrong direction. Had I been the 'safe distance' behind the car ahead of me at 20 mph, we would have been broad sided. As we drive past the shop, they are open so I pull in. They have been so busy they haven't been able to take all the phone calls. Yes, we can drop the van off on over the weekend and they will work on it next week. Load board US - 532 IA - 257 MN - 11 WI - 8 The RV in IN going to MN is still there. No one wants it but me. No RV driving for 48 hours. We plan on getting to Albert Lea Sunday night and leave out Monday AM. |
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