KY-OH

Well, when the guy from the Kidney Foundation banged on the truck and asked me if I had any used clothing or household items I would like to donate, I decided I had sit there too long.

Asked dispatch where I should go and they came back with Mansfield, OH. That was stupid since the Mansfield board is just as slow. They knew I would head home since Mansfield is only 50 miles from there. I had planned on going home anyway since the Columbus board had been moving all day. I just wanted to see if they would pay for the trip. Arrived home at 1600 and was #2 on the board so I will most likely get a load today.

The trouble with the generator on the International was the starter and the one the shop put in yesterday was bad as well. See how my luck runs!!!! Hopefully, the next one will work and the truck can get back on the road.

My friend and his son will complete orientation today and the 2005 Sprinter will start running again as well. It has been a trying couple of weeks as I expected. Adding another truck is always troublesome. The only thing left is to transfer the title and get the tags for the International. I'm sure that the State of Ohio will add to my headaches as they always do with some type of off the wall unforseen requirement before they issue an Ohio title.

My Old Kentucky Home

My friend and his son are FINALLY in orientation. He called me last night and told me they both passed their physicals, so that hurdle is out of the way. So the 2005 Sprinter will soon be back in service.

Neither the International or I got a load today but I did find a place to get the generator serviced on the International very close (721 yards) to my driver's house. Once that is taken care of and the title work is completed all we'll have to worry about is loads.

I am somewhat concerned that I have sit here at this truck stop too long since a postman tried to deliver mail to me yesterday. HMMM, do I see a white picket fence and lawn chairs in the near future???????

NC-TN-KY-WV-KY

Dispatch called out of the blue yesterday at 1500 with a load offer from Maryville, TN to Milton, WV. The two oddities were that it was a Sunday 0600 delivery, and the pick up was at a private residence. Who cares?? It was a load.

The pick up was in BFE TN. The roads I was on were little more that cow paths. Fully expected to come up against a low bridge or cow at any second. Pick up was scheduled for 1800 and I arrived at 1758.

Took off and stopped at the J in Cannonsburg, KY for chow and sack. Left the J at 0500 for Milton. Arrived in the Milton area at 0530 and after several phone calls trying to locate the guy that was supposed to meet me, he finally showed up and took delivery at 0605. He didn't have his cell phone turned on. It's not like anyone was trying to reach him or anything.

Turns out the 20lb box I had was a metal sleeve of some type related to a conveyor system. The company the consignee is repairing this for was losing $10000 per hour as their conveyor was down.

Went back to the J in Cannonsburg #3 on the Huntington, WV Board.

No Load from NC

Sat all day and didn't get a load. Moved from the rest area to a truck stop on the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains. Will probably be stuck here for the weekend, but that's happened before.

Not much else going on other than it's supposed to warm up a little today. Hope it does so I can stop running Buster to keep warm and save some diesel.

OH-NC

Came back to Columbus after everything finally got taken care of in Toledo on the new truck. There were 8 vans in Toledo and only two in Columbus.

Sat all day Wednesday, but moved up to #1 by the end of the day. Went to bed early as I had a feeling that I wouldn't get a full nights sleep.

Sure enough, dispatch called at 0115 with a load offer from Bucyrus, OH to Fletcher, NC. 547 loaded miles, 78 miles to the pick up. The opposite direction of course.

Pick up was at o400 and I arrived at 0405. It was snowing heavy and the roads were less than friendly. Turns out I hurried for nothing since they had pulled the wrong parts and had to redo it. Didn't leave until 0500.

Fought the snow all the way until I hit TN. Even then their were flurries going over the Great Smoky Mountains. Arrived in NC at 1530 two hours ahead of my expected ETA. Now parked for the night in a nearby rest area. I'm #1 on the Arden, NC board but I've never been on this board before so hopefully I'll get a load today. There are no truck stops nearby, and I can't sit here for the weekend.

Red Tape and Incompetence are Alive and Well in Ohio

My driver and I are at T/S near Toledo. I called THREE times last week and e-mailed TWICE that we were coming today for sign and QC instalation on the International. My driver beat me up here and asked the shop manager about it and he knew nothing. He called the recruiter and he said he knew nothing about it. Driver calls me while I was still on 23 coming north. Said the shop manager told him that they don't do fleet owner vehicles until Thursday given they have orientation Mon to Wed.

I called the recruiter and melted my cell phone battery. The paperwork is being completed in the morning, and the signs are going on then as well. To top it off the generator on the International is acting up. It wouldn't crank yesterday, and it cranked and started when I got here. It ran for 6 or 7 hours and stopped. Now it won't restart. It only has 470 some hours on it so it will most likely be under warranty, but there's the hassle of finding a dealer to fix it.

We headed over to a Speedco near here to get the oil changed on my Sprinter and the Idlebuster serviced. First, they don't have an oil filter for the Sprinter. Second, even though they are a Idlebuster service center, they had no idea what to do with mine. They didn't have all the filters and the mechanic was looking all over the bottom of the truck for it. When I told him to look up, he mumbled something and asked me how he was going to get up there. I said a ladder usually works. He gets up there and opens the panels and asks me where the fuel filter is. I told him to shut the panel and forget it. If he's asking me, I don't want him touching it.

Next we go to the nearby TA to at least have the Sprinter's oil changed. They are supposed to be a Freightliner service center, and they don't have the filter either. Guess I'll have to start carrying a filter with me.

So, to sum up. Accomplishments - 0% Frustration level - 100% Urge to go postal - 1000% The little things will drive you crazy. However, accomplishments tomorrow will be 100% Further delays are not an option.

OH-TN-OH

Left to pick up the new truck at 0400 Saturday morning. Arrived in Knoxville at 1110. Checked everything out and no problems found. Signed the paperwork, my driver transferred his stuff from the Sprinter into the International, my buddy jumped into the Sprinter and I jump into my Ram and we headed back to Columbus. Left about 1430.

Arrived back in Columbus at 1930 with no problems. Driver calls about 2000 saying the heat unit only blows cold air. He called again this afternoon saying that the generator won't start. I had him pick up a ceramic heater until I could get the info on the heat unit, but now he can't use that since the generator won't start. Had him stop at a TA truck stop to see if their shop could determine what the problem was. It appears to be the starter. I did some research and found that the sleeper, generator, and heat and a/c unit were installed by the same company. There should be warranty left on all items but I won't know until I contact them tomorrow.

Other than that, the truck runs great.

OH-KY-OH

Got a load out of Toledo that picked up at 1700 Wednesday afternoon for a 0700 delivery at a construction site in Flemingsburg, KY. It was a 50 lb piece of iron that looked like a four legged stool with a hole in the center.

Found the site with no trouble. The "stool" was to support a surgical light over an operating table. The site was a hospital.

Headed over to the Pilot in Georgetown, KY. Got a load at 1330 for a 1500 pick up from Hebron, KY to Cambridge, OH. This was a 4 foot long box that weighed 10 lbs. It was some type of scale that was valued at $3800. Dropped there at 1900 and headed home before taking off to Knoxville. Going to be one tired puppy by Saturday night.

OH-MI-OH

Finally got the paperwork done on the new truck so I will run some short runs until I go to pick the truck up in Knoxville on Saturday.

Got a load picking up at 2100 in Bucyrus, OH going to Detroit,MI for a 0500 delivery. Another hot load. Consignee came in two hours early just so they could get it in time to start their production line on time this morning.

Would have been #5 on the Detroit board but since I've never gotten a load out from there I headed south. Currently on the Toledo, OH board. Started #5, but by the time I got fuel, food, and chow, I had moved up to #3. Toledo's an active board. Hitting the sack now in case I get out this afternoon.

Equipment Pics

Jim in Toronto asked to see some pics of my trucks, so here they are.

The first Sprinter is the 2006 that I drive. The 2005 is identical except it has a large brush guard on the front.

The straight truck pic is the 2007 International I will be picking up this Saturday.

Truck #3

It was an interesting week. I completed the running water project and it's working well.

A buddy of mine called asking if he and his son could drive for me. He is coming off the same shoulder surgery I had several years ago and his doc told him the same thing mine told me, find another line of work. He's a Sprinter mechanic for a Dodge dealer. I told him I would see what I could do.

I couldn't add another Sprinter as the carrier I'm leased to isn't accepting any more vans. So, I looked around for a straight truck. I stumbled across one that was already set up for expedite. It's a one of a kind truck, a 2007 International 4400 with 68,000 miles on it. It has a 102" sleeper, 16 ft. cargo box, rear lift gate, generator, and roof air already installed.

The financing went through in my company name without a hitch, and my buddy and his son will be at orientation on the 21st. The driver of my other Sprinter will drive the International while my buddy and his son drive that Sprinter.

I don't know for sure whether they will team drive or split the time on the road. The upside is that I now have a Sprinter mechanic within the company. My maintenance costs will drop significantly. He can handle working on them occasionally, it's just the working on them every day that his doc said to avoid.

Once they get some experience under their belts, I'll see about adding a fourth truck.

Home - The Sequel

Freight is very soft here right now. The board has barely moved at all, and there were only about 330 loads for the whole system today. Decided to scratch this week and take care of things around here.

Been fighting one of the garage doors for a week now. I noticed that one of the support braces had lost a bolt and I replaced it. Next time I hit the button to close the door, the top panel folded up. After a few days of pounding and cussing in the cold, I decided to call the ex-wife. She works for a overhead door company and I called and told her to send one of her repairmen out before I totally destroy this door. Takes him an hour to fix it.

He replaced a bunch of pulleys, reshaped the top panel, added top braces to BOTH doors, and adjusted both of them all for the bargain price of $150 parts and labor. I am a happy camper.

In another vein, I ordered parts today for my latest project. If it works, I'll have running water in the truck. Can a shower be far behind?????