BORED!!!!!!!!!

Another boring day in the neighborhood. Shoulder improving to the point I'm starting to move it so it won't stiffen up. I found the "rubber bands" I had from the therapy on the left shoulder, and I started to use them to keep the strength up in the right. They are different tension bands that you anchor to a fixed object and then you pull on them. I'll take them with me in the truck to keep exercising.

Freight still slow but showing signs of picking up. Caterpillar is the main source for the Sprinters right now.

Sprinter #1
BUCYRUS/ OH AURORA/ IL

Sprinter #2
SARVER/ PA ITHACA/ NY
Bonused to Pittsburgh and then to Cleveland

Sprinter #3
ST JOHNS/ MI ELK GROVE VILLAGE/ IL
WOODRIDGE/ IL CHAMPAIGN/ IL

Deja Vu

What's that old saying? Best laid plans of mice and men? I can't speak for the mice, but my plan got shot to hell yesterday morning in a dogfight.

Yeah, quite literally a dogfight. I had taken everything over to the International Sunday with the exception of food. My plan was to call the fleet coordinator Monday morning and get on the board. Yeah, right.

Wife had to leave early to take her Mom to the doctor, so as she was leaving she opened the bedroom door. Dog #1 jumps on the bed startling sleeping dog #2 who was on the bed with me. I was sound asleep as well. Dog #2 jumps up snapping at dog #1 and a screaming fight ensues and they fall to the floor. With my reflexes being what they are, I came up off the bed and landed on top of them before wife could take a step. I moved so fast that I tore the top sheet and comforter completely off the bed. I was still asleep when I moved.

Somewhere in the process I sort of woke up and saw that dog #1 is chewing on dog #2's ear. Grabbed #1's jaw with my left hand and started slapping the side of her face with guess what? Yeah, my RIGHT hand. I think I startled both of them enough for jaws to open and the fight was over.

Adrenalin is a wonderful thing until it wears off. By now I was fully awake, and fully aware that my shoulder was the one now screaming. Yeah, it popped again and now I am right back where I was last Saturday, ice and pain killers. I guess I'll be here after all when the brace shows up today. I've consoled myself all day with the fact that freight is still slow and I probably wouldn't have gotten a load today anyway. Needless to say, both dogs are in the proverbial doghouse.

Sprinter #1
Waukesha, WI to Detroit, MI

Sprinter #2
Bonused to Pittsburgh, PA

Sprinter #3
Mossville, IL to Lansing, MI

Have Tags Will Travel

Managed to get the tags for the Sprinter without much of a hassle. Two phone calls to answer two questions they didn't ask yesterday and it was done. At least the title part. Then had to wait in line again to get the tags since the title work is done by the county and the tags by the state.

While I was standing in line listening to the people arguing with the clerks over one stupid thing or another, I had a brainstorm that I think I will turn into a vanity license plate.

Spell OHIO backwards. OIHO Translation: Oh I Hate Ohio. Fits my state of mind perfectly and I will not hesitate to explain it to anyone that asks.

Freight seemed to surge this afternoon. Boards were moving faster than they have all week. I had Sprinter #1 leave Louisville to come back here to Columbus initially for TAH, but he was only here a couple of hours before a load offer came through. Picks up tonight and delivers Monday. So, he'll get his TAH and a load to start the week as well.

Shoulder continues to improve and I think I can get the heck out of here Monday. The brace hasn't arrived yet, but the wife can bring it to the Expo next Friday if it turns out we meet there instead of here at home.

Sprinter #1

Van Wert, OH to Waterloo, IA

Sprinter #2

Bonused to Harrisburgh, PA

Sprinter #3

Tags in place, ready to go.

Drowning in Red Tape

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the state of Ohio??? If not, I HATE THE STATE OF OHIO. There, I feel better.

Temp tags on Sprinter #3 expire today. Bank has been looking for the title for two weeks that the aforementioned state said they mailed two weeks ago. Tuesday, the bank works some type of magic and overnights documents to that state so I can get the tags and they can continue their title fight without holding me up.

Plan was to run to the BMV where the docs were overnighted, get the tags, overnight them to the driver, and head out myself. None of that happened.

Knowing that state like I do, I called before going to the BMV and was told that they did not know what I was talking about even though I was talking to the person that talked with my bank on Tuesday. She demanded the tracking number, carrier name, who sent it, and who signed for it. Contacted the bank, got the info and called the BMV back. Oh yes, we have it they said.

I arrive at the BMV. After 5 minutes looking for the docs they said they had, the process starts. Whoops says the lady, we can't issue the paperwork for tags since the power of attorney signed by my son-in-law shows my company as the purchaser. I said the company IS the purchaser. Seems that state is the only state that requires the purchaser to be a person not a company. Then, they issue another POA transferring the vehicle to the company. I seem to remember making a comment that I wasn't surprised that state is that stupid. Result: NO TAGS and I'm still stuck here.

Got a new POA showing me as the purchaser, and I will make the trip again later this morning for the second attempt. I am not very confident of success since it took three trips to get tags for the International.

To add insult to injury, literally, I get home and the shoulder is on fire for some reason. Called the doc to see if he had a brace or something that would help. He asked a bunch of questions, I told him about lifting the tire and he said I probably tore the scar tissue on the tendon. He recommended a brace that I had to order, and taking it easy for a few days to allow it scar over again. Great, I get to sit some more. I guess I'm not losing that much revenue since it's slow. It's just the principle of the thing. I do know that I WILL get those tags.

As I said, it's slow.

Sprinter #1

LEXINGTON/KY FLETCHER/NC 7/15/08

Sprinter #2

WAYCROSS/ GA CLEVELAND/ OH 7/16/2008
CHARLOTTE/ NC FT VALLEY/ GA 7/15/2008

Sprinter #3

No Tags
Driver still sick.

New Mods

Have been home since the 4th taking care of various things. I got the parking brake on the truck adjusted so it pulls more evenly so my shoulder can handle it. Decided to stay home till my B-Day was over and to attend Tri-State's Driver Appreciation Day on the 12th. That turned out to be a good decision since we won 2 brand new Michelin radial steering tires. I'll take $900 worth of free tires any day. Like an idiot, I loaded them by myself and pulled the shoulder pretty bad. Can you say "Stubborn".

One of the other things on the International that has bugged me was the lack of cupholders. It has only one. I found a console the other day that would normally go into a minivan, but I adapted it to fit in the International. I also added a CD player since the stock radio is a cassette. I also found a holding rack for the load bars that I have been moving (much to the chagrin of my shoulder) around each time I load and unload. Pics are below.


CD Player

Console

Load Bar Holder

Freight has been slow as expected due to the auto industry shutdown, but should be picking up soon.

Sprinter #1

RALEIGH/ NC ATHENS/ AL 7/11/2008

RICHMOND/ VA COCKEYSVILLE/ MD 7/9/2008

NO CHARLESTON/ SC CHERRY POINT/ NC 7/7/2008

CHICAGO/ IL CANTON/ OH 7/2/2008

BARBERTON/ OH LUGOFF/ SC 7/2/2008

NILES/ MI TOLEDO/ OH 7/1/2008

LITCHFIELD/ MI LAFAYETTE/ IN 7/1/2008

Sprinter #2

MARION/ OH FLETCHER/ NC 7/11/2008

CLEVELAND/ OH LIMA/ OH 7/10/2008

COLUMBUS/ OH BROOK PARK/ OH 7/8/2008

SHARONVILLE/ OH ENDWELL/ NY 7/2/2008

ADDISON/ IL INDIANAPOLIS/ IN 7/1/2008

Sprinter #3

PEORIA/ IL GRIFFIN/ GA 7/1/2008

Driver has been off sick.

We plan to attend the Expedite Expo on the 25th and 26th in Wilmington, OH. If anyone is near there, come on over. It's free as is the parking. Tons of exibits, the Chrome Shop Mafia will be there, and SNI has a booth as well. Promises to be a good time.

When I Move, I Move

Four loads in less than a week. Not bad. Spent the weekend in Florence, SC as expected. Sent a QC message around 1100 Monday asking to be moved. They came back with Charlotte, so I decided to go.

I only went a few miles before they came up with a load from Lancaster, SC to Lancaster, PA. No, that's not a typo. 3100 lbs of steering rods for Mack truck. Dropped that at 0900 yesterday and shot over to the truck stop at Carlisle before my 11 ran out. There are two other T/S straight trucks sitting next to me, and I'm #2 on the board. The #1 truck has been here all weekend and didn't get out yesterday. Maybe the slowdown has started.

The Sprinters are still busy, so no complaints there.

Sprinter #1

7/1/08
NILES/ MI TOLEDO/OH
SEYMOUR/ IN AUBURN HILLS/ MI

Sprinter #2

6/30/08
DECATUR/ IL LINCOLNSHIRE/ IL
7/1/08
ADDISON/ IL INDIANAPOLIS/ IN

Sprinter #3
7/1/08
PEORIA/ IL GRIFFIN/ GA

International
6/30/08
LANCASTER/ SC LANCASTER/ PA

Shoulder really gave me problems while driving Monday night and I think I may know what tore the tendon in the first place. The parking brake handle on the International is about as hard to pull and set as it is to pull an elephant by his trunk. Now, I'm using two hands while I keep my left foot on the brake. I'm going to take the truck in to the shop on Monday to see if they can adjust the brake shoes in the drum, or lube the cables or something to make it easier.

Thanks to everyone for the comments on the blog. Glad you like it.

Back On The Move

Shoulder needs surgery, but I decided to tough it out until December or January when freight slows down. I haven't posted here for awhile since I have been busy putting together a deal to buy a 3rd Sprinter.

My son-in-law's runs have been cut and he wanted to downsize from his Sprinter to a regular cargo van. He doesn't want to go OTR, so he didn't need a Sprinter with a sleeper in it. Completed the paperwork for the purchase and was at Tri-State's base on the 19th to sign the lease and have the signs and Qualcomm installed.

The driver I had before was reinstated by T/S and is now driving the Sprinter. He got his first load on the 20th and has been running strong since. I'm glad to have him back. The other two Sprinters have been running strong as well. The numbers I crunched show that the three Sprinters will cover all the expenses on all four trucks and all the International has to cover is it's fuel since I don't have to pay myself. Something wrong with that don't you think???? Anyway, when I go down for surgery, I can let the International sit until I come back.

I'm presently in a truck stop in Florence, SC. I got a load from Columbus to the new Honda plant in Greensburg, IN. It had no address that the GPS or any other map program would recognize since it's a new road. I found the stealth Honda plant even though the exit ramp to it was closed. I engaged the cloaking device on the truck and snuck in the back way. Seemed strange that they needed wiring harnesses for cars they aren't even building yet. After break I backtracked into OH to pick up some reverse clutch sun gears going to Roanoke, VA. Went to the T/A there. After that break, I deadheaded 165 miles to Kingsport, TN and picked up 5300 lbs of coupon books for the visitor information centers in Myrtle Beach, SC. Did my break in a Wally World lot in Conway, SC and headed here to this truck stop after.

The shoulder is holding up so far but I did make some mods to the cab of the International since it is difficult for me to reach to the right. You can see them in the pics.

As I said, the Sprinters are running strong but I'm not going to post all the runs here since there are too many since my last entry. I'll start posting them again now that I'm updating regularly.