PA-IN

Left the truck stop in Danville, PA and drove 146 miles to another truck stop in DuBois, PA. for the first leg of my trip home. I had only been there for maybe 30 minutes when dispatch called with a load from Emporium, PA to Indianapolis, IN

I accepted the load and when I got to the pick up it was only one skid at 919 lbs. A van load. I wondered at the time if T/S was trying to appease me or if there actually weren't any vans in the area.

Drop was scheduled for 0700 on the 24th, and it was a 501 mile trip. I kept it legal by split logging so I didn't run out of hours until around 0900. I stopped in Sunbury, OH (about 25 miles from the house) to get something to eat and sleep a few hours. Left there around 0330 and arrived at the dock at 0657. Unloaded and arrived at the truck stop where I am now at 0845. Fifteen minutes to spare.

Now it gets weird. I sent a QC message advising dispatch that I was out of hours until 1800 Thursday, and that I planned to go home and to get me an OH run if available. Went into the diner and took advantage of the breakfast buffet, came back out to the truck made a couple of calls and laid down around 1030.

Dispatch woke me up at 1500 with a load offer to TEXAS. The spelling for OHIO must have changed while I was asleep. This load picked up today at 0600 for Monday delivery in Hildalgo, TX southeast of Laredo right on the Tex/Mex border. It paid well but when you consider that I would have to deadhead out of TX, probably into AR or MS, whatever profit I made would be dented by the fuel costs to deadhead, and the time involved to do that. Turned it down restating that I wanted a load to OHIO.

It wasn't five minutes later when another dispatcher called with a load from Cincinnati to WI. There we go with that pesky spelling of OHIO again. She said that it picked up at 1830 for direct delivery. I laughed and pointed out that my DOT break wasn't up until 1815 and that I was fresh out of rocket fuel so an 1830 pick up wasn't going to happen and that I wanted to go to OHIO not pick up from there.

So after sitting with no load for a week, they throw two at me in the space of five minutes. I'm sure it's a reaction to the conversation I had with them the other day, but come on, a loser load and one I couldn't do even if I wanted to.

It looks more and more like I'll have to change the signs on this truck.

Sprinter #1 got a great load from WI to NC that delivers Monday.

Sprinter #2 is at home.