Where the snows a blowing I'll be going.

[rah]

Ah well. That snow storm up across the plains has a team that runs to Seward, NE stuck up there. Normally that dedicated team runs back and forth between Seward, NE and Peoria, IL. Normally a solo driver from the Anderson, IN terminal drives up to Peoria and switches trailers with the dedicated team. Then the dedicated team takes the load the Anderson driver brought up to Peoria on up to Seward and the solo driver brings the trailer from Seward back to the Anderson terminal. But since that dedicated team is stuck we will take the load the solo driver takes to Peoria directly to the Teneco plant in Seward and then, if the situation doesn’t change probably get a broker load back while the dedicated team goes to Peoria and meets a solo driver to restart their normal cycle. So once again if the snows a blowing that’s where I’m going. Be back Thursday morning or later, depending on the weather and/or when we get a broker back haul.

[rah]

Back again. Ran into some good snow in western Iowa but it was worse in Nebraska. We pulled into a truck stop in De Moines to try and wait for them to get the roads clear but at 07:30 this morning I-80 was still closed just west of Lincoln, Nebraska. We we drove to Lincoln on I-80 and then got off onto Hwy 34 to get to Seward where we needed to be. Always a risk when you try that because quite often some steering wheel holder has tried the same thing and screwed up and has the road blocked and then your stuck. But it turned out ok. I-80 was still closed when we left the place in Seward to come back east. All is well that ends well but I had a rough time Tuesday night and Wednesday morning driving to get us to De Moines. Had been up since 04:00 Tuesday morning when they called me to go and we left out of the terminal at 18:00. Then I drove all night until we pulled into a truck stop in De Moines. A lot of the driving in IL was in fog and then the last 40 miles was in blowing snow. Almost got stuck in the truck stop trying to park.

[rah]

Did another team run up to Seward, NE. This time the worst of the weather hit in western and central Iowa. Not that much snow coming down but the wind was a real problem. In places along I-80 west of Des Moines there were white out conditions but once we got into Nebraska it was much better. Lots of slick spots. The wind just wears you out fighting it over the course of an 11 hour long driving shift. Saw three overturned cars, multiple jack knifes of big rigs and one that had run off down a steep embankment. Three new camper trailers blown over and one pickup truck that had been pulling one had also gone over on it's side with the trailer. Three regular pickup truck towed trailers jack knifed and in one case the truck and trailer were both on their sides. When conditions get like that anyone towing any trailer with much of a profile with a ball hitch that doesn't park it gets what they deserve. Trailers being towed with a ball hitch just don't do well in windy and slick conditions. Once that trailer gets 15 degrees or so out of line with the towing vehicle it's very difficult to recover. I have watched it happen more than once during my travels. Charlie and I did really well considering the conditions. Did a drop & hook in Seward, NE. The load was over 30,000 lbs for which we were thankful in those windy conditions. Weighed the load after picking it up and had a very good Ruben sandwich for lunch. Departed Anderson, IN at 01:00 Monday morning and got back safe and sound at 04:00 Tuesday morning.

Along I-80 a little west of the junction with I-280 there is the Iowa 80truck stop. It claims to be the largest in the world and I haven't seen any larger. Believe it or not there was a time years ago when I pulled in there very early one morning to take my 10 hour break and had difficulty finding a parking spot. It has about 65 acres of truck parking.

Based on the way freight has been going the last couple months I believe the economy is slowing down. I would not be surprised if this country goes into a recession before the end of this year. But of course if Trump or Cruz are elected the democrats and their press will blame it on the new president.

My friend Brad is going to get the open 1150 job so we'll have a new driver helping us out with the on call stuff. Brad and I went through Class A CDL training at Schneider National over 10 years ago. I have been helping him get ready since before he had been running mostly dedicated runs for Carter. So I sent him this e-mail to tell him all the different passes and transponders he'll have to get for his truck to do the job. Thought this might interest some of you. Brad already has the 'Pre Pass transponder for weigh stations as all Carter trucks do so he won't have to get one of those.
So here is what I sent him:

Stuff you'll need for the guarantee driver job.

From Safety you will need to get:

US Border transponder [for transiting between US and Canada]
EZ-Pass transponder [For tolls]
NY HUT (Highway Usage Tax) Sticker. [NY has their own separate highway tax for commercial carriers]

The only other thing you'll have to have is a FAST Pass or a US Passport.

You can find out about the FAST Pass which Carter pays for from the Carter ACE department. See Robyn. From the front office at Carter go down the stairs and ACE is the first door on the right. You'll need to go there anyway once you become an Guarantee Driver because they have the forms and the information and the PAPS and PARS stickers you will have to keep in your truck for Canada trips. All the girls down there are great. Robyn is the Sr. but the other two girls know their business also. They can help you a lot in getting prepared to do trips to Canada and back. I will give you copies of a filled out Manifest and ACE cover sheet from one of my previous trips that will serve as examples for when the time comes for you to do a border crossing.

Here is a link to the official site for application for a US Passport if you decide you want one. How to Apply for a US Passport.

If you anticipate only using the passport for transiting from the US to Canada and back all you need is the card which is cheaper and more convenient than the passport book. If however, like me, you may travel to any other countries other than Mexico or take a cruise some day then you'll have to get the passport book. When I renewed I got both. The card for trucking and the book for personal use. It cost me $140.00 for both.

[jerbear]

We are supposed to be up in the 80's this week. That isn't totally unusual as we've had that before in the past and I would ride my bike around the lake.

[rah]

Got back early because my pickup was on Monday afternoon not Tuesday morning as my instructions said. Good thing I'm around to straighten dispatch out. On the way out I saw -16 deg. F on my truck thermometer just east of Syracuse, NY. You don't turn a truck off in those temperatures and when you park for the night. You only set the airbrakes on the tractor and not those on the trailer.

Delivered the cans 1 hour early in Ayre, MA and then headed towards Old Town, ME (About 12 N of Bangor, ME). That's when I found out that it was a good thing I hustled because instead of picking up Tuesday morning as I was told I was to pick up at 14:00 on Monday. So I was loaded with 14 Canoes, 41 River Kayaks, and 3 ocean Kayaks, at Old Town Canoe company. Woke up at 01:45 to snow coming down and a snow covered truck in a rest area just south of Bangor Maine Tuesday morning. I sat for 1 1/2 hours longer than I had to because I wasn't sure I should even try. I was 1,173 mi from home and was willing to wait until the Afternoon to go IF conditions would improve so I could make it at least 500 mi during my 14 hour duty and 11 hour driving shift to ensure that I would only need to take one more break before I got home instead of two. Delivery time for the load to the Gallions sporting goods warehouse in Lebanon, IN was not a problem because the time and date had not been set up yet.

So there I sat listening to the National Weather Service (NWS) on the radio and looking at radar and the accuweather forecast on my smart phone which showed snow and then freezing rain before I got to just wet weather going south. Then the NWS started talking about a wind warning along my route with gusts up to 60 mph. Now those 50 vessels I had in my trailer were only 4,850 lbs. so it was like I was pulling an empty trailer and a light trailer is not what you want to be pulling in windy weather. Combine a empty or very light trailer with slick roads and your just asking for an accident. The wind warning started at 15:00 so I decided it was time to hit the road so I could be parked before that kicked in. Within 45 minutes I had to pull over into a closed weigh station to clean 1/4" of ice off my windshield, lights, and from the spring hangers for the trailer airlines.

Took off again and finally hit good roads and just rain down close to the NH border. Then it was just a matter of dealing with the idiots in Boston rush hour traffic and once on I-90 West I looked at my clock and figured I would make it far enough to get within range of home after a break. In western MA I saw 50 deg. F on my truck thermometer! From there the temp gradually dropped as I went further west on I-90 and the rain got harder and harder. NWS radio was giving flood warnings for places in NY between Albany and Syracuse but they dropped the ball on a pretty strong snow storm that hit just west of Syracuse. The first I heard of it was when I tuned back to NWS radio when the rain started turning to snow. 11 to 13 inches they were saying for some areas and they hadn't mentioned a thing about it when I had last tuned in while passing through Albany!

Once I knew I had gotten far enough to make it home after my break I pulled into the first rest area just west of Rochester. It was a mess with trucks plowed in and the few open spaces full of snow. I just put the interlock on so I had both axles pulling and eased on through. Had 38 minutes left on my 14 hours. Next parking area was 25 mi west of Rochester and the crews there had done much better but when the snow starts flying the babies all run for parking areas so it was nearly full. When I parked the truck I had 8 minutes left on my 14 hour limit. I had gone exactly 550 mi. that day.


At 01:15 Wed morning the alarm went off and by 02:00 was rolling. Uneventful drive home though the last of the ice did not fall off my truck until was 40 miles from home. Took care of the paperwork, dropped the trailer, fueled, put in DEF, topped off my windshield washer fluid and restocked it in my side tool box. (I used nearly 4 gallons of the stuff on this trip), greased the fifth wheel and parked the truck and came home stopping off to buy Sherry a dozen roses along the way since I wasn't home for Valentines day.

So Wed night I'm laying in bed just dozing off and the phone rings. They want me to take a load to a Kroger warehouse in Delaware, OH about 30 mi north of Columbus. Load scheduled to depart at 05:00. When I got in I found it did not deliver until 10. Five hours to go 174 mi on mostly interstates? What a waste of my time. So I sat for over an hour before I left the yard so I didn't start my 14 hour clock. Kroger warehouses are notorious for long periods in the dock. Many a driver has sat for 8 hours waiting to be unloaded. This time they were reasonable and I was back home at 16:00. Got my truck washed and parked it.

Today I guess the week caught up with me. After getting up at 04:30 as I usually do I went back to bed and slept for another 6 hours. Guess I needed it.

[jerbear]

No snow blowing down here. Been springlike weather and I been in short, t's and flip-flops during the last week while I've been on leave. Gonna start some herbs and stuff in the garden. My mint and basil plants never died and stayed green all this time so far.

[rah]

Good luck. This winter isn't over yet by a long shot.