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Phil Madsen's BlogLearning Something New Every Day |
Truck drivers Phil and Diane Madsen live, work and play on the road; transporting expedited and critical-shipment freight in their custom-built truck. Phil's blog is a blend of travelogue, brain dump and commentary on road-inspired topics.
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Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck. After the truck is gone from the area, entries are updated to include location information.
July 1-3, 2008. I learned in these days that a shopping mall we like to visit near Nashville, Tennessee is struggling. A whole bunch of stores have left since we were last there. Vast areas of this nice and modern mall are now vacant. Signs of the times, I guess.
We were in Long Beach, California at the end of June. Since then, we have worked our way to the East Coast, hauling good loads for good money. We delivered in Delaware on Thursday, July 3. Pre-dispatched on a short Monday run, we found an RV park near that pickup to pass the long weekend.
Even though the truck generator saves us a lot of fuel by eliminating the need to idle, it still takes fuel to run the generator. Being plugged into shore power for the long weekend will save fuel and generator wear and tear. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, July 6, 2008. I learned today a bit about the Movable Type publishing platform, something that I can use to bring these blog pages up to snuff.
WordPress, which I previously played with, is a great product for a single blog but the WordPress MU (multi-user) product is too complex for me to quickly learn. Thus, WordPress is out and Movable Type is in. It will take me a while to get up to speed on MT, but it will be time well spent and help move this web site in the multi-blogger direction I want to go. The static blog pages you see here do the job, but the features of WordPress and Movable Type make blogging so much better.
We have been mostly relaxing in an RV park in New Jersey since Friday. We are dispatched three loads deep now. Tomorrow morning we will do a short run to Philadelphia, and then another short run to JFK International Airport in New York, and then a long run.
It feels good to do run one after the other again. It has been a while. We took our eye off the freight-hauling ball in June. We have no regrets but you have to think about the money too. No matter how meaningful or important your non-freight activities may be, the money stops when you stop hauling freight. We are back in the saddle again! Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, July 7, 2008. I learned today what Dave Ramsey sounds like on the radio. Learned by listening to him for the first time. People have told me about him and his financial planning get-out-of-debt message. I only recently found out his show is broadcast not only on XM radio but Sirius too. We have Sirius in the truck and dialed him in.
Already committed to a debt-free life, we did not need Ramsey to show us the way. But I see why thousands of his enthusiastic fans are glad to have connected with him and his message. I expect to quote Ramsey from time to time in the Business Planning for Successful Expediters series I write, and to refer people to his resources.
I also learned today, in a new way, just how happy Americans should be to have truck drivers.
Our Philadelphia delivery was to be a quick, easy run. It turned out otherwise. Because of bad information from a shipper who had no sense of space and direction, and seemed to care little for the load once it was on our truck, we got bounced around Philadelphia for hours; both on the streets in the truck and in a maze of underground docks, hallways and elevators in a sprawling medical complex.
We've been there and done that before. But what impressed me was another truck driver who approached us on the street for help. He was as lost as we were and also had bad information about his delivery. Unlike us straight-truck team drivers, he had to find a place to park his big rig (no small feat in Philadelphia) before he could start hoofing it in search of help. His purpose was clear. He had a delivery to make and he was doing everything he could to get it done.
We could not help him. We did not know the area well. We tried looking his consignee's name and address up online but found no matches. He understood when we told him we were as lost as he was and in the same boat.
It occurred to me that this is a story that plays out thousands of times a day in cities nationwide. People get their stuff, but seldom think about what it takes for that to happen. Truck drivers go the extra mile every day. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, July 8, 2008. I learned today that the art of flashing truckers is not dead, though there is a flasher out there who needs to work on her technique. Learned by hearing Diane's report of being flashed today.
I was asleep back in the sleeper. Diane was driving in the middle lane of a rural three-lane freeway on a hot summer day. Three middle-aged people in a top-down convertible pulled along side and just ahead of the truck on the right. The driver was male, the passengers were female.
In the back seat, sat a woman Diane described as "forty-something with a dye job and a face that suggested she has lived a hard life." Topless, and presumably expecting to flash a male truck driver, the woman turned and rose up to display her breasts. When Diane's and her eyes met, the woman's face showed shock and embarrassment. She quickly turned around and sat down, and the car pulled away.
The woman might be all the more shocked to learn we have the event on tape. Our truck is equipped with an eight-camera surveillance system that records video from all eight cameras on a five-day loop. This is the kind of footage one who is twenty-something might put on the internet. At fifty-something, I think it better to let the tape loop over itself and let the event exist only as a story told here. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, July 9, 2008. I learned today that the Indiana Toll Road (I-80/90) needs a paint job. Learned by driving it early this morning in the dark and rain. The center lines and fog lines on this road have badly faded or worn off. This makes it difficult to see and maintain your lane when driving conditions are less than ideal.
This concerns me because this road used to be kept in pretty good shape. Several months ago, with legislative approval, a foreign for-profit corporation leased the toll road from the state. I fear the corporation is already skimping on maintenance and pocketing the recently-increased tolls.
The Indiana legislature leased the road to the corporation for 75 years, in return for a huge pot of up-front money the corporation paid. This was a mistake. As a group, elected officials find it nearly impossible to sit on a pot of money or revenue source. Rather than budget and manage it wisely, they dip into it for one pet project after another; often to enhance their position with voters in the next election (Example: Social Security). Long after the money pot has gone empty, Indiana roads will need repair and there will be no money to pay for it.
Who suffers? Well, in the case of the Indiana Toll Road, motorists who may have avoided an accident because they were able to see and stay in their lane may be the ones to immediately suffer, and maybe even die. In the longer run, Indiana taxpayers will suffer because to get good roads, they will have to back new bonding initiatives. The money from the toll road deal that should have funded roads will be long gone.
Who benefits? The politicians benefit. They get to dole out the money pot. So does the foreign corporation that gained control of the road and tolls, and the ability to profit therefrom.
It used to be fun to drive across the Indiana Toll Road. Now it is depressing. Politicians act. Powerful people with money benefit. We pay. To the politicians that may try to deny this and point to the benefits the toll road deal supposedly provided, I have a simple question ... where's the paint?
I also learned today about the Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois, and the gardens and museums there. Learned by spending the day in the park. We had a delivery nearby. Finding the park, it proved to be a great place to literally stop and smell the roses. Being pre-dispatched on the next load, we had no freight worries. The summer weather was perfect. It was a great day in the park. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
July 10 - 13, 2008. I learned in these days about a nice RV park in Kentucky and about how RV people are changing their ways in response to fuel prices. Learned by spending the weekend at the park and visiting with campers.
I also learned how to add numbers by using the partial sum technique. Learned by reading Quick Arithmetic: A Self-Teaching Guide, Third Edition by Robert A. Carmen and Marilyn J. Carmen.
I know how to add numbers but no one ever taught me the partial sum technique. Or, maybe someone did and I forgot. Either way, it helps explain why I am reading a book like this. While knowing how to work with numbers, that has not been a great joy in my life. As a truck driver, I find myself using numbers less than in previous careers, and I am getting rusty.
In college, I focused on the liberal arts and did everything I could to avoid college-level math courses. Now, I find myself wishing I was better at math than I am; thus the self-teaching guide. When I'm in the mood, I pick up the book and work through a chapter or two. It is more of a fantasy than a goal, but I have in mind the notion of building my math skills to the college math-major level.
Regardless of how far this goes, I am enjoying, for the first time in my life, the study of math. Free of a teacher's assignments and the pressure to learn quickly, math study is relaxing. It is fun to exercise my mind in a new way. Math takes you into a peaceful, orderly world where the rules make sense and what is true today will be true tomorrow too. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, July 14, 2008. I learned today that 95% of the freight that passes through Memphis International Airport is FedEx freight. Learned by studying the airport's web site.
It's time to fly Diane home once again for more dental work (braces). The load we are on now delivers in Memphis tomorrow. We are looking at flights and the airport map to figure out how to get Diane on a plane. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, July 15, 2008. I learned today that the cargo area at Memphis International Airport is accessible and within easy walking distance to the passenger terminal. Learned by driving the truck there and checking it out.
After making an early-morning delivery in Memphis, Tennessee, we headed to the airport to get Diane on a flight home. I'll stay with the truck until she returns tomorrow night. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, July 16, 2008. I learned today that I can complete an expedited freight pickup all by myself. Learned by doing it.
This is no small matter for me. Until today, every load we have ever done has been a team effort. While I would have expected to be able to do a pickup by myself, it was nice to actually do one and do it successfully. It gave me a tiny taste of the solo driver's experience, which is different than team driving.
As a solo, you manage your hours more carefully. There is no one else to keep the truck moving if you are out of hours. With no co-driver in the truck, you secure it and your belongings more carefully. When an offer comes in, you don't have one person to write up the paperwork while the other maps the route. As a solo, you do all of that. Doing your pretrip inspection, going inside to arrange for a shower, doing the grocery shopping and laundry ... solo drivers do all of that. Team drivers can split the work. Just getting home can be a two or three day event for a solo driver, where a team can drive straight through in half the time.
My inaugural solo pickup occurred because while Diane was in the air, flying back to Memphis, a load came up. The truck was out of service but dispatch called anyway. We were the only truck in town that was qualified and equipped to do this load. Dispatch asked if we could go in service to cover the load.
I explained Diane's status. Dispatch worked it out with the shipper that I would pick up the load, drive to the airport, pick up Diane, and we would then proceed together on the team run. So into service I went to do a solo pickup. It felt weird not having Diane in the truck as I worked. My appreciation for the work solo drivers do every day also went up a notch. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, July 17, 2008. I learned today what the movie The Incredible Hulk is all about. Learned by seeing it.
We delivered a load near Dallas, Texas this morning and waited all day for freight. No offers worth taking were received. We were parked in a truck parking lot in a retail area.
A cinema was nearby. While Diane stayed in the truck and read, I wandered over to the theater to see what was playing. The Hulk drew me in. One ticket, one bag of popcorn, two hours and 13 dollars later I returned to the truck.
Had an offer come in, Diane would have made the decision and, if necessary, used her cell phone to call mine and summon me back for a run. Sadly, that did not happen. We would spend the night in the lot instead.
I enjoyed The Incredible Hulk as much as I enjoyed Iron Man a few weeks before. Seeing these movies that are based on the Marvel Comics characters takes me back to my boyhood days in the barbershop, where I first read these comic books.
My friends and I went in to read the comics even if we did not need a haircut. The barber kept a good supply on hand and we were always welcome to hang out there. I remember reading the comics with one ear tuned in to the adult conversations going on between the barber and the man in his chair.
I'd pick up items like a man can heat his house all winter with two cords of good oak. Knowing such things made me feel more grown up. Now, like most grown men, I wish I would have kept my baseball cards and comic books. We did not know then the treasures we held in our hands.
Maybe I should take a good look around right now. What treasures do I hold in my hands today that I might regret not having years from now? Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Friday, July 18, 2008. I learned today that having braces in your mouth is no fun. Learned from Diane who just got them and told me so.
The dental work she had done on previous trips home was preparation to put braces in. They went in on Wednesday. Early discomfort was expected. The kind of pain she still feels today was not. With at least a year to go before the braces come out, I don't like this.
We don't know if the pain will stop. I hate the thought of her having to feel pain for a year and there is little I can do to fix it. It's not like a bad starter motor that you can quickly diagnose and replace.
Diane is not the first person on earth to get braces. We did very little research about them, instead following the dentist's advice to get them (braces now or surgery later). Getting braces is the right choice. Maybe, if we had talked to more people and done more reading, we would not have been surprised by the pain. I don't know. All I know for sure is my wife is in pain and I don't like it. I wish there was something I could do to make it go away. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, July 19, 2008. I learned today some interesting facts about the RV and natural gas industries. Learned by visiting with people involved in both.
We are passing the weekend in a Texas RV park, waiting for a Monday pickup. We accepted the load early Friday morning, which effectively gave us a three-day weekend. With daily high temperatures around 100 degrees, we'd have to run the generator full time to keep the truck cool. Better, we think, to go to an RV park and use shore power instead. RV-park weekends are pleasant. Revenue-producing weekend runs are better.
Growing increasingly curious about RV's, we spent Saturday in the air-conditioned showrooms of the largest RV dealer in Texas. It was a pleasant day. Free lunch was provided. There was a bunch of RV styles and brands to explore.
The sales rep was generous with his time and information. Immediately after meeting him, we made it clear that we were their out of curiosity and had no interest in buying. He has probably heard that before, but in our case, it was true. Still, he gave us a lot of his time and attention.
Most people have a gloomy economic outlook these days. The sales rep shocked us with his report that at this dealership, RV sales are up 39% over last year. Looking around, that was easy to believe. The place was busy and the sales people were vibrant. These folks are moving RV's.
Our sales rep said that in the RV industry, motorhome sales are down. I know that to be true from reading RV company annual reports. "Down" is putting it mildly. Motorhome sales have tanked. Some dealers and companies are closing their doors. However, sales of fifth-wheel and travel trailers are up.
The sales rep named three factors: (1) People still want to RV but are changing how they do it. They are driving shorter distances and staying put longer. Towables are less expensive than motor homes and are thus more popular these days. That fits with what we have seen and learned at the RV parks we have stayed at this summer. (2) Some folks are buying nice trailers to live in while they wait for the housing market to bottom. They don't want to buy a house today that will likely go down in value tomorrow. (3) The dealership is located in an area of Texas where the money is flowing. Oil field activity has picked up. There are people in this area who have lots of money to spend.
Returning to the RV park, we set up the lawn chairs on the lift gate and settled in of an evening of quiet reading. With a near-full moon rising over the brush, a gentle breeze and cooler temperatures, it was pleasant to be outside. But the reading was not to be.
Two men came by and struck up a conversation. They had not met before. It was a typical gathering of friendly people in an RV park. We ended up talking the night away, with them doing most of the talking. The conversation ended after midnight when one of their wives came out of her RV, and reminded her husband of the time and the long drive they had in the morning.We did not end the conversation sooner because it was fascinating to learn what was going on in this part of the country. One of the men had a carpet cleaning business in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The other called himself a "pipeliner." He goes where newly-constructed natural gas lines take him to do his gas line inspector work. His RV is his home to him and his wife.
The carpet cleaner downed one beer after another as we visited. He got flat-out drunk and treated the rest of us to a host of political and economic opinions offered up in no particular order. Still, he had interesting ideas to share about why his business was off compared to last year and how he was hanging in while others closed their doors.
The pipeliner was drinking beer too, but not as much. That was hard to take. On a glorious summer night with nothing but time on my hands and no need to be anywhere in the morning, I watched these guys down one cold beer after another but could drink none myself.
It's a commercial vehicle thing. As good as a beer would have tasted, there is no way I will put my CDL at risk by putting alcohol in my body and my body in the truck. There are drivers out there who would make the case that it would be OK to drink in an RV park, even if we were in a truck. I'm not going to argue about it. My CDL is one of the most valuable assets I have. There is no way I am going to put it at risk for the sake of beer.
The pipeliner's job was new to us and it was fascinating to hear him talk about it. He told us about the Barnett Shale and how new technology makes it possible to get vast quantities of natural gas that were previously unavailable. We did not know it, but we were sitting right in the middle of all the new activity.
His name is Scott. He grew up in the area and was using the RV park as his permanent address. For the good money that can be made (actually great money), he and his wife sold their house and land and goods to live and work on the road. Having done the same thing, we easily understood.
He told us how land values are affected by gas line right-of-ways. He told us about the big trucks we saw driving by, hauling "mud" that is used on the drill sites. He told us what the mud is and how it is used. He told us how natural gas makes its way from the ground in Texas to a kitchen stove in the East. He told us about the new large pipelines that are now being built to distribute the new natural gas. And he told us about the people who are getting rich because companies are paying to drill and run pipelines through their land. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Sunday, July 20, 2008. I learned today about the Haynesville Shale. Learned by reading a story about it in the newspaper.
After a walk around the RV park, Diane returned to the truck this morning with the Star-Telegram newspaper. The front page featured a large photograph of a standing-room-only crowd in a church in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was a public meeting about the Haynesville Shale, a potential natural gas source that may rival the Barnett Shale (see above).
It has people in Shreveport abuzz with talk of signing bonuses and mineral rights. It seems skyrocketing energy prices are not bad news for everyone. These days, the people around Shreveport are eyeing with great interest the prosperity seen in Texas. Looking at the photo, you can almost see in their eyes the peoples' hope for a jackpot land contract.
For some of them, the back 40 acres they inherited from Grandma may make them rich. Before, the land wasn't good for much except holding a couple junked cars. Now, it may be their ticket to more money than they ever dreamed of having. Methinks there will be a number of long-lost relatives rising in that area to clarify what Grandma really wanted to happen to the land she left behind. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, July 24, 2008. I learned today about Barry Owens and his Determination Transportation web site. Learned by seeing him and his truck at the Expedite Expo trade show in Wilmington, Ohio.
Mr. Owens is a truck driver who, as a result of a truck-rollover accident, is paralyzed from the waist down. Now wheelchair bound, he drives a big-rig that is configured to meet his needs.
His is an inspirational story that can be read on his web site.
Diane and I arrived at the show a day early to park our truck in the featured trucks section of the parking lot and settle in to the hotel. Mr. Owens was setting up his featured truck when we arrived. I took a couple of quick photos of him and his truck but did not get the chance to visit.
This is the first time we have attended the Expo. Being the new editor of Expedite NOW, I felt an obligation to be there, but also a desire. This gathering of expediters, expedite wannabees and vendors is a great place to meet new people and learn. The show starts tomorrow but we are already starting to mix and mingle. To attend, we deadheaded in from Connecticut. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Saturday, July 26, 2008. I learned today that my blog is regularly read by a number of people I did not know about before, and that some of them check almost every day and are disappointed if I do not keep up with my daily entries. Learned by meeting some of my readers at the Expedite Expo in Wilmington, Ohio.
Wow! What can I say? I'm humbled and a little frightened to learn this. I trust readers understand that there are days when I simply don't have the time to blog. I am an expediter first. Blogging is a hobby. But I also feel bad when I let people down. I'll do what I can to keep up the pace.
I also learned a bunch about the expediting industry I did not previously know. Learned by networking with and listening to new people I met at the show. There is too much to list here. Just call today a very productive day in industry education and professional networking. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Monday, July 28, 2008. I learned today how it feels to be surprised by and pay for a major repair on a truck. Learned by being surprised by and paying for a major repair on a truck.
After attending the Expedite Expo in Wilmington, Ohio, we drove to our favorite Volvo dealer, VoMac Truck Sales in New Haven, Indiana (near Fort Wayne). Being relatively close, we went there for some scheduled maintenance, and to have them check out a freak symptom that had developed in the truck. The oil gauge on the dashboard would plummet to zero at times and then rise back up, and the check engine light would come on. Another dealer replaced the oil sending unit but that did not solve the problem.
The first time it happened, I about died. It is unnerving to watch your oil pressure drop to zero when the engine is running. But after checking a couple things and thinking it through, I determined the fault was in the gauge and not the oil pump. While the gauge read zero, I remained confident that we still had good oil pressure in the engine. Still, something was wrong and we wanted it fixed.
The techs at VoMac are very good. On their own, and by consulting with Volvo for confirmation, they looked at the electronic control module codes and determined the fault is in the EGR valves. The valves have electric circuits and voltage levels that would also affect the oil pressure readings. The fix is to replace the EGR valves.
We have the option of replacing just one EGR valve, but the other is not likely to be trouble free for long. We have the option of putting on factory-reconditioned EGR valves instead of new, but our technician has seen some reconditioned valves prematurely fail. Knowing the kind of freight we haul and running we do, he recommended new valves. Wanting a reliable truck, it will be new valves for us, at twice the price of reconditioned.
The extended warranty coverage we purchased with the truck does not cover the EGR valves beyond 250,000 miles. With over 275,000 miles on the truck, We are left with no option but to pay for the repair ourselves.
I'm writing this while sitting in the shop, waiting for the repair to be completed. We drove in this morning planning to spend a few hundred dollars on scheduled maintenance, some new custom wiring and a DOT inspection. We will drive out this afternoon leaving over $3,000 behind. Ouch!
Before we got the bad news about the EGR valves, we got dispatched on a $2,000 load that picks up tomorrow. Because of the other costs of running a truck (fuel, insurance, etc.) it will take more than a run or two to get out ahead of the unexpected repair bill. Again, ouch!
I knew this before, but this unexpected repair drives home the point in a new way. To succeed financially in this business, you absolutely must know how much per mile it costs you to operate your truck. And you must know it in a way that keeps up with your changing expenses.
Sure, there are guidelines out there about how much money per mile you should budget for maintenance. But that is not good enough. You have to know how much it costs you to run YOUR truck this month. If you do not know, you have no way to know how to price the services you provide. A certain amount per mile of revenue from a load might sound good because it is higher than what you are used to, or it is about what other drivers you talk to are getting. But if you don't know how much it costs you to run your truck, you don't know if the run is profitable or not.
The good news for us today is we will leave confident that the repair is properly done. Our next scheduled down-time is in September (for a football game). We are looking forward to running without interruption until then. It feels good knowing the truck will be in good shape for that.
Deep down, we knew that truck maintenance and repair costs would increase as the truck ages. Today, that understanding became a real fact of life. We are financially prepared. Our business plan anticipates maintenance costs and we have the money. Still, today, it bites to dig deeper into our pockets than we expected.
On the other hand, we are grateful to discover the needed repair while in for scheduled maintenance. That is one of the benefits of scheduled maintenance. We may very well have saved the expense of getting the truck towed at a later date. By replacing the old EGR valves, we are maintaining top fuel economy and avoiding other engine problems that bad EGR valves might cause if not replaced. There really is no choice but to keep the truck in tip-top condition.
I know there are thousands of owner-operators out there living a hand-to-mouth, load-to-load existence. I can't imagine how they must feel when they get hit with an unexpected but needed repair, and have no money to get it done.
In this case, the truck would still run, at least for a while, without having the repair done. But how would it feel knowing you are rolling down the road in a break-down time bomb? We will never know because we fix what needs fixing. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Tuesday, July 29, 2008. I learned today a bit about the life and work of a jet-engine transport driver. Learned by visiting with him as we both waited for our trucks to be repaired. I also learned there is a Volvo truck out there with an American flag graphics theme similar to ours. Learned by seeing it. 
Having time before today's' pickup, we went to ARI, our sleeper manufacturer, to have new shocks put in the sleeper. One had been found leaking during yesterday's DOT inspection. Since we were close and had the time, we went to ARI to replace the shocks.
ARI is located in Shipshewana, Indiana, about an hour from our Volvo dealer. They have free shore power plug-ins for their customers. We went there last night to plug in and bed down. When we arrived, we were treated to the sight of a stars-and-stripes Volvo. It was fun to park next to it and take photos.
This morning, as promised, ARI got us in and out in time to pick up our next load. We drove two hours to the Michigan pickup and completed it in routine fashion. As I write this, we are driving overnight to the delivery, which is set for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
It was interesting talking to the owner-operator who leases his truck to Aviation Express. He pulls a step-deck flatbed trailer and hauls jet engines. The money sounded pretty good. According to him, the top producers at that carrier earn around $450,000 a year (gross). He also said most earn less and that many earn little more than Diane and I now earn in our little straight truck. He said the difference between the top producers and the others is how hard one is willing to work.
Diane and I thought about it a bit. Is that kind of work and money worth leaving what we are doing now? The answer is no. By the time we got our Class A licenses, gained the required experience and changed trucks to get into the "big money" income stream, we would give up too much of what we are doing now to make it worth the trouble. We are already in a good income stream and we like the work we now do. That flatbed work is hard, dirty, outdoor work. We get dirty too, but nothing like that. This time, the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Wednesday, July 30, 2008. I learned today that it is a bad idea to use spray paint when wearing your favorite pair of sunglasses. Learned by trying to clean them after doing so.
Do you ever do something that ends up costing you money that you would have not done had you had your brain in gear? It's kind of like getting a speeding ticket. I have not had one in many years (and never in a truck) but still remember the frustration. While you had no plans to spend it before, when you send in the fine money, you think about everything else you could have spent the money on. There it goes! Money out the window that I could have kept had my brain been in gear.
When we put our truck in the featured-truck parking area at the Expedite Expo, we naturally wanted it to look presentable. We did not detail it like the show-truck people do but did spend a couple hours touching it up. That included spray painting the rusty spots on the underside and frame. I did so with sunglasses on and may now end up buying a new pair. There it goes! Money out the window that I could have kept had my brain been in gear.
Other than that, it is so far today a normal day on the road. We arrived at our Memphis-area delivery around 4:00 a.m., bumped the dock, slept some until the workers arrived. Waited until 10:00 to unload and departed at 11:00. The wait was due the the kind of freight we were hauling. This reefer load involved a lot of paperwork and checklists and supervisors and item counts and photographs and, and, and.
While it is different than much of the expedited freight we haul, where pickup and deliveries are immediate, it was no big deal to wait to unload freight like this. It's part of the game and the pay is good.
We went next into our normal priority of work. Not being pre-dispatched, we headed to Wal-Mart to resupply the truck. Next would have been to get fuel and then change the oil in the generator. It is due.
I say "would have been" because as I was writing this a load offer came in and we are off to our next pickup. The pickup is in Tennessee, about two hours from the Memphis area, where we are now. This is another overnight run, going to Minnesota and delivering about an hour's drive from home. With tanks half-full, we will be fine with fuel for a while.
Gotta go!
OK, back to today's blog entry. The above activity took place this morning. Later in the day, while we were at the pickup, another load offer came in. Diane was out of the truck. It was a good offer and I accepted it knowing she would be OK with it.
Immediately after delivering in Minnesota, we will drive to the next pickup and head out on yet another overnight run; this one to North Carolina. We are laying down some serious miles and feeling good about the money we are making this week. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Thursday, July 31, 2008. I learned today a simple little trick that makes truck seal numbers easier to read. Learned when a shipper showed me the trick.
Trucks are commonly sealed after the freight is put on board. For non-truckers reading this, you can often see the seals on the rear door or trailer door of a loaded truck. Look for them on the door handles where a padlock is sometimes seen. Seals are used to help the shipper and consignee know the load was not tampered with en route.
The trick is simple. On a seal where the numbers are hard to make out, rub a little dirt into the numbers and they will stand out better. When the shipper showed me, I laughed and wondered aloud why I had to live over 50 years to learn something so simple and helpful. Part of the answer is I have only been working in a job that involves seals for five years. Still, I also wondered why I failed to figure out on my own something so simple as this. Sometimes, obvious solutions are right in front of our noses but we remain blind to them.
I actually learned this trick yesterday but am reporting it today because I have not yet learned anything new today. We have been rolling, rolling, rolling, and are pretty-much in a drive-sleep pattern now. When running like this, the focus shifts to time management, and especially sleep management.
Diane is driving as I write this. I just woke up from a great nap. There is sleep and there is good, deep sleep. Mmmmmm! I just rose from several hours of good, deep sleep and feel fresh as a daisy. I'll lay down again after a bit to give my body the chance to get more sleep. I may sleep or may not, but will lay down to make sure I get more sleep if my body feels the need.
There are people out there who criticize the high price we paid for our truck. Until they experience the on-road creature comforts (especially a nice, deep sink used to freshen up) and good sleep a Select Comfort Sleep Number bed and smooth-riding truck like this provides, they will speak without first-hand knowledge of the benefits. (That's a kind way to say they have no idea what they are talking about.)
In other trucks we have driven, we might have turned down the run we are on now to take some time at home and rest up. With this truck, we sleep well while the truck is in motion and can easily string together runs like we are doing now.
This time the freight took us close to home. But we felt no need to stop. We have been breaking streaks of runs too many times this year so Diane can go to the dentist. Her next appointment is not until September. It feels great to once again haul freight like we mean it!
When we deliver this load tomorrow afternoon, we probably will go out of service for a day or two to reset our log books. Without a reset, we won't have enough log- book hours left to do another long run.
Today is the last day in July. This strong week is giving us an average to slightly-above-average month; which is pretty good considering the Fourth-of-July weekend and time off we took to attend the Expedite Expo. Blog author Top of page Bottom of page
Blog entries are made so as not to reveal customer specifics or the current location of the truck. After the truck is gone from the area, entries are updated to include location information.