Bob Sleasman's Blog, November, 2007

Bob's Blog

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September 22-November 12, 2007. Many personal things have happened that kept me from posting during this time period. Donna and I took some time off. I spent some time in the hospital, then some time recuperating at home. I won't go into details, but it has not been a fun period of time over all.

I am now well and we will be going in service at midnight. Donna and I plan to stay out for an extended length of time. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Tuesday, November 13, 2007. Donna and I have a load picking up tomorrow near Carlisle, PA. delivering to Dover DE. We packed our truck with all our necessities, which are quite a few, and will be leaving tonight. Our load picks up at 0630 hrs, and it’s about a five hour ride from home.

We are happy to be on the road again. Our plan is to run hard for the next couple of months, maybe taking a few days off for Christmas. Being on the road is like being on vacation and making money. Life is good. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Wednesday, November 14, 2007. We made our pick up and on the way to our delivery got pre dispatched on a load picking up tomorrow at the same place we are delivering to today. The load is going up to Groton, CT. The load pays almost $3.00 a mile, and puts us in a good loading area.

After we delivered we stopped at a Bob Evans restaurant for brunch. The food was very good, and the price was very reasonable. We plan to spend the night at the local Wal-Mart parking lot; it’s close to our pick up. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Thursday, November 15, 2007. We made our pickup and delivery on time, we ran in rain and wind all day. We were surprised we didn't run into heavy traffic crossing the George Washington Bridge.

We are laying over at the TA off I 95 south of Groton, at least for the night. With a little luck we just might get a load tomorrow delivering on Monday, we can use the miles and money.

The rain and wind stopped, at least for now, the weather forecast is calling for colder weather, with snow showers possible. Winter isn't upon us yet, but I find myself longing for the warm weather of spring and summer.

We received a load offer tonight. We have to deadhead to southern New Jersey for a 0900 pickup that delivers to Southern New Hampshire. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Friday, November 16, 2007. We made our pickup, after spending last night at a truck stop about thirty miles north of the facility. We arrived at the pickup at 0700.

We ran into traffic on the George Washington Bridge this time, after we cleared traffic it wasn't a bad ride. We delivered just before 1600.

Being a Friday evening, with no pre dispatch, we decided to deadhead the 160 miles home, we usually get a good load from our home express center, and New Hampshire isn't a great loading area. On the way home we received a couple of load offers that weren't worth taking, what they offered for pay wouldn't pay for our cost per mile to run. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Saturday, November 17, 2007. We arrived home last night at about 2100, we ran into a few snow showers on the way. The wind was gusting pretty good, it helped keep the snow from sticking to the road surface. I guess it is a sign of winter coming on.

We have a good size driveway at home, so we backed in and hooked up to shore power. It sure got cold; I found that out pretty fast as we stepped out of the truck.

We got a good night’s sleep, the temperature dropped into the middle 20’s, and stayed there until mid morning.

We went to the movies today. We saw Lions for lambs, not a bad flick, not great, but entertaining. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Sunday, November 18, 2007. Donna had made an appointment yesterday to get her hair done. The person who does it couldn't fit her in. Knowing Donna, and how we make our living, the woman set up an appointment for today. The shop is closed on Sundays but she came in just to do Donna’s hair, which was very nice of her. Donna also went and had her nails done. Me, I had to suffer watching the football game. I watched it until I fell to sleep in my recliner.

We are hoping for a load offer for tomorrow. Its 1700, so that probable won't happen. We are staying in service through the Thanksgiving holiday, we hope to get a nice load offer, and a west coast run would be great. This coming week can be a feast or famine week because of the holiday, we will see what happens, and roll with the punches. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Monday, November 19, 2007. We received a load offer early this afternoon. The load picks up near Boston, MA. tomorrow at 1200 hrs and delivers tomorrow evening in Newark, NJ. It’s a nice load for the money. We are leaving this evening to try to avoid the rush hour Boston traffic. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Tuesday, November 20, 2007. We arrived early at out pickup, only to find out that instead of the original 1200 hrs pickup time, the freight won't be ready until after 1400 hrs. We finally got loaded at 1445 hrs. This sometimes happens in our business, and we take it with a grain of salt.

We left our pickup, and it was no easy ride down to Newark. From Boston to our delivery was nothing but backed up traffic. It took us 6-1/2 hrs to travel 224 miles. At the delivery we had to wait another 2-1/2 hrs before we were released to leave the facility, due to the nature of our cargo.

We decided to just deadhead home for the holiday, we were only about 160 miles from home, we were getting some really bad load offers over the QC, and we just said the heck with it and went out of service.

Before we arrived home we received a load offer picking up in Philadelphia PA on Friday, delivering Saturday morning (confirmed) just outside of Chicago IL. The load is a very well paying one so we took it. We are deadheading home tonight. We will leave Thursday evening for Philadelphia, the load doesn't pick up until 1100 hrs. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Wednesday, November 21, 2007. We arrived home at 0330 hrs. We got to bed about 0530 hrs. We got a few hours sleep and then did some running around, picking up a couple of things for the truck. I made reservations at a local restaurant for Thanksgiving; we thought it would be easier to eat out since we will be leaving Thursday evening for Philadelphia. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Thursday, November 22, 2007. Happy Turkey Day people. Our reservation for dinner is for 1345 hrs. I must say, Donna and I clean up well, at least Donna does.

We arrived on time for dinner, which was disappointing. The food was ok, not as good as expected. The pricing was outrageous, and they charged a mandatory 18% gratuity. Donna and I don't mind paying for an expensive meal, as long as the food and service is as expected, this was not the case. They even brought the wrong Debit card and check back for me to sign. When I told the server that it wasn't my card she turned white as a ghost, took the card and check and made a hasty retreat. She returned a few minutes later, after she ran around to other tables looking for the right card and check. Needless to say, we will not be eating there again.

We left for Philadelphia early this evening; we are laying over at Carney Point, which is about 35 miles from our pickup. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Friday, November 23, 2007. We arrived at our pickup, only to find out that our contact person took the day off. Security was able to track the person down after a couple of hours, it turned out our contact person forgot about the shipment.

After we loaded it was a nice ride, we stopped at Perrysburg, OH, and we had dinner at the Flying J, we then resumed our trip to the delivery. We stopped at a service plaza on I 80 at about 0230 hrs. We were only about 10 miles from our delivery, so we caught a few hours sleep there. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Saturday, November 24, 2007. We made our delivery early, and then went to the Gurnee Mills Mall. There just happened to be a Bass Pro Shops there, so I just had to take a little walk around it. I didn't find anything I needed, but did spot a few things I wanted; I used some self control, and talked myself out of buying anything.

We went to the Petro Truck Stop in Racine, WI. We thought just maybe we would get a dispatch for Monday, but it didn't happen. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Sunday, November 25, 2007. Donna and I moved to the TA, in North Chicago, thinking we had a better chance of getting a load offer a little closer to Chicago. We stayed there for the day, with only one load offered to us. The load wasn't worth taking, not enough money for the miles.

I think the holiday has slowed things down, even more than it has been. We have been noticing that we have been getting load offers that are really low paying. I personally think that between the slower economy, and the influx of new expediting companies, that freight rates have taken a nose dive. Being in White Glove helps us a lot, but we are noticing a small decrease in our income for this quarter. We can only hope things pick up a little. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Monday, November 26, 2007. We received a load offer today that picks up tomorrow afternoon in Middleton, WI. and delivers to Rochester, MI. It’s a reefer load that pays pretty well. We plan on having a PM service done on the truck and generator at the Speedco in Perrysburg, OH, after we deliver. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Tuesday, November 27, 2007. We made our pickup with no problems. The load delivers in the morning, so we have plenty of time to get there.

There is a Speedco close to the Indiana, Ohio state line. We stopped there thinking we could have the truck and generator serviced there, seeing how time wasn't an issue. Well, you would think they were giving oil changes away. They had trucks backed up to the street; needless to say, we will wait until tomorrow to get the PM done. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Wednesday, November 28, 2007. We made our delivery, and went over to the Speedco. While waiting in the short line to have the PM done, we received a load offer. It was an ASAP pickup and delivery, picking up in Adrian, MI., delivering to the Chrysler plant in Toledo, OH. It is a reefer load with short total miles, paying very well. We took the load, and will do the PM as soon as we deliver.

We are back at the Speedco, this time we had the PM taken care of. As soon as we got done we received another load offer. We are to pickup in IL, west of Chicago, and deliver to southern NM. Good miles, and good pay. The load picks up tomorrow; we'll deadhead to the pickup today. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Thursday, November 29, 2007. Donna and I made our pickup, and it’s off to New Mexico. I sure won't miss this cold weather up north.

This load is a straight through run, delivering as soon as we get there. We figure to be at the delivery by mid morning.

The cruise control on the truck has started to do strange things. It will bump itself up and we have to turn it off for a few minutes, and then reset it. I called TSI Western Star up, and talked to Bill Moore about it. He thinks it might be a bad wire causing it. We will get it looked at as soon as we can. With the weekend coming up it might be hard to get it into a shop. Bill said running without the cruise control shouldn't be a problem, so that’s our plan. It only causes us a problem in cold and/or wet weather. On our way down to New Mexico it worked well for the most part. We will get it into the shop as soon as we can. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author

Friday, November 30, 2007. No problems with the delivery. We couldn't get the truck into a shop, which was what we expected.

We have a short load picking up in El Paso, TX. It picks up and delivers at the airport. Short miles and good pay, works every time for me. Top of page Bottom of page Blog author