Bob Sleasman's Blog, February, 2008

Bob's Blog

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February 2-3, 2008. We just kind of hung around at the Flying J Saturday and Sunday. We watched the Super Bowl, my brother David is a big New England fan, I just had to call him after the game and rub it in about the Giants winning. This evening we are moving down to Madison, and will layover at the TA, it’s not far from our pickup. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Monday, February 4, 2008. We made our pickup, and we are on our way to PA. The weather has been pretty good the past few days, and the forecast is for more of the same. I think if anyone were to ask me to pick a road I liked the least, I would have to say the PA Turnpike. The pike has narrow lanes, is all hills, curves, and there is always construction going on. In fact, you can say that about most main roads in PA, but that’s just one man’s opinion. There is some nice scenery, but I just hate the roads. We got a pre-dispatch for tomorrow. The load picks up outside of Edison NJ., and delivers on Wednesday, in Indianapolis, IN. It’s a TVAL load and pays well. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Tuesday, February 5, 2008. We made our delivery and went over to Bordentown. Our pickup isn't until 1600. We had breakfast, got a couple of hours rest, and then went to our pickup. We got loaded on time, and headed back over the PA Turnpike, to I-70. Donna started us off, she drove to the Flying J, in Carlisle, PA, where we fueled, and I started driving. It was a pretty good ride. I put my music on, and down the road I went. I started thinking about the Spinner II oil filter system. I mentioned it on here a while back, I've been thinking about it on and off since we first got this truck in late March. Donna and I want to make a trip to the truck show in Louisville this year, its next month in fact. If we go I'm going to stop by the Spinner II booth and talk to them. I want to find out if adding the Spinner system will void my engine warranty, and also see if they are offering any show discounts. I've talked to Bill Moore at TSI Western Star, he said it was a good system, and works well. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Wednesday, February 6, 2008. After we made our delivery we were offered a few very low paying loads, which we turned down. We finally were offered a load picking up in Louisville, KY., delivering to Lexington, KY., it was a short run, even with the deadhead, but paid well, and delivered straight through, with an ASAP pickup. We took the load. We made the pickup at 1400, and delivered at 0200 After making our delivery we went to the Flying J in Knoxville KY., where we laid over. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Thursday, February 7, 2008. We were awakened this morning with a load offer picking up early this afternoon. The load picks up in Vonore, TN., and delivers just outside of New Orleans, LA., It’s a reefer load, paying just under $2.00 a mile for all miles, and needless to say we took the load. The load delivers at 0800 tomorrow morning.

Does this blog sound kind of boring to you? It does to me. But there is more to this business than just driving from point A to point B. In this business you see some of the most beautiful scenery in this country, in the world in fact. You also meet some of the most interesting people, and some not so interesting. No two days are ever the same, and you never know what you'll find around the next curve in the road. To me the best part of this lifestyle is the freedom of the open road. We can take, or refuse, any load offer. We can take time off whenever we want, or need to. Every day brings something new to be discovered. This is truly a great way of life. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Friday, February 8, 2008. Dispatch gave us Shreveport, LA for our layover, on our way there we got turned around for a load picking up outside of New Orleans, delivering to Chicago, ILL. The pay was low, and we really didn't want the load. We made a deal with the dispatcher; we would take the load as far as West Memphis, AR. We would then transfer the load to another C unit, who would take it to Chicago. Doing the load this way made the load worth taking. We made the transfer at 2300. We then went to the Flying J in West Memphis to layover. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

February 9-10, 2008. This morning the first thing we did was get a much needed truck wash. Soon after the truck wash we were offered a load picking up in Memphis, TN on Monday, delivering to Dallas, TX. The load picks up in late afternoon and delivers on Tuesday morning.

The weekend was uneventful. I replaced a short section of wiring that went to one of our chicken lights. Over the winter water managed to seep into a section of wire at the end of the light where it was connected to the main wire harness for all the lower cargo box lights. I clipped both ends where the corrosion had eaten through the connector and added a new section of wire. I sealed the new section at both ends with shrink tubing, after I finished with that I checked the rest of the connectors, all but one were fine. I need to pick up more shrink tubing then I'll replace the corroded connection. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

February 11-12, 2008. We made our pickup, and made the short trip, just less than 500 miles without incident. We took I-40, to I-440, to I-30. The load was DDPS, so we needed a secure place to park until it was time to make our delivery. We would make it to Dallas around 2300, but we couldn't deliver until 0630. We called dispatch, we were told to go to the FedEx Express terminal in Dallas and park there, which we did.

After making our delivery we were given Memphis TN As our layover. We decided to hang around Dallas for a little while; we went to the Flying J in Dallas and had Breakfasted.

After breakfast we went to Wal Mart to pick up a few things. We had jut gotten there when we were offered a load picking up in Plano TX tomorrow, and delivering to Tulsa OK, just about 250 miles away. The load paid well, and sure beat deadheading to Memphis TN. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Wednesday, February 13, 2008. We arrived at our pickup early, as we always do, and we were loaded on time, which is always a good thing.

Donna called her sister Pam, who works close to where we will be delivering to. She set up a time to meet at the Flying J in Tulsa after we make our delivery. We made our delivery, met Pam and went to a Texas Longhorn restaurant for dinner. After dinner we had to leave for McPherson KS., to pick up a load we were dispatched on, which was delivering to Forest VA. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

February 14-15, 2008. We made our pickup on time; the trip to Forest is about 1100 miles. It was an easy ride, and we made our delivery on time.

Donna noticed some oil that looked like it was coming out of our left steer wheel. I removed the hub cap, and it looked like the hub wheel seal had started leaking. It must have just started; neither of us noticed it on any of our inspections. We went to the local Western Star dealer; they looked at it and said that it was just the hub oil reserve tank leaking. We had it replaced; it wasn't covered under our warranty because we had over 100,000 miles on the truck. The bill for the repair was only $82, which wasn't bad.

Soon after having the truck repaired we were offered a load picking up on Monday in Red Lion, PA., going to Yuma, AZ. There was a 307 mile deadhead involved, but the load paid $4,998, so it’s off to Yuma for us.

We deadheaded to Carlisle, PA., to layover until Monday. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

February 16-17, 2008. We spent the weekend in Carlisle. Donna did the laundry, and we did some tidying up of the sleeper.

My back has been bothering me a little. I get muscle spasms sometimes, they can last for weeks. It’s all connected with injuries suffered from my time in the fire service. If we get near home, and my back still bothers me, I'll go to my doctor, and/or chiropractor. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Monday, February 18, 2008. We arrived at our pickup early as usual, things went downhill from there. After checking in with the gate guard we waited at the guard shack for our contact to arrive. We were soon told that we could not take the load. Surprised, we asked why, we were told that we did not meet the qualifications needed for the load. This was news to us

A call was quickly made to FedEx by us and the shipper. It seems that the person who took the load information had made a mistake. We then found out that FedEx had forgotten to inform us six months ago that our qualifications for this type of load were due to expire. We were then told our qualifications expired three months ago.

The shipper was not to happy to hear this, the freight had to be in Yuma by a very specific time, and FedEx didn't have another team within 500 miles who were qualified to take the load. The shipper wouldn't let us take the load, so FedEx had no choice but to give us a dry run, which made us very unhappy. We went from a $4,998 load to a $268 dry run. I don't know what happened with the load after that, but my guess is that a few people at FedEx will catch a little hell over this.

After we left the shipper we received a message over the c-link, from our Contractor Coordinator, telling us she was our CC. I asked her to call us, which she did. It turned out that she was assigned as our CC last March, only she never knew it until this incident. We talked for a little while, and she was able to schedule us to take the next course to renew our qualifications, which will be in March. She also said that do to mistakes like those that happened to us, a few people in the safety department had been fired a while ago. She also said we should have been notified that our qualifications were due to expire at least 4 months ago, by the safety department, so we could have scheduled a class at FedEx, in Green, OH.

I guess the only thing we can do is to chalk this experience up to lessons learned. We went back to Carlisle, in not very good spirits, and stayed there for the night. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Tuesday, February 19, 2008. This morning we received a load offer picking up in Pittsburgh, PA., going to Fall River MA., picking up at 1400, delivering at 0800 tomorrow. It paid well, so we accepted the load and deadheaded to the pickup.

We are still upset over losing the load yesterday, me especially, but life in expediting goes on. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Wednesday, February 20, 2008. We made our delivery this morning, and we are close enough to home to deadhead there. My back has been getting no better, and I need to have it looked at. I called my doctor’s office up and made an appointment for tomorrow. We arrived home at about 1200. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Thursday, February 21, 2008. We slept in this morning, which was nice; we don't get to do it often on the road. I went to see my doctor; he said I needed to take it easy for a little while. He also said that sleeping in a moving truck was aggravating my back problem. He wanted to set me up for physical therapy, I told him that I usually go to a chiropractor; he told me that would be even better. He asked me if I needed any pain medication, I told him I don't take any medication, except for Motrin, which he wrote me a prescription for. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Friday, February 22, 2008. We are staying out of service for the weekend, on Monday Donna will be going out as a single drive for a little while. I have chiropractor appointments for all next week; I've been going to the same guy for about ten years now, and he’s good at what he does. He lets me come in without appointments, which is really a good thing.

February 23-24, 2008. Donna and I just hung around and relaxed for the weekend. Donna received a load offer on Sunday. The load picks up just across the Hudson River on Monday and delivers to the Albany International Airport. The entire run is about 18 miles, including deadhead and pays over $500. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Monday, February 25, 2008. I went to the chiropractor this morning. He stretched my back a couple of different ways, cracked my neck for me, and then gave me ultra sonic heat therapy. It did make my back feel better; hopefully my back will heal quickly.

Donna made her pickup and delivery. While on her way back home to layover she received a load offer. They gave her the same run as she had today, for tomorrow. She took the load offer, and came home. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Tuesday, February 26, 2008. The weather took a turn for the worse last night. Snow, sleet, and freezing rain made a mess of the roads, but Donna was able to make her pickup and delivery without incident.

I went to the chiropractor again this morning for more back treatment. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Wednesday, February 27, 2008. Donna received a load offer this morning. She is going to deadhead down to Bethlehem, PA to pick up a load going to Kenilworth, NJ.

My back isn't responding as well as my chiropractor expected. I lost about 15 pounds over the course of a year, which is a good thing. The down side of it is that at my age, when you lose weight, you lose lean muscle also. This is one of the problems with my back. Being in the profession, driving a lot, with little exercise doesn't help any.

When my back gets to the point where I can start driving again, the chiropractor has set up an exercise program for me that I can do on the road. It includes, walking, stretching, and using 10 pound weights to help strengthen my back muscles. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Thursday, February 28, 2008. Donna Picked up and delivered her load by 1030. It was a short run, but even with the deadhead to the pickup it paid well.

After delivering, Donna went to Bordentown, NJ, to layover, and met up with Phil and Diane Madsen. They talked for a little while, and Phil took a couple of pictures of Donna and our truck. I wish I could have been there. Phil and I have never met face to face; we have talked via cell phone and e mail.

Donna received a load offer with an ASAP pickup in Philadelphia, PA, delivering straight through to Chelsea, MA.

Donna made her pickup, and hot footed in up to Chelsea, only to find out that the person who was to meet her there couldn't be there. The load was rescheduled to deliver in the morning. My Donna was not a happy camper! Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

Friday, February 29, 2008. After getting off loaded, Donna went to the nearest service plaza on I-90 to get a few hours sleep, and wait for a dispatch offer. After a few hours rest and no load offers, Donna decided to deadhead home.

Donna got home at about 1600. We went out for dinner and came home. Dispatch called with a load offer, the load picks up on Monday morning in Jamaica, NY, delivering to Middletown, VA. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page