STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21215: Knoxville Knonsense

I left Gretna at 1300 on the 7th and drove to Des Moines, IA. I took an hour break here to fuel, walk the MMM, and grab a snack. I then drove to Davenport, IA. I stopped here briefly, mainly due to the Speed Limit change between Iowa and Illinois. It’s easier to Log this way. I left Davenport at 1945 and drove to Minooka, IL, about 10 miles from Elwood. I stopped here because I didn’t want to arrive at the Consignee in the middle of the night. I neither saw nor did anything out of the ordinary. Of the 8.5 hours I drove today, I used 8 hours driving 446 miles.
The 8th started out well but soon degenerated. I awoke at 0630 with 2 PrePlans on my QualCom. The first picked up at our Terminal in Gary, IN and delivered in University Park, IL (51 miles empty and 31 miles loaded). The second picked up in Naperville, IL and delivered in Wilmington, DE (46 miles empty and 759 miles loaded). After accepting them both, I set off for Elwood. After the drop/hook delivery, I drove to the Gary Terminal. I arrived at 1030, picked up the paperwork for the load, walked the MMM, then departed at 1130. I arrived in University Park at Noon, checked in with Security/Recieving and proceeded to my assigned door. At this point, the day began to DISINTEGRATE. This was a High Value load, so it was secured with a double Cable Seal. This is fine if the Reciever has the proper tool to cut the cable. This place, of course, didn’t. After ‘flattening’ the cable with the Bolt Cutters they gave me, I used my Diagonal Cutting Pliers to actually cut the cable (about 2-3 strands at a time). While I was busy with this, a driver behind me became impatient and attempted to drive around. He mis-judged his proximity to my trailer by about 3 inches and impacted the right rear corner of my trailer with his left trailer door, which was open , with enough velosity to break all 5 hinges and completely sever it from his trailer. Fortunately, I saw the door coming and was able to flee in time to avoid injury. His severed door impacted the ground in approximately the same place that my ‘poor ole’ tender tootsies’ had been mere moments earlier. There was no damage to me or my trailer, so I just continued what I was doing after the dust settled. He, on the other hand, had to call his Company and inform them of his innovative new ‘door opening’ procedure. I’m confident that they didn’t approve. I finally backed my trailer into the dock about 1/2 hour after arrival. I then waited 2.5 hours to be unloaded. I departed at 1500. The second load was supposed to be an ‘open pick-up’ until 2000, but when I arrived at 1600, I was informed that they closed at 1530 and I would have to wait until 0800 tomorrow AM to pick up the Pre-Loaded trailer. With no Truckstops or Rest Areas within a 20 mile radius, I spent the night in their parking lot. Of the 4 hours I Logged today, I spent 2.75 driving 128 miles.
The 9th was far less eventful than yesterday. I left Naperville at 1000 ( I was in no hurry after being made to wait overnight) and drove to our Terminal in Gary, IN for fuel and an MMM excursion. I left at 1215 and drove to Stony Ridge, OH where I stopped for lunch. I left there at 1730 and drove to the Sidling Hill Service Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76 exit 172). I stopped here for the night. I drove 600 miles in 10.25 hours and worked 10.75 today.
On the 10th, I was pretty busy. When I woke up at 0700, I had a Pre-Plan which picked up in Seaford, DE and delivered in Sylvania, GA with 2 extra deliveries: 1 in Glasgow, VA and the 2nd in Rocky Mount VA (85 miles empty and 703 miles loaded). I accepted it and left the Service Plaza at 0930 and drove to the Consignee in Wilmington. This was a drop/hook delivery. I had to run Toll Roads all the way from the Chicago area, so I spent about $120.00 in Tolls. That’s a lot of ‘out of pocket’ expense. Anyway, I left for Seaford at 1400. I arrived at 1600 ($8.00 more dollars in Tolls). This was a ‘live load’ and I recieved a door immediately. I was loaded in less than 1/2 an hour. I left Seaford at 1645 and drove to Tom’s Brook, VA. I took a short break here to walk the MMM. I then drove to Greenville, VA where I stopped for the night. Of the 10.75 hours that I logged today, I used 9.75 driving 513 miles.
The 11th, too, was a full day. There was a lot of driving on ’secondary’ roads, some of which were Restricted to Truck traffic. In fact, there was no ‘legal truck route’ into my first drop. I was assured that, despite the Restrictions, I could still make the delivery so I drove to Glasgow. I arrived at 0900, immediatly got assigned a door, and was ready to roll again within 45 minutes. I used the time being unloaded to walk the MMM. I arrived at Consignee #2 in Rocky Mount, VA at 1145. Again, I was immediately given a door. Only 3 pallets came off here, so I was done almost before I could leash up the MMM. They got a ’speed break’ and I left at 1230. I drove to Salisbury, NC. I took a short break here because I didn’t know how long it would take to get to Sylvania and I wanted to get there before I used up my 14 hour ‘driving window’. It wasn’t nearly as far as I thought, and I made better time on the ’secondary roads’ than I expected so I needn’t have worried. I arrived in Sylvania (at little Truckstop on the out-skirts actually) at 1945. Of the 9.75 total hours I worked today, I utilized 9 driving 494 miles.
Today, the 12th, all went smoothly. I awoke again with a Pre-Plan on my QualCom. The load Picked up in North Charleston, SC and delivers in University Park, IL (124 miles empty and 851 miles loaded). I accepted even though this the same Consignee where, on the 8th, my day began to disintegrate. Hopefully, there won’t be an encore performance this time. After walking the MMM and ’spritzing-up’ in the Truckstop, I arrived at the final Consignee at about 0730. I immediately got assigned a door and backed in. At 0830, I left for North Charleston. I arrived at 1115. This was a drop/hook Customer so all went quickly and I left at 1215 after doing the paperwork and walking the MMM. I drove to our Terminal in Greer, SC for fuel, lunch, and another MMM ‘outing’. I left Greer at 1600 and drove here to Knoxville, TN where, after a nano-second of deliberation, I decided to call it a day. With only about an hour remaining available to drive today, and no more promising Truckstops within the 1 hour driving range, I decided this was far enough. I worked 9.25 hours today, 8.5 of which were expended driving 490 miles.