Blast From The Past
February 22, 2006 on 9:45 am | In Travelblogue | No CommentsI have decided to re-publish the photographs that I took of the Total Lunar Eclipse which occured on October 27th, 2004. When I first published these, I was new to blogging and was unaware that photographs could be re-sized. Click on the photograph to view full size.
The entire eclipse took a little over 3 hours. It was impressive. The next Total Lunar Eclipse visible in America won’t occur until May 2007.
Life Day 21408: Fontana Facetiousness
February 21, 2006 on 12:24 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsLet’s see, where was I? Oh yea, Feb, 13th. After finishing with the Detroit Diesel Shop in Sacremento, I drove the 50 odd miles back to our Terminal in Lathrop via the Flying J in Lodi, CA for dinner and a nice stroll for the MMM. They deserved it after being tied to a fence post on a short tether for over 3 hours. I geeked around until about midnight, then began preparations to retire for the evening. I left my truck idling and took the MMM for their pre-”nappytime” stroll. Upon our return, I saw smoke coming from the engine compartment of my truck. This can’t be good! I ran to the truck with the MMM in tow, shut off the truck, and grabbed my fire-extinguisher. I dropped the leashes and opened the hood. There was no fire thank goodness, but there was a lot of smoke. My first thought was that the Detroit Shop had somehow screwed up my truck. After a couple of anxious moments, while the smoke was dissipating, I saw that it was coming from the area of the AC Compressor. Then I saw that the Serpentine Belt was broken too. This told me that the AC Compressor had seized, a relatively minor and not uncommon problem. After this bit of excitement, I ’rounded up’ the MMM. They hadn’t wandered too far. Good Doggies! I checked with the shop, again (this is getting old, fast). I was told that it would be tomorrow AM before anything could be done. At least it wasn’t a major Detroit Engine type of problem. With no Serpentine Belt, I couldn’t idle my truck, so I bundled up as best I could and went to bed. It wasn’t that cold anyway, about 40 degrees for a low.
On the 14th, I was ‘up with the chickens’. I was at the Service Desk with “Red Tag” in hand before they could pour their coffee. As soon as they saw me they said “What now?” They said that they would put the first available mechanic ‘on it’. I removed the MMM to the “hound hoosegow”, and went into the driver’s lounge to ’spruce up a bit’. It took about 3 hours to purge the AC system, R&R the AC Compressor and the Serpentine Belt, and re-charge the AC system. Finally, about 1000, I had a Pre-Plan, and was ready to roll. The “plan” picked up in San Jose, CA and delivered in Las Vegas, NV (59 miles empty and 530 miles loaded). I arrived in San Jose at 1145, hooked to the trailer and left at 1230. I drove to Bakersfield, CA. I had dinner at Bill Lee’s (the #2 combination platter for a change). I forgot that it was Valentines Day. The Restaurant was quite crowded, so I went to the bar to eat. It was a lot quicker. After dinner, I drove to Primm, NV where I stopped for the night. I didn’t quite have enough hours to drive all the way in to Las Vegas. I logged 11.5 hours using 11 to drive 548 miles. I’m pleased to report that nothing else happened to my truck. By the way, Happy Valentines Day.
On the 15th, I left Primm at 0945 and drove the 40 miles to the Consignee. I did the drop/hook delivery, then drove to the TA truckstop for fuel. Shortly thereafter, I recieved a Pre-Plan which picked up in Las Vegas, NV and delivered in Torrance, CA (12 miles empty and 286 miles loaded). I was told to take my empty trailer at our ‘drop yard’ in Henderson, NV then ‘bobtail’ to the Shipper. At 1530, with all of the above done, I left Vegas and drove to our Terminal in Fontana, CA. I took the MMM for a walk, then drove to the Consignee in Torrance. I arrived at 2215. I drove 383 miles in 7.75 hours. My truck did not breakdown.
On the 16th, after a ‘live’ unload, I recieved a Pre-Plan which picked up in Oxnard, CA and delivered in Sparks, NV (72 miles empty and 499 miles loaded). I accepted it and departed for Oxnard at 1245. I arrived at 1400, did the drop/hook pick-up and left at 1500. I drove to Kettleman City, CA. I took a short MMM break then drove to our Terminal in Lathrop, CA where I stopped for the night. Seems like i’ve been here recently. I drove 399 miles in 8 hours. My truck was free of maintenance problems.
On the 17th, I left Lathrop at 0830, after fueling, and checking the weather forcast for Donner Summit. All indications were that there would be no problem until late in the afternoon. Shortly after making the transition onto I-80 east I saw an electronic message board that said “Snowing over summit, carry chains”. I pressed on. When I got to Auburn, there was a sign that said “All trucks stop for ‘chain check’ at Applegate. I proceeded to the Applegate exit. There, I encountered a Cal Trans worker. When I stopped, he said: “Tell me you have chains.” I said that I didn’t have chains, and asked if it was really bad ‘on top’ and if I should turn around. He said: “The road is open, tell me you have chains.” I said; “OK, I have chains” (wink, wink) and went on my way. I arrived at the Consignee in Sparks at 1245. I did the drop delivery (they were out of Swift empties) and drove to Sierra Sid’s (TA) truckstop, about 2 blocks away, for lunch. After lunch, I drove to our Terminal to wait for a load. Freight was abysmal, and as it turned out, my workday ended here. I spent the rest of the day at the Alamo (Petro) truckstop about 100 feet from our Terminal. I ‘geeked’ for the rest of the day mainly backing up music files. The only files I have remaining are “N” through “Z” (Rock). That’s about 1150 songs. I can put it on one ‘data’ DVD. I drove 200 miles in 4 hours. No maintenance malfunctions occured with my truck today. By the time I arrived at the Petro, the ‘chain law’ was in effect over Donner Summit.
On Saturday, the 18th, I recieved a Pre-Plan which picked up in Sparks, NV and delivered in Phoenix, AZ (0 miles empty and 749 miles loaded). I accepted it, and settled in to wait for the 1530 pick-up time. At 1545, I was hooked up and ready to go. I drove to Hawthorne, NV near Walker Lake. I had a snack here, then, at 1830, I departed and drove to the Wild, Wild West Casino in Las Vegas where I stopped for the night. I drove 449 miles in 7.75 hours. My truck was free from maintenance problems.
On the 19th, I left the WWW around ‘noonish’. I drove to Kingman, AZ where I stopped for lunch. At 1700, I left Kingman and drove to our terminal in Phoenix for fuel and an MMM walk. I then drove to the Consignee (about 3 miles away) and went ot bed. I worked 6 hours today, using 5.5 of them to drive 310 miles. My truck had no mechanical problems.
On Monday, the 20th, I delivered the load from Sparks at 0715. It was a drop/hook delivery. After that, I drove back to our terminal and had breakfast from the Swift Cafe. They could take a lesson from Denny’s regarding food preparation and presentation. The Planner offered me a Pre-Plan which picked up in Tolleson, AZ and delivered in San Bernardino, CA (7 miles empty and 386 miles loaded). It had 1 extra drop in Victorville, CA. After ‘live’ loading, I left Tolleson at 1145 and drove to the Ehrenburg, AZ on the AZ/CA border. I took a 1/2 hour break here, then drove to the first Consignee in Victorville and went to bed. I drove 355 hours in 6.75 hours. I encountered no technical difficulties with my truck.
On the 21st, my workday began at 0500. At 0600, after completing the partial unload, I left Victorville and drove to the final Consignee in San Bernardino. I arrived at 0700. After checking in, I took the MMM for a good walk. After finishing the unload, I left “San Burdue” at 0830 and drove to our Fontana terminal. I had 2 cases of damaged product from the first Consignee to be turned in here.
1630: Freight here is horrible. Seems like that’s the case almost everywhere i’ve been lately. After waiting for 8 hours, I just recieved a Pre-Plan. It picks up tomorrow afternoon here in Fontana and delivers a.s.a.p. in Grantsville, UT (0 miles empty and 645 miles loaded). I’ll finally be able to get my picture taken for the new “seniority board”. About 2 months ago, I was messaged that I needed to get through the Salt Lake City terminal to have my picture taken. I replied that they should just find a recent picture of Brad Pitt and use that. That spawned numerous chuckles, although for the life of me, I can’t understand why. ;>} Oh well, since this BLOG is now current, it looks like i’ll be able to finish backing up my music files, and perhaps even make a couple of compilation CD’s as well. I already have one, “Vowel Movements”, (songs whose title begins with a vowel) ‘in the can’ waiting to be ‘burned’. I drove 56 miles in 1.25 hours out of a total of 2.5 worked. By the way, I had no problems with my truck today.
Life Day 21400: Sacremento Swan Song To The Saga
February 13, 2006 on 10:07 pm | In On The Road | No CommentsAfter lounging at the Flying J in Ripon, CA all day yesterday, I drove back to the Lathrop terminal and went to bed.
This morning, the 13th, I went to the Service Desk at the shop at 0700. I was told that the Detroit mechanic doesn’t start until 0800. When he arrived, he said that he was swamped, and called the Detroit shop in Sacremento. They gave me directions, and off I went. I arrived at about 0900. After reporting to the Service Desk, I was checked in and told that it would be after noon before they had a mechanic available. When the mechanic came, I took the MMM and evacuated the truck. There was no kennel for them, so I had to tie them to a fence post on a short tether. About 1500, I checked on the truck. I was told that they couldn’t find anything wrong. They had put it on the Dynometer, and simulated every possible driving condition. The mechanic suggested another ‘road test’. I couldn’t even get a hiccup this time. I had resolved myself to the fact that nothing was going to be done, and I would leave with the problem still unresolved. I went to the office and signed the paperwork. When I went out to my truck, the mechanic had a laptop connected to the ’single point’ connector. He said that my truck had version 36 of DDAC, (the software for the truck’s computer). He was trying to update it to the current version (39.1). I had mentioned to him in passing that the EGR system had been replaced last March in trying to solve this same problem. He said that if the EGR system had beed replaced, the ECM (Engine Control Module) should have been updated then. The download wasn’t working, so a more ‘computer savvy’ tech suggested that he connect directly to the ECM. When he went under the truck to hook to the ECM, he found one of the connectors loose (but still connected). He hooked up the laptop and did the update. I asked if the loose connector could have been the ‘culprit’. Both mechanics said that was possible. They said that the software being outdated was an unlikely cause, but with the EGR system being replaced, it was a possibility. Bottom Line: They may have “stumbled” into the fix, which isn’t really a fix at all, but something that should have been done a year ago. The truck is now ‘purring like a kitten’. Nice!! Three hours of ‘troubleshooting’ @ $105.00 per hour, and they didn’t even check the electrical connections!! They have to find it by accident. Good thing they did a print-out and discovered that my software was out-dated, or i’d probably still have the problem.
I called my DM with the news, had her re-set my PTA for 0700 tomorrow, and drove back to the Lathrop terminal. Now, all I need is a few long runs to recover from being down for the last 5 days.
Life Day 21398: Good News, Bad News
February 11, 2006 on 10:31 am | In On The Road | No CommentsOn Thursday, the 9th, at about 2030, I was finally brought into the shop, 25 hours after arriving at the Lathrop Terminal and reporting to the Service Desk. I dragged the MMM out of the truck and put them in the “canine calaboose” along with their food & water expecting a long seige due to the nature of my vehicular maladys. I was paged 1 1/2 later telling me to report to the Service Desk. There, I was informed that the Transmission Oil Cooler was leaking, and that the Detroit engine representative who works out of the Swift Shop would have to do the work on the “coughing” problem. I was told to check in with the day shift supervisor at 0700. So far, none of this is news. I pulled the truck out of the shop, retrieved the MMM and went to bed.
On the 10th, I reported to the Service Desk promptly at 0700. I was told that the Detroit representative had not yet arrived, and that they were just ordering my Transmission Oil Cooler. I checked again in about an hour, and was told that my transmission oil cooler was on order, but wouldn’t be there until tomorrow midday. The Detroit ‘guy’ was at a dental appointment and wouldn’t be in for another 2 hours. About 1100, the Detroit guy came out and conferred with me. It was decided that a road test was in order. Back to the calaboose for the MMM. He connected his ‘computer’, I connected to a loaded trailer so, as near as possible, to simulate the actual driving conditions, and off we went. All I managed to accomplish was one little huccup, not an actual cough, in 1/2 hour of driving, but it was enough for the Detroit ‘guy’ to determine that the “O” rings on the fuel injectors were weak and allowing the combustion gasses to escape at the moment of combustion causing the ‘cough’. Back to the shop for another conference. The Detroit mechanic was ’swamped’ and couldn’t squeeze me in today. Replacing the “O” rings is about a 6 hour job, and he has 2 other trucks ahead of me, both needing new cam shafts. Calls were made to both of the Detroit shops in the area, San Leandro and Sacremento. Both were equally as busy and couldn’t complete the job today. The Freightliner dealership was also called with the same result. Detroit shops do not work weekends, so Monday is the earliest I can expect to have the work done.
Good news: The problem has maybe, probably, hopefully, finally been diagnosed.
Bad news: It’ll be Monday before anything will be done.
Today, the 11th, I checked with the Service Desk about the Transmission Oil Cooler. They said it would be in about noon. No surprise. After a nice, long, hot shower and a good stroll with the BCC, I was paged by the shop. I put the doggies in the Canine calaboose again.
This time they had company, at least for a while.
The culprit, or more accurately, the culprit’s replacement.
It took about 1 1/2 hours to change the Oil Cooler and service the Transmission. Then I gathered up the mutts, fueled, and drove to the Flying J in Ripon, CA (via Wally World in Manteca) to wait out the seige.
Life Day 21396: Quotidian Ubiquitousness
February 9, 2006 on 11:10 am | In On The Road | No CommentsStill catching up on the daily journal.
On the 25th, I recieved a Pre-Plan which picked up in Las Vegas, NV and delivered in Dallas, TX (12 miles empty and 1229 miles loaded). I accepted it, and at 1130 began my workday. I was told to take my empty trailer to another Customer in Henderson, then ‘bobtail’ to the Shipper. After doing all this, I finally left Vegas at 1430. I drove to Kingman, AZ where I had an early dinner. I left at 1730 and drove to a Rest Area on the AZ/NM border where I stopped for the night.
The next morning, the 26th, while on the obligatory MMM walk I took these pictures.
The tracks in the picture on the right are those of a roadrunner. I doubt if the 2 distinct footprints in the foreground are those of Wyle E. Coyote. He never got this close to the Roadrunner. I left the rest Area about 0945 and drove to our Terminal in Albuquerque, NM. I fueled here and took a quick MMM break. They can run untethered in the back part of this Terminal. At 1300, I departed and drove to Amarillo, TX. I stopped here for dinner. At 1830, I left and drove to Jolly, TX where I stopped for the night. I worked 11.25 hours using 10.75 to drive 659 miles.
On Friday the 27th, I left Jolly at 0830 and drove to the Consignee in Dallas. I arrived at 1045 and immediately recieved a dock assignment. It took 1/2 to unload, then I drove to our terminal in Lancaster, TX where I put my truck in the shop. Ref: http://straycat.us/2006/01/languishing-in-lancaster-tx-for-truck.htm on this blog.
On Sunday, the 29th, with my truck ready at long last, I made myself available at 1700. I recieved a Pre-Plan that picked up in Desoto, TX and delivered in Temple, TX (12 miles empty and 113 miles loaded). I accepted it. It’s a short run, but at least I can bobtail to the Shipper and don’t have to hassle with trying to find an empty trailer in the yard before I go load. Before going to pick up the load, I went to the Outback Steakhouse located a couple of exits south on I-35. I was famished for ‘real’ food. After dinner and picking up the load, I drove to the Consignee in Temple and went to bed. I arrived at 2015.
On the 30th, I began my day at 0630 by delivering the load from Desoto. I recieved a Pre-Plan which picked up in Schertz (San Antonio), TX and delivered in Cheyenne, WY (135 miles empty and 1017 miles loaded). I accepted it and left Temple at 0900 to pick it up. I arrived at 1100. Then the fun began. Ref: http://straycat.us/2006/01/monte-ill-take-whats-behind-door-8.htm on this BLOG. After this fiasco, I finally left Schertz at 1530. I drove to Tye, TX where I stopped for the night. I logged 10.5 hours using 6.5 of them to drive 392 miles. I had 4 hours of “on-duty, not driving” that I had to log. That’s bad, especially when it’s unnecessary. I don’t mean to be disparaging, but if these clowns could obtain some trained animals they could go into competition with Ringling Brothers.
On the 31st, I left Tye at 1015. I drove to Amarillo, TX. I had lunch and walked the MMM. At 1615, I started out for Lamar, CO. I arrived at 1930. I took a 45 minute break here, then drove to Watkins, CO just east of Denver on I-70 where I stopped for the night. I drove 11 hours and 657 miles.
On Wednesday, February 1st, I left Watkins at 0930. I drove Cheyenne. I stopped for fuel at the Flying J before driving the rest of the way to the Consignee. I arrived at the Consignee at 1230. Along the route, I recieved and accepted a Pre-Plan which picked up at the same Customer in Cheyenne and delivered in Phoenix, AZ (0 miles empty and 886 miles loaded). After dropping my load and hooking to my next trailer, I left Cheyenne at 1345 and drove to Denver, CO. I took a short break here. I departed Denver at 1615 and drove to Raton, NM. After a 15-minute break here for the MMM, I drove to San Felipe Pueblo, NM where I stopped for the night. I drove 652 miles in 11 hours.
On the 2nd, I drove the 25 odd miles to our Terminal in Albuquerque, NM. I fueled then immediately left for Winslow, AZ. I arrived at 1445, took a 15-minute break, then drove to the Consignee in Phoenix, arriving at 1800. There was an Applebee’s in the same mall, so I had dinner there, then retired for the night. I drove 465 milesd in 7.75 hours.
On the 3rd, my workday began at 0400. The Customer finished unloading me at 0545, and I settled in to wait for my next load. After about 3 hours, I made the “command decision” to drive to the Flying J for breakfast. When I returned to my truck, I finally had a Pre-Plan. I picked up in Chandler, AZ and delivered in Fillmore, UT (24 miles empty and 536 miles loaded). I accepted it and departed for Chandler at 1115. This will give me a couple of days in Vegas before I deliver it on Monday. I arrived, did the drop/hook pickup and left Chandler at noon. I drove to Kingman, AZ. I took a 15-minute break here, then drove to Las Vegas where I ended my trek. I drove 386 miles in 6.75 hours.
Today the 9th, i’m at our Terminal in Lathrop, CA waiting to go in the shop, again, for 2 of the same problems that were supposedly fixed in Lancaster, TX weekend before last. The days since the 3rd have been eventful. Ref: http://straycat.us/2006/02/life-day-21394-las-vegas-strip.htm and http://straycat.us/2006/02/life-day-21395-hey-hey-hay.htm .
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