Life Day 22078: Cabin Fever in Cedar City
December 23, 2007 on 2:07 pm | In On The Road | Comments OffJust a little snippet today. I’m in Cedar City, UT on my 10-hour break. I have about an hour before I can leave and go back to Corinne. I still don’t know where i’ll be on Christmas day. Tomorrow I will get a load somewhere, and that will most likely be where I spend Christmas, unless it is such a “hole” that I have to drive somewhere else. I’ll have a good day no matter where I am.
Happy “Holly-Daze”
December 20, 2007 on 1:21 am | In On The Road | Comments OffWhile I have a connection, I should take the time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Life Day 22074: About Time
December 19, 2007 on 8:09 pm | In On The Road | Comments OffOver three weeks since my last post. Sorry.
Winter is well upon us in the northern tier. I’ve been pretty lucky so far about dodging snowflakes, but I have hit a few. My first trip after my return from the Thanksgiving holiday was to Colorado Springs, CO. If I had been diligent in posting promptly, I would have used the title “Refer Madness”. Somewhere around Rock Springs, WY I noticed that the, normally “green”, light on my refer trailer was flashing yellow. I’m still not an expert on refrigerated trailers, so I stopped and called the shop in Corinne because the unit was not running. They told me how to read the “codes” on the display and I told them what code was flashing. They told me to turn the switches off, wait a minute and try to restart the unit, which I did to no avail. Some solenoid was bad, and the refer wouldn’t run. This was a “frozen” load, so the temperatures were set at -20 degrees. There are no ThermoKing dealers in Wyoming, and no other places that work on refers, so the shop decided to have me complete the run. They told me to check the temperature before I checked in with the store. If the temperature was above +10, I was to call them and not go into the store. When I arrived at the store, the temperature was +6, so I made the delivery. Luckily, the temperatures through most of Wyoming were in the single digits. I had a back-haul back to Corinne, but it was a “dry” load so I didn’t have to mess with getting the @*&% refer repaired before I left.
About a week later, I had a load to Cody, WY. Again, if I were diligent about my posting, I would have called this post “Tough Brake”. The temperature was in the single digits when I set my brakes and went to bed. The first thing you learn, as a truck driver, about winter driving is that you never, never, never set your trailer brakes after running on wet roads when the temperature is below freezing. The moisture on the brake drums freezes the brake shoes to the drum and you have to break the ice before you can move the trailer. The next afternoon, as I was trying to leave, I couldn’t get my brakes to release. I pounded them with my trusty ball-peen hammer and tried to back them off by adjusting the brakes. It didn’t work. Then I had a rare moment of clarity, I went into the Walmart store in whose parking lot I was parked and bought spray de-icer. I used a whole can on each drum, but still to no avail. I called the shop in Corinne for further guidance and/or help. They had no more advice for me and said that there was nothing open in Cody, WY on a Sunday evening, and I would have to wait until the AM for help. As I was returning from the store for the second time, this time with a snack, I noticed that there was something amiss about the way the trailer was sitting. The air bags weren’t inflated. I had another rare moment of cognition, and trudged back into the store (by this time there was a nice gentle breeze of about 20 mph, making the “chill factor” well below zero). This time I bought a bottle of rubbing alcohol. I poured half into each air-line through the glad-hand. This time the brakes released immediately. The @*&% brakes had never been frozen, but the moisture in the air-lines had, thus causing a blockage and not allowing the brakes to release (and not allowing the air bags to inflate). The alcohol melts the ice.
My next load was to Las Vegas and San Bernardino, CA. I didn’t spend any time in Vegas this time (still feeling guilty about taking a week off for Thanksgiving). By the time I made it back to Corinne, I was frail with illness. Wallowing around for 3 hours on the ice in the frigid temperatures trying to get my brakes released took its toll. I did local and short loads all last week (about 2 per day) just to remain somewhat productive, but it was pure torture. Thank goodness for Nyquil and Dayquil (nectar of the Gods).
Currently, I’m in Vegas taking a few days off before Christmas. I will leave Friday and work through Christmas. The stores will not be taking deliveries on Christmas day, so I don’t know where I’ll be Christmas day. I might even make it back here.
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