STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

“Shop” ‘Til I Drop

December 22, 2005 on 7:30 pm | In On The Road |

On the 19th, I somehow managed to lock my keys in the truck. I had driven to dinner at Black-eyed Pea restaurant, and when I went to get in my truck after dinner, I made the discovery. Fortunately, Swift has a shop here at the terminal, so I called them to come rescue me. I had to wait about a half hour in the cold, but other than that, I was just embarrassed. After the rescue, I went back to the Ramada and went to bed.
On the 20th, I left Pueblo at 1330. I didn’t get too far though. As I was driving through town, I noticed smoke coming from the right rear of my trailer. I stopped to check it out and found that the bearings were seized. I, once again, called the shop. This time I had to wait well over an hour for the shop to come to the rescue. The service truck was not equipped to replace and press bearings (no surprise), so the mechanic had to jack the trailer, pull the wheels, then chain the axle so that it wouldn’t drag. I then drove back to the terminal (at about 20 MPH). By the time we arrived, it was after 1800. I asked the foreman how long it would take for the repairs. He said that it would be about 4 hours to complete all the repairs. I then went in to Dispatch and informed them of the problem. They left me on the load, but I said that because it was going to be so late before the trailer was ready, I was going to go to get some rest before leaving. The load doesn’t deliver until 1830 tomorrow in SLC, so I can leave at 0500 and still make the delivery on time. These are ‘time sensative’ loads, and on-time delivery is crutial. About 2230, the trailer was ready, and I pulled it out of the shop and went to bed.