STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21553: Phriday Phrustration in Phoenix

July 15, 2006 on 7:51 pm | In On The Road |

This last outing, which began on the 3rd, started out on a bad note, and didn’t get much better. The Independance Day Holiday was only part of the problem. On that fateful Monday, I accepted a PrePlan which picked up in Compton, CA and delivered in Tampa, FL. Sounds good so far, right. I deadheaded the 250 odd miles from Las Vegas to Compton. Before I left town, I took the time to renew my Drivers License, so I got a late start. I arrived about 2000. I checked in with Security. He told me where to drop my empty trailer, which was a drop yard 2 blocks away. When I returned to get my loaded trailer, there was a problem with the pick-up number I was given. The guard could not release the load without the correct number, so the bottom line is that I didn’t get the load. I did get permission to re-hook to my empty trailer. I spent the night in their drop yard.
Finally, about noon on the 4th, I recieved another load. This one picked up in Oxnard, CA and delivered in Tracy, CA. I drove to our nearby Terminal in Wilmington for fuel. I then drove to Oxnard, arriving about 1400. This was a drop/hook customer, so I was back on the road by 1430. I drove to Coalinga, where I stopped at Harris Ranch. Naturally, I had one of their award winning Chicken Fried Steaks. I then drove to Tracy and spent the night on the street in front of the Consignee.
I spent the entire day of the 5th in Tracy. At 1100, my scheduled appointment time, I was given a door. It took 3 hours to unload. While I was being unloaded, I recieved and accepted a PrePlan which picked up at another Customer in Tracy, and delivered in Sumner (Tacoma), WA. I then drove to the Shipper for the Sumner load, arriving at 1400. This was 3 hours early for my 1700 appointment. I checked in and was told I wouldn’t be loaded early, so I settled in to wait. At 2000, I was finally given a door assignment. It took another 3 1/2 hours to load. At midnight, I, at long last, left the Shipper and drove to our Terminal in for fuel and to weigh the load. The weight was good, so I just went to bed. Another wasted day.
I finally managed to put in a full day (560 mi) on the 6th. I drove to Halsey, OR with stops in Stockton and Corning, CA and Medford, OR. Just a nice leisurely drive through some beautiful country.
I left Halsey at 0900 on the 7th and drove to the Consignee in Sumner. Along the way, I stopped at Rest Area on I-5 in Washington at mm 90. I took these pictures of a couple of interesting trees, and a poor lonely dandelion.


I arrived at about 1330. This was a drop delivery, so I dropped my trailer and drove the 3 blocks to our Terminal. I decided to get a PM Service done on my truck. I was told that it would be tomorrow morning before I could get into the shop, so I decided to get a motel room. I went to the King Oscar Motel ( the one that Swift uses). When will I learn. Since i’m a smoker, with pets, I was put on the 4th floor. I had to use the stairs every time I walked the MMM because Wolfie is terrified of elevators. Good exercise for Daddy. I used some of my spare time to do a couple of loads of laundry. Other than that, I watched the Food Network. No wireless connection, so I couldn’t ‘geek’ on the computer.
My truck was finished about noon on the 8th, and I settled in to wait for a load. While waiting, I noticed this view of Mt. Ranier from the back part of the Terminal. The other picture is the front of the terminal.

The MMM made good use of what little shade there was. That’s my truck in Bay 8.

About 2100, I recieved and accepted a PrePlan which picked up in Auburn, WA and delivered in Pueblo, CO. I drove to the Shipper, did the drop/hook pick-up and left Auburn about 2300. I drove to Ellensburg, WA where I collapsed from exhaustion. I arrived at 0115.
I left Ellensburg at noon on the 9th, after a delicious leisurely breakfast at the Buzz Inn Steak House, next to the Flying J. I took these pictures before I left.

I drove to Stanfield, OR where I stopped for fuel and lunch. Along the way, I stopped at the Selah (peonounced seelah) Cliffs Rest Area on I-82 overlooking the Yakima Valley. I took these pictures from there.


On the left is another view of Mt. Ranier, on the right is Mt. Adams.

I left Stanfield at 1500 and drove to Ontario, OR. I did a short break here because of the difference in speed limits between Oregon and Idaho. I then drove to Eden, ID where I called it a day. I need to get back onto a reasonable shift.
I left Eden, ID at 0900 this morning, the 10th. I had the first good day of driving (650+ miles) since leaving Las Vegas on the 3rd. I drove to Evanston, WY. This route took me past the Devil’s Slide View Area, so I took a few more pictures.

Lost Creek flows along the base of Devil’s Slide. An interesting looking weed was growing along the banks.

I liked the color is the mountain across the freeway.

I left Evanston at 1300 and drove to Rawlins, WY. I fueled here to take advantage of their lower fuel prices, then drove to a small truckstop in Erie, CO. It was so small that it closed at midnight and re-opened at 0600. I had to stop here because I had depleted my 14-hours for the day.
On the 11th, I left beautiful Erie at 0900 and drove to the Consignee in Pueblo. I sailed right through Denver because the AM “rush hour” had already discipated. I arrived at noon and did the drop delivery. I then drove to Walmart to do some shopping. Among the things I had to purchase was a new XM Radio reciever. I purchased an Delphi Roady XT. I paid about $75.00 for it. Truckstops sell it “on sale” for about $80.00. My old one, an XM SkyFi, “gave up the ghost” yesterday going through Wyoming. It gave me good service for about 7 years. May it Rest in Peace. Among the features I like on the new Roady XT is it’s built in FM modulator. No more “hard wiring” to an FM transmitter, or use of a “cassette adapter”. I used some “ethnocentric engineering” to mount the magnetic antenna on my left mirror bracket.

All of the “stuff” that I used to mount it, I already had “pack-ratted” away in my truck, so I didn’t have to purchase anything new. There is nothing magnetic on the cab of these newer model Freightliner trucks. Anyway, I digress. About 1700 I accepted a PrePlan which picked up in Aurora (Denver), CO and delivered in Prewitt, NM. I drove the 120 miles to Aurora, did the drop/hook pick-up, and was back on the road at 1930. I drove to Trinidad, CO, where I stopped for the night because of that pesky 14-hour rule.
I delayed my start on the 12th until 1100. I still had no PrePlan for a load after I made my delivery in Prewitt at 1700, so I wanted to increase my prospects by still having as many hours available on my 14 as possible. I drove to Albuquerque where I fueled and took a quick MMM break. They can go untethered at our Terminal. I then drove the remaining 100 or so miles to Prewitt. I arrived at 1645. When I checked in with Security, I was informed that my appointment wasn’t until tomorrow at 1700, and that I could not deliver early. GREAT!! I informed my DM of the SNAFU. The final result was that I had to wait until tomorrow to make the delivery. The closest place to T-Call the load was Albuquerque, and no one wanted to make that decision. I was then told by Security that I had to leave the property. I back to the junction at CR-19 and settled in to wait.
Most of the 59th Anniversary of the day _____ (insert your preferred Omnipotent Being here) chose to bring me forth unto the world, I spent waiting to be unloaded in Prewitt. About 0900, I became “fed up” with the B___ S___ and drove 20 miles to the Petro truckstop in Milan, NM to shower and eat. I drove back to Prewitt about noon. I called my DM and informed her that Swift would pay me for the extra miles driven to take care of those minimum hygenic chores. I had already earned the maximum 8 hours of “detention pay” ($240.00). At the appointed time of 1700 (not a second earilier), I was allowed to enter the facility to unload. At some point during the day, I recieved and accepted a PrePlan which picked up at this facility and delivered in Southgate, CA. After unloading, I had to drive back to the Security gate. I got my empty (light) weight, and was told by Security to exit the facility, turn around in the lot, and drive back to the Shipping area. The entire unloading/loading process took a little over 3 hours. I was finally on the road at 2030. Just before I left, I recieved a PrePlanned T-Call for this load at our Terminal in Phoenix, AZ (it didn’t deliver in Southgate until Monday mid-day). I drove to Winslow, AZ, grabbed a quick bite to eat, then drove to Cordes Junction, AZ, an hour north of Phoenix on I-17, where I called it a day. I arrived at 0145.
I left Cordes Junction at noon on the 14th and drove to the Phoenix terminal. As I was preparing to make the transition from I-17 to I-10, some BONEHEAD crossed 2 lanes of traffic in front of me, then hit his brakes. This put me into an emergency braking situation. I missed him, but when I released my brakes, I ‘felt’ the load shift. I continued onto the terminal and turned in the paperwork (T-Called) the load. I then went through the fuel islands for fuel. Upon doing my ‘walk around’ inspection, I discovered that when the load shifted, it damaged both of the trailer doors.

It was a load of rolled newsprint loaded horizontally (what is called a bilge load) and braced in with 2×4 bracing. MORE FUN!! I had to report it to Safety, and do an accident report complete with pictures. I probably won’t be charged with a “preventable accident”, but it still ruined my day. Before the load can be delivered (by someone else) it will have to be cross-loaded to another trailer. I hope they get someone who knows what they are doing. There were only 7 rolls of paper which weighed a total of 44,000 lbs. That means they will have to load 3 rolls in the front of the trailer, leave a space, then load the other 4 rolls toward the rear of the trailer. Unless you know what you’re doing, the placement of the last 4 rolls is trial & error until you get the load “legal”. It’s just a WAG. As it turned out, it also ended my day. There was no freight to Las Vegas, which was also part of the reason for the T-Call in Phoenix. My RDO is at -1. Before hooking to an empty trailer, and retiring to the Flying J for the remainder of the day, I ordered a new truck. My contract on this one expires in early November and they need about 90 days notice. I ordered a Kenworth T-2000 with a Cummins ISX engine. It’s plush. I’m through with Freightliner and Detroit. Nothing but problems with this one.