Monday Update

Have heard from one of my references that he did get a call today. Fingers crossed!

Oh Don't Worry...It Happens All the Time

Will I ever get to drive again? I don't know. I hope so. I love the job. But it is questionable now isn't it? I made a mistake and it cost me my job. 

On Monday I took out a trailer that was new to me as I had never hauled a conestoga wagon before. My first load took me to Indiana to deliver a load at a construction site and this happened with no incidence. As a matter of fact it was a very difficult drop to get out of it. Getting in wasn't much of a problem, getting out was a whole different story. It was the same construction site I'd been to early on with Sugarcreek. It was difficult then and I didn't even have to drive as far in to the site as I did this time. This time I had to drive way down in and there is no place in there to turn around. The guy unloading me had to have me move back and forth several times in order to get to all of the load in the area where they wanted to store the bricks. I had to back up to within about 5 inches of their mortar towers at one point so that I could move over just enough for their dump truck to get past me. And then I had to back out of the site onto a very narrow road (it's on a college campus and you know those roads are not very big at all!) But again...one more tough spot that I got out of with no damage to person or property.

I was then sent to a shipper to pick up coils. Normally I am side-loaded for this type of load. The gentleman who was handling the shipping office on that day admitted he did not have any real experience with handling the shipping aspects of the business. Apparently he was filling in. He decided to have me dock the trailer rather than side load as a flat-bed would be loaded. I let him know that I didn't think that was a good idea as the conestoga is a little wider than your typical flat-bed or dry van (which makes the view for backing different than it was for a regular flatbed). But he wanted it docked so I pulled out of the bay to back into the docking area. These bays of course are setup for a standard size dry van rather than the trailer I was hauling. I docked as far to the right as I felt comfortable doing but because of the width of the trailer it left it offset at the docking door. The gentleman said I needed to move it further to the right. Which I attempted to do without hitting the entrance to the docking area without scraping the side of the doorway. Again he said it needed to go further right even though I had only a couple of inches between my trailer and the side of the doorway. I made one more attempt and in doing so my trailer did make contact with the side of the doorway which caused the vinyl covering and one of the covering metals braces to catch on the doorway edge which in turn caused damage to that metal brace and tearing the vinyl covering. I literally cried knowing that most likely this meant the end of my job. The guy at the dock said not to worry...it happens all the time (which I'm sure it does)...Doug wouldn't fire me...blah blah blah. Sugarcreek wanted me to try to drive the trailer back to the yard. In order to be able to drive the trailer back to the yard in Ohio, we had to do further damage to move the tarp assembly to the front of the trailer so it could be strapped forward to be driven back to the yard. 

And the next morning...I was unemployed again. 

It tears me up because I really am so very cautious. And I think of all the tight places I was in with the flatbeds that could have been disastrous and yet I got through them with no damages. I've been in a couple of traffic situations that someone could have gotten killed, but I managed to make the right decisions and moves so that I was able to avoid hurting anyone or anything. I've backed into tight areas and never hit anything (even if meant me pulling up and back 20 times). And
had this trailer been a regular flatbed...there would have not been any damage.

I've applied with another company now. Can my accident be forgiven? Can I even forgive myself? I don't know. It sucks to have been so careful and accident free for so long and then have this happen. I look at my mistakes (although they were all minor and none had any property damage) and each one I have learned from and then they never happen again. 

I hope I'll get to drive again. I miss it. I run my ass off when I'm in the truck. And I feel so useless now that I'm out of the truck. 

Oh yea...I almost forgot to mention...Sugarcreek has a thief in their midst. I was so upset when I pulled into the yard Monday night that when unhooking the trailer I had left my personal keys hanging in the side door. Being out of legal hours and exhausted, I parked in the yard for the night. I had not realized I left my keys in the side door. When I woke up the next morning I took their log books and fuel cards into them and I drove home. When I got home I was looking for my keys and couldn't find them. I looked in my passenger side window and there they were hanging in the lock. Doh! I'm amazed they stayed in that lock the whole way home. But anyway...I opened the side door since I was cleaning my stuff out of the truck and wouldn't you know it...someone had stolen a few of my things. Instead of being a decent person and just knocking on the truck to tell me that I left my keys hanging out there...they opened it up and stole all my water bottles and my jug of Rain-X window washer fluid. Really? Are you kidding me? I kinda understand the Rain-X but the bottled water? I just don't get people. 

What is the biggest safety threat?

Brought to you by Overdrive Magazine

Hitch Up Your Wagon and Ride!

Ah...Home! It feels good! However, it's short lived. I have to take off tonight to take my son back to upstate NY. It's been a rough week but I am determined that the next one will be better. I ended up spending last night in the parking lot of a mall (after closing of course) in a suburb of Detroit. Can you say...OH SHIT THAT WAS NERVE-WRACKING! But survived the night without anyone messing with me or my truck. And hit up the receiver first thing this morning. Went back to Toledo...picked up (and it was a tarped load...poor hand says OUCH!) and took to Massillon, OH. Then to the yard and swapped trailers. I've got a Conestoga trailer now...just cause I figured I'd give it a try. It should be interesting. Driving it home I noticed it's a little wider than the other trailers I've hauled. 

Tonight's post is gonna be short. I need to take a nap before we go to take off for NY! Laterz!

The Wheels on the Truck Went Not So Round, Not So Round...Not So Round

That's right folks...I was driving north on I-75 tooling along nice and steady and then the ride got rough. Thought it was just a rough patch in the road...God knows there are plenty of them. Then I saw something fly to the side...it was black...though it was a black bird. Then I saw more black things flying and realized it was chunks of rubber coming off one of my tires. Damn! Pulled over to the side of the road to check on it. It was the tire that was just replaced in March! State boy pulled in behind me and I explained to him the situation and told him I was going to drive slowly up the shoulder to the next exit. He said okay...good luck. 

So now I'm sitting on the side of exit 140 twiddling my thumbs. Just now got a call that said that roadside service should be here within the hour. Oh Goodie! And guess what? My legal driving hours just ended about 10 minutes ago. So this will put me way behind on getting to my receiver in the morning. I had already lost some time stopping to adjust one of the brakes on my steer tires. I wouldn't say this is one of my best days in the truck...although I can't say it's one of my worst either (Highlands, NC was probably THE worst so far). 

Are we having fun yet? Not so much! Think I might take me a nap while I'm waiting. Might as well!

Back on the Skateboard

After delivering my load this afternoon, the company had me go in. Of course my first thought when they said to come in was "Oh shit...what did I do now?" LOL. They just had me switch trailers. I'm back on the flatbed again! He asked me if I could handle strapping. I told him well like I told you last Friday...I can strap...I just can't lift the tarp right now. So it's all good! I gotta say though...I definitely found myself backing the van truck better after driving a split axle than I did before I drove it.

So they told me I could home for the night and head out in the morning to pick up in Rittman, OH.

That's all the excitement for today. :-)

Let me throw out a little endorsement. The Real Women Truckers Network has a weekly phone conference which is really helpful especially for those women who are new to the trucking industry. You can find the information for this conference at Women Truckers Network.

G'nite y'all!

Someone Opened the Bear Cage at the Zoo

So back on the road since yesterday. Things worked out just right that I got to sleep at home last night. Yay! And I had a very special passenger yesterday...my baby boy Zack. It just amazes me how much he has grown in height in just 2 years. He decided he would prefer to sleep in this morning so he opted out of going with me today. That's okay though. He's getting to spend time with everyone who loves him and that's what's most important.

Any way...the latest on the hand is that it still aches quite a bit. Had to grab some ibuprofen tonight when I got stopped. I am at this tiny "hole in the wall" truck stop called 99 Truck Stop. They have a restaurant named "Charlie Brown's Restaurant". LOL! Not a whole lot to look at here. Their "store" is smaller than my bedroom at home. But it's a place to stop for the night and it's the closest one to my morning pick-up in Piqua, OH. I initially stopped at the Wal-mart in Piqua, but alas...they had signs posted all over the place "no semi parking". Well fine...I was gonna go in and spend a little money but obviously I as a truck driver am not a wanted customer there. I will not spend my money at any Wal-mart that turns away truck drivers. Too many rely on places like that to park when there is no other place to go. Which ironically...the place I dropped off at in Marysville was a Wal-mart. Would have stayed there but I wanted to go ahead and get close to my shipper for the morning.

This morning I left home and headed for Cleveland for the receiver of my load (same load I'm picking up and delivering tomorrow). Lo and behold...I went from beautiful skies at home to SNOW in Cleveland. Yuck! But it did stop before I got to the receiver. So today I went from Mansfield, to Cleveland, to Shreve, to Marysville and then Piqua. Taking the long tour of Ohio. :-)




Now...the reason for the title of this post...yesterday and today the highways have been crawling with cops. At one point yesterday I saw 5 in a space of 2 miles. Someone seriously let the bears loose on society this week! So watch your rear ends this week friends...a bear might take a bite out of it.

I'll leave you with this amazing visual of my drive from Marysville to Piqua on Hwy 36. It was just gorgeous out today (aside from the snow in Columbus and the really cold wind)!  Night y'all!