Spies Like Us

I recently had to stay overnight in a hotel while my truck was being repaired. As I was walking about the parking lot after parking my tractor I saw a shiny orange new looking Schneider tractor pulling in. I waved at the driver and he waved back, all cheerful and smiling. I walked up to him and asked if he thought were I parked my tractor was ok. He said it is fine there. My concern was about getting blocked in and not being able to get out in the morning. This individual had stayed at this particular hotel many times and assured me it would be fine parked where it was.

The gentlemen was an older black man and looked very sharp. He was all dressed up a long sleeved brown pressed shirt with many patches on it. He was a Schneider Training Engineer who travels around doing training at various operations centers through out the country.

He told me that when he saw me in my brown shorts, Scheider shirt, and looking all prim and proper, he thought I was part of Schneider management. This set us off into a very delightful conversation which I will remember for a long time to come.

He mentioned that he never knows when someone is going to be planted into one of his classes to make sure he is doing his job right and covering all of the material, so he makes sure he does everything by the book every time.

I found the gentlemen very communicable and humorous. I could just imagine what it would be like to sit in one of his classes one day. Perhaps I will?

I looked at his truck and pointed mine out to him explaining the problems I was having with it and that it had over 668,000 miles on it. He was surprised that the truck was being issued with that many miles on it, especially to pull national loads. I have enclosed a picture of his tractor below.

Truck Repairs?

I have had a number of issues come up with my tractor that needed repair, so my Service Team Leader (STL) sent me into the Operations Center in Evergreen, Alabama to see if I could get them fixed. The name of the mechanic that worked on my truck was Ladon. At first I thought it was London, but he quickly corrected me and told me his name was Ladon. This individual has been a mechanic for over 35 years and was very professional and personable. Once he started working on my tractor he communicated with me what he was doing and he did a very good job working through and repairing each of the issues one by one. I did come away with a couple of issues not taken care of, but it was through no fault of his own. After working as an aircraft avionics mechanic in my past, I know when it is time to call it quits and move on to the next problem and fix it. There is an electrical problem with no power getting to the blower moter in my sleeper area. This prevents the flow of air conditioning in the sleeper. I have been using the air conditioner in the dash/cab area to keep the sleeper cool, so I can live without the sleeper air conditioner working for now. The wiring has to be traced to identify the source of the problem which would take hours. I will take the tractor back to my home operating center and let them look into it in more detail.

I had to have the clutch adjusted since I was having problems trying to put the truck in gear from a dead stop without it grinding. Ladon advised me that he adjusted the clutch as much as he could and that the clutch will just have to be replaced the next time it comes in for adjustment.

This tractor has over 668,000 miles on it, so it does not surprise me that it is having maintenance issues. The things that I did not get fixed include the sleeper fan not working, the leaking windshield, passenger side courtesy light lens missing, replacement wiper arm for passenger side (he did repair the broken one though), and of course the tilt wheel cable that allows the steering wheel to tilt and the fuel cap with the retaining bar which are still sitting at the OC in Seville, Ohio.

I did get the fan belts tightened up, the clutch adjusted, the wipers replaced and the passenger side wiper arm repaired, the latch on the top bunk fixed so it locks, the fifth wheel greased, and the normal periodic maintenance.

Seat Covers

Per request of one of the LexisNexis folks who has truck driving in his past I will talk about seat covers for a while. Truckers really enjoy seat covers. It helps them pass the time away while driving. It also gives them something to talk about with each other while driving down the highway. Truckers can see down into the cars so easily since they are so tall. Checking out all of the different types of seat covers is an interesting pass time event. There are beautiful seat covers and there are those that are a waste of time trying to see. Seat covers come in all shapes and sizes, independent of the type of car they are in. Some are pretty, some are ugly. Some fit into the car very well and are a very good accessory while others you wonder how they even got the seat cover in the car to begin with. I am sure by now that the individual who asked whether or not I mentioned seat covers to my wife is roflhao since he knows what I am talking about. Seat covers are the people sitting on the seats, not the fabric that is covering the seat. If you have never thought about what you are doing in a car while driving down the road, you should think twice, because somebody up there is watching as you drive by. Truckers can even see when you wiggle your toes, yes we can see the floor board of your car and can tell you the color of the carpet or floor mat. You would be surprised what we see. Once, while in training, my instructor pointed out the guy in the car going by was getting some enjoyment from his female rider, and as I looked, I could see her head bobbing up and down. This was the talk of the truckers' CB channel 19 for quite a while as everyone up the road was getting their chance to see the free show as they passed by. Another time I remember was conversation on the CB about a girl who flashed her breasts at a trucker and then asked him if he saw her nipple ring. He said no, and so she flashed him again.

There are two things that truckers hate when it comes to the topic of seat covers, one is long pants and the other is tinted windows.

Keep those sun roofs open and keep the truckers entertained!

Rest Area off Beaten Path

I ran across a rest area off I-10 in Florida near mile marker 160 that was well off the beaten path. Instead of the normal off the road and return as most of them are, this one must have been tucked a quarter of a mile back off the southern side of the interstate and was shared by both the east and west bound sides. As I kept driving around a long and winding road that crossed both the west and east bound sides, I kept wondering where I was going. You can find it between Marianna and Tallahassee just after exit 160 and before the weigh station when traveling westbound. There was a huge parking area for trucks and cars and the walk to the relieving areas (restrooms) seemed just as long a walk as the drive. Since Florida does not believe in having many truck stops, I will keep this rest area in mind for possible future use.

Love Bugs

One of the nuisances for drivers in the gulf states area is the Love Bug. These things just cover the fronts of vehicles and make it nigh to impossible to see out of your windshield after a period of time. The gulf states rest areas actually have water sprayers for vehicles to pull up to that will help wash off the residue of the bugs that splatter all over the windshield. At truck stops you can see all of the truckers vigorously spraying off their trucks to wash these things off their windshields, grills, hoods, and fenders. You would not believe there were so many of these things after so many of them being wiped out on all of the vehicles traveling down the road.

City Travels

I thought I should mention the cities/towns I have traveled to/through/near thus far while driving a semi tractor. Here is a list of them for those of you who are interested. I may have missed a few. If so, I will add them later as I think of them. I will also add additional town/cities to this list as I pass through/near them, so keep watching.

US Postings here. Canadian Postings at end of the US listing.

Alabama: Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, and Pennington

Arkansas: Little Rock, Fordyce, and El Dorado

Florida: Lakeland, Orlando, Pensacola, and Tallahassee

Georgia: Atlanta, Conyers, Hapeville, Madison, Suwanee

Illinois: Chicago, Dekalb, Hodgkins, Minooka, and Rockford

Indiana: Indianapolis

Kentucky: Covington, Elizabethtown, Florence, Louisville, Lexington, and Richmond

Louisiana: Monroe, Pineville, Oberlin, Kinder, Lake Charles, and Sulphur

Mississippi: Olive Branch

New Jersey: Ocean and Trenton

New York: Buffalo, Jamestown, Lancaster, Niagara Falls, and Tonawanda

North Carolina: Asheville, Charlotte, Gastonia, Shelby

Ohio: Cleveland, Findlay, Seville, Lima, Dayton, Cincinnati, Sidney, Troy, Vandalia, Franklin, Xenia, Beavercreek, Middletown, Monroe, Springboro, Canton, Akron, Ashland, Mansfield, Wooster, West Chester, and Kenton.

Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh, Somerset, Hershey, Boothwyn, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg

South Carolina: Gafney, Greenville, and York

Tennesssee: Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis

Texas: San Antonio, Converse, Dallas, Waco, Temple, Austin, Beaumont, Houston, and Texarkana

Virginia: Lynchburg, Sutherland

Wisconsin: Green Bay, Pulaski, Oconto, and Oneida

Canada Locations Listed Below

Ontario: Chatham, Guelph, London, Niagara Falls, Toronto, and Woodstock

Kisatchie National Forest

As mentioned in my last blog entry, I passed through a forest in Louisiana. The name of the forest is Kisatchie. I drove down route 167 South from I-40 West through Arkansas into Louisiana to get to Pineville. Upon leaving Pineville I drove down route 165 South to hook up with I-10 West bound in order to get to San Antonio. If you opposite click on the Kisatchie link and select "Open in New Window", it will take you to maps of the forest where you can see the sections that I passed through while still reading this blog entry. The trees were very tall, thick, and very beautiful.

If I had my camera out I would have taken a picture. Don't worry, I will have my camera ready from now on. For those of you who are concerned about me driving and taking pictures, don't worry. I will be sitting the camera on a tripod and pushing a button on the end of a cord to take pictures so I am not distracted from driving safely. After all, I would not want to run over an alligator while trying to take a picture, eh?

It has been some time since I have driven through an isolated area like that. There were very few vehicles on the highway, maybe one or two vehicles went the other direction about every half hour or so. I did not see any driveways nor many roads cutting off the highway. I am very glad that I went through the forest during the daytime, because at night, it may be pretty scarey.

The last time I was on such an isolated roadway was way back in 1973 when I took the drive down I-65 through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama to hook up with I-59 and then US-49 to get to Biloxi, Mississippi. I was heading for my Air Force avionics technical training at Keesler Air Force Base located in Biloxi. I traveled for miles without seeing a single car going in either direction and gas stations were very far apart. I could not get any radio stations and did not have the convenience of a tape player, and of course CDs were not even thought of yet. I was so worried about running out of gas and/or breaking down since nobody would find me for days since there was no traffic.

Driving, Week 2

Adding a couple more states to the map, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. This past week took me from Ohio through Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and then into Texas. My return trip brought me back home with a trip to Sidney, Ohio.

My travels into Louisiana took me through a forest for quite a few miles on Route 167 South, through Arkansas into Louisiana. Travel on the road through the forest was sparse and I am glad that I traveled through it during the day.

Customers that I picked up and delivered for included Maybelline, Proctor and Gamble, and Honda.

Driving, Week 1

I was issued a Kenworth tractor with 650,000 miles on it. I have been cleaning it up, trying to wash out all of the nicotine from the previous drivers who apparently smoked. I have debated about smoking one of my cigars in the cab, but I would not do that to the next person who could be issued my tractor. Cigars are only for my enjoyment and not to impose upon others. I did have a Macanudo Portofino after passing my CDL and getting my CDL license though, but I smoked it in an area with other smokers after asking permission to smoke it in their presense.

My first run was from Seville to Cleveland, back to Lima, and then home for the weekend.

We will see what the next couple of weeks has in store.

Keep watching as I update my blogs.

Passed CDL Test

I passed my Commercial Drivers License (CDL) test this morning. Now I am waiting for a tractor to be assigned to me so I can start moving interstate commodities across the country.

Stay tuned as I share my road trips, pictures, and more with you as I experience my new found career.