"Maybe the boxes should drive!"

You remember the UPS commercial where a UPS truck stops in the middle of the highway to avoid hitting a lady sitting at a desk in the middle of the road? The lady tells the driver that he and his co-driver are lost. When he asks how she knows this, she said, "The boxes.". The boxes include the new technology that allows them to be tracked. The driver tells his co-driver what the lady said, and his co-driver says, "Maybe the boxes should drive!".

Well, I am sure that you have heard about the satellite systems used by trucking companies to track their trucks. "QualComm" is the name of one of these satellite systems. The instructions for each new load of freight goes through these systems to the drivers. The boxes are about the size of a laptop, but there is no flip top to them. They put me more in the mind of a sophisticated "Etch-a-Sketch", are as old/antique as an old Lexis UBIQ terminal and the keys are about as small. The screen you read your instructions from is gray scale and is about 2 by 6 inches and is impossible to see during the day unless you stop and close all of your curtains so you are in the dark.

Not only does this system tell you when/where to pick up your next load, it tracks your movement, knows when you start driving, stop driving, how long you have been driving, and monitors your speed. If you go to fast going downhill, the box beeps at you. If you let your truck idle too long, it beeps at you. If you happen to speed up to pass someone who is annoying you, and you go over the predetermined allowable speed, the box beeps at you. When you get new loads to pick up, the box beeps at you. When you are trying to sleep during your 10 hour break, the box beeps at you. Needless to say, you probably know by now that I don't like a computer that is programmed to only take into account a specific set of rules without taking into account any other environmental issues at the time in question.

Well, I found the button to turn down the beep so I could finally sleep without being interrupted, however for some really odd reason, some messages are still sent through with a beep.

The only thing that should be going beep in my truck is the horn when I decide to blow it, and I should have control of the truck, not some computer telling me that I have done something that I already know I did. I don't need some computer reminding me that I did it.

I wonder if the thing ever blows a fuse?

Rest Area Rest Room Hours

Yea, that is right. Hard to believe, eh. Posted on some rest areas across our great Eishenhower Interstate System are hours the rest rooms are open at rest areas. Now who would come up with an idea that you can control Mother Nature? If Eishenhower were alive I am sure he would correct this. He is probably turning over in his grave, knowing that some states have decided to keep free people from going to the restroom at their convenience.

Dedication

I am moving from the National account to a dedicated account which will allow me to be home for the weekends. This takes effect over the weekend of November 18th and 19th. I will start my dedicated account on the 20th. What does this mean to you? It means that I will not run as random deliveries as I have up to this point, but I will still be running across the South, the West, and East Coast, along with occassional deliveries to Washington state, etc. I will still be posting pictures and sharing my adventures with you. I am sure they will still be as exciting as they would have been if I stayed on the National account. Stay tuned and find out! Check back later for more details!

Aliens?

Well maybe not "Aliens". Maybe I am the "Alien" in this location. This is in between the missile test ranges in Utah, at a rest area that I stopped at off I-80. Guess it would not matter much if the missile misses its mark and finds the rest area, eh?

Echo, Utah Rest Area off I-80

Elk Mountain

My recent travels across I-80 took me across Elk Mountain in Wyoming. The winds across this mountain reach 60 MPH and up. The winds are so high and consistent across this mountain that they installed wind mills on top of it to convert the winds into electric energy. When I drove west across the mountain I was loaded with approximately 40,000 pounds of freight, but I still had to turn the steering wheel to the left consistently in order to keep the truck on the road. When I reached areas that the wind was blocked, I could steer straight, but felt like I was going to the right. I was thinking to myself that I would not want to drive an empty trailer across this mountain. Then I heard about a truck that was blown off the road, went across a field, and then stopped straddling a railroad track, but managed to keep the truck upright.

On my east bound trip, a driver behind me asked me how much weight I was carrying. I told him about 10,000 pounds. Apparently he saw me struggling to keep the truck on the road and advised me to go around Elk mountain. I took his advise and drove around Elk mountain using US-30, an eighteen mile additional distance which landed me into Laramie, Wyoming, but well worth the alternative probability of being blown off the road by the high winds blowing across Elk mountain.

Schneider had no training related to high winds and so I had nothing to prepare me for this. If not for the other trucker noticing me being blown around before I got into the higher wind area of Elk mountain, I could have been another casualty in the statistics of people trying to cross this mountain unsuccessfully.

Many thanks go out to the truck drivers who care about each other enough to help each other out when necessary. I have never found a comraderie like this since I served in the armed forces of the United States.

Member of "Chain Gang"

It was one of those things I was hoping I would never have to do, install chains onto my drive tires in order to get up a hill. I was on my way back from California and had spent the night in Laramie, Wyoming. The forecast was predicting snow in the mountains and I was hoping they would miss the forecast. I had waken up and prepared to make my final trek through the remaining mountains that I-80 ran through after Laramie. I was lucky that I had gotten out of Salt Lake City the night before and had beaten the snow fall that was predicted there.

There was very little snow fall in Laramie so I felt it was safe to head on out. As I started up the hill(mountain) a west bound driver advised me via CB that there were a couple of trucks that were stopped on the way up the hill in the right hand lanes about a mile up the hill. I thanked the west bound driver for the info and proceeded on my way. I could see that other trucks were having a major problem trying to get up the hill and then could see the trucks that were sitting still. I was doing just fine, had plenty of momentum and was determined to make it up the hill. Then another driver had pulled in front of me, which slowed me down to a point that I had to stop as well. Once stopped, I could not get moving again. I even tried locking my power train so all four drive wheels would be pulling the truck instead of just two. No luck, just spinning wheels.

I bit the bullet and decided that I was just going to have to put on the chains, so I proceeded to the chain box and pulled out the chains. I have never put on chains before, let alone, install them onto a semi tractor. The only knowledge I had to go on was the winter training that was provided to me a few weeks prior.

I installed the chains and attempted to move up the hill. I got about a quarter of a mile before my wheels started spinning again. I stopped the truck and got out to inspect the chains, only to find out one was missing. What, missing? How the heck did that happen, and where did it go?

Now this was no fun thing to do, installing chains while sitting in the middle of an interstate highway. I have never stood in the middle of an interstate highway. Something was wrong with this picture. It was like time was in slow motion, like people talk about when they go through a traumatic experience, an accident or a near death situation.

There were a number of things going on around me. Every time I got in/out of the cab to retrieve my flashlight, gloves, and/or to try to drive the truck up the hill, I was reminded of the dangerous situation I was in. The other drivers were talking on their CBs, sharing information and trying to help each other out. There was also a lady who was crying out for help over the CB. Her husband was bleeding badly and she was trying to get help for him. Apparently they had crashed into the cement divider in the middle of the highway going down the hill. Everyone was trying to figure out where she was located so they could get to her to help, but she could never explain her exact location, and nobody could tell by looking, where she was. One of the other drivers called 911 and advised her that help was on the way.

Two tractor trailers heading west bound, coming down the hill, had turned 180 degrees and were facing east bound in the west bound lanes. One was on the birm and the other was in the right most lane, right against the one on the birm. They were both upright though, and neither driver appeared to be hurt. Directly in front of them was another tractor trailer that had managed to stop about half the distance of a tractor trailer rig before hitting them. While he was sitting perfectly still, his trailer decided to start sliding into a 45 degree angle down the hill and stopped. He was saying that he did not know what to do, as he was already stopped and had not done anything to cause the trailer to start sliding, it just started sliding, but he was happy that it stopped sliding before jack knifing on him. It did slide out to block the next lane of traffic going west bound.

The local sheriff had shown up finally and started to survey the situation. I was walking back down the highway looking for my missing chain when the sheriff drove up next to me. I had thought he might want to ask me why I was walking in the middle of the interstate, so I walked over to his cruiser. He rolled down his window and I told him what I was doing. He said, "Good luck, we have accidents that we are dealing with.", so I proceeded for the rest of my quarter mile journey before I found my chain that had come loose, lying in the middle of the interstate. I walked back up the interstate a quarter of a mile to my truck, dragging the chain behind me.

I reinstalled the chain and was on my way up the hill again. I had come upon a rest area that I thought I would pull into, however by the time I had realized the rest area was off the exit I had just passed, it was too late. A lot of the rest areas in Wyoming are off regular exits. This rest area was on the west bound side. So one had to get off the exit and travel across the interstate in order to get to it.

Since I had passed the rest area, I had decided to stop on the side of the road to inspect my chains again. One had shifted on the tire and was about to come off. So I took it loose, reseated it, and then tightened it up again. This time, I got it as tight as I could get it. When I got back into my cab another driver made a comment about how stupid it was to install chains, that they would do no good in the ice. I had to say something, I could not let this idiot remark go unnoticed. I replied to the remark with, "I installed the chains so I could get up the mountain in the passing lane where there was snow, not ice, which is why I did not drive up the right lane where everyone else had driven and turned the snow into ice."

I managed to get up the hill to another rest area, which was really a scenic view area that everyone was parking at since the road had closed by now. There was no room to get into this scenic view area, so I had pulled onto the entry ramp area and parked my rig. There was no place else to go. I got out and inspected my chains and was really surprised they actually had stayed intact and had not slid off the tires again. They were still where they were supposed to be. Guess I had finally gotten them on properly and tight enough.

Finally, a sand truck/road grader went by followed by other tractor trailers. I inspected their drive tires closely to see they did not have tire chains on, and they were moving at a pretty good rate of speed. So I decided to take off my chains and set out on the road again.

I made it to dry road and began moving along quite well, after going through three hours of misery, chaining, rechaining, spinning tires, seeing other trucks jack knifed, turned around 180 degrees, and hearing on the radio that there was a fatality that morning.

With all this in mind, I began to count my blessings and realized the good Lord was with me, or I would not have made it through this ordeal.

Ohio via way of California!

Yep, that is right. After delivering my load to Ogden, Utah, I was sent to Hayward, California, which is just south of San Francisco. I am now on my way back home and hope I beat any snow that will fall across I-80 that may close the road. I traveled I-80 across Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California and am now on my return trip which will take me back across those states plus Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois, where I will catch I-65 and then US-30 across to I-71, I-76, I-77 to Akron, and then Canton. Once my delivery is done in Canton, I will have my three days off with my Wife for our tenth anniversary. If the weather turns too bad, I will drop down to I-70 through Denver and come back that way, missing Nebraska and Iowa. It depends on how the weather is when I arrive in Laramie Wyoming by Noon tomorrow. Right now, I am sitting in Tooele, Utah.

Ogden, Utah via way of Denver, Colorado

So much for my assignments being everything east of the Rockies, including Canada. I am currently off to Ogden, Utah for my next delivery. I picked up my load near Little Rock, Arkansas and headed west on I-40. My trip took me through Oklahoma, Kansas, and now Colorado. I will be heading up into Wyoming and then into Utah. Had to stop to pick up snow chains, which is where I am right now, in Denver, Colorado. Stay tuned. I will add more as I get the time. Maybe even some pictures of the mountains!

I NEED A WOMAN!!!

Wanted. Part time. A woman who can bat her eyes and flirt with the maintenance men and get my truck fixed so it meets the minimum DOT requirements to run on the road. Maybe she can even flirt enough with the powers to be that I can get a truck worth driving. It would be nice to have this woman available today, when I pass through the Memphis operating center to have several things looked and, and maybe fixed.

She could tell them that she really gets turned on when the dashboard lights work so she can see all the guages, especially the air brake guage, so she can tell how fast the truck can stop when she orders it to do so.

She can also tell them that she likes it hot, but does not like it to be noisey. She can ask them to fix the heater so it will make her hot, but without the flapping sound it makes. She may like flapping herself but is annoyed when something else flaps, especially when she cannot figure out what the heck is flapping.

If you think you would be interested in this position, please post a comment. If you are not interested in this position, post a comment anyway. You can tell me if you like the posting or not. Did it make you laugh, cry, or did you just wonder what was in my coffee besides cream?

My Pumpkin Truck

Here is the truck that replaced my white one. The white one was a Kenworth, this one is a Freightliner. It has its own issues, but I am getting used to it. Hopefully I will be able to live with the issues this one has until I can get them fixed. There seem to be fewer problems with this one. Another advantage with a Freightliner is the operating centers actually have parts for them when they need replaced. They have to order parts for the Kenworths when they need replaced which takes longer to get repairs done to them.