Where are the pictures?

I thought I would update you about where the pictures are that I promised to post on this blog. I do have some that I have not posted yet, of the drive out west through Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and California. I will work on getting some of them up here for you to view.

I have not taken any pictures recently because I have had to drive during the night time in order to make my deliveries. About all I could take pictures of at night are lights. I suppose the Dallas skyline would have been a good picture, but by the time I thought about taking the picture, I was heading out of Dallas. I was so taken up by the beauty of the buildings outlined in neon lights that it did not dawn on me to take a picture.

The other thing you have to remember, is that when traffic is heavy, I have to pay attention to the road so I do not hit anyone, and to prevent them from hitting me. I worry more about a four or six wheeler hitting me, than me hitting them. They have no sense when it comes to driving around big trucks. All they think of is how they are soooo slow and how they get in their way. So it is not uncommon for them to pass big trucks on the right (which they are not supposed to do) and whip in front of them as soon as their rear bumper clears the front bumper of the truck. Do you know how much of a four wheeler you can see from the cab of a big truck when they do that? You might be able to see the front of the four wheeler, but the back half of the vehicle, where the tail lights, brakes, lights, turn signals are, you cannot see.

We have to slow down to keep a 7 second space between us and the vehicles in front of us. During winter conditions we are supposed to keep a 14 second space. I know that this sounds kind of odd, because you have seen big trucks pushing other vehicles in the passing lane on the freeway, especially going downhill. One thing you have to remember about trucks is that they use air and engine brakes and they usually have a load of freight (anywhere up to 40,000 pounds). You never know when the brakes are going to give out on big trucks, so it is best not to ride in front of them holding them back or trying to slow them down.

Sorry, I could not see...

My recent delivery took me into the state of Connecticut. My delivery was to Southington, CT, off exit 32 from I-84. Upon entry into the state I noticed that the reflectivity of the signs was wearing out. It was night time, about 5 AM, and not being able to read the signs was worrying me a bit. The speed limit signs were very legible, standing out like a sore thumb, black letters on a white background. Who could miss that? The informational signs, the white letters on blue background were in pretty good shape as well, but the white letters on the green background were in sad shape.

The wheels started turning in my head and I figured that I had better come up with a backup plan, just in case I could not read the sign that was supposed to let me know when exit 32 was coming up. Away I went, running mileage calcuations in my head (math is one of my strong points, except when it comes to diffrentiation) in order to make sure I would not miss my exit. I had to do this because the exit numbers did not match up with the mile markers. It was this way through New York as well. I guess this part of the country has been around for so long that they go by their own rules, kind of like an older sibling.

Ok, I was all set. I know what my odometer should read when I get to exit 32. Well, go figure, by the time I ran all those calculations in my head, the signs got brighter and I was able to see them. Well, when I reached the sign for exit 32, it was not easy to read either, so it was good that I ran the calculations anyway.

Signs

There was a sign I tried to read while traveling at 60 miles per hour at the Texas border. It was about 10 feet high by 20 feet wide and was displaying a full set of conditions on what speed you were allowed to travel based on what type of vehicle you were driving. They listed about six or eight different types with a column to the right that listed the maximum speed limit. I tried to read the sign, but by the time I got to the second row of the type of vehicle, my time to read it was over. As you should know, and you would figure that Texas would know this, traveling at a rate of sixty miles per hour, even with a 10 by 20 foot sign, one is not going to have time to read all of that info before they have passed the sign.

My side thought was to stop and take time to read the sign, but there is a minimum speed limit and if you stop, it can only be for an emergency, and then you would have to put out your triangles if it takes you more than 10 minutes to read the sign.

Another thought was, why didn't they just post individual signs for each type of vehicle every so many feet to allow a driver to read each and every sign as they passed by?

Really now, aren't we supposed to be watching the road to keep from hitting anyone? If we have to read a sign that it full of information before we pass it by, how are we supposed to be watching the vehicles in front of and behind us?

"Don't mess with Texas." Maybe that was the full intent of the sign?

Where Am I?

During my travels I have noticed one very annoying fact. Most cities/towns do not announce their presence on the interstates as they do on the major two lane highways and roads leading into their corporation. While you can read the signs that say it is so many miles to the next city or the one after that, unless you watch your odometer and pay close attention, you will be in the middle of the city wondering which city you are in.

I have a novel idea, taken from the practices of the past and the other roads coming into the cities/towns, have the cities place signs on the interstate roads that lead into them, letting travelers know they have entered into their great city or town.

States sure have no problem letting you know when you are entering into a new state. If you miss the huge sign welcoming you, then you learn real quickly that you are are leaving one state and entering another, either by the Welcoming Centers or the Weigh Stations on each side of the state lines.

Quality of Workmanship?

The truck assigned to me has over 750,000 miles on it and almost as many problems as miles. Recently it was sent to the Detroit Engine Facility to have the engine reworked. I drove it for a couple of hundred miles before I had to pull into a maintenance shop for them to tell me that the engine had a bad oil leak. The engine started screaming about half way across Pennsylvania and continued to scream even after I reached Baltimore, Maryland where the mechanic told me that the turbo was going out and that I had a bad oil leak. The mechanic's assessment was that I could complete my current deliveries and return to my home operating center to get the engine checked out.

My original complaint was no power in tenth gear at 1300 RPM at 60 miles per hour. This prompted the original repair of the engine by the Detroit Engine Facility. Apparently they did not reseat the seals properly to keep the oil from leaking out.

The second time the engine was sent back was to repair the oil leak and to replace the turbo that was going out. Apparently, the Schneider mechanics were advise that the radiator needed replaced, so that was done upon the return of the tractor from the Detroit Engine Facility.

After the first engine work, the power problem was resolved. The engine ran great and had plenty of power, it was just the oil leak and the screaming turbo that were the root of the problem that required the second engine work.

After the second engine work, and the replacement of the radiator, and approximately 150 miles, the coolant take went empty and the warning lights came on. So I had to take the tractor back to have it fixed yet again.

What ever happened to quality workmanship? Doesn't anyone care about how good of a job they do any more, or do they just do the job as quickly as they can just to get it done and over with? I was not brought up that way. I have to do a good job at anything I do. I cannot short change someone else because I would not want to be short changed myself.

All of this work, rework, has caused me to be moved from tractor to tractor just to keep me moving, making money, and keeping freight moving for Schneider. This is no fun, moving from tractor to tractor, because it takes at least an hour, if not two to move all of your belongings from one tractor to another. This past week I have been moved in/out of three different tractors.

All I really want is a tractor that is dependable and does not need a bunch of work done on it. If my current tractor could be fixed up to alleviate all of its problems, I would have no problem with it, even though a newer tractor would be nice to have. If the newer tractor is going to have problems though, just let me keep my old one, as long as it works, and I don't have to keep moving from tractor to tractor every other day.

Road Construction Ahead - Beware

I thought I would share these little trinkets I picked up at the "World's Largest Truck Stop". Enjoy.

World's Largest Truck Stop

I recently visited the "World's Largest Truck Stop" off I-80 in Walcott, Iowa. I could not believe what I saw. This was a shopping mall on three floors with everything that you could possibly need, with a parking lot that held as many semi-trucks that a normal mall would hold cars. I only had time to visit the first floor of the three, but click on the links to this interesting location to learn more about it. Enjoy.

Should I drive during the day or at night?

My recent deliveries turned my days and nights upside down and I had the opportunity to see what it was like driving at night. There are advantages and disadvantages of driving during the day or the night.

During the day you can see all around you and have more time to make critical driving decisions where at night you are limited to the distance your headlights reach. For a semi, the distance the lights reach is not a safe stopping distance when loaded with freight in a trailer.

At night, all of the rest areas along the freeway and truck stops fill up with truckers taking their legally required 10 hour break. This makes it difficult to find a rest room when you have to go because you cannot just park a big rig any where. The way that some of those truckers park their rigs make it nigh to impossible to get in/out of the rest areas at night. The parking spaces run out so they start parking off to the side of the off/on ramps and even in the area reserved for cars to park.

One advantage of driving at night is that the roads are clear. There is no rush hour traffic and you can scoot through cities at ease. The bad thing about driving at night though, is it messes with your body clock. If you flip back and forth to be up during the day when you are home and at night when you drive, your body has a rough time making the adjustment to the change.

Personally, I prefer to drive during the day, but I know there will be times when I will have to make a delivery that will require me to drive during the night.

Gator Mine Field

Companies retread the tires they use on their trailers. I never did have much luck with retreads. I tried them years ago when I was in the Air Force and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. I thought they would save me money, however the treads got hot and came off not long after I bought them. The company I had bought them from was called "Gerald Recaps". After this one time experience for me, I just bought new tires and vowed never to invest in recaps again.

The tire pieces you see along the freeway are actually retreads that have come loose, fly into the air, land onto the road, hopefully not hitting anything in its path. These pieces of tires that come loose are referred to as "Gators" by truckers. Some of these pieces can carry a force of 60 - 80 pounds as they fly into the air, and if you happen to be one of those people who like to ride in the tail wind of a tractor-trailer, you could end up with a "Gator" snapping through your windshield and killing you. Just as they expect tractor trailers to stay a safe distance from others, you should keep a safe following distance from them.

When you approach a patch of "Gators" on the road, truckers refer to them as "Gator Mine Fields". Truckers avoid these like a passion because not only could they tear loose a piece of the retreads on their trailers, the tires could pick up a loose gator and whip it at someone following them.

Next time you drive on the road, and you see those fools who dodge in/out of traffic, in between and and in front of semi-trailers, remember the "Gator Mine Fields" and think how silly they are for playing with fate and taking their own lives and others into their own hands.

Keep a safe following distance and drive carefully.