May and June
I thought I'd update, and let you know of some of the places I've been going and the loads I've had, last month and this month. I've mentioned a few of the trips, such as up to Bristol Wisconsin, that long Friday in Chicago (though that was a good pay week), and the steel coil and steel plate loads that are on Flickr, but I've had a few other new experiences amongst those.
May 14-15: two stop brass load to Indianapolis, IN and then to Cold Spring, KY. I went up and down I-69, but the timing of my passing wasn't good for a visit in Upland.
May 16-17: This load was particularly interesting. It was a brokered load from PJ&T, another trucking company in West Unity (where, incidently, Jason Kreger is the dispatcher). Interesting thing #2 is that this was a dry van... the typical semi-trailer you see going down the road - 53 foot long, 13 ft high, white. This is the first time I'd ever pulled one of those before. The load went from Wauseon to Louiville, KY with steel baskets that hold some sort of part for the making of military munitions. I came back with empty baskets from a previous load. I didn't get any pictures of my truck with that trailer. :(
First couple weeks in June: Hauled two loads of soybeans a day to Decatur, IN... four hour roundtrip. Found out when I got my paycheck that I got hosed on that - worked out to be about $10/hr or 29 cents per mile (low)... I was surprised, because the wheat that I hauled previously payed much better. I was unhappy.
Last Friday: Was a nightmarish day.... I was at chase for a 11pm scrap dump, then 12am load... well, a box of the solids broke open and spilled allllll over, so we had to hand shovel them. Then I had to wait an hour (till 1am) for a couple of bundles to come off the line. So I finally got to Chicago and only got about three hours of sleep... then the first drop was slow, and I got out of there an hour late.... then there's no go way to go from near downtown west during afternoon traffic and tolls... so I tried going out on surface streets, which took forever. Finally got out to Dixon, IL, unloaded, loaded with scrap, and made my way home - a 6 hour drive. Got home around midnight. Blah.
Last Sunday/Monday: My first "long" trip - up to the Twin Cities (Blaine, MN actually, just north of St. Paul). It was about 11 hours up there. Left Sunday morning and arrived up there around 8:00pm... it was a light load (12,000 lbs vs the usual 35-45K). Unloaded that, went to another place to pick up scrap brass, and back on the road. I only stopped once to check the securement on the way back, and made it home by 11:30pm Monday night - Left Tuesday night for a long day to Chicago, then out to Dixon, then back to Chicago to get scrap, then home. Today was another Chicago run, but a quick one that found me home by 3:30 pm.
Sunday afternoon I leave for Horseheads, NY. Should be interesting.