Highway To Hell

Man oh man, what a week. I should really just stop there because Karma has been kicking my arse ALOT lately.





And I don't know why.... I can't really recall anything that I have done to deserve this run of bad luck, but I am in desperate need of .......?





So , me and Maggie headed out to Queens last Sunday and by the time we got there, the entire back half of the load had shifted into the side of the trailer making it impossible to unload.... Jimmy was willing to work with me on this, or even refuse the load in order to keep me from having to struggle with it so much... He was able to unload a portion of his freight ( 9 out of 13 bundles) but from that point on we were at a standstill. It took 3 hours to unload that small amount!! My next stop was in the Bronx, but once again, I could not unstrap the load because I unload double parked on a city street and could not take the risk of damaging parked vehicles if the load fell off the trailer.





The only logical solution was to find one of our customers who would agree to let us unstrap the load in a safe area and then help with reloading it in a safe manner.... Well, that was 3 hours away in Glastonbury, CT... It took 3 additional hours to restructure the load.... My day was shot..





Only 2 deliveries made on Monday and I had to turn around and head back to Queens to finish up with Jimmy and the Bronx.





By now, it is mid-afternoon and there is no way I am heading back into Queens at this time... That is a commuter's nightmare. There was a truck stop on the way and I needed a shower. I did manage to get a good parking spot... A slight miracle in itself for being this close to NY at this time of the day. I grab my bag and head inside.... Wooooo Hooooo!! No waiting.... Oh wait, no hot water either... But after the struggles I had with the load, there was no way I was going to skip showering, cold water or not!!





An hour after cleaning up, the hot water problem was resolved... D'oh....

Meanwhile, I was approached by some dudes selling pirated DVDs.. I politely told them I was not interested and in return.... Well, a few minutes later I noticed one of them coming out from behind my trailer.. Did not think much of it at the time, but the next morning I noticed several cuts in the tarp.... Long slices made by a utility knife or razor blade.... Clean cuts made with lots of zigs and zags.. Definitely deliberate, and not just accidental tears.. Know what I mean!!





While waiting on traffic to die down, I decided to enjoy a movie... Around 8:30, I decided it was safe to attempt reentering NY...Before pulling out, I turn on the radio and listen for a bit..... YEP... Time to go to bed!! It seems another Big Truck has split it's trailer in half.. Meanwhile yet another tractor trailer jack knifed to avoid the damaged trailer.... The road is back up for over 20 miles.....sheesh.. better set the alarm for 4am.. Don't want to hit that morning commute!





I did not notice that I had no cell service, I did notice that I had no calls.. At 3:45AM, my phone goes berserk with Message Alerts... I fell out of the bed trying to shut off the alarm which was not even going off.. It was the damn phone with 5 NEW MESSAGES....and I landed on me arse.... Not fun to wake up in mid-air, 2 foot above the floor.!!





I head out only to find that construction has the interstate closed down to one lane, and yes there was a back-up even at 5am...





So, here I am on Tuesday morning right back where I started from 24 hours before......





Okay, so Tuesday was uneventful. I somehow managed to unload the remainder of the trailer by 4pm.... 7 deliveries stretched out from Queens to Boston. I am scheduled to pick up some damaged material just south of Hartford, CT and there was a truck stop on the way.. But guess what.... No Hot Water!! No Cold Water.... No FREAKIN WATER!!! I did the best I could with a lot of baby wipes and bottled water! sheesh.....





Made the pick-up the next morning, and made it home!!





But Wait...





THERE'S MORE....






Oh Maggie, why don't you like me??? I love you!!





Maggie had only 107 miles on her when I picked her up... I should be good to go for awhile, right?





Wrong!!





Within a hundred miles (I always stop to check my straps) I noticed her rear chunk was leaking fluid.. Lots and lots of fluid... I quickly made a phone call and was reassured that it was more than likely overfilled at the factory and this would end soon! By the time I returned home, the entire portion of the truck behind the axle was coated, along with the mud flaps and the first 10 feet of the trailer.... Still leaking!! When the mechanics checked her fluid level, she was almost dry.... Too much pressure building up and blowing it out.. GREAT.





I also lost over 1/2 gallon of coolant in 4 days... Too much to let it go unchecked...





Do you remember this story? Well, her drive axles are both leaking at the hubs, which is a wheel seal problem.... And while I do loves me some firemen, I have no desire to go flaming down the road again.



I mentioned in a previous post that Maggie had a sweet little APU unit mounted on her frame.. This is a type of generator that provides a/c and heat along with electrical current... It is the newest thing... No more pollution from idling the Truck at night! Which most states have outlawed anyway. But her APU does not work.. AT ALL.... NOTHING....




The front end was not greased when it was put together, simple oversight... But still, lots of squeaking and unnecessary wear and tear the first week..



Finally, (I think) Maggie has decided to go topless... Don't ask me why... But on Tuesday, I noticed that several bolts were missing ...





So, Maggie is at the shop, getting the once over and I hope to have her back soon. Then she will go to ThermoKing to have her APU looked at....



I do love you Maggie and I hope we can work this out soon.. You sure do have a nice suspension and I heart you for that....