MerryLand
A long time running joke between myself and AA, is that the nice folks in Maryland are out to get me. I am more convinced that the fine folks of South Carolina have me in the cross hairs, but I will let the facts speak for them self.
Every time I have ever had a MAJOR breakdown, it has been within 50 miles of Washington DC. Every time I have had a MAJOR breakdown, it has been on I-95. I travel this area with fear and trepidation because this is where I lost a drive shaft in a spare truck during rush hour, going up hill in the center lane. I loathe this area, because this is where I blew the air compressor fittings and was forced to come to an immediate halt, barely making the shoulder of the road in time to clear traffic. Okay, seriously, there is not much fear or trepidation, but I am reminded that IF I am going to break down, this will probably be the place I do it.
Today's adventure starts out no different than any other. I am making the rounds, grumbling about slow vehicles riding the center lanes. The unnecessary slow downs due to the fact that Joe Bob in his fourwheeler cannot multi-task, so everyone has to dodge him as he answers his cell phone and immediately becomes a nuisance to other motorists. But it is not just Joe Bob. It seems to be his entire entourage of friends and family, car and truck drivers the same. The WHOLE traffic pool of Maryland motorists seem to have forgotten what they are doing today. With only 42 miles from the state line to my customer, it almost seems ridiculous that I become so agitated in such a short period of time. But this is where I make my mistake.
Innocently enough, I make a bold statement on FaceBook, that everyone should steer clear of Maryland because the lunatics are out in full force. It seems Maryland must have been logged on at the time and read my proclamation.
Upon leaving my customer, I travel 41 miles back towards Virginia and just as I exit the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, my warning lights come to life.
WARNING: COOLANT LEVELS LOW
CHECK AT NEXT STOP
WARNING: COOLANT LEVELS CRITICALLY LOW
STOP NOW
STOP NOW
STOP NOW!!!!!
In rapid succession, I glance at the gauges, I scan the roadway and I immediately reach for the Emergency Pilot Seat Ejection Button. Oh crap!! I am in the far left lane and my truck has just stopped running. Thankfully, the little pickup truck beside me acknowledges my turn signal requests and I am clear to dive right for the shoulder. Crossing 2 lanes of traffic, I find a nice wide shoulder to access the emergency.
Having already dealt with 3 coolant leaks, I was prepared to top off the fluids and get the hell out of DC before rush hour. This was not to be the case today. My radiator was empty.
After a search for the problem, I discovered I had blown the radiator hose, the main artery that cools the engine.
Oh joy of joys!! After sitting on the side of the roadway for 4 hours, I finally managed to get rolling with new hose installed, just in time for the 10-20 mph commute out of town.
Lesson Learned. No more fussing about a particular state while I am in that state. I literally coasted across the Virginia state line while spewing coolant all over the roadway. Maybe AA is right. Maybe Maryland does have a personal grudge against me.
As a quick aside... One would think our shop would provide us with spare hoses and such to prevent these types of occurrences. But NOOOO! This expenditure cost the company well over $300.00 just to replace a $20 dollar hose that I could have replaced my self, not to mention 4 hours of my time.
10 comments:
Today Bri and I watched two episodes of a show, back to back. I noticed a major character discontinuity between the two episodes. I thought they must have used different writers for the two episodes. I guess that happened here as well.
From this post: "Today's adventure starts out no different than any other. I am making the rounds, grumbling about slow vehicles riding the center lanes."
From the previous post: "One of the things I do not understand about other drivers, is the constant need to complain about traffic conditions, congestion in certain areas of the country, weather and accident delays. Really? How long have you been driving, Driver?"
Ba-zing-ga!
Hum, any $$$$$ you put into your truck is tax deductible, even any replacement parts. So, these parts you seem to replace a lot (no matter what truck your in) can be added your taxes. The deductibles truckers have is amazing. Having the parts on hand that you have bought would save you hours and money on your taxes. Your expenses would be on form (i think) 2506.
I hear ya on the excess of cell phone usage, it is crazy. Blow that loud crazy horn on that big rig of yours to wake them up. Show them them what your grill looks like close up. Mean yes, but they're being stupid.
A side note, there may be hire forces keeping you out of the way of something worse up the road. Enjoy your unscheduled breaks.
Be safe out there...
This company you drive for has pitiful equipment... you drive one of the ugliest trucks I've ever seen and it ALWAYS breaks... as a matter of fact, it seems like EVERY truck they put you in always breaks.
You need to ditch that gig and get back to your roots - running from Cali to GA every week with the "Good Time Gang" :)))
Well, Brother Dear..the difference is that my grumbling is either here on this blog, or kept to myself inside the cab of my truck. My complaint about driver's complaining was the constant need to complain OUTLOUD to anyone who would listen via CB RADIO, Truck Stop Diner, and just passing one another in a parking lot. Touche' ??
Today's Walk
You know I often think about what my delays are saving me from... Years ago, I was delayed.. turns out I just missed crossing a bridge that had collapsed due to being hit by a barge in Oklahoma. I know for a fact I would have been in the area at the wrong time, had I not been delayed.
I am Thankful, but sometimes I need to be reminded. :-) Thank You
Anonymous
Wow, my first thought, Do you know me? LOL. You have completely opened up a new can of worms with that one comment. I could wax nostalgic for hours over the Good Ol Days, and I will return to to the world of OTR soon enough. For now, my little flatbed gig in a little truck suites me fine, although I do have to refrain from going ballistic over the poor equipment, and that can be a struggle sometimes :-)
Hey, Terry... glad to hear it, 'cause you're better than that. I'll be in touch.
Hang in there, sh*tfoot.
At least your truck was fixed AFTER four hours. Our four big trucks are going into the shop one at a time to be fixed. The services on them were dued MONTHS ago.
John II, at least your 4 Big Trucks are not stranded on the side of the road in DC rush hour...LOL
LOL-Yeah, no kidding. They're driven until reaching the breaking point, then sit idle in the depot lot for months until the new budget comes in, then it's towed to the mechanic shop for some TLC.
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