The Saga Continues

Last night after waiting and searching and waiting some more, I finally found the only two employees who were working. There was no guard on duty, and they had no way of opening the gate for me. I was advised to camp out until morning.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

At 6am, the cars started arriving, but still no open gate (only Trucks enter through locked gate). By 7:15 am, I finally found someone who had access to the gate control. As I approached him, he just shook his head.  "I guess you didn't get the memo!"

Huh?? What??  It turns out that this mill had changed hours on me.   Gates locked, no admittance form 7pm to 7am...  That would have been helpful to know. I began to get a little upset with the assistant dispatcher for sending me over here with no way of getting in. Surely she must have known. They changed their hours three weeks ago.  She had to have known.  The gate keeper informed me that he, himself,  had told 3 of our drivers the new hours.  She must have just forgot to tell me.

I made my round trip in a flash because I had to be back inside the gate before they locked it again. And I made it with plenty of time to spare, but the gate was locked early, and the premises vacated.....Jiminy Crickets!!!  Is this a freaking conspiracy ?

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better....

I still have NO Power!! This truck has not been able to pull a hill ever since they turned us back up. I am pretty sure, they just did not set it up right when they reset the computer. Easy fix!  But now, I no longer have a engine brake.  I found this out when making a 8% descent with 25 mph curves that stretched out for 7 miles. Would not have been so bad if the loaded trailer I was pulling had good brakes, but this is the scrap run....So, they are sCrappy trailers, and you should already know by now that my cohorts in crime do not do pretrips. 

Tomorrow morning I intend to waste a few hours trying to find my engine brake, and maybe get me some power. Yeah sure, the truck has been in the shop for over 2 weeks, and I have been fighting this damn truck for over 8 months, but it would not be a complete week, if I did not have to get more repairs done.  Might as well knock that out on Monday. And I did find out that the 3 drivers never bothered to mention to dispatch that the mill hours had changed. Hmmmm, so maybe she didn't know.  

I think I might just take a small check and go home early...I am seriously at the end of my rope!

I Should Have Known

I made it to work on Saturday....Instead of my normal route, I was scheduled to handle our little scrap run all week. The good thing about this is that the trailers are waiting on me. I grab one, run it back to the plant, dump it and return the mill to grab another one. It is a 24/7 operation, and I can haul as many as I feel up to in the next 6 days.

I was told I could start on Saturday, which means I could grab enough for a good paycheck and still make it back home by Wednesday. Yes, I know, I am lazy.

I arrived at the plant on Saturday evening, swapped back into MY TRUCK and set out for my first trailer. The Truck, well, she is perfect. I guess it was a simple little ground wire. I can't find a single thing wrong with her. Well, except the hint of an exhaust leak, but I will deal with that later. Not that I will let it slide, after all, I have already been poisoned by an exhaust leak on two separate occasions and have no desire to go through that again. But, nothing can be done until Monday. 

SHE IS PERFECT!!

My intentions were to be hooked to my third dump by Monday morning, insuring that I would have made ample trips to allow me to return home Wednesday night. So, I made the 1.25 hour trip to the mill, only to find the gates locked and no security guard in sight. I blew the horn, I shined my highbeams into the yard, I sat and waited. I checked the plant. It is open but sits empty. Not a car in the parking lot except one, located by the guard shack.  There must be a guard here!! The plant is unlocked. But he/she is obviously taking a nap in a hidden location. I sat and waited some  more. I blew the horn again. I entered the plant again....All to no avail.

This is not helping with my strategy. This is not helping my mood.  Why send me over here with explicit orders to start on Saturday, if I cannot get in the freaking gate to grab my preloaded trailer.

UGH!!!!!  Why do I feel like I keep getting kicked in the gut.

Oh well, Did I mention that my truck, she is a perfect!!!  and clean too!!!

The Verdict Is In

Okay......so I am going to try and keep this as optimistic as possible.

My Truck is fixed.... I pick it up tomorrow.....

It had a loose ground wire......

I must stop there because pessimism is lurking behind door number two.......

Cutting Up

I have been at it again....

To give you a little more insight as to who I am , and what I do, I submit this video for your approval.

Thanks For The Memories

Where do I even start...

So, did I mention that I went WEST this week. GA, AL, MS, TN, AR, OK, KS, MO......Not my usual run, but I have travelled these roads so many times in the past  that it was like returning home.

The memories actually start only 17 miles from the plant, but the flashbacks did not begin until I reached Memphis. You see, in Carrollton, Georgia there is this certain barn where I impacted my arches while jumping down from a gate after a crazy cow charged me! And that is where it all begins, if you look at it according to geography.  

Starting in the East. There was .....Hauling carpet out of Dalton to San Diego....Running with Rattlesnake and Little Witch....My first HOOD (which is another term for having a truck with a big long  hood, rather than the more streamlined aerodynamic versions seen running down the roads.)  Later came my chip-hauling days, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...Papermill...Sawmill.....well you get the idea. But these are not the memories I relished in this week.

So many, just a s vivid as the moment in which they were created.

Running with the heavy haulers into Tunica. Borrowing $20.00 to play a few slots. Repaying the money, and then listening to a grown man whine for the next three states how the money I won was rightfully HIS, because it was his $20 to begin with!! Thankfully, we all went separate ways after reaching Oklahoma. I could not take it anymore, and I gave him half to get him to shut up! I heard about it for the next 2 years!

The West Memphis scales that pulled me around back 6 weeks in a row to check out my (er) logbook!!  While I was bobtailing from office to drop yard!! A 12 mile distance ...  I finally took an extremely out of date book in and tossed in on the desk. After six weeks of checking, I gave them an excuse......Told them I was hurt that they did not have lunch ready for me (they were all eating)....That was the last time they pulled me around back.

Loveless Farms and WW Livestock....NB, B, HW, SS,  EP......Man oh man. Did we have fun. Load up Thursday in Georgia, deliver in OK on Friday and come slinking back into town sometime on Sunday. There was Brinkley( eating frog legs with Squirrel), Wheatley, the Truck O Mat, watching ED's burn down twice!  The wash-out!!  Getting profiled by the Troopers just for pulling a certain type of trailer. The best part was playing in the barn! Chasing the girls, or convincing the last one to get out of the trailer.... There was Sallisaw, Tahlequah, Checotah......The Trooper who made me get out of the Truck , while he was laughin at me, because I was too little...He let me go with a warning... (speeding)  There was glass out of Sapulpa and Henrietta..Fort Collins, CO and Lakeland FL.... which leads me to.....

The one weekend I decided to leave late. That weekend!!! Had I left on- time, I would have been one of the vehicles sinking in the river, after the barge hit the bridge in Oklahoma....Had I left on time.....

There was that time on 75 heading into Tulsa, while sparing someone else's life, I almost lost my own!!

I know none of this means anything to you, a random bunch of jumbled words and hidden meanings. May be one day, I will share some of these stories with you. But for now, this is I all needed to relive the good ol days, lest I forget!  

There is a time and place for everything, and that time has past.  It all becomes a part of you, how you tick, what makes you who you are! I would not go back to any of those moments and relive them, but they served their purpose well, They made me who I am. I would also not trade a single one of them! Good, Bad or Ugly!!   I have lived so many experiences East of the Mississippi, far too many to post in a blog, and I am feeling extremely nostalgic, but New England is  my home away from home now, and I relish in that too!

Although I spent the majority of the week reminiscing while a huge smile on my face, I did notice on several occasions the complete lack of traffic. Something I am definitely not accustomed too as of late.

The trip was uneventful. I made it in and out of Tulsa the day before the tornadoes came through. I guess, other than my own personal delight, the only item of interest might be those extreme crosswinds I endured on my way home through Missouri.  So extreme that some of us did not make the entire journey without incident.

Yep, you guessed it..Blown over by the wind!!  Yikes!!

What's Up With That?

This week, I was delighted to find myself heading westwardly bound into the old familiar places of yesteryear. 

My route included heading through Alabama, Mississippi (one stop), Tennessee (one stop), Arkansas, Oklahoma (one stop) Kansas (one stop)  I was only in Kansas for a grand total of 11 miles, and Missouri (4 stops).

I have a separate post to enlighten you with the details of that journey, but for now......I just have two comments.

1.  Is it just me or is there an unusually large number of tire marks in the medians?  I don't mean where Smokies are making flips to chase down the bad guy either. I mean out of control vehicles... Seriously!  I drive in some of the heaviest traffic areas, and while there are some major malfunctions, there is nothing that compares to the battle scars left on I-40.  Did you people forget how to drive, or is the monotony of the open road/wide open spaces lulling you to sleep?  It just seems like every quarter of a mile, there was a new path cutting through the middle...Skids marks of a helter skelter design where someone left the roadway and ended up facing Jupiter, and not just the cars! Oh no, there were plenty of duel marks suggesting that the Big Riggers had been offroading it as well.

and 

2. Someone is trying to burn up Oklahoma. In the first 50 miles , I noticed over a dozen stretches where the grassy shoulders had been burned into oblivion.  Continuing onto the Muskogee Turnpike, I decided to film for a bit. In all, in a hundred mile stretch, there were 27 burns!!  I am thinking you should not be throwing those lite cigarettes out the window, but that is just my opinion!!

Just As I Expected...

I give up!  

I would have really loved to tell you that my Trucking Repairs had resolved my problems, and that the Ol Girl will be heading back to New England next week.

But..............

sigh

When I called to confirm that the truck had made its way back to the yard.......

I dont even want to write about this anymore.......GRRRRRRRRR

The South Atlanta Shop fixed the problems and sent the truck back to our shop. On the way back to our shop, it started up again....All the bells and whistles and warnings and codes and DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!!!  So, the mechanic turned right around and took it straight to VOLVO.

FIX IT!!!!!  They gave the go ahead to have it fixed by Volvo, rather than trying to save any money on do it yourself repairs gone bad.   

This is good news, I suppose. I am only concerned that because Volvo does not know the circumstances surrounding the problems, that they too will misdiagnose for a few weeks.  They are the ones who initially reported the light module malfunction, which did not exist.  I passed along information that Gabrielle had shared with me , to our shop, but I am fairly certain that it will go no further, just like the fact that the battery cables were left dangling for two weeks....

I knew when the Shop Foreman told me that the module fixed the problem, that we were back to step one. I tried to be optimistic...but deep down inside, I already knew.

I am SOOOOOOO Confused!

Really. I am not sure what is going on here, but I am almost frightened to realize the outcome.

Turned the truck in....

Truck Diagnosed....

Parts Ordered......

Parts installed....

Problem still occurring !!

Phone call to resubmit list of symptoms.....offer suggestions....

Time Passes....

I called to day to check on my girl, and was told that she was ready. They were going to do one more 50 mile test run, to make sure no new codes come up, and no false signals were being sent to the sensors.

I asked what had been done to rectify the problem. It was then I was told that they had changed a light control module and that fixed it.....

WHAT ??

Last week they told me the light control module did not fix it. I know there are three of them, but they only replaced one!  And it did not work....So, now it is magically working??

I have a sneaking suspicion that when I get back into my truck next week, it will not exactly be as I had hoped it to be. I don't want to be a pessimist, but how can one part not work, then the exact same part suddenly make all the difference in the world...  Could that be a lack of communication between foreman and mechanic...I hope not, but something sure does smell fishy!!

Can You Hear Me Now!!!!!!!! ??

Last week when I returned home, I promptly dropped my little Volvo off to have some much needed repairs made. 

On Monday, while cruising around on my newly restructured New England route (routed to include North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland customers), I made a phone call to check on the old girl's progress. I was elated to hear that she had been diagnosed, parts had been ordered and the windshield replaced. I was on cloud nine.I was told to check back before heading home, to verify if the parts had come in and been installed. The prognosis was good! 

Expecting to hear the "come and get her" message, I was absolutely deflated on Wednesday to find out that the part had come in, been installed, and did not make one single difference in the her attitude. Still freaking out and flashing a multitude codes, this repair had been deemed unsuccessful. 

You see, the part they had just replaced was a light module.  When I turned in the truck the previous week, I informed that mechanics that this may appear to be a light module complication, but it was not. Our Chattanooga shop had already tested that theory and proved that the malfunction to be more deeply rooted.  Because of numerous other malfunctions including loss of power and the loss of the engine brake, I suggested the computer may have been short circuited, especially with all the power surges it had encountered from the battery cable being unattached for several days.  Obviously , once again, the mechanics were too busy staring at my sweet smile (yeah, right!!) to actually be paying attention to what symptoms I was telling them about.

Why does this have to be so stinking complicated?  Battery cable striking battery post umpteen dozens time, sending surge after surge through the computers brains. Wipers malfunctioning, headlights malfunctioning, turn indicators malfunctioning, random periods of power loss, random periods of engine brake loss, random periods of suspension malfunction, 500 inactive engine faults.........  Am I the only one who thinks that maybe, just maybe, the computer might actually be fried.

Oh, but wait. I forget, I am just a girl.

So, this afternoon, I called down to the shop because I was correct to assume that they had forgotten half the symptoms I had given them. After I re listed the problems and explained once again how the battery cable was unattached, the Computer Mechanic stated that he believed that could be our problem. Except that the Company would not pay for a new computer, until all other possibilities had been exhausted. They run about $2000. He also remarked how knowing all of these symptoms in advance could have saved them some time......WHAT?!?

I know he didn't.........

But that was the reason I called back today. To make sure they remembered everything!! So, now they will be testing a multitude of other possibilities in order to get approval on the computer. But thanks to Gabrielle and James, I am now armed with even more knowledge and will be calling them again tomorrow to tell them of this new discovery.  Hopefully they can just wipe and reformat the existing computer and I can get my little truck back... Cross your fingers.

The one I am in now has two very distinct noises that I cannot locate or eliminate....My brain is slowly melting with those tiny added annoyances...In case you have never experienced the dreaded ever elusive irritating noise, it is very similar to Chinese Water Torture, except it is my nerves that are being rendered senseless!  Good Day!

Not a Mechanic Story

I know I give the mechanics an extremely bad rap, but this one belongs to a driver!!

After dropping my truck off and being sent down the road in a hunk o' junk, my boss makes arrangements to have me temporarily move into the "temporary" driver's truck.  I happened to run into him at the yard and inquired as to whether he had any concerns with his truck.  "NOPE, it is good to go!"

Ummmmm, yeah right!  Before heading out, I did my meticulous checking of air pressure in all 18 tires. This is my  undeniable OCD.  I obsessively check air pressure, because I do not have time to sit on the side of the road waiting on someone to come fix a blow-out.  I find it humorous how often the other drivers are delayed for the very same thing.  Not me....no time for that...So, I check them every week.

When I checked the tires this week, I was ecstatic to find that my trailer had 8 tires with sufficient pressure. WOW, that does not happen often!!  Too good to be true?  YES....Upon inspecting my tractor tires, I found one drive tire with a reading of 32 pounds.  UGH....Anytime we have a tire below 70, we are supposed to call in the On-call mechanic and have them change it.  This week, the man on call just happens to live over an hour away. I will not wait if I don't absolutely have to. So, I inspected the tread ~ no punctures. It had not separated from the rim, so I aired it up.  What was even better was the 63 pound steering tire.  I aired this one up also, and was on my way.

My first delivery was only 2 miles from one of our shops, so I knew if I encountered a low tire the next morning, I had help just down the road. I did, of course, make several tire checks throughout my first leg, to ensure safety. I have never blown a steer tire, and never want to!

The next morning, I was sitting on two low tires. They were promptly replaced, well three of them actually. How could he have not known his tires were losing air?  He had just returned from a trip when he handed me the keys.

But it gets even better....You see, the thermostat is sticking on this truck. And the fancy schmancy new exhaust system designed for re~burning exhaust to allow for  cleaner emissions is also not working properly. In fact it has "regenerated" itself 8 times today, complete with a smog cloud thick enough to kill all the mosquitoes in a 10 mile radius.  This truck appears to have lost its turbo. (For those of you non-diesel types, it resembles a blown motor fogging out the roadway) But appearances are deceiving, for it is not the turbo, but rather those cleaner emissions that are trailing behind me down the interstate. The regeneration should only occur about every 2000 miles, not every 50.......Oy!!!  

I might as well go ahead and mention the cracked fender,  busted mirror housing, and huge dent in the side of the sleeper......All things to make a girl feel very proud to be seen in this truck.....  Hey, what did ya do to your truck?   What did you hit?

And while I have no clue as to what may have happened....Neither does he, you know, the guy who has been driving it over the past 6 months...

Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be so quick to blame the mechanics for everything. It seems that some drivers have no idea what a pre-trip inspection is, or could care less if they are getting other motorists intoxicated with those thick clouds of exhaust fumes.  Double Oy!!!