Truck finally fixed

Being off work for a couple of weeks seems like it would be great, right? Most likely it would be if you could be at home or at a vacation spot of your choice. Being in New York in a cheap motel is not so great. We waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity to get out truck back.

We thought about renting a car and driving to Indiana to visit relatives, but we could never get a definite answer from the dealership on when the truck would be repaired. We decided to stay close so we would be able to get back to work as soon as it was ready. It gets really boring in a motel room after a few days.

We definitely got caught up on our rest. I got our bookkeeping all caught up. We watched seasons worth of Kardashians. We watched a lot of  movies. Unfortunately, due to the location of this motel, going out for walks isn't really a good idea.

But now, all that is behind us. We are back in the truck, and the dealership did a great job with repairs. Insurance covered all but $100 of the damage which totaled almost $5000. Imagine if a small car had hit that deer! I'm very thankful that only the truck was damaged, and no one was injured.

After getting the truck back and moving our stuff back in, we went back in service. We got a load pretty quickly and were dispatched to pick up in St. Mary's, Pa. We delivered that load in Danville, Il and immediately picked up another load in Mundelein, Il. We are now heading to Kansas City, Mo for delivery.

It's still deer season so I know I'm going to be really nervous every time I see a deer. Those deer seem to lose their mind this time of year!

Our Boys are Joining In

Our two sons took the plunge and purchased a truck of their own and will now be expediting with the same carrier we are with.

Our oldest son had enough of driving for Conway. They were getting him pretty good miles and he was making good money, but he had no life. They don't give you much time off and he has a girlfriend who tried riding with him but was unable to take the lifestyle. She went back home and he never gets to see her while driving for a company.

The two boys put their money together and came up with a down payment and found a truck to purchase at Fyda Freightliner in Columbus, Ohio. They bought it sight unseen, only pictures. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out for them.

I tried to talk them into driving for an owner first and saving more money but they want to be their own boss. I can't blame them for that.

It's nice that they are signing on with the same carrier. I can mentor them and help them avoid many of the rookie mistakes that we made when we started.

Can't wait to run into them out on the road!

Deer in the Headlights

Freaking Deer!

The repairs were completed on our truck and we finally got a load picking up on Tuesday in Indian Head, Maryland. Some cities have the strangest names. That load delivered in Patuxent River, Maryland. Maybe all the cities in Maryland have strange names?

Next we picked up in Dahlgren, Va and delivered in Yorktown Va. If you have a military background, you probably guessed that all these loads were in military bases. Fun times!

Deer damage

From there we headed to Richmond, Va and took it to Wilmington, Ma. The next day we got a load picking up in Ft. Devens, Ma that was supposed to be going to Nogales, Az. After we took off with it we were informed that the shipper changed his mind and now we were taking it to Chicago, Il.

We were really not happy about that, but there wasn't anything we could do. It was a nasty night out. Windy and rainy. John drove first and we saw a one vehicle accident on the passenger side of the road. Somehow the guy flipped his car. We can only assume speed had to be a factor.

After John's shift was over, I started driving. I was on the NY thruway (90). Cruising along, talking on the phone with the boys, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a deer standing in the left hand lane. I hit the brakes and kept it straight on the road but the stupid deer jumped right in front of me. It was so loud when it hit that the boys could hear it through the phone. I pulled off on the shoulder and John came flying up front to see what happened. I told him I hit a deer.

Poor truck, stupid deer

We got out and looked at the damage and we had coolant running on the ground. The headlight on the passenger side was knocked completely out. The hood was knocked at an odd angle. We weren't going to be able to drive it with the coolant leaking. About that time a cop pulled up and I told him what happened. He reversed down the road and found the deer laying dead off to the side. I was so happy that the stupid deer was dead!

Lost our coolant

The cop called the tow truck company and the guy showed up and hooked us up. We had him take us to the nearest Freightliner dealership and he dropped us off there. Our carrier found another truck to come and take over our load. They showed up right after we got there and John and the other guy transferred the load to their truck. It was the middle of the night so we slept in the truck until they opened in the morning. We got things set up with them and then packed our bags. There was a motel down the road a little ways so we called a taxi and had him take us over there.

We got checked in and we are now waiting for the truck to be repaired. I can only imagine how long this is going to take.

Slow Week with Repairs

We delivered on Monday to Mississauga, Ontario. Immediately got a load picking up in Buffalo, Ny that was delivering in Queensbury, Ny. We were having some issues with the truck and the owner wanted us to bring it to her mechanic in Pennsylvania for repairs so that wiped out the rest of our week.

We are staying in a motel while repairs are made. Not sure how long that will take.

Venturing West

We finally made it out west! It only took 8 months but we did it. Boy, is it ever easier driving out here. You can put your cruise on and do just that. Cruise. Listen to the music and relax. It's a nice change.








We took a whopping 5 lb. box from the Kennedy Space Center and drove it 2200 miles to Chandler, Arizona. We got to see sand, cactus and a lot of wide open spaces. It was hot, hot, hot out there. Thank goodness we didn't sit very long because our apu was not keeping us cool in the truck and it would have gotten ugly in there.



We got a load picking up in Nogales, Az. Being still new to this job, we are always surprised when we go somewhere and it's nothing like we think it will be. I didn't realize we were going to a border town for our pickup. It was kind of a scary place. Maybe it's safe there, but it didn't feel like it to me.

80mph? Wow!

While doing our pickup, John had a run in with another driver who is with our same carrier. He was mad because he thought it was taking too long for us to get loaded and he wanted in our dock to get his load. John talked to him and got him calmed down, but that poor guy was really stressed out and I think he needs to go home and take a break!

Our Nogales load took us back to Laredo for a Friday delivery and we got a Saturday pickup in Laredo that will take us back to Canada. Boo!