Nothing much to really write about. The truck has kept running and thankfully we are building our savings back up.
After the 4th of July that we got to spend at home with friends, we went back into service and immediately got a load. We kept busy the rest of the week. The loads went like this:
Mayport, Fl to Anniston, Al
Rome, Ga to Wapakoneta, Oh
Dayton, Oh to Lansing, Mi
Lake Station, Il to Avon, Mn
Because it is so hot out and our truck isnt equipped with a generator, we decided to get a hotel room for the weekend. We found a nice Red Roof Inn. They allow pets for no additional charge. It really is a nice place. It almost seems like a campground atmosphere here. Some of the guests have grills outside and we were invited to join in with them, but we declined. Sometimes, we are just not very sociable.
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Plans for the New Year
Happy New Year and looking forward to a wonderful 2011!
We had the best Christmas being able to spend so much time at home with no job worries. Being in Florida doesn't really put you in the Christmas spirit since it's so warm here and there's no snow, but I will never complain about that! If I really need snow, I can watch it on tv.
While we were at home, we found a classified ad for a truck that was for sale by owner. She was offering a contract sale. We talked to the owner several times and thought we were going to reach a deal but then she just stopped responding to us. I have no idea what happened. Maybe she found someone who was willing to pay cash or pay more money or maybe she just changed her mind and decided not to sale. We don't know.
We've been kicking around the idea of buying our own truck for a little while. We know we enjoy this job and want to continue doing this for as long as we can. Everyone we talk to says that if we're going to continue that the smartest thing to do would be to buy our own truck. This way we have complete freedom and that is exactly what we want. We will of course have the additional headaches that will come along with truck ownership but we believe we're prepared for that.
The truck that was for sale was a 2006 International. We are currently driving a 2006 Sterling. At first we thought we would like to buy a Sterling, but after seeing the cost of repairs for the Mercedes motor and finding out that the motors are considered "throw away" motors, we no longer want a Sterling. In addition, we are less than thrilled at dealing with Freightliner dealerships. They are not very accommodating to truck drivers and act like they could care less about you and your truck. For instance, when we were in New York waiting on the truck to be repaired after I hit the deer, we made a simple request to have them shuttle us to the motel which was less than a mile away. They refused and said they didn't offer shuttle service. We had to call a taxi.
Our boys drive an International and so far it seems like they are being treated well at the dealerships. Their transmission went out about a month after they bought it. The replacement transmission was covered under warranty which only had a month left. There was no shenanigans or trying to get out of the warranty. They were also given shuttle service. It's a small thing, but to a truck driver who is stranded miles away from home with no other transportation available to them, it's a big deal.
We are happy with the owner we drive for now but we will continue to keep an eye out for a deal on a truck of our own.
Another issue we are going to have to deal with is John's eyes. He has cataracts on both eyes. He's only in his 40's so it's pretty unusual to have them at that young of an age but we have a feeling that it is related to his former profession of working in the chicken industry since he was a teenager. The chicken houses are kept closed up in the winter time to keep them warm and that causes an ammonia buildup from the chicken manure. He was exposed to that ammonia every day for many many years. That's our theory on the cause of the cataracts but we know that there's no way to prove it.
Because we are self employed we aren't offered health insurance through an employer. We haven't purchased our own insurance up to this point because we are both very healthy and we decided to save the money and just pay for doctor visits as needed. It's worked up till this point, however, cataract surgery isn't going to be cheap so we will have to get into a doctor and see exactly what we are going to have to come up with.
On the money making side of things, we eventually left home and picked up a load in West Palm Beach, Florida. That one was a shorty going to Jacksonville, Florida, but it was bundled with another load that picked up in Kings Bay, Ga that delivered in Norfolk, Va. That load completed our first week back on the road.
We had the best Christmas being able to spend so much time at home with no job worries. Being in Florida doesn't really put you in the Christmas spirit since it's so warm here and there's no snow, but I will never complain about that! If I really need snow, I can watch it on tv.
While we were at home, we found a classified ad for a truck that was for sale by owner. She was offering a contract sale. We talked to the owner several times and thought we were going to reach a deal but then she just stopped responding to us. I have no idea what happened. Maybe she found someone who was willing to pay cash or pay more money or maybe she just changed her mind and decided not to sale. We don't know.
We've been kicking around the idea of buying our own truck for a little while. We know we enjoy this job and want to continue doing this for as long as we can. Everyone we talk to says that if we're going to continue that the smartest thing to do would be to buy our own truck. This way we have complete freedom and that is exactly what we want. We will of course have the additional headaches that will come along with truck ownership but we believe we're prepared for that.
The truck that was for sale was a 2006 International. We are currently driving a 2006 Sterling. At first we thought we would like to buy a Sterling, but after seeing the cost of repairs for the Mercedes motor and finding out that the motors are considered "throw away" motors, we no longer want a Sterling. In addition, we are less than thrilled at dealing with Freightliner dealerships. They are not very accommodating to truck drivers and act like they could care less about you and your truck. For instance, when we were in New York waiting on the truck to be repaired after I hit the deer, we made a simple request to have them shuttle us to the motel which was less than a mile away. They refused and said they didn't offer shuttle service. We had to call a taxi.
Our boys drive an International and so far it seems like they are being treated well at the dealerships. Their transmission went out about a month after they bought it. The replacement transmission was covered under warranty which only had a month left. There was no shenanigans or trying to get out of the warranty. They were also given shuttle service. It's a small thing, but to a truck driver who is stranded miles away from home with no other transportation available to them, it's a big deal.
We are happy with the owner we drive for now but we will continue to keep an eye out for a deal on a truck of our own.
Another issue we are going to have to deal with is John's eyes. He has cataracts on both eyes. He's only in his 40's so it's pretty unusual to have them at that young of an age but we have a feeling that it is related to his former profession of working in the chicken industry since he was a teenager. The chicken houses are kept closed up in the winter time to keep them warm and that causes an ammonia buildup from the chicken manure. He was exposed to that ammonia every day for many many years. That's our theory on the cause of the cataracts but we know that there's no way to prove it.
Because we are self employed we aren't offered health insurance through an employer. We haven't purchased our own insurance up to this point because we are both very healthy and we decided to save the money and just pay for doctor visits as needed. It's worked up till this point, however, cataract surgery isn't going to be cheap so we will have to get into a doctor and see exactly what we are going to have to come up with.
On the money making side of things, we eventually left home and picked up a load in West Palm Beach, Florida. That one was a shorty going to Jacksonville, Florida, but it was bundled with another load that picked up in Kings Bay, Ga that delivered in Norfolk, Va. That load completed our first week back on the road.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Home for Christmas
Just as it was with Thanksgiving, Christmas will be spent at home with family. Maybe a lot of people take that for granted, but we don't. For us, it is a special treat that we are very thankful for.
We made our delivery in Hudson, North Carolina. Next we picked up in Bluefield, West Virginia. That pickup was a complete nightmare and we wanted to just say forget it, but the load was taking us home so we kept at it and finally got it on the truck. The problem was the weather.
The drive to Bluefield was tricky. Snow covered roads, freezing temperatures and mountains did not make for a pleasant drive. We made it to our pickup location and found that the location we were picking up in sat on top of a hill. To get to it we had to drive up a twisting blacktop drive uphill. I made the attempt up but didn't make it very far before the truck started spinning out and slid back down.
Back down at the bottom of the hill which happened to be in a high school parking lot, we tried to figure out how we were going to get up there. Because we were several hours early, there was no one around to talk to. We decided to head over to a local grocery store and wait in their parking lot until morning and we were hoping that when we drove back over we would find that someone had been by to clear the roads and lay down some salt.
Of course, things didn't go that way. We drove back over only to find that there was even more snow on the driveway. We didn't make another attempt to get back up. I called dispatch and told them our situation. They advised us to wait while they contacted the customer. In the meantime, one of the employees showed up and saw our truck. She came over and we let her know that we couldn't make it up the hill. She told us to sit tight and when she got up there she would figure something out.
She took off up the hill and made it about 3 quarters of the way up before her car started spinning out. She kept trying but could not get the rest of the way up. She ended up backing her car back down the hill and parking it. She then climbed the hill on foot and made it up.
Next up was another worker in a mustang. We thought there was no way he would make it up, but he floored it and didn't let up and somehow he did it. He parked at the top and started to walk into the building. He hit a patch of ice and his feet flew out from under him and he landed flat on his back. I know that had to hurt!
We kept sitting there waiting for someone to decide what to do about getting us loaded. Eventually the first lady started heading down the hill towards us. She made it halfway down, lost her footing and rolled the rest of the way down. At first I was worried that she was injured but she sat up and started laughing. She got up, dusted herself off and came over to tell us that they had made a decision to bring the freight down the hill in a humvee and load us where we sat.
Long story short, a group of them got the job done and after a few hours, we were finally on our way. Heading south and away from the snow. We made the delivery uneventfully in Ft. Stewart, Ga and then continued on home to Florida for Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We made our delivery in Hudson, North Carolina. Next we picked up in Bluefield, West Virginia. That pickup was a complete nightmare and we wanted to just say forget it, but the load was taking us home so we kept at it and finally got it on the truck. The problem was the weather.
The drive to Bluefield was tricky. Snow covered roads, freezing temperatures and mountains did not make for a pleasant drive. We made it to our pickup location and found that the location we were picking up in sat on top of a hill. To get to it we had to drive up a twisting blacktop drive uphill. I made the attempt up but didn't make it very far before the truck started spinning out and slid back down.
Back down at the bottom of the hill which happened to be in a high school parking lot, we tried to figure out how we were going to get up there. Because we were several hours early, there was no one around to talk to. We decided to head over to a local grocery store and wait in their parking lot until morning and we were hoping that when we drove back over we would find that someone had been by to clear the roads and lay down some salt.
Of course, things didn't go that way. We drove back over only to find that there was even more snow on the driveway. We didn't make another attempt to get back up. I called dispatch and told them our situation. They advised us to wait while they contacted the customer. In the meantime, one of the employees showed up and saw our truck. She came over and we let her know that we couldn't make it up the hill. She told us to sit tight and when she got up there she would figure something out.
She took off up the hill and made it about 3 quarters of the way up before her car started spinning out. She kept trying but could not get the rest of the way up. She ended up backing her car back down the hill and parking it. She then climbed the hill on foot and made it up.
Next up was another worker in a mustang. We thought there was no way he would make it up, but he floored it and didn't let up and somehow he did it. He parked at the top and started to walk into the building. He hit a patch of ice and his feet flew out from under him and he landed flat on his back. I know that had to hurt!
We kept sitting there waiting for someone to decide what to do about getting us loaded. Eventually the first lady started heading down the hill towards us. She made it halfway down, lost her footing and rolled the rest of the way down. At first I was worried that she was injured but she sat up and started laughing. She got up, dusted herself off and came over to tell us that they had made a decision to bring the freight down the hill in a humvee and load us where we sat.
Long story short, a group of them got the job done and after a few hours, we were finally on our way. Heading south and away from the snow. We made the delivery uneventfully in Ft. Stewart, Ga and then continued on home to Florida for Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
John Travolta's Town
After being off the weekend, we started back up with a pickup in Atlanta, Georgia. Just like last week. How odd!
That one went to Ocala, Florida. Ocala is the home of John Travolta. One of my favorite actors. I remember well watching him in Welcome Back Kotter and then Grease, and Saturday Night Fever. I think every teenage girl and probably a lot of older women also fell in love with him watching him dance. He definitely has the moves. I missed him when he faded away and then it was so shocking when he made a comeback playing a bad guy in Pulp Fiction. It took a little while, but I got adjusted to seeing him play the bad guy and he seems to enjoy doing so. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see him while we were in Ocala. I wonder if stars like him ever go to the grocery store like regular people.
From Ocala we picked up in Bartow, Fl and had to leave the sunshine state and make a delivery in Holland, Michigan. From there we picked up in Calumet City, Illinois. This load has a lot of extra time on it so we will have take our time making our way over to Bluefield, West Virginia.
Looking forward to next week when we will start working our way home for Christmas!
That one went to Ocala, Florida. Ocala is the home of John Travolta. One of my favorite actors. I remember well watching him in Welcome Back Kotter and then Grease, and Saturday Night Fever. I think every teenage girl and probably a lot of older women also fell in love with him watching him dance. He definitely has the moves. I missed him when he faded away and then it was so shocking when he made a comeback playing a bad guy in Pulp Fiction. It took a little while, but I got adjusted to seeing him play the bad guy and he seems to enjoy doing so. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see him while we were in Ocala. I wonder if stars like him ever go to the grocery store like regular people.
From Ocala we picked up in Bartow, Fl and had to leave the sunshine state and make a delivery in Holland, Michigan. From there we picked up in Calumet City, Illinois. This load has a lot of extra time on it so we will have take our time making our way over to Bluefield, West Virginia.
Looking forward to next week when we will start working our way home for Christmas!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A small circle
We got back into the swing of things after a nice long Thanksgiving at home. We picked up in Atlanta and took that load to Ft. Valley, Georgia. Next up was a load picking up in Atlanta, a little deja vu..
We took that one out of Georgia over to Fairfield, Alabama. For some reason, I do like Alabama. It's not as warm as Florida, but it's still a pretty state and the people there seem really friendly.
From there we next picked up in Sylacauga, Alabama. That's a mouthful! That one had to be taken to Auburn Hills, Michigan. Back up north. Brrr. Same day we picked up in Madison Heights, Michigan and headed to Rome, Georgia.
We stayed busy this week but kind of traveled in a small circle. Doesn't matter. It all pays well no matter where it's going.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Back to work
We were off for Thanksgiving from November 23 to December 7th. Now that's my idea of a holiday! It was a wonderful vacation that allowed us to spend quality time with family. Very relaxing and very much appreciated!
However, all good things come to an end and we are now ready to get back to work. Again, with this job,we really don't mind going back to work and actually look forward to it.
We are on our way to pick up a load in Atlanta, Georgia. Hopefully it will be a busy and profitable month before the next big holiday.
However, all good things come to an end and we are now ready to get back to work. Again, with this job,we really don't mind going back to work and actually look forward to it.
We are on our way to pick up a load in Atlanta, Georgia. Hopefully it will be a busy and profitable month before the next big holiday.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Home for Thanksgiving
We did get Sunday off to rest up. After our delivery in Vance, Alabama we were next dispatched to pick up in Anniston, Alabama. From there we were sent to Ft. Stewart, Ga. As it is so close to Thanksgiving, we had a request in to get home for the holidays and our dispatchers did an awesome job making that happen.
From Ft. Stewart they had us pick up a load in Jacksonville, Florida that was delivering in Tampa, Florida. It was a short load, but got us within 90 miles of home. What more could you ask for?
We are so excited to get home for the holidays. This is the first time we've had a job that allows us to be off during holidays and be able to relax and enjoy ourselves. With this job, when we are off, we are off. No phone calls, faxes or worrying about what's going on at work. It's an amazing feeling to be able to do that.
A lot of people wonder how we can tolerate being away from home so much with this job. I guess it works for us because it allows us the freedom to be home when we want or need to be and the freedom to enjoy ourselves when we are here. Going away from home to do our job just makes it feel like a vacation when we come home for hometime.
Happy Thanksgiving!
From Ft. Stewart they had us pick up a load in Jacksonville, Florida that was delivering in Tampa, Florida. It was a short load, but got us within 90 miles of home. What more could you ask for?
We are so excited to get home for the holidays. This is the first time we've had a job that allows us to be off during holidays and be able to relax and enjoy ourselves. With this job, when we are off, we are off. No phone calls, faxes or worrying about what's going on at work. It's an amazing feeling to be able to do that.
A lot of people wonder how we can tolerate being away from home so much with this job. I guess it works for us because it allows us the freedom to be home when we want or need to be and the freedom to enjoy ourselves when we are here. Going away from home to do our job just makes it feel like a vacation when we come home for hometime.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Trying to stay South
After spending a cold weekend in dreary Michigan we got a load picking up on Monday in Hamtramack, Mi. This one took us to our favorite state, Tallahassee, Florida! More sunshine and palm trees. We were hoping to get to stay a day or so, but freight is busy right now and we immediately got a load picking up in Byron, Ga.
From Georgia, we headed to Marion, Il. Cold, dreary and gray skies. Winter is so depressing in the north. Thankfully we didn't wait there long. We picked up in Clarksville, Tn and headed back to the warm south. All the way to Laredo, Texas. Laredo is a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there, but going there for our job is not bad.
After delivery in Laredo we picked up the next day in the same area and headed back up to Vance, Alabama. This load delivers on Saturday so more than likely we will sit until Monday now. At least the weather isn't too bad here.
From Georgia, we headed to Marion, Il. Cold, dreary and gray skies. Winter is so depressing in the north. Thankfully we didn't wait there long. We picked up in Clarksville, Tn and headed back to the warm south. All the way to Laredo, Texas. Laredo is a fascinating place. I wouldn't want to live there, but going there for our job is not bad.
After delivery in Laredo we picked up the next day in the same area and headed back up to Vance, Alabama. This load delivers on Saturday so more than likely we will sit until Monday now. At least the weather isn't too bad here.
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