After an exciting ferry ride, we've really just been busy driving and making money. A good thing, much better than not making money, or even worse, spending lots of money! After the ferry ride, the loads went like this:
Liverpool, NY to St. Augustine, Fl
Beaufort, Sc to Indian Head, Md
Indian Head, Md to Yorktown, Va
Lynchburg, Va to Roanoke, Va
Blacksburg, Va to Tonawanda, NY
Meadville, Pa to Fond Du Lac, Wi
Escanaba, Mi to Water Valley, Ms
That rounds out the month of July. Not a bad month! The drive up to Escanaba, Michigan was a beautiful one. We drove right along the west shore of Lake Michigan and there are some really cute cottages all the way up through there. It would be a really cool place for a group of family members to be able to take a summer vacation together.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Our first Ferry Ride
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| Waiting in line for the ferry |
From there, we next picked up in Anniston, Alabama and delivered in Colchester, Vermont. This was not the most pleasant of drives as it involved a LOT of small two lane twisting winding highways. Some drivers prefer those kind of roads for the scenic view, but I'm not one of them. I prefer to stay on interstates and large highways.
After our delivery we found a so called truck stop and headed there to wait for the next load. We went inside to eat and they had some brochures near where we were sitting that happened to catch my eye. I picked up a couple and they were ferry schedules. I took them back to the truck with me and studied them. For some reason, they were interesting to me.
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| The ferry pulling into the dock |
As luck would have it, our next load was picking up in Liverpool, NY. I studied the map and saw that there was a big lake between where we were and where we wanted to go. We could either take the highway down, around and back up the lake, or......we could take the ferry across!
I was pretty excited about it. John was not thrilled at all! He did not like the thought of taking the truck onto a ferry. This was a new experience for both of us. I had read about other drivers having to take their trucks on ferrys to get where they needed to be so I wasn't too worried about it. I had to convince John of the safety though.
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| Our view out the windshield while on the ferry |
I got my brochures back out and figured out which ferry we wanted and took off. John said since it was my idea, I could do the driving. Fine with me! I found the ferry with no problem and we got in line. As luck would have it, we were first in line which meant that we got loaded onto the ferry first. They motioned me forward until I swear I thought we were going to go right off into the water, but we didn't. We now had front row seats to enjoy the view across the lake!
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| We made it to the other side! |
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Working Hard
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.
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.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Home for the 4th
How ironic that we have decided to stay out on the road and make money to build our savings account back up after the huge repair we had and now we keep getting loads taking us close to home.
After finally getting our truck back we got a load picking up in Kansas City, Missouri and delivering in St. Louis, Missouri. We weren't thrilled with the load because of the short miles and the fact that it was going to be a hand load and unload. But, dispatch made us a good deal on it and we decided maybe a short load would be a good test run after the major repair.
The truck ran fine and we breathed a little sigh of relief. I kept catching myself looking in the mirror expecting to see smoke coming out of the tailpipe, but fortunately, it never happened.
Next up was a load picking up in Ft. Campbell, Ky delivering in Tobyhanna, Pa. This would be another good test for the truck because it would involve a lot of mountain driving. Again the truck performed well.
Our next load picked up in East Hanover, New Jersey. The shipper manufactures flavors. We were picking up flavoring that was destined for an orange juice plant in Bradenton, Florida. It smelled delicious at the shipper. All those flavors floating around in the air. While we were sitting and waiting to be loaded, we watched a group of deer who were munching away on the sweet smelling grass. I never associated New Jersey and deer together. In my mind, New Jersey is all concrete and steel, but there are actually trees and grassy areas and quite a few deer.
Bradenton was not too far from our home and we really wanted to go home for awhile but we forced ourselves to stay in service and keep making money. We did drive home and get the mail and check on things while we waited on our next load.
We didn't have long to wait, (of course) and we next picked up in Orlando, Florida and headed back up the east coast to Nashua, NH. I like the drive up I95 until you get up into all the congestion around Richmond, Virginia. From that point on up it's too much traffic and then when you get up to New York, the roads are horrible. I think it's criminal that you have to pay so much money to cross the George Washington Bridge and then on the other side the roads are so bad that you would swear your truck is going to be destroyed by the time you get to Connecticut.
The truck held together, and our next pickup was Ashland, Ma. This one was taking us back south to Tarboro, Nc. From there we picked up in Rural Hall, Nc and delivered it to Jacksonville, Florida. This is Friday and Monday is the 4th of July so we decided it would be okay for us to go home for the long holiday weekend. We really need a break!
After finally getting our truck back we got a load picking up in Kansas City, Missouri and delivering in St. Louis, Missouri. We weren't thrilled with the load because of the short miles and the fact that it was going to be a hand load and unload. But, dispatch made us a good deal on it and we decided maybe a short load would be a good test run after the major repair.
The truck ran fine and we breathed a little sigh of relief. I kept catching myself looking in the mirror expecting to see smoke coming out of the tailpipe, but fortunately, it never happened.
Next up was a load picking up in Ft. Campbell, Ky delivering in Tobyhanna, Pa. This would be another good test for the truck because it would involve a lot of mountain driving. Again the truck performed well.
Our next load picked up in East Hanover, New Jersey. The shipper manufactures flavors. We were picking up flavoring that was destined for an orange juice plant in Bradenton, Florida. It smelled delicious at the shipper. All those flavors floating around in the air. While we were sitting and waiting to be loaded, we watched a group of deer who were munching away on the sweet smelling grass. I never associated New Jersey and deer together. In my mind, New Jersey is all concrete and steel, but there are actually trees and grassy areas and quite a few deer.
Bradenton was not too far from our home and we really wanted to go home for awhile but we forced ourselves to stay in service and keep making money. We did drive home and get the mail and check on things while we waited on our next load.
We didn't have long to wait, (of course) and we next picked up in Orlando, Florida and headed back up the east coast to Nashua, NH. I like the drive up I95 until you get up into all the congestion around Richmond, Virginia. From that point on up it's too much traffic and then when you get up to New York, the roads are horrible. I think it's criminal that you have to pay so much money to cross the George Washington Bridge and then on the other side the roads are so bad that you would swear your truck is going to be destroyed by the time you get to Connecticut.
The truck held together, and our next pickup was Ashland, Ma. This one was taking us back south to Tarboro, Nc. From there we picked up in Rural Hall, Nc and delivered it to Jacksonville, Florida. This is Friday and Monday is the 4th of July so we decided it would be okay for us to go home for the long holiday weekend. We really need a break!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Joys of Ownership
It's too soon to know if we made the right choice in buying a truck of our own. We bought the truck in April and began making improvements and repairs. We had to redo the sleeper to make it acceptable for us. That turned out to be the the least expensive thing we have done.
We had a coolant leak, leaks in the trailer, the trailer doors had to be resealed, we had to have a new dot bumper put on, have our hinges welded to be acceptable for DOD loads and still none of that was a drop in the bucket compared to the repair we just had to do.
Having made only one payment and trying to get caught up on repairs that the prior owner had neglected we haven't had a chance to build up much funds. It's very unfortunate timing that we have suffered a major repair so early on in our ownership.
We had a nice long run out to Middleton, Idaho. The truck ran great out there and we were on a high enjoying our truck and loving our job. After our delivery we were deadheading back east to position ourselves for our next freight opportunity. The truck never really ran poorly, it just so happened that as I was driving down the interstate, I noticed in the passenger side mirror what I thought was dirt blowing around. I kept watching and eventually realized that it was black smoke that I was seeing.
I pulled over the first chance I got and we did a check of what we could. I called an International dealership that was nearby and they said to keep an eye on the guages and if there okay, go ahead and drive it to them. We were only about 30 miles away.
I kept going and we finally got there. We were told they were backlogged and we would have to wait before they could take a look at it. The night went on and they closed. They told us to come back in the morning. We drove to a nearby truckstop and parked for the night. We both had an awful feeling about things and neither one of us could sleep that night.
In the morning we headed back over and at that point the truck started acting up. We weren't sure we were going to make it, but we did. We parked and waited again. Eventually they brought us into a bay and hooked us up to the computer. Their initial assessment was that we had a bad fuel injector. I was happy about that because all 6 injectors had recently been replaced. This would be covered under warranty.
The work wouldn't be done until the next day so they drove us to a local motel for the night. The next day they came and picked us up and we were excited to get back on the road. As we walked back to the truck which was still in a bay we noticed that the hood was open and the engine was tore apart. The manager came over to us and told us he had bad news. He said that a retainer had broken and the cam shaft was messed up. They were going to have to tear into the motor and see how far metal had gotten into the engine. Only then would he be able to give us an accurate estimate but he said to prepare ourselves for a bill of about $7000.00.
I believe that is probably one of the worst moments of my life. We had only made one payment on this truck. Now we were going to owe $7000 for a repair? Wow. The manager was very patient with us as we didn't understand the repairs that he was telling us we were going to need. I think he felt sorry for us and knew it was a shock for us.
Eventually we did the only thing we could and that was to gather up our stuff and go back to the motel. We checked in and I had a good cry. I was in deep depression. Of course we were questioning our decision to buy the truck and thinking that we should have stayed driving a truck for someone else.
This went on from the 7th till we finally picked the truck up on the 21st. We were in Grand Island, Nebraska. We thought about renting a car and driving to Indiana to visit family but truthfully we were in no mood to be good company for anybody. We decided to just stay where we were and not make anyone else suffer from our bad moods.
Thankfully we did have access to enough money to pay for the repairs when they were finally completed. The final bill was just over $7200.00. We decided to cancel our family vacation that we had planned on taking in July and stay out on the road until we can get our savings built back up.
I really hope it gets better.
We had a coolant leak, leaks in the trailer, the trailer doors had to be resealed, we had to have a new dot bumper put on, have our hinges welded to be acceptable for DOD loads and still none of that was a drop in the bucket compared to the repair we just had to do.
Having made only one payment and trying to get caught up on repairs that the prior owner had neglected we haven't had a chance to build up much funds. It's very unfortunate timing that we have suffered a major repair so early on in our ownership.
We had a nice long run out to Middleton, Idaho. The truck ran great out there and we were on a high enjoying our truck and loving our job. After our delivery we were deadheading back east to position ourselves for our next freight opportunity. The truck never really ran poorly, it just so happened that as I was driving down the interstate, I noticed in the passenger side mirror what I thought was dirt blowing around. I kept watching and eventually realized that it was black smoke that I was seeing.
I pulled over the first chance I got and we did a check of what we could. I called an International dealership that was nearby and they said to keep an eye on the guages and if there okay, go ahead and drive it to them. We were only about 30 miles away.
I kept going and we finally got there. We were told they were backlogged and we would have to wait before they could take a look at it. The night went on and they closed. They told us to come back in the morning. We drove to a nearby truckstop and parked for the night. We both had an awful feeling about things and neither one of us could sleep that night.
In the morning we headed back over and at that point the truck started acting up. We weren't sure we were going to make it, but we did. We parked and waited again. Eventually they brought us into a bay and hooked us up to the computer. Their initial assessment was that we had a bad fuel injector. I was happy about that because all 6 injectors had recently been replaced. This would be covered under warranty.
The work wouldn't be done until the next day so they drove us to a local motel for the night. The next day they came and picked us up and we were excited to get back on the road. As we walked back to the truck which was still in a bay we noticed that the hood was open and the engine was tore apart. The manager came over to us and told us he had bad news. He said that a retainer had broken and the cam shaft was messed up. They were going to have to tear into the motor and see how far metal had gotten into the engine. Only then would he be able to give us an accurate estimate but he said to prepare ourselves for a bill of about $7000.00.
I believe that is probably one of the worst moments of my life. We had only made one payment on this truck. Now we were going to owe $7000 for a repair? Wow. The manager was very patient with us as we didn't understand the repairs that he was telling us we were going to need. I think he felt sorry for us and knew it was a shock for us.
Eventually we did the only thing we could and that was to gather up our stuff and go back to the motel. We checked in and I had a good cry. I was in deep depression. Of course we were questioning our decision to buy the truck and thinking that we should have stayed driving a truck for someone else.
This went on from the 7th till we finally picked the truck up on the 21st. We were in Grand Island, Nebraska. We thought about renting a car and driving to Indiana to visit family but truthfully we were in no mood to be good company for anybody. We decided to just stay where we were and not make anyone else suffer from our bad moods.
Thankfully we did have access to enough money to pay for the repairs when they were finally completed. The final bill was just over $7200.00. We decided to cancel our family vacation that we had planned on taking in July and stay out on the road until we can get our savings built back up.
I really hope it gets better.
Friday, April 22, 2011
A Truck of our Own
It's strange how things happen sometimes. Back in December we had been in talks with a lady who had a straight truck for sale. We were in the process of working out the details of buying the truck from her when she suddenly stopped responding to our emails. Not knowing what happened, we assumed the deal was lost to us.
A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue she contacted us again. She still has the truck for sale and apologized for abruptly cutting talks off back in December. She explained that she had a lot of personal stuff in her life that overwhelmed her and she had put off selling the truck.
Of course, we were now leery of the same thing happening again, but she was offering us the opportunity to own our own truck. This was the chance we had been waiting for. Straight trucks that are set up for expediting are not the easiest thing to find. Especially with an owner who is willing to sell on contract. Typical financing is almost impossible to get. Other than having the cash to pay for a truck, this was probably the only way we were going to be able to purchase a truck.
Our boys bought a similar truck back in October and they have had their ups and downs with truck ownership, but overall they are happy they did it. I guess because me and John are older, we are not quite as brave as the boys are and we worry a lot more about all the things that could go wrong.
We were happy overall with the owner we were driving for. However, there are always going to be conflicts when you have to answer to someone. We are looking for as much freedom as we can get. It's not about the money. It's about the freedom.
We talked to the lady selling the truck for a couple of weeks going back and forth over how to handle the transaction. We had to come up with a plan that both parties were comfortable with. Or as comfortable as we could get anyway. There's a lot that could go wrong on both sides. We are all taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best.
We reached an agreement, faxed paperwork back and forth and the deal was done. Yes, just like our sons, we bought a truck sight unseen. I think insanity must be hereditary! The seller sent pictures and because the truck is nearly identical to our sons we made the deal.
Next came the very unpleasant job of letting the owner of the truck we have been driving for 15 months know that we will be returning her truck to her. I knew it wouldn't go well and it went even worse than I had thought it would. She was extremely upset over losing us as drivers. I was hoping that she would understand our desire to be owners, just as she and her husband had, but right now she can't get past the fact that we are leaving her and she has to find new drivers. I wish her well and hope things will work themselves out.
We are keeping our new truck at the same carrier that we've been with so there's not too much to have to do on that end of things.
We picked the truck up in South Carolina and brought it home to get it set up in a way that works for us. It's like moving into a new house. When we first saw the truck we thought it wasn't going to need to much work. After getting it home and thoroughly examining it, we were overwhelmed by how much was going to need to be done. We completely redid the sleeper. We threw out the old mattresses. Tore up the flooring and the cabinets, tossed out the fridge and microwave. Off we went to Walmart, Lowes and a few other stores to get all the things we were going to need. We had the hardest time figuring out how to get a mattress. There's only so much room to get things in and out of and we finally purchased a memory foam mattress that can be rolled up and then once inside, rolled back out. The only problem was that our bed in the sleeper isn't a twin or a full size. It's in between. The mattress salesman told us that we could cut the mattress to the size we needed. After paying over $400 for a mattress it was scary to cut it and hope we didn't mess it up.
We bought an electric knife and made our measurements. We then marked the mattress and took the knife to it. It was a breeze to cut! We got it inside and it was perfect.
We worked for a solid week on the interior of the sleeper berth getting it situated. There is still a long long list of things we want to do to the truck. However, we feel like we paid a fair price for the truck and we will make improvements to the truck as money allows.
A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue she contacted us again. She still has the truck for sale and apologized for abruptly cutting talks off back in December. She explained that she had a lot of personal stuff in her life that overwhelmed her and she had put off selling the truck.
Of course, we were now leery of the same thing happening again, but she was offering us the opportunity to own our own truck. This was the chance we had been waiting for. Straight trucks that are set up for expediting are not the easiest thing to find. Especially with an owner who is willing to sell on contract. Typical financing is almost impossible to get. Other than having the cash to pay for a truck, this was probably the only way we were going to be able to purchase a truck.
Our boys bought a similar truck back in October and they have had their ups and downs with truck ownership, but overall they are happy they did it. I guess because me and John are older, we are not quite as brave as the boys are and we worry a lot more about all the things that could go wrong.
We were happy overall with the owner we were driving for. However, there are always going to be conflicts when you have to answer to someone. We are looking for as much freedom as we can get. It's not about the money. It's about the freedom.
We talked to the lady selling the truck for a couple of weeks going back and forth over how to handle the transaction. We had to come up with a plan that both parties were comfortable with. Or as comfortable as we could get anyway. There's a lot that could go wrong on both sides. We are all taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best.
We reached an agreement, faxed paperwork back and forth and the deal was done. Yes, just like our sons, we bought a truck sight unseen. I think insanity must be hereditary! The seller sent pictures and because the truck is nearly identical to our sons we made the deal.
Next came the very unpleasant job of letting the owner of the truck we have been driving for 15 months know that we will be returning her truck to her. I knew it wouldn't go well and it went even worse than I had thought it would. She was extremely upset over losing us as drivers. I was hoping that she would understand our desire to be owners, just as she and her husband had, but right now she can't get past the fact that we are leaving her and she has to find new drivers. I wish her well and hope things will work themselves out.
We are keeping our new truck at the same carrier that we've been with so there's not too much to have to do on that end of things.
We picked the truck up in South Carolina and brought it home to get it set up in a way that works for us. It's like moving into a new house. When we first saw the truck we thought it wasn't going to need to much work. After getting it home and thoroughly examining it, we were overwhelmed by how much was going to need to be done. We completely redid the sleeper. We threw out the old mattresses. Tore up the flooring and the cabinets, tossed out the fridge and microwave. Off we went to Walmart, Lowes and a few other stores to get all the things we were going to need. We had the hardest time figuring out how to get a mattress. There's only so much room to get things in and out of and we finally purchased a memory foam mattress that can be rolled up and then once inside, rolled back out. The only problem was that our bed in the sleeper isn't a twin or a full size. It's in between. The mattress salesman told us that we could cut the mattress to the size we needed. After paying over $400 for a mattress it was scary to cut it and hope we didn't mess it up.
We bought an electric knife and made our measurements. We then marked the mattress and took the knife to it. It was a breeze to cut! We got it inside and it was perfect.
We worked for a solid week on the interior of the sleeper berth getting it situated. There is still a long long list of things we want to do to the truck. However, we feel like we paid a fair price for the truck and we will make improvements to the truck as money allows.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Gift of Sight
We have been home for a couple of weeks now. John has been recovering from having cataract surgery on both of his eyes. It is amazing what Doctors can do these days.
John is completely thrilled with his sight. He says he can see better now than ever before. We did our research and made sure we picked a surgeon that had a lot of experience and was very highly recommended. Your eyes are not an area that you want to go cheap on. Dr. Filutowski does excellent work!
In addition to being able to see better because the cataracts are gone, the new lenses that were implanted are a perfect prescription to give him 20/20 vision. He did decide to go with monovision so that he doesn't have to wear reading glasses. One eye sees perfectly for distance and the other eye sees perfectly for up close reading or computer work. Somehow the brain figures things out and they work together in harmony.
He will wear glasses while driving to give the eye that's used for reading the extra boost to see long distance.
Other than that, he's amazed with how sharp and vibrant everything appears now.
Because we don't have health insurance, we had to pay for the surgery out of our pocket. It ended up costing us right at $7000. John felt really bad about us having to spend the money, but I told him that this is exactly the kind of thing you should spend money on. What could be more important than your health?
And the best news of all, he can see to drive at night now! Thank goodness because I have been doing all of the night driving and that gets old!
John is completely thrilled with his sight. He says he can see better now than ever before. We did our research and made sure we picked a surgeon that had a lot of experience and was very highly recommended. Your eyes are not an area that you want to go cheap on. Dr. Filutowski does excellent work!
In addition to being able to see better because the cataracts are gone, the new lenses that were implanted are a perfect prescription to give him 20/20 vision. He did decide to go with monovision so that he doesn't have to wear reading glasses. One eye sees perfectly for distance and the other eye sees perfectly for up close reading or computer work. Somehow the brain figures things out and they work together in harmony.
He will wear glasses while driving to give the eye that's used for reading the extra boost to see long distance.
Other than that, he's amazed with how sharp and vibrant everything appears now.
Because we don't have health insurance, we had to pay for the surgery out of our pocket. It ended up costing us right at $7000. John felt really bad about us having to spend the money, but I told him that this is exactly the kind of thing you should spend money on. What could be more important than your health?
And the best news of all, he can see to drive at night now! Thank goodness because I have been doing all of the night driving and that gets old!
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, January 4, 2011
Introducing the Newest Member of our Family
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| Gracie and Cody |
We were sitting up in South Carolina waiting on a load to take us home and I got onto the county shelter website for where we live. I couldn't believe some of the animals that they had there. It's sad to think what must have happened to the families of some of these pets that caused them to have to be brought there.
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| Who could ever resist this sweet little boy? |
I told John I wanted to get home and go see this dog. I thought he was the one. John agreed and we went ahead and deadheaded home. The next morning we were at the shelter as soon as they opened. Cody, the dog we came to see, was still there. They put him and us in a playroom to see if we all liked each other and while we were in there, another woman showed up and was wanting to see him also. I told her no, he was ours. We definitely wanted him.
Poor little guy was underweight and needed groomed badly. We paid the fee of $100 which would cover neutering and shots. The only bad thing was that because of the holidays, we weren't going to be able to take him home for 9 days. They absolutely would not let us have him until he was neutered. We told them we would bring him back in and have it done when the vet was there, but they have their policies and would not allow it. It broke our hearts to have to leave him there for another 9 days!
We seriously discussed sneaking back there at night and breaking him out. The pens they are kept in allow the dogs to go back and forth from inside to outside. It wouldn't have been too hard to get him out. I was so worried about him because we were about to have some record breaking cold temps. Since we weren't really going to break the law, there was nothing we could do so I just put it out of my head and tried to focus on the holidays.
As soon as the day came to pick him up, we went back and got him. He was still groggy from the anesthesia. He looked so cute with his eyes out of focus and wobbling around. Poor little guy! We took him home and he got to meet the rest of the family. He was a hit and everyone loved him. He was introduced to our sons dog, Gracie. She's a black lab mixed with something else. She came from the same pound as Cody.
The two of them have become very good friends, we just have to supervise their playtime right now until he gets fully healed up. It will be nice to have Cody along with us on the road. He can be our ears while we're sleeping. I'm sure it won't take us too long to get him completely spoiled!
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