Huntsville, Alabama

Well every man needs a "kickn around town" pick up truck right? I bought me one today. I drove out to Madison (15 miles) and bought a 1990 Ford F150 Lariat XLT. Its a pretty nice truck for $1350.00. It needs paint but it has good rubber and only 127,000 miles, runs great and doesnt smoke or leak any oil. I may or may not paint it but knowing me I will paint it, put rims and nicer tires on it, maybe headers and a nice dual exhaust. May as well redneck 'er on up right? GitRDone

Later days

Huntsville, Alabama

HOME!!!!!! For a week or so

Montgomery, Alabama

Well I brought this load from Chicago and will deliver in the morning. It was a good trip down after a very nice visit with Jim and Janet (Keystrucker on YouTube) up in Chicago.

Yesterday after I got loaded, I was on some back roads south of Joliet, Illinois cutting across to I-57. I took the back roads so I wouldnt have to go into Chicago at rushhour to hit 57. Actually the trip into Chicago wouldnt have been bad, the bad part would have been going south out of Chicago on 57 at 5pm. So I cut across and came out 60 miles south of Chicago and missed the traffic. But while I was doing so, Jim called me and informed me that a 2 fatality accident had just happened near the Minooka Pilot where they were. He said a flatbed had rearended a bulk tanker and both were killed. I immediately thought of Brian (BTJohnson on YouTube) because he pulls a bulk tanker. I didnt really think it was him but he came to mind, and what are the chances he was in Chicago. So I get down to Effingham and stop for the day, I was at the shipper all day, big load, 2 lumber tarps. I parked and got online only to find an email from Brian saying "hey man, I see you are picking up in Chicago, I will be in Chicago today, give me a call"...So then I was like Oh Man, Brian was in Chicago. Still what are the chances but I immediately called him to make sure....A very sad story about the 2 fellow drivers who lost their lives. Everyone please drive safe!

Ok so, I deliver this load in the morning and head home (200 miles North) for a week off. Wow!!!

Later days

Chicago

Actually I am in Gary, Indiana but close enough. I delivered that load of lumber in Shelbyville, Ind yesterday and got a load picking up Monday up here in Chicago. Joliet actually, but close enough. This load delivers Wednesday in Montgomery, Ala and from there I will be going....where?...Yessss!!!!....HOME!!!! Home in Huntsville, Alabama for a week.

I sit here in this Gary, Indiana TA awaiting the arrival of Jim and Janet of the world famous Keystrucker YouTube channel. They should be here in a few hours. We will visit, eat some good food, and shoot a video or 2. Should be fun, this is the second time we have met. They are great people. Visit their YouTube channel and subscribe...http://www.youtube.com/user/keystrucker

I have been pondering the idea of venturing into a different trucking field. I love flatbedding and will probably do it for a while longer but I have been thinking a lot lately about trying my hand at pulling long and heavy loads. Like really long and really heavy. I would like to try pulling the big windmill blades that are like 160 feet long or the big cylinders that take up both lanes. What an extreme job! I dont see this taking place anytime soon but maybe down the road. I know me, I grow bored very easily. Your average ordinary flatbedding may not be enough to satisfy the extreme inner child of this SillyTrucker forever. I love my current company and have no plans of leaving or even looking any time soon....Just a thought, or maybe just a fantasy.

Later days

Birmingham, Ala

Howdy yall!!!! Well after I delivered in Irvington, Ala, I then picked up a load of lumber in Cypress, Fla, that was actually this morning. Not a particularly fun day at the shipper. They loaded me, I strapped it down, then before I tarped it I wanted to make sure they didnt load me too heavy, they had a scale at their yard. I was 81,250. I knew I was heavy, I could tell by looking at the tires on the rears. So I had to unstrap the entire load so they could take a bundle off and reaarange the load. Then I had to tarp the load, 2 eight foot drop lumber tarps, 100+ temps, fun fun....Oh yea, I almost forgot, this load is going to Shelbyville, Indiana, just south of Indy....Ok, so I drove today from Cypress, Fla to Birmingham. I would have gone further but the trip up Hwy 231 into Alabama was a tough pull with 48,000lbs of lumber, there are about 794 traffic lights through there and it wore me out, so I stopped here at our Bham terminal. I will take it on up tomorrow.

Later days, thanks for reading

Irvington, Alabama

Well, had I known that I would get a load at 7am this morning, I wouldnt have stayed up so late last night. 7am straight up and my Qualcomm is beeping like theres no tomorrow. I get up and its a load picking up in Cleveland, Tx going to Irvington, Ala(Mobile) due as soon as I can get it there. I got it here!!! It was a good load, no tarp, just 8 straps and roll with it. I unloaded about 1030pm here in Irvington, it was a good trip across I-10 and I am very tired. I think I will go ahead and crash just in case my Qualcomm wakes me at 7am again.

Later days

Baytown, Tx

First of all I want to say thanks for reading my blog. I am new to this and I am trying to figure what to do as far as replying back to you guys. Just know that I read each comment and appreciate them greatly.

I left Knoxville early Saturday morning and did make it to Baton Rouge that night, about 640 miles. There is absolutely nothing better than a 600+ mile day and then laying down in this bunk, complete with 2 foam matress pads, and an idling 500hp deisel caterpillar engine. When I go home, I wake up many times during the night, its just too quiet. In my truck, I can sleep 8 hours and never wake up..... I woke up this morning early, walked Jack, ate me a bowl of Kashi, and hit the road headed here to Baytown, Tx (Houston). I arrived here at around 1pm, unloaded by 2, and was sitting in this truckstop by 215. I showered, ate a grilled chicken sandwhich (thats about the only decent dish TA truckstops can make, IMO), and did my laundry.

Overall it was a very uneventful trip down here fron Pa. I will take uneventful any day of the week.

I hope I get a load out of here tomorrow but this is a very heavy flatbed area and there are many many flatbeds sitting in this and nearby truckstops waiting for loads. The last time I was in this truckstop, it was snowing and I sat here 3 days waiting for a load. But that was winter and flatbed freight slows to a crawl in the winter months. I expect to sit here until Tuesday at the latest but I may get a load first thing tomorrow, who knows. I wont complain if I sit because I have been running pretty hard lately. San Fran to Reno to St Louis to Atlanta to Baltimore to Pittsburgh to Houston in just the past week and a half, not bad considering theres a lot of time spent strapping, chaining and tarping in there.

Later days

Knoxville, Tn

Yawwwwnnnn....Long day man.....I got up this morning early after only a few hours sleep, got loaded at around noon, and drove down here to Knoxville. Good trip, about 550 miles. I was going to go further but I am still about 3 days behind on sleep and I was getting sleepy. No need to risk driving sleepy when I am in no hurry to get to Houston. I left Ambridge Pa, came down 79, cut the corner on 19 down to 77, to 81, to 40.

I had a close call at the shipper. They dont allow dogs at the steel yard that I loaded at. I didnt know this piece of information. Nowhere on my load assignment did it say No Pets. Nowhere at the shipper were there any signs that said No Pets. I was asked when I got there, "do you have anyone else in your truck or any pets?"...I lied....Its a 1700 mile load and I wasnt going to lose it. There are other plants that dont allow dogs and I always just tie Jack up in the bunk. However, today Jack just about messed up. I was very polite with the kid that was working the guard shack at the shipper, he was also the guy that asked if I had a pet in the truck. There were about a dozen trucks waiting in the holding area and he kept walking over there trying to see if and how many trucks were waiting, and writing down truck numbers. Well, Jack saw him walking by and barked....TWICE....the kid looked up at me, I looked back like a deer in headlights, he kept walking and never said a word. After I got loaded, I went back outside the gate, finished strapping and as I was leaving I walked over to the guardshack and said "Hey man, thanks"....I'm pretty sure he knew why I was thanking him.

Knoxville to Baton Rouge tomorrow probably. Thats about 630 miles

Later days

Ambridge, Pa

Ambridge, Pa is just NW of Pittsburgh. It is about 2am friday morning and I just arrived here from Jessup, Md. I will be picking up a load of steel pipe here in a few hours that is going to Baytown, Tx (Houston). This load is due as soon as I can get it there and that is the best kind. This is a good load, 265 empty miles from Jessup, Md to Ambridge and 1390 loaded miles to Tx. I will be there saturday night and will unload sunday. Best part?....she's a NO TARP load, yessss!!!...Just strap 'er down and ride.

Gotta go sleep for 4 hours

Later days

Jessup, Md

Wow, I dont know where to begin telling you about yesterday. I will say that I will never type the words "Tomorrow will be a better day" as I did in my last blog posting. Needless to say, tomorrow was not a better day. Yesterday morning I delivered just east of Atlanta and a couple hours later picked up another load in Tucker, Ga going to Beltsville, Maryland. I delivered that load today but the trip up here was anything but pleasant. I left Georgia with the intentions of driving the entire 680 miles without taking a 10 hour break. Considering I had already started my 14 hour clock 2 hours before even picking the load up, it was going to be tight on the logbook but I had it planned to barely make it legally, but with no time to spare. And then....BOOM....yes we all know that boom oh so well...The trailer tire blew in Charlotte and I drove it to the TA in Whitsett on 17 tires. Thats 90 miles. I knew the TA would be a lot quicker than a roadside service. And it was, an hour at the TA and I had a new tire, a full belly, and an empty dog. It worked out great. And then....BAMBI...Bambi had fallen victim to a car or truck earlier and was laying dead in the slow lane just north of the 40/85 split in NC, only 30 miles from where I had the tire fixed. I had a car on my left so my only choice was to straddle it and drive over it. It was a small deer but that didnt stop her from busting my airline from my brake chamber on the trailer as I drove over her. Needless to say, I came to a stop very quickly. Ok now I am thinking that I will never make it to Maryland in one driving shift, I will have to take a 10 hour break and take it in there tomorrow (today). The load was due anytime today but I sure wanted to get here last night to insure being unloaded early. I called my company who then called Petro roadside service. They showed up about an hour after I hit the deer. As I sit on the shoulder of I-85 in NC waiting for them to get there, I can hear what sounds like Hurricane Katrina headed my way. It is dark when he arrives and we both know that he has maybe 30 minutes before the rain hits. IT HIT and it hit hard. We were both under the trailer trying to stay dry in the hardest rain that I have seen in a long time. I am thinking that he is probably almost done with the repair when he says "well, I got it fixed enough for you to follow me to the shop". He hadnt brought the correct fitting and I had to go 10 miles back to the Petro so they could fix it. By this time, it is about 10pm, raining a monsoon and I am soaked. The 10 mile drive back to the Petro took 30 minutes and it was 1am when my head hit the pillow. At 430am it came off that pillow and headed to make my delivery. It did make it, on time, and I am damn proud of it.

Ya know...screw it...Tomorrow WILL be a better day

Lawrenceville, Ga

I had a long day. I arrived at my delivery in Highland Illinois last night, from Reno, at about 10pm for a 7am delivery this morning, first in line to get unloaded. I untarped, unstrapped, and about 20 minutes later I was told that they didnt need this load at this particular plant and wanted me to take it 600 miles to Ga, to their Lawrenceville facility. Thats all good but if they had only told me a few minutes earlier, I wouldnt have had to restrap and retarp it. After arriving there last night, I watched a movie and then decided to turn in. What I didnt realize was that the sounds of the movie had been drowning out the sounds of the German Shepard that was barking across the street at the animal shelter. He was about 50 feet away, he barked all night. At about 3am, another truck pulled in behind me. The 3rd shift told me earlier that the receiving dept opens at 7am, I set my alarm for 645. They obviously opened early because at 645, the driver that had arrive at 3am, bangs on my door and tells me that they told him that I could pull into door 6 or 7. He then pulls around me and quickly pulls into door 6. I pull around and notice that a dropped trailer was in door 7, so I couldnt pull in. He basically jumped in front of me. After listening to a dog bark all night and getting only a couple hours of sleep, I was in NO mood for a prick jumping in front of me especially since I got there the night before so that I could get unloaded first. And I made that very clear to him. After several "choice" words to him, to include "you are exactly whats wrong with trucking today" and many others that I wont repeat, I collected myself and started untarping. You know the rest of the story. Long day. Tomorrow will be better.

Later days
Jimmy

I almost forgot, this was funny

Right after I posted that blog down there I remembered something that happened to day that was kinda funny and very satisfying. I was on 80 in Nebraska and we were coming up on a construction zone that lowered the speed limit to 55 and we lost the left lane. I had a feeling that the England driver ahead of me was going to do about 55 or less through there so I tried, unsuccessfully to get around him before we entered the work zone. The work zone was about 10 miles in length and, yes, the England driver not only did as expected, he did worse. At one point we did 40 through there and averaged about 45 to 50....in a 55 zone. Not to mention it was a nonactive work zone (no workers). By the end, there were about 5 or 6 drivers that were ready to kill the guy. He didnt have his radio on but that didnt stop the verbal abuse that he received. I said 2 things during the entire ordeal. I said "England, theyll let you do 55 through here, I promise you man"...and...I said..."the speed doesnt bother me, I have nothing but time to get where Im goin, I just dont understand how someone can go 40 -45 in a 55 and think thats ok, with a line of trucks behind him"......sooooo......As we exited the work zone, I quickly passed him, as did the truck behind me. The only difference is I kept on going but the truck behind me had other plans. Once he passed England, he got over on front of him and slowed way down. England then got out in the left lane to pass him and when he did, every truck in that line fell in behind the other truck in the slow lane. By this time, I am up ahead but in my rearview I see a line of about 30 trucks on the slow lane and our friend the England driver all by his lonesome in the hammer lane. Little did he know that a mile ahead of him was another work zone and he would soon need back in that right lane....YEA RIGHT!....Of course no one let him over and he came to a complete stop at the merge point and waited until the last truck went by... I think it was kind of extreme punishment but I enjoyed the hell out of it

Later

Omaha, Neb

Howdy yall...I guess yall means the 2 people that might read this. I am in Omaha Nebraska on my way to Highland, Illinois which is about 30 miles east of St Louis. It has been a good trip across the country from Cali. I didnt see anymore ternaders but I did have a trailer tire blowout in Battle Mtn, Nv. While the guy was fixing my tar, he told me that Battle Mtn is a gold mining community and according to him there are several rather large gold mines in the area. I thought that was interesting. That subject came about when I asked him what people, in that town of about 2000, do for a living. I often find myself looking at these desolate communities throughout the west and wondering what people there do for a living. These towns are all over the place out there, some are no more than a few houses or trailers, maybe an old store, and some are hundreds of miles from anything. How do they live? Oh well, it was a cool trip, as usual.

I am not due in Highland until monday. I will probably make it on in to Troy Illinois tomorrow. Thats about 450 miles from here and about 25 miles from where I deliver.

Later days

Fremont, Cali

I just arrived at my delivery in Fremont, well, I got here about an hour ago. I pulled this load from Tooele, Utah over the weekend. I find myself in a common situation here as I wait to pull in to be unloaded. It seems that I was the 2nd truck here but another drivers feels like he was 2nd. This is a first come first serve kinda thing. I arrived and got in behind the 1st truck like I was supposed to but this other truck pulled in up the road facing the wrong direction. The 1st truck and myself are both saying that I was here before this other guy, who is one of those "mad at the world" types that we see out here so often. The 1st truck has just pulled in and I have jockeyed myself so that I will be next, yayyy me!!!...It may seem like not such a big deal but it is. It takes about an hour to unload and that hour could mean the difference in getting a load out of here today or having to wait until tomorrow, or longer. Not to mention I was here before him. I'd hate to put a man over a knee today, I'm not really in the mood.

The drive out here was a nice one. I saw more dust devils coming across the desert than I have ever seen. They were everywhere I looked. I shot a video of them and was able to turn it into a funny video thanks to my friend Annette, who played the part of the 911 operator when I called to report the "ternaders"...here is the link if you would like to watch it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKRde5kE24

Ok, well, I need to go remove a few straps before I pull in....Yall hava goodn