First off, I was informed by dispatch that me and the rajun cajun were going to pick up a compressor set going back to the same place near Calvin that I'd taken the last one. Load monday morning.
Ok...been there done that. As Ray Charles is supposed to have said "It's easy if you know how". I done it onc't so I know how now.
Problems. Always problems. The biggest problem was rain. "Rain, Rain go away...come again another day". The cajun got loaded first with a cooler...and "stuff"....took up his whole trailer. I got loaded next with a compressor. Mine wasn't too bad since I just threw about six shackles, chains and binders on it and I was good to go. I just got soaked is all.
The cajun looked like a drowned walrus. He's a big guy...kinda brown...with curly hair and a mustache. He had to not only tie the cooler down...but also climb up on TOP (about 16 foot or so in the air) and "strip it". (install wire sliders so telephone wires , etc, wouldn't hook on the cooler...but rather slide up and over)
Like I said.....he looked like a drowned bull walrus. No...not drowned. His dispostition was too robust to be drowned. Let's say rather a very annoyed, soaked, walrus.
After that things were cool. My escort (I only needed one) showed up and we got out of there in record time. Better route this time too. Dunno why this route should be different from the last one since I had the SAME piece of equipment on going to the same place. But it was. Lot's better route.
We got kinda close to the job site, a backwoods truckstop, and I cut the escort loose. About an hour later the Rajun Cajun shows up....he cuts his escorts loose and we wander on in to the resturant. A meal and a shower would sure be nice.
Nope. Closed. They closed at 3.
Bummer.
Next morning "company" men got there about dawn....and we took off. Everything went smooth and I was heading back to Tulsa that evening.
Next day it's off too Rustin Louisana, bobtail. I'm to "relocate" a trailer from our agent there to our yard in Tulsa. That took two days. Then Thursday morning I get informed that I'm to take that same trailer and go load it with a condensor. Going to Franklin Tx.
Another one. This is the same thing that got me in all kinds of trouble earlier.
"Get back up on the horse" they said. So I did.
Not with-out preperation though. We shimmed the trailer...and checked it out. REALLY shimmed it. In fact...when I stretched it out to set the load on....the front set of trailer wheels were airborne.
Worked though.
That might not look it but that's HEAVY. Very stout trailer so's it doesn't look it. Rides good too.
Doesn't do well in potholes though. The other night I pulled into a little backwoods truckstop in Whitesboro Texas. I topped off the fuel and then went looking for a parking spot. Away from the fuel island it was dark (it was almost dark when we pulled in...just made it...and it was pitch black by the time I'd finished fueling.)...and we couldn't see too well. Vewy, vewy carefully we found a place to park...the escort helping me.
Not carefully enough. The next morning I noticed that the trailer airbags were flat.
Ooops.
It turns out that as we were looking for a parking slot the night before...one of the trailer wheels had gotten into a pothole that was too deep. It'd snagged a brake chamber and pulled part of it out. Next morning no air.
I was in better shape than one driver though. The first thing I saw when I woke up that morning was a truck...stuck...in front of me.
Waaay stuck. His drives were burried up PAST the hubs. On one side....he was leaning really, really bad. Trailer too. Almost turned over. He had to get a wrecker to pull him out.
Out of a pot hole in a truck stop.
Glad I didn't get in that one.
So.....got it fixed and came this way. We're in Mexia right now. Thirty or so miles from the powerplant. The beautiful bride drove on over to meet me last night. We're in a motel room.
Deliver the load tomorrow....then what?
I dunno
No comments:
Post a Comment