RHYMES WITH TRUCK

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Spring Roads.



____Day 1: The mildest winter of my years in Canada has given way to Spring and the phenomenon of Spring Roads. Restrictions on the allowable axle weights of heavy trucks using secondary highways during the time of annual thaw. A time when heavy damage can occur when the ground under the roads changes from frozen to soft sponge. Manitoba has a lot of these roads, but also Minnesota and my route to Duluth has to be changed to go by via Grand Forks because of the restrictions on roads south of Rainy River.
____Day 2: First drop of eight is five crates of an exhibition stand delivered to a warehouse under the bridge that joins Minnesota to Wisconsin. Second drop, two crates to La Crosse; third, one crate to Cottage Grove; before heading to Milwaukee.
____Day 3: A delivery in the suburb of West Allis and then off to the suburban sprawl of Chicago for three drops. Seven of the 8 done but not enough time to get to the last; near St. Louis. A night at the TA, Troy, Illinois.

Essential jack-knife to get unloaded in limited space.

____Day 4: The tightest of delivery spots at Webster Groves, where the customer thinks that just because he is having a small consignment; then it will be delivered on a small truck. Having done the drops without any problem, it creates the problem that the reload hasn't been scheduled until Thursday afternoon. Twenty-seven hours to be filled and Mount Vernon selected to occupy my time.

Long wheel-based Kenworth T660 with driver's toy-box.

____Day 5: An endless selection of fast-food restaurants compete for my taste-bud attention, but I stay loyal to Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen; chicken and biscuits. Before heading east for 60 miles and a load of oil filters from the town of Albion. Then driving late into the evening; to Taylor, Missouri. Five days into the trip and the kilometre is still under 3,000.

Kenworth badged four-wheeler with European heritage.

____Day 6: From Taylor to Fargo, North Dakota; first day with over a thousand kays. Meeting up with Neal Trickett and Flying Eagle #39 for a meal together at the Petro Stopping Center. Discussing the merits of a very pretty waitress with a very squeaky and very irritating voice.
____Day 7: Back to the yard, just creeping up to an average of 600 km a day for the weeks work. Not the best paying trip of the year; but the $35 for each of the drops does help make it up.
____Overall Distance: 4175 Km.

Car-Transporter of the Week.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for an interesting blog!
    I wonder what is that "driver's toy-box" used for?

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  2. Mark Lee says that it is used for Haz-Mat cargo when two different types cannot be carried in the same trailer.
    And I would agree with that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, that is clear now! :)

    ReplyDelete