Okay lets go back a little ways and explain the suspended tow. The trip started with a simple load at Bedford NS and delivering to LaSalle PQ the next morning. They then gave me a trl from our St Laurent terminal to Vaughan ON. This one was booked in at a Sobeys (it’s a superstore over here) distribution center 5 am the next morning. I cringed, a bloody RDC, memories of Tesco came flooding back. I arrived at Sobeys and was amazed a the size of the place. The place was fully automated, as soon as a plt is taken off a bar code is slapped on it then a 2nd flt sticks on the conveyer belt and within seconds is whisked off and put in the appropiate racking in the warehouse by the automated system. Apparently 150 people are employed in the warehouse, where as without the automated system it would be moe like a 1000. It was amazing watching it. From backing on the door (and there was no wait for it) to leaving through the security gate took 20 minutes. 36 skids of mixed fruit juice, not bad. The next job they gave me was to take my mt up to our terminal in Concord (just down the road) and pick up a loaded trl for Fairfield, Iowa. Cool another new area to travel through. Previously the furthest west state was Michigan. Now I’d started to get some vibration on the driveline, nothing to bad and it seemed to come and go. Now the roads through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa are mainly paved in concrete so vibration of some sort was always present, plus the rough patches where they had construction. Michigan as I’ve said before Michigan en’t that special to travel through, but when you get out to Illinois and Iowa the scenery changes. It’s farming country. By christ you want to see the size of the equipment they use in the fields. Seen pictures before but to see this giant machines for real it’s amazing. Carl if you read this tell Brian they “back scuttle” big style here. It was a pleasant trip to Fairfield and arrived at the customer at 10 30 or as I thought, forgot I’d crossed another time line and now I was 2 hrs behind Atlantic Time. Most of the goods where hand ball so it took them a couple of hours to unload. Meanwhile they had sent me my preplan for my reload, a short 52 mile trip down the road to Burlington for a load bound back to Ontario. Easy booking time 8am Saturday morning(it was Thursday lunch time at the time). Reloaded at Burlington I headed for a truckstop in Illinois for the night. My plan was start of early, cross into Canada by lunch time and be parked up in Milton ON for mid afternoon. Then a short trip to the customer Saturday morning. Well that WAS the plan. The journey started off okay Friday morning, but as I got into Michigan the vibration on the driveline came back with vengence. I knew I had to get it shorted, but I wanted to choose where, but “my girl” had other ideas. The vibration was bad so I pulled over onto the paved shoulder, as I got onto the shoulder the vibration went. The reason it went? She’d thrown the driveline off. I called Penske roadside, explained the situation and told them she’d need a suspended tow. So 45 mins later a guy comes out in a pick up truck, takes a look and says he can’t fix it on the road she’ll need towing in.. der hadn’t I said that? Hour later the wrecker comes out and towed me into the shop. The guys there were fantastic, they rang round and soon located the parts required. Now the thing that really p’d me off was that “my girl” had been in for a service 10 days before and they’d fitted a new UJ, but not correctly, as this was the problem. They fitted a new yolk and UJ and I was on my way. Well 7hrs wasn’t too bad, plus I got paid for it. Wade told me the load was rebooked for first thing Monday morning, so we agreed I was going to get back into Ontario Saturday and reset my hours. That way I could keep moving the following week. Again that was the plan. I rang dispatch on the Saturday morning and Wade was off and Carla was on. She told me to take the load to our Terminal in Concord, pick up an mt and then pick up a load in Whitby ON then bring it back to the Maritimes. Okay I was cool with that. Reloaded Whitby and started to make my way back. Now the load was bound for Newfoundland, so I needed to know which drop yard I needed to leave the load so I rang dispatch on Sunday morning. Wade was back on and couldn’t believe Carla had changed the plan. As he’d booked me on a load back to the US from Ontario… Never mind shit happens. I stopped at Aulac on the Sunday night (after quickly doing them a favour in Moncton, got paid 7hrs for an hours work, sorted), dropped the trl at Truro and bobtailed home for a reset.. The one good thing that came out of this is the truck is better than she was before. There’s always been a vibration and Penske have always said “it’s a Freightliner thing”. Well those guys in Sodus, Michigan got rid of that “Freightliner thing”.
Are well that’s the story behind the pictures. I’ll try and get up dated. Sat unloading furniture in St John NB at the moment so had a little time. Once mt here off to who knows where, no pre plan through yet. Anyway you all stay safe and I’ll catch you again soon…. Got to dig that picture of Malc in that TK yet……
Times Gone By
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Hair today......
God this seems like another life time... Thanks Mick for digging them up..... i'll get you back
Lazy
At least Sharen has something to run round in, in the winter
Take care and I promise to get you up to date soon
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