January 17 – 24, 2022

Monday, January 17, 2022

I was up at 3:15, checked out of my hotel, and since I filled with fuel last night, I went right to the site, and pulled in at 4:25. It was cold and windy, so I left the engine running as I filled my bowl with Annalou’s Keto Granola (my favorite!), poured a little milk in, and enjoyed my breakfast sitting on my couch. I noticed that the other three trucks had arrived yesterday, because they were all parked at the far side of the lot. My driver arrived at about 4:50 and hooked up. We talked briefly, and he told me that we will not know who is loading when until everyone comes in and we meet with the loading crew.

As usual, we were told 5, but the crew didn’t come in until 6. So, it was about 6:15 when we all walked in to have a look at the pieces and come up with a loading plan with the crew. This is where many Pilot Cars hold back, and just wait until they are called. I love this part (and every other part LOL) so I’m always right there with the driver(s). So there I was, meeting with the loading crew with the four drivers. The other steerman joined us soon, and we immediately found that there was a major problem!

If you have never been in this business, there are some details you would not be aware of. Loading a piece this big, and this heavy, requires some major considerations. Remember that there are legal issues to consider. A loaded truck has a limit that each axle can weigh, that each group of axles can weigh. therefore, we always need to know exactly how much the piece weighs, and where – and where the center of gravity is, in both length and width. That determines what trailer is sent, and how many axles are on the trailer, so the weight can be evenly distributed across each axle. If one side is heavier than the other, the trailer will lean to the heavy side. In those situations, we have actually spread the trailer a foot or two wider than it needs to be, so that the piece can be loaded toward the light side, which will balance it out. Of course, that is all done by the engineers, carefully calculated weeks in advance, so that measurements are exact, and permits are ordered correctly.

Here is the problem. The generator is the same, and is placed inside the house the same, but they changed the venting system. Even though the total length is still the same, that new venting system added on the right side of the picture below

which they expect us to load  in the front is basically empty, which will push the majority of the weight to the rear axles, and off the four tractor axles, making the tractor light, but the trailer axles way too heavy. But, if we turn it around, the other end is full of light weight louvers, which will be damaged in the direct wind it will receive going down the road. Hmmm. . . .

The solution was to turn the piece around, and cover the louvers with plywood for the trip. Last minute changes like that take time, and it was after 8 when the first truck, already backed up to the loading door, drove out, went out of the tight parking lot, and turned around somehow, and was now ready to pull into the shop to get loaded.

The crew went to work screwing plywood onto the front, but as I pointed out, they put them on from top to bottom, which will allow them to catch the wind at the seems, and blow off. So they taped the seems with duct tape, and my driver and I looked at each other and shook our heads. That will never make it! LOL

We all helped get that truck loaded, and the second one as well. We were the third, and as the others did, I steered him into the shop forward, and loaded the piece. I steered him back out, with inches to spare, and we parked at the edge of the lot. After each truck loaded, their outside crew went out and installed the plastic pipe over the sides to deflect and stray wires or branches. We usually use three, but they said they just needed one on each side, so we left the center one off. We went back in and helped the fourth truck load, and finish up. It felt extremely cold outside with all the wind!

It was 3:36 when the first two trucks rolled out.

We waited 10 minutes, to give some space in between, while we navigate the traffic lights and get out of town. Then we pulled out, followed by the last truck. We knew that we could not go very far today, because it was already so late, and we had curfews ahead. So we set our sites on Mendota IL which would be mostly highway. However, just 10 miles down the highway, the plywood began to rip off that first truck, as I suspected it would, and they had to pull off to try and salvage what was left. The funny thing is that after it came off, the second truck ran over the plywood laying in the road, and the plan was for us to pull off and pick it up. So I quickly put together a plan to do that safely. My driver stayed in the right lane/shoulder, and I went into the left lane, and we began a rolling road block. The idea is too slow all the traffic to a stop on the highway very, very slowly, to avoid a pileup. However, we knew we were at least 10 miles behind them, so waited to start our slowdown until our front car saw the plywood. She never did! Did someone else pick it up? Did it blow off the road? We will never know! So we all arrived at the truck stop in plenty of time before sunset curfew. It was a 68 mile day.

It was too cold to sleep in my van, so I went to a hotel. All four of the drivers slept in their trucks. But that’s not fair! They keep theirs running all night! LOL

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Most of the duct tape blew off everyone’s plywood, but only that first truck lost plywood. Their steerman left early to go get a new piece from the lumber store in his pickup truck. My driver decided to leave at 7 and get some separation between us. So we pulled out, and the others followed along within an hour once the plywood was replaced. Very soon, we turned off onto the small roads. We had some very narrow roads to navigate, with me driving back and forth from side to side, letting him know how many inches he had from parked cars on the right, and oncoming stopped cars and trucks on his left side. We also had quite a few low wires to skid across the top. I immediately began calling out wires we were hitting that our HP was not alerting us of. When that happens, we hit them too fast, and they tend to come down! So we stopped and my driver checked the HP’s pole height. He found it was off by 6 inches!!! That is absolutely HUGE! That means her pole was the same height as the load! We still hit lots of wires after that, but we were prepared for them by the HP.

But I noticed something else. When the wires would skid across the top on our pipes, they were getting snagged on something up there, making them pull very tight, and then jerking loose. Not a good situation, because sooner than later, one will not bounce free, and we will full it down!

We called ahead, and got permission to park all four trucks in a gravel lot at the fairgrounds in Lawrenceburg, IN. When we pulled in, the other trucks had already pretty much caught up, so pulled in behind us within 20 minutes. I had already offered to take my drone up and check the roof to see what the wires were getting caught on. Here is what I found.

Wow! Those guys who put the skidders on, were not looking – or not thinking – or didn’t know what they were doing! LOL Those covers are sticking up above the pipes, so asking pretty much channeling the wires right to them, causing the problem! The owner wanted me to send the picture to him as well. I then took some more shots of the trucks.

I took three of the drivers in my van to a restaurant for supper, and back to their trucks, then parked in a small truck stop for the night, ad slept in my van, because it was not going down below 20* overnight

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

We all pulled out together. Today we were the second truck. We have several new escorts working with us in this group. Each truck has a HP and a steerman. For HP cars, three of the four are new to us. Ours seems to be pretty green, missing skinny bridges, shoulder obstructions, pole set wrong, and missed a traffic light we wound up hitting. She just needs more experience before she’s ready for these Super Loads. Two of us steermen have been working with these guys for years, the other two are new. One, though just 28, has been steering for his Dad for years, and has more experience than me. He will certainly be a keeper. The other new guy has steered blade trailers before, but is struggling with these, because these are completely different. I think this is his first and last job with us. He has potential, but when can we let him practice and learn? No turn is not holding up traffic, or wouldn’t be a problem if you hit something.

Last night, our gravel lot was pretty soft because of the recent rain, so none of the drivers felt comfortable unhooking for fear of the trailers sinking. So, we had to pull into a large rest area with all four trucks, After putting blocks under them, they each disconnected, and drove to a truck stop to fuel up. Two parked in the car area. . . .

and two of us parked in the truck lot.

On his way out, my driver called me to let me know there were several trucks parked along the sides of the ramp leading back onto the highway. So I walked up, knocked on all 5 trucks, and asked them to move so we would be able to get out. Electronic logs have made this a dangerous job for me. See, their computer forces them to stop for their 10 hours off each night, or their mandatory 30 minute break, or 34 hour reset. They can turn their truck on, but if they move it before they have finished their required stop, they have to start that required all stop over again. So many times, we get a violent reaction when we ask them. Now, they can move it as long as they don’t get over 5 mph, which sends a message to the computer. So it’s a little delicate. I always put myself in their position when I ask. Every one of these guys was nice, and one just needed 12 minutes to complete his stop. I was happy to say that was no problem, because the drivers were still off getting fuel.

We went back out in second position to finish the day. but could not make it as far as we had planned because of that stop. So one of the drivers called ahead to the weigh station to be sure we could park there, and they said we could. So we parked them there before 4PM, when I took this shot.

The drivers were all going to stay in their trucks, so all the escorts left for the hotel, and I took this one.

I left, and decided on a BBQ super

Yes, it was a Keto compromise, and when I was about half way through, one of the new steermen came in, so I invited him to join me. We had a good visit, and I answered some of his questions, and gave him some advice from my perspective. I think he has a lot of potential.

I was going to spend the night in my van, but after talking to him, I checked the weather again, which showed the present rain to turn to ice later when it drops into the 20’s, which will turn to about an inch of snow. If we will not be allowed to run tomorrow, I will want to spend the day in a hotel. So, I checked into the hotel across the street.

Thursday, January 20, 2022

When my alarm went off at 6, I looked out my hotel window, and saw this:

That one look told me we would be leaving on time for sure. The snow stopped over an hour ago, so the little ice and snow on the roads will surely be taken care of by sunrise. So I stayed on schedule for and 8 AM travel time. As I was driving into that weigh station at 7:15, my driver called me. “Hey Dave, where are you?” “Driving in now, what do you need?” I responded. “Good, cuz you’re late!” WHAT?

I misunderstood the departure time, because it was to 7:30, not 8! So I wasn’t really late, and had my signs and flags on, and was ready by 7:30. But what he was saying was FOR ME, I was late! These guys know me well, and if I’m not there 15 minutes or more before I need to be, something is wrong! That means a lot to me, and my Dad would be proud!

As I suspected, the roads were completely fine, even for our size load!

We had a full day of travel, out of KY and through the hills up and down, through West Virginia. It’s really a pretty trip to make! We arrived in Raphine, VA by 4 PM, 400 miles, and parked all four trucks in the large truck stop there.

Believe it or not, it is expected to go down below 20° tonight, so I went to a hotel for the night.

Friday, January 21, 2022

Once again, it is only 156 miles to the site, but we left just after sunrise, and pulled out of the truck stop one by one, and onto the highway. Check out this water tower painted to look like a basket of apples!

We pulled up to the delivery site late morning. This site is different. The roads and buildings look finished, just like the landscaping does! With finished driveways, concrete curbs, and signs in place, the third driver with the inexperienced steerman didn’t want him having trouble getting his trailer in, so asked the other three steermen to cover for him. That offended that guy, but I remember well being in that position, and in my case, I asked for help before they had to make that decision. There was no way I wanted to put myself, my driver, and the trucking company into a position of embarrassment or costly expenses because of my inexperience. We steered our trucks in, and to the back, where we backed them up in line to wait to be unloaded Monday. Here is a picture of that from across the highway.

We all booked rooms at the same hotel, which had many choices of restaurants within walking distance, and I took a picture of the sunset that evening.

Saturday – Monday, January 22 – 24, 2022

I spent the days in my room catching up on this blog, financials, year end preparations for my CPA, laundry, and watching some football. Yes, I actually turned the TV on in my room!!

I ate breakfasts at the hotel, because they served a real one with eggs, bacon, and sausage, instead of just carbs and sugar. I had pulled pork from thaat pork loin I cooked that I made wraps for lunches, and went out for supper with others in our group. I didn’t go to church, because I really wanted to spend as much time as I could getting everything done on my list. Them, Sunday morning, I found out that we were not unloading until Tuesday morning. How did I miss that??

Tuesday we hope to get all the trucks unloaded, and begin the drive back to . . . .  Well, no one knows where yet. Dispatch has not told any driver or escort when or where they need to be yet, so we can make no plans yet. My driver knows he is going right home, because he made a dentist appointment a month ago for the 31st, and dispatch assured him he would be home in time. I’d need to stay with him all that way, but one of the other drivers was asked to help dispatch find a place to park the trailers for 10 days. No one knows what that means, but if the trailers are parked, none of the drivers will need escorts or steerman from that point on.  So hold your breath with me, and wait to see what my next adventure is!!!