May 8 – 12, 2021

Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Fall River, WI

Everyone was on time! We had our three trucks, 3 drivers, 3 steermen, 3 HPs, and 2 extra HPs/line lifters!

Legally, we don’t need the extra two, but that’s one thing I love about working for this company. Safety and the delivery in perfect condition is at the top of the list. Many, many companies skimp as much as they can get away with, and that’s when you have trouble! Been there; seen that. I like this much better. It’s much more professional.

Since all three loads are identical, and are the same height, there is no need for one HP to be in front of each truck. It is much more efficient to run them all in front of the first truck.

• Oncoming traffic gets the idea that something big is coming after passing 5 pilot cars loaded with yellow flashing lights!
• When one hits a wire, the one behind that one can stop and lift the wire.
• Two can work together to lift the really heavy ones.
• When there are multiple wires, they can leapfrog and be lifting 4 at a time, keeping the trucks moving.
• They can check all lights in an intersection all at once before the first truck.
• They can shut down intersections together, so the trucks don’t have to stop for red lights or stop signs, allowing less stress for those behind us.
• On turns, they can stop all traffic in every direction before the trucks get there, so they just slow down and make the turn without waiting or stopping.
• One can act as a leader, and coordinate their efficiency.

So, that is exactly what we did. In order for it all to work, we had to stay close together. Mine was the middle truck today, so in addition to my regular duties, my roll was to make sure my driver knew if the last truck fell behind too far, so he could slow down and let him catch up.

These are 3,500 KW generators inside enclosures, and weigh about 50 tons each. So each truck is 15′ wide, 17’4″ tall. 154′ long, and about 240,000 lbs. That weight is spread evenly across 13 axles and 50 tires.

The day went very smoothly,

and though we have done this route many times, there was a huge difference this time. That was because we had one of the HP cars designated as the leader – kind of a supervisor. I have worked with this guy for about 4 years now, and he is extremely good at what he does! He directs the HP cars so that they work together like a well-oiled machine. I know, because I have worked under him as a HP car many, many times over the years.

As a result, we made it to our goal almost 2 hours faster than any time before! That is mainly because we didn’t have to stop and start those heavy trucks all the time. They just kept moving!

We stopped in Forest City Iowa, and we each steered out trucks around the fuel island, and parked them out of the way along the side. I chose the perfect spot between the trucks, made a sausage, onion, pepper, Pepperoni, double cheese pizza for supper, and slept in my van right there.

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

I was up at 5, and had a cup full of Annalou’s awesome Keto granola with whole milk. It was so good, that I had a another half cup! We all backed our trucks up enough to make the turn toward the camera to get out of the truck stop by 7, and made a left turn onto the road.  In many of the turns, though we don’t have to manually steer, we often have to jump out, start the pony motor, follow along behind and lift the front or rear end as needed so we don’t rub the ground.  We only have about 4-5″ of clearance under the rails, so that fades away quickly if there is any topography to deal with.

Because of the way we were parked, my truck pulled out last, so we spent the day in the rear of the parade.

But once again, we made excellent time because of the efficiency of the HPs cars up front.

We only went about 200 miles to a familiar truck stop in Canton SD because we just needed to make it to Weston by the end of the day tomorrow, and meet the power company guys on Tuesday morning. We pulled in there and parked by 2 PM. They serve some really good fried chicken there, so I had a mid afternoon snack on chicken tenders with two of the drivers. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on setting up my generator. I set it up on the pony motor box of the trailer as a work bench, and removed the cover. This one was much easier to connect up than that last one I had. Remember, that one was a 2,000 watt start, 1800 watt run and could not start my rooftop air conditioner. as a result, I could not stay in my van any night that does not fall below 70, because it was just too hot for me to get any sleep. This generator is a 2500 wat start, and 2200 watt run.  That AC uses 1800 to start, and runs on 1200, so this one should be good.  They did not provide the correct measurements on the web site, so I already had to make modifications to my storage compartment for it to fit.

Today, my job was to disconnect the fuel tank, clean it out, and connect my fuel line directly to the carburetor. That way, I can set it outside behind the van, lock it to the frame, connect the fuel line up to the auxiliary line I installed that runs directly from my van’s gas tank. That way, I don’t need to store a gas can somewhere, and smell fuel!!

I got it all connected, and started it up – but found a fuel leak at the bottom somewhere. I then needed to remove all the covering to find it’s source, but the last screw needed an extra long screw driver that I did not have – plus, it was starting to rain! I quickly soaked up the fuel, put it all back together again, and put it away before the rain became an issue. That’s life on the road, with no shop, no bench, and limited tools! I own the right tool, but it’s in storage in MA, so I will have to buy one when I get the chance, and finish the job.

I had a salad supper with my driver right there at the truck stop, and we had a great conversation about how to improve the maintenance on the trailers. I then went to bed early in my van.

Monday, May 10, 2021

I got up at 5 so I’d have time to take a shower before making breakfast. Since I had the time, I made one of my favorites! Two sausage, egg and cheese rollups! Those low carb wraps make it a Keto breakfast.  I use 3 eggs, and usually eat one right away while it’s hot, and save the second for mid morning.

We pulled out right on time at 7, and today we were the last ruck again. We made our turn onto yet another small road, and came across some construction. Remember that part of the reason for needing a state permit is so that if there is going to be construction anywhere along the specified route, we would be sure to make it through with our width, length, height, and weight. Well, our guess is that the county didn’t check with the state before digging up the road. The entire road! Check out this video from my dash cam as I drive from he back to the front to park my van off the road, before walking back to steer the back of the trailer around this tiny by-pass they made with soft, muddy dirt and gravel!

I’m sure you’re not surprised when I tell you that the first truck got stuck in the mud. While traffic built up in front and in back of us, the county sent a road grader out to pull him the rest of the way through, as the steerman steered in the back. The problem is that when we steer, we must drive at walking speed, and that was not fast enough to create enough momentum. So, with the excavator, skid-steer, and grader, they made us a wider and straighter by-pass. As a result, the last two trucks drove through in auto steer at about 12 mph and made it through fine.

When I started working with these Super Loads a few years back, I thought it was a little selfish for us to take up more than half the road, never willing to move off of the pavement, and force all oncoming traffic to put one or both sets of tires in the gravel or grass. Even 18 wheel trucks. Here is a good reason why. Because of our size and weight, if we do, we sink in that gravel or grass, which makes the rear axles steer that way, and can literally “suck” the back of the trailer right off the road! Watch this dashcam video of the right wheels going off the road as my driver tried to give oncoming traffic just a little too  much room. It may not look dramatic to you in this video, but I was beginning to get scared as I said “Both tires are in the mud”, and then “It’s sucking you off the road!!” just as he then rode up onto the concrete shoulder of the bridge, which put him back on the road. Had that bridge not been there, or he wasn’t able to turn into the oncoming lane to pull it back, we could have had a wreck!

Later on we came upon a RR crossing just before a left turn.  We are very familiar with this route, so knew it was coming up.  Those RR overheads are only a few inches high than our loads, And, with the span between the ground points, we usually clear the left one by 6″, but the right one by less than 2 inches. Add to that the slight crown in the RR tracks, and you have a potential problem on both the top and bottom.

Trivial fact, free of charge: Did you know that if you make an electrical connection with both RR rails, in most cases you will set off the lights and bring the arms down? So if we drag across the tracks, and our bottom rail touches both sides of the tracks at the same time, we have a problem!

We didn’t want either problem, so our HP leader climbed up onto one of the poles to call out the top clearance on each load, and when it was our turn, I raised and lowered the front and rear towers to keep us clear on the bottom and top as we drove through.

We made it to our destination early again, and parked by about 1:30 PM. I made some phone calls, caught up on some blogging, and then used my driver’s truck bed to grill some turkey burgers for supper!

I made cheese burgers, and added onions, peppers, ketsup, and mustard to them! Using the Keto wraps works perfectly! I wrapped it up so that nothing dripped out. Perfect!

I slept right there in my van.

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

This is going to be a great day! I can just tell. My cousin Ken and his wife Ellen are going to try and join us on our way through Omaha where they live.  They have seen my pictures and videos, and read these blogs, but have never seen these trucks in person. There is a huge difference!

While we waited for the power company, who was scheduled for 9 AM, I cooked myself up some sausage, egg and cheese rollups. They finally arrived at 9:15, and all three trucks pulled out by 9:30, with mine in the rear again. This is where it gets intense with low wires, low traffic lights, and even one low bridge. In addition, there are several turns that are so tight that even if we manually steered the trailer, we could not make it. In the right turn cases, we shut down the intersection in every direction about 200′ feet away. Then the trucks pull into the oncoming lane, and approach it as close as possible to the left curb. They then make the turn into the oncoming lane as close to that left curb as possible. Every traffic light has to be checked for height, and sometimes there is a median with a curb. In those cases, we have traffic stopped as far as the next intersection so we can travel in the opposite lane and cross back as we weave through those lights. If those are too low, we simply raise the load up, and drive up the curbs and over the median wherever we can. The key is to be so organized that it happens smoothly, and quickly.

My cousin Ken and  Ellen fell in behind us for the last few miles in their little black car, as you can see here. . .

However, near the end, they fell behind as we had our HP holding several intersections so we could travel through on the red – but they could not, and got several cycles behind us with lots of cars in between.

About a mile from the site, while on the 4 lane divided road, we finally got the call that told us what order they wanted us in to unload. I immediately shut down all traffic behind us, as the trucks passed each other to change our order. The #2 truck became first, we became second, and the #1 truck became last.

We parked single file in our normal spot beside the employee parking lot, and were told we would be unloaded tomorrow at 9AM, 1PM, and 6PM. That will mean only 1, and possibly 2 trucks will be able to leave tomorrow. Omaha has a 4PM curfew, so if we can not be through the city by then, we can not enter it, and have to wait until 9AM the next morning when curfew lifts. As a result we loose about 5-6 driving hours.

The 6 of us checked in to a hotel, went to a gun shop, and then to a restaurant, where one of the drivers picked up the check, and we all left the waiter about a 40% tip! That’s fun!

Tuesday, May 12, 2021

We were all there at the trucks before 8AM. Since their late crew had taken our wire skids off last night, each team packed them up and stored them for the next trip. We all walked over to security to check in and get our wrist bands, so we can get in the gate when they call us. It used to be that they wanted your name and ID, and would give you a badge. Now they don’t care who you are- all they want is to know your temperature! Then we waited.

When no one called us at 9, and the crane still had not moved, (you can see it in the distance beyond that pole)

we got out our lawn chairs, and talked shop together. It was a warm sunny day in the 60’s with a steady breeze.

At 10:30, an official looking guy walked by, so I got up and asked him for an update, and he said “Oh, they won’t be ready for your first truck until at least noon.”

Just before noon, I looked over and said “Look, guys, the crane moved!” Yaay! Finally, at 12:30 the foreman came by and said “they are ready for the first two trucks now, so get them in there as soon as possible.” In other words, it’s no problem for you to wait hours for us, but don’t make us wait 5 minutes for you! LOL It’s always the same! LOL

Now the race was on. . . . .will any of us be able to make it out of Omaha today by 4PM? I’ll let you know in the next blog!!