How to Handle Your Company's DOT Audit

Take the day off. If you can’t leave the country, at least leave the state. I’m kind of joking but I’m not. This is the second time DOT has been to the office in about two months. First time, they gave us a week notice, then when they arrived, they only wanted to see household stuff, but we don’t do household stuff. The team stayed about 20 minutes and left. This time we get another week’s notice and I’m in most everyday, redoing what I did for the last one. The biggest problem for some reason is drivers sending in [...More...]

 
High Winds !!!

From Fort Worth to Las Vegas we encountered high winds and dust storms on our way back home. We finished loading late Friday nite and I was to start driving Saturday morning to Las Vegas. It was so windy I had both hands on the wheel with a tight grip when about 200 miles into our trip I saw the top of the trailer flopping in the wind and holding on by inches to the passenger side. I yelled ” Wayne” about 3 times as he was resting in the back and spotted a sign that said rest area 1 [...More...]

 
A few Pix

A few pictures from our latest trip. The Saint John River in New Brunswick. The dock we delivered to in Vegas from Northborough, Mass. First class all the way! And entertainment from the Entertainment Capital of the World! At least this guy is doing something for his handouts. Click on the picture, it’s a bit fuzzy because we were so far back, but he’s juggling three tennis balls. He needs more practice.

 

Because the Volvo hospital in Vegas is now closed and the local mechanic thought it was too serious to perform surgery in the parking lot. I drive the patient the 100 miles to the next nearest Volvo shop. I was hoping for a terminal diagnosis and the only solution would be to put the beast out of its misery. The diagnosis is critical but not terminal. I was hoping for a quick painless death to this problem, but instead I get to apply another bandage and continue on. We have a plan in place in the case of a sudden [...More...]

 

I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man! John Merrick, The Elephant Man One of the good things about trucking is that there isn’t much contact with the same people. Unless you’re going to the same place over and over, if you don’t like someone or someplace, wait a few minutes and it will change or you won’t have to see them anymore. It’s different when they’re in the company you drive for. Even then it’s only for a few minutes at a time, so that’s good. This company [...More...]

 
Downtown San Francisco

Downtown SF, originally uploaded by Adventures In Trucking. Next to the Westin Hotel unloading sound and video equipment for some kind of show or conference. Notice, I’m NOT in the picture. Two teamsters inside the trailer and stage hands waiting at the tail to take equipment off and roll it inside the hotel. I hate driving downtown anywhere, but it is more of a challenge than the interstate and keeps things interesting! This time went pretty well both inbound and outbound and I went straight to my next load in Burlingame. Here are a few pictures of the Bay Bridge [...More...]

 

Finally out of the snow and extreme cold. I thought I was out of the snow last night, but I woke up this morning with snow on the windshield in West Virginia. After about 20 minutes of driving I came on to a wreck that had both directions shut down for 45 minutes. Rumor had it that a car spun out in front of a UPS freight truck, the truck hit the car or went into the median to avoid it, I don’t remember, but the UPS truck and trailers were on their sides in the median. After I crossed [...More...]

 
Here’s the booth we’re Taking

Here’s the booth we’re Taking to miami. Five crates and a little Ford Focus that has the back seat replaced with speakers.

 

That is what it felt like at the time. We were both in front and it started to rain so we thought. What was left on the front of the truck was gruesome!! It was very hard to see and the windshield wipers would of just made things worse. So we pulled into a truck wash to clean off the blurred mess on the front of the truck. I asked some of the other truckers in line, what happened? They replied, you ran into a swarm of Louisiana Lovebugs. They said they come twice a year to the area and [...More...]

 
Happy Holidays

We arrived home (Las Vegas) late in the afternoon on Sunday, Christmas Day. Just 48 hours prior to that we had left Pen Argle, Pennsylvannia. Since this was a team run we had no time to stop in Kansas or Minnesota to celebrate Christmas with our families. Wayne’s phone rang about 10:30 pm and it was the broker asking where we were and needed us down at the Convention Center ASAP!!! So no sleep for Wayne as the original plan was to unload the next morning. He didn’t return unloaded until Monday afternoon as that is a story in itself. [...More...]

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