FIRST 5 YEARS:(Monday-Laredo, Texas)
Christmas Slowdown....Am in Laredo where the motel has a pool and it is warm enough to use it. Slept in tractor last night and decided to get a room for tonight. Really didn't do much today. Went to eat and shop. Talked to some drivers at the terminal and then a couple drivers sitting around the motel pool. Uneventful....
SECOND 5 YEARS:(out of coolant????!!!!)
I had a Georgia load going to Mt Pleasant, Iowa and had parked at the truckstop in Paducah, Kentucky for my 8+ hours break. It was late and I went to bed. Had a good night and when I got up, I sat in the driver's seat and got all my paperwork caught up. I then started to go to the truckstop store and I noticed the ground looked wet. Looking around, I noticed a clear liquid coming out of my radiator overflow. Smelling it, I determined it was diesel fuel. I looked at my radiator overflow bottle and it was full of diesel fuel; I saw no coolant. I checked my gauges and found nothing out of the normal-temperature was fine. I called dispatch and they put me to the maintenance shop. The shop told me to drive it to the dealer out of St. Louis, Missouri for whatever repairs it needed. Dispatch canceled my unloading appointment for the next morning as we didn't know what the problem could be. The shop said to just watch the temperature which I did for the 3+ hour drive. The truck made it to St Louis with no problem. The engine temperature never varied. What I thought was going to be a major problem turned out to be nothing more than a broken “O” ring near an injector. I got to the dealer about 4 PM and they had me out of the place before midnight. The big problem was that dispatch couldn't get me another unload appointment until Thursday(original was Tuesday AM). I had two days to do about a 3 hour drive!!!!! Frustration???
Side Note: I ran diesel fuel as coolant for about 3 hours with no problem. If you should need coolant, DON'T use your diesel fuel without the OK of your maintenance shop or a place that will be willing to take responsibility if something negative happens. For "GAS" engines???DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT..I wouldn't even use gas if I got the OK!!! Gas and diesel fuel are two totally different substances and work in engines differently. I can't emphasize enough how dangerous the use of gas would be...
Tomorrow: The BIG cost of fuel leaks...
I kept a day by day journal the first 5 years I was enjoying North America. While earning a living,I kept track of where I went, often what I did, feelings I had and various other details. I am writing this blog day by day as I lived it. The month/day I lived it is the same as the month/day I write about it. The years are obviously different...thus the days title: ie: August 30, 1989, 2009.
About Me
- The Protraveller...
- Starting as a preschooler, I remember my Grandfather bringing me rocks from his trips he took after he retired. Each rock had a story to tell. In the sixth grade, I watched a freeway be built and then wondered where all the trucks would go. I remember in high school looking at the mountains and wanting to travel. I did many jobs BEFORE trucking but I always wondered what driving would by like. I really wanted to see things and drive a big truck. So after almost finishing nursing school, a divorce and three cute little kids, I became a truck driver. While earning a living, I found myself enjoying North America and seeing the land and people. NO ONE ENJOYED TRAVELING MORE THAN ME. There are two things I have enjoyed in this life and they are traveling and writing. I use to call myself "Protourist" but my Mother-in-law and Wife would become upset with me as they know I really love THE "travel" and not THE stopping to see things. I now call myself "protraveller"(I like it with a double "L") and my Mother-in-law and Wife are now happy!!! I love to write and this blog gives me the opportunity to share my past and thoughts with the public.
About this blog's layout...BLOG UPDATED ONCE PER DAY...
I follow my journal daily by writing under the daily title, "FIRST 5 YEARS:" The first five years will strictly follow my 5 year journal. If I find the day I am writing about to be boring, I will either write about thoughts I remember(placed under the title of "SECOND 5 YEARS"), write a trucker tale(placed under "A Trucker's Tale"), give a helpful trucker hint, ask a "student driver" question or do something.....When a location appears after the day of the week after "FIRST 5 YEARS:", it is where I am at the start of that day((IE: FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-Kansas City, Missouri))..... I would encourage those that find themselves enjoying North America to follow me day by day.....REMEMBER: THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR A TRUCKER THAT DOES NOT HAVE A DAILY ROUTINE ROUTE(called a "dedicated" route). THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE SIMILAR(boring???) TO PREVIOUS DAYS; THAT'S TRUCKING! THERE WILL BE DAYS WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE TOTALLY NEW; THAT'S TRUCKING. Frustrations? I mention the frustrations I had as a driver. I loved my job while earning a living and realized that all jobs have frustrations; truck driving is, and was, no different..... Many pictures on this blog can be left-clicked and made larger.....Questions?...Please E-mail PT at fabalt2000@centurylink.net
Blog Dictionaries...
The Trucking Dictionary...words in this dictionary will many times appear highlighted. If a word isn't highlighted or in the blog dictionary and sounds "different", check it out in this dictionary. Please note: Many times when clicking on these dictionaries anywhere in the blog, the first thing that comes up is an advertisement which I have no control over.
The Blog Dictionary...This dictionary contains words I use that aren't "trucker" words and thus not in the "trucking dictionary". I separate them--the dictionaries--in case someone wants to copy the trucking dictionary for personal use. This dictionary also contains names of people(not real names) that I dealt with many times through my trucking career. Blog word found in this dictionary often will be licked to it.
DAILY UPDATES SHOULD BE UP BY NOON CST...
December 11, 2009
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What's in my blog...???
- 666--Highway (2)
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