August 23

Left for Pierson at 0800, arrived in Pierson at about 0930 and found the terminal closed and there were not any empty trailers. I sent a message to the dispatcher to see if they wanted me to drop my trailer and bobtail back to the hump, they replied with a yes. So I dropped my trailer and bobtailed to the hump arriving at 1130. This is when I start my hometime. I do not have to be back until Wednesday morning.

August 22

I left the parking lot and arrived at the location of my next load at 1200. I went into the office and was told that I will be responsible for loading my trailer with empty pallets. I proceeded to load 146 pallets on my trailer, this filled up about ¾ of the trailer. I left at about 1300 and drove all the way to the rest area in Jacksonville near my house. On my way to Florida, I received a message that I was to drop my trailer and hook up to an empty trailer at a company terminal located in Pierson, Fl. I arrived at the rest area at about 2130, called Lisa to come pick me up and I spent the night at home.

August 21

Left the TA after my 10 hour break at 1400 and headed for Greensboro, NC. My appointment time is at 2200. I knew I would make it there by 2100 if I drove straight through without stopping or running into delays. I arrived at 2115, parked in their lot next to the guard shack, checked in and was sent to a dock. While waiting to be unloaded, I received my pre-plan. I will pick up a load in Kernersville, NC and take it to the hump by Sunday morning. They finished unloading my trailer at 0115 and on my way out I asked the guard if I could park in their lot for the night and was told yes. So I parked there for the night.

August 20

While waiting to leave for Wintersville, Oh, my original pre-plan was cancelled. I am now supposed to pick up a load in Groveport, Oh at 1700 today, One problem though, my appt time at the receiver in Wintersville, Oh is at 2130. I called the receiver to see if I could come early, and they said only an hour early. I then called my driver manager and asked her about the time difference. She told me the new load will already be loaded on another trailer and I can arrive at anytime to drop my current trailer and pick up the other one. I arrive at the receiver at 2030 during and heavy thunderstorm. While I was checking in, lightning struck close by causing a power outage. The companies generators kicked in and I had to wait about a half hour for their computers to reboot. I was given my dock assignment and off I went. I left the receiver at 2300 and drove to Groveport, Oh arriving at 0200. I dropped my current trailer, hooked up to the new one and off I went in search of a place to park at this late hour. After driving for about a half hour, I found a TA with a parking spot and shut down for the night at 0400.

August 19

I left the rest area at 0800. I drove all day except for stopping for fuel and spent the last half of the day driving up and down the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. I shut down for the night in Camp Creek, WV. I still have about a five hour drive to tomorrow to reach the shipper. I received my next load assignment this afternoon. I will be picking up a load in Maumee, OH and taking it to the hump where someone else will pick it up at take it to Pompano Beach, Fl. This is supposed to be my weekend home, but based on my planning I will not get to the hump until sometime Saturday and then my hometime will start.

August 18

My appt. time in Auburndale was 1600, I arrived at 1500 and had to wait until 1600 before they started loading the trailer. I left the shipper at 1800 and started driving north. I shut down for the night at a rest area along I-95 not far from my house. I had Lisa pick me up and I spent the night at home.

August 17

My appt. time in Plant City was 2300, I arrived at 2200 and the security told me what dock to back into. I then went into the receiving office and was told they will start unloading me at 2300. While waiting for them to unload the trailer, I received my next load assignment. I am supposed to pick up a load in Aurburndale, Fl and take it to Wintersville, Oh by Thursday night. The receiver finished unloading me and I left at 0000. Now I had to find a place to park for the night and you know you just can’t park this thing anywhere. I stopped at a truck stop along I-4 and it was full, I then went to a rest area a few miles away and it was full. Since Auburndale is not far from the hump and I was not far from the hump, I went back there and shut down for the night at 0200.

August 15

Awoke at 0300 to get to Forest Park, Ga by 0630. Arrived at 0530 and went to the shipping office, they told me to go park across the street and they will call me when my load is ready. I received a call from the shipping office at 0930 that my load was ready and for me to back into a dock. They finished loading me at 1100 and I left to head south. I drove to the hump and shut down for a day and a half. I called Lisa to see if she could come down to spend the day with me tomorrow.

August 14

I drove to Greenville, SC this morning and was early for my 1200 appointment time. They took me in right away. While being unloaded I received my pre-plan. I am to pick up a load in Forest Park, Ga. 0630 tomorrow morning and deliver it to Plant City, Fl. Monday night at 2300. Left the receiver and drove to Commerce, Ga and shut down for the night.

August 13

Drove to the shipper this morning and found out it was at drop and hook. This is where I disconnect my current empty trailer and hook up to one that is already loaded. After hooking up to the new trailer, I went into the shipping office to get the bills and found out the trailer weighed 44,500 pounds. I knew I needed to go to a scale and have the load weighed to make sure I was less than 80,000lbs. I had to drive all the way to Ormand Beach before I found a scale. I drove on the scale and had them weigh my load, I then went inside to get the scale ticket and found out I weighed 79,400 lbs, just below the legal limit. I still had to slide the back axles of the trailer forward to take some of the weight off those axles and put more weight on my drive axles. I then proceed up I-95 to stop at the rest area by my house. I had called Lisa earlier to see if she could meet me at the rest area and we could go have lunch together which we did. I left the rest area after lunch and stopped for the night in Bowman, SC.

August 12

Left this morning at 0430 heading to Melbourne. Arrived in Melbourne at 0700 and waited for the manager of the store to arrive. My appointment time is 0800. The manager arrived at 0730 and started unloading my trailer. Once he finished I left for Stuart, Fl. where the store manager did the same thing. I did not have my next load after the trailed had been unloaded, so I headed up to a truck stop in Ft. Pierce to wait for my load assignment. I got my load assignment after sitting for about an hour. I am supposed to pick up a load in Lake Worth, Fl. tomorrow morning at 0800 and take it to Greenville, SC, by Friday at 1200. I left the truck stop in Ft. Pierce and drove to one in Vero Beach and shut down for the night.

August 11

Left this morning at 0500 and drove to the TA near my house and stopped here for the night. I called Lisa and had her come get me from the TA and I spent the night at home instead of the truck.

August 10

This morning I got up at 0330, as I still have 80 miles to drive to my destination with a 0700 appointment time. I wanted to give myself enough time to get there in case I got lost along the way. (which happened). I left the truck stop at 0400. I arrived at the receiver at 0615 and went to the guard shack to check in. The guard told me I needed to go to their other warehouse about two block away and wait for my 0700 appt. time. There was nothing on my order that told me I needed to go to the other warehouse. I drove over to the other warehouse and lo and behold there were eight other trucks sitting in line waiting to get in, the gate was locked. The security guard opened the gate at 0700 and all the drivers went to the guard shack and stood in line. At 0815 it was finally my turn to check in. The guard gave me a dock number to back into and off I went to do my first solo back in. I backed into the dock with only two pull-ups. This is getting easier. They finished unloading my trailer at 0915 and off I went to Toana, Va. to pick up my next load. I have two stops on this load, one in Melbourne, Fl. and the last one in Stuart, Fl. I arrived in Toana, Va at 1030 and was told to back into a dock to get my trailer loaded. They took and extremely long time to load my trailer, I finally pulled out of the dock at 1530. I shut down for the night at the same truck stop I spent last night at in Emporia, Va.

August 9

Lisa dropped me off at the TA at 0500. I performed my pre-trip inspection and left at 0530. I drove to Emporia, Va. where I stopped for the night after driving 555 miles. The pre-plan for my next load came after I stopped. I am supposed to pick a load in Toana, Va. tomorrow morning and make two stops, one in Melbourne, Fl. and the other one in Stuart, Fl. on 8/12

August 8

I arrived at the hump and went to the shop to get the keys to my truck. The truck number is 439. As I was doing my inspection, I found out it has a super 10 transmission, I have never driven this type of transmission before. I took the truck for a test drive to get used to the transmission. It was very easy to use, much easier than a straight 10. When I returned from my test drive, I was told by the on-duty DM that someone else will be picking the load up in Auburndale and bringing it to the hump. I will then hook up to the trailer and take it on its way to Norfolk. The load arrived at about 1200, I hooked up to the trailer and left on my first solo run. I pre-planned the trip to allow me to stop at the TA truck stop near my house for the night. I arrived at the TA at about 1700. Lisa came by to pick me up and I spent the night at home.

August 7

I called my DM at 1200 to check on the status of my truck. She said it was still in the shop and that she would call when she has news. My DM called at 1600 and said my truck was ready and that I should come to the hump tomorrow morning to pick it up. I have been pre-assigned a load that picks up in Auburndale, Fl. tomorrow afternoon at 1530 and delivers to Norfolk, Va. Monday morning at 0700.

August 6

Today I drove to Okahumpa, (the Hump), to get my truck assignment. I spoke with my Driver Manager (DM) and was told I needed to take another driving test. The Safety Director took me out for a road test then had me back into a dock. I did not have any trouble passing the test. He then told me he was upgrading me to first seat and I will start receiving mileage pay. He then told my Driver Manager, who then began trying to find me a truck. My DM was not prepared for me to get my own truck, she said it doesn't happen too often that a student is moved into first seat without teaming with someone first. My DM located me a truck at 1600, however it was in the shop and would not be ready until tomorrow. she told me to go home for the night and to call her tomorrow to get the status of the truck.

August 1

Left Scranton on a flight this morning to Detroit and then to Jacksonville to arrive this afternoon. I spoke to my dispatcher yesterday afternoon and told her what I was doing. She was OK with it and told me to call her first thing Monday morning to find out when I need to return to Okahumpka to pick up my truck.

July 31

I woke up a 0530 and have not heard from the driver that was supposed to pick me up. My dispatcher had not heard anything either. I decided I was going to try to fly or rent a car to go home. The hotel we are staying in is sold out Friday, Saturday and Sunday night due to the NASCAR race at Pocono raceway, so we have to go somewhere. I took the hotel shuttle to the airport to see if I could rent a car or get a flight out. There were not any cars to rent due to the race and the next flight out to get me home leaves tomorrow morning. So I booked the flight and spent the night in airport. Thank goodness I have my sleeping bag with me.

July 30

I'm still in Scranton. The shop told my co-driver the transmission was shot and it will take until at least next Tuesday to repair. My dispatcher called to tell us she found a way for me to get back to Florida. She sent a notification to another driver for him to stop and pick me up on his way to Georgia. He is supposed to be here some time tonight.

July 29

I'm still in Scranton. My co-driver heard from Freightliner today at 1600. They have the transmission out of the truck and will take a look at it tomorrow. Another night in the hotel.

July 28

Left this morning at 0500 and drove to the receiver in Brockton, MA arriving at 0730. They began unloading us right away and finished at 0815. We still have not received our next load assignment. We asked the receiver where we could park and he told us about a K-Mart shopping center that has a diner. We left the receiver and went to the K-mart to park and have breakfast at the diner. We received our load assignment while eating breakfast. We are supposed to pick up a load of candles from their factory in South Deerfield, MA and take them to Charlotte, NC. by tomorrow. When we arrived at the candle factory, there was a pre-loaded trailer waiting for us, so all we had to do was drop out empty trailer and hook up to the loaded trailer. We hooked up to the new trailer and left for Charlotte at 1100. Our route took us up and down hills on I-84 through PA. and NY. I use the cruise control as much as possible, and we started noticing the engine running rough as we climbed a hill. This noise continued for a while until I lost power in 10th gear. I dropped my speed to 55 MPH and dropped to 9th gear and the engine ran fine. My co-driver called our breakdown department to find out where we could take the truck to have it looked at. The gave us a Freightliner location in Scranton, PA. So I kept moving along in 9th gear for about 75 miles. When we reached our exit for Freightliner, that's when we noticed we had major problems. I could not down shift into any other gear, luckly, I use 4th gear to start from a stop and we still had that gear only because 4th and 9th gear are located in the same slot. I was able to get the truck into 4th gear at the end of the exit ramp and creep along until we reached the Freightliner location. The Freightliner location knew we were coming, however they told us they could not look at the truck until after 1300 tomorrow. They told us to drop our trailer in one location and park the truck in another location. This is when we found out we did not have reverse. We dropped the trailer in an out of the way location and parked the truck. Another LCT driver will come tonight or tomorrow and pick up our loaded trailer and take it to Charlotte. We spent the night in a nearby hotel.

July 27

Left Youngstown, OH at 0530 and drove to Willington, CT and stopped for the night.

July 26

We left Elfingham, Il at 0830 and drove to Youngstown, OH and spent the night.

July 25

We decided to take most of today off and spent it resting in a motel in Elfingham, Il.

July 24

We awoke at 0500 and went to check in at 0530. We were given a dock assignment right away. I backed into the dock and they started unloading us at 0600. They finished unloading us by 0730 and then they had to count the freight. They finished counting at 0930 and we pulled out at 1000. While sitting here, we received our next load assignment. We are to pick up a load in Ardmore, OK. and take it to Brockton, MA by Tuesday morning. We left Ft. Worth at 1000 and picked up our load in Ardmore and began driving to Brockton. We stopped for the night in Elfingham, IL.

July 23

We left Robertsdale, AL at 0600 and drove all the way to Ft. Worth, only stopping for fuel and food. We arrived at the receiver at 1830 after 700 miles of driving. We have a 0600 appointment time tomorrow morning. We slept in the truck in the receivers parking lot.

July 22

We left for the shipper which is located on Mcduff St. outside of downtown Jacksonville at 0600 and arrived at 0715. I went to check in at the shipping desk and was told they would call me when a dock became available. We had an 1100 appointment but we were hoping that by arriving early we could get loaded early. No such luck, the shipping office called me at 1100 and gave me the dock number for us to back into. The shipping office called me after I backed into the dock and told me I needed to go inside to count the product that was to be loaded. They had me count the product by writing down the number the warehouse worker gave to me as the count of each pallet, what a joke. They finished loading us a 1330 and we left for Ft. Worth, Tx. We stopped in Robertsdale, AL for the night.