08272011 Loads since Richfield and Newbie

Another week of learning and making, I am sure, many unknown mistakes. We try really hard not to look like we have no idea what we are doing, but it seems like I keep saying, well this is only our second week, we will do it better next time. I think at some point though, there will be a time when we will not be newbies anymore (a year, two, three??). We live and learn everyday and this business seems to be even more complicated than going to college and working in education. There are so many what ifs and so much in timing and this is before we even get a load. So on to our week, the work we did and the people we meet.

Our truck was fixed and we said good bye to the couple we met at Carrier and headed out. Almost as soon as we put our truck into service we received a load opportunity going from Ohio to Kansas. This load was a couple of gears and I'm not talking the small kind, I'm talking the huge kind (can't remember the weight, but they were big). I'm talking huge like National Machinery huge (sorry, Tiffin Ohio reference). Pickup went smoothly and we went to Kansas, pretty much I drove during the day and Jim drove at night. We decided that we were going to try the 2 to 2 shift, I would drive 2am to 2pm and he would take the 2pm to 2am. That first one was tough because we had both slept all night the night before, and neither of us was tired enough to sleep during the day, but we made it through which made the next one a little easier. We dropped in Kansas which went well. We decided after this load that the next time we had a chance, we wanted to get the dollies fixed on the truck, but would wait until we had a chance. Jim worked at securing and loading and unloading the load. He keeps telling me securing is just simple physics. I get the load bars but how he decides where to put the straps and where he decides on the e-track to put them, I'm not sure if I'll ever get that:) By the way, Physics was not my favorite class in school, so even if it is simple, I'm not sure if I paid attention enough to even get the simple.

After the Kansas load, we were given the option of laying over in Kansas City which would have been 200 or so miles from where we were, so we decided to go to a different city (which right now I don't remember which one) that was only about 80 miles away. We called our fleet manager from Expediter Services just to see if she thought that was a smart move, she agreed, so we told FedEx we would be laying over there. We probably didn't get a mile down the road when the next load opp came across. We were both pretty excited about it because it would take us to a state we hadn't been to yet. Long story but we wound up getting the load.

The load was from Minnesota to Texas. Now, again being newbies and not knowing a whole lot, we took off toward Minnesota, which I believe was over 600 deadhead miles. We do get paid for deadhead miles but again we need to learn about this part and how it affects us, Expediter Services and of course the truck we are driving and if the pay is worth running the truck that many miles. It was a good trip with scenery we hadn't seen before. We arrived at the shipper about 1/2 hour early. They were ready for us and then showed Jim an email from the person we were shipping it to that said, "Load as much on the truck as they will let you." I believe the original order was for 4 skids and the shipper asked if we could take 9. Well, another newbie thing...we didn't know for sure how much we were able to take on our truck. We had an empty weigh ticket and knew about how much we should be able to haul. Jim got on the phone to the wonderful Expediter couple that we had talked to at the Expo and found out not only how much we should be able to haul but also how to use the tag axle to assist us in spreading the load out over the axles. Another newbie thing we did was of course to call dispatch since we were told that if there was something different than what we were told, we needed to call. So we called dispatch and waited to see if it was all right to take the extra weight. After an hour of waiting, we found out that normally extra weight was ok to take as long as your truck can hold it. So, we wound up taking 6 of the 9 skids. So after our departure call, we were off to the scales to adjust the weight of the axles. It only took one reweigh to get the weight evened out. Then we were off heading for Texas.

We didn't get probably 5 miles away from the pickup when I noticed a car beside me trying to get my attention. I rolled down my window and she said, "You have smoke coming from your brakes." Now, I've never been so scared and so thankful in my entire life. (God definitely sent a couple of angels to us to get our attention). I was just driving along and didn't know it was happening. I looked out my mirror and black smoke was coming from the bottom. Well, another newbie thing...since it was Expediter truck, we called them first. They shared with us that since we were under a load for FedEx then we needed to call them. At this time, I'm just panicking because didn't they understand that our brakes were smoking and that this was an emergency and now we have to call someone else. By the time we called FedEx and put our emergency triangles out, the smoke had cleared and things were cooled down, so I was a little better. FedEx said they would call a tow and to expect a call from the company. The company called and said that they were going to send a technician who might be able to help us out on the road instead of having it towed but that he would have a tow truck if needed. Of course during this whole time, I'm blaming myself, thinking, did I hit the breaks too hard or was it something that I had done. Once the technician got there he shared that it was in the tag axle and that all he had to do was adjust the brake. He did and then decided to look at the other brake on the other side and it also needed to be adjusted. If anyone is keeping track, we were now about 3 hours late, an hour at the shipper and a couple hours dealing with the brakes. FedEx did adjust our delivery time for us so we didn't have to deliver until Monday morning. That really helped relieve the stress of being late to delivery, after all we are working for FedEx, they pride themselves on getting things there on time and Jim and I are perfectionists and we did not want to be late. We tested the brakes and then the rest of my shift went well and was free of black smoke.

Smoothe sailing as Jim was driving once it hit 2pm. His shift went pretty well. I took over at 2am. I was well rested and was having a great conversation with God. At about 5:30 am (eastern time, since that is the time FedEx uses no matter where we are), one by one, my gauge lights started going out, the ABS light came on and then went off and then poof, the headlights went out. I knew then and there that this was not good and pulled off (doing a well planned emergency stop along the road). As soon as I got off the side of the road and put it in neutral, the lights came back on. By that time Jim was up and we decided that we would try to go down the road and follow our route until we could get off an exit and check on things. Actually I think both of us just hoped it was a fluke and that it would be all right. The next part of our route involved us getting on another interstate. In the middle of the onramp getting on to the interstate, it happened again. This time, there wasn't a place to pull off, so I drove very slowly down the ramp as far off the road as I could get and stopped just past the ramp once I had room to get off. Jim put out the emergency triangles and again called Expediter Services thinking maybe it was just something glitchy with the truck that we could play with and fix. No such luck, so then we had to call FedEx because we were under load still. They called a company to tow. Jim and I both thought that it was probably something major and we would need a tow truck and since it had done it twice in just a couple of miles, we didn't think we would get very far. The tow truck company called and said that they were going to send someone out to see if he could fix it before they towed us. Well it was an hour later and FedEx had already called us and said that they were working on getting us a transfer truck who would take the load the rest of the way. The technician came and of course everything was up and running again, so he didn't know what it could be. I started the truck and then it made a wonderful clanky noise (like something metal hitting a fan). He thought it was a pulley or something and that it would probably need to be fixed. FedEx had already told us that the transfer would happen at the tow truck yard. The technician told us that there wasn't room at the yard to do a transfer, that there wasn't room for two trucks but that their shop had a couple of loading docks that we could use. So we called FedEx and made arrangements for the other truck to meet us there. The truck made it a couple of exits to their shop and we were able to wait there for the transfer truck. While we waited we called Expediter services and left a message that we were going to call Kenworth and see if we could get it in on Monday. Jim called and little did we know that the garage is open 24-7 but probably still wouldn't be able to look at it until Tuesday and that was only if we were able to get it there and check in on Sunday, if not it would be later. We decided after the transfer that we would take it over to the garage. I decided to get out my lawn chair and wait for the other truck, I was getting a little motion sick looking out the mirror to see if they were there yet and Jim was trying to get some sleep. I sat out under a wonderful shade tree. I think I forgot to mention that this was all taking place in Kansas City, remember the place where they wanted us to lay over before we got the load. I decided then and there that for some reason God wanted us in Kansas City, obviously we didn't listen the first time so he was giving us another chance:) The team came to transfer our freight to their truck. A wonderful couple from PA. As the guys were flopping freight, the girls were able to have some wonderful conversation. They themselves had only been out on the road for about 10 months. They had made the trip to Texas a couple of times and she was excited about going to the truck stop down there because there was a guy who sold movies at a very good price and she was excited that they would be able to get some new movies, I think that is where our conversation went to the movie Green Lantern, which is when the guys were done and wondered how our conversation had lead to that. When the guys were done and we had our paperwork transferred, they were off to Texas and the weigh station to make sure they were all right with their weight. I learned that day how to do transfer freight BOL. I became the shipper on their paperwork and they became our cosignee on our BOL. Made perfect sense after she explained it. They followed us to Kenworth which was right by a truckstop so they could get a weight on the truck. By the way....sometime quite a ways into one of our next loads, Jim realized that we were missing a lawn chair. Oops, I guess someone at the shop now has a lawn chair because I forgot to put it back in the truck.

We went to Kenworth and checked in. We spent some in the truck, went next door to the truck stop and got something to eat, showered and then headed back to the truck for bed. We spent a little time in the drivers' lounge at Kenworth and watched a little TV. On Monday, we called Expediter and talked to the guy who in charge of maintenance on the trucks. He asked us to take the truck to the TA. He thought that it was probably the alternator which Jim and I had thought but then decided it wasn't because the gauges came back on and it drove for a while. We left Kenworth and went to the TA. Sure enough it was the alternator and we learned that the TAs can handle most things and that should be our first step when something goes wrong. Of course we always clear anything we do with the truck with Expediters first since they are the ones paying for the repairs. We also asked Expediter if while we were at it if we could fix the dollies and they sent us to the repair shop which was right down the road from the TA. We were there until later Monday evening. Now we had a new alternator and now new dollies. At this time we thought we were definitely good to go and ready for our next load.

Our next load we accepted was from Missouri to Ontario Canada and was a temp controlled load which meant our reefer probes were going to be put to the test. Once we got to the dock the guys on the dock asked why FedEx had sent a reefer because the load didn't require to be kept at a certain temperature. I told them I would call dispatch and about that time a lady came out with the paperwork and someone said something about a different delivery location and I showed them that my paperwork said a different company at another location in Ontario. They discovered that we were the other load going to Ontario and that it definitely needed the temp control. All of that seemed to go pretty smoothly, we even sealed the load and had everything completed. I did the departure call and the dispatcher asked for the PARS number, I questioned her and said where can I find that. She then reminded me that since this was a Canada load, we had a Pars sticker to put on the paperwork and that the paperwork had to be faxed over to FedEx so that we could clear customs. I must have momentarily forgotten what they told us during orientation. Jim informed me that we had done it on the last one we took to Canada, I just didn't remember because he handled the paperwork for our first load. So, again really not liking the fact that I forgot something and had to go back in and let them know that I was a "duh" newbie and had forgotten the sticker and would need them to fax paperwork to FedEx. I also had to tell them that we had to wait for the reefer to cool down. We had it at temp when we picked up the load but since it was 103 outside when we loaded the box was up to 70 degrees and it needed to be at 40. Paperwork was done and she followed me out to check on the temp. Once the temp was down I attempted my second departure call only to find out that the sticker we had used was the wrong one. I told dispatch that I couldn't go in and ask her to fax it again, her and I both were just not having the best of days. I asked if I could find a truck stop and fax it, she said that would be fine just stop and do it as soon as possible. We took care of that and were heading off to Canada.

Everything was going good until we got to Indiana. I noticed and asked Jim about the message on the reefer monitor. We stopped and the reefer completely stopped working. This time we knew to call FedEx. Add stress for this load, temperature controlled at 40 and as we drove the temp kept going up. The closest place FedEx could send us was Fort Wayne and it was about 25mins up the road and it was about 12:30 am. Great, we were supposed to be at delivery by 8 the next morning, again we were going to have to be delayed. As we were pulling into the shop to fix the reefer at about 1 am a message came across that said the paperwork hadn't cleared customs and we would have to wait to cross the border until the next morning. That was a blessing, so again we could relax a little even though we still had to get the reefer fixed and the temp was still climbing. While the reefer was being fixed FedEx called us and said that they were going to have to pull us off a load that we previously accepted that would have picked up in Ontario about 15 mins from where we delivered because of the customs delay, not because of the reefer. About 2am, the reefer was up and running again. We had to wait until about 3am to get the paperwork and make sure that the reefer would run for a while. During all of this, there was a major storm that went through and I was very thankful we were not driving with the lightening and the torrential rain that was happening outside the building. At 3am, we were off again heading to Canada. During our drive we ran into a traffic jam that wound up being a truck that had jackknifed. Even though we were extremely frustrated that again, we were in the shop, afterward, we were thanking God for our delay. Sometimes we have to trust that things go wrong for a purpose, of course He is the only one that knows and that is what is so incredible.

We got as close to the border as we could and stayed at a truck stop and waited until FedEx called and said that we could cross the border. Of course the newbies that we are, we figured that they would probably call us about 8:00, so we were ready to go. I called at 9:00 and they hadn't heard anything. It was 10:00 before we were able to cross in Detroit. I was the lucky one driving through customs, Jim got the chance on our first run. We were able to cross with no problems. The rest of the trip went well and we delivered about an hour before the rescheduled time, so they were happy. I didn't mention that the load we were carrying was strawberry flavoring for applesauce and it was in huge barrels. The lady on the delivery end of it, asked us questions about teaming with FedEx and I love listening to Canadians talk. I almost forget to let them get their "ehs" in. Just a little different accent, I like to listen to them talk. I'm not sure why they say "eh" all the time. I think it must be like when we say, "you know what I mean, or you understand". It is always in the form of a question. I just wonder where it comes from. Easy delivery compared to the trip we had.

Before we delivered, a load opp came across that picked up in New York and delivered to Connecticut. We accepted, the pay was all right and we hadn't been to Connecticut before, so new country for us to see. The beauty of this delivery was that we were able to cross the border at a small crossing in the middle of no where. The directions took us through Toronto which was fine with us since we had already been through there before. I had a couple of hours left to drive so I said, I'll just finish out my hours and drive through Toronto. Well, I guess big cities in Canada are the same as they are here. 5pm is not a good time to go through, hmmmm rush hour in Toronto. I have said before that Canadian drivers are very polite and do not seem to have the reckless maneuvers so it wasn't bad, just stand still and moving slowly. New terms for me in driving in the city is the expressway and the collectors. Did not have any idea about the collectors, kind of had an idea about the expressway. We just kept seeing signs that said, collectors moving very slow, expressway moving slowly. I asked Jim if I ran out of hours, if the truck would just stop in the middle of traffic and not let us move. We both decided that if that happened, we would just switch drivers the traffic was stop and go anyway, no one would probably notice. We were able to get through without me running out of time, so Jim was able to take over at a nearby exit. Now we were on our way to NY.

One of the things that is difficult when in Canada is talking to people back home. We haven't gotten our cell phone bill yet, but I'm sure it will be a little more than normal. This time when we went we called family and friends and shared that we would call them when we got back to the states. We checked with Verizon and for $4.00 a month we can have a plan but that plan just allows us to call for .69 a minute versus 2.00 a minute. We went ahead with the plan, but if we find we don't run to Canada very often, then we probably will drop it.

On to NY. All we knew about the load was that it was glass. I told Jim, you know with the way things have been happening, I'm not sure if I want to carry glass. We both decided that it would be packed really well. We got to the loading dock and of course were not able to take a look at the glass because it was in a container. There were two guys at the dock, obviously the creators of the the glass piece. They were also the ones who developed the container to put it in. I called it a crate and jokingly asked them if there was a name for the container. They shared that it was called a flip box. It was really cool looking with latches. I shared with them that I thought it should be called a turtle box since it had a shape to it and it was protecting what was inside. I shared with them that we would treat it like we would a baby. Jim made sure it was secure and the guys both agreed that it wasn't going anywhere. Furniture pads, corner protectors, load bars and straps...it wasn't going anywhere. After we left I told Jim, we should have asked them what the glass was used for and we decided that we would ask when we got to the delivery.

This delivery was exciting because it went to an aerospace engineering company. We had absolutely no idea that was where we were going. They shared with us that they did the work for the Hubble Space Telescope. It was really interesting to talk to them. We actually got to talk to one of the engineers and he was the one who helped us unload it. I asked him what the glass was used for and he told me that he couldn't tell me about that but he could share work that they had done in the past. He also shared that their company is growing and they are looking for people to work there and that the company has not been affected by the economy. Of course they are looking for very specialized people to work for them. I shared that in the past I had worked with students who were interested in getting into aerospace engineering and asked how he liked it. He shared that he loved his job although the stress at times was very intense but well worth it. He asked about what we did and how expediting works. Another person that in our small part of Ohio, we would have never gotten the chance to meet. I was a little concerned when I asked about the cost of what we were hauling. He said the item was priceless. Boy was I glad we had gotten it there safe and secure. I know God had his protective hands on it all.

Before we had completed that load, we had another load offer that we accepted so we knew where we were heading after that. We headed in that direction because it wasn't to be picked up until the next morning. There are certain loads for FedEx that we can not disclose anything about and this was one, so I can't share the where or what of what we did. What I can share with you is that it was considered a secure load that had to have us go through security to pick up and we had to have someone with the load at all times and we had a tracking unit on the freight and that we were supposed to be extra cautious about our surroundings. We also had to follow a very specific route and if we deviated from that route we had to call dispatch. Well Jim noticed right away that our local directions did not match our general directions. They had us coming in on two different roads. He called dispatch and they were helpful and sent us new directions. We went to deliver and one of the roads it had us going down did not allow trucks. As we passed the road, thinking at this time we would probably have police surrounding our vehicle if we didn't get this figured out. Dispatch wasn't sure how to tell us to go because they weren't with us in the truck. I finally got out our navigational tool and found a way there. Lesson learned is that if there is something wrong with a route, we should find the alternative and then ask dispatch if it is all right and then have them let the customer know. That was just a little stressful and of course Jim is the navigator and we weren't supposed to stop enroute so I had to be the navigator which turned out all right. I did find out though that I can no longer read the road atlas, my eyes just can't see the small stuff anymore. We made it through that one.

Right after delivery, we got another load opp. We turned it down because it was going to pickup in NY city and was heading further east. Hurricane weather is not for us. We had two other load offers both going east. We said no to those and decided that we were going to head west until after the hurricane went through. We didn't want to go too far west in case supplies were needed to be taken east due to the hurricane. After being out on the road for almost 2weeks straight we decided that we could use a break, so we took the truck out of service for a couple of hours and sat at a service plaza and ate. After talking to our contract coordinator (cc) at FedEx, we decided we needed more time off and put ourselves out of service until Saturday. We were able to do laundry, shower and do some paperwork for the business part of our job.

We are currently in western PA waiting on a load. The sunset over the mountains is beautiful. The sun is gone down but its light is still showing in the clouds. Only God could create such an amazing view. In all the details above I forgot to mention all of the wonders we saw along the way. The mountains were spectacular (a little nervy driving a truck, although I know what the jake brake is:). The cities in all of their hustle and bustle remind me how good human kind is. The road is a great way to recognize the good in drivers. Just thinking about it...how amazingly trusting we all are when we drive down the road. We trust that the other driver is going to stay in his own lane and that another driver will slow down when traffic becomes hectic and trust that someone won't just smash into your car when you accidentally pull out in front of them. Cars and trucks alike letting each other over, flipping on and off their lights and gently tapping on the horn. The next time you are on the road count how many courteous drivers you notice. I guarantee that courteous drivers far outweigh the non-courteous ones. Sunrises and sunsets are beautiful and I never tire seeing them and being in awe of them. New York city night lights is just an awesome site to see and what a city it is. Amazement is a feeling I have over and over and the excitement of our next trip and what we will see and who we will meet keeps this all new.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone dealing with the hurricane and are especially thinking of the areas who have not ever experienced a hurricane.

Eventually I would like to do a daily post so that these aren't so long. Currently we have two difficulties with posting everyday. One is that I haven't figured out how to type while Jim is driving and we haven't figured out a way to power our laptop. Our inverter does not like to power our laptop. So I have to wait until we stop and have power to be able to post. Hopefully we'll get that rectified when we are home for a few days. I have also told Jim that he will have to do some of the postings.

Love, peace and joy to you all,
Judy