On the Road with Chris: Part 1
Posted on October 17, 2018 at 10:27 AM by Blog Committee
In honor of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Chris headed out on the road to get a feel for what our drivers experience on a daily basis.
Part 1 (days 1-3):
On Sunday I packed up the truck and picked up a load at our Homestead Service Center that was bound for Flower Mound, Texas. I headed through the inspection lane and then got on the road to our KC Service Center in Shawnee, Kansas. After 312 miles I arrived in Shawnee just before dark. I settled in for the night and learned that the train tracks near our KC Service Center stay busy all night.
To kick off Monday, I spent a bit of time with Nathan, who is the foreman of our KC Service Center. Nathan showed me around and we discussed equipment maintenance before I got a shower in the drivers’ lounge and hit the road for the day. I headed down through Oklahoma City and got the truck and the trailer washed at Truck-o-Mat. I made it to Denton, Texas and looked for fuel and parking for the night. Parking wasn’t easy to find, and I had to bounce back and forth between three nearby truck stops before finding a spot that worked.
On Tuesday, the third day of the trip, I had a 9 am appointment at a new construction job site to deliver office furniture. I had called the day before to verify directions and the delivery time. The site crew had to move a few vehicles to make room my truck and trailer. I will admit, that I was a little apprehensive about getting the truck and trailer in and out of the site as it looked a little tight for a part-time, out of practice driver, but I made it work. It took about two hours to empty and sweep the trailer before heading off to the next shipper to drop the empty trailer and hook the next load. After that, I headed to a nearby truck stop to weigh the load and get a shower. Tuesday night I planned to park at a truck stop close to my 6 am delivery. No parking was available, so I got some fuel while I waited, hoping that a spot would open up. I had to circle the lot a few times before I saw another driver that was pulling out. He waited for me to get turned around so I could take the spot.
Written by Chris Hummer, President