My Best Week Ever (Mostly)

I went to Minot, ND and back this past week - with a few stops in between - driving just over 2700 miles from Mon noon until Fri lunch. This was the highest gross $$$ trip I have done in a one week period. And more significantly, it was the highest dollar-per-mile week I have ever had also!

The miles I drove is slightly above average for me. I typically will do 2000-2500 miles in a week. But the freight rates seem to be higher in the last month and the volume of freight (number of loads I have to choose from) is as high as I have seen it in the 3 years I have been running hot shots! That makes picking the better paying loads easier instead of 'settling' for something just because it's going the way I want to.

I also calculate my dollar-per-mile figure off my odometer rather than a map. That's most unusual but it gives me a TRUE cost number since I have to burn fuel - my largest single-item expense - to deadhead from one to the next. My pay is based on "PC Miler", a map program invented by the government years ago and widely used in the transportation industry. Most brokers use the "Practical Mile" table, which accounts for types of roads between two points, rather than the "Shortest Distance." But the reality is that it is almost ALWAYS shorter than what the actual trip turns out to be.

VERY GENERALLY speaking, truck drivers are some of the nicest, hardest working people you will ever meet. But they are not always the sharpest pencil in the drawer, if you know what I mean. It is very easy to take advantage of a driver -- generally speaking. Between the shipper, the broker, the carrier, the consignee (receiver) and the truck driver -- it will be the driver who gets the shortest straw most every time. Yet he is the one doing the most work. No one else makes money unless he is doing his job.

There was one bad spot in my trip last week. There could have been more. I was 200 miles from the house Monday night when I went across the MO scale just east of Kansas City. I am legal up to 26,000 lbs total gross. I was sitting on the scale reading 26,720 on the digital read-out. A voice over the speaker says,"Make a U-turn to the right off the scale, park behind this building and come inside with all your paperwork, please."

After about 45 minutes and a Level 1 DOT Inspection - they look at EVERYTHING; drivers license, medical card, registration, insurance, lights, brakes, fire extinguisher, emergency triangles, tires, yada-yada-yada - they let me go! I was perfect except for being over weight for my type of registration. (I can buy whats called an apportioned plate and IFTA decal for about $1200 and then be legal up to 34,000 lbs).

The guy doing the inspection was one of the nicest (human-ist) DOT guys I have ever met. He could have given me a ticket for 700 lbs over weight but did not. I did get a sticker in my window designating my perfect inspection. Supposedly, other scales see this and show you the 'courtesy' of not stopping you again for the next 90-days. So potential disaster had a VERY silver lining. (p.s. That was the last scale I drove across for the next 800 miles. I wasn't pressing my luck. I have a map that shows all DOT scales that helps me plan my route)

Disaster did strike later that night. When I'm going down the road, I don't like to stop unless I have too. Fuel is about the only necessity. Other stuff is flexible and works around fuel stops. When I have to go "number 1" and can't wait to the next fuel stop; I pull off an exit ramp, cross over to the get-on side, pull to the shoulder, do my business, jump back in the truck and hi-ball. Much quicker than pulling into a rest stop, finding a parking spot and then walking to and from the building for 30 seconds of relief!

This time I picked the wrong exit ramp. The shoulder I pulled onto was not the customary asphalt. The 6" snow storm they had there two days earlier had melted and turned this gravel shoulder into quicksand. I ended up burying the right side of my trailer and truck to the axles. My 4-wheel drive truck probably could have got itself out but the 20,000 lb trailer wasn't coming with it.

I decided to spend the night there - it was almost midnight by the time I decided I wasn't getting out on my own. At 7 am I found a tow company just a few miles down the road (AT&T internet worked) and the guy said he'd send 'the boys' out.

About 40 minutes later, a beat-up 1/2 ton Chevy pick-up with more rust than paint pulled along side me and rolled the window down. There were several washers/dryers roped into the bed and two young kids - as dirty and mangy as the truck - inside. I assumed a couple of nice guys asking to help. Wrong. These were my saviors from Davis Towing. They planned to hook a chain to the front of my truck and pull me out. "We got four wheel drive!" he proudly claimed.

I don't think so. I could see the stuck trailer ripping the hitch out of the bed as they pulled my truck forward. Not gonna happen. So they called the boss, who has a real tow truck, and he's on the way. It wasn't long before Ron shows up in a slightly better looking 1 ton tow truck. At least he had his name painted on the side. Who cares that he had to turn the truck off each time he wanted to put it in reverse. My "Spidey Sense" should have been tingling big-time at this point but I suggest you scroll up to paragraph #4, line 2 above.

He hooked up to my trailer and was basically unsuccessful. His rig was just too small. (Some guys have that problem) He suggested another tow company in nearby St, Joseph. I called them but Ron ended up speaking with them. (My mistakes are now compounding themselves and there is going to be an expensive ending here.)

Less than 30 minutes later, a very professional tow truck pulls up (12,000# rig versus Ron's 8,000#) with a uniformed driver who moved with authority and knowledge about his job. My truck was sitting on the concrete in no time at all, dirty but no damage. While I'm surveying the right side of my rig, Ron and this other driver are conversing and then the other guy drives off. Here comes the bill.

"How about $585?" he asks. The rest of the conversation is not fit to print. I ended up paying $500 -- CASH! For the next several days, the phrase "Highway Robbery" plays thru my mind as I recount the event. All because I had to pee.

As my mother later pointed out - and I know all to well; it's not the first time I have been raped while broke down on the highway. There was the $400 labor bill (no parts) I paid Adventure RV in Fargo, ND for 1 1/2 hours work to fix a wiring issue on my trailer. Then there was the $150 labor only charge I paid for a guy to mount MY spare tire onto MY rim after removing the blown-up tire off the trailer.

But then there was Inland Truck service in Springfield, MO. I broke a fuel line near there and called them for help. They were immediate and professional and extremely fair! Unfortunately they are the exception to the norm. Breaking down on the highway is usually a VERY expensive deal. I am religious about getting preventative maintenance done on my vehicles and try to keep them in the best condition possible. But sometimes 'poo-poo occurs' and sometimes I just do stupid things - usually when I'm in a hurry. I try to remind myself that the faster I go, the slower I get.

The rest of my trip was absolutely fantastic. One of the bonuses of driving around the scales is you end up off the beaten path and see some REAL Americana. BTW, I'm not really violating any laws when I pick a route that has no DOT Inspection stations along the way. As long as I'm heading towards my destination according to my Bill of Lading.

Speaking of Fargo, ND, they are having significant flooding concerns again this spring. It is an amazing sight tho to drive over a small bridge and see the swirling waters lapping at the sides of the roadway. Some places were even sand-bagged to keep water off the pavement. And then the sunset as I'm heading west; OMG! The big orange ball settling on the horizon and the reflections from the water standing in both ditches and even many of the farm fields along the road -- words cannot describe.

After my delivery in Minot, ND (known to most people when they see their local weather report and the announcer highlights "the coldest temperatures in the US today ..."), I was shown a 'short-cut' down to Faith, SD that knocked 40 miles off my route. I followed US-83 south as it crosses Lake Sakawea. This lake is formed by a dam on the Missouri River. I turned off 83 and followed some State Roads along the bottom of this lake and over the dam. Breathtaking!

The lake is still mostly frozen except along the very edges of the shoreline. There are thousands and thousands of Canadian Geese. Some flying formation headed back north. Many are resting along the lake and shore. These are some very big birds. They have been the source of several airplane crashes when they get sucked into the engines. (Including Captain Sully's "Landing on the Hudson" I think).

There is still alot of snow on the ground too. Especially where the wind has drifted it into low spots and ravines or retailers have plowed it into 10' high piles off their parking lots. Many times my travels have taken me to different parts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition trail. Each time I vow to buy a book because it is such an interesting part of our history and I am continually crossing their path. (hint hint - Chanukah gift idea!)

I have noticed before how most of the ranches have planted a natural barrier on the north and west sides of their buildings. Usually it's two or three rows of evergreens both bushes and trees. It was easy to see now why.

They get alot of snow up there and the wind blows constantly causing it to drift. The shrubbery slows the wind so the snow drops out before hitting the buildings and piling up there. The result is obvious when it starts to melt - like now. The area around the house and out-buildings is clear. But the snow pile in and just south of the tree line is substantial, several feet even now.

My second delivery in SD was quick and then it was 100 mile deadhead to Spearfish to reload. Spearfish Canyon is on my All Time Top 10 Favorite Places to Ride list. I have been there many times - the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is 10 miles away. In fact, of all the rallies I have been too, when it comes to riding scenery, Sturgis is easily #1. There are just sooooo many wonderful sights within 100 miles of there - Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Iron Mountain, Custer State Park, Spearfish Canyon, Devils Tower, and many more.

I loaded a Ford F-250 truck and then headed back to St. Louis (two deliveries and one reload all on Wednesday). Thursday morning, I found a small partial I could add on with a very slight change in route - metal fencing (panels actually) for holding barnyard animals. This is the key to making the best money doing what I do - adding a second load on to a trip I'm already on. When you can do that with-out significant increase in miles it's like the icing on a cake. And I did that both coming and going last week. That's why my week was so good. And all because freight volumes are up.

Friday morning I delivered the panels, drove 100 miles to STL, delivered the Ford truck, and drove 40 miles to the house all before lunch! The end to a mostly wonderful week.

I have been talking with a lady in Muncie, IN who has an older car hauler trailer that I think is exactly the style I am looking for. I found it on Craigslist. My current wagon is a gooseneck flatbed with a dovetail and flip ramps that I modified with 36' extensions. It's built for heavy loads (general freight) but the ramps make it possible to load vehicles. Bigger things like pick-up trucks, tractors, bobcats, etc are easy to get on. But many cars sit lower to the ground and are more of a challenge. The relatively steep incline of the 5' ramp and 5' dovetail - even with my extensions - makes putting some cars on a stomach turning experience.

This new (to me) trailer has a 9' dovetail and then 4' ramps that slide into the trailer. The incline is more moderate, the surface more smooth (solid steel deck) and the ramps don't take up trailer deck space when stored. But the trailer also has a flat deck area rather than the arch you see on more typical car haulers. this would allow me to carry general freight too. It also has a ramp up from the front of the deck that goes over the hitch and truck bed so I can get probably three cars at a time on. I'm going to Muncie and look at this tomorrow. I'm taking a pocket full of money with me (less than she's asking tho. I AM Jewish and have a reputation to maintain).

My schedule next week is uncertain at the moment. But I am prepping for my West Coast journey beginning as early as next Friday perhaps. I will be taking my bike this time (of course) and headed first to Phoenix. AZ Bike Week begins Apr 9 and I plan to be there. Also, my cuz Adrienne, who lives there, has offered to take me on my first kayak trip. There should be a Kodak moment or two there, I think.

Coincidentally, the Harley Owners Group (which I belong to) is having their Nevada State Rally in Pahrump the weekend of Apr 16th. That will be along my route to LA where I plan to see another cuz before she immigrates to Israel. More on that story later. From LA, I will go north to Sacramento and see her mother for a few days and then even further north to Boise, ID and visit an uncle from the other side of my family. I was in Boise actually last year (see "2009 August" archive on your left) but what the heck.

This will probably take 3 weeks or so I'm thinking. I AM working (sort of). I think a new truck is in my near future, especially if I get this trailer, so I better plan on working alot. I am pretty much debt free and plan to stay that way so I will need a wad of cash to go shopping with. Debt free (and lots of family with spare bedrooms) allows me to Travel the USA.