Social Commentary From The Road.

Well another year has gone by and on Wednesday, the 1st of July, Canada celebrated its 142nd birthday.  Up until 1982 it was known as Dominion Day, then renamed Canada Day by an act of Parliament on October 27th of that year.

I am very seldom home for Canada Day or any other special day throughout the year, but this year was an exception.  Even though I had been out for eighteen days I managed to get home Sunday night the 28th of June and have been home all week.  What a luxury!

Home for Canada Day

To make matters even better Marilyn and I were invited to our eldest son’s new apartment which is high on a hill in Truro, and allowed us to watch the fireworks in comfort from the balcony.  No more fighting traffic, trying to find a parking spot for such a short display of colorful sparks.

Canada Day Truro, Nova Scotia

Of course the extra time home allowed Marilyn and I to get a few things accomplished, including a long overdue wash job for the truck.  This chore went much more quickly with Marilyn manning the hose so I could devote my time to the scrubbing.  Man I hat bug splatter! Of course all good things come to an end and I am on my way back to North Carolina tomorrow after my eye appointment.

A clean truck for at least 2 days.

I hope all my fellow Canadians enjoyed their Canada Day, and best Independance Day wishes in advance for our American neighbors.  I will of course be driving southward on the 4th of July so y’all behave yourselves out there on the roads this year.

Some of my readers will be interested to hear how the rest of my trip to Texas went after the breakdown, so here goes.

It took them most of the day Wednesday to diagnose the problem with the truck.  Finally about mid afternoon, after much consultation with Detroit Engines over the phone, they determined what was needed was an injector valve.  Only problem was they didn’t have one in stock and the nearest one was in Memphis.

If they had ordered it as a regular stock item, it would come via ground freight and likely not show up until Monday.  Or, I could pay the air freight, and they would ship it overnight. Duh. Not much choice if you ask me.  So then arrangements were made for the shuttle from the Quality Inn to pick me up.  That took a couple of hours and a second phone call but eventually I was checked in for the night.

The lady at Freightliner had told me this was a good motel, firstly, for the special trucker’s rate, and secondly,  because there were several choices of places to eat nearby.  So once I had stowed my gear in the room and turned on the air-conditioner I sallied forth to find me some growlies.

Quality Inn, San Antonio, TX

What I really had in mind was some authentic Mexican food but I soon found out that was not to be.  After chatting with a fire fighter who was standing by a fire engine a couple of blocks up the street, I found out, that for some strange reason that even he couldn’t explain, all the local taco joints close up at 3:00 in the afternoon.  And as if in proof, I passed at least two of them that had CLOSED signs in the windows.

San Antonio Flowers

Well having found nothing but fast food joints in one direction, I turned and headed back the other way past the motel, and eventually found a Bill Miller Bar-B-Q.  By now I was suffering greatly from the heat, so I was eager for the chance to get inside with the A/C and sit down, no matter what the food was like.

Well this place was only one step up from a fast food joint.  Food was picked up at the counter, served on disposable foam plates and paid for at the cashier before you can  go and sit down.  Aside from that the food wasn’t too bad.  I had a combination plate of sausage and beef brisket.  This included baked beans, cole slaw, fried potatoes, onions and pickles, sweet iced tea and apple pie for desert.

Supper at Bill Miller Bar-B-Q

Following supper I returned to my motel room and spent the evening working on my websites.  The free breakfast provided the next morning was excellent.

It was mid afternoon the next day before the truck was ready, (I won’t bore you with all my agonizing over the delay). My Laredo load had already been put off a day, and my dispatch was anxious not to have to call the customer with more delays.  However, once I got on the road I wasted no time in high tailing it south on I-35 and by that evening I was loading mangoes.

The load had been brought across the border from Mexico by a Mexican truck and driver, which backed into one loading dock, while I back my trailer into the dock right beside it, and the load was transferred onto my trailer.  There was a US Customs officer on hand to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s and within a couple of hours I was once more northward bound.

Leaving Laredo, TX

Everything went more or less smoothly for the rest of the trip including the stop at US Customs in Detroit to get the transit bond cancelled after the load was x-rayed.  Sunday night I delivered the load in Cambridge, Ontario, end of story.

Well I should have known that my week had been going just a little too smoothly.  I left Nova Scotia on Wednesday with a load of snow crab bound for San Antonio, Texas.  Had a bit of rain for the first couple of days, but that only served to clean a few thousand bugs off the grille and mirrors.

Plenty of time, and the truck was running well. Regular stops for meals, showers and sleep. All was right with the world.  Then I was informed that the earliest appointment I could get for delivery was 5 PM Monday, so that gave me even more time.  I actually dawdled a little.

Then when I was less than an hour from point of delivery a message came on the satellite, “By the way there could be a lumping fee of up to $150.” And me already 10 miles past the last truck stop coming into San Antonio.  They would put that amount on my card they said, but then came a mad scramble to figure out where I was going to be able to access the money.

Finally after studying the truck stop directory and the atlas I drove right past the customer and on east a couple of miles on I-10.  After the third truck stop I tried, I finally had my $150 in hand as well as a couple of hundred I decided to take out of my own account through the ATM just to be on the safe side.  Back to the customer, and still a half hour early for my appointment.  But then I was informed I had the wrong PO number and they couldn’t find me in the computer.

By this time it’s after business hours in PEI and everyone’s gone home for the day.  However, I tracked down a dispatcher on his way home for his supper and he reluctantly turned around and headed back to the office. Thanks Johnathan.  A half hour or so later, I have the correct PO number, I’m backed into a receiving door and waiting patiently for the lumper to show up. Finally the lumper knocks on my door and informs me the price will be $180.  Thank goodness I had the foresight to take out the extra cash.

Now when I left home the temperature was in the upper teens and low 20’s Celsius.  By now I’m looking at low 40’s, which is something I’m not really accustomed too, but thankfully the A/C is working fine and I’m pretty comfortable except when I have to go outside.

A couple of hours later my load is off, my bills are signed, and I head back over to the Flying-J for the night.  I’m not really expecting a quick turn-around because there are hundreds, maybe thousands of trucks in the area all looking for paying loads.  So, I settle in to the truck stop, hook up to the WIFI signal and work on my websites.

The next day (Tuesday), mid afternoon, I’m informed I have a reload out of Laredo about 2.5 to 3 hours away.  Trouble is it doesn’t load until 7 PM Wednesday.  So I hunker down, make myself comfortable, happy in the thought that I’ll at least get a reset on my logbook. Well the real problem began after supper, when without warning the truck’s engine shuts down.  There goes my A/C, and believe me it doesn’t take long in these temperatures to notice the loss.

To make a long story short but sad, I ended up awake most of the night, since the earliest appointment I could get at the Freightliner dealer was 7:00 Wednesday morning.  I worked away on the computer inside the truck stop till 3:00 in the morning or so.  Then I tried sleeping in the truck, but the heat and humidity soon drove me out into the cooler night air with a nice breeze blowing.  I ended up for the last 4 or 5 hours in a chair in the driver’s lounge in front of a blaring big screen TV.  I don’t know why they call it a lounge as any lounging I was able to do in that most uncomfortable chair was painful to say the least.  Somehow I managed to doze on and off and maybe got a total of an hours sleep.

Anyway I’m now at the Freightliner dealer awaiting the news.  I know it has to do with the emission control system, and it shut off on me 5 or 6 times on the two mile drive over here, but at least it didn’t require a tow which would not be included under warranty.

The long and the short of it is that a truck is just like a kid.  When it behaves it’s a genuine pleasure to have around but when it doesn’t, it’s like a kid throwing a tantrum.  There ain’t much you can do except stand by and wait for the air to clear.

Here’s hoping all your miles are happy ones.