Maintenance & Patience
So here I sit... still in Carlisle. I didn't get to deliver my load today. I woke up and sought info about delivering early. Couldn't do it. So I sat around until noon catching up on episodes of Heroes and My Name is Earl online. Just after noon I went out to start my work day by doing my pre-trip inspection. I got all the way around the truck, and checked the oil before I planned to close up the hood. I always save this for last because I always end up getting oil on my gloves and prefer to be able to shuck them right off as soon as I'm done.
I pull the dip stick, check the oil on it for debris, foamy texture, diesel odors, etc then wipe it off. I reinsert the dip stick and let it sit for a couple seconds and pull it back out so as to check the level.
It didn't even register.
I though that perhaps it was because it was so cold and that maybe if I idled the truck for a bit to warm her up we'd get a better result. Twenty minutes of idling later, still the same result on the dip stick. Nada.
Crap. I knew I had a leak but didn't expect this.
So I went inside the OC, because thankfully my management team resides here, to talk to them about possibilities. I was advised to take the truck to the shop across the lot ASAP and get a time frame estimate for repairs. And I did... learning that they could take me in right away but that it would probably take most of the afternoon. Ok, they said by about 5pm they could have me fixed up and ready to go. So I dropped my loaded trailer, took the tractor to the assigned shop bay and then kinpin and pad locked the trailer so no one could take off with it. Then I went back inside the OC for further instruction from my team.
They found me a loaner truck to take for the night so I could deliver my load. I was told to go to the fuel desk to get the keys and then to do a pre-trip on it before taking it to the shop for a qualified inspection. I did all of this, only to learn that this truck too had issues which required fixing and the shop manager took the keys and the loaner into another bay for repairs.
Crap. I didn't expect this either.
So with no truck to drive for who knows how long I walk back into the OC to talk to my team once more. They worked with me to get my load pushed out till midnight. The plan was for me to wait for my truck to get repaired then haul ass to Virginia to deliver the load by midnight. Not the best of plans, but one I was willing to agree to for the time being.
Of course, I didn't know that by 6pm I would be yawing my head off and that my truck still wouldn't be out of the shop until after 9pm. I'm sitting here at 8:25 blogging and it's still being maintenanced in the shop. I'm tired, and cold and ready for sleep. So about an hour ago I called 2nd shift (my team left at 4pm) to tell them I was not leaving Carlisle tonite and that we needed to either relay the load or they needed to call Wal-Mart and see if the delivery could be made in the morning.
I will drop the load in the am when I get there.
Shew!
Of course that throws things off a little bit, but not too much. I'll probably end up being sent down to VA Beach or somewhere in Eastern North Carolina to pick up a new load and then head to Ohio. I'm due to be getting home Monday evening, so any load I do end up with will be a short one.
But that's ok... I've run pretty good since I come out of the house last time. So next week I should get a fairly decent paycheck.
Right now, I'm just sitting here anxious to hear my name called over the intercom to let me know my truck is done. I've been spending some time in between playing on MySpace, blogging and watching stuff on NBC.com talking to fellow company drivers. It's been entertaining to say the least. But I'm tired and ready to get some sleep.
And ready to get into my truck which will be darn near like new by the time the shop is done with it! yay!
Toodles!
I pull the dip stick, check the oil on it for debris, foamy texture, diesel odors, etc then wipe it off. I reinsert the dip stick and let it sit for a couple seconds and pull it back out so as to check the level.
It didn't even register.
I though that perhaps it was because it was so cold and that maybe if I idled the truck for a bit to warm her up we'd get a better result. Twenty minutes of idling later, still the same result on the dip stick. Nada.
Crap. I knew I had a leak but didn't expect this.
So I went inside the OC, because thankfully my management team resides here, to talk to them about possibilities. I was advised to take the truck to the shop across the lot ASAP and get a time frame estimate for repairs. And I did... learning that they could take me in right away but that it would probably take most of the afternoon. Ok, they said by about 5pm they could have me fixed up and ready to go. So I dropped my loaded trailer, took the tractor to the assigned shop bay and then kinpin and pad locked the trailer so no one could take off with it. Then I went back inside the OC for further instruction from my team.
They found me a loaner truck to take for the night so I could deliver my load. I was told to go to the fuel desk to get the keys and then to do a pre-trip on it before taking it to the shop for a qualified inspection. I did all of this, only to learn that this truck too had issues which required fixing and the shop manager took the keys and the loaner into another bay for repairs.
Crap. I didn't expect this either.
So with no truck to drive for who knows how long I walk back into the OC to talk to my team once more. They worked with me to get my load pushed out till midnight. The plan was for me to wait for my truck to get repaired then haul ass to Virginia to deliver the load by midnight. Not the best of plans, but one I was willing to agree to for the time being.
Of course, I didn't know that by 6pm I would be yawing my head off and that my truck still wouldn't be out of the shop until after 9pm. I'm sitting here at 8:25 blogging and it's still being maintenanced in the shop. I'm tired, and cold and ready for sleep. So about an hour ago I called 2nd shift (my team left at 4pm) to tell them I was not leaving Carlisle tonite and that we needed to either relay the load or they needed to call Wal-Mart and see if the delivery could be made in the morning.
I will drop the load in the am when I get there.
Shew!
Of course that throws things off a little bit, but not too much. I'll probably end up being sent down to VA Beach or somewhere in Eastern North Carolina to pick up a new load and then head to Ohio. I'm due to be getting home Monday evening, so any load I do end up with will be a short one.
But that's ok... I've run pretty good since I come out of the house last time. So next week I should get a fairly decent paycheck.
Right now, I'm just sitting here anxious to hear my name called over the intercom to let me know my truck is done. I've been spending some time in between playing on MySpace, blogging and watching stuff on NBC.com talking to fellow company drivers. It's been entertaining to say the least. But I'm tired and ready to get some sleep.
And ready to get into my truck which will be darn near like new by the time the shop is done with it! yay!
Toodles!
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