2 RV's to CA
... spending the night at Ankeny IA
Most days these write ups are done at the end of they day. For today, I am going to start by updating as things change.
8 AM - 21 on the load board
8:10 - 20
8: 20 - 18
8:30 - 15 and Jct City is gone, we no longer have a match to get west. The WA are gone now also.
8:40 - 14
8:50 - 15 with the new one being a Davis CA :) but just one so far.
Doing a lot of talking about just taking the Davis. We won't make as much money and BB needs to drive to stay current. 30 days will be coming up since she's driven. Then I need to do my DOT and then she has Dr's appointments again.
Also looking at the DOT exemptions for Covid ...
9:50 - 15
10 AM - 21 - We grab two for CA ... more later.
8 pm - it is now later.
A Davis CA run had shown up on the load board just before 9 AM and we debated on taking the sure one and waiting for a possible 2nd and then running with just one if needed. We pretty much will still talking about it when a 2nd CA run showed up an hour later that works. But at the same time three Sandy UT no-tow trips show up. We make a little more for the trip with the no-tow, but then we are still a day away from the bus, so by the time we get to the bus we are behind.
We call dispatch. Actually I call dispatch first and my phone makes the call but then my screen doesn't give me the dial pad so I can't select the extension. BB quickly dials and hands me the phone, but she has it on speaker and that doesn't work for me ... a few seconds later and we are talking.
We get the runs and start to get ready. BB was already packed and ready before the call. I have to pack, shower and get ready.
We are working again!
First stop is for gas in Lakeville. $1.99, lots cheaper than local.
2nd stop is in Albert Lea for food. Wendy's inside of Loves. One of the guys in line didn't have a mask and they would not take his order. The customer tried to hold his cap over his mouth but that was a no go. No big seen, he just walked away.
3rd stop at pickup. Only two drivers in the office at a time. We are the only ones there. We get our temps taken and get our paperwork. Dispatch seemed in a good mood so I asked out all the flat bedded RV'.s "Per customer request." I'm guessing it had a lot to do with all the rock chips last winter and I was one of those drivers. :( They told us there are bigger rigs ... but we responded that there are now less total trips and those runs paid better.
It takes us our usual hour to do our inspection. While inspecting, another driver starts talking to BB and must have found out where we were going and started telling her about the cheap motels in Wendover. (been doing this for years but) Thanks for the info.
There are still rental RV's waiting to ship, and right now there are eight 'shells' ready to ship. Those are the RV's without the guts that will be converted by the customer to a mobile police station or vendor demo unit. We used to move one of those for 3M.
4th stop is at the Kum and Go in Clear Lake. Both gas and diesel are cheaper there. I have the gas, with an 80 gallon tank. Gas is $1.69. Five cents cheaper than Pilot and $.30 cheaper than down the road.
IA doesn't have the 'mask law' (yet,) and it already doesn't seem normal to see people coming and going without masks. But every state, every area, is different.
Non-stop to the hotel.
5th and final stop is the Sleep Inn in Ankeny. We then call ahead and later walk across the street to Outback. Instead of my usual pasta, this time I get two cups of soup. One onion and the other baked potato.
Someone new at the desk at the Sleep Inn and he was the first person at this motel since Covid that actually took my card to look at it instead of looking while I held it.
I was going to start to run a dual log electronically but their computer knows what devices I have and will only load it onto my (non-working) cell phone. I want it on my laptop. So that is not happening on this trip.
IF we ever get to do more than one trip a month, we might go somewhere other than CA. We were getting close this time, we wanted to work. Been off 11 days for me, five more than that for BB.
"Driver RV's, see the country" and then we do every trip on I-80. :)
I did send a message to our safety director about when I need my DOT done by. BB was looking on line and the Feds say if you have a DOT card that was good for more than 90 days that your current card is good at least until September. Had been until June and it got extended. So I'm thinking of not rushing to get mine if I don't need to.
Loadboard
US - 110
IA - 20
MN - 5
WI - 7