1 pickup to Caledonia WI (delivered)

1 pickup to Williamsburg IA

1 dump truck to Topeka KS (Tuesday)

... spending the night in Madison WI

Breakfast was supposed to be the typical 'buffet' or a limited made to order menu. When we got there, it was from the menu. And we were the only people in the restaurant the whole half hour we were there. Not making any money that way.

The name of the restaurant was the Mad Apple.

The hotel was a lot quieter than last night. Almost no one in the halls. Last night the pool area was loud and lots of people. This hotel is the old Holi-Dome style from the Holiday Inn's. Large open area in the middle of the hotel with a pool and seating area's. This one claims to be '100% all natural salt water.'

Made to order breakfast takes longer and didn't start until 7 AM, so we didn't leave the hotel property until closer to 8 AM. Then just a few minutes to the shipper. I find someone sitting at their desk who had the truck keys in their office. A box full of keys and mine were not labeled. He guessed wrong the first time and brought the whole box out the 2nd time.

No issues, over a half a tank of fuel so I'm good to go.

Last Friday we had decided to take the truck going to IA first because it was the longer trip and we could deliver over the weekend. Then the shipper did not want us to pick up over the weekend so we didn't. But we didn't talk about which truck to pick up first until this AM. We had also hoped that someone would put out some new 'good' trips that would match to the 2nd, WI trip.

This AM as we are in the shippers parking lot we decide to drop the WI truck first. Not sure it makes a whole lot of difference in the big picture.

120 miles later and I am at the drop, no stop, no fuel. The guy checking me in doesn't seem happy to see me, too big. But the truck says 10,000# and 'everything OVER 10,000# goes to a different lot. I'm under (at) that so he does let me in, but won't sign my paperwork, says they haven't done that for five years. I should have asked him how he knew that ... the people doing his job at the MN don't last 5 weeks.

By the time I am parked, BB has arrived. She needs the restroom so we head out to the closest truckstop which is at the prior exit.

Loves. Once we are back in the car we get my paperwork sent off and then head out.

An hour and a half down the road and we stop at an Arby's for lunch, to go.

Then as I am driving I get a call from my dispatcher ... why wasn't my paperwork signed? So I need to resend it after I write - 'refused to sign' next to the drop. I also had a picture of the label they put in the truck with the delivery time so I sent that with to show that they now had it in their system.

Back at the shipper, my contact is gone so I am dealing with someone else. They find the keys and sign but it is up to me to find my truck. It helps that it has a clicker/FOB. This truck is on 'E' and has damage. So I need to call dispatch about both.

This shipper, or the customer for this shipper, will pay for the first 1/4 of fuel if we give them up on 'E.' This one is, it has a range of 36 miles. So I head to the closest fuel station. It is a Kwik Trip with no auto-diesel pumps. I have to fuel at the truck island and there are only two. I pull in behind one who hasn't started fueling yet. THEN after I am sitting there, he walks into get the pump started. A while later he comes back out and says he'll let me go first.

The damage is not a big deal, I just need to take pictures and make a note on the Bill of Lading.

What could have taken 15 minutes has taken us an hour.

Less than an hour down the road I stop at a Loves to put in enough fuel to get to the drop. There is enough difference if price to make it worth the extra stop.

Can't really tell what the mileage is yet. It says 7.7 mpg. I hope that it is twice that so I put in fuel based on 14 mpg. When I re-start the truck it says I have enough fuel to get to the drop ... plus five miles.

When we stop sixty miles later, I have used one mile of that range so now I am almost 60 miles past my drop. Too much fuel, but it was a guess.

We had hoped to get further tonight but things happen. And the next hotel is almost two hours past Madison so then we are looking at almost 7 PM and eating after that. We end up at a Sleep Inn in Madison.

Shortly before we get to Madison, my local dispatcher leaves a message. Do I want to go to KS or PA. So as soon as we get to the hotel parking lot, BB and I talk and I call dispatch back. We haven't committed to our next OTR trip so we accept the one going to KS. Not sure which trip would have paid more, but we are keeping busy.

I remember eating somewhere close to here so I look at a map and pick out a place that we may have eaten. This was not it. But BB looked online at it and it looked good. A little Italian deli and store. Mine was good, BB's was good too but she'd try somewhere else next time.

Load board

US - 91

IA - 1/0

MN - 3

WI - 3

There are still four of these Appleton trips left plus two vans just east of Appleton heading to Fort Wayne that would work. I'd rather be doing 5 day trips than one a day. But it pays.