2 RV's to Davis CA (1 delivered, 1 at the shop)

... spending the night at Woodland CA

Up at 5 AM, ready to make calls at 6 AM. At 6 AM I go out and start my RV, the waring light is still on. So I call RV dispatch. They say I can call the drop to see if they will take it with a warning light on. This is new, to me. It also changes all the plans we have talked about.

Now I need to wait until I talk to the drop before calling a shop. Drop opens at 8 AM. We need to leave by 8 AM to make our appointment.

By the time I walk out at 6 AM, the Super Sucker from yesterday is already gone. Now there is a coach bus heading to Yosemite parked near us. That company is from MN. Didn't see the driver or would have talked to them.

I did talk to the hotel front desk while I was waiting for my receipt. I commented on how quiet it was this week, very few guests. They said that was OK after the prior weekend, they had a full house of school sports teams. :)

We have our RV's inspected and running at 8 AM. Someone at the drop answers my phone call, no ... they will not take the RV with a warning light on. And they only have one later appointment today so we can not delay both appointments. At this point BB heads out.

I'm still talking to the drop about the what if's and they put me on hold to talk to the boss, I was hopeful but no ... they will not take the RV with a warning light on.

Saturday I had given my name and phone number to the shop I am heading to, they were to have called me back at 7 AM. They did not. And I did not call them. At this point I just went to the shop. Plan A, B and C are out the window. We are now just playing it by ear.

I get to the shop and first go to the wrong (but right) building. So I have to get back out on one way streets and take U-turns where I'm too big to make the. At the correct shop, I pull way ahead out of the way. Then a yard person catches me and wants me to back up out of the main path.

So I do. I am watching my right side because I am just inches away from a car. So close that that is all I am watching. THEN I see the car on my left ... I have to stop and take deep breaths. I was not that far away from the car on the left. I drove in that way, so backing through again should not have been an issue. The issue was I didn't look on my left for too many feet. I should have been constantly checking all mirrors and backup cameras. And I should have adjusted the mirrors for backing.

No harm done, but a good shake up.

NOW I get to walk back to the right building, it is not in the same lot as we have to park. The first person in line ahead of me is from the RV dealer where I was supposed to drop today. The second person has an RV that will not go over 65 mph. Then me.

Ha, ha, ha ... no we can not just walk out and look at the RV. The shop is two miles away. I offer to take the RV there, but no. No customers allowed. All vehicles must be shuttled over by a company employee. It will be the same 1-2 weeks before they can look at it. So ... it would have been better for US if we had dropped it by our hotel. Now I need to sit and wait with both our our luggage until BB is done at the drop and can get here.

One car of interest in the lot was sitting on it's rim. No rubber. No scratch marks on the pavement. Other than that one, most units were being moved in and out quickly. They gave me the OK to wait in the RV until BB got there.

While talking to the write-up man, I asked about re-setting the warning lights. Not advised as they can not do warranty work unless there is a warning light.

At the drop, BB is having fun. Because she was not out of the lot at 8 AM, she missed the 9 AM appointment and they took one ahead of her. We had the 9 and 9:30 appointments.

Someone else driving an RV follows her in. Then a guy hauling two RV's pulls one it and says he was there first ... So BB asks him what time his appointment was for ...

???

What appointment ?

Neither the guy who followed her in nor the guy hauling the RV's had appointments, and the drop is booked full for the day. BB didn't get to stay around to see how that played out. She was out of there and at the rental car place down the street by 10 AM so less than the half hour inspection time that they allow.

Back at the shop, someone finally comes to get my RV. I said no problem, my wife should be here any minute ... 'yes, I think she is parked on the other side of the RV.' And she was. As soon as we were done loading up, I went back inside to let them know I was gone and also needed to give them our dispatchers name for a call back when done.

Not sure how this will play out. We, our carrier, is supposed to do the finally delivery. But this shop is on a first name basis with the drop so if we can't get there quick enough, they might just take care of it ... for the shop.

From here we head to ... In-and-Out. We have delivered, if only one of them. Today is Vacaville.

:) but on the way, we stop back at BB's drop. She had forgotten to get released from her trip while she was at the drop. GPS knows where we are and we can only get released while we are at the drop. She forgot, so we head back. It's a block off the freeway from where we are going anyways.

Just after we got on the freeway after leaving the shop, traffic in the center lane comes to a stop. Pallets, a total of five over the next quarter mile. Then we see a semi driver re-tying down his now partial load of pallets. Neither he nor anyone else stopped or went back to move them out of the travel lane.

As we pull in, there is a driver sitting there that gets up ... he must have thought we were his Uber ride. He is the driver than had driven his RV in. So he is delivered. It only takes a second for BB to get released so I just make a U-turn and we are gone again.

At this exit, there used to be a Motel 6 and a Sheri's Pies. The pie places closed and is now full of graffiti. Right on the main streets. That has been closed a few months. The Motel 6 just changed since we were here last time. I did notice this time that their whole roof now is solar panels. I surprised more companies don't do that.

Food, Vacaville In-and-Out. I don't think I have ever seen it so slow over a noon hour. The tables were never more than half full and most of the time there was only a couple of cars in the drive thru line. Usually at meal time there is standing room only indoors. All tables stay full.

Next stop is Walmart. Before we get to the second rental car place, BB needs a restroom ... not like the person we saw squatting behind their car. And when she pulled up her pants, we got the 'full moon.'

The rental car place does not have a public bathroom and the closest gas station has a key request system to a not so clean restroom. So we found the closest discount store. As long as we were there, I bought some juice. I was out.

At the rental car place, glad I wasn't pulling a bus in here today. This lot is full. When we drop off after hours, I usually just drive round the lot and back out.

Oh ... While I was waiting with my RV, I had called the west coast dispatcher about their short trips. By then they were all gone. So I asked about the longer ones, pay isn't bad but not sure I want to chance taking a long one before I know what they are and how they ride.

So, the plan that had started all this has fallen apart. We were thinking as long as I could take a truck to Stockton, why not just get two local rentals instead of the more costly one way?

Before we leave the rental place, we move all luggage to the 2nd car. And we are off.

I have the car that is being returned so I need to stop and fuel before dropping it. BB is close, parked on the street, before I get there. I didn't think about that and she was looking at her notebook when I went past. So I messaged her that I was there.

As soon as she was done returning the car I drove, they are in her name ... I call the bus dispatcher. No work today, likely tomorrow or for sure on Wednesday.

... then I call the other west coast dispatcher. Two of the trips that we wanted this AM are back on the load board. Somebody took them but couldn't do them. I told them I would take one ... for now. They say ... take both and if you can't do the second one ...

Sorry, that is not how I work. Also they want me to do a longer trip because it has been sitting there for two weeks. First, I need to know what I am driving and how they drive ... 2nd, that trip is four times the miles and pays <> the same total dollars. So not the same rate per mile.

We look at getting a hotel closer to the shipper tomorrow, then end up heading the opposite direction because it is a 'known.' And there is a Black Bear restaurant next to it.

I have their version of a French dip sandwich. Too much of a different tasting au jus sauce. I am going to be thirsty tonight.

I've been in this area enough to list off the hotels, food and gas stations. The Black Bear is next to the Days Inn (and now a nearby homeless encampment) I've stayed at the Quality across the freeway with Davis buses years ago and now we are staying a mile down the street at a Comfort Inn.

Load board

US - 156

IA - 56

MN - 1

WI - 2

Tomorrow's plan is to leave at our usual time and fight the traffic. It looks like the truck will be picked up at a carrier storage area. They move them stacked and then hire cheaper companies to do the final delivery. These are Internationals. If the first one rides OK, I will likely do a 2nd one. But, International does anything from day cab chassis to dual rear axle sleeper cabs. And these are going to their dealers so it could be one of each.

I'd like to go back to Redding, but that is a full day trip and we would not have time tomorrow after doing the first solo trip.