Rough day

18 Dec 2019 bigrigsteve

Howdy. We are spending the night overlooking the Dillon Reservoir in Frisco, Colorado. It was just one of those days… let me give ya a glimpse into what happened today while the cameras were off. We woke up at 3am in Grand Junction and ran through the early morning hours towards Denver. We had to leave early so we could beat the Highway closures on Interstate 70 in Idaho Springs. We rolled through before the shutdown occurred just as planned. When we arrived in Denver to change trailer types, we ran into one obstacle after another. In a nutshell, every trailer I selected was actually on hold to be sold, and every trailer the boss wanted me to take had road issues with it. Finally we drove Bobtail to another customer to pick up an empty trailer. We go to the truckstop and wait in line for DEF because it was extremely low. We get to the pump and def isn’t working. We wait in line inside and the cashier said yup, that one doesn’t work . So we run around the fuel island and pick another pump. Same thing. Go inside again. This time we ask her which pump actually works. We find that one and get it done. Then we try to hightail it out of Denver and find out there was still major delays. I know I left some details out, but trust me, it was a very long 14 day. As of shutdown, both the pickup and delivery appointments have been changed to accommodate the delays today.

9 thoughts on “Rough day”

  2. I can believe it. Not surprised though. It seems that in the last three visits to the Denver area this year, you’ve had trailer issues. The broken reefer last month after waiting out that snow bomb east of Denver. Then when you picked up the outgoing switch, I believe the tandems were not set right. On the second visit you had to wait and even then clean a trailer. And I think you had some more repair on that or another. Then the shipper was 30 hours behind. Now this day.

    Its freaky.

  3. As i read this i can’t help but think how lazy people have become. Particularly here about the DEF pumps. How hard is it for someone there to simply place a sign on these pumps “out of DEF” or
    place cones in front of these islands. Whether it’s not using turn signals or maybe not returning a shopping cart back to the cart corral, its becoming more frequent.
    Just curious was the truck or the trailer low on DEF? (Not sure if trailers even require DEF)?
    Thanks Steve!

    1. When the moral compass is lost, all other directions lead away from the goal, the endpoint. Ethics erode, — when far enough along freedom goes, too This is how dictators rule a country, making the people believe their personal choices are for the good of all. Remember the saying we heard in school many years ago; “your freedom stops where my nose begins”. We ARE our brother’s keeper, after all.

    2. DEF is Diesel Exhaust Fluid – it is mixed with the engine exhaust on the tractor and sent into a catalyst that converts nitrogen oxide into water and nitrogen gas. It is sold at all truck stops and costs about $3 a gallon. It is stored in a separate tank, and is consumed at about a 1:50 ratio with diesel fuel. So if a truck has 200 gallons of diesel, it will consume 5 gallons of DEF.

      If you see Steve fueling the trailer, he is putting diesel fuel into the refrigeration unit that keeps the reefer cold. The engine in the reefer is similar to the one pulling the truck, just smaller and runs at a constant speed (or off).

  4. That’s life, Steve, as a trucker, I mean. Back in my day, we didn’t have DEF to worry about, just, the road conditions, a clean trailer inside & out, and driving logs, filled out properly, to match our activities, over, the last 10 days. Also, the weights, for the next load to carry, we had to estimate, how much fuel to put on, after, we load, the heavy frieght. Always someting, keeping us, from moving continuously, loaded, from one location, to another.

  5. Millennials care little about what it means to work and to make what is a pain in the… into one where you have better feelings about dealing with the truck stop. Good customer service is everything!

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