Review: First Three Weeks on the Road

So I finished that trip from Myrtle, Mississippi to Lakewood, Washington. I stopped in Missoula on the way out (as good a place as any to shower and sleep), but my new truck wasn't ready. They got me a load going from Oregon to northern Montana, after which they routed me through Missoula to pick up a new truck.

It's a Volvo, just a few years newer than the one I had been driving. They had it detailed, so it was gloriously clean when I moved in. A few minor mechanical things (such as the driver's side utility compartment didn't latch shut) had to be fixed before I could leave. I had time anyway because they were replacing the front two super-single tires on my trailer that day anyway. I didn't leave Missoula until late afternoon (eastern time, which is where my home terminal is and what time zone my logbook kept in). It's clean and it is so maneuverable! And both doors open (and lock!), which is my favorite feature. The fuel tanks on this model are set much further back (just ahead of the drive axle) so that makes a difference when you're making sure your axles are legal. I'm loaded really heavy this trip, so I can't have more than 3/4 of a tank or it puts me overweight on my drive axles (and there's not much more weight I can put on my tandems before they're either overweight or so far forward that I am in danger of swinging my trailer into things when I turn).

It seems like I drove forever... and I still hadn't left Montana. t had been snowing when I left Missoula, but clear in eastern Montana. I was routed through North Dakota (straight through winter storm Brutus). The freezing rain made for some interesting driving. I had to stop every 30 to 45 minutes to beat the ice off my wipers and headlights. The road wasn't too bad if you drove slowly, but there were so many people who slid off the road because they were driving too fast. I kept going because a friend of mine who was giving me weather updates informed me that once I passed Jamestown, ND, it was all clear. I'm glad she let me know that. If she hadn't, I would have just pulled off at a rest stop and bedded down for the night. They were predicting 10 inches of snow overnight, so that wasn't going to be a fun drive the next day either. It was clear and dry immediately after passing through Jamestown. I made it well into Minnesota before my hours dictated had to stop for the night.

When I was leaving the last rest stop before Jamestown, the truck who left immediately ahead of me was an empty flatbed. He immediately floored it. I hung back at around 45 mph. Not ten miles down the road, he was tangled in a ditch with two grain trucks. Sometimes it pays to be a wimp about driving in bad weather!


I have been driving for three weeks now and I absolutely love it. Just this week, I got routed near home, so I can finally pick up my stuff! Katy brought my CB and my 12v cooler (courtesy of her dad, who was a truck driver once upon a time and never got rid of his stuff) when she picked me up at the truck stop. I plugged in the cooler (so it'll be nice and cold by the time I get back) and I am sat in our apartment. My laundry is almost done, I've filled my dvd book to capacity and I'm currently uploading music to my iTunes.

It's so nice to have my winter clothes and a lot of the little things that didn't fit into my suitcase for orientation. A lot of toiletries, extra clothes, my rollerskates, my Kindle, etc. Just things that'll make life cozier in the truck.

I'm going to borrow a friend's car and drive to Elkhart to visit Lola. She's the queen of Katy's mum's house. After 90 days, I can have her in the truck with me if I want. I really miss her, but I doubt I can ultimately justify taking her from having the run of an entire house to living in the cab of a truck. No matter how desperately I miss her, I don't think I can do that. She deserves better.

I need to run to Meijer or Walmart to get some storage containers for stuff in the truck, but other than that, I'm good to go. I'm going to leave late tonight and drive east. I have a delivery appointment in eastern Pennsylvania early Tuesday morning. If I drove most of the way tonight, I can have an easy day of it Monday.