Unloaded in Joplin, MO this morning, ran down the road to fuel and wash out the trailer, then back up the road to load at Pillsbury... right across the street from where we unloaded. I'm one of those drivers that I prefer to load with a full tank of fuel, so a lot of problems can be avoided.
Hypothetical: let's say I go into a customer to load, with my tanks 1/2 full, and I scale after loading to find my total weight is 79,800. I would have no room for extra fuel (since 2 fuel tanks, at 100 gallon capacity each; diesel is about 8 lbs/gal x 100 gals = 800 lbs of extra weight). However, if I go in, get loaded, and my gross weight is over 80,000 lbs (with a full tank of fuel, and I bring back a certified scale ticket as proof), then the customer HAS to remove enough product to get me within legal limits.
Joplin is a nice little city, just a few miles from the OK state line, and a little more than 150 miles south of Kansas City. One of Joplin's notable residents, at one time, was baseball legend Mickey Mantle, and was also the birthplace to actor Dennis Weaver, most noted for his police drama series McCloud.
As I mentioned earlier, we loaded at Pillsbury. To be quite honest, this is the type of facility that truck drivers like best. We got there, parked, checked in, backed into the dock and got loaded, then went down to the truck stop and scaled out - all within 1 hour! Places like that really help us to make the most of our drive time; very little wait time = maximized productivity. Would I go there again? In a New York minute! Once we get empty tomorrow, we'll be heading to the yard so Alan can get processed out of the training program and get his own truck. Granted, the delivery is only going to Little Rock, but that allows for some extra leisure time: sit down and eat, relax at a Starbucks (where else?), etc.
In fact, I think I hear a Mocha Marble Machiatto calling my name!
Yep, that's what that sound was!
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