The Weekend

This past weekend I ended up working Saturday and Sunday. This was because the plant was running on Saturday and needed parts. So this weekend I earned Premium pay, whatever that is, plus got to stay in a motel. The motel was needed more because I wasn't driving my own truck due to a mechanical issue. Friday night while they fixed some other issues they discovered that the front right wheel seal was blown (leaking). It had just started so it was good to catch, unfortunately it meant my truck was going nowhere Saturday morning. So instead I had to borrow someone else's truck.

Now borrowing someone else's truck is like borrowing someone else's car, plus their bedroom, and storage space, all at the same time. Uncomfortable doesn't begin to describe it. Nothing is where I keep it in my truck, and I have to put my stuff where I can around their stuff. Not to mention the extra checking that I have to do to make sure there are no surprises under the hood. This truck was obviously taken care of, clean on the inside, and no surprises under the hood, just some topping off of fluids.

Next issue was that this was an automatic, equipped with the Vorad radar system that I liked in my first truck. I wasn't thrilled about the automatic, since I felt it wouldn't handle the hills as well as I could with a manual. It turned out the automatic had none of the problems I was expecting, the Vorad caused all the difficulties. Where in my regular truck I could climb a hill without worry, in this truck I had to watch the Vorad to make sure it didn't try to slow me down to much while climbing a hill and catching up to another truck. What made this really tricky was the fact that with the cruise on, this truck could do 68 MPH like my truck, however with the cruise off, it couldn't, unlike my truck. Once the cruise control was off the fastest this truck could go was 65 MPH. On the flats this was no problem, but on I-71 with all the hills, it was a definite problem.

Anyway, got down there just fine and was surprised to find out that the dock supervisor had brought in BBQ pulled pork, cole slaw, and pancake style corn bread. All of which was excellent. Finding out that this was a regular thing when they worked Saturdays, I said I would bring down some IBC root beer next Saturday, so we can all get in trouble. This is because these bottles look just like a beer bottle, have to get close to see it isn't.

Saturday night I spent in a Red Roof Inn, in Bowling Green, KY. This was the second Red Roof I have stayed at recently, and they have really upgraded the look of the hotel. The interior is no longer the college party dive room rental of years gone by. Here is a picture of my borrowed truck parked at the hotel.

Everything was smooth on the way up, this time I didn't blow past my exit while passing someone. Until I got past Tipp City in Ohio, that was when the truck went insane. There would be a beeping noise, then a gauge would drop to the bottom, the another beep and another gauge would drop. Then all the sudden one would come back up, only to beep and die again. I had red lights flashing on the dash telling me my water temperature was too high, and that my oil pressure was too low, then they would shut off when the gauge would come back up. The only gauges that worked were the air pressure and fuel, both of which are not electronic.

I don't think I need to say I was a little disturbed by all of this. Though I wasn't too concerned, the only thing going wrong were the gauges, the truck wasn't making any horrible noises, spraying fluids, or smoking. So I kept driving while getting break down on the phone. This was so I could

confirm that I could just drive to Toledo and get it looked at there. After finally getting to the shop foreman in West Middlesex, our main terminal, I was told that it was likely a bad ground and to go ahead up to the Toledo yard and have it looked that there.

Of course it all stopped happening after I fueled in North Baltimore, OH at the Pilot there. Turning the truck off then on again must have reset what ever was going wrong, for a while at least. It didn't happen again the rest of the way home, and the mechanics were thrilled about having to look for a loose ground somewhere in those miles of wiring.