Monday - evening

Yeah - today.  I headed over to Haughton early.  I remembered that I had forgotten to get fuel on Saturday on the way back from Gurdon. That's just not my habit. I get fuel in Lufkin and I don't have to fuel again until - Lufkin again.  Hence it never even crossed my mind about fuel while driving on I-30. 

But, the fuel gauge showed almost quarter tanks, there was at least 40 gallons in there if the gauge was correct.

Yeah, about that gauge.....Maybe 10 miles out from Haughton I looked at the gauge again and it showed just above empty. Like, it IS empty.  Well nothing I can do about it, there are no fuel stations out there until you get to Haughton, where there is a Pilot. That was my plan, get fuel at the Pilot in Haughton.

The plan almost worked! UNNNNtilllll.....I got into the fuel station, saw all lanes were occupied so I just ended up pulling up behind a truck.  Figured to wait until they left.  Then the engine started chugging. I know that sound. It's running out of fuel.  I immediately turned it off, hoping it would fire up again when a lane became open and then just idle it up there.  

That was the problem tho, the "up there" part. I was on a hill. There's a grade going up  to the fuel pumps and that's what threw it all off.  The fuel went to the rear of the tanks and obviously the feeder tube was therefore no longer able to pull up and of the little amount left in it. 

I was 30 feet from the fuel pump folks.  THIRTY FEET.  I got out, went into the store, bought a 5 gallon can and promptly filled it with diesel. Dumped it in the tanks and then got 5 more gallons.  Then I opened up the hood and started pumping the primer pump. Just a little thing.  When you run a truck out of fuel, good luck getting it started again with a service truck coming out. I spent probably 45 minutes on it when it finally kicked in! 

And then stopped.  I went and got  5 more gallons, dumped that in there and gave it the last hoorah.  No dice.  It wouldn't start again.  I called dispatch, they told me to call the service lady who said ok, she'll find someone to come out.  Meanwhile, a guy had approached me and I said well, if I could get the fuel filters off, I could fill them with diesel and that would probably do it. I am soooo close. 

He went and got one but it was the wrong kind. It just started eating into the filter instead of turning it off.  Thanks for trying!

It was taking a while for the service lady to call back - must be having problems finding a service truck. That Pilot didn't have a shop.  So, I went out and started pumping that thing again.  And again.  And on the third time pumping it - it's 100 or more pumps per try - it fired up.  And it kept running. I immediately put the hood up and got up to the pumps - it's  much more level there tho at that point I had dumped enough diesel in those tanks to not have to worry about it.  

I did not turn the truck off while fueling, no way Jose.  Near $900 worth of fuel later and I left there after getting the receipts for the 3 5 gallon treks.  Over to the washout - it's a half mile down the street - dropped my trailer and then picked up the one I was supposed to get. 

But, there was no washout ticket anywhere on it.  It didn't appear as tho it had been washed out. I went into the office, has this trailer been washed out yet? No, he replied after looking through his system, the paperwork hasn't been turned on. Figures. I call dispatch and it's then that they inform me that I need to go to the regular washout in Nacogdoches to get it cleaned up. 

Yeah, they could have told me that in the first place....

2 hours to the washout, they did that pretty quick and then over to the plant where they also got it filled up pretty quick and then just drive back. But, it was 3:30 when I arrived for all the hassle with the truck and also going out of my way to Haughton in the first place to get the trailer.  

It took it all out of me, I was not getting on the tractor today to bush hog the front.  Just no thanks. 

And for the second time, process servers calling me looking for a person that allegedly lives in the park.  I said well you already called here a few days ago. Oh, well that wasn't me, musta been someone else.  Well whatever, that person no longer lives there. I had to think about it and remembered a guy with that last name - like 2 plus years ago.  

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Alright, a few minutes to rest, relax and contemplate.  I feel like I get nothing done on long trucking days, or, trucking days where I might get done in 7 hours but I didn't sleep well the night before.  I had both today. 6 pm I felt like taking a nap but thought, nahhh.  Too late in the day for that. .Just stay up until around 9 pm and then crash for as long as I can, but hopefully 7 hours anyway?  Who knows.  

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