Shortly before 1:00 am, I got to the casino truck stop, intent on going to bed immediately after getting paperwork done - which I did.
Around 3:00 am, a loud beeping noise went off in the cab. I've heard that sound before, I instantly knew it wasn't going to be anything good.
It wasn't. A "Limp home mode, maximum derate, fix SCR" notification on the truck screen. That means something with the DEF system. Lots of that going on lately in other trucks - and months wait time for parts. As with the rest of the supply chain, truck parts are hard to come by and slow to arrive.
Is this because everyone is getting fired for not getting vaccinated? That's really what it's coming down to. I've been looking all over the internet for answers to this supply chain problem and it seems that many companies are shooting themselves in the foot demanding employees getting vaxxed - or else. Many are choosing the "or else" option regardless of the consequences.
The contrast between what Trump did for our economy and what Biden is doing to our economy couldn't be more stark. Despise Trump's mannerisms all you want, we had nothing like the supply chain issues we are facing, the labor shortages we are facing and the inflation - which will convert to hyper-inflation if this reconciliation bill is passed - under Biden.
The worst part is, Biden doesn't seem to care. Isn't this what Socialists and Communists do? Take over the supply chain through whatever means they can and attempt to control people's lives through dictates accompanied with fear-mongering?
I digress. I've been here since 12/47 am, it's now 3:22 pm. The situation has gotten so desperate for dispatch that they are sending a driver up here, bobtailing in a tractor only, to retrieve the truck and potentially I am going with the driver. I can't legally leave a hazmat trailer here unattended, I can leave a tractor here. That's up to them, however, I don't call the shots and I don't want to call that shot. If something happens, it's fully on them.
As it stands, I am still waiting for a mechanic to show up to try and fix the problem. He called me a long time ago, diagnosing the problem over the phone - whether he is correct or not who knows without hooking up to the truck's computer - and attempting to find the parts. He informed me I should go get a hotel room over at the casino.
Uhh, no, they won't do that, if it's that bad they'll have the truck towed. So, who is coming first? The other driver or the mechanic? And what do I do if the driver arrives first? Call dispatch. The driver is here, what do you want me to do? I am not leaving this truck unloacked, I can tell you that, for that mechanic. I have valuables in here and I can't take it all with me back to the yard in the other guy's truck. Too much stuff.
Oh, did I say I'm operating on 3 or less hours of sleep? Yes, go ahead and try to sleep with that constant dinging going on, as I am listening to now. It's humid outside, it's making it too uncomfortable to shut the truck off.
If I were to have shut down where I was going to last night - at the Love's in Okmulgee, this would be a completely different situation. There wasn't any place to park so I drove clear on down here, where I know there is always a parking space somewhere. They'd be towing the truck to Tulsa if I were up there and at the very least an overnight stay in a hotel. And a lot of breakdown pay.
They are desperate for the trailer I have, tho, they may have sent a bobtail up there as well, I dunno, but they wouldn't be wasting time with a mechanic, they'd just tow the thing.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding....constantly...about twice per second, maybe 3 times actually, very loud, incessant, non-stop, hellish in nature. No shut off for it, they do it on purpose, but to what end. I got the message - over 12 hours ago thanks. I don't need mother noise maker telling me about the problem, I know, I know, I know.
Well, whatever. I'd like to milk this breakdown pay cow because I know that I either am going to be sitting home for a while or they'll try putting me in that pile of junk day cab. Supposedly they fixed it, but still it's an ancient dinosaur, a relic from another era, a piece of history that belongs in the Smithsonian, not on the road.
I wish I could sleep. Turning the truck off it will get to hot. Leaving it on, the constant dinging. Like some sort of Chinese torture, there is nothing I can do. Maybe turn it off and leave my little fan going, perhaps I can get a little sleep anyway, I figure it at least another hour, if not hours, before anyone shows up here. The other drive said at least 3 hours if not longer, he wasn't at home when they called him.
I'm a bit cranky, I think I will try turning this truck off and at least getting a few minutes of shut eye.
