Driving until 1:30 am has never been my forte. Much more, having to drop the trailer when I got to the yard and then head over to the hotel. But, the only other choice was to not get down here last night and tho I was fighting fatigue, I did make it. Even under the best of circumstances, I would have been tired, but after 3 nights of not sleeping it was much worse.
And then this hotel....I have stayed here before and never had an issue. But getting to the 4th floor, the smell in the hallways was overpowering. Disgusting, almost gag reflex. Upon entering my room, the same smell, undoubtedly coming from the hallway, was filling the room as well. I cannot imagine that hotel staff can come up to this floor and not notice that horrific smell.
My stay here is almost over, thank goodness. The shower curtain had mold all over the bottom of it - black mold! Makes a person wonder about the condition of the sheets I was laying on or the towels I dried myself off with......Like, if they never wash the shower curtains or even inspect them, what else is going on in this facility? I would have far rather stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn, my hotel of choice down here that they used to put me up in which apparently has been scrubbed off their list of available hotels.
Well, the day cab is running better at least. That's what I was forced to drive down here in and why I was staying at a hotel. I am determined to get back up to Longview tonight and get this trip over with. I'd really like a day off in between runs, especially if my truck isn't done. Yesterday, they told me a NOX sensor and other DEF related issues and the bill would be $1,500, which is basically nothing in the trucking world.
But do they have a NOX sensor? Parts are hard to come by nowadays with the supply chain in the mess that it's in. They are blaming truckers, which is part of it, but the rest of it is the fact that no one wants to work anymore. DC centers, manufacturers, supplies to make the things you find on the store shelves are all lacking. Employers are paying more than ever right now trying to lure people to come to work for them.
It sort of got me thinking about getting an RV park up and running, but there are two things. One, it won't be finished for quite a while and 2, if it comes down to it, I'll quit my job and run the place myself if it brings in the necessary revenues. I can find someone to run it for me at the beginning, pay enough money and I'll get someone in there.
It isn't really a "now" issue for me since I have many hurdles to face -mostly financial ones - to get that place operational. I'll be calling some places today on the way back up and see if I can get them out there to give me some quotes.
Regardless, I'm not sure that my truck is going to be finished and available to pick up today, and even if it is, someone else would have to go get it and bring it to the yard since I won't be getting back into town until long after the Rush truck center closes. So, I just expect that it will be next week before I get back into my truck and therefore, prepare myself for a weekend run in this daycab.
It's just soooo small. There is no leg room, there is no room to store your stuff besides just cramming it down in front of the passenger seat. It only has one fuel tank - daycabs are supposed to be used for local runs, not out of tonight overnight stuff. At least it's running better than last time. Whatever the case, I'm making money off of it, just bite the bullet and move on.
Well I'm an hour off from having to leave and I need breakfast and I want to get to the yard where the empty trailer is, get hooked up to it and be ready to go when the clock hits the mark where I can come back on duty again.
G'day.
