On The Road Again ~

 Butch enjoyed eleven days at home!  The longest he's been home since starting his OTR journey January of this year.  We didn't anticipate Blue going out-of-service & the resulting wait for another truck.

We also expected Butch to leave for Salt Lake City, the company headquarters.  Instead, he received a ticket to Shreveport, LA!  December first, we returned to Eppley where Butch flew out to Houston at 3 p.m.  He only had one connecting flight to reach his destination of  Shreveport.

Entrance to the Shreveport, Airport~

Butch walked the block over to the motel.  The following morning, a driver he'd met twice came to pick him up & take him to a familiar truck!  Butch had driven this truck starting August 18th, while Blue was in the shop having the AC repaired.  It was the newest Freightliner he's driven & he enjoyed it.  But it was designated to a dedicated tractor/trailer route for live loads. 

8-25-2022 Butch leaving~

By August 29th, Butch drove to a meet-up spot in UT, where he met the new hire who would be driving the dedicated route.  That driver had driven Blue (out from the shop) & the two of them exchanged semis.  Butch only saw this truck one more time, at a customer loading dock.

12-2-22 Truck & Trailer~

Butch was picked up by the driver who had quit.  They drove to a nearby truck stop, where the truck/trailer were parked.  An inspection noted the lower cab faring was missing on the driver's side, the trailer had sustained a few scrapes & there were two large dings in the windshield.  

"Rebel" getting washed!

The trailer had to go in for a wash-out, so Butch had the truck done from top to bottom!  Now, that he's driving this Freightliner for the second time, (duration unknown) we decided Rebel needed a name!

At Hydro Sweet Potato~

His first dispatch this morning, was from Shreveport to Lookeba, OK.  It took a while to find the corrrect location.  When Butch  arrived, the staff explained the address differed from the one shown on the dispatch.  Each season, they find whatever property is available to use for the harvest.  When you're enjoying those holiday sweet potatoes, think of Butch & Rebel!  :-)  Who knows - the ones they're hauling may appear on your dining table!

Potato's being loaded~

Butch decided to go over the scales to adjust his tandems, before leaving for Idaho.  It only took a short distance, with a full load,  to discover the trailer brakes weren't working. The next stop was a Loves.  Even in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, they had a service bay & mechanic on duty.

In the service bay~

Assembled & disassembled three times today - the brakes were still not working.  Another mechanic came on duty & discovered a new problem no one there had seen before. 

What a mess~

 Everyone is scratching their heads trying to figure out how this kind of damage could happen.  Another driver - owner/operator viewed the damage & said in his 40-years OTR - he had never seen anything like it. 

The brake pads were concave in the middle~

Butch is waiting for the repair estimate to forward on.  New brakes & drums all the way around...   We were both anxious for him to return to ID & pick up his personal items from Blue.  I had to persuade him to take a sleeping bag!   

OTR is always a challenge!  Idaho or bust!