The Most Hellatious Night Ever

I have just probably had the worst, most frustrating night ever.

To begin, I went home for the weekend but since they couldn't fine something going to iowa I left the truck at the terminal and rented a car. Ok, so I planned on starting back to the terminal today ( Monday) around 9 am. My wife gets up, gets ready for work around 8 am and says " oh, hey could you do a couple things before you leave?" Soooooooo I don't leave till noon, no problem. So, I'm toolin down 35 south by Kansas City when the phone rings, it's my dispatcher. " hey, where are ya? " Kansas City, I said. She says" oh, you're not at the terminal? " Then I told her about the honey do list " ohhhhjj ok" Alright, good to go. Get to springfield and unpack my gear, then dropped the car off at the rental place and walked back. I could have waited for a taxi, I should have waited for a taxi, but I decided to walk. Not. A good. Idea. High heat, high humidity and I'm dressed in jeans and a black t shirt. It was the most miserable 3 mile walk I can remember.

Now, if you think muleing 3 miles in the burning afternoon is bad, keep reading.

Ok so I get back to the terminal and see what they have. They have something coming in from Georgia headed west. Ok cool, be here by morning I know I need fuel so I ask if I can get some" nope, systems down, but there's a fuel station just down the road. " Ok, so I go for it.

25 feet I only needed 25 feet

Ok well, close enough, I'll get a fuel can and put some in the tank

Go in the store, get a fuel can, pre pay for some fuel and head back out..... Nothing. I wait 5 mins and head back in and see whats up Oopppps , they put it in the wrong pump.

Ok so now it's on the right pump and I start getting some fuel in the tanks. So I start to crank it and nothing plus my batteries are dead. Yay! >:( Ok, so I start up the apu and get ahold of road assist

Finally, a fellow trucker helps me out and says " did you pump it?"

Blank stare

" on the engine, did you pump it?

He's trying to tell me something, I know it

Well, looks like you have to pump the fuel from the tank to the motor by hand when you run one of these things dry. # 162 of things they didn't teach me in trucking school

He also have me a jump start

So, i pump some more fuel in, head back to the terminal, grabbed a shower and a 44 ounce Sierra must.

I'm now in my bunk with the ac set on " ice age" mode. Life is good

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

Dispatcher:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Just remember... it could have been worse... at least you're doing ok.

Man, I was looking for the most hellatious night ever! Sounds like you haven't had too many bad experiences yet, because I could think of a whole lot worse!!! Not knocking you man, pain is relative.

25 feet!!! aaawwhhh man so close . at least someone stopped to help ya with the fuel pump though...