Wishing you both the best. Don't forget to breathe! Safe travels.
Thank you for the kind words.
Last night was ...irritating. After our steer tire replacement they told us to get the lug nuts re torqued after 250ish miles. However this became very difficult as truck stops appeared to be having one hell of a Black Friday sale (busier than hell) and they were packed. After another fiasco at the pump (our fuel gauge seems horribly inaccurate)(pump said bio deisel, which according to the driver next to me, is the same and can be run safely, yes I asked, was way to stressed and didn't care about looking stupid) I didn't care so much about the lug nuts anymore. We attempted to pull off for the night but parking was hilarious. These places get so packed I wasn't confident in getting our small truck into a spot. Upside: we are small, and there was a Walmart near by, and our rv trips taught me to call and ask if they allow over night parking which they do. So that's where we spend the night. With about 15 other trucks.
DOWNLOAD THIS : an app called trucker path. It will give you a list of truck stops near your location and tell you if there are spots available. It is updated by other truckers.
This brings us to this morning. Set the alarm for 7am. Thanks to the phone changing time zones we woke up at 8am. With the wife at the wheel for the first time we pulled into a nearby flying j and got the lug nuts re torqued and hit the interstate. After about 2hrs we get pulled over for a dot safety inspection, with about 45 other trucks. The trooper was super nice and patient. He dug through our binder (was in the truck behind the seat) and found all the nessisarily documents (registration is all I'm aware of). He did a walk around and checked the following
- checked underneath the vehicle
- tires
- headlights and high beams
- turn signals (front and back)
- 4 ways (front and back)
- brake lights
- ABS light
- low air warning light
- made sure parking brake valve popped out at around 30ish psi.
- asked what we were hauling. We said nothing, he didn't check.
- e log, didn't go in depth, just kinda looked at the history, we didn't have one since we just started, he didn't ask to see the paper one we are also keeping
- he gave us a paper, that we signed, saying there were no violations. I believe this paper has to be sent somewhere. More on that once I figure it out.
Also, you have to log your safety inspection. We logged it for the wife, and myself even though I was in "sleeper birth". Not sure if mine required change since I think that started my clock for my 14hrs. And don't forget to change it back to driving once your done (this should happen automatically but it's a good idea to verify.
That brings us to now, cruising at 65, wife is not afraid of this governor and stays on it. I'm coaching her through it since I feel like a parent who is teaching there kid how to drive. She is doing VERY well and can prolly run 65 all day with no issues, my nerves however are in a whole different state of comfort. Lmao.
Currently working on hill driving. We are encountering small ones and I'm getting her in the habit of slowing before the decent and maintaining speed going down with little to no brake usage. Engine brake is currently off. We have about 180 miles left. We keep the cell phone gps running also. C- link takes a little bit to recalculate the route if you get off track and it helps a little so your not going blind.
) had about 5 things they deducted for, including $1000 escrow (refundable) they kept out of pay - just in case.