I need a hat, a chain for my wallet & a can of snuff.

Niagra River near the border crossing.....

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I was unable to get to the Niagra Falls area in time for the eclipse. I guess the sky was clear there. I was just short on time and in a cloudy area when it took place. So, for me, it was just an abbreviated Springs night. I could see nightfall ahead of me which had the appearance of a pending storm minus the rain and lightning. It wasn't long before I was in the middle of it before I then drove through the other side.

What I didn't expect was the amount of traffic heading north into Canada on the QEW. The QEW is the main route from the Niagra region to all points north. To get to my delivery point, I would only have to be on the QEW for about 23 miles before heading west to St. Thomas. That 23 mile stretch showed a two hour delay. I opted to park for the night and come here under the cover of darkness. When I looked closer at the GPS, I could see that traffic was backed up the entire length from Niagra to Toronto. That's 80 miles! Them Canadians love their solar eclipses.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I was unable to get to the Niagra Falls area in time for the eclipse. I guess the sky was clear there. I was just short on time and in a cloudy area when it took place. So, for me, it was just an abbreviated Springs night. I could see nightfall ahead of me which had the appearance of a pending storm minus the rain and lightning. It wasn't long before I was in the middle of it before I then drove through the other side.

What I didn't expect was the amount of traffic heading north into Canada on the QEW. The QEW is the main route from the Niagra region to all points north. To get to my delivery point, I would only have to be on the QEW for about 23 miles before heading west to St. Thomas. That 23 mile stretch showed a two hour delay. I opted to park for the night and come here under the cover of darkness. When I looked closer at the GPS, I could see that traffic was backed up the entire length from Niagra to Toronto. That's 80 miles! Them Canadians love their solar eclipses.
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You definitely made the smart choice. You would have wore yourself out in all of that traffic and if you have a clutch your left leg would be cramping big time today. But now you are all rested up and ready to rock&roll. Plus you saved a lot of costly wear and tear on your driveline.
 
Nitro Dude said:
You definitely made the smart choice. You would have wore yourself out in all of that traffic and if you have a clutch your left leg would be cramping big time today. But now you are all rested up and ready to rock&roll. Plus you saved a lot of costly wear and tear on your driveline.
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I'm now in a long line to get back into the US. Coming back up here again tomorrow to Toronto to deliver Thursday.
 
Welp, dispatch got changed.....

I was to load this morning and take that load to the Toronto area for delivery. Umm still going to load that same trailer but I'm going to take it back to the yard for someone else to deliver tomorrow.

I'm now going to load a 2nd trailer this afternoon that is an emergency load bound for Edmonton. I'll be delivering that next week. Even though they're using the term emergency, that don't seem to need it until Wednesday. I should be there by Sunday. That's a lot of sitting.

I may be working out other plans along the route. My daughter is either throwing in Michigan or Illinois this Friday or Saturday. I may just do a restart near South Bend and my wife meet me so that we can go to one of those meets. Still trying to work out the plans.
 
Waiting to go for my 11:20 loaf time. Had my pump/hoses flushed/cleaned so that everything's ready for the next time I need them. Took these couple pics of some of the tools I need to offload.....

I carry 90' of hose for offloading. Four 20' hoses and a 20' hose. Seldom do I use all of them on a single delivery but it does happen. When I use my PTO pump to offload, I need to hook the trailer to the pump and then the pump to the customer. That's when all hoses are sometimes used. When I air off, using my onboard compressor, I go straight from the trailer to the customer. Many times that only requires a single hose.

I also carry a five gallon bucket to put under my trailer hose connection when the customer can't provide. There's also a shallow five gallon tray to place under my pump connection when that's in use. A 50' air hose also hangs these. Tire chains for both my tractor and trailer are also kept back there. For both super singles and regular tire configurations. There is a snow shovel back there that I have to use more often than I'd like. I also have a long windshield squeegee for the bug infested seasons. Lastly there's a box for all of the truck liquids I carry. Oil, antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, anti gel, power steering fluid, fuel injection cleaners and the like.

Oh, and the box to the right of the pump contains all of the fittings needed for hose connections.

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Here's a look at a standard four compartment trailers connections. Each set of connections consists of a large API connection and standard 3" hose connection.

When I get to my load point this morning, they'll hook up their load connection to the API fitting. They'll then push the product into the trailer compartment. Before they load I'll go up top and open the dome lids to allow for the air to escape. This loading point will do all of the work at the fitting ends. I'll do the work up top. Other loading locations are done in the exact opposite roles. Some place I do nothing. My favorite.


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dpkimmel2001 said:
Here's a look at a standard four compartment trailers connections. Each set of connections consists of a large API connection and standard 3" hose connection.

When I get to my load point this morning, they'll hook up their load connection to the API fitting. They'll then push the product into the trailer compartment. Before they load I'll go up top and open the dome lids to allow for the air to escape. This loading point will do all of the work at the fitting ends. I'll do the work up top. Other loading locations are done in the exact opposite roles. Some place I do nothing. My favorite.


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Will it bulge and damage the trailer if you don’t open the doors for the air to escape?
 
Nitro Dude said:
Will it bulge and damage the trailer if you don’t open the doors for the air to escape?
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I've never experienced the results of not venting a trailer when loading/unloading via a pumping process. It would definitely stand to reason that the results would not be good. I know that if I were to pump unload an unvented trailer, it would implode. I'd guess the results would be opposite when loading. I don't intend to find out.
 
Next up..... Loading my Edmonton load. Probably catching some sleep after that and then do some night driving. I don't want to leave the Philly area during rush hour if I don't need to. I'll drive right out in the middle of the night. It'll also set me up to cross through Chicago in the middle of the night Thursday into Friday.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Next up..... Loading my Edmonton load. Probably catching some sleep after that and then do some night driving. I don't want to leave the Philly area during rush hour if I don't need to. I'll drive right out in the middle of the night. It'll also set me up to cross through Chicago in the middle of the night Thursday into Friday.
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I agree. The only setback is deer running across the freeway on that route at night. I remember counting 27 dead deer on the way from our Chicago shop to a race in Englishtown NJ. I arrived at the track and figured that was the final tally until I got in the rental car and saw another one on the way to the hotel.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I agree. The only setback is deer running across the freeway on that route at night. I remember counting 27 dead deer on the way from our Chicago shop to a race in Englishtown NJ. I arrived at the track and figured that was the final tally until I got in the rental car and saw another one on the way to the hotel.
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I've already got one with my truck. Wasn't pretty. Up in the northwest you've got moose and buffalo to worry about as well.
 
She threw a new PR today winning the meet overall. Much better competition today. She's now just 2' shy of the qualifier mark to compete in Eugene Oregon against the best the US had to offer. She's currently qualified for the meet due to her ranking but that changes several times in a given weekend as the season progresses. In at the moment but could need knocked back out by the end of the day. Well with the trip down here this weekend to watch in person. Could not be more proud.

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dpkimmel2001 said:
She threw a new PR today winning the meet overall. Much better competition today. She's now just 2' shy of the qualifier mark to compete in Eugene Oregon against the best the US had to offer. She's currently qualified for the meet due to her ranking but that changes several times in a given weekend as the season progresses. In at the moment but could need knocked back out by the end of the day. Well with the trip down here this weekend to watch in person. Could not be more proud.

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Great stuff. Does she still have a pathway to the Olympics?
 
Greg said:
Great stuff. Does she still have a pathway to the Olympics?
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Her goal is the Olympic Trials to get to compete against our best women throwers. She has about 5 more weeks left to lock into the top 24 list or an auto bid by throwing the qualifying mark. She's just short of that mark but currently in the top 24. The top 24 will compete in Eugene Oregon for their spot on the Olympic Team. The top 3 there will make the team to represent the US. It would just be great to compete against the best. That usually brings out the best in her as it did today.
 
Started out on Tuesday this week with a load that I delivered in Tennessee yesterday. Afterwards I drove to Chicago where I picked up a cleaned empty trailer and headed to Oshkosh WI to get a load of wax. They're loading me now. After they're finished, I'll be heading back to Chicago to drop this trailer off for someone else to deliver. I'll then hook up to another preloaded trailer that I'll be running back up to Edmonton to deliver on Monday morning.
 
I delivery in Edmonton tomorrow at 08:00. I'm sitting fort the weekend here in Lloydminster, AB completing a restart. Should be able to deliver in the am and turn around making it back to the border in Portal, ND by the end of the day. I'm sure they'll send me to Chicago either for a load to deliver or something to run back to western PA. Some home time next weekend and then back out for another couple weeks.
 
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