Of Mud and Meat

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Yesterday I dropped my load off first thing in the morning in Ankeny, Iowa. This was a standard affair with the Bawls drinks sitting on pallets, and they had me moving pretty quickly once the warehouse guys started work. Then it was off to Marshalltown, Iowa, just 45 miles away to pick up a load of meat.

Meat loads we treat differently than other loads in several ways. For one, the trailers are always washed out and sanitized before they are allowed into the plant. For another, we at Hill Bros always have trailers washed out after meat loads... that kind of perfume hanging around isn't usually a plus at the next shipper's dock.

Like many places in the midwest this time of year, the lot where the trailer was to be washed was a muddy mess. This made no difference to the trailer, as I backed up to a dock and they worked on it from inside, but my shoes and the area in front of my driver's seat was a disaster for the rest of the day.

The trailer I was to pick up had been there a while and was already loaded, so I dropped off the old one. As I attempted to disconnect my fifth wheel, however, I came upon a snag: it didn't want to let go of my old trailer! It turns out that the particular kind we use requires a driver to pull left first then pull out, then pull left again to get it to hang in the "open" position. My shoulder wishes I had figured that out quicker.

Anyway, that settled I hooked up to the new trailer and went to the local truck stop to get it weighed. I was legal so I ran it down to St Joseph, Missouri to a Sara Lee plant where they took the load off. And took their sweet time as well, but that is neither here nor there.

Since it was a load of meat I had to find a trailer washout someplace nearby. I followed a line of other trucks leaving the facility and wouldn't you know it, they led me to the place I needed.