I Wuz Robbed!

This morning started out normally enough. I did my pre-trip inspection, noted no liquid on the ground under my truck or trailer among other things, and started up my truck. Beeping and buzzing and flashing greeted me: more complaints about fluid levels.

I pulled up to the fueling area of the truck stop under the lights and popped the hood again. The only fluid level I don't check each morning is the radiator, as you have to be up on the vehicle to look down inside. Sure enough, I was a gallon or two short.

I bought some antifreeze and used the jug I emptied previously as a water jug, adding about half a gallon of the expensive stuff and a gallon of the free stuff. This seemed to calm everyone down and I sped off.

Nashville was a breeze, as I had expected. I got tired near the Kentucky / Illinois state line so I pulled off at a weigh station with parking for trucks for 45 minutes and took a power nap. After that I was good to go and I pressed on to Mt Vernon, Illinois where I stopped for lunch (Popeyes chicken tenders, yummy!) and a Wal-Mart run. I got two pounds of strawberries... I swear I could eat a pound a day of those, and I do when I get a chance to.

Throughout the day when I stop I get out and look at the readout on the side of the reefer unit. It shows me its status, what temperature it is set to and what the actual temperature is. All was good and I thought nothing more.

I moved up the road to Warrenton, Missouri where I fueled up and by chance I checked the level in the reefer tank. Now, I had filled it (it is a 75 gallon tank, which is large on a reefer) back in Joplin a few days ago so it should still be at least half full I would have thought. Instead, it was showing around a quarter tank. Either I have misjudged the amount of fuel it burns or someone dipped into it last night while I slept.

After another couple hours I was at my consignee, the same ConAgra plant I picked up from last month. As is typical at this company, I had a preplan before I arrived to take a preloaded trailer from the very same spot and bring it up to Omaha, Nebraska tomorrow morning. My dispatcher has been working me back towards our HQ to get some maintenance taken care of and this is my load back there. I'm out of hours for today and its only about 250 miles so I will run it first thing in the morning and get my truck into the shop as soon as I am unloaded.


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