Trucker Contacts

During our time at the Flying J, we talked to a number of truckers, though the truck stop isn't as friendly as an RV park. We never had a chance to talk to any of the women drivers.

As we had noticed in our travels, a lot of drivers are very, very fat. They sit in a truck for 8 to 10 hours a day and often eat at diners and fast food restaurants. If I spent all day driving by myself, I would be consuming candy and chips as I traveled. One man we talked to said he really tried to eat healthy. Before each trip, he prepared food at home and froze the meals, then heated them in the microwave in his cab. I doubt I would have that discipline.

A driver gave us the advice to put on our blinkers or hazard lights when backing up to park. Another said he was 36, a mechanic and a member of AA. Yet another remarked that he was 56 and a retired policeman. He drove trucks for a friend and was able to have long layovers when he came home.

We learned about the laws controlling how long they could drive and how long they had to rest between periods of driving. We were told the new electronic logs mean the drivers have to find a truck stop before they have been driving too long. The electronic devices can't be fudged like with the old paper logs allowed.

Many truckers take their dogs along on the trips for some company. After fueling the truck, those drivers quickly find the dog run. And everyone has a cell phone. Truckers walk around the truck stop talking on the phone, many have head sets so they can use the phone hands free. One man said he spent many of his driving hours talking on the phone. During the rest periods, truckers also play games and go online with their phones.

One day we talked to the driver of a Flying J fuel truck. He reported that the fuel station there in Winslow received 22 loads of fuel a day. The drivers make two trips a day from Albuquerque where they pick up fuel. They are responsible for filling their own trucks and off-loading the fuel. There are no bellows in the fuel tank, so braking and skidding on ice can really get wave action going in the tank. There must be more than one fuel compartment in the tank because the driver said he had to take care to distribute the load for good balance. Since he has computer contact with the fuel dispatcher, he is sometimes redirected to a truck stop that is really in need of fuel.

One day a trucker backed in very close to the door side of our RV. He was within maybe 8 inches of our slide. John stood in the door watching as the truck slowly moved into place. When he got parked, John gave him an OK sign. We then chatted with him and his wife for a few minutes through their open window. His comment was, "Pretty good backing, wasn't it?"

I find I know way too much now about trucks and truckers and the loads they carry. I really pay attention to all that passes us on the road. Since we are driving on I-40, purportedly the busiest truck route in the country, I have a lot to watch.

Good Bye, Flying J

It wasn't good until yesterday, but we are finally repaired and out of the Flying J parking lot. It hasn't been grand and we hope we don't return soon, but thanks for the space.

We spent 12 days, 11 nights in the Flying J parking lot and we are delighted to be away from the noise of trucks and the crowded parking, the smell of rubber and exhaust, the oily pavement. The Holbrook KOA looks absolutely pristine and spacious by comparison.

A Goodyear commercial truck shop is not the ideal location to have a 5th wheel RV repaired but they eventually got the job done and everyone there was very friendly and pleasant. But we really won't miss them or the location. It feels so good to be back on the road!

At Least it's Free

Well, we're waiting again, or still. The last part needed for our repair (everyone thought) was delivered Thursday. But the manager looked at it and said, no, that's not what we need. After several calls to the company that shipped the part by both me and the manager, he was finally able to email some photos to them and we learned that all the parts that have been sent this week are for a smaller brake assembly than we have!!!! By the time those two finally talked, it was too late to make a shipment that day. That means they--and we-- have to wait till Monday, meaning the parts will be shipped then and we are waiting till Tuesday for repairs.

You can probably imagine what was going through our heads at that time. We have been here since Sunday and it seems everyone, from Lippert to Shadow Trailers in California where Lippert ships parts to techs, shop supervisors and the shop manager have messed up at some point.

Today, we drove to Flagstaff to look around and have lunch. It is cooler in Flagstaff than here in Winslow. And tonight it has cooled down a little quicker than yesterday. The high Friday was 92, today I think it was 88. That is pretty hot when you don't have air conditioning.

The good news is, it is free to park here. I think we usually average about $30 a night when traveling. We will have 9 or 10 free nights. It is about as good as volunteering--at least financially.

Living in a Truck Stop

We have been parked and living in the Winslow, AZ, Flying J since Sunday. Most of the other people who sleep here are only in the lot for 10 hours or so--their required rest period after driving for up to 11 hours. One night, we thought we were limited in space because we had to keep one of our slides pulled in. Look at one of the truck cabs were 18-wheel drivers sleep and sometimes eat and watch TV.

We see drivers sitting in the drivers' seat looking at their phones. They are there all day to drive and during part of the rest period, as well. The truck stop offers a restaurant, showers, laundry facilities, game room and TV room.

Most of the drivers are male, but I have been surprised at how often we see women drivers as well. At least one looked like she was my age or older! Glad that's not my life.

Navigating the parking lot can be difficult at some times of the day. In the morning about 7 to 8, during the lunch hour, and from about 5 pm until dark there is lots of traffic. These big trucks can make amazingly tight u-turns and most of them are skilled at backing into parking spots. We are parked on the back row so we encounter lots of trucks moving at certain times as we are out walking. The drivers don't wave as they are driving or parking, but they smile and even talk to us at times in the store or outside.

Our first night here, one trucker drove up and parked in the site we were planning to go into. When he got out, he asked if we needed help parking. Were we looking for a spot?  Yes, the one you are in. He apologized and said one tip was to put on your hazard lights when parking. Then other drivers know what you are doing. Another trucker, an extrovert, said hello as he walked by. John said, "It's cold." The driver started talking--"I forgot to turn on my bunk heater last night. It was 41 when I woke up this morning." He then talked to us for nearly half an hour.

We see all sorts of different loads on the trucks here. One was hauling bees from drought-stricken California to Colorado.

We have seen new Airstream trailers and vintage trailers being hauled.

Then there are standard 53 ft trailers containing who knows what. Many are refrigerated. Other trucks are carrying heavy equipment or automobiles.

The noise level at night is pretty high, with generators and compressors operating to keep refrigerated loads cool or the sleeping driver comfortable. Every time a truck is turned on or off, there is noise from the air brakes, I guess. Of course, our generators are noisy, too. As loud as the trucks. We are right next to I-40 and it doesn't have near the noise we have here in the parking lot. I'll never take seriously RV park reviews that complain of highway noise after this.

We are grateful for this safe, free place to park while we wait for repairs on our RV brake. And everyone here at Goodyear and Flying J have been friendly and helpful.

But we really hope we get to leave later today after our repairs are completed and working!

Waiting--with water

Yesterday, the bolts we were waiting for were delivered for our brake caliper. Mike was soon under the rig, installing them.

That's the good news.

Now, the bad news. As we pulled out of the shop bay, there was a terrible sound. The brake was locking up! They removed the bolts so we could return to the shop. An examination and a phone call to the business that sent the bolts showed that there should be a sleeve in each of the caliper holes where the bolts go. The sleeve prevents the bolts from going in further than they should. The sleeve had fallen out as well and the bolts and marred the brake rotor. (I wish I understood what I just wrote. I am just repeating what I was told.)

Now we wait again. The parts have been ordered and are on the way.

John put water in our fresh water tank (yea)

and we moved to a new parking spot, right behind the service shop.

Notice in the photo that another RV pulled in right next to us.  As we were setting up, the man came over and said it looked like a good spot and they would join us.  Look at how they parked--taking 2 full parking spaces.  We are only here because we are having work done on our RV.  We know that many RVers do park in truck stops, rest areas and Walmart parking lots.  But the Escapees Club has outlined proper etiquette for doing that.  I'm sure taking 2 spaces isn't included.  I know putting out slides and using generators are not considered proper.  We feel we can do it, since we are captive here.  Obviously the other RV wasn't concerned.

Before the bolts arrived we were uncertain if we would be ready to go or be staying another night. We decided we really needed to shower. So we popped $12 for a team shower at Flying J. This is what is available for truckers for free if they buy diesel and have a rewards card.  Not bad at all.

And these are our generators.

We have had them for years. When used together, they give us about 30 amps of power. However, we haven't used them for several years and I was thinking as we left on this summer trip that I would really push John to get rid of them next fall. NOT NOW. They are what makes it possible for us to charge our electronics, keep the batteries charged and have a fan and lights and watch TV. We won't get rid of them!

Waiting

Now it's a waiting game. At 5 am this morning, I called Lippert to see if they could send us the bolts we need to reattach the brake caliper to our wheel. No, not without a serial number of the axle. Since we don't have that number, I made several other calls. At 7 am I finally reached Kodiak, the company that manufactured the caliper. Jesse there referred me to Shadow Trailer Parts in California. He knew the company had what we needed and they are located closer to our location than Kodiak.

I have talked to Frits at Shadow Trailer with the part number Jesse gave me. The bolts have already been shipped, FedEx overnight. Hopefully, they will arrive by mid-day tomorrow.

As most of the 18-wheelers that spent the night here in the Flying J lot pulled out, we moved to another slot. This time, we have enough room to open all three slides, giving us a lot more room than last night. We have traded a truck neighbor for the trash dumpster. Usually we avoid dumpsters, but in this case it makes out life much more convenient.

Last night we were only able to open one slide, making for a pretty crowded living room. And with the off-door slide retracted, much of our storage and one door of the refrigerator are unavailable. We also couldn't open the bedroom slide, so we couldn't walk around the bed and the drawers were blocked.

Today, we are feeling more comfortable with more space inside. We have the generators for power but we are dry camping. We never travel with water in our tanks unless we know we are going somewhere we need it. We didn't know that yesterday when we pulled out of Homolovi State Park. It took awhile, but we are remembering what it was to camp in a tent or popup with no water.   All we need is a jug of water so we can heat water on the stove and we have what we need to washing dishes and taking a spit bath.  The RV fuel island has water so we can go there as often as we wish to fill our 3 gallon jugs. We checked at the Flying J today and found we could take a shower for $12, and we could both use it. Still, $6 a person sounds really high.

We had lunch at Denny's again today. The secret to good food there is to order something they have to cook to order. We both had the Santa Fe skillet--breakfast for lunch. The food was good and John ate every bite of his.

Something New

We never park for the night in rest stops, truck stops or Walmart parking lots. We are always, and I mean always, hooked up to electricity. We don't boon dock in this 5th wheel and rarely in previous RVs we have owned. But this is where we are today.

We are parked behind the Flying J in Winslow. When we pulled into Homolovi State Park on Tuesday, one of the other campers reported hearing noise coming from one of the RV's wheels. As we pulled out today, headed for Gallup, New Mexico, I drove and John listened. Yes, there was definitely a noise coming from the rear street-side wheel. The closest place we could find was the Flying J just down the road. The service is handled by a Goodyear Tire shop on the same lot.

They are used to working on 18-wheel tractors and trailers, but they agreed to look at out Mobile Suites. When they pulled the tire, the brake caliper was just swinging free. The two bolts that hold it to the wheel (or axle, I'm not sure) was swinging free. Ooops!  They went to both auto parts stores in town and couldn't get the necessary bolts. Lippert, who supplied the axles, is closed till 8am EDT, of course. It's Sunday.

We dodged big trucks coming and going as we found a spot to park. This is the view out our back window.

This was the view out our side window--before the moving van pulled in next to us.

We went to the Denny's in Flying J for lunch. My quesadilla was good. John had a club sandwich. He is a person who always, always cleans his plate. This shows you what he thought of his sandwich and fries.

Tomorrow may be a long day. We will try to make it as good a day as we can.