Our First Big Trip Completed Monday, June 13 to Thursday June 16, 2022. ( There is a lot here )

Vegas Teacher · June 16, 2022

Howdy everybody!!!! Here is a breakdown of my first big trip day by day. I am in Pittsburg Kansas now, until June 22nd but I am dropping off my Truck with Jack Mayer for work to be done. We are flying back to Vegas.

Before I start this post and get into any of the details I have to give all kinds of credit to my wife, she was the best copilot ever and help me with navigation and issues that came up on the trip more than once. She was always there to support me and reassure me as we traveled down the highway.

Sunday, June 12, at 5:00 p.m. I went to get my Volvo. We cleaned loaded and organized the entire truck Sunday, and kept in our neighbor hood, much to the dismay of the HOA, overnight. I set an alarm for 4:00 a.m. so we could beat rush hour traffic out of town.

Running Bobtail and I do not have a commercial 5th or Glad hands on my truck...... (2012 Volvo 780 I shift tandem)

Monday June 13, 2022 Las Vegas to Winslow AZ:

We got on the road just before 5:00 a.m. leaving Vegas was uneventful and went smoothly. We got out onto the open road and it was pretty windy average wind speed was around 25 miles per hour, not sure what the gusts were???? We got to Kingman Arizona and hit the first weigh station. The people there were professional, and extremely nice!! I told them the story about what I was doing and why. The officials in the window asked a few questions then asked if I had a CDL, I said no and they let me go on my way, told me to have a nice day and to keep safe. We then stopped at the Petro truck stop for breakfast. After a fill of great food we traveled on I - 40 eastward toward Williams where I planned on getting out to take a break and get a cold drink. At the Loves, as I was walking out, a trucker told me to look toward Flagstaff to see what was going on. Pam and I looked up at the Mountain and noticed it was rolling with smoke. I got in my truck and we got out of there as fast as we could. As we got closer to Flagstaff we noticed that there was a lot of smoke and got down off the mountain before they could decide to shut down I 40 east. I don't think that happened but did not want to get caught in anything like that anyway. We made it into Winslow AZ. about 1:30. We found a park in the back of the lot, went in to use the RR and then back out to the truck for a nap. I slept in the top bunk, Pam got the bigger more cushy bed on the bottom bunk. We took a 2 hour nap and then went in to eat dinner. Went back out the truck to clean and organize. Next we went back in to take a shower and clean up for the evening. Talked to some truckers, upon ending our conversation they told us to have a safe trip and to "keep it rubber side down." I thought that was nice.

Tuesday June 14, Winslow to Tucumcari NM:

Got up a lot later, about 8:00 a.m. and hit the road. At the weigh station near Gallup I had to go into the office and show them the notebook with all of the documentation. They were nice and told me to have a nice day. We drove across New Mexico and spent the evening at a Flying J in Tucumcari. Pretty uneventful day. My heart was in my throat when I was told I had to go into the office for a review of my documents but the young person inside was really nice. Sometimes I think we all have to remember everybody had a job to do. I always try to be as friendly as possible with out being fake.

Wednesday June 15, Tucumcari to Oklahoma City:

I woke up kind of early, around 3:00 a.m. and went back to sleep until 5:30 then the sound of the truck around me kept me up. We got just down the road, hit half a dozen pot holes and a gust of wind comes up, Pam hears the passenger side fairing pop mostly off and sees it flapping in the mirror and gets me to stop. I keep my head on a swivel looking from mirror to mirror and down at my gauges and I had just looked at the passenger side when it happened. Like I said she was an excellent copilot and is also vigilant. We went only as far is it took to safely stop the truck and get pulled over. So on the side of the I put the rear fairing clips back on the rail and zip tie the bottom back on in the slot were screws or plastic fasteners should be but they are stripped out. We stop in Amarillo for lunch and to put in some fuel. Back on the road. The weigh station just outside of Shamrock Texas was closed. Just across the Oklahoma state line in Sayer, I was called in again to go over documentation. It was much the same as in Gallup. The officer went over my book, then took it to the back room to talk to his boss. He came back out and told me that the information / document book was nice and made it easier for them. He recommended that I put my registration in as page 1. We drove on into Oklahoma City last night at about 5:00 p.m. The checkpoint in Yukon was closed. We stayed once more at a Flying J and had dinner across the street at Braums.

Today, Thursday June 16, Oklahoma City to Pittsburg Kansas:

I did not want to deal with the traffic in Oklahoma city at rush hour so we woke up at 3:45 a.m. and hit the road by 4:15 or 4:30 made it through O.K.C. in about 20 minutes and it was smooth sailing into Pittsburg Kansas. I got in about 9:30 with stops at the glass house and Down Stream Casino, just off of 44.

I have asked a lot of questions over time on here. I had read about how to organize the notebook / binder. I would like to that everybody who has given me advice, Vegas Flyer to teaching me how to drive on the initial trip back from Florida and there are so many of you out there that sent me positive vibes and prayers. I can't begin to that everybody on this forum enough.

Last but not least I heard over and over from the officials / officers at the check point about how nice the binder / notebook was. I think it saved me on each occasion. I had everything in it and even had the Nevada license requirements and rigs broken down by weight. Plus I had all of my yearly inspections and records of all repairs and of course insurance information. I asked at each stop what they though of the book and what I could change and once again the only thing I heard was put the vehicle registration in the front page.

Last but not least thanks again to my wife. She had a lot of fun this trip and I think she is now firmly sold on this truck and our decision to buy it.

Hope to hear back from you all!!

Later,

Vegas Teacher - Cory Ossana

sandsys · June 16, 2022

Excellent report. Just like your binder, I suspect. Glad everything went so well for you.

Linda

Darryl&Rita · June 16, 2022

Good on ya'.

Sculptor · June 17, 2022

3 hours ago, sandsys said:

Excellent report. Just like your binder, I suspect. Glad everything went so well for you.

Linda

Times 2. I remember the first time in a weigh station was nerve wracking for me. Glad you are both having a smooth trip That way at least. ps. Fairings are a pain when the time comes to remove/replace.

jkoenig24 · June 17, 2022

Congratulations on a successful long haul maiden voyage! Sounds like you've been an EXCELLENT HDT RV Ambassador.

dblr · June 17, 2022

Sounds like all is well and everything in order, glad your trip went well, now it's family time, enjoy!!!

Vegas Teacher · June 17, 2022

15 hours ago, sandsys said:

Excellent report. Just like your binder, I suspect. Glad everything went so well for you.

Linda

Thank you! 24 years of teaching has taught me two things always be organized and prepared. I could not have set up a good binder without the help of the people on the forum.

Cory O

15 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Good on ya'.

Thanks!

Vegas Teacher · June 17, 2022

11 hours ago, Sculptor said:

Times 2. I remember the first time in a weigh station was nerve wracking for me. Glad you are both having a smooth trip That way at least. ps. Fairings are a pain when the time comes to remove/replace.

I about soiled my pants when I saw it flapping in the wind....

Vegas Teacher · June 17, 2022

7 hours ago, jkoenig24 said:

Congratulations on a successful long haul maiden voyage! Sounds like you've been an EXCELLENT HDT RV Ambassador.

Every time I went in to a check point I thought of what you just said. I thought you know I could be a jerk and use a different tone and be a little bit more assertive, but then I also thought well I am in their office and my truck is parked on their lot. They also have a uniformed highway patrol in the office, so I have the choice of being here for 30 minutes and getting back on the road or half a day while the take my truck apart.

The other thing I thought is, if I am friendly and tell them the story of what I am doin, plus the safety features of the HDT over a pickup, I am being a good representative of the group overall. I figured if I am friendly, it makes it easier for the next person in our group.

Thanks for your kind words, thoughts and reply.

Later,

Cory O

Vegas Teacher · June 17, 2022

2 hours ago, dblr said:

Sounds like all is well and everything in order, glad your trip went well, now it's family time, enjoy!!!

You are so correct. My aunt and uncle came over last night to see the semi. I took them for a ride and played C.W. Macall's song Convoy for them as we pulled out. They laughed and enjoyed the ride.

rpsinc · June 17, 2022

18 hours ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Tucumcari

Just a side note on a repair facility a little bit west of that Flying J. We had the occasion to need some repairs on our MDT back in '18 and found ourselves at Big Rig Truck Service in Santa Rosa, NM. Great experience!! They treated us well(we had to stay in their yard a couple nights), were fair with pricing and their work was dependable. If you find yourself needing service on I40 near there, look for them, cant recommend them enough.

We talked to a few truckers that echoed the same recommendation for these folks and they are family owned and operated, just next to the TA off the I40 at the 84.

Vegas Teacher · June 17, 2022

13 minutes ago, rpsinc said:

Just a side note on a repair facility a little bit west of that Flying J. We had the occasion to need some repairs on our MDT back in '18 and found ourselves at Big Rig Truck Service in Santa Rosa, NM. Great experience!! They treated us well(we had to stay in their yard a couple nights), were fair with pricing and their work was dependable. If you find yourself needing service on I40 near there, look for them, cant recommend them enough.

We talked to a few truckers that echoed the same recommendation for these folks and they are family owned and operated, just next to the TA off the I40 at the 84.

Thanks for the great tip! You never know when you might need someone to help. I travel I40 each way twice a year.

Cory O

Cheyenne1 · June 20, 2022

So question being you stop at the scales?
I have never pulled into one in the 10 years I have had my truck. Canada or the US.

jenandjon · June 23, 2022

I only went through a couple scales because it said all trucks must weigh and I didn't feel like arguing with some rookie on the said of the rad for an hour.

Vegas Teacher · July 2, 2022

On 6/23/2022 at 4:22 AM, jenandjon said:

I only went through a couple scales because it said all trucks must weigh and I didn't feel like arguing with some rookie on the said of the rad for an hour.

I agree 100% with your logic was pretty much the same as mine.