Delivering To Interesting Places

One thing I enjoy as an OTR driver are the sometimes interesting places I deliver to. I strictly haul aluminum extrusions on this dedicated account. That limits my destinations somewhat, but I still get to go into some fun places.

Aluminum extrusions are made in many shapes. Some are used in stadium seating. I've been to some Nascar tracks, rodeo arenas, and many football fields. Tomorrow I'm delivering some new seating to Doubleday Field - the famous baseball field in Cooperstown, NY.

Have any of you been to interesting places lately? I'd enjoy hearing about some of your destinations.

Well, just today I was near a location that is famous. Interstate 10, near Katy, TX. (Just west of Houston).

Widest stretch of interstate highway in the US, 26 lanes. I understand that this was built, in part, to facilitate evacuation in the case of a hurricane.

Can you imagine being trapped in the far left lane in heavy traffic and needing to exit off the right lane in .06 miles? Lol.

I feel you on that one BK. I deliver to several places in Katy, TX. I'm in that area almost on a monthly basis.

I am on a load currently that has some rather interesting delivery locations. It's 5 stops (Peoria, IL; Des Moines, IA; La Crosse, WI; Brooklyn Park, MN; and Superior, WI. All 5 stops are food banks. I delivered to the first yesterday and I arrive at the place wondering how I am going to back into the dock. Not enough room at all. Well, they unload me with a forklift straight out of the back of the trailer in the parking lot. I have never been to the other locations, so this should be interesting.

I go into many cemetaries of all types with headstones and other types of large granite memorials.

construction sites on occassion for new power stations. That is hauling the steel stantions for the power lines.

Last week I had a couple days and hauled crane parts and had to back through the woods on a dirt road to a quarry to deliver.

None are all that interesting but sure are a challenge and a bit different than a standard trucking job.

There wasn't room for us at the ballpark. We had to deliver to a nearby church. Here I am backed in and ready. It was a challenge. Check out the location @ 21 Elm Street, Cooperstown NY.

I looked at it as if I was going to deliver there.

My first thought when I looked at the church entrance and the streets leading to it was, "How am I going to back in there off the street?"

It looks like you might have had to blindside into the driveway from the street. At first glance I'd assume the surrounding streets are restricted to trucks, making it impossible to approach from the site side.

Old School why the heck did they have you deliver the supplies to the church. Does this happen often to you where you don't drop the goods to the original location. I wonder how many times you have dropped at churches?

It looks like you might have had to blindside into the driveway from the street.

That's exactly what the contractor wanted me to do. He had two caveats... He didn't want me getting a tire on the new asphalt at the Catholic church next door and he didn't want me getting a tire on the Baptist church's grass.

I told him I'd wait for him to get a helicopter in there to lift and carry me back to the unloading area.

Honestly, I told him (nicely) to get out the way and just let me do my thing. I came in from the Catholic church side and pulled forward into the Baptist church drive. That gave me some extra room I could use on the left side of the driveway. I also turned way too wide until I bumped my front tire to the curb. Then I went backwards while making my tractor's angle with the trailer more acute. That did the trick and kept me within the boundaries he wanted. Then once I was in the back lot, I got turned around so I'd be set up for a graceful exit using the same method.

Old School why the heck did they have you deliver the supplies to the church.

The contractor made a deal with the church to rent their parking lot. He needed a place to store materials and there just wasn't space available at the ballpark. This was abnormal. We don't normally have this kind of arrangement.

That's extremely impressive Old School, great job!

Unfortunately the only really cool places we go to are several different caves in the KC Metro, and the caves in Quincy Illinois. Still really cool everytime I go. Occasionally we'll get a delivery to a residential address for a food truck. I'm sure their neighbors LOVE when we show up at 5 to 6am with a reefer running. Only thing cool about residential deliveries is the extra challenges involved due to narrower streets with on street parking and low branches. At this stage of my career I'm getting to the point I enjoy doing the same routes on a weekly basis and enjoy the tight backs for the challenge. Tomorrow I've got a pickup in a narrow residential alleyway the dock sits at an angle, barely miss a garage AND the neighbor on the other side will be out there making sure I don't roll up on their grass at all, after i get loaded gotta back out across the street blind. Fortunately it'll be daylight since I'm not starting my day until 4am. I previously shared with the forum but I'll also post it here.