On the Road with Kurt Grote

hello everyone, i hope everyone is doing well and being safe!! as much as i try to make all my postings interesting, sometimes they just aren’t. take this week for an example. i usually try and get to my delivery point the night before i deliver, so i can get something hot to eat or not eat in my truck, take a shower, and just relax. there for i will be ready for my next run, no matter where it might take me. however sometimes things just fall apart. i did my usual the night before and ready to rock the next day. i got my dispatch, i was to pick up in downtown L.A. when i say downtown i mean, 24th and alameda, not my favorite place. those of you that have been down there know what i am talking about. anyway here i am at my point of pick up, i go to check in and the shipping guy says no load until friday!! oops, so i call dispatch they say yes there is a load there. i go back and tell the guy that runs the place he is wrong that i have a load to pick up! that’s when he informs me he should know what he ships out of HIS place. at this point i’m starting to think he maybe right and my dispatch is wrong. by the time i got back to my truck dispatch had sent me a message saying my load had cancelled, go figure i quess the guy did know what ships out of his place now it’s to late to get a load so i head off to find a place to park for the night, and not downtown!!  even tho i hate to sit, having to sit in this cascadia with all my creature comforts like my refrigerator, my 26in flat screen, my dvd player, microwave,  variety of food and my hvac system made my uneventful night seem very normal, as normal as a truck driver can get i guess. it felt good just to take a breath and play with my co pilot. those of you that don’t know my traveling companion, he is a miniature schnauzer and his name is spencer. what a great companion he is. i think he likes the cascadia more than i do plenty of room for him to run around in. well my load just came through i guess it’s time to get back to reality. until next time you all be safe!!  kurt

hello everyone, i hope you all had a good week!! when i was asked to test the cascadia and dd-15 i had no idea how much i would learn. not only about the cascadia and dd-15 but about our industry as a whole. case in point, the truck pictured above is my truck i got out of it to get in to this one. i kept it for a couple of months just in case something happened that i didn’t like the new set up. it didn’t take very long for me to decide that i really liked the cascadia and the dd-15. the room, comfort, and power sold me pretty quickly. so i decided to sell my W900L. first i put it in the truck paper, and from there i started getting phone calls from places on the net that i could or more like, these people would sell my truck for me. i heard all the hype how they had people wanting my truck and they could sell it in just 4 short  weeks. they also told me that if it didn’t sell in 90 days i could get my $400 back less $75 administration fees. so i went with Classy Auto out of omaha ne. yep you guessed it i bought in to it hook, line and sinker. i read all the fine print and thought i had all my bases covered. except for the very last line that said it was up to their discretion. that is the part i didn’t read very well. the reason they gave why i didn’t get my money back was because i didn’t lower my price. needless to say that i had but their letter stated that their word was final. i guess i should feel lucky that it was only $400 and not $4000. I’m just to optimistic or gullible which ever fits. i have had others call me with the same type of thing promising me the world……for a fee. i did learn my lesson though. i guess i know how some of these big companies get so big. off me and your back. if i have helped any one of you not to make the same mistake i did it would make me feel a whole lot better!!! i dont think Classy Auto is very classy do you? until next time be safe.

kurt

hello everyone, i was very fortunate to be involved in the Oklahoma Truck Championships this year. it was my first, a rookie if you will. i had a great time. my brother and his wife also came down from Kansas City to watch. as i sized up my competition i realized just what class of drivers i was dealing with. here i was competing with Oklahoma’s finest drivers our state has to offer what a humbling experience. even tho we were all competing there was still a since of sportsmanship and competitiveness that could not be measured. drivers helping and talking to each other about the course the test and the pre trip inspection. it was indeed a full 2 days of events. if you are wondering if i won sorry to say i did not. i don’t know my score as of yet, but when i do i will post it. i do know i made some rookie mistakes. however i did learn from them and now it’s personal, i know i can do better. but i have no excuses. i felt i had a strong written and pre trip but the course may have been a little intimidating. i was one of the drivers that got to go early in the day. looking back i wish i could have been later in the day, so i could watch and learn from the other drivers. but it is what it is. if i get the chance to do it again next year i know what to expect, plus i have a whole year to practice. i would like to take this time to thank everyone that volunteered and to those who supported me. with out all of you it would not be possible. until next time you all be safe!!

kurt