Winona, MS

These three day weekends are going to ruin me. But they sure are nice.

I noticed last week that my fifth wheel was getting dry, so I stopped at a truck stop this weekend to pick up some grease. After eyeing a tube of grease, for which I had no grease gun, one of the shop guys recommended "grease packs" - about the size of a handwarmer, you just put these packs on top of the fifth wheel and when backing underneath a trailer, the friction tears the packs open and spreads the grease. In theory. I made my drop in Cherokee this afternoon and since I was picking up another trailer, figured it was a good time to make use of the grease packs. I slapped them down on the fifth wheel, per the instructions, and backed under the trailer. I must say, I was a bit surprised to find both packs on the ground when I got out of the truck to check. Despite now being hooked up to the trailer, I wasn't going to give up so easily. I unhooked the trailer and pulled forward. With my gloves on, I picked up the now grease covered packs and set them atop the fifth wheel again. Hoping to avoid a repeat performance, I raised the trailer slightly before backing under it. My second effort garnered moderate success - neither pack was on the ground, though one had been pushed to the front of the fifth wheel and was visible. The things cost $1.50 a piece and the tube of grease I could have purchased was significantly more. Further proof that you get what you pay for. So, when I stopped here at the Pilot tonight, I bought a tube of grease. And it doesn't even require a grease gun.

I'm scheduled to deliver in Houston on Thursday morning. Then I'll pick-up a load, also in Houston, going back to Alabama.