The recruiter never said I had to deliver to a cave.

by Jimmy
(Kingman,Az)

When I first got into trucking, I hauled furniture which meant picking up from peoples homes and sometimes at an agents warehouse. A lot of times, Military shipments went into or came out of storage. I then started pulling a reefer and of course went solely to warehouses.

One day dispatch said pickup at such and such a company located inside a cave in Kansas City. And gave me an address. This was pre Qualcomm days. I laughed but didn't question him because he gave me an address and figured he was joking around. (About the company being in a cave) Well folks, he wasn't joking.

There are caves in and around Kansas City that you drive trucks into and deliver or pickup at. Originally they were built long ago and were set up for 30-40' trailers. And they are deep. You are way inside this cave much like a coal miner. Clearance is minimal and you need to pay attention. They have done some boring over the years to accomadate longer trailers. You will slide your tandems all the way forward.

I believe I've been in there in 53' trailers, but can't be certain. I know I've been in there in 48' trailers. Where the tennant had 5 docks that could handle 42 footers, they now can only use 2 or 3 docks. And you have to disconnect your power unit.

The reason for warehousing in a cave? Cool temps year 'round. Maybe 60 degrees constantly.

So if you have an assignment and are not forwarned, and you find yourself at the entrance to a cave scratching your head, thinking, what the *%^#$ is going on? Don't worry, you are about to have an adventure that a desk jockey will never have. Have your video cam loaded and ready. The folks back home won't believe you. Jimmy