Rolling at 3:30 AM to Beat Dallas — Delivering the "Deere Blood" in Texas

Welcome back! We're LIVE on August 19, 2026 — delivery day, and an early, EARLY one. We're rolling out at 3:30 in the morning to slip through Dallas before the traffic wakes up and make our 7:00 AM delivery. Bodie's riding shotgun (barely awake!). Let's bring the Deere Blood home! THE EARLY GRIND: We're pulling out of the Denison Travel Center right at the Texas state line around 3:30 AM. Why so early? Two reasons: our delivery appointment in Temple is 7:00 AM sharp, and there's a whole lot of Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex between here and there. Roll through the big city before dawn and you beat the rush-hour madness. This is one of those parts of trucking nobody talks about — running while the rest of the world is asleep to hit an on-time appointment. Quiet roads, empty lanes, and a sunrise waiting on the far side. THE LOAD — "DEERE BLOOD": For anyone just tuning in, we're hauling about 40,000 pounds of hydraulic fluid for John Deere equipment. One of our subscribers, Gary Bridger, nicknamed it "Deere Blood" in the chat and it stuck — because that's exactly what hydraulic fluid is to a tractor: the lifeblood that runs the loaders, steering, transmission, and every hydraulic system on the machine. We loaded it at Northland Products Company in Waterloo, Iowa, and we're delivering to their facility in Temple, Texas, this morning. Thanks again for the name, Gary! TODAY'S ROUTE: We head south on US-75 out of Denison, down through Sherman and McKinney, then onto I-35E to thread through the heart of Dallas while it's still dark and quiet. From there it's I-35 south through Waco and down to Temple for the delivery. TODAY'S ROUTE: US-75 → I-35E → I-35 FULL ROUTE: US-20 → I-35 → I-49 → I-44 → US-69 → US-75 → I-35E → I-35 From Waterloo, Iowa to Temple, Texas — down through the heartland, across the Red River, and into the Lone Star State. A solid couple of days with a fun load and a great nickname, capped off with a quiet pre-dawn run to the dock. BODIE UPDATE: Our beagle pup Bodie ("Whitehead's Bodacious Bodie") is up early with me this morning — he's not sure about this 3:30 AM business, but he's a trooper. He'll be snoring again before we hit Dallas. Thanks to everybody who keeps cheering him on in the chat! If you're a fellow trucker, a dog lover, or just love the open road, hop in and ride along with me and Bodie! Hit that LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a haul. Drop a 👋 in the chat and let us know where you're watching from — on to the next one! 🚛🐶 #trucking #truckdriver #otrtrucking #cdllife #johndeere #truckingdog #beagle #texas #asmr