other dog

I used to drive a T660 and it was one of the best and one of the worst trucks I ever drove. But it wasn't the truck's fault, it was just set up totally wrong for what I was doing. I was hauling mostly treated lumber and steel- I would load the lumber in Moneta, VA. and take it mainly to Ohio and western Pa.then load coils and bring them back to Lynchburg, VA. It was uphill all the way up there, and it was uphill all the way back. I was loaded heavy both ways, I never weighed a load of the treated lumber that wasn't over gross. And the truck had a 455hp. PACCAR engine in it with a 10 speed transmission and 3.36 rears. It seemed like a slug to me, especially after getting out of a Peterbilt with a 550 Cat with an 18 speed. When Jeff traded it for a T800 it was on it's 3rd. turbo, only had 400 and some thousand miles on it. For the "best" truck, it was one of the most comfortable trucks I drove. It rode great, drove great, and was one of the best insulated- no, that's wrong, it was THE best insulated truck I ever drove. Unless it was under 20 degrees I could turn it off in winter and sleep comfortably. It had 3 way power mirrors that went up and down, not just in and out. I often said that if it had had the running gear that the T800 that I got after the T660 it would have been the cat's ass. This is the T800 Jeff traded it for, it was a great truck. 500 ISX Cummins, 18 speed, 3.55 rears. I had no complaints about this one. This is the 2nd. T800 Jeff bought, I was driving this when I retired. It had a 500 HP X15 Cummins engine, 18 speed, 3.55 rears too. Identical to the first one except for the external breathers. And both of those 500hp Cummins engines would out pull the 550 Cat, easily. Same transmission, same rears.

Yep!

My oldest will be 48 in August. I haven't seen or heard from him for several years, he shuns the whole family and nobody knows why.

I just love her!

Yep, that's kinda how I am. Everything I go to buy costs like 3 times what I'm expecting it to cost. And potato chips? When I was a kid- many years ago- a bag of potato chips cost a nickel for a small bag, like a single serving size you get in a vending machine, and a big bag cost a quarter. The BIG big bag came with 2 bags of chips in the bag. At least Wise potato chips did, they were the best. I don't remember how much it cost for the bigguns, probably less than a dollar though.

Speaking of Volvo, I saw on TV that they're going to lay a lot of workers off at the factory in Dublin.

I have a picture of a Jamerson Bros. Trucking A model Mack on the computer, it just says "phone 15" on the door.

I'd forgotten all about that! We were on a party line when I was a kid, our ring was 3 longs. Pretty much everybody knew what everybody's ring was because people used to listen in on other people's conversations on a regular basis 🤣

I always liked Mary Ann better than Ginger. And yep, all the truck crash pictures, jokes, memes, and videos used to feature Swift trucks, now it's Amazon. And I said many times before I retired that every Amazon truck I saw was being driven like it was stolen 🤣

There was a little tiny country store about a quarter of a mile from where I grew up, had one gas pump out front. The building is still there. I remember my dad giving me a quarter and sending me over there to get him a pack of Camels when I was about 5 or 6 years old. That wouldn't happen today of course, a pack of Camels for a quarter or a 6 year old buying them 🤣 The driveway goes to my brother's house. We were just down there at Christmas and I didn't notice that the old store building was so grown over. I'd like to see what's inside it now.

Yessir, I quit years ago and whenever I even think about smoking one now all I have to do is look at the price of a pack.

Hmmm, I wonder if your sister remembers it the same way 🤔

We paid cash and got a receipt too. Turned our receipts in they paid us back for tolls and any truck related items we bought on the road. When we went to Boston we'd say "you'd better have at least $100 to pay tolls, and a carton of cigarettes". Now if you only had $100 you'd probably have to turn around in Baltimore and come back. 🤣

The G.W. was $20 when I started driving too. The Pa. Pike cost $21 to go from Breezewood to Ohio, in class 7. West VA. Turnpike was $9 and some change. Then they all went up and up and up until you had to carry a suitcase full of cash to pay tolls, then we went to EZ- Pass and I didn't even keep up with it anymore. I have no idea what the G.W. bridge or Pa. Pike Costs to run now.

I heard that too, as a matter of fact I was watching YouTube videos on TV and saw a video about it. Side note- I forgot I could watch YouTube on TV, that trailer those guys made must have weighed 500,000 lbs. by the time they were done. 😁

Probably the last time I had a "real" milkshake was at the Cumberland Restaurant, in Cumberland, VA. where I grew up. That's probably been more than 50 years ago now.

That's ok, it's not your fault, I'm sure Donald Trump caused it somehow.

Nice!

We spend a lot of money on bird seed, no doubt! I like to watch them though, we have doves, cardinals, blue jays, wood peckers, even had about a dozen crows out there this morning. I always throw some food on the ground because the crows and doves are too big to get on the feeders. It would last longer if it weren't for the squirrels, I went out and filled the feeders during the last storm and by the time I got back inside there was 6 squirrels out there.

I got my ass whipped many times, but I never got a whipping that I didn't deserve. In fact, I probably deserved a lot more than I got 🤣

We've already had more snow this winter than we've had for a long time. Started here about 7:20 this morning, right about the time I let the dog out. 10 minutes later the ground was white, and it's still snowing. The high today and tomorrow isn't supposed to get out of the 20's. I don't mind a snow like this at all, especially since I'm not out on the road in it, it's the ice that's a real bummer 😕.

It's snowing today, I guess I should get on the computer and catch up on all these videos that I can't watch on the phone.

Yes, I remember the Red Skelton Show.

What would REALLY be cool to me would be a nose off of a D860, like this- But I doubt that would be possible without a fully equipped shop, with a team of fabricators, a ton of money, and a D860 for parts 🤣