RowdyRebel

So on Wednesday, I had a load a little different than my usual run. I had HOPED to get home early enough to run to town and take care of a few things that kinda have to be done during "normal" business hours...M-F 9-5. Anyway, I still loaded at my usual time, but a slightly different product going to a much closer location. I was figuring on being home by 1:00. That was until I went to hook up my hose. It wasn't latching onto the pipe. No big deal...I'll go into my side box, where I have a 1/4" chain and a binder...perhaps I can use those to hold the hose securely against the pipe to get unloaded. I went to fire up the blower, and it was locked up. Had to remove the dust cover on the rear and use a pipe wrench to break it loose. I think there's a leak in the pipes somewhere, because it seems to happen whenever it is wet (i.e. rain) and then the temperature drops. Anyway, I get that freed up and pressurize the tank. Crack open the product valve and whuddayaknow, the hose leaked. Close the product valve, depressurize the tank, and come up with plan B. Plan B was to remove the rear coupler that was broken so that I could cut the end off the hose and slip it over the end of the pipe...secure it with some hose clamps and unload. My 24" pipe wrench was too small. So were my jumbo channel locks. The ONLY thing I had that would grip the coupler was a pair of vice grips that has a chain instead of the normal jaws....but I was lacking leverage to turn the fitting to unscrew it. So, I figured I'd just remove that rear section of pipe...just loosen a couple u-bolts that support it, slip it out of the rubber boot connecting it to the rear hopper, and do the same thing with the rear of the hopper that I had planned to do with the pipe. Unfortunately, instead of loosening, the danged u-bolts just snapped. There would be no leaving the pipe in place. Wouldn't ya know that's a heavy sumbitch to wrestle with? Anyway, got it out from under the trailer and stowed up on the rear platform...under the bottom step on the ladder and wedged between the tank and the hose tubes. Used my 1/4" chain and binder to secure it in place...don't want to lose it and don't need johnny law writing me a citation for an unsecured load. Anyway, I cut the hose too close to the end to slip over the fitting on the product hose. The unworn section of the hose where I had cut it was too thick...too small of an inner diameter to fit over the fitting on the hopper. Luckily, there was a worn section about 10-12" up the hose, so I re-cut the hose there. Little bit of motor oil for lube and a screw driver to help convince the hose to slip on there and we were in business. All that work because of this... Needless to say, it took an extra hour and a half to get unloaded. Then, I had to go by the shop to have the trailer put back together. By the time I got home, it was past my bed time.

I've always preferred local radio...local traffic info...local weather info...local news....local events. Know what's going on wherever it is I am at. Besides, AM/FM is free...satellite radio costs money. I work for a cheap bastard...won't even fix the AC in the truck. What makes you think he'll pay for satellite radio?

I have an aftermarket antenna on the truck...ford style steel whip (Auto Zone special) instead of that little rubber antenna on the roof. My stereo also isn't stock...used an old Sony head unit I had laying around in the garage (it had previously been in a tank bag on my motorcycle...'til it blew out the little 4" speakers) with a pair of Sony 6x9's that I had bought for the F250 (that didn't fit). I bought a pair of Sony 3x5's and cut holes in the headliner to mount them in...so I've got a 4-speaker system. As for the wiring, that is all still stock. I cut the wires on the radio-side of that plug to wire in the new-to-the-truck head unit. 6x9's were plugged into the factory wires. For the speakers I added, I ran the wires direct from the back of the head unit to where I mounted the speakers. I still have the stock radio...would the kit for that radio still work? Or would that have changed too?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_If_you_enjoy_what_you_do_you%27ll_never_work_another_day_in_your_life_mean

Dammit...missed it. Hopefully it'll be on again and I'll catch it. Sounds interesting.

I think I may need to look into that. I listen to a LOT of AM radio during the day, and if I'm not practically on top of the tower, I tend to get a lot of noise through the speakers....sounds like a fake loud exhaust, since it revs up with the engine Makes it tough to hear what you are listening to when every time you step on the throttle, the electrical noise drowns out the person you're trying to listen to.

Every time I read something like this, it makes me glad I bought an '01. It's my understanding that if you can't run down the road at a pretty constant speed (i.e. cruise set running down the interstate) to regen on-the-fly, then you'll have to stop & do it. How many times per shift does it happen? Could you possibly initiate it when you get back to the yard as a part of your post trip in order to make it through the next shift w/o needing to stop? Or if you slipseat, do the regen at the start of your day...before hitting the road? If it only does it once per day or less, that MIGHT let you complete your runs without having to stop part way through. If you have to stop more than once per shift, there may not be much you can do. Thank the EPA. Friggin sucks for those stuck with newer trucks for local work.

but...but...but....do I HAVE to? Hell, I'm pretty pissed off right now. Everydangbody in the friggin' country got snow 'cept us right here. Even the fiance down in Texas called last night to say the drive to work was "interesting"....THEY got 8" of the fluffy white stuff. Here? Buncha dadgum rain is all. Then, AFTER all the precipitation is done, the temps drop like a rock to freeze brake shoes to drums, etc...good thing I plugged the truck into the shop air compressor to keep the trailer brakes released. Drives were able to bust themselves loose this morning. If it ain't gonna snow, I gots no use for the cold.

Check the plastic return line, too...might be rubbing on something and got itself a hole. Mine did that. Easy enough to fix, though...clean it, degrease it, and wrap it with duct tape...problem solved. Is there anything that CAN'T be fixed with duct tape?

Couldn't tell ya. Don't know anyone who spoke with him, and if he's smart, he kept his statements to a bare minimum. Yeah, it's tragic and all and people want answers, but when you cause something like this, you gotta do ALL your talking through a lawyer to make sure you don't say something stupid that will get you some jail time. Whether or not he was speeding will come out when they reconstruct the wreck with skid marks, distances, impact damage, etc. Can't see tailgating as the issue, because the car was stopped...he wasn't. If he'd been tailgating, he probably would have made contact before the car stopped...before they turned the wheel to the left...and the impact wouldn't have crushed the entire trunk up to the back seat. No brake lights is always a possibility...and with the rear end damage, there's really no way to know if the lights were working or not other than the driver who crashed into them. My money would be on the driver having a momentary lapse in attention. Sure doesn't take long for things to take a turn for the worse...

Definitely not a good habit to be in. Don't take much to send you where them wheels are pointing.

http://www.lflus.com/ vs Philly is up 14-6 at the half....not that it matters.

That green car stopped to make a left turn. The loaded coal bucket behind her didn't. I'm guessing she had her wheels cranked over to the left in anticipation of the turn while waiting for the oncoming empty truck to pass, because when the loaded coal bucket slammed into her ass end her car shot off in front of the empty truck. When the empty truck going the other way hit the passenger side of the green car, it spun the car back around to nose it under the loaded coal bucket's trailer. The car was ripped in half and passengers ejected. The empty truck was sent barreling through the guard rail, where it jack-knifed in the ditch and caught fire. The loaded truck crossed the oncoming traffic lane, punched through the guard rail, and nosed down into the ditch. DOT cop wanted the tow truck to keep the loaded truck intact, pull it out of the ditch, and tow it to a scale to weigh it. That was where he wanted to START his post-wreck inspection. Loaded truck's driver walked away w/o a scratch...cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash as well as for not having his medical card on him. He's 34, and probably doesn't have much of a career in trucking anymore after this. Not sure whether there will be additional charges to come or not, but that's where it is right now. The medical card cite he might be able to get out of if he can produce a card or long-form that was valid on the day of the crash...sort of like getting a ticket for not having your drivers license when you forgot your wallet at home...or not having proof of insurance when the card you have in the glove box expired last week and the new one is still on the refrigerator. Oncoming truck's driver escaped with bumps & bruises...went to the hospital to get checked out. He's 50 years old. The waitress who served me breakfast had heard something about a wreck that morning and had called his dad just curious if they knew anything, just leaving a message when nobody picked up. She said she was in shock when the boy called her back to say he was one of the trucks involved. Driver & passenger in the car both died shortly after impact. One was 43, other was 42. Ironic thing is the passenger's husband was on his motorcycle last August when he tangled with a tanker truck and lost. They have a daughter that goes to high school with the waitress that brought me my supper. What a school year for her...dad died in a tragic wreck at the beginning of the fall semester....then her mom died in a tragic wreck not even a mile away from her dad's wreck to start out the spring semester. I find myself feeling kinda bad for her. If nothing else, it really drives home how fast bad things can happen....don't take but a fraction of a second of inattention and your whole world can get turned upside down.

Yup....it could ALWAYS be worse. Pics from the news... Unfortunately in this one, 2 people died, 1 received minor injuries, and the knucklehead who caused the whole thing walked away without a scratch. Road was shut down for 8 hours. Once I realized they had no intention of opening a lane to let us pass anytime soon, I backed up about 3/4 mile and turned around on a gravel road...then went into town and waited it out in the local diner. Had 3 eggs scrambled, hash browns, biscuit & gravy, & bacon...no telling how many refills on the coffee...then when the road opened, I figured I'd been there for 8 hours "off duty". If I left right then, not only would I be fighting through the 100 or so other trucks who were racing to get back on the road but also my 14 hours would be up in only an hour...meaning I'd have to stop for a full 10 hour break. So, I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and decided to wait 2 more hours to get a 10 hour break, then I could roll out to deliver my load and make it home before I'd have to shut down again. Total bill came to $12 + tip. Not too bad, and it was a hell of a lot better sitting inside talking to anybody & everybody (gotta love small town diners). Would have cost me a hell of a lot more than that to detour around the 70 or 100 miles it would have added, not to mention that would have put me over the 14 hours so I'd have to have got a motel for even more money. Made for a long day, though, because I was getting home just in time to shut my alarm clock off

Nope. He was a Texas lawman.

Only scales I cross are the ones at the shipper & receiver. I plan my routes accordingly to avoid roads that have scales. Ain't a scale ever been built that ya can't get around if'n ya plan ahead. Trick is, you can't wait until the last exit before and take the frontage road past the scale to get back on at the first exit past them....they look for that. Take off through the woods early enough and you're off their radar.

Just finished downloading the forms I'll need to do this year's taxes..... 12 forms for the feds... 4 more for the state... printer's gonna be working OT Glad I'm down to JUST one state these days....used to live here & work across the river & got to do both state's tax forms... I remember back in my college days, I could literally do my own taxes in the time it took to cook & eat a cheap frozen pizza.

Here we go....this is the one I watched. Seems it's been a story they've been covering for a while. http://video.foxnews.com/v/4507207/cell-phone-pictures-come-with-hidden-danger Yup...it was Molly Line.

STILL not the report I watched.....but the reporterette might be the same. She wrote that article up yonder a few posts back.... http://video.foxnews.com/v/4502176/dangers-of-geotagging

not the report I watched.... http://video.foxnews.com/v/4502329/are-your-digital-photos-putting-you-in-danger ....still looking.......

Hang on....here's a news article on it... http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/19/geotagging-risks-dangers-twitter/

Story on Fox News just now about the dangers of geotagging pictures taken with cell phones and posted online. Guy who runs this website was on there talking about how cell phones tag any picture you take with the GPS coordinates of where you took the picture...so if you take a cell phone pic inside your house...say of that new big screen TV you just bought....and proceed to post it online, they know what you have. Then, say you post a pic 1/2 way across the country because it is just something you have to see to believe and you want to share it with the world....that thief now knows you ain't home and it's a good time to go big screen TV shopping at your house. They showed a reporterette snap a picture and post it to her twitter page. Guy who ran the website pulled up to where she was not 15 minutes later....said he had the coordinates within a minute of the post, just took him 15 minutes to get there. Careful with them cell phone pics....they showed you can turn off the geotagging feature. Seems a dumb thing for the phone to do in the first place, though. Everybody gripes about invasions to their privacy...then they go posting all their personal info on this here interweb. Pretty dumb, if you ask me.

I don't see a red x. Even in your reply, there's a very nice picture of a truck.

Now this ain't a bad looking truck...

Aw, it ain't that bad....I did it for a little over a year. First company screwed me about 3 months in....loved working for 'em...stayed out 2-3 weeks at a time and ran at a leisurely pace so I'd never run out of hours. LOTS of western state running...LOTS of 70 mph 2-lane roads through wide open country. But, when I tell 'em I need to be home, I'm GOING to be home. They wanted me to lay over in Laredo for the weekend that I told 'em I needed to be home to ride the Toys for Tots motorcycle parade in Chicago. I gave 'em their truck back, rented a car, and went for a motorcycle ride. Took a week off (needed to have the rental car for a week so I wouldn't get raped on mileage charges on the rental), then hopped a greyhound bus to Memphis to start with another flatbed outfit. Home every weekend wore me out. I'd leave out right after the Nascar race ended and would bust butt all week....14 hour days....and roll in sometime Friday night or early Saturday morning. Pass out to catch up on sleep and wake up in time to watch Nascar. Quit there to work where I'm at now...home every night.