RowdyRebel

Heck, I got LED tail lights on my truck....truck's gotta have tail lights, so they may as well work and look good....chrome bumpers look nice, too...and trucks gotta have bumpers (although I rather like the oilfield bumpers, myself) it's the other extra crap they like to add (like a fire hydrant on the catwalk to hold the air & electric) that are not necessary, serve no useful purpose, and add a crapload of extra weight that I don't care too much for. FWIW, here's some more TMT pics for that COE... http://www.cmt.com/pictures/trick-my-truck-dustin-stouts-nitro/1566254/2548328/photo.jhtml

Anything that adds weight without also increasing functionality/ability to earn money gets tossed into the "too much crap" category for me. I couldn't care less what the truck looks like, as long as it brings in the money.

Which is one of the reasons I went with Mack. Got a Mack dealer 18 miles South, 30 miles North, and 55 miles East. I'm pretty well surrounded by 'em, so no matter which direction I happen to be running, there's one nearby. International is 18 miles South. Freightshaker is 7 miles West as the crow flies, but on the other side of the river, which means a 30 mile drive...and that's just a small, "support" shop for the trucks going in & out of P&G, not a full-fledged service/dealer location. That is 45 miles south. Petercar and V*lv* are also about 45 miles south. There's a Caterpillar shop about 25 miles South...right across from a shop bearing a Marmon sign. Mack is everywhere 'round here....so I see a lot of 'em. Convenience means a lot...if I need a part, I don't want to have to drive 100-200 miles to get it. I'd rather spend what little time I have to repair something that broke actually working on the truck than driving all over God's creation chasing parts for it.

well then the drooling ain't gonna commence

Yaknow why they call 'em brokers, dontcha? 'cuz if ya use 'em too much or too often, ya only gonna be broker

(This is supposedly a true account recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida) An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!" The four men didn't wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then she realized why. It was for the same reason she had wondered why there was a football, a Frisbee, and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat. A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake. The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed. Moral of the story? If you're going to have a senior moment...make it memorable.

I avoid those places like the plague. I look for the smaller, single-location type fuel stops...locally owned, locally operated....credit prices the same as cash prices (and STILL usually cheaper than the big chains). Most of 'em still let you refill your coffee mug for free with a fill-up, too...and if the DO charge you for it, it is $0.50-$0.75.....not the big-chain "let's-charge-starf*cks-prices-for-our-watered-down-coffee" arm & a leg. Shorter lines at the fuel desk. No Swift/JB/Schneider/etc. to tear your hood off while you are inside signing the fuel ticket. MOST of 'em even turn the pump on for you without you having to go inside to "prepay". Unless I'm on the road away from home, not exactly where I ought to be in my coloring book, and don't know where to go to keep a time stamp off the fuel receipt, you won't see my truck at a big chain. As long as they have diesel pumps, I'll fuel up at the friggin' Kroger or Wal-Mart before I'll pull into a Pilot, TA, Loves, or Flying J.

...which is why things will HOPEFULLY be less problematic with this go-around of emissions requirements, since it isn't a "new" technology that hasn't really been tested in real-world conditions. The only problem I see with it is the same as was experienced when the '07's came out and people with the DPF trucks couldn't always find a fuel stop that sold ULSD fuel. Heck, it was 3 years after the mandate and I was still seeing pumps marked "low-sulfur -- not for use in 2007 or newer engines" The exhaust fluid that is required on the SCR trucks isn't available at MOST of the fuel stops I tend to use, and the proprietors of those establishments won't likely stock it until there is a demand for it....and there won't be a demand for it until fleet owners are pretty sure they can buy the stuff. Kind of a catch-22.

I'm game. I LOVE the snow...so much so that as long as the snow is flying, I don't even mind the cold weather. However, once the snow stops and the roads are all cleared off, I'm ready for the temps to go back up.

You sure? I thought the CH used the 9004...

I've NEVER seen the need to spend a bunch of time, effort, and money making an old work truck shine like a new one. If I'm driving someone else's truck, and they are willing to pay for me to run it through the streakin' beacon (or other similar establishment), I'll do it as often as they like me to...but I'm not spending my own time, energy, or money on it. About the only time I wash my own truck is when I'm going to work on it or take it in for work to be done on it....just easier to work on a clean truck. Makes me just as much money either way...and I don't feel bad taking a dirty truck off road, whereas that would be a hard turn to make on Monday morning if I had just spent my entire weekend spit-shining the truck.

The only good thing I've found with the stud-piloted wheels is that if you have a problem with the outer tire, you can roll the inner tire up onto a 2x4 to lift the outer wheel off the ground, then you can remove it from the truck without having to find a jack. However, if the rim flange wears out (where the lug nut makes contact) on the inner rim, you will start breaking barrel nuts and the inside edge of the inside tire will wear out pretty quick. Not sure what happens if the rim flange wears out on the outer wheel yet... Hub piloted wheels wouldn't have that problem, since the lug nut doesn't wedge itself against the rim flange to hold the tire in place...just clamps the pair of wheels to the hub. The type of wheel the truck takes depends on the hub. You could have stud-piloted on one axle, hub piloted on another, and the old dayton's on another....or stud-piloted on one side, hub-piloted on the other. Not sure WHY you'd want to do that....but you could. I've never driven a truck with the old dayton wheels....but sometimes I wish I did. Seems like they'd be easier to hose the mud & crap off the rims, where disc wheels (either stud or hub piloted) seem to always have a dish along the inside edge of the inner dual and the steer tire that just collects all the crap you run through off road...and getting the hose in there to clean 'em out is dern near impossible with the brake drums, axles, and everything else that is just seems to get in the way. Never made any sense to me why they wouldn't leave that filled in so water/mud/etc. would drain out or fling off instead of sticking around to throw the wheels out of balance.

Got harassed again Saturday night in Texas. Minding my own damned business driving down US82 at around 8:30 PM. Cruise control set at a GPS indicated 65 mph (which is the night time speed limit on the road). Bird dog starts howling, so I glance down at the GPS to make sure it was still showing 65 mph....it was....so I didn't think anything further about the cop going the other way....until I saw the brake lights. Yup. He flipped around and pulled me over. Said my license plate light was burned out, and that was the reason for the stop. Had me get out of the truck...questioned me about where I was going and the pistol on the seat next to me (which was unloaded, enclosed in a case). He asked if it was registered, at which point I laughed, told him "Hell no it ain't registered! I don't live anywhere near Chicago, and that's the only place in Illinois that requires registration." He took the pistol back to his car to run the serial number. What surprised me is he didn't say a damn thing about the shotgun in the rack hanging on the back glass. Everything checked out, and I walked away 20 minutes or so later with a warning for a defective license plate lamp. Still pissed me off, though. I had somewhere I was trying to get to...wasn't doing anything wrong....and still I'm subjected to this harassment by LEO's...wasting my valuable time. Certainly didn't do anything to improve my opinion of people wearing the badge. 2 citations and 3 warnings in 9 weeks....most of it for similar BS, too. This $#!t is getting old.

Got mine at Cape Tractor Trailer Supply....after driving all over town checking prices. Napa, Federated, TSC, Mack, etc...all more expensive for their own store brands.

Carry jumper cables in the truck with you. If you need a jump, just hook up to the truck next to you. Don't let the driver catch you, though... Seriously, though, I put new batteries in mine a couple months ago...and I went with the cheapest ones I could find...because even cheap new batteries will out-perform old dead ones. I also carry jumper cables in the truck with me.

I was searching for something else and came across this. All those seeking to remove EPA required devices should probably read through it...getting caught can be pretty expensive for you. That being said, advertising the fact that you are removing or defeating the devices (or making it obvious that components are missing should the vehicle ever be inspected) on a public message board probably isn't the smartest thing you can do. http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/civil/caa/mobile/vehicleengine-penalty-policy.pdf Don't get me wrong...if my truck had an unnecessary (government mandated, though not otherwise necessary) component which broke or malfunctioned, and that component was expensive to repair or replace, and I could bypass or remove that component and continue to operate my truck with relative ease....let's just say I wouldn't be spending an arm and a leg making repairs. I may or may not have bypassed required components on 1 or more of my own vehicles. However, when you start bragging about actively getting around the law, you increase your chances of getting caught. You have 2 trucks with emission components. If they are both 427 HP: Base per engine penalty = $5/HP. 427 * 5 = $2135. $2135 * 2 trucks = $4270 Next, they determine the level of egregiousness of the violation. Removal of emission components = major. $4270 * 6.5 adjustment multiplier = $27,755 ....and they are just getting started calculating the fine. Bend over and grab your ankles....it ain't gonna be pretty. You may save weight...but that will work against you when they calculate the fine, too, because that was a "benefit". Saving money on component repair/replacement also counts against you when they determine the fine. Even the size of your business affects the fine. Read through it. Know the risk if you are caught. If you decide it is worth the risk, do your best not to get caught. The more obvious it is that you defeated the required components, the more likely it will be that you get caught. Remember....these are CMV's, and subject to random inspections on the side of the road. All it takes is one officer poking around under the hood to notice missing emissions equipment and you are up a creek. Subtlety is key. Don't make it obvious that anything is other than it should be.

...you open the hood and stand by the steer tires to cool off in the breeze made by the engine fan pulling air through the radiator. Got to where I had to unload today, and the lazy phucker before me had plugged up the line and just left it....so without an empty hopper to work from, it's a much more difficult task to unclog the line. Took almost an hour in the heat of the afternoon with the sun bearing down....black asphalt beneath me.....kiln turning over my head. Just out of curiosity, I pulled the thermometer out of the truck and placed it in a shady spot near where I was working....only took a couple minutes to max out No telling how hot it really was....

While back (when fuel prices were in the $5/gallon neighborhood) I saw a rainbow that ended at a gas station. By the time I grabbed my camera to get a pic, I had gone too far and couldn't get the pic I wanted.

Well, the news reporters HAVE been wondering where the oil has gone....hasn't caused the disaster they were hoping for. http://citizenvox.org/2010/07/30/where-has-all-the-oil-gone/

I like the 3-in-1 jacket....but they don't appear to have "tall" sizes. If I buy a regular jacket large enough to have sleeves that cover my wrists, it'll wrap around me twice. If I buy one that fits my torso, the sleeves end at my wrist if I raise my arms.

Stay away from the buffets....eat smaller portions of healthier food...and exercise....

Hell, if I had the money I'd buy it....but I don't, so I can't...

Why wait 'til you need a new truck? Get one of these installed on the one ya got...looks like it'd do the job http://www.blackwoodfire.org/docs/driver%20training%20resources/telmaretardermanual.pdf