RowdyRebel

Golf carts don't do well in crashes...

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/06/06/third-london-attacker-named-as-imams-refuse-to-perform-funeral-rites.html Amazing the effect of a change in LEADERSHIP can have. Trump has made it clear that Muslims need to step up to help fight the radical elements within their ranks and they are doing just that.

I won't put a camera anywhere it might see something I cannot. Jury will have a difficult time understanding how you could miss that car right there in plain view on the monitor in front of them when you're trying to explain the extent of your blind spots. Lower windshield, near the center of the driver's side glass seems to work...where the only thing the camera blocks is my view of the hood. Anything the camera can see, I can see better.

Glad I'm not the ONLY one that has happened to. I used to know every phone # I needed, too, back when I had to rotary dial 'em at my parents or grandparents home. (My family held off on the whole touch tone thing as long as the phone company let them...our first push-button phone made the clicks, sending the same pulses up the line as a rotary. Always fun after cub scouts...mom was a den mother...when a kid would have to use the phone to call and be picked up. They'd stare at that dial and couldn't figure out how to dial...but I digress...) Got my first cell phone back in '01, and haven't been able to remember a phone number since then. Hell, I don't even know my WIFE'S phone number without having to look it up...

Electrical issues can be a mother. I was having an issue with my cab marker lights, trailer lights, etc...couldn't find where the problem was. Then, decided to swap out that fuse box on the fire wall under the hood. When I did that, I found a few corroded contacts in the plugs to the box. Sucked cutting brand new wires on the brand new harness to splice in jumpers around the harness plugs...but all of my lights work now. When you said jiggling the wires seemed to help, it definitely sounds like it could be electrical in nature, especially since it doesn't seem as though you've got a dead cylinder. Might try zapping the temp on the exhaust manifold again if/when it throws the unit pump code...if the temp on that cylinder is off from the others while the code is active, and normal when the code is inactive, then I'd focus my attention on the wiring to that unit pump. Unplug every connection to make sure the contacts aren't corroded. I hate electrical issues. If all else fails, take it to Mack and see what they say.

Already have the brake controller, just need to buy a couple spools of wire for the installation. Also have what I need to rework the rear cross member to add a gooseneck ball. Eventually, when I find other non-trucking "work", I'll yank the front drive axle and maybe find another cab to graft onto it to make it a 2-axle quad-cab to use pulling the gooseneck horse trailer around. Probably get a different gear set for the remaining rear, too...won't need the 4.17's for that job. When I hang up the keys and find something else to do, it'll have a good retirement, since it isn't worth much on the used truck market. And I couldn't care less what UPS or any other truck fleet has done. Their business decision was their own to make, and if it works for them, great. They shouldn't get to dictate their business decisions onto MY business. I've already told the company that the day a box finds its way into my truck, I'm off the flatbed fleet. I'll hook to an end dump or grain wagon and work inside of the 100 air-mile radius for 12 hours or less per day...because then the ELD mandate won't apply to me. It would still be a "company" thing, but I wouldn't have to mess with the stupid thing other than at the start and end of my day. It would also give me at least 4 hours "just in case" before I was screwed out of making it home. Only way I'll stay on flatbeds is with more "local" work, and less that runs outside of the 100 air-mile radius. If the dispatch cannot be reasonably expected to be completed within 12 hours, I won't accept it. If the 16 hour exception is unavailable, that drops to 10 hours. I'm not going to put them in the position of having to take disciplinary actions due to exceeding the HOS to avoid having to buy a motel room within an hour of the house.

If I would've known what the mandate was going to be when my engine let go, I would've just bought another truck that was a little bit older. It was published 2 days before I got my truck back, though...$23K into a truck 13 months too new.

"23 million more uninsured"...but I ask what good is HAVING insurance if you can't afford to USE it? Sure, you're complying with the law and avoiding the penalty...but if you need treatment, the cost probably won't even rise to the level of the deductible you were forced to accept to get the premiums down to where you can barely budget for them...and because you've been paying these absurd premiums, you have no money left in the budget to cover the cost of the treatment and the insurance you've been paying for won't help because the deductible hasn't been met. I'd rather be uninsured than to buy into this current boondoggle. I WAS insured before Obamacare. If I'm given the choice in what I want covered, and premiums and deductibles are both reasonable given my age and current state of health, then I will once again be buying insurance. As long as it remains stupidly expensive covering everything I would never need and many that I'm just morally opposed to while leaving me to foot the bill anyway for the things I MIGHT need? I'll do without the useless coverage.

A company has every right to close up shop if the business is unsustainable, and to relocate to a more profitable and business-friendly location. Seems a bit lopsided when it is perfectly legal for workers to say "we're not working until you agree to the union's unreasonable demands" and yet it is somehow against the law for the employer to say "we're closing up shop and moving unless the union is kicked to the curb". If I owned a manufacturing plant and the union was trying to organize, I'd be quietly shopping for another facility. If the vote passed, the doors would be locked that night and a "for sale" sign would greet the employees the following morning as the machinery was being loaded onto trucks to move to my new facility in another state, and only states with "right to work" laws and a business friendly attitude would be in contention. You wanted the union, so let the union take care of you.

...and I'm pretty sure it wasn't your usual trooper...nicely polished dress shoes and a clean, crisp uniform. Unmarked cruiser that was rather new...probably not in circulation more than a few months at most. I knew as soon as I saw him walk around to my side of the truck where I could get a good look at him that he wouldn't be crawling under the truck.

When I told him my GPS was only showing 58 mph, he asked if my speedometer worked as though he thought he had me for defective equipment or something. It's just not as accurate...3-5 mph off, so I use the GPS. Guess what had me most pissed about this is I had been trying to get through a tack store on the way home for a new set of reigns to maybe go ride this weekend, but I was cutting it close. That 30 minute stop meant I'd get there 15 minutes after they closed instead of 15 minutes before. And with elogs coming, there won't be any way to avoid a blaring HOS violation if that 30 minute BS "just want to check your paperwork" stop causes you to get home at 14:30 instead of at 14:00 if you're running on a tight schedule for the day or were delayed at shippers or receivers. If this crap keeps up, I might have to start planning my exit strategy. A person ought to be free to go about his business without being needlessly harassed.

So I get behind this fool running 45 in a 55 mph zone, and traffic is starting to stack up behind us. Get a good, long, safe, legal passing zone and I let'er rip. About the time I clear that SUV, a car about 6-8 cars back jumps out and punches it. I slide back in, and keep after it because oncoming traffic just popped into view, so I figured I'd make enough room for that car to slide in behind me since it would be sketchy at best for them to try to get around me, too. Just about then, I check my mirror and the guy in the car lights ME up! Check my speed on the GPS...I was just getting to 58 mph...so I ease over onto the shoulder and stop. Jackass of a cop walks up the passenger side and immediately tries to open the door. Damn what I wouldn't give to have had that door unlocked with Dozer riding shotgun! Anyway, I poke my head out the rear window and ask "Can I help you?" "Does this door open?" "Yes, but not for you. I have too much equipment packed in over there, so you'll have to come around to this side." So he comes around and jumps up on the step. "How fast were you going when you passed all of those cars?" "I didn't pass 'all of those cars'. I passed 1 car that was doing 45 mph in a 55 mph zone. When you lit me up, my GPS was only showing 58. What's the problem?" "I didn't have your speed, I just saw you passing and decided to pull you over for an inspection." So I handed over my license, BOL, permit book, and log book. 30 minutes later, I have a clean inspection report and I pull away. Dumb MFer should've pulled over the 10 mph below the speed limit guy to see what his deal was instead of harassing the guy driving in a safe and legal manner just trying to get home. My clocks are ticking, and I don't always have time to ride behind someone that is driving slower than my grandma until they get where they are going. If I have a safe, legal passing zone with a clear view and no oncoming traffic, I'm coming around them...ain't no law against it. One of these times I'm going to ask the cop who helps himself trying to open MY door what his reaction would be if I walked up to HIS car and helped myself to open HIS door. That badge does NOT give him the right to do as he pleases, and he's ONLY allowed the access necessary to enforce compliance with the regulations. He does not need to open my doors to do that.

I've only got a half acre, but with the other adjacent right-of-ways, it's about an acre...for now. We're looking to move IF we can find a buyer for this house, and then who knows. We'd like enough property to keep all 4 horses and cut our own hay...

That's about an update or two newer than mine...

Well, I'm not impressed. Couldn't really cut much faster than my old worn out Craftsman used to do despite having a significant horsepower advantage. Biggest difference is that I had to sit there holding that stupid pedal as I crept along instead of just putting it in low gear and letting it do its thing. Granted, in the lawn that wasn't too out-of-control, it made pretty good time and was SIGNIFICANTLY faster than push mowing...and I finally got to knock down the area between the road & railroad tracks as well as behind the house between the road and farm field. I don't "technically" own that land, but if I don't mow it, it gets to looking like crap and we'd like to get our house on the market this year, so we need to keep things looking nice. Of course since that hadn't yet been mowed this year (I'm NOT push-mowing property and right of ways that don't belong to me for free) I had to raise the deck from its lowest setting up to the middle (of 7) notch and it did just fine. Dropped it back down low to do the back yard and it spit the belt off after about 100 yds. Put it back on and finished the back yard, then started on the horse pen. This is when the thing really started to bug the hell out of me. Spit the belt off again. Put it on, mow 10', spit the belt off again. So, I raised the deck all of the way up. Then, the discharge would get plugged up...and eventually the belt would start slipping, and before long it would spit it off again. Needless to say, I've gotten pretty damn good at stringing that stupid belt around the pulleys. Never had ANY of these issues with that old Craftsman. Some of the "safety" features are already bugging the hell out of me, too...can't even shift my weight on the seat without it trying to die, so I'm going to put a jumper in that circuit instead of having the wires plugged into the switch. Also added a pull-cord to raise the discharge guard when I'm mowing close to anything, although I quickly discovered that trick works real good along a fence line or small trees...not so good next to a house or large tree. Great way to end up wearing the clippings. Tomorrow, I'm going to fabricate a hitch for it. Sure, I could get a 1-7/8" ball with a 5/8" shank and put it right on the back of the tractor...but all of our trailers that are small enough for this thing to handle have a 2" coupler. Smallest shank I've found on a 2" ball is 3/4". That and it's about 2" lower than what would be ideal...so that's tomorrow's project. Anyway, still not impressed with the hydrostatic drive...wish they still made these with gear boxes. Deck design also seems to have taken a step backwards, too, since it clogs up and can't seem to keep the belt on the pulleys. Other than that, it seems to get the job done. I had put the pull cord on before I started mowing, but my phone died before I could snap a pic...so yeah, the mower is a little dirty. Pic was taken the first time I had to put the belt back on.

That's one of the things I liked about it. My last riding mower lasted 33 years...and I expect this one to last just as long (if not longer...I inherited the Craftsman from my grandma after grandpa passed away and the family had been caring for the lawn. Grandpa always took care of it and even rolled the yard in the spring for smooth mowing all year...but the family didn't want to "waste time" on such a chore...so they'd just race around the yard beating the hell out of the mower, neglect maintenance, and when it finally quit running, they parked it outside and made grandma buy a new mower. First time my older brother mowed with the new mower, he bashed in the grille crashing into the house...dumbass...but he'd been crashing the old one into everything, too. I replaced the fuel line and fuel pump, changed the oil, greased it, straightened & reinforced the tie rods and used it another several years. The motor banged and clanged and smoked a lot, obviously down on power, but it got the job done...until it wouldn't turn over anymore. New battery and rebuilding the starter didn't fix the problem...she was dead. Been sitting in my garage ever since Anyway, we picked up the new one today.

Yup...they sell Simplicity, Massey Ferguson, and Snapper branded mowers.

Yup. With the money I saved, we're picking up a new riding lawnmower tomorrow. Made the mistake of planting horse pasture grass in the side lot where we had a horse last year...then spreading the leftover seed over the rest of the lawn. That crap grows twice as fast as the regular lawn and it doesn't know when to quit. Used to mow every other weekend on the lowest setting with my push mower, but we had 3 rainy weekends in a row starting with the one I was supposed to mow. By the time I cut it last weekend, I had to raise the push mower deck about 2 notches shy of all the way up and it mowed the lawn just fine...but in the horse pen, that $#!+ was knee deep and THICK! Raised the deck ALL OF THE WAY up and STILL had to hold the front wheels about 6" off the ground as I pushed it around and it STILL bogged down and stalled every 15-20'. Then I'd have to tug on the cord to fire it back up...absolutely ridiculous. I need a riding mower that can handle this #¿€¥ing grass. Anyway, the local Massey Ferguson dealer is also a Briggs & Stratton dealer to see about finding a replacement motor for my 1983 Craftsman...18HP (back then...probably 5HP when it finally died) and a 42" deck. I wanted to see what it would take to get my old riding mower back up & running, but nothing currently produced can replace the motor, and when we started tallying up the cost of the parts to rebuild it plus factoring in the cost of machining the block...we were right up there at the cost of a new damn mower. So, we took a look at what they had & found one that'll work. Not too thrilled with the hydrostatic transmission, but it's a 2-pedal, not a heel/toe POS...so I think I'll be able to tolerate it. Going to miss the 6-speed gearbox the old Craftsman had...3-high would flat out move...but it is what it is, I guess. Nobody makes lawn tractors with gearboxes anymore. Sucks, but that's life I guess. We checked some other stores...I'd always browsed them at the box stores (Lowes, etc...) but was never really impressed, and always figured I'd just repower my old one...until now, anyway. Even ran down to the John Deere dealer to have a look at what they had since everyone seems to have them, and they were closer in quality to the box store mowers, seemed under powered, and yet more than twice the price...and EVERYBODY has a stupid overpriced John Deere, so I really don't want to have one. So we ended up back at Massey Ferguson and I'll be picking this up tomorrow:

Splines on the through shaft were stripped. Picked the truck up today.

I've had so many issues with the front diff over the years it's ridiculous. It went out. Replaced it (ReMack). Snapped the through shaft. Replaced that. Lost the diff again. Replaced it (ReMack). Snapped the through shaft again. Replaced it. Now this, all in 9 years...it's getting old.

Trust me...I have been...along with the news. Big Muddy river separates my county with Jackson County. Their side of the levee is in pretty sad shape and they are concerned. That river was supposed to crest up in Murphysboro today, which is the last river gauge on its way into the Mississippi...so not sure how long it takes for the crest to make its way down this way. It sure has wrecked havoc on communities around it north of Murphysboro, though. Grand Tower is holding their breath. http://www.wsiltv.com/story/35335998/levee-damage-poses-serious-threat-to-grand-tower Alexander County to the south had a levee fail a year and a half ago, and it hasn't been repaired yet...they are preparing for the inevitable. http://www.wsiltv.com/story/35336481/without-a-levee-alexander-county-braces-for-major-flooding Around here, we seem to be doing OK. After moving out a year and a half ago and living in a horse trailer for a week, I did some figuring...elevations, levee heights, river levels, etc...and I don't think water would be more than 2' or so at my house. It would take 3' inside my garage before the kitchen floor would get wet, and my house sits on a high spot in the yard...and my yard is at a high spot in town. Chances are, IF my levee were to breech, stuff on the floor in the garage would be wet, but anything 2' or so (give or take) off the floor would be OK. Needless to say, I'm not AS concerned as I was a year and a half ago...but still watching the news and the river levels.

Yup. Mack rears. Made it home...easiest way to drive it was to engage the power divider through the low range, then shut it (along with the warning buzzer) off in the high range. Problem was, there's enough drag on the drive shaft that it was tough getting into the next gear as it slowed quicker than the engine revs would drop. Coasts downhill like I'm in neutral, and if I lift off the throttle the speedometer drops along with the tach...down to idle speed in whatever gear I'm in. Step on the throttle again and it jumps back up to where it's supposed to be as the gears catch and the motor turns the wheels. A little frustrating, and in the hills we've got around here I'm glad I had an empty trailer...wouldn't have been much fun loaded. All that accounted for 2.5 fewer miles on the way home despite going a couple blocks out of the way to hit a cheap fuel stop as opposed to the trip up there. Anyway, I made it home. Taking it to Mack tomorrow and they'll get to it when they can. Times like this make me glad I don't have a truck note coming due...not stressed about being down...actually, I'm looking forward to a few days off. Spend tomorrow with the wife, then the weather is supposed to break tomorrow morning and we should have a few nice days strung together...hopefully get the lawn mowed (usually do that every other weekend, but it's been raining the last 2 weekends...so it's been about a month now). Also, it'll be nice to be around close to home with the river being up...don't see the electronic sign like they put up last time about sounding the tornado siren if the levee breeches. Should wind up being about 4" below where it was a year and a half ago.

Update: Probably not the transmission. Dropped the loaded trailer, went to back under the empty...NOTHING. Looked out the rear window, and the driveshaft was spinning. Locked in the power divider and it backed up just fine. Rear driveshaft does not turn...so I'm guessing the front diff is to blame. Guess I'll be getting it replaced...again.

We'll find out what reverse does when the other driver gets here and I try backing under the empty trailer. I'm thinking perhaps the splitter synchros (assuming it has synchros), since it comes out of gear when I let up on the throttle like it should when I split the gears, and catches the gear again when I get back on the throttle...except I'm not trying to split the gears. 2180B transmission.