RowdyRebel

Title censored to avoid pissing anybody off, but that's about all I've got to say right now. Coming into town, I let off the throttle and heard an eerie howl...almost like a really quiet tornado siren...or a really problematic locomotive. Rolled my window down to hear better, and eased back into the throttle...noise went away. Turns out, it wasn't anything outside of the truck, but rather with the truck itself. When I let off the throttle, it's taking itself out of gear...almost as though I'm trying to range split, but I'm not. Get back on the throttle and it puts power to the ground. Let up, and it's like I'm in neutral...RPM'S drop to idle. Apply a little throttle and it comes up and catches the gear. In other words, the engine can drive the wheels, but the wheels will not turn the engine. High split. Low split. High range. Low range. Makes no difference...acts the same. Not what I needed right now, but I guess that's trucking. They have another driver coming to repower this load, and I'll drag an empty trailer back. Hope it gets me back without tearing anything else up...

It's not that I cannot afford a computerized truck...it's that I don't want one. Mechanical stuff can be repaired or Redneck Engineered to gget back to a shop. Wire corrodes or terminal comes loose or a sensor goes haywire and you're fucked on the side of the road with a truck that won't run. The emissions crap is another demotivational factor working against my willingness to spend money on a new truck. Nothing like having a busy day and having the truck tell you it needs to park on the side of the road for a while so it can regen...or having it decide to do so when you're out in a grassy field, or at a dusty grain elevator, or anywhere else where high temperatures are dangerous. Not to mention, I don't care to have a fuel line running to hot exhaust components...fitting cracks, sprays diesel onto the hot exhaust, and your truck burns up. Have you noticed the increase in trucks burning up in wrecks? An older truck would just be totalled. In a newer truck, you'd better be able to get yourself out or you'll be burned to a crisp. Then there is the whole DEF issue. Most of the places I stop at for fuel do not sell DEF, so I'd have to make a special stop (or pay through the nose for the bottles) to top that off. Waste of time and money either way. My 17 year old Mack earns just as a 2017 model year Mack would earn...but without the note. It is cheaper to insure, and while maintenance costs more than it would with a brand new truck, it is still cheaper than the note on a new one. I simply don't see any reason to spend a bunch of money to receive more headaches with more overhead attached to it for no additional revenue. It is a business. If it made good business sense to buy a newer truck (reduced overhead, reduced costs, increased revenues, etc...) then I might consider it. However, there are no economic benefits to running new equipment over my well maintained older truck. I drive older stuff because I like older stuff. I've put over $20K into a 27 year old Suburban for my wife that might book for $3500. Sure, I could have bought a much newer model for that...but that wouldn't have been as much fun. It's like going to a car or bike show and seeing a brand new vehicle with a few store-bought aftermarket shiny parts bolted on. ANYBODY can do that. I like seeing the older stuff that has been preserved or restored. I like seeing the rat-rods, where creativity knows no limits. I like seeing the vehicles that DON'T look like every other car on the road. Same goes for what gets parked in my driveway. Why buy some plain, boring, cookie-cutter vehicle when I can build something truely unique? It isn't for lack of money that I don't have a new truck, but for lack of want, and all of the money in the world won't change that.

One of these days you'll get your head out of your ass long enough to see how wrong you are on everything. I haven't had access to Fox News in well over 3 years since telling Dish to go f*ck themselves, so it would be difficult to "slavenly follow" somebody I can't watch. My thoughts are my own, which I can't help if millions of others also have similar thoughts. Second, I've never lived in a trailer, doublewide or otherwise, not that it should matter. Your attempt to talk down at me, implying that I'm white trash because I'm capable of taking care of my own needs without relying on your big government nanny state. And that "weak, disorganized" group you don't think is a threat IS a threat for that very reason. They don't have a well-developed network that can be tapped into and infiltrated for information, and most of their attacks are of the lone-wolf variety, where an individual decides to be inspired by the group and act on their behalf. Problem with that is, you don't know when or where...but they'll kill you just the same. They want you dead, and there is no alternative for them. Socialism, on the other hand, is dickheads like you who think you know what is best for me...and you don't. You think your social programs are desired by everyone...and they are not. You tell us, the people who have no want or need for your social programs that WE have to pay for them. Spend your own money, and keep your grubby little paws out of MY pockets. You think charity ought to be a role the government plays, but it isn't. You claim that by me not wanting to pay higher taxes to fund the government handouts that I'm somehow less of a Christian, but I tell you the truth when I say charitable giving doesn't mean anything if it happens at the barrel of a gun. A Christian (or any other "good" person, for that matter, whatever their religious beliefs might be) ought to take care of their neighbor by choice, out of the goodness of their heart, because they care about their neighbor, NOT because the government told them they must. Go back and read our Declaration of Independence. Read our Constitution. Read the documents and papers that helped to form the government we have. Read the speeches given by the Revolutionaries. That SAME spirit still resides within freedom-loving Americans like myself. It existed long before Fox News, and will continue to exist long after Fox News sinks into the gutter with CNN, MSNBC, and the national networks. There's a reason CNN, MSNBC, etc. have bad ratings...and that is because they cater to the beliefs of a small, almost insignificant number of people who think like you. You are NOT in the majority. You are a part of a very vocal minority...people with the TIME to go out and protest in the streets because they don't NEED a job, because the government is subsidizing their pathetic existence. The rest of us are trying to live the American dream DESPITE the many roadblocks set up by you fools on the left. We're here plugging away while "the corporations" get rich because YOU pushed for policies which allowed it. Elogs don't benefit the little guy, but a fleet of 1000 might see some benefits. Obamacare didn't help the little guy, but the big corporations loved it because it made it that much more difficult for the little guy to challenge them. Same with the minimum wage...large corporations can afford to take the hit as they wait their competition from the little guy to dry up and go under. That right there is WHY you don't view socialism as a threat...because you believe in it. To your side, freedom and individual liberty is the REAL threat, because it does not allow you to have the power you seek to make the personal choices for the individuals you wish to control. You can even tolerate a group of religious lunatics trying to kill you, as long as those around you aren't free to think and live in a manner inconsistent with your screwed up values.

Working well in Europe? The EU is disintegrating before our very eyes as Britain exits and France is on the verge of following suit. Their economies pale in comparison to ours, and their militaries are a joke because they've diverted such a large portion of their budgets to the socialist agenda. If it weren't for us guaranteeing their defense, they would be nothing. Let's watch as Trump demands these European moochers pay their own way, contributing to their own defenses as a condition of us helping them with those defenses. Which socialist programs do you suppose will be cut first? Socialism is and always will be the enemy of freedom. Radical Islam is there, too, but in a different way that does not diminish the threat posed by socialism. Socialists want to run your life...deciding what they think is best for you and making you do it. Radical Islam simply wants you dead. Neither one is acceptable to me.

I never said I was smarter than government, but I would put my IQ up against those working in government and would likely be near the top. Would bet dollars to donuts I'd beat 95% of government employees (especially the elected ones) on a civics test. Hell, even on the ASVAB, I scored in the 99th percentile. That wasn't my point, though. They don't know me. They've never met me. They don't know my unique situation, or what my unique needs might be. Government tends to paint broadly with a "one-size-fits-all" brush that in reality, fits very few. The INDIVIDUAL is the only entity that knows what they need. Remember, we have the Right to PURSUE happiness, but there is no guarantee to FIND it. Having government tell me what THEY think ought to make me happy AND DEMANDING I do it? That is a sure-fire way for me to be extremely unhappy...because again, they don't know me, and they haven't the slightest clue what makes me happy because I'm not a mind-numbed idiot blindly following union leaders off a cliff. Government never gets it right when they start meddling where they don't belong. Our nation has thrived because it is the one place on this planet where the individual has been free to pursue his dreams...where property rights are secure for both physical and intellectual property...and because government has, for the most part, stayed out of the way. That has changed here in the last few decades, and we're starting to run into problems we've never had before as a result.

I have a problem with the megas making a bad business decision, then lobbying the government to force their bad business decision onto the rest of the industry to "level the playing field". I have a problem with the government telling me I have to spend $40+/month to buy a monthly subscription for a service that accomplishes the same damn thing as the $1.99/month I pay for paper logs. I have a problem introducing a doorway into my truck's computer, which up until an ELD is installed, can ONLY be accessed by a direct link, but because of the ELD it will be "connected" and will be accessible remotely. I have a problem with ANYBODY having "real-time" access to my location, route, speeds, how quickly I accelerate or decelerate, or any codes my truck may or may not be throwing. I have a problem with people ASSUMING that THEY know what is best for ME...be it how to run MY business, or what MY healthcare needs might be. You meddling dickheads do NOT know me, and your assumptions are so far off base it really makes your ignorance shine. I work 45-50 hours per week at most, so falsifying my logs is something that rarely needs to happen. When it does? It's because of a delay somewhere along the way that has my government bureaucrat approved workday ending 30 minutes from the house. That is going to happen whether I'm on elogs or not, because NOBODY is going to tell me I have to stop 30 minutes from the house and buy a motel room instead of going home. Don't like it? Tough. My truck doesn't shut down until I get home. Period...and unless maintenance is due or something broke? Once it's parked at the house, I don't think about it again until I climb in to fire it up again.

Relieved of the responsibility for maintaining the roads, but take on the responsibility for maintaining the rails? 100 mile stretch X 400 T/T's per week X 52 weeks per year = $561,600 in annual taxes those 400 trucks would have been paying. How much is the railroad contributing to reimburse the counties the "few million dollars" they spent buying and rehabilitating the tracks? Over several years, it adds up. Around here, they built some levees 70 years ago, knowing they had a 50 year life span...so they were collecting taxes to maintain and eventually replace them. Problem is, here it is 70 years later and there's no money to replace the damn levees. Why? Because politicians spent the money elsewhere. The same situation exists with the roads. The money has been collected, but rather than making sure it is set aside to repair or replace the roads, it has been spent elsewhere leaving the fund dry as a bone. So now things are critical, and they want MORE money, but with no guarantee they will manage that money any better this time than they have in the past...and no repercussions for those responsible for the wasteful spending of the monies already collected. When politicians who wasted my tax dollars are locked up, or preferably tarred & feathered (as it is less expensive and more of a deterrent), then I MIGHT consider temporarily paying higher taxes to "solve the problem". Until then, make due with what you're already collecting or get the f*ck out of the way for someone who can.

$0.05/mile federal fuel tax. $0.07/mile state fuel tax here in this state. Another $0.04/mile in excise tax for my tires...and that doesn't include the trailer (which isn't mine). $0.007/mile for the HVUT. Truck registration adds another $0.03/mile...and again, doesn't include the trailer. That's already $0.20/mile, again, not including the trailers I pull which add another $0.03/mile for the tires. Add in the $0.02/mile excise tax for the first million miles of a new truck, and roughly the same again for the trailers. Yeah, trailers cost less than trucks, but fleets usually have more trailers than power units. So we're up to $0.27/mile just to cover the road use taxes. And as far as the CBO is concerned, when they start making ACCURATE predictions, I might start giving a crap what they think. Until then, they are just another alleged "non-political" entity pushing the left-wing's agenda, because tax cuts are viewed as "taking money from government" despite the fact that allowing the people to keep THEIR money boosts the taxed economic activity thereby INCREASING revenues collected by the government. Likewise, tax rate increases always wrongly assume an increase in money seized by the government despite the adverse affect it has on the taxed economic activity, leading to an overall decline in revenues collected. In other words, the more profitable an activity is for a person to engage in, the more they will do it, thereby increasing the tax base. When an activity is not as profitable for a person to do, that person is less likely to do it. If the person does not participate in the taxed activity, they don't pay the tax. Damn...started this reply last night before the wife got home & now I have a ton more to read & reply to...

When you're already paying $0.244 per gallon in federal fuel tax, anywhere from $0.13 (Oklahoma) to $0.747 (Pennsylvania) per gallon in state fuel tax, 12% excise tax on new trucks and trailers, $0.945 per 10 pounds of load capacity above 3500# federal excise tax for tires, any STATE excise taxes on truck/trailer/tire purchases, truck registration fees, HVUT, etc...and now they want AN ADDITIONAL $5, $10, or $20 to drive on a short little segment of road? F*ck that. If they can't manage the money I already paid for the use of the road, I'm not paying extra for that specific little segment...especially when I can run a parallell route that is funded by the taxes I'm already paying. Do away with all of the other taxes we pay to fund the roads, and I'd be open to the idea of toll roads and toll bridges. As long as my tax dollars are supposed to be funding those roads, they don't need to be charging extra for me to use them.

You missed my point ENTIRELY! If bicycles want their own lanes or separate paths, then bicyclists need to fund them. That is how "user fees" work...the people USING whatever it is PAYS for it. Highway dollars, paid by motor fuel taxes, FET, and vehicle registrations, should be used entirely for the roads and bridges USED by the people PAYING the fees. If that were the case, there would be no need to divert money from the general fund to the highways. Bus and train fares should be sufficient to support moving that person paying the fare without additional revenues from the general fund. Want sidewalks and hiking trails? Those USING those paths should PAY for them, NOT the highway fund.

Highways are funded by user fees, which are not subsidies. Motor fuel taxes, F.E.T., registration fees, etc., all are collected FROM road users with the express purpose of paying for the roads they use. Any "dipping into the general fund" that may occur happens because the highway fund has been depleted for unrelated uses on behalf of users who do NOT pay into the highway fund...things lanes for bicycles, hiking/biking trails, etc. If the highway fund were used only to support transportation means that pay into the fund, then there woud be plenty of money paid by road users to maintain the roads they use. In other words, trucks subsidize people riding the bus, peddling their bicycle, riding the train, and walking...not the other way around.

Screw that. If, as the story says, GM needs to get their people out and wipe their hands, as it was beyond their control. The workers got screwed by their government, and need to take matters up with that government if they are unhappy with the situation their government created. , then the "public authorities" can pay the workers who are now out of a job. If the "public authorities" object, they should have thought about it BEFORE they siezed the plant. As for GM's losses, that's the risk you take doing business in a country with no property rights, run by an authoritarian dictator who has the power to seize your assets just because they wake up one morning and feel like you shouldn't have them. If you don't like it, stick to doing business in countries which respect property rights and limited government powers.

I didn't buy it...price is kinda steep...but tossing around the idea...

Just an ice box with a couple fans to push air through it...shouldn't be too hard on the electricals. Besides, it was made to put in your car.

I was thinking about installing this in my truck...

Looks about like the language I was using trying to get that #*$@%€¿ starter installed...

Well, done for the night. Got 'er greased & swapped out a u-joint I've been meaning to do since the last time I greased it, so it should be ready to go for at least a few more days. Starter isn't on 100%...turns out one of the bolt holes (top side away from the engine) was broke. The bolt had to have the threads cleaned up...almost like it had been cross-threaded in. About 1/4 of the hole broke off, so hopefully 2-3/4 bolts will suffice. Needless to say, I'm happy to have 'er back together so I can get back to work...but still a little PO'd that I had to do this job in the first place. Oh well...that's life, I guess.

Holy CRAP!!!!! Just finished up & put the batteries back in (I'd pulled them to take them with me to town & have them tested beyond what my little 100A tester will do) and hit the key. For the entire time I've owned this thing, it's cranked slow and seemingly hard. When I hit the key, it spun about as many times in 1/2 a second as it used to in 5 and fired up LONG before I expected it to. I'm used to 6-8 seconds of cranking (unless it's hot or really cold, then longer)...and this was running in less than 1. Damn, that's nice! Hopefully that'll let me get more than a year out of a set of batteries...set I'm on now is almost at a year and a half. Exide and Bulldog brands, I'll get 6-8 months out of them. Anyway, I'm pretty happy...and since I'm already greasy, I think I'll go ahead and grease the chassis today, too. Not QUITE due, but then I can go ride horses this weekend instead of having to do a grease job on this thing.

Well, after a whole bunch of cussing and carrying on in a manner likely to make a sailor blush, I came up with a solution for my lack of a 3rd hand. Redneck Engineering at its finest...

2 separate trips. 2 different Hardee's locations. Ordered the same 2/3 lb bacon cheese burger at both restaurants. Received the same 1/3 lb bacon cheese burger both times. First time, I caught it right away and they fixed it. Second time, I sat here eating my fries...then realized the error when I picked up the burger. So, they went to fix it...and out comes two 1/3 pound bacon cheese burgers. (face palm). No. I only want one burger with two 1/3 pound patties. So, they fix it again. At least this time, they brought me another order of fries. I told them I'd already had my fries, and they said "have some more". Good thing I was hungry...but I've still got to get home and wrestle this new starter onto the truck.

Guess we ain't done wrenching yet. Wouldn't start this morning. Slowly turn over a time or two, then the voltage would drop. Even with the pickup hooked up, it wasn't really doing much. Tested the batteries, and 2 of them were barely "OK" and the third just into the "weak"...but it's only a cheap 100A tester. Then, the starter began to make a wretched noise, so I quit. Pulled the batteries and starter and I'm heading to town more than a little pissed off. When they put the new motor in, I had told them to replace the starter...which they didn't. Money WAS tight at the time, so I didn't raise a stink...just wanted to get back to work. It has been slow cranking for several years, though, so it SHOULD have been changed when the motor was out of the truck and parts were being transferred from the old to the new. Who's bright idea was it to bury that 3rd bolt so it is nearly impossible to get at? My garage came a fraction of a second away from being impaled by a 12" long 1/2" drive extension with a 12-point 5/8" socket attached to it...a sign that perhaps I'm gaining SOME control over my temper. Anyway, old crap out. Need to go get new crap to install.

Well, for the MOST part, it was a pretty straight forward and simple job. Range control valve...4 bolts, 6 air lines, and an o-ring. Not for me. Got the air lines disconnected and started pulling the bolts...snapped one off. DOH! 1/4-20 should be simple enough...drill into it to use an easy out. Broke the damn wrench thing that holds the easy out. Plan B...drill it a little bigger and just re-tap it 1/4-20. Nope. Easy out made the hole such that the drill bit kept getting hung up. Size was close, though, so I figured perhaps I could just tap the stupid thing. Nope. Snapped the tap off in the hole. So, I cut my losses, dabbed a bit of RTV sealant on the hole, and put it back together with only 3 bolts. Got it back together, and it's holding air...so now back to repacking everything into the truck. Took a while, but I got it all to fit again. Easier to get at stuff, now, too...

My wife would disagree with the "soft" part...about as soft as 80 grit sandpaper.