RowdyRebel

Looking good this morning...hopefully it keeps going down, but they haven't changed the forecast yet so maybe they think there's still more water coming? Don't know...playing the waiting game now...

Went back to the house today with another trailer and grabbed pretty much all of my shop tools...air compressor, shop press, power hacksaw, table saw, drill press, tool box, etc...the bigger, heavier stuff that wouldn't fit in yesterday's load. Anyway, the only thing left that I REALLY would hate to lose is the 8N (which isn't running and has no rubber on the rear rims) and my '86 Ranger (which is stripped and awaiting a full-on restoration/upgrade. That and the fridge, washer & dryer...but those were pretty much the cheapest ones the box store was selling, and the washer & dryer is more work than it's worth to pull out when there may not be any need to. That's what I'm hoping, anyway...that the last couple days was a wasted effort because the levy holds...but I'm sure if that's what I was counting on happening that it would break wide open and I would've lost everything. Better safe than sorry, and we're definitely playing it safe. Just checked the river forecast again, and it's the first time I've seen our readings trending BELOW the predicted levels. Up until now, they've always exceeded predictions. Anyway, that's enough rambling for one night. Get to put ball joints on a dodge tomorrow to repay a friend for helping move my stuff.

Well, we've got MOST everything of value that can't be cleaned/salvaged moved out. If the worst happens, we've got a plan. But, with my luck after doing all this work moving out, the levee will hold and it would have all been for nothing. I would be EXTREMELY happy if that happened. We'll find out in a few days.

Exceeding expectations again...probably won't be long before they up the forecast again. Heading back to the house with 3 trucks & 3 trailers to grab as much as we can...'cuz I have a bad feeling whatever is left will be lost if it isn't able to be salvaged after the water goes down.

County Sheriff didn't know how high our levee is, but said he thinks the flood wall in Cape Girardeau is only 50'. Probably going to try to rescue as much stuff as we can "just in case". Wife is teasing me because I'm not my usual care-free self. Hell, tornado blows through and it's "Eh, it's only weather..." but I'm insured for that. This, I'm not. Mack is safely on higher ground. We'll probably head back in to grab what we can with 1 more trip and then just stay at a higher elevation until the danger has passed. Already planning contingencies if we lose the house...probably rent for a year while we salvage what we can and then when my plates expire at the end of next year, make our move to Texas.

Doesn't look like the levee has 3' to give. If it does, I'll be surprised. Bracing for the worst...

One word...starts with "F"...rhymes with "Yuck".

Don't know what to make of this...but it don't look good. We're above the "forecast" curve, so we'll see if they change their expectations for the crest...

Well, I got home tonight and parked the truck only to see this sign right across the highway: So, we grabbed all of our important papers and stuff like that, loaded up the horse trailers and moved some stuff (and a horse) to higher ground. If the sirens blare (which I'm praying they don't), we're ready to bug out in a hurry. Suburban is backed into the driveway...toss the dogs in and the wife drives that, and the Mack is plugged into the block heater and shop air, so it should fire right up and be ready to roll. F250 is on higher ground with the horses, so as long as we make it out, we'll be OK. Hope the levee holds...

Hell, I was going to go to school to be an auto mechanic...parents gave me the same cock-n-bull story. Talked me into Forestry as a major (Eagle Scout, loved the outdoors, etc...). $25K in student loans later, I had a piece of paper. Closest I've come to using it? I drove a log truck for a year. All my wrench turning has been on a "figure it out as I go" basis, as I was talked out of the vocational training I had wanted. Oh well. I still sometimes think about what it would take to change course...but the money I'm making now wouldn't be achievable as a mechanic for a good many years 'til I drummed up enough experience to open my own shop and built a solid reputation and had a steady stream of folks bringing me their cars to wrench on...and even then, I'm not sure it would compare. Granted, there'd be no DOT to worry about, but there's BS to deal with in every industry.

Ummmmmm....

Dadgum this thing is FUN to drive! Been working nearly non-stop pulling a grain wagon the last couple days (49 CFR 390.23...log book out the window & truck it up) clearing out some bins ahead of the rising flood waters. Running (cough cough) max legal weights (cough) it is accelerating up to speed and pulling hills better than it used to grossing 50-60K. EGT's haven't even hit 800 degrees even on the mile-or-so climb up out of the valley. This thing is an absolute BEAST! I can only imagine what it'd be like with the XT file or the stage 2 injectors & turbo I had wanted. As soon as I have money coming in and can swing it, I think I'd like to put the old dog with the new ticker on a dyno to see exactly what kind of numbers it's putting out. Seat of the pants, though, she's a fun one to drive!

21.5 tons IN the truck...plus the 15 or so tare weight of the truck equals 36 or 37 tons ACTUAL weight. Not bad...only 30 tons overweight. Company I used to be leased to had a bridge collapse a split second after a VERY lucky driver made it across. Bridge was rated for 40 tons and the first thing the DOT did was weigh the truck. At 79,500 pounds, the driver received no citations and the company didn't have to pay. Would have been a different story had he been overweight.

Forecast looks pretty dry for the next week or so, but the damage has been done. The rain that fell over the weekend has the river rising pretty quick. Luckily, a lot of what fell further North was frozen, so it SHOULD crest and fall pretty quickly, but until it does, there's quite a few folks packing up and moving. There's a house right next to the grain elevator we're clearing out that will probably have water well into the 2nd floor if not to the roof if the levee is topped. Even the airport is clearing the hangars moving planes and fire trucks to higher ground. Quite the sight coming down the hill and seeing a bunch of aircraft parked at the restaurant like the pilots are inside having lunch.

Due to flooding. River levels are expected to meet/exceed 1993 records, so it's going to be UGLY all up & down ther river. Next crossing North is in St. Louis. Next crossing South is Cape Girardeau. If you're coming this way, plan accordingly. Hwy 3 floodgate @ Cora (Randolf/Jackson County line) closed yesterday along with most of the other low-lying roads around the rivers. Unfortunately, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Living behind a levee myself, I probably won't be sleeping too well for the next week or so (considering the levee district commissioners have a bad habit of NOT using our tax dollars for their intended purpose...but that's another topic for another day). First day back at work and I'm pulling a hopper emptying grain elevators before the levee here is topped. Hurry up & wait!

You never realize just how much crap equipment you carry on the truck until you're tasked with restocking it after an extended period of downtime which included a couple weeks in a rental truck. You'd THINK it would be a pretty easy task, being a day cab and all....but DAMN there's a lot to remember where/how I had it stowed so that it'd all fit!

EPA BS

2180B. Mack rears, too. Wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

Doubt it. Wasn't holding my breath on that one, though...

Wonder how it'll sound...always been a rather LOUD idler. Went with a heavier duty clutch, since the one they've been trying to put in there the last few times (and didn't work too well) was only rated to 1650 ft lbs, which is rather odd considering the 460P file my truck has is allegedly good to 485/1660. This new clutch is listed for an E-9 is good to 1850 or so, so hopefully I'll have better luck with it even if it is still an Eaton easy pedal. They opted not to put the Rochester Stage 2 injectors or the Rochester turbo on there like I wanted due to warranty concerns...so it'll have the biggest OEM injectors and turbo to keep that warranty intact. New air compressor, too, since the old one had been on there a while and they are MUCH easier to change when you aren't wrestling them in and out of the frame rail. I think they said they were putting a new starter on as well. In other words, it SHOULD be good to go for another million and whatever miles. Looking forward to picking it up either later today or tomorrow morning. No work for it until next week...but at least it'll be back here where I can re-stock my tool box with my straps, chains, and other equipment....be ready to roll and start making money again. Got a big hole to dig out of, but hopefully I'll have that all paid off again in about 6 months. That's the one thing I can say about this new gig I've got...I actually make decent money when I work. Had this happened a year ago, I would've been done, because I was working twice as many hours and LUCKY if I brought home what I do now...and along with those longer hours were extra maintenance expenses due to the nature of the work. These last couple years have been pretty darned good to me....couldn't be happier going into next year.

JUST got the call...truck is ready to be picked up. Unfortunately, due to the fact that tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then Friday is Christmas, STILL going to be sitting until Monday. At least I'll have 'er back, though.

7 mpg might sound good...until you factor in the cost of the DEF. Price per gallon, time consumed filling the extra tank, extra maintenance on the extra system, etc. I'll take my older pre-egr truck any day of the week. Be nice if it had come off the line 13 or so months earlier to be "officially" a '99 instead of an '01...but it's still a better truck than what I'd get trying to sell it thanks to the FMCSA.

I've already told the wife what I intend to do. We'd LIKE to be in Texas by then (if we can find someone to buy this house) and when that move happens, it will be to a carrier that runs local. Or I hang up the keys and do something else for a living, pull a drive axle out from under the old dog, maybe graft another cab onto it to make it a quad-cab, perhaps mount a place to load a motorcycle or two behind the cab, and use it to pull the gooseneck horse trailer around when we travel (private use). When the elog mandate takes effect, it'll have all of 2 years on a brand new ReMack engine...be a waste to let 'er go, considering her value won't be all that much due to the mandate. People willing to drive older equipment will be looking for pre-2000, and people willing to run ELD's are typically looking for newer equipment. My truck is essentially worthless to anyone NOT running local. Thanks a bunch, FMCSA!

I've got a day cab, which is much more convincing as a "local" truck than a sleeper truck would be...but with the older trucks, it won't matter for you.

Well, I took some time today to skim through the 500 or so pages of the proposed rule and all of the other BS. While I was doing that, I was doing some thinking about how I've been running and what it'll take to NOT have to install one of those silly things in my truck and I came up with a solution. I'll probably just keep doing what I'm doing running as much as I can until 30 days before the mandate deadline. At that point, I'll simply cut out 1 run every other week, which will put me at the "8 days in 30" limit, because there are only 3 exceptions to the new rule: Unfortunately, my truck is a 2001...came off the line June of 2000...so that exemption does not apply. I'm not part of a driveaway - towaway operation. So, I'm left with only venturing out past the 100 air-mile radius "no more than 8 days during any 30 day period". I really only work every other day anyway...one day I might run 45 miles as I deliver my backhaul and grab the next load out...then I run 500 miles up to deliver and grab my next backhaul. So, instead of doing 2-1/2 turns per week, I'll cut that down to 2 turns per week and perhaps run a shorter load on day 29 instead of grabbing another long run. Going to take more effort staying on top of how many days I've been required to keep a log book, but it'll work. Just have to circle the days I need a log book on my calendar and stop accepting longer dispatches when I hit the 8th day in 30.