RowdyRebel

http://www.ammoland.com/2015/12/251011/#ixzz3ugNlFuTn

Yup..."no problem" at all, unless YOU are the one being forced to spend $1500+ on a silly device and then subscribe to a service for $40+/per month to make the device do what it needs to do when $1.99 used to buy that same month's worth of log book pages. If you own more than one truck, you get to pay that expense FOR EACH TRUCK!!! But hey, "no problem", right? Get your fucking hand out of my wallet and stop encouraging government to dictate how I spend the money I earn, or what I should have "no problem" coming up with. Even as a company driver, it still costs you money. Your boss isn't digging into HIS pocket to pay for those devices...it comes from your wages as a cost of employing you, same as the employer's half of the emplyment taxes, any health insurance, paid time off, etc...it is ALL factored in. The more it costs your boss to employ you, the smaller your paycheck. Since your employer can't reduce your rate of pay, they just reduce the rate of growth...any raises you might have otherwise received are taken up by government mandated BS like this.

OOIDA is already filing the lawsuit to stop this from taking effect.

Got 'er together for the trip up north, and it made it without too much trouble. A couple new issues reared up, though, and I'll be getting those taken care of in the next week or so...parts are on order now. The fuel tank is leaking when it's full...think it's the seam, but it might be above that where I can't see or reach because of the frame rail. Once it gets down to 3/4 tank or so, it quits. Fuel tank/straps/etc have been ordered. There was also a fuel line that was pinched before I bought it...started spraying fuel out onto the side of the transmission and the exhaust...so I cut out the bad spot and used a barbed connector with some hose clamps for the trip....compression fittings are on their way. Then Tuesday while I was running around town, I noticed the master cylinder was leaking where it bolts onto the booster...not sure which or if it is just where they bolt together...so they are being replaced as well. Going to replace the cruise control servo, too, since that has a broken vacuum port and the ring that holds the rod connecting it to the throttle is ripped out. Also getting the oil cooler lines, which the bracket needs to be bent up a little to get them off the frame crossmember where they have been rubbing for who knows how long causing them to leak. I also will need to either shorted and trim the hook latch that keeps the hood from flying up if the release latch fails...because I removed it for the trip since it was hitting the new transmission oil cooler. If I can't get that hook to work with a little cutting, welding, and grinding, then I'll be installing some hood pins. I still need to open up the rear drums to install the parking brake cables and see what all else is going to be needed....shoes, springs, cylinders, etc...HOPING that is all good, though, but given the trouble the rest of it has been I'm not holding my breath. Kid cut the parking brake cables out of the drums when he lifted it instead of simply splicing in a little extra piece of cable to make them reach. Also have a new cable to replace the one from the pedal, and all of the hardware. I've been putting this part of the job off as long as possible, because I'll have to pull the damn axle shafts to get the drums off. EVERY other vehicle I've ever worked on, you remove the wheel and the drums slide right off of the hub...but not this one. Drum appears to be part of the hub. Stupid design, and ridiculously more expensive to replace when the drum wears out. Can't even open up the drum to LOOK at what's going on without replacing a seal and resealing the axle shaft to the hub. Eventually, I think I'll throw some 2" lift blocks back under the rear because it has that "I'm carrying a heavy load" squat...even with brand new springs all of the way around. Fronts are 3/4 ton 2" over stock, and the rears are 1 ton 2" over stock. I want it to look like it's riding level...but that'll probably wait for everything else to get fixed. Anyway, it rides MUCH better...doesn't beat you up over the bumps anymore. Transmission held pretty steady at 132 degrees the whole trip uo there and back. Around town yesterday, it was 140-150, but that was in town, stop & go, etc. Highest I've seen it climb was 168, but I was hooked up to a trailer packed full of shavings backing it uphill into the machine shed to keep the shavings dry if/when it rains before they are needed in the stalls. Hell, the system took 22 quarts to fill.....5-1/2 GALLONS!!! That's a 4L85E transmission with the Derale extra capacity (as in 4 qts & 16 oz more) transmission pan (with the cooling tubes), a 30K GVWR B&M Supercooler, and running it the OEM cooler in the radiator. Expensive to fill, but hopefully it helps give the new transmission a long & happy life. The transmission shifts nice and firm...and the converter locks in around 35 mph. Still haven't played with any shift points...trying to get it dialed in so the speedometer setting on the controller is accurate. It's a little off using the right numbers for the 4.10 axle gears and the 285/75R16 tires....but if I change the tire size to a 235/85R16 I'm only 10% off. I'm going to try changing the gearing to 4.42 in the controller to see if that gets us closer. I need this accurate because the speedometer in the dash doesn't always work....takes about an hour for it to decide to start working, but once it does, it's dead-nuts accurate. We've just been using speedometer apps on our phones, but if the controller shows the right speed, then the phones wouldn't be needed. I also haven't installed the temp gauge, since the transmission controller can show that as well. The sensor is in the pan, so it's just a matter of running the wire up into the cab and deciding where I want the gauge. Little things like that aren't really a top priority at this point, though. For the most part, I'm happy with it. Once I get a few of the "safety" issues fixed and the leaks stopped, I'll let the wife start driving it.

Whuddaya need brakes fer? All they do is slow ya down!

The first time anybody "chews my butt" over stretching it to make it home, I'll ask them "Are YOU going to pay for the motel 10 miles from the house, let my dogs out, and feed them and the horse, and give my diabetic dog his insulin shot?". If (more like WHEN) they say "no", I'll simply say "Well in that case, you need to shut the f*** up!". I got things I need to do, and I can't do 'em from a motel 10 miles from home.

Looks like I'll be doing some cutting & welding this morning...or stack some gaskets and use longer bolts. If it were MY pickup truck, I'd likely do option 2...but this Suburban is for the wife, so I'd probably do option 1.

...but only have this much clearance:

Ain't enough explitives to describe the way I'm feeling right now...putting the exhaust back up & need this much:

Well, I had it to the point I'd hoped before I went to bed...at 7 AM. Woke up @ 10 and got back to work...sleep is overrated. New head arrived today and it's going back together like a 1,000,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Ought to get 'er put together and the valves adjusted tonight, though...but it's shaping up to be a COLD SOB tonight. Got m. Have to wait 'til tomorrow to fire it up & make sure I got the distributor in right...should be pretty damn close. Change the oil, splice in the controller, and bolt the exhaust back up and she's done...HOPEFULLY...ain't put it under there yet to see if that needs to be stretched an inch or two. Should probably do that before I run to town for a new rotor (wrench slipped...which is why it won't be fired up tonight). Oh well. Wouldn't be a project without setbacks. By the way, the wife was giving me a hard time about my heater...

Well, after tossing around the idea of dumping a bottle of that head gasket/block repair crap into the radiator, I decided to do the job right. Didn't SEE any cracks, but don't have time to have it checked...so, new head will be here tomorrow to put on. Hoping that by the time I go to bed tonight, all that'll be left to do is splice in the controller and put the motor back together. We need it running by Friday morning.

SONUVAB!%@#.... Gotta have this thing up & running in 3 days. Still need to splice in the electronic controller, put the new (deeper) trans pan on and install the gauge, mount the aux cooler and run the lines, put the exhaust back up (possibly alter it a bit). Not TOO much, considering I'm off work...but now this: Looks like I get to pull a head off to see if it's cracked or just a head gasket.

I would like to know how they are going to ensure accurate on-duty-not-driving time....or folks who have more than one job. That computer in the truck doesn't know when you clock in at the 2nd job, and your other employer's log isn't tied into your 1st employer's system to keep accurate records as you would on paper. In other words, you can literally work 2 jobs...10 hours at each...7 days per week....until you keel over. Carrier A won't have any record of the hours you worked at carrier B...unless you constantly go in and edit. Now those edits are able to be viewed, and if you edit TOO much, you can get in trouble. On paper? You just draw it up and submit it to each carrier. But hey, they are electronic, right? And we all know that means they are flawless.

I think it's BS that the megas get to force their bad business decisions (elogs, speed limiters, etc) onto us in the name of "safety" in one breath, and then ask for exemptions to allow permit holders to drive without a licensed driver in the jump seat, lowering the OTR age to 18, and fighting against any sort of training standards with the next. The ATA SHOULD have been laughed right off of K Street...and yet...

One of these days, I'll get some video editing software on my computer so I can just upload the shortened clips (MUCH faster) instead of having to do the whole 3 minute segment then edit it down and wait for Youtube to process everything and get it ready for viewing.

I got a future darwin award nominee coming up....11 minutes remaining on the upload, then gotta edit out the fluff so I don't waste everybody's time watching a 3 minute video for 10 or 20 seconds worth of action.

This guy gets an "honorable mention"....he THOUGHT about being stupid, then decided not to.

Musta been moving something he shouldn'ta been...

A smooshed Camero...the full size SUV's that formed the bread of this sammich had driven themselves around the corner.

When there are this many cars with flat tires, it always makes me a LITTLE nervous...