RowdyRebel

...speaking of unacceptable iphone-related behavior... http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/03/22/girl-12-tried-to-kill-mom-by-spiking-drinks-with-bleach-police-say/ ...What in hell is going on with kids these days? Better yet, what the hell is going on with PARENTS these days? My parents wouldn't have bought ME an iphone (or any OTHER kind of phone for that matter) and would have ended my short, worthless little existence if I'd even THOUGHT about tampering with their food in a manner intended to harm them.

Always cracks me up reading about some kid posting on some crime-stoppers page about how the cops will never catch him...using his facebook account...with his real name & picture right by the post. Dumb. As for advancements in mobile phone technology, I resisted it as much as I could...text messaging was blocked, until I added a line for the (at the time) fiance. Finally broke down and got a smart phone after I spent 3 hours on the side of the road calling people I knew who MIGHT be near a computer, trying to explain where I was and that I needed phone numbers to local auto parts stores to get a hose and some water delivered to me. About a month before, she had a horse colic and couldn't get ahold of her vet...so she pulled out her smart phone and looked up another. Interweb that knows where ya is would've been handy that day on the side of the road...so I "upgraded". They have their use...a tool, just like any other, that is handy to have available when you need it.

...I guess this explains why everybody seems to be begging for "likes" on that facebook thing: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/03/21/secret-facebook-doesnt-want-to-know/

I'd rather hang up the keys & go change tires & oil @ Walmart than put that crap in my truck. This new company I'm with had a survey at the safety meeting...asked are we aware that they are testing Peoplenet. Yes, I'm aware of that. What do you think about it? It is why I left the last place after 8-1/2 years. Would you be interested in a unit? HELL NO!

Truckers don't "need" this crap. The mindless idiots companies are warming their seats with might...but truckers don't.

I've heard the only difference between the Mack 13 and 18 transmissions is the shift knob. Don't even have to change the knob...just knock out the pin that locks out the high split in the low range. AS for the gearing, 4.64 rears should handle the weight just fine,although tire size will play a roll in the speed & driveability as well. Smaller tires = easier to get the load moving, but slower top speeds. Bigger tires just the opposite. For comparison, the 11R24.5 tires I run with 4.17 rears would be like 3.73 rears with LP22.5 tires. Especially if you're due to replace tires anyway, it is cheaper & easier to go up or down a size or two if you can than it would be to change gearing.

Either get out and flip some switches to dump the air & unlatch the gate or wire 'em up for in-cab controls. Once the air is dumped, it is as stable as the ground beneath the wheels will allow. I've often wondered if the suspension dump could be automated for the idiots some of these companies have driving for them...could be done by locating the leveling valve off the front axle. Start raising the bed, valve starts dumping air. Bed comes down, it airs it back up. Only question is whether it would dump the air fast enough to keep it stable...

I've got 3 diffs on my Mack...but only 1 is lockable. ALL 6x4 trucks have 3 diffs. I wish I had a 4th diff sometimes...but that'd take mucho dinero to make happen...

I was thinking about this the other day, while noticing the number of mid-roof and flat-top trucks on the road with aerodynamic roof fairings that gave the truck the profile of a condo, but without the extra interior space a condo would've had. Why wouldn't the company just buy a damn condo? This company might have had the same thought...rather than just wasted space beneath an aerodynamic fairing, why not put the space to use? On a T/T setup, you'd still have the visibility of a daycab with the convenience of a sleeper.

Well, when you have a truck with vendor axles (open diffs) and you put ribbed (no bite) tires on the drives, and add to that the fact that few trucks have a steer driver...some trucks just don't do well in the snow. I was pleasantly surprised with how well my truck did with Mack rears and Kuhmo KRD03 tires...probably didn't have to shovel that 1 day...wish I knew THEN what I know NOW! Oh well...there's always next time.

I usually only plug in the night before I'm going to be heading out on a run. Even if I forget, though, plug 'er in an hour or so before you hit the key and she'll fire up a lot easier than if she's cold. As long as you've got your antifreeze mixed right, it shouldn't freeze...

Not ALL bobtails are helpless in the snow...mine was getting around so well in this last snow we had that I'm STILL kicking myself for doing all of that shoveling before at least trying to get out after the previous snow storm. Oh well...live & learn, I guess.

Wait...that LITTLE bit of snow had you STUCK? I was out bobtailing around in freezing rain/sleet/snow...4" snow on top by the time I was hooking to a trailer and 8" before I had re-secured the load and could roll home. Almost a foot of snow the next morning rolling out...no trouble at all. If I had realized how well it'd do in the white stuff, I could have saved myself a bunch of shoveling after the previous snow...

When you have a company owner intent upon forcing e-logs on the drivers, it generally starts with a few "test units" in a small number of trucks. It is absolutely vital that those test subjects show a decrease in productivity and a decrease in revenue generated. If the company owner sees that these things will cost him money, he's less likely to push forward with it. 1-2 loads per week less...2-3 extra motel rooms per week...PER TRUCK! When the test dummies decide to find work-arounds so that they can continue to get the job done, the boss is almost guaranteed to push forward with the BS. Make it cost him money, so that expanding the implementation will cost him A LOT of money. Otherwise, you'll have a babysitter in the truck with you.

...Pine Bluff, AR?

Hadn't pulled a dry-box in FOREVER, so I thought I'd have a go at it and bump a dock a few times for some extra cash. 2 trips out & back each day...at least the roads were in good shape.

Might be fun with a right hand drive and a big ol' dog hangin' his head out the left window. Maybe put a fake wheel over there for him to stand on with his front paws and have a couple hidden cameras mounted to capture the reactions of the passengers when they look up and see a happy pooch "driving" next to them...

I object to the notion, a scandalous slur! To suggest such a thought without rhyming a word?

http://www.seussville.com/

Or so I have read. Been dead a long while, no reason to smile. For twenty one years he has been in the ground. No more writing or rhyming or funning around. So what's this I hear? A new book out this year? Where has it been, all this time spent unseen? Was it written by him before his demise? Or perhaps just a fraud set to capitalize?

If you think you're worth more than you're being paid, ask for a raise. If you are turned down, you can either look for somebody who thinks you might be worth what you think you're worth and go work for them, or keep making what your boss thinks you are worth where you're at. Nobody is forcing you to stick around. All too often, people THINK they are worth a hell of a lot more than the revenue they generate through the work they do or free up by doing non-revenue generating tasks so others can spend their time generating revenue. Your boss is in business to make a profit. No profit, no company. No company, no job. If your boss isn't making a profit, either directly or indirectly, from the work you are doing, then you won't have a job very long. If the work force bands together and demands more than the boss can afford to pay, the company becomes unprofitable...not worth the boss's time running it. Then what do you have? Company goes out of business and floods the job market with unemployed individuals, so that other companies can fill their positions at lower wages...meaning the job you find probably won't pay as much as you HAD been making. It is basic supply & demand. When available jobs outnumber people to fill them, wages go up because employers are competing over the limited number of applicants. When unemployed outnumber the jobs available, wages go down because workers are competing for the limited number of positions.

My thoughts exactly. If you don't want to work for what I'm willing to pay, you can find somewhere else to work and I'll find somebody else who wants to earn a paycheck. Show up to work, or you're done here.

The F250 was out all day yesterday playing & pulling people out. Drove the wife & brother-in-law to work and just kinda hung out in town all day. Figured I'd make sure the old dog was up & running and COULD get out before I called in to see if they had any work for me today...they said they didn't know if the shipper was there to load trucks...to give them a little bit and they'd call. Still waiting. I'll give it about 10 more minutes (it's already been almost 2 hours) and then I'll call them back. If I'm NOT working, I get to take her colt back to the vet for a checkup...he had an "incident" right before Christmas and will probably end up losing his eye. If I'm working, the vet appointment will have to wait because the wife picked up an extra shift (OT) today, and so she drove the brother-in-law and sister-in-law to work in her truck. If the TH400 trans in the Suburban wasn't puking fluid out of the vent, I wouldn't have had to dig her truck out last night. Bought her the damn Suburban so I wouldn't have to shovel...friggin GM. I shouldda found her a Ford. Oh well...what's done is done.

...so who wants to chip in so I can buy this: http://www.militaryconvoy.com/m932tractor.htm ?

I REALLY need to get my 8N up and running again...makes clearing snow a lot easier.