RowdyRebel

After the trucking industry spent all that time and effort (and money) fighting to get those ridiculous and unsafe split speed limits changed, the ATA is pushing this crap to split the speeds once again. If you want to run slow to save fuel or to allow you to hire incompetent drivers who can't handle driving the speed limit in a large truck, that's fine. It doesn't mean I should have to ALSO slow to a crawl, because I actually have an experienced hand behind the wheel and my business model isn't designed around pinching pennies at the expense of that driver's time. TIME IS MONEY! Driving slow could be the difference between hauling a paying load home vs. bouncing home empty because I didn't quite make it in time to load it, or worse yet having out-of-route LOADED miles because I couldn't deliver the load on time and had to return the next day (setting me back that much farther on the start of the following day). It could also mean the difference between getting home legally and having to stretch my book to make it home....which won't be possible with e-logs, so who's going to pay for that motel room? Sure...I could pick up a half a mile per gallon or so by running 60 in a 70 zone....but it'd cost me a whole lot more than I'd save. The large carriers pushing for these ridiculous things don't give a flying f--- about their drivers' time or anything else besides their own bottom line. They aren't paying the driver by the hour, but rather by the mile. If the driver can't run as many miles, they get paid less....AND it saves fuel. Factor in the longer transport time when scheduling loads, and now you haven't lost anything as the company owner....but the DRIVER is out quite a bit. Screw that. I'll be done if it gets that far. My CH will be converted to a single screw and I'll use it to pull the gooseneck horse trailer...beyond the reach of the FMCSA because it won't be a commercial motor vehicle.

If you click to disable smilies in the post it won't have smilies...gotta do that when you post rules and regs, because the letter b and ) will appear as ...and ( then c and ) will come up as ©.

I've long said if you have to shovel your driveway in order to be able to get in/out, you need a bigger truck.

Yup. That's what I told the Dish Network rep on the phone. Got home last night and my service had been cut from "top 200" down to local programming and of course the family was none too happy. I figured it had something to do with the $10 I shorted them last month ($5/week I was without Fox News). Turns out it was...they started telling me I needed to pay that $10 before they could reinstate service. I assured them that wasn't happening. I have Dish for 3 reasons: Nascar, Fox News, and RFD TV. The other 194 channels are either blocked or the family watches....but since I'm the one paying the bill, what they want doesn't really matter. "If my channels are not restored in 30 minutes, I'm calling Direct and you'll never see another dime from me." "That's beyond my control. All I can do is send it up to my superior and they are the ones who have to make that happen." "Well then I suggest you work quickly!" I had my channels back in 10 minutes. Not only that, but they credited the $10 they said I still owd them from last month, knocked $10 off this month's bill, and an additional $10/month deduction for the next 10 months after that. Works for me.

There is one in Joliet visible from I55...but other than that, I can't help ya.

I spent enough time up that way in my younger years. I'll take the Southern heat over the northern cold any day...much easier to find a shade tree and sip on an icy cold beverage to cool off than it is to try working with 20 layers of clothes and thick insulated gloves to keep warm.

A day welding beats a day dealing with the BS on the road any day. Heck, my day started off being run off the road by a cop who didn't bother checking his mirrors before sliding over inches from the bumper of the vehicle that had just cut me off. Considering my bumper was even with his driver's door, you'd THINK he would've seen me. My air horn didn't even seem to phase him...I SHOULD'VE just let him hit me & sent him spinning off into the median, but there's too much paperwork involved in that. Worst part was he wasn't even interested in the dumbass that had cut me off...he was out of his jurisdiction. St Louis County cop on the Illinois side of the river. Oh well...45 miles 'til the weekend. Gonna spend it trying to figure out why the TH400 trans in the new-to-us 1990 GMC Suburban (3/4 ton 4x4) is spitting tranny fluid from the vent...and dig into why the F250 roasted my jumper cables last weekend. Have yet to install the new battery. By the way...in THIS end of the state, we've been in the upper 40's to mid 50's for the past week.

I've got a CP 1/2" gun that is pretty stout...SUPPOSED to have something like 1200 ft lb breakaway and 980 or so working ft lb that I carry with me in the truck. Once I bust the lugs loose with the 40" breaker bar, it does just fine in a pinch...but at home where I've got my 80 gallon/14.5 cfm compressor, I'd rather use the 3/4" gun or get a 1". Breaking down tires and mounting new ones is tough enough WITHOUT fighting stubborn lugs. I've got 100 to deal with on my tractor alone...20/drive and 10/steer...dang stud-piloted hubs. That's the other problem I have, though...half of the lugs turn the wrong way, so the gun can put 'em on with more force than it can pull 'em back off.

Picked mine up @ Rural King. Not bad, really. Napa might have good stuff, but they can be mighty proud of it, too. I like to get what I can from farm supply type stores when I can...got several to choose from around here. Rural King, Orscheln, Buchheit, Tractor Supply Co., Ag Mart, etc...

The 3.5 ton floor jack the wife bought me a year ago just doesn't have the oompf my old 3.5 ton floor jack had, and it wasn't able to lift a single side of the steer axle...so I'd have to drag the 20 ton bottle jack out of my side box & wear out my arm. Bought this here air powered 20 ton bottle jack last week...works GREAT! Now all I need is a 1" impact and I could lose (or at least not use as often) my 40" breaker bar. My 3/4" gun works just fine on the right side (righty tighty/lefty loosy)...but on the left side (lefty tighty/righty loosy) it just can't seem to bust the lugs loose...which means setting the tire back on the ground (more wearing out my arms with the OLD jack...not so bad with the new one) and using the breaker bar. I can't believe it's taken me this long to buy one of these...and I'm sure I'll say the same thing when I get that 1" gun...

The line didn't break, only the 45 degree fitting that has the pipe threads on one side that screw into the water pump and the compression fitting on the other side that the line connects to.

This pump already had the pulley on it...makes the job much easier. Can't finish up 'til tomorrow, though. Busted the damn 45 degree fitting that screws into the water pump that a small line connects to. That and while I was laying under the truck looking up waiting for the coolant to drain, I noticed I need to pick up a band clamp for a turbo hose. It's still holding tight, but the nut & spring are missing. Fun.

Changed the fuel filters (skipped them last oil change...time crunch, late, and had to roll out). Also swapped an air valve that's been leaking, and a rubber pancake in a brake chamber that had been leaking every time I stepped on the brakes. Welded up a mudflap bracket that was ripped off the back of the trailer on Friday, and now I'm going to put a new water pump on. The left side kingpin and steer tires will have to wait, because i'm running out of daylight. Yeah, I'm just doing the one side. Did the other side last May and just haven't got a round tuit yet. Never seem to have enough time to get EVERYTHING done, so I try to do the worst stuff first and if it ain't broke, it can wait. I need an indoor shop...with heat...and somebody to do all my running around for me.

Speaking of the minimum wage, I heard on the news the other day that the consumer price index had dropped. That made me wonder...several states have tied their minimum wage to the CPI, so that wages go up as prices do. So, with CPI down, will the minimum wage be lowered? It would only be fair...

Had to run to town this morning, but the F250 was dead. No biggie, I'll have 'er jumped in about 2 minutes. Fire up the ol' Ranger and pop both hoods. Grab the cables, and hook 'em up. + to +, - to -. Got a few sparks when I made the last connection, so I figure everything is good. Ammeter in the Ranger is showing around 14-15...normal. F250 still dead. Not even the dome light is on. So, I check the connections...all 4 ends spark a little when I'm jiggling them making sure the clamps are biting into the lead terminal ends for a good connection. Then the Ranger dies. Try firing it back up, and the solenoid clicks a few times like it has a weak battery. So I decide to disconnect the jumper cables and SONUVABITCH that MFer is HOT! Grab a pair of gloves from the truck, and disconnect the cables. The rubber coating on the clamps has melted and is sticking to the gloves. The metal clamps look like sheet metal on a car that just burned up. Anyway, now I'm REALLY running late...supposed to meet the Ferrier by the wife's horses at 7:30, and here it was quarter after 7 and I need to pull this battery before I head to town. Got everything done I needed to, Sears swapped out the battery for a new one free of charge (it was only a couple months old)...still PO'd about my jumper cables, though. 4 gauge, 20' long...had 'em for probably, well, let's just say a whole lotta years by now...first set I ever bought. At the very least, they'll need new ends. Might try to remember where I saw those 2 gauge, 25' long cables to put in the Mack so I can move the 4 gauge, 20' cables in the side box into the F250. 4 gauge/20' is the smallest jumper cable I'll buy. Lighter/shorter cables are useless...

Because the feds regulate interstate commerce and want your physical tied to your CDL. If you run intrastate, you may not even be required to have a physical if the state doesn't require it. When you check the box "intrastate" the state says "OK, you follow OUR rules, not the feds"...so if you want to change and go back to interstate driving, they want to know.

Nope. Feds only have regulatory control over intERstate commerce. It is why in some cases, an intRAstate carrier may be able to run longer hours or longer distances without a logbook, etc. States make up the rules by which carriers who operate solely within their border must play. Many states have passed laws basically mirroring the federal regulations....others have different rules. The feds don't get any say in the matter until state lines are crossed...or if hazmat is being hauled. It is why the cell phone/text regs only applied to interstate & hazmat haulers, NOT to intrastate carriers, farmers, etc. FMCSA can't make rules to govern those which they have no regulatory control over.

Because the feds only have the power to regulate interstate commerce. If a state wants to allow a 15 year old to get a CDL, they can...or if the state would rather keep CDLs for the 18+ crowd, they can...or if a state wants to say you must be 21, they can do that, too. Intrastate is under state control. Once you are 21, you can participate in interstate commerce because the feds have said 21 is the age.

They can already get a CDL, they just can't cross state lines commercially. What's next, let 16 year olds make weekend runs? Seriously, we have enough immaturity out here in the crowd we've already got...if anything, standards need to be RAISED, not lowered. Then again, as with anything else, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately for the rest of us, it makes it difficult to get paid what we're worth.

What scares me is the idea of a younger, less experienced work force in order to keep wages low. We've already got too many immature drivers who don't know what they are doing...and a lot of them are twice as old as what they're talking about allowing.

3/8" ought to work just fine for you.

If that was my kid, he'd be better off just not coming home after pulling a stunt like that. Don't feel safe in my home? Find somewhere else to live. Steal from me? It WON'T be safe for you here. The cop's arresting you for the long list of felonies would be the LEAST of your worries...I'd be done with you.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bufTna0WArc

...but they can't put it on the internet if it isn't true!

...so you're saying Hollywood LIES? But everybody seems to think they are the experts on EVERYTHING! They can't have it both ways...