RowdyRebel

I wouldn't want to carry any more fuel than what I could use in a day. Fill up in the morning, run the tanks close to empty during the day, then park it for the night. I sure couldn't afford to have a fuel thief hit me when I've got $1000 worth of fuel in the tanks...much better to give them easy access to empty tanks so that they pop the cap, see it ain't worth their time, and move on to more lucrative targets. Besides, I don't get paid to haul fuel...and I am paid by the ton. The more fuel I have on board, the less I can be paid to haul.

The way I did it was to find a good "home" first. A company that had both company trucks AND O/O's with their trucks leased to the carrier. A company that treated me well as a company driver, and treated O/O's respectfully, professionally, and business-like. I talked to several O/O's to see whether or not they were happy, profitable, and soaked up any insight they had as far as what to expect once I bought the truck....I wanted to keep the "surprises" few & far between. I spent a year working as a company driver...learning the job (on somebody else's dime) and learning the lanes they run, and most importantly learning the revenue which could be expected. They paid me a percentage as a company driver, so it was easy enough to find out what the O/O percentage was and calculate what my earnings WOULD have been in my own truck. I ran the company truck like it was my own....kept track of fuel, maintenance, repairs, etc...and did my best to figure out what the maintenance and repairs would have cost if I had been billed for the work. I found out about insurance, plates, permits, etc...all of the other expenses I was going to have added into the equation as well. Then I sat down and crunched the numbers to figure out how much truck I'd be able to afford. I left the fuel surcharge out of all of my numbers...figured if I could make it on the freight rates alone, that fuel surcharge would cover any expenses I had missed in my figurings. Now throughout my entire driving career, I'd been paying attention to how the trucks I'd been driver had been spec'd. I knew what I liked...and what I didn't like...about each of those trucks, and I had come up with some specs of my own that the truck I was going to buy had to have. Engine, transmission, rear gears, weight ratings, tire size, wheelbase, color, etc. So I knew what price range I was looking for, and I knew what the specs were that I was shopping for. When I would find a truck that met my specs at a price I could afford, I'd call on it. The truck I ended up buying was 99% what I wanted...only compromise I really made was on the wheelbase (it's a little longer than I was looking for). Then came the fun of securing financing. Since buying my home, I couldn't see paying +6% interest on money I had sitting in the bank that was only earning 1/2%, so I had been grossly overpaying on my mortgage in order to build equity. So, I pulled that equity back out to make the down payment, and secured a truck loan through a finance company that specialized in truck loans (through the truck dealer). I also sent in an application to the OOIDA's finance company...which turned out to be the same one. Got approved for the loan...drove out to see the truck in person, and had the nearest Mack dealer look it over for me during my test drive. When it checked out OK, the transaction was completed and I drove it home to put it to work. Now that has worked for me...not saying money hasn't been tight from time to time (heck it STILL is pretty tight....and the truck's been paid off for a year and a half)....but it is MY truck. In all honesty, I doubt I could go back to driving somebody else's truck again. Not that there is anything WRONG with being a company driver...just that I like having final say in what happens with the truck I'm driving. Buy a truck and your "free time" is going to dissappear. There will be no more "park it at the yard on Friday afternoon and not think about it again until Monday morning". There is ALWAYS something you could or should be doing on or to the truck...maintaining it, repairing it, upgrading or modifying something on it to make it work better, etc. You'll either have to be able to afford to pay somebody else to do all of that work or be able to do the work yourself. If money gets tight, hopefully you can turn a wrench...because if you can't, you're done.

All truckpaper is telling you is the ASKING price...which might be considerably different from the actual price the buyer ultimately pays. As for depreciation, it's a bitch. I've always heard that a car loses half its value the second it is driven off the lot...not sure if that applies to CMV's or even how accurate that might be anymore since people seem to overpay for their vehicles on a regular basis (had a Ford dealer quote me a price of $3900 for a 27 year old Ford Ranger about 3 years ago....I laughed & walked away). It's not "new" anymore, plain and simple...and the price needs to reflect that.

I highly doubt there are any laws prohibiting altering the suspension. When I broke a 12K leaf on my steer axle, I would've had to wait for any spring I wanted to put in there to be ordered...so I upgraded to the 16K front springs. I'm not sure why anyone would want to downgrade their suspension...especially in a rock bucket...but to each their own. I've got 38K rears on air ride right now and WISH I had 44-46K at a minimum. I'm usually heavy on my drives (35.5K neighborhood), and although still under the 38K, I just hate running weights that close to the spec'd maximum, and certainly wouldn't put springs on a tandem that were only rated to 34K. For what it's worth, the ride is much smoother with the 16K springs up front as opposed to the 12K springs. I used to have a pair of clean spots on the underside of the frame rails where the bump-stops made contact when I'd hit a dip in the road or ease over a speed bump...but they haven't touched since I upgraded the springs. You've got to make sure you have enough spring to not only hold the weight, but to catch it when you go over a bump in the road. When they aren't strong enough to do the job, hard parts start smacking together and that is a heck of a lot rougher than any bump that can be absorbed by the suspension.

That little ol' thing? If I wanted to affect the weather, I'd light a REAL fire...

Fiance was in town, so I wasn't about to waste time on the computer. Then on the day she left, my mom rolled into town for a couple days...she headed out today. I usually don't have that many houseguests over the course of a year let alone in a single week. Anyway, had a small bonfire Wednesday night...I had a little ol' burn pile that needed getting rid of so that I wouldn't have to mow around it....so we bought some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers to make some s'mores and enjoyed the pleasant evening sippin' on an ice cold and talking. It was a rather pleasant and relaxing way to spend an evening.

I don't touch my phone when I'm driving. I've got the Cobra 29 LX BT LCD in the truck...shows the caller ID on the display (and even reads it to me). I also screen my calls...probably let 75% of my incoming calls go to voice mail (where they are notified that my box is full before the call is disconnected....haven't checked my voice mail in at least 3 or 4 years). Texts can wait until I get where I'm going...not really a fan of distracted drivers, and REALLY don't care to be one. Really the only reason I'm even thinking about a smart phone is so that I can get online and look up a phone number if I need to instead of calling people who might be in front of a computer and try to explain what I need them to look up for me. If I want to browse the internet, watch youtube videos, read my e-mail, etc..., I'll do it from home on my computer where I've got a decent sized screen. 99% of the time it'll just be used for phone calls, text messages, and taking pictures.

I've never had insurance on my phone before...figure if I can't afford to replace it, I shouldn't be carrying it with me. Besides, I'll still have my current phone that can be reactivated....and the phone before that as a back-up to the back-up. I just can't see paying extra every month "just in case". Speaking of insurance, though...passed an insurance company today with a sign out front that said "LIFE INSURANCE IS FOR THE WHAT IFS, NOT THE WHAT IS"...guess that could be applied to ALL types of insurance. Gotta be careful though or I'll be off on an Obumacare tangent before we know it....

We're all gonna die of something...what nobler way is there to die than trying to save a truck?

In all honesty, I'm leaning towards the Blackberry Q10...just gotta wait for it to hit the stores before I fully make up my mind. I've lived this long without a smart phone...a few more weeks won't kill me. ...and I need the SD card because I pull snippets out of my favorite songs and save 'em to use as ringtones. Files are pretty large, so the "extra" memory is handy. And iphones are out....I've had bad luck with batteries in the past, and if I have a problem with the new phone's battery, it's a heck of a lot cheaper to replace a battery than it is a whole phone. And like I said, touch screens don't always do what my fingers are telling them to do...so if I have to type something, I want that physical keyboard.

Being aware and not doing anything about it is what leads to him getting ownership of that piece of property. The length of time varies from state to state, but google the term "Adverse Possession" to get an idea of how serious of a problem that could turn into if you choose to ignore the overstep of your property line.

What's "hello kitty"? Sounds like something Dozer would enjoy eating...

In a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people"....one which receives its powers "by the consent of the governed"....this should be the rule, NOT the exception. The mere fact that it is so rare of an event as to warrant a news write-up in the national news speaks loudly for the sad state that this nation is in.

Does it break down as much as CAT branded engines? Will it fall apart as quickly as CAT branded boots? quick google search turned up http://catphones.com/ As ugly as their CAT branded trucks....and no physical keyboard. besides...what kinda girly-man uses a phone utilizing the android™ 4.1 "Jellybean" operating system?

...when a government rule-maker holds himself to the same rules he makes for everyone around him. Judge holds himself in contempt for his cell phone

....don't need nobody gettin' hurt 'round here when I say this: I'm considering getting a smart phone. I know...I'm still trying to figger out this danged ol' dumb phone I've had for a couple years now, but there have been times when the ability to get online and look stuff up for myself instead of calling people from the side of the road who might be sitting in front of a computer in order to have them look up a phone number or find a parts store in wherever it was I happened to be experiencing difficulties. The fiance has one of those smart phones and can tap on it a few times and get dang near anything she's looking for right there on the tiny little screen in her hand. So I've been considering. Contemplating. Thinking about it. My phone is due for upgrade, and to be honest it hasn't been the most dependable phone I've had. I upgraded to this Casio Brigade phone after my Casio Type S phone gave me 4+ quality years of service despite all of the abuse I put it through...by far the best phone I ever had. The Brigade? Eh....not so fantastic. I had looked at the Casio Commander a while back....saw pictures of it when I was looking to upgrade the last time, but went with the Brigade instead. I've read some reviews on it that say it works OK as a phone, but it is slow and unresponsive for "smart" features. The lack of an actual keyboard is also a drawback since me and touch screens don't always get along. On my GPS, if I want to have any sort of accuracy to what I'm trying to type I need to use the tip of my ink pen with the ink part retracted...which tends to scratch the screen if I'm not careful. My brother has the Commander, and says he is on his 3rd one because it isn't as "indestructible" as they claim. So, I went to the Verizon store the other day and they had Motorola Droid 4 and Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II non-functioning display models there for me to look at....slide-out keyboard with the full screen touch panel on both of them. I had bad luck with a Motorola flip phone...display would quit working and I'd have to replace it. Went through 3 of them before I was upgrade-eligible again...so I'm a little hesitant to buy another Motorola phone. Haven't heard much about the Samsung phone...girl at the Verizon store said from what she's heard, the Motorola phone gets a better signal....so if the Motorola phone is admittedly better, why would I buy the Samsung? So I went home and got online to see what all else Verizon had that would meet my criteria.....needs to have a physical keyboard, one of those mini SD cards for removable memory, etc...pretty much the only set-in-stone requirements I have at this point. One other phone came up...a Pantech Marauder. Don't know jack about it, have never seen it, etc....only what the Verizon site says about it and for the most part it compares pretty well with the other 2....but still not sure. Now when Blackberry announced it's new Z10, it piqued my interest...the ability to "fine tune" a photograph to get what you were trying to take a picture of (Dozer always seems to turn his head the moment I hit the button to snap a pic) seems pretty ingenious. Video chatting, etc...also would be nice at times. Cameras on the thing kick the snot out of any of the other phones...Droid comes close, but still falls short. Samsung is the only one that comes close on usage time...but again, it falls short. The fiance says I don't want a blackberry...that they don't have the most user-friendly operating system...but from what I'm reading, the Blackberry 10 OS is supposed to be significantly better. She says I should get an Android-based phone. I don't know, though...never used one. The major drawback I'm having on the Blackberry is the lack of a physical keyboard. So then today I'm clicking around on the interweb and find that Blackberry also has a Q10 in the works due for release in April. I'm thinking "April is almost over...that means this thing should be in the stores soon!" It is everything I liked about the Blackberry Z10, but with a smaller screen =to make room for the physical keyboard. Oh yeah...and a bigger battery than the Z10, too. I'm seriously thinking that might be my next phone despite what the fiance says about blackberry's ease of use. Since I have no experience with any of them, I'm probably going to struggle with whatever I get until I figure the silly thing out....so from where I'm sitting it doesn't really matter. I've always had that "oddball" phone that nobody else seems to have....never been one to jump on the bandwagon and buy the latest next-big-thing. Would buying a Q10 change that? Or is it still enough of a phone nobody else has that I'd be happy with it? I don't know. I haven't even seen the Z10 up close and in person, let alone the Q10 that I'm now drooling over that isn't even released yet...and I'd kinda like to play with a working version of whatever I'm going to get prior to actually buying it to make sure it is everything its cracked up to be, but that probably means taking a trip up to the "corporate" verizon store instead of the local "authorized retailer". But yes, my next phone will be smarter than the dumb phone I currently have...which is already smarter than me.

If it were running on fuel, sure...cutting off the fuel source would work. Unfortunately, though, when the turbo blows and motor oil is introduced into the intake, the engine doesn't need any extra fuel source. Shut off the key, remove the fuel lines, etc....it'll keep running until it sucks the oil pan dry...which also means the moving parts of the engine (which have been moving at crazy-fast speeds) haven't been receiving the oil they need to keep lubricated and cool...then you'll have a fine looking boat anchor, 'cuz it won't be good for much else.

Just don't doo like old Si did on Duck Dynasty when you're out picking those muscadine berries.....

On a mechanical engine, I suppose that would work...if it was running away on fuel. In the case of a blown turbo and an electronic engine though, fuel isn't feeding the engine...oil is. Disconnecting the oil supply line might stop the oil from flowing into the turbo to mix with the air flowing into the intake, but it has probably already stored up enough oil in the charge air cooler and the rest of the intake to keep on running for a while....longer than I'd want my trucks engine running that hard. Besides, how many drivers off the top of their head can tell you the wrench size needed to disconnect the oil supply line from the top of the turbo or the fuel line so that they could grab the right wrench quickly? Much easier to pull a knife from your pocket and cut a rubber hose right there on the left side of the engine...then grab the rubber floor mat and use it to suffocate the engine. But, there really isn't any point in arguing about it....doing ANYTHING that might work to stop the engine is better than standing around with your thumb up your butt video taping the event....

I doubt I'd be disconnecting oil or fuel lines from a running truck with a hot engine....spray all of that fuel and oil onto the exhaust manifold and then instead of having a runaway engine, you'd have a krispy truck. Instead, I'd take the knife out of my pocket and cut the rubber hose going into the intake manifold from the charge air cooler. Since the engine was being fueled by oil entering the intake at the turbo, that would effectively cut off the fuel supply and starve it. If it didn't quit running right away due to residual oil in the manifold, use the rubber floor mat to block off the air to the intake manifold and suffocate the engine.

Teen truck thief tells cops he was being chased by zombies

Back in my college days, I thought it was leftover pizza and beer...

I screw up oatmeal probably 9 times out of 10 when I try to make it....so I doubt I'll be trying my hand at brewing my own any time soon. Besides, I don't drink near as much as I used to...back in college these 3 six packs might have been enough for a night....maybe....but anymore, these'll prolly have me set for a year or two. Heck, I've still got a Sam Adams "Bonfire Rauchbier" (came in a variety pack w/ octoberfest and other "fall" beers) with a "best if used by" date of January 2 years ago, but since that was my last one I figured it was time to buy some more.