RowdyRebel

Done my part!

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!! I'm getting ready to pull my jeans out of the dryer, put on my yellow "Don't Tread On Me" rattlesnake t-shirt, and head to the polls. The load can wait...I'm voting BEFORE I do any work today. No point risking a breakdown & not making it back in time. I think it would be awesome if Obama loses his home state. Doubt it will happen, but I've got to do my part to at least try to make it happen.

I planned my day tomorrow so that I could be at the polls BEFORE I've got to go to work...that way I don't run the risk of breaking down and not making it back in time to cast my ballot. If the F250 don't start, I'll take the Ranger...and if that don't start, I'll take the Mack....and if that don't start, I'll get the new radiator put on my motorcycle and I'll take it...and if that don't start, I'll friggin walk (it's only about 5 miles to the polling place). Pre-loaded the trailer tonight....ain't gotta leave to deliver my load until 1 PM.

BOTH them wreckers was overkill....back when I was towing stuff, we would have showed up with a single screw 4900 cornbinder with a DT466 and 6+ transmission. Hell, we'd tow an 80,000 T/T with that little "medium duty" truck. Granted we were almost always overweight on the drive axle...but we never crossed any scales. Personally, I'm not a fan of big, fancy, over-the-top wreckers...because those aren't cheap, and whoever is on the hook is helping to make the truck note on the thing.

....he DID list a bunch of folks who did NOT pay for it to be made, though.

That isn't a very good idea, since the brake controller is supposed to translate brake pressure into an electrical signal which tells the brakes how hard they need to apply. If you wire the brake lights into that same circuit, the brightness of the brake lights will vary...the harder you apply the brakes, the brighter the lights will be. It would be better to tap into the proper circuit in the truck to control the turn/brake lights.

The trailer has 5 wires...what are they? Most likely: Ground Tail Left turn/brake Right turn/brake Electric brakesThe truck has 6 wires...typically those are going to be: Ground Tail Left turn/brake Right turn/brake Electric brakes Aux. powerA 7-round "RV" style plug would have Ground Tail Left turn/brake Right turn/brake Electric brakes Aux. power ReverseNow on a commercial vehicle, the 7 round plug has: Ground Left Turn Right Turn Tail Marker Brake ABSIf you want you turn signals to operate the brake lights, your best option is to tap into the rear tractor light circuit to get the power to your 6-round plug for the turn signals, since the tail lights on the tractor operate in the same dual-function manner (turn/brake lights).

Fat people shouldn't wear skinny jeans. Hell, SKINNY people shouldn't even wear 'em.

I've heard Landstar now requires all new leases to have an EOBR installed in their truck....which is reason enough for ME not to ever consider them (I don't want one of those damn things in my truck). EOBR's won't work with a mechanical engine....so you'd either have to repower that '89 bulldog with an electronic engine or Landstar won't take you on.

On that first one, I'd have to pull the idiot sticks & fender mirrors off before I left the lot with it. They look absolutely ridiculous on ANY truck.

If that doesn't piss people off, I don't know what will. Seriously. The guy sits back and ignores AMERICAN cries for help for half a day, when help COULD have been there within an hour....which resulted in 4 deaths. Would have been 30+ had it not been for some BRAVE Navy Seals who ignored "stand down" orders and went anyway. Then to come out and blame some BS video....BLATANTLY LYING to the American public (BTW, that video maker is STILL IN JAIL!!!!) about what happened when he knew the truth WHILE THE ATTACK WAS STILL UNDER WAY. ...then the ULTIMATE spit-in-the-face insult to everyone lost over there came when he made the comment "We will leave no one behind" following the storm in the northeast. If the vote goes down as it SHOULD, he'd lose in a 50-state landslide...the damn GREEN party would receive more "popular" votes than this clown. But, people are stupid and won't pull their head out of their ass long enough to take a breath before voting for that a-hole....so while I'm quite certain he won't win, it'll still probably be close.

That boat video brings back fond memories of my high school years when I'd spend the summers working at a Boy Scout camp up in Wisconsin. One summer, I was giving a fellow camp councelor a ride across the lake in the little aluminum rowboat with a 6hp motor on it when a storm rolled in. We had been expecting a pretty big storm, but it never showed so the show must go on, right? Anyway, we made it about half way across (lake was just shy of 2 miles in diameter) when it hit hard. Lightning crashing down all around us....winds blowing hard enough to have some pretty large waves in that little lake and it was all I could do to keep the boat facing into the wind so the waves wouldn't flip us over. Turns out a tornado had touched down about 3 miles away. Good times...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BILAFuSi-i0

Then, just a couple days later, I was getting on the highway when Dozer let out a yelp. I REALLY wish I spoke dog, because if I had stopped right then & there, a roadside repair would have been quick & easy....but no, I went ahead & got on the highway and didn't make it 3 miles before I saw the temp gauge start climbing. Pull off on the shoulder and lift the hood....everything is wet. Look for the busted hose & found it. Tiny little 1/4" ID hose 6" long coming off the top of the water pump...but it was enough to shut me down for 2 hours while I tried tracking down phone numbers to auto parts stores to find one that would bring me out a hose and some water. Auto Zone came through for me...felt mighty important, too. District Manager was at the store and PERSONALLY delivered what I needed to me on the side of the road.

...some pics:

Yeah, so I was bored & playing with my food. Deal with it.

The only "bread" I have in my house is the crusts on the frozen pizzas in the freezer.

I'm not sure they'd be able to STOP me from going home...disaster declaration or not. If I had a wife and kids waiting for me at home and no way to know whether they were OK or not (i.e. phone lines are down/cell towers without power), anyone who tried to stop me had better be prepared to meet their maker. It should never be a matter of whether they "let" you go home. I fully understand their motives if their intent is to keep outsiders out...but the homeowner/resident has EVERY right to go home.

...kind of like a government regulator. If they aren't making changes to something, there is no justification for their job to even exist.

Why couldn't the person ordering the truck spec the interior color of his choice? Seems awful Henry Ford of 'em to only have one color choice....

I don't have to worry about a basement flooding. I don't have a basement.