Double Yellow's Company Driver to Independent Thread

They are only delicate if driven by someone that has had no training, or the mental aptitude to learn how to shift properly. The big fleets don't spec 13 speed trannies due to the slight increase in initial cost, and more importantly for them, the fact that they hire any monkey able to pass the cdl test. The ten speed is almost indestructible so they use them vs a better, but not quite as indestructible transmission.

 

I cut my teeth on a 13 in '77 and again in 2012. Most of my time with Swift was on 8's (9 with granny low), a 10, and once on a 13. The shift points on an 8 and the 13's I drove in low range made sense to me. I'm still trying to get the hang of the 10, mostly running on feel when off road. The concept of having five gears to get to 15 mph is an asset for offroading, which is why I'd also consider getting into an 18.

Enough of this discussion, back to the regularly scheduled programming for Double Yellow's adventure, with my apologies to DY.

 

Not much help now, but I've had excellent service using the Goodyear smart fleet program. Free to sign up, decent fixed pricing, but the service is where it's at. That call out would have been a few hundred less thru them. I won't argue that there's better tires on the market, but the service I've gotten more than makes up for it.

 

Not to beat a dead horse but if you had duels and limped to a tire dealer ......, etc .

 

DY...Really like the Posts as you detail things like they never have been done...Thanks...

Since you are in the middle of dealing with driving an older truck and waiting to see how your engine work and MPG come out on the back end, I think maybe it would be time to ask a what if question as your time behind the wheel and overall knowledge in crunching numbers in making money and MPG are assume.

Ok... here is your question. with what you know now, you are on your way thru LV and your pit stop you throw 50 dollars into a slot machine and hit a big one...Pays out, that you take home is 200K!!!...(I had to think of someway to put the money in your pocket and since you have a strong history in LV and gambling I made it up...LOL)... Ok, you can't tell me that your will buy more property and make more money on rents...

You have to use the money to Buy a Brand NEW Truck or Glider, your call. and your present truck and trailer have no value, so you are starting with nothing and need to buy the package and you don't want to finance if possible. (no buying 3 used trucks and putting 3 teams on the road to make more money)

1) what would you buy?
2) what extras would you modify it with.
3) Where would you run as you can now move out of CA. because there is no family hold-back, so now you choose your freight lanes to make the most money and your location is Ideal for family time also.
4) The wqy you are driving for MPG, what MPG would you be shooting for!
5) I would like to see one of your amazing spread sheets of how you would see yourself making the maximum money with limited headaches and placing yourself were now your home more and making great money.
6) I would like to see a 1 year protection of what your life as a trucker would look like and how you as a O/O are making money.

 

In this mythical made up scenario there is one other option worthy of consideration. Buy an older truck and make your own glider by repairing/replacing every single wear out item, buy a crate engine or do a total rebuild of the original. New tranny, New rears. Pull the cab and drop the suspensions supports to sand blast the frame. Replace the wiring harneses Basically you only use the frame and cab shell.
this can be done for about 60 percent of what a new glider cost.

 

Sounds like DY needs his own radio call in show! Very interesting thread to read.

 

Exactly and come out thousands of dollars ahead even if done over a 3 year time period.