Took the step to IC. Thanks everyone for all the advice and info.

Right now I'm sitting here in Lewiston, ID waiting on a light paper load, (really), to Ontario, CA. Not the best rate into LA but I'm booked out to the 30th with pretty good stuff after that. I used to drive for Schneider for a few years way back in the 90's and recently returned to the road. After a short stint as a company driver my wife found this forum, (thank you Nancy Jo!). I started reading the IC threads and the rest as they say is history. I've been a long-time lurker and have gleamed so much valuable info while monitoring the threads on this site. I'd like to thank all of those posters for your contributions in addition to all the IC's in the field that took the time to answer my many, many, many questions. Mary and John thank you for the literal hours we spent talking in Fontana a few months back. That in-depth look into the IC world was very much appreciated. Also the other John on his third lease thank you too sir. Now I'm not sure who SFI - Jolene put me in contact with on the phone while I was still a company driver but we discussed the merits of the tri-pac, (actually you're upgrading from the battery unit after the fact), and I'm so glad I went that route. Much appreciated as I've been resetting every week so far (I know) and it's supplied all the cooling and electric I needed without the expense of idling. Had the inverter added to the unit as well and will be installing a few hard-wired outlets when I get around to going in for time off. Love using 110v stuff, it'll be almost like home.



Speaking of which I've been out a few weeks now and the learning curve has been fairly steep! However I'm already getting pretty darn comfortable scheduling out for a few loads or so. Did dodge some bullets coming to grips with planning time vs real world time. From "trailer exceptions" (arghhh!) to "No it's not preloaded" and being the victim of the dreaded cooler live load in Texas that I believe was previously mentioned on this forum. Throw in a "Load #xxxx has been withdrawn" and my IC education is coming along just fine. Sigh... Seriously though for the most part it looks like it's going to be one heck of an adventure. Initially I was kinda worried about making the payments however I already see that is very doable. Even with the truck payment, maintenance account contribution and every insurance offered I'm still making what I consider to be an excellent income. I admit there is room to improve ie running smarter too. It's a work in progress but for anyone considering taking the leap..... it really can be done.

The pic below is me with "Precious", a 2015 Cascadia, in the show room at Green Bay. Fairly plain with the exception of the tri-pac. I don't have the spec sheet in front of me but I believe the gears are a bit taller than the company Cascadia I drove. IIRC it sits right around 1350 while running at 65mph. I did stay at around 72mph across Wyoming from US 287 west to the border just to see what it would do to the fuel mileage. Don't recall the prior load but running that speed for a few hundred miles it still averaged over 7 mpg with around 30k in the trailer. All-in-all out of the gate with a mix of loads and terrain it's in the 7+ to 8+ mpg range. I heard new trucks didn't get decent mileage until they were "broke in" at around 100k miles so that was a very pleasant surprise.




Forgot.... I eat out of the truck 99% of the time on the road. In addition to the canned goods, cereal, etc a good fridge / freezer is essential. I found the ARB brand to be holding up very well. I guess it's popular with the Australian outback campers for it's ruggedness and ultra low 12v draw however it can use 110v too. Anyways here is mine partially filled while getting ready to hit the road from GB. The stuff on the edges will stay frozen and you just have to monitor the inside items. I go ahead and let the veggies freeze though. Generally spend around $135 - $150 on groceries and that lasts 3-4 weeks out with stuff left over. Dinner is typically chicken with potatoes, (I buy a ten pound bag), and assorted vegetables. Another popular item is chili dogs. I use those Hebrew National dogs, roasted, in buns, covered with some beanless chili. The only cooker I use is that RoadPro lunch pail 12v cooker you find at most any truck stop. Frozen chicken and veggies take two hours cooking and one hour just sitting. I guess one could also just turn down the fridge and use it as a freezer paired up with a micowave but I like the home cooked feel. Anyways that's all I got right now. Thanks again to everyone and I'll be here off and on. Drive safe.

 

Thank you! The fridge is spendy. Around $850 but it is a compressor type of unit, coming up on a year of use and it works great. Pretty heavy though so once in the truck you'll probably want to leave it there and just clean it out during home time. If I did it again I would buy the larger model with separate fridge / freezer sections. That ran around $1100 and was a bit too much for me at the time.

 

Well sitting in beautiful Tremonton, UT resetting again. Gives me time to keep truck really clean, catch up on these forums, etc. Already have my next 67 hours booked and it's looking good. Anyways here's a tip for those that like more storage: The pic shows the top bunk of my Freightliner with my storage bins. They are all from Home Depot. The two on the ends are the 37gal size and the bins in the middle are the 18gal ones. The cargo net, when fully extended, holds the two center bins in place like it was made for it. With those two secure the end bins aren't going anywhere. Hope someone finds that useful.

 

For anyone that see's my truck please feel free to stop by and say hi. Just put my wife's name on it (pictured) for Mothers Day so it's easy to spot...