From the conference room back to the driver's seat

So I found a pic of the headache rack.

20150623_132528 by sawmill posted Jan 27, 2016 at 5:32 PM

20151223_160257 by sawmill posted Jan 27, 2016 at 5:32 PM

First one didn't have the airlines on yet, second one from further away.
Second shot is from within the shop I pay a little rent to use. Where I live the idea of working on anything outside is only feasible for about 4 months of the year. A friend of mine bought this shop and I can see it from my back porch. I had originally met this guy when he hauled for me at former job.. Always treated him fair and now he lets me take up space at his shop. Moral of the story is be nice to those you meet, paths can cross in funny ways later on.

 

I seem to remember someone asking awhile back about a grille gaurd. Mine came with the truck, pretty sure it was built and installed when Aulick Leasing owned it.

20160102_093552 by sawmill posted Jan 27, 2016 at 5:32 PM

I was told that this truck was used to pull doubles loaded with sugar beets out of the field. I'm sure it was not the easiest time in my truck's life. Anyhow the flat part of the bumper is 1' thick steel.

 

Now here's what it looks like after painting the hood. I did not realize how faded the rest of the truck was until I got to see the fresh paint on the hood.

20150626_071605 by sawmill posted Jan 27, 2016 at 5:32 PM

Now stop laughing at my mailbox. I'm tryin' to make it look like a truck.

 

Well someone smarter than me will have to explain how to make the pics visible. I don't know.

 

So I spent quite a bit getting up and going. I'll break it down as best I can recall.

Starting with the truck and $40K.

$300- paint
$2900- Headache rack, straps, chains, bungees, air lines, spare fittings
$670- fridge and 30-30 brake chamber
$850- Parts, bolts, misc. stuff I didn't plan on
$140- check valve for engine
$130- initial Landstar inspections
$3675- new tires on truck (all 10)
$250- dunnage and material for homemade vee boards
$550- 2290 tax
$850- new tarps with 6' drops
$530- travel and meals to go to orientation
$380- more small parts, electrical stuff, and things I didn't plan on.
$5000- down payment on trailer
$425- license plates for trailer
$200 travel to Denver to get to the truck
$700- expenses for three weeks while getting the truck ready.

So roughly $17,550.00 in the first three weeks and haven't turned a wheel yet. At this point I decided to get Quickbooks. Initially I thought how simple and almost pointless it looked, but come tax time it will help sort all this out.

 

So by the time I get the truck ready I am ready to go...anywhere. I had given notice on June 8th. Given the position I had they asked me to stay for 4 to 6 months. I had already been in for my pre-employment drug test for LS and was only waiting for them to confirm my last day with the job so they could tell me when to be at orientation. I hated to leave them hanging, but I told them I could not stay any longer than the 23rd. Once it became clear that I was going a successor was chosen pretty quickly and I was able to stop showing up for work by the 19th. I went to orientation on the 30th of June. In the middle of all this I am still chasing parts, working on the truck, traveling and trying not to leave the guys at former job with too many unanswered questions. If they didn't know what I did when I was there they sure figured it out when I wasn't doing it anymore.

The three weeks of playing mechanic flew by, but when it was over I was realizing I was much fatter and older than the last time I did that kind of work. Sitting at a desk was bad for my health.

I will say that the pre employment drug test was weird. They had me go to a hospital in Greeley, CO. Downtown Greeley. Old, little streets. Where there is NO truck parking. Obviously the same place current BCOs would go. I had to park at the front steps of the high school and walk four blocks. I wonder how they manage this when it's not summer break?