Coming to orientation Aug 13th...

Hey Spiritwolf, you out there buddy?

 

Ok. Long time no updates, and when I tried to, I cant figure out my loggin info. So yeah, im still here. And this is my new name. Still running along, nearly bankrupt. I took way to much time off last year for personal reasons such as the previously mentioned relationship problem, as well as a sewage flood that nearly destroyed my house. And a warranty issue that shut the truck down for almost 2 months.. Running as hard as I can now, but I swear it seams every time I get caught up, and start to get ahead, something goes wrong.
Just had to backtrack 220 miles under load to hit a dealership when my truck derated for some reason. Dont know why, but hopefully the dealer will have me running quick tomorrow. Also tried to be a good citizen last July and stopped at an accident. Now the DA wants to press DUI charges against the driver, and has subpoenaed me to standby as a witness...for an entire week... yeah...thats going to hurt... ::Sigh::
Side note... The "$3800" monthly truck payment jumped to $4200 when fees, taxes, and small print were taken into consideration. OUCH... yes, it IS doable.....but... I would NOT take such a high payment again.

Driving wise, I have been mostly running the I5 corridor from Fontana to Lakewood and back. averaging about 10k miles a month. Its keeping me/family fed, and the truck paid for, but not by much. I have been running this route since I can swing through home in Sacramento every few days to continue my efforts to patch up my personal life. (which seams to be working).

Not entirely sure how much longer I will be running for Watkins. Not because of any problems with the company, but since Im aiming to move to Houston Texas in June. They dont have a terminal anywhere nearby, so i will probably move to a company thats based closer to my new home. I have been exploring my options, but havent made any binding decisions yet.

Anyway, thats my update for now.

 

Good to hear you're still kicking. Saw a big house grey Volvo the other week pulling a W/S trailer, was that your truck?

 

Grey 780 with Black W/S Logo, A Husky in the passenger seat, and the driver sporting a beard?
Yep. Thats me.
"officially" the truck is silver....but... Its been a while since her last bath, so its now more grey.
Yes...I know I need to take better care of my truck.....at least the visual aspect.. The mechanical I keep up on, but the exterior cleaning has kinda slipped. Honestly, i no longer have the desire to deal with it. I dont much care for trucking anymore, and the "pride" I had in trucking is gone due to personal issues it caused. Im still in it, so I will do the best job I can, but the little extra efforts like truck washing have kinda fallen by the wayside.
Nowadays when I have that extra bit of money that could be used to wash the truck, I spend it on my family, or it goes into savings for our planned move. I plan to deal with some of the pressing visual issues very soon though. Like the missing plastic lug nut covers on the right front, and the rear wheel hub covers that are somehow rusting.
Im well aware that im probably going to be OTR in this truck for at least another 3 or 4 years... So I do keep up the maintenance side 100%
Welp... Dealer tells me its a wire that broke, and is somehow not covered under warranty... $600....and 5 days wasted... not mentioning the 450 "wasted" miles on saturday when I had to backtrack 220ish miles. ::sigh::
Just goes to show, even a "new" truck aint always problem free. Yeah, shes still a baby with only 113k miles, because i took so much time off last year.
Anyway. Time to get laundry finished, and get a bit of sleep before rolling north tomorrow.

 

Those Volvos seem to love giving you trouble. Atleast this truck doesn't seem to be as bad as the Ashley one you bought. See ya around the PNW while you're still with W/S. Safe Travels.