Double Yellow's Company Driver to Independent Thread

It is a 10 speed direct with 2.64s. 55 is ~1250rpm in 10th, 58 is ~1325.

9th is ~1700 at 55, which kinda makes 55mph awkward when on hills. Have to ease down to ~50mph then make a lazy downshift to catch 9th at 1450. Best mileage that way, but not very sporty...

Previous owner ran 62mph (1400rpm) and mostly got 6.8-7.3mpg. I'm mostly getting 7.5-8.5

Yeah, but it is a POS. I haven't gotten a solid 8 hours out of it before it breaks something and after $2,000 in initial repairs I just gave up on it -- I don't spend that much a year on idling...

So it is now a 450 lb emergency battery charger. I may fool with it again in the spring, but I'm leaning toward taking it off altogether. Aside from the weight savings, I could also move my fuel tanks all the way back up against the drives which should let me move the 5th wheel forward 2 notches and help close that big air gap I have.

The apu is plumbed independently of the engine so it offers no block-heating anyway...

 

Hopefully it doesn't need much. It is leaking coolant in the vicinity of the brand new water pump (which is where it was leaking when the shop ordered the brand new water pump). I haven't investigated further because I was sick of it and it was fall where I wouldn't use it anyway. Since it doesn't heat the engine, I don't have much use for it in the winter either. So I'll take a fresh look at it in the spring and hope it isn't a cracked head/block...

I blame Rollin Coal. Before he opened my eyes to the world of "name your price" freight, I rarely encountered shippers that had strict age limits on trailers. Now it seems I'm running into 10 year age limits weekly...

Why new? Because that seems to offer the best long-term value. A new trailer is $28k. A 2 year old trailer is $25k. A 5 year old trailer is $19k. A 9-year old trailer is $12k. A 10+ year old trailer is $9k or less.

New trailer depreciates $1780/year, costs the least to maintain, & usually comes with skirts and decent rr tires.

2 year old trailer depreciates $1860/year

5 year old trailer depreciates $1750/year

9 year old trailer depreciates $3000/year

5 year old trailer looks like the best deal, but it barely costs less than a new trailer with new tires, brakes, doors, door seals, & probably side skirts...

Well that run from Columbus to Buffalo was Christmas overflow work for Amazon Prime. People pay more for Amazon Prime to get their packages faster, & service is critical to Amazon. Price is not very important so they're willing to pay $4+/mile for a reliable carrier -- if they have to. They actually would have paid more for a 1-time run, but I booked 3 of those loads for that week. Most of the guys in the docks next to me were getting $2.50-$2.80 and happy about it... When that week was over I inquired about continuing, but they'd got a big fleet to cover it for the rest of the month.

As for the expedited part, you would show up about 10pm, get loaded within 30-60 minutes, & then drive 6 hours straight to the destination for your 5am appointment... The packages would be delivered to customers that day.


More regularly for me is plain ol non-expedited freight that is now at or past its pickup deadline. Mega broker probably had 100 loads to move for this shipper, but now, usually around 3pm, there are 1 or 2 remaining loads that haven't been covered. If you don't care where you are going, providing capacity to these brokers in a bind can be lucrative.

The broker wants to keep his multi-million dollar account happy, and he's already made a nice sum from the 98 loads booked with cheap carriers, so he's willing to take a loss on the last load or two. Name your price and get there fast...

 

My truck's artic insulation (seemingly the only option the original buyer checked), my blankets & my down comforter keep me warm down into the single digits. Below that and I'd just as soon keep the truck running so I know it'll be ready to hit the road when I am.

I have looked a little at southern freight, but it doesn't seem to be paying as well as the midwest. I presume a lot of folks would like to stay near i10 until spring and are willing to compromise on rate to do it.

I've actually found cold weather makes for better negotiating. I'll be bundled in bed when I get a call about a potential load. I won't want to leave the comfort of my bunk so I give what I call a #### you quote. If they meet my obscene price, it is worth getting out of bed; if they don't I get to stay warm a bit longer. Win Win...