Taking the plunge. My journey as an O/O.

Just cost me $125 2 days ago for fingerprints and background for twic.
Maybe haz is cheaper or it has gone up.

 

@Farmerbob1 you've been a little quiet on your thread, you must be laying down some miles?

 

Home time

 

Lots of fun 'extras' this home time. Laundry list of small repairs on the truck. mostly little things.

However, something else happened. My Otterbox phone protector for my Samsung S7 phone has been stretching out for quite some time now, and has recently not been very reliable in holding the phone in place.

Went to a couple generic stores to look for new S7 protective cases. All I found was garbage, so I went to the Verizon store.

The guy behind the counter got a new protective case that I liked and took the phone out of the old Otterbox.

That was when the excitement started. As soon as the protective case was removed, the battery immediately bloated up like a balloon and popped the phone's case open.


The amazing thing? The phone was still working perfectly. The counter guy pulled all my old data off it just fine.

The less-than-amazing thing? I got to buy a new phone with no notice. Even better, all the cables are different. The new phone uses a USB-C connector, instead of the older USB connections I had for the S7.

I thought about buying an out-of date old-tech phone, but decided I might as well get something modern so the next time I get a phone I won't be completely lost by all the changes.

So. Between what I paid for the data transfer and consultation (a few bucks) the accessories (more than a few bucks) the insurance (No way I am driving a truck without insurance on my phone) and the phone (OMFG it must be made of solid gold.) I had a lovely unexpected expense of right at $1100.

I will be reducing that cost somewhat though. Modern phone sales are retarded. It costs more to pay for one up front than to finance one. So I financed it, and will pay it off in full after the first monthly payment, saving a couple hundred dollars.

My Sim card was moved to the new phone and the unit was restored to factory status, but I certainly didn't want a hazardous battery in my truck, so the Verizon store got a fun example of a balloon battery to show to customers, if they think they can store it safely. I suggested a big Pyrex glass cooking pot.

 

I left my phone at a truck stop restaurant on accident didn't realize it until I was 300 miles away. Stop into the nearest Verizon, explain to them what happened and that I have insurance.

They explain that with the insurance a new phone gets mailed overnight to my home, it's not just given to me at the store.

Moral of the story, I no longer have insurance on my Verizon phone.

 

Just went to Verizon for girlfriends phone. iPhone 6. Wouldn’t hold a charge weak battery. Of course they want to sell us a $1000 phone. We say no, we want the same one we have. The girl looked at us like we were scum. I told the dumb broad we don’t need the latest and greatest. Wanted to say more but had to walk away.

It was insured so they overnight a phone. The replacement doing the same thing. Just going to Apple and get new battery for $79. Should have done that in the first place. I like their service but hate their business.

 

Well. Fun update time.

Took a week of home time. While on home time I provided a list of everything wrong with the truck that I could think of, as well as some preventive maintenance requests.

Due to the electrical fun I have had over the last few months, I requested that all chassis ground blocks be removed, cleaned, reseated. The truck blew a mainboard shortly before I bought it, then an ABS control module, and recently the inverter. I am confident the inverter is my fault, but the truck has over 500k miles, and there is some flaking paint on parts of the chassis, so it seemed like cleaning those ground blocks might be a healthy decision.

I also discovered that when the 'whole truck' disconnect switch is turned off, the inverter still has power. The dealer explained that this was normal. Wiring the truck to disconnect the inverter power from the same disconnect switch would require input at 200 dollars per hour from Freightliner engineers. Screw that. I had them install a second, fully manual, disconnect switch only for the inverter, right behind the 'whole truck' disconnect switch.

Espar heater service, B service, fixing a loose body panel, and running a new ground line for the inverter that was replaced a couple weeks ago. I also had them do a full DOT federal inspection, as I have to provide 2 per year as part of the truck loan agreement.

The DOT inspection confirmed a small dribble of a leak on the right front drive hub seal. Further inspection found that the leak had contaminated the right front drive brakes. The bearings were still fully lubricated, but the oil was getting a bit low.

This (now confirmed after 2 days driving) was likely the cause of the brake chatter I would get with moderate brake pressure. Oil on brake shoes. I am very fortunate I use Jakes heavily and avoid using brakes on downgrades, or I might have had a fire.

The oily brake shoes apparently also generated abnormal wear on the brake drum, as it was slightly out of round. Replacement was suggested, as machining it back to round would make it too thin.

The other side brake drum seemed fine, but it was getting close to replacement as well.

So I had both drums, both shoes, and one hub seal replaced.

Total cost for all the maintenance, repairs, and the custom disconnect... $4400. $1600 of that being hub and brake work.

Did I mention the 1100 dollar phone & accessories expense when my old phone went from useful tool to potential fire hazard in ten seconds?

On top of that, 6 total days in hotels. @ 500 total.

Two days with family, rental car, eating out and buying meals. Another $500.

Paid my estimated taxes as well. 3200.

So, last week, @ $9700 fled my bank account like ####roaches from under a flipped rock.

The tax money is no big deal, I had it set aside. The home time expenses were also expected.

The phone and brake/hub service made an uncomfortable week even worse.

Right now, I am down to about $5k in the bank and $10k in available credit.

The repair and maintenance bills over the next couple months will need to be relatively inexpensive, or I am going to have to accelerate plans to move to Schneider.

EDIT: available funds mentioned above do not include the @10k set aside in the 'maintenance account's that I pay 15 CPM into, but have never touched. Will be using that to pay the truck off early. Or for a real emergency repair.

 

You sure enjoy giving your hard earned money away. $700 seal, brake job, turned into $1600. Plus $2800 for a switch and a cable. And Clean glowplug on espar. Simple things like that, and cleaning the grounds, could have been taken care of in 1 of the days off. You haven’t really had a major problem yet. That’s when all h### breaks loose. Being short on cash for a real repair. I’m not saying to neglect maintenance, but just quit looking for ways to spend money. You can’t buy peace of mind. Keep what You have left, for important things in the future. Having the reserves, that’s peace of mind. You can’t keep spending like this on repairs, and expect to make any money, when it’s all said and done. Every little bit adds up. Your margins are thin. Miles must be ran, just to survive. Makes doing the small stuff yourself that much harder. It’s a balancing act, yes.But easier than all the work You did to earn what You paid the Shop. You basically worked all month for free. Spending all your net income on repairs and expenses.Sounds like the Shop on the other hand, is doing pretty good, Highway Robbery ( Literally)

 

@Farmerbob1 , just how much have you spent on maintenance costs since you bought the truck?