"That kid that don't know nothin'"

From my chemical hauling days. Keep different size zip ties handy. In the event of a loose cam lock, with the lock ‘open’, slide the zip tie through and then close the cam lock.

 

Had a good day friday. Two loads, no problems and I got paid. I can't say I had too many issues, the unloader transfer station manager tried to chew me out for showing up for showing up at 4pm, when they close at 5pm. But otherwise, no issues.

Water temp gauge still says its running hot, but I don't know. It ran fine all day and I checked the hose @x1Heavy pointed out and found no burn spots or issues. Irregardless, i'm gonna work on the fan belts today, hopefully.

I wound up running some heavy hauls today because the driver that was 'spose to, is awol. So i'm running the big Pete and the lowboy. Never did much lowboy work, but I'm not worried. It's hourly pay today and i'll probably be at it til' dark.

This pete is mean. Far bigger of a truck than I expected. I've never driven a pete. But I can't say it's difficult after the western star. Definitely a truck to respect but it's so fun. I don't have to babysit the gears or throttle. It's got the power it needs and rides smooth.

I'll attach a picture of it. I doubt it'll be my pneumatic truck, i'm taking a liking to the western star. As screwed up as it is, it's not governed(pete is at 72.), it'll pass those fools on the turnpike and gives me that fuzzy feeling when Jerry Reed's East bound and Down starts playing. I wouldn't mind daily driving this pete though.

I gotta run to OKC to get the fan motor and a haircut. I'll probably get that done tomorrow. Got a lot of work to do tomorrow to get ready for monday.

Couple weeks of these steady pneumatic paychecks and we'll be rolling smooth. I've been looking at catalogs for new bumpers and lights. Also gonna get a quote for a paintjob. If the prices are managable, i'll talk to my boss about selling it to me. The only issue with the truck is that it'll need a new engine. Which is a big issue lol, but i'm sure if i'm wise with my money, I can save up enough to have it before I know it. Especially if he's actually crazy enough to sell it to me.

 

I love this thread so very much.

After my dry van company I leased on with lost a contract that paid well and got me home daily, I struggled hard for 6 months.

Then said screw it, bought everything I needed for flatbed and rented a trailer. Got to my first shipper for the first time with all this new flatbed equipment I have no idea how to use. As I'm waiting to be loaded another flatbed trucks pulls beside me and the driver walks over to me. He says it's his first load with flatbed so if he messes up please let me know. I told him it was my first load too and we laughed and laughed.

Good times.

 

If you think first load is interesting wait until you show up at a shipper with no people except a suit who is in the tower doing accounting. But has the authority to sign BOL loaded shipper load and count. He got to drive the forklift and crane to load me that night.

All he wanted from me is to say where on that deck should I put your stuff, once we verified the actual metal that has to be on my deck that night. Waiting for people in the workforce to come back or show up was not a option.

So it was a first for me and a first for him. It was not pretty and very arkward but in the end that load rolled out of there.

Makes me consider that 535 blind mice.. er men can run Congress when they have to choose which word to use, Yes or No when voting.

 

Indeed. Hitting an ear with a hammer is a real good way to break an ear.

Push the ear with your hand, and use your other hand to hammer the hose directly behind the fitting flange on the opposite side. If you're pushing the ear at 3 o'clock, hammer the hose at 9 o'clock.

Also, carry a hacksaw, hose clamps, a 5/16" nut driver, and a razor knife. If you blow a hose, you can cut it off just upstream of the hole and reattach the fitting using the hose clamps. Or if you notice a bubble, use the hose clamps to hold an old piece of hose over the bubble.

 

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Three product valves open, 15 psi. Hammering down to get a good start to my second week.

Got the a/c fixed last night. Gonna need a new compressor for it to be at best, but cold is cold. I slept good last night, and boy I needed it. Got told to load up at 11pm last night in Ada, then I had to be in OKC by 7. I figured i'd get the 1 hr 20 min drive over and sleep near the job. That worked out just fine.

Didn't really want to wake up this morning, apparently neither did the road const crew lol. Noone got out here til' 7:30. No skin off my back. I had a muffin.

Ended up dropping half of it in the dirt, so i'm still not sure how to feel about that. Anyway, 3 hoppers down in 30 mins. Now I wait to hear the plan for the rest of the day.

Should get my new tires and compressor tonight. Some steel is showing on one of the drive tires so that sped up my boss' decision on those.

The overheating problem is somewhat fixed! We tightened up the fan belt and some other stuff. Boss still wants to mess with some other potential problems causing it, but all in all it's running 60 degrees cooler at max load.

Though, he suggested running it into a ditch somewhere next week.

I'm having fun though. Gonna throw some injector cleaner in sometime this week to hopefully help the engine run smoother. But it's a million mile oilfield engine. It's getting ready to go anyway.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I was running heavy hauls til' 9 on saturday, but took advantage of some fishing yesterday. It's been a great week and I hope this week is just as good.

 

I wish I had your gumption sir

Oh to be young again....

 

Those bin trucks, it takes both of them to take your whole trailer maybe?

 

Found out today that Flying J will give me a free shower if I get 50 gallons. This is a far better deal than where I previously filled up, the ez-go on the turnpike. I'd only stop there because the pink-haired cashier calls me 'hun' and thats enough to justify child support in my mind.

Got a transfer load thankfully, so my day isn't prematurely ending. Truck is having its heating issues again, but not as bad as last time.

I'm quite ready to see my paycheck friday. It'll kickstart the weekly checks and if they're half as big as i've figured up, i'll still make double what I was making previously(flatbed scrap metal).

I've been burned quite enough to know that there is always a catch or something that flares up to hinder pay. The bosses always get their dollar. But if I can keep up this 8-10 loads per week until December, i'll be able to take a good chunk of the month off and find some land.

I'm currently looking at a nice r/v for about $2000. It's not new by any means, but it beats putting a 9 hr drive on my car to Corpus Christi when I wanna go home.

It took a few harsh lessons to build my work ethic. Im thankful they came at me quick. I've been on my own since 17, so i've always had my own bills and my own reasons to work, but it took a big wake up call last month to light a fire under my butt. Three weeks with no work and $800 in rent coming up. I had to borrow the money from a friend, and that made me feel so low and down that i've been busting my butt to be rolling.

It comes at a crucial time for my boss aswell, almost losing his trucks to the banker because all his former drivers are crackheads that can't schedule very well. Always late, sleeping too long/not sleeping at all, constant "family issues" arising after payday. He got tired of it and fired them all. So enter me, a clean gung-ho kid that just wants to make money and start my own biz. We're working off of each others strengths and I forsee great things in the future.

The only deciding factor is friday...

 

I sure hope it all works out the way you hope it does. It sounds like you may have found a gig that fits you pretty well, based on what you've shared. And that goes a long way. Once you find a deal that you really like, you never work a day in your life, or so I'm told.

I enjoy what I do, and I do it well. I don't consider my job to be work anymore. It's just what I do. And I'm happy. Is everyday great? No. But at the end of the week, I have the ability to completely forget about my job.

As I write this, I'm watching the waves in Rodanthe,NC. Life is good!