other dog

just don't park beside me in the truckstop and crank up when i'm sleeping-they're scary when you're not expecting it.

...you young whippersnappers just stay offa my lawn...

I've tried dealing with those guys - they're tough! Well,they say it's all in who you know-maybe I can put in a good word for you.Or here's another possibility. http://www.bobthebuilder.com/usa/intro.html

be sure to get yourself some good shoes with soft soles.not good for a lot of milage,but comfortable to stand on for long periods of time,like nurses wear.

I had seen that truck before and tried to get a picture,but right when I got there another truck passed me and blocked my view,so the last time I went by there I slowed down so everybody could pass and took the picture out of the window and it came out pretty good. When I take "drive by" pictures I just hold the ol' 35mm up to the window and press the button,sometimes I get what i'm shooting for,sometimes I don't,but after I saw it that first time I was prepared the next time.

I have a 24 x 24 space for rent,soon as I clean out a spot...that's inches by the way,not feets.

I've tried dealing with those guys - they're tough! Well,they say it's all in who you know-maybe I can put in a good word for you.

yeah! never made the connection before,that's it though!

let me know your schedule,I was gonna call you,but I didn't know if you were working. Got the last 2 "Cannonball" episodes taped,putting other stuff with it to finish out the tape-you should like it.

...or maybe they're thinking that great big rabbit would be very tasty in a pot with some carrots and onions,like Elmer Fudd with Bugs Bunny. lol..we thought they would freak out, but they done fine. Parker left the easter bunny a big smelly surprise in his diaper though while this picture was being taken. Jobyna said "way to go Parker"

Hey Paul,sounds like you got it going your way. One little thing,if you're thinking of building your own building you might check with Van Scott Builders-they're somewhere in your area,and from everything i've ever heard they'd be some fine people to deal with and would probably treat you right. Just a thought... Tom

Went to Petersburg and picked up a load of beams Monday after I unloaded in Vinton,Va. Delivered them in Bethlehem,Pa. Tuesday morning and then went to Sparrows Point,Md. and loaded one single coil for Salem,Va. that weighed about 47,000 lbs.Then I loaded kyanite for Avon,Oh. and went from Avon to Pittsburgh and loaded 2 coils at Galv-Tech going to Lynchburg.Unloaded there Friday morning and went to Dillwyn and loaded kyanite for Donora,Pa. to deliver Monday morning-only 6 pallets,about 22,000 lbs .I was supposed to go to Zelienople,but they changed it when I got to Dillwyn.... (yawn)...geez,...so what? This is so boring (but I like it when nothing out of the ordinary happens) i'll add some pictures of my recent travels for entertainment purposes-A Super Liner dump truck,an old Ford I saw on rt. 460 near Disputanta,Va, a Mack going down the highway backwards as fast as I was going forward (...gee,hope it wasn't behind a wrecker...),traffic back-up on I-81 just north of Roanoke because of an accident, a big Mack truck in Montvale,Va, and what else? oh,I remember,a sharp looking Peterbilt at the truckstop in Newcomerstown,Oh. And a b-61 at the KW lot in Youngstown,Ohio out of the Truck Paper.Don't see them on a dealers lot much anymore.

...or maybe they're thinking that great big rabbit would be very tasty in a pot with some carrots and onions,like Elmer Fudd with Bugs Bunny.

I'm starting over- I typed a long reply-yes,with one finger-and lost my satellite signal . Now,where was I ? Oh,i'd drive a cabover,but I might clean the ditches out 'til I got used to it again.Probably couldn't keep it in the road for a while. The new trucks have 18 speeds in them,like we run now.I think they can be turned up to 565 hp,but i'm not sure about that. Todd bought Redneck a new 389 last year and it had a 550hp isx. That's what I thought they were getting in these 386s. Redneck could outpull my 550 cat like I was tied to a stump,but that was before Jeff had mine fixed...might be a different story now! Don't get me wrong,I don't drive fast at all-like I did in my younger day-but that's another advantage of a little more horsepower,you don't have to "sweep the bottom" of a hill to get up the other side. I can go up I-77 in Ohio from Marietta to Strasburg and never do more than "flip the button" with 46,000 lbs. on. Saves fuel too,very important nowadays. Like I said,my truck doesn't burn any more fuel now than it did before,but it's much more pleasant to drive.Used to be almost embarassing,great big 'ol Peterbilt in the right lane getting passed by every Swift and J.B.Hunt truck on the highway! I looked in Frankie's truck last week and the cab and sleeper is just like mine,just the front-end and hood is different. As far as turning them up goes,you can get a caterpillar turned up real cheap when it's been in service for 2 years,but it costs about $1,000 to do it before then. Not sure why,maybe warranty issues.That's why Jeff waited to get mine turned up.Billy-Bob drives his other truck and that came off the lot already a 550.I don't know what kind of policy Cummins has,but it's probably something similar,or maybe they go by milage. Just gotta "run what you got" 'til you can get it "biggerized" i guess.

Absolutely!

Yeah,they can be turned up to 565 hp I think just by resetting the computer. My truck doesn't use any more fuel since it was turned up to 550 hp from 475. I drove several t-800 KWs and a couple of 9400 Internationals with sloped noses and set-back front axles for H.H.Moore and liked them all right. They turn shorter and you can see really well out of them.

went to Avon...then to Sharon,Pa. Brought 2 coils back to Lynchburg. Talked to Frankie at Handy-he got out of a Western Star with a 550 cat into one of the new 386 Petes they just got,and he was not impressed. He didn't like the slower speed,lower h.p.(485 cummins isx),and mainly the way it rides. They look good though! He said it bounced like a cabover with the set-back front axle. I'd just be whining and crying about the lower horsepower if it was me,and Jeff already has one ordered. It's supposed to be in in October. I'm happy as a monkey on a 'nana boat with my 550 now that it's running right. Just running south or the rathole of the northeast,like a lot of the guys do, it wouldn't make much difference,but running Ohio and western Pa. like I do most of the time that extra power is really nice to have.Especially loaded heavy both ways,usually 45,000+. Then I was off to Zelienople,Pa. with a load of kyanite and went over to Malta,Oh. and picked up a load of small cement mixers and miscelaneous equipment that went with them to deliver in Vinton,Va. Monday. This was a pretty light load,but there's no good way to get to Malta,Oh. from anywhere,and it was very tight getting to the place where I loaded.Still haven't gotten the dump valve replaced on the trailer.

MULLYGRUBS AIN'T CONTAGIOUS IS IT?

Just don't get one of those ropes with a lot of stretch-I don't want to be like "Tater" in the old Jerry Clower joke "Tater and the Moped",when Tater gets his suspenders hung on the mirror of the Cadillac.

All good points. It's hard to find 2 drivers who agree on anything,much less 10.I hear drivers blaming George Bush for the high price of fuel all the time,but he has nothing to do with it. Things might have started going downhill when the Democrats took control of congress 2 years ago.OPEC controls the price of oil and if the U.S. bought no oil from them China,India,or somebody else would get that much more from them,so i'm pretty sure they couldn't care less if we buy oil from them or not. I don't think most people realize that the trucking industry is the backbone of our economy,and farmers need a lot of fuel to raise crops too,and we need some kind of help with fuel prices because if the trucks stop-everything stops. And if farmers don't have fuel for their tractors and equipment to plow,till,fertilize,harvest-what then? That's my opinion,but I don't have any answers...and like James and Mackdog said I don't think a strike will do any good now. I just don't know...don't know.

well said

Sorry to hear about your accident ,and your truck getting totaled,but thank God you weren't seriously hurt. You'll probably be sore for a while though. I could go on and on about the crazy drivers I see every day and the stupid chances they take,especially the young ones-don't they learn anything in drivers-ed anymore? And all for a pizza?!!...but i'm not gonna say anything because I don't want to sound like an old fogey. On second thought-I am an old fogey,people drive like complete idiots everywhere I go. Like a car waiting to pull out,let 200 cars go by and pull out in front of the truck,even if there's nobody behind you you for a mile,they'll pull out in front of the truck,every time.

excellent Joe!..sounds like something I would've said!

Thanks Paul

It's about time to leave for Avon,Ohio. Could've left yesterday,but I got up at 4am to go to Chesapeake to unload,went by Kyanite Mining on the way back to load,and got back to the shop to get fuel at 4:45. I'd already ran about 450 miles or so and put in a pretty long day,so I just parked at the truckstop and came home since I only had a couple more hours available to work. I don't usually do that,but I was tired all day yesterday for some reason,probably because I went to bed about 8 o'clock Sunday night so I could get up early. I woke up figuring it was time to go but it was only 12:01am so I went back to sleep,only to wake up at 1am,2am,3am then 4 when I got up,as tired as if I'd never been to bed at all.I should have left Sunday evening and went on to Chesapeake but I didn't want to leave on Easter Sunday. Maybe I can make it all the way to Avon today.