Motor Carrier EC's Going For It

[Electric Chicken]

When I say there's "always something" it's reliable 99% of the time but then when I need it to come in clutch it's derp.

The more I do to it the better it gets, but I don't want to go out and buy a bunch of cheap Chinese parts to fix it proactively. I'd rather have something else to drive so I can search out OEM wherever possible. I get a lot of NOS off eBay.

But I have to find it then wait for it to arrive.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Was originally set to pick up from Richmond again but they canceled. I got a pick out of the delivery customer though. Not that it makes up all the money I would have made but it helps a little.

Definitely glad I didn't run the Richmond last night. I'd have been dealing with after hours support for that debacle.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Wreck ahead. Looked like a gnarly backup. Pulled into a rest area to heat up one of Mom's meals and see if I can wait it out. Not much else going on.

 

[Electric Chicken]

First time I ever noticed a cab sitting on coilovers or springs.

 

[389 Hood]

I remember the International daycabs that has a leaf spring on the back of the cab. No shocks that I remember. That must have been a horrible ride.

The pic looks like a Volvo set up.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I remember the International daycabs that has a leaf spring on the back of the cab. No shocks that I remember. That must have been a horrible ride.

The pic looks like a Volvo set up.

Yeah that's a Volvo. Funny thing is I see that truck all the time but only just noticed that setup.

 

[Electric Chicken]

It also has a torque rod.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Told my dispatcher/terminal manager (she lives around here and I see her face to face on occasion so there's some accountability) that I'm open to try almost anything and everything again. The truck is that comfortable and cozy if I have to stay in it.

We're gonna get slow so you can't always just do the gravy runs. Some of it ain't spot market exactly but it's not huge conglomerate type stuff so it's a little bit random. You might be in a dock for a little bit or it might be less than ideal getting there.

I'm liking this truck so much that I'm cool with whatever.

I told her I'd even go to Baltimore and Delaware. But I won't touch the port. Just customers in that area.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Oh yeah and waiting out that wreck was perfect. It was showing as a 38 minute delay on my traffic GPS and I took about 40 minutes and there was no delay after I got going again.

Got home at about the same time I would have if I sat in traffic and crawled.

I freaking love this thing. Like seriously. It's awesome. I'm still so stupidly giddy about having it.

10-ish years of day cabs make me super appreciative of what it is.

 

[Rigjockey]

I don't think I have ever seen a cab/bunk on springs.
TBH I haven't ever been looking, I thought they were all on airbags.

 

[389 Hood]

You know Volvo has to be different, right?

 

[Electric Chicken]

I don't think I have ever seen a cab/bunk on springs.
TBH I haven't ever been looking, I thought they were all on airbags.

I always figured it's air bags or rubber blocks. Never thought anyone would use springs.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Today I learned 66PSI equals 35,400lbs on my drive axle.

 

[389 Hood]

As long as you are under gross, you're good.
Nice that you have suspension gauges.

 

[AK7]

Today I learned 66PSI equals 35,400lbs on my drive axle.

Did a nice trooper tell you this?

 

[Shreck]

As long as you are under gross, you're good.
Nice that you have suspension gauges.

Not in Pennsylvania.

 

[389 Hood]

Not in Pennsylvania.

Communist, huh? These silly weight laws need to be equal across the board. Here, as long as you aren't over gross, you can run 44k on the trailer OR the drives. Rarely will they let you off if you are over 12k on the steers without the proper wheels and tires.

 

[Electric Chicken]

As long as you are under gross, you're good.
Nice that you have suspension gauges.

I wasn't.

 

[Electric Chicken]

By my calculations someone loaded 46k in that box and claimed on the BOL that it's less than 38k.

 

[Duck]

By my calculations someone loaded 46k in that box and claimed on the BOL that it's less than 38k.

The heaviest truck I've ever driven was an overloaded Van Wyk Volvo or KW T-660 (I don't remember) that I took from Chicago to the big Menards DC a few miles east of Omaha. Listening to the engine moaning out it's one note song, yada yada, etc

It was a load of shingles I picked up.

Not only was it way over gross, they loaded it in two separate groups of pallets with nothing in the middle because they were used to loading flatbeds with a frame. No idea why they agreed to load a reefer. No idea why I decided to pull it. I guess I figured, well if I don't use the brakes, I'll be fine.

I scaled it somewhere and my gross was 91,000 or so. As I remember it after all these years..

I took 90 out to Rockford and took US 20 across most of Iowa, then 2-laned it down to I-80 to avoid the scales south of Storm Lake. It added miles and time vs I-88 to the quad cities and 80 the rest of the way. But I would have wasted even more time had I gone back & made them cut the shipment by approximately one fifth.

The truck wasn't that much different on the Illinois section of US 20 where it's hilly just like most of Pennsylvania. It had enough power I probably coulda had another 10k, but the Jake brake wasn't much help on the down-grades and I had to do the whole "mountain braking" thing a lot though. No big deal because I was running Sandstone in WV almost once a week at the time.

But otherwise,... meh..

Just dodge the scales.