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what I am working on now...

CGT80 said:
now that's a truck. What length of trips do you make? Do you work for a company and get assigned work, or work for yourself?
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Well I have done coast to coast all the way to Maine and all the way down to Miami, but now I stay west mostly NV, UT, ID, WY and CO.
Based in NorCal and I have my own authority and I have a few brokers I work with but not comitted to any particular load, I shop around for the best paying load each time.
I don't work if I am not making money, my money will go a lot longer if I don't go on the road.:thumb:
 
Well I got the oil pump out of the way and found out that my water pump is leaking, Fock... $750 for that piece of crap. :eek1:
That's going to be a couple of more days before I can button this baby up and start making money again.
:doah:
But steering is done, air bags replaced, bumper replaced, a few things tightened.
Need to check my brake adjustment and rotate my tires as soon as I get back together.
 
Some people like to use heavy duty trucks as their tow rigs for a 5th wheel. They get good mileage towing a 5th wheel travel trailer that weighs only 20k or so, and they handle well. Looks like parts are another story though. A new stock water pump was $27 for my K5 and I spent less than $200 on a race quality pump for my 79 pickup (my toy-hauler is only about 9k fully loaded). Sounds like if you are gona tow the big stuff, you better be ready to maintain a vehicle that can get the job done.

I know what you mean about not working low profit jobs. I was spending so much money to get myself to work that at the end of the day I was making not more than $10 per hour after taxes and fuel, and then I still had to pay for tools, phone, truck, insurance, etc. I have only worked 4 days this last month, but I am not hurting that bad for money. I feel like I was making money just to pay for going to work. I hope this depression turns around soon.
 
Well me not working was partly my doing, I took the time off when the pay is low and work is hard and scarce, but when I got back instead of getting things ready, I slacked for 10 days then the rain came and wouldn't let off, so now it's been 3 months of no work, and I had spent too much on 2 trips in 6 months.
This year I will be making my arrangments better, I liked not having to work the first 3 months of the year, I just need to be more frugal with my savings.:thumb:
CGT80 said:
Some people like to use heavy duty trucks as their tow rigs for a 5th wheel. They get good mileage towing a 5th wheel travel trailer that weighs only 20k or so, and they handle well. Looks like parts are another story though. A new stock water pump was $27 for my K5 and I spent less than $200 on a race quality pump for my 79 pickup (my toy-hauler is only about 9k fully loaded). Sounds like if you are gona tow the big stuff, you better be ready to maintain a vehicle that can get the job done.

I know what you mean about not working low profit jobs. I was spending so much money to get myself to work that at the end of the day I was making not more than $10 per hour after taxes and fuel, and then I still had to pay for tools, phone, truck, insurance, etc. I have only worked 4 days this last month, but I am not hurting that bad for money. I feel like I was making money just to pay for going to work. I hope this depression turns around soon.
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Oh what a week.
I decided to take this week to fix a few things that were bad on this truck before I start the new season, so I fixed most of it and then got to the coolant leak found out it was the water pump, so I started trying to get it out, got everything out and I still didn't find any bolts holding it in place, after staring at it all day, I finally called a big rig mechanic buddy of mine and we both started throwing ideas out there and finaly I thought maybe it's disguised by something else, so we found a couple of bolt for a cover that could be long enough to go thru, and sure enough there they were.
That was last night in the dark, so I figured I got it almost done, I will finish it during the day today, so a broker called me and gave me a load for friday.
So I am working on it today and time is flying and I am not done yet then it starts raining, I try to rush and I cross threaded one bolt, but it was too late so I just continued it all the way.
I fill it up with coolant and I start it up, and it's spraying all over.
I find a first bolt that I had forgotten to finish, so I tighten it and that leak stops, now the second one is where I cross threaded the bolt, but it was in, or so I thought.
So I started to tighten with more force, my hand slips and I gouge my fingers, then finally I got it tight enough and no more leaks.
So now it steers fine, no leaky air bags and no leaky water pump.
I hope nothing else is bad because I go tomorrow morning to load, and no time for a shake run.
:doah:
I will probably get this trip done and then stay a couple of more days to go over everything again make sure everything is good for the season.
Cheyenne, WY here I come, be there on sunday.
:thumb:
 
ktmoutfront said:
I resemble that remark.
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Resemble or Resent?

I found your build thread. Are you still glad you went with an HD truck? Looks like you still have some work to do, but that will be bad ass to have two cars and a 5th wheel where ever you go.
 
I'll put my vote for selectable lockers, the Pogo bus (runs a 50 mile long ice road to a gold mine up here) has a selectable locker in it, and it is so nice when I have to bust drifts on top of the ridge the road crosses over. Chain up, lock up, hammer down! drift don't stand a chance. But there are some sharp turns that the locker makes the bus want to go straight, and with a 1500' drop off... no thanks.

And I like that you're not running retreads :deal: Apparently Anchorage doesn't realize that the rest of Alaska gets cold, and retreads tend to come apart at -40...:whistle:
 
CGT80 said:
Resemble or Resent?

I found your build thread. Are you still glad you went with an HD truck? Looks like you still have some work to do, but that will be bad ass to have two cars and a 5th wheel where ever you go.
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Will never go back to a pickup for towing. My Duramax got the same milage towing the 5th wheel as the semi got with the one car and the 5th wheel. Never even started to strain going up hill and almost never hit the brakes going down.

The insurance was cheaper also.

That and I feel like a BIG RIG TRUCKER:DDriving that thing. J/K.
 
ktmoutfront said:
Will never go back to a pickup for towing. My Duramax got the same milage towing the 5th wheel as the semi got with the one car and the 5th wheel. Never even started to strain going up hill and almost never hit the brakes going down.

The insurance was cheaper also.

That and I feel like a BIG RIG TRUCKER:DDriving that thing. J/K.
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That is true.
Also for whoever said it costs too much to fix the big rigs versus a dodge cummins, well can a cummins go 1 million mile or more?
My brother in law retired his truck all original with 1.6 million miles and it was still running good.
My truck will be retired to personnal duties when it's done working.

Oh and by the way, the truck did fine on the trip, no problems.
Can't say the same for the trailer, broke the frame in a few spots.
Pics to come later after I get some sleep, just walked in a few minutes ago.
:doah:
 
So here are some pics of the damage, the side aluminum ribbed piece is the outside frame and it works with the inside frame and crossmembers as well as the walls, well the walls seperated from the frame and that cracked it, and cracked two cross members, when the fork lift got in that part dropped down 8 inches and the crack was half way up and opened about 2 inches.:doah:
That is going to take some creative fixing to save this trailer, I am looking for a replacement in the mean time.
As you can see from the overall pic, that side piece is more like a spaghetti now.:eek1:

IMAG0077.jpg

IMAG0078.jpg

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What caused that? age? or overloading? That's a crappy deal no matter what.
 
noJeepshere said:
What caused that? age? or overloading? That's a crappy deal no matter what.
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Well it started a couple of years ago, I was loaded heavy too far back, and I was in a tight yard, so I moved the axles forward to tighten my radius and then as I am going around I hit a curb that was hidden in snow, that started some damage that was visible which I fixed, and some that wasn't visible that kept deteriorating till recently it showed up, I have been trying to contain it till I get the chance to fix it right, but I made a mistake this time when loading and had my axles all the way back, big mistake, now an easy fix has become a nightmare.
 
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