Put in the big hole and gouge on it (truck driver check in)

[RPM 26,168]

 

Sometimes you gotta take matters into your own hands.

20240806_094544.jpg

2.4 MB

 

[Jkwellborn 6,616]

Really thought I passed you yesterday on my way back to Texas from Florida.

[RPM 26,168]

.

Edited August 6 by RPM
d'oh!

[drifter379 1,106]

On 8/6/2024 at 11:02 AM, Jkwellborn said:

Really thought I passed you yesterday on my way back to Texas from Florida.

Wasn’t me. I was visiting family in SC. 
 

 

[drifter379 1,106]

Ole sparkle cake is back up and running. Had a few loads to shake the new motor down. So far so good. 
 

but now I’m looking at changing companies again. My current company is down to one active customer and they don’t have enough to keep company trucks and owner ops moving at the same time. 
 

I been talking to Stage Call and will be trying out the entertainment industry for a while. Seems like the only thing that slows them down is global pandemics. (Damn I probably shouldn’t have said that)

[royiv 9,124]

4 minutes ago, drifter379 said:

Ole sparkle cake is back up and running. Had a few loads to shake the new motor down. So far so good. 
 

but now I’m looking at changing companies again. My current company is down to one active customer and they don’t have enough to keep company trucks and owner ops moving at the same time. 
 

I been talking to Stage Call and will be trying out the entertainment industry for a while. Seems like the only thing that slows them down is global pandemics. (Damn I probably shouldn’t have said that)

Should have gotten into that when Taylor Swift was handing out $100k bonuses to her truck drivers.

[Jkwellborn 6,616]

Ole sparkle cake is back up and running. Had a few loads to shake the new motor down. So far so good. 
 
but now I’m looking at changing companies again. My current company is down to one active customer and they don’t have enough to keep company trucks and owner ops moving at the same time. 
 
I been talking to Stage Call and will be trying out the entertainment industry for a while. Seems like the only thing that slows them down is global pandemics. (Damn I probably shouldn’t have said that)

You mean, like carnivals and stuff?

[TexasHooch 5,115]

Concert and theatrical tours.

[drifter379 1,106]

1 hour ago, royiv said:

Should have gotten into that when Taylor Swift was handing out $100k bonuses to her truck drivers.

It was $50k and I’ve heard it’s not uncommon for artists to give out bonuses at the end of tours her stuff is just more publicized. 

 

1 hour ago, Jkwellborn said:

You mean, like carnivals and stuff?

I’d fit right in with the carnies but no. 

 

1 hour ago, TexasHooch said:

Concert and theatrical tours.

Big pop country acts mostly. (I’ll keep my opinions on artists to my self because I really want this job) 

[unoriginal 55]

.

[drifter379 1,106]

At a coal mine in Elgin. Who knew? Any way it was shut down years ago and the are doing a reclamation project. They couldn’t sell the old drag lines so they are tearing them down and selling off the parts. 
 

[Gil Bang 25,845]

curious if you swapped out the same engine, or upgraded?

[Gil Bang 25,845]

On 8/12/2024 at 1:04 PM, TexasHooch said:

Concert and theatrical tours.

I can totally see Drifter touring with "Rent"

[fattyflattie 4,636]

1 hour ago, drifter379 said:

At a coal mine in Elgin. Who knew? Any way it was shut down years ago and the are doing a reclamation project. They couldn’t sell the old drag lines so they are tearing them down and selling off the parts. 
 

I moved (via several dozen axles of SPMT) several drag lines in that area.  Would dig under the plate and jack and crib them up, then move them a mile or so, then jack them back down.  

[Gil Bang 25,845]

On 6/22/2024 at 7:56 AM, drifter379 said:

Anyone in the market for some gently used oil pump bearings? 
 

Here’s the story. Had a low oil pressure warning so I shut it down. Was able to get an oil pressure sensor. (With these new motors it’s always a sensor and never actually mechanical) replaced the sensor and it didn’t fix the issue. So I changed the oil filter. It’s rare but filters have been known to collapse. Fired it up after the filter change and everything went back to normal. I drove the truck for another week without incident. 
Then it happened again. 
I was in Stephenville. My shop is in Liberty Hill. This might be where I fucked up. I was showing 20-22psi where normal operating range is 24-30psi. Instead of paying for the tow to the shop which would have been a couple of grand I decided to limp it in. 
The shop pulled the pan and found the bearings were fucked and that the crank was blued.  NOT GOOD! 
 

here is my current situation

460,000 miles 

I went back to see when you got the new tractor.  By my math, you've been running nearly 9000 mi/mo.   You don't fuck around much, do you? 

[RPM 26,168]

4 hours ago, drifter379 said:

At a coal mine in Elgin. Who knew? Any way it was shut down years ago and the are doing a reclamation project. They couldn’t sell the old drag lines so they are tearing them down and selling off the parts. 
 

Used to be one just off I-20 in East Texas. Pretty sure it's the biggest machine I've seen on land. It was huge.

[EE2B 1,561]

It seems like it’s on 43 leaving Marshall headed toward Tatum/Henderson. I’m amazed every time I pass the thing because of its size. 

[drifter379 1,106]

9 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

curious if you swapped out the same engine, or upgraded?

I went with the same exact motor. When you start changing things it leads to other changes and more problems. 

[drifter379 1,106]

9 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I can totally see Drifter touring with "Rent"

I’d be down with that. 

 

[drifter379 1,106]

9 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I went back to see when you got the new tractor.  By my math, you've been running nearly 9000 mi/mo.   You don't fuck around much, do you? 

That sounds high. I’m not good at math though. April 2019 to June 2024. 460,000 miles

Edited August 14 by drifter379

[RPM 26,168]

460,000/62=7419.35

[drifter379 1,106]

Got the call today. I go to orientation for Stage Call in Phoenix next Tuesday. 
not gonna lie. I’m kind of excited about this one. 
 

couple of pics from this week. 

[RPM 26,168]

Don't bang the backup singers.

[drifter379 1,106]

4 hours ago, RPM said:

Don't bang the backup singers.

Don’t tell me what to do. 

[Jkwellborn 6,616]

At a minimum, get nudes from them and post here.

[drifter379 1,106]

This pic was coming in to Claude Tx just outside of Amarillo. It went from 112* to 68* and back up to 108* in 20 miles. 

[drifter379 1,106]

Stopped in Eloy on my way to Phoenix to get all the shiny bit polished up. They put the sparkle put back into ole Sparkle Cake. 

 

I should find out today which tour I will be starting on. 

Edited August 28 by drifter379

[drifter379 1,106]

Welp this is going to be a crazy new adventure. Got assigned my first tour. It’s a K-Pop band called G Idle. 
 

We are all stickerd and tagged up and ready to roll out tomorrow.  I absolutely hate having the name on the door. It just looks so generic. Was told I can change it so when I find a place and have time I’m probably going to change the “silver” lettering to silver leaf. Should at least make it pop. 
 

 

[royiv 9,124]

1 hour ago, drifter379 said:

Welp this is going to be a crazy new adventure. Got assigned my first tour. It’s a K-Pop band called G Idle. 
 

We are all stickerd and tagged up and ready to roll out tomorrow.  I absolutely hate having the name on the door. It just looks so generic. Was told I can change it so when I find a place and have time I’m probably going to change the “silver” lettering to silver leaf. Should at least make it pop. 
 

 

Honestly, the name on the door doesn’t look bad in photos. The purple and silver look good. How many trucks are on this tour? How many cities does it go to?

[Gil Bang 25,845]

oh fuck...I was about to bust your balls about being on a Kpop tour, and BOOM, there it was. 

Please post before and after photos of your haircut.  And that Pete's gonna look funny with Anime stickers all over it. 

[Gil Bang 25,845]

2 hours ago, drifter379 said:

Welp this is going to be a crazy new adventure. Got assigned my first tour. It’s a K-Pop band called G Idle. 
 

We are all stickerd and tagged up and ready to roll out tomorrow.  I absolutely hate having the name on the door. It just looks so generic. Was told I can change it so when I find a place and have time I’m probably going to change the “silver” lettering to silver leaf. Should at least make it pop. 
 

 

You'll be pulling dry vans, not flatbedding? 

[drifter379 1,106]

1 hour ago, royiv said:

Honestly, the name on the door doesn’t look bad in photos. The purple and silver look good. How many trucks are on this tour? How many cities does it go to?

6 cities 13 days. Not sure how many trucks. 

[drifter379 1,106]

13 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

You'll be pulling dry vans, not flatbedding? 

Some say Sparkle Cake is already kawaii. And yeah I’ll be pulling vans but I still ain’t no damn door swinger. Apparently they have people that do that for us. Uwu

Edited August 29 by drifter379

[Gil Bang 25,845]

FWIW, G-Idle hasn't been worth a fuck since Soojin left 3 years ago. 

 

Anyway drifter, you'll be at the Honda Center in Anaheim in a couple of weeks.  The train station is close by.  Catch a train south to San Juan Capistrano, and walk the 1/8 mile to Heritage BBQ for a taste of home.  It's as good as anything you can get in Texas.  Well, it's almost as good as Texas' best, and a hell of a lot better than Texas average.  

[drifter379 1,106]

7 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

FWIW, G-Idle hasn't been worth a fuck since Soojin left 3 years ago. 

 

Anyway drifter, you'll be at the Honda Center in Anaheim in a couple of weeks.  The train station is close by.  Catch a train south to San Juan Capistrano, and walk the 1/8 mile to Heritage BBQ for a taste of home.  It's as good as anything you can get in Texas.  Well, it's almost as good as Texas' best, and a hell of a lot better than Texas average.  

That’s a great recommendation but if you’re seeing the dates you can see I’m not going to have time for any lolly gagging on this one. But I’ll keep that one in mind for sure. 

[Gil Bang 25,845]

6 minutes ago, drifter379 said:

That’s a great recommendation but if you’re seeing the dates you can see I’m not going to have time for any lolly gagging on this one. But I’ll keep that one in mind for sure. 

You roll out of Oakland on the morning of the 9th.  You roll into Anaheim that afternoon/evening.  That gives you all day on the 10th with your cock in your hand.  Catch the train. It's a 50 minute train ride south. 

[Jkwellborn 6,616]

Some say Sparkle Cake is already kawaii. And yeah I’ll be pulling vans but I still ain’t no damn door swinger. Apparently they have people that do that for us. Uwu

Can you back up? Most van drivers I deal with can’t.

[drifter379 1,106]

2 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

Can you back up? Most van drivers I deal with can’t.

I’ve been told we have guides to back us in. I won’t even have to look in my mirrors. 

[Spoosner 86]

On 8/28/2024 at 8:19 AM, drifter379 said:

Stopped in Eloy on my way to Phoenix to get all the shiny bit polished up. They put the sparkle put back into ole Sparkle Cake. 

 

I should find out today which tour I will be starting on. 

How much does it cost to get all that chrome polished? Just curious.

[drifter379 1,106]

18 minutes ago, Spoosner said:

How much does it cost to get all that chrome polished? Just curious.

I paid $800 and I gave them a generous tip on top of that. They hit everything but the Stacks, mirrors, and the bumper. It took 4 guys a total of 5 hours to do it. Worth every penny to me. If you’re not familiar you should check out vids of guys polishing trucks and what they look like when they are done. 

Edited August 29 by drifter379

[RPM 26,168]

Can't remember where it was in AZ on 40, but there used to be an old fuel stop (this was a dirt lot kinda place) where you could rent the truck wash and DIY. They had an excellent steam cleaner and it was like $20/hr. When I pulled bulk end-dump I loved that fucking place. Clean all the greasy shit down to the bone before entering SoCal then pay somebody to power buff the wheels and tanks.

[drifter379 1,106]

8 hours ago, RPM said:

Can't remember where it was in AZ on 40, but there used to be an old fuel stop (this was a dirt lot kinda place) where you could rent the truck wash and DIY. They had an excellent steam cleaner and it was like $20/hr. When I pulled bulk end-dump I loved that fucking place. Clean all the greasy shit down to the bone before entering SoCal then pay somebody to power buff the wheels and tanks.

I miss the days of $5 a wheel and $10 a tank. 

Edited August 29 by drifter379

[drifter379 1,106]

This is going to take some real getting used too. It’s been at least 15 years since I was pulling dry van. Picked up my trailer and headed out early am to try and beat some of the holiday traffic leaving LA. 

[Da Fino 2,715]

18 minutes ago, drifter379 said:

This is going to take some real getting used too. It’s been at least 15 years since I was pulling dry van. Picked up my trailer and headed out early am to try and beat some of the holiday traffic leaving LA. 

Are you feeling judged?

[drifter379 1,106]

11 minutes ago, Da Fino said:

Are you feeling judged?

Mostly by my other trucker friends. And I’m a little worried about karma if I’m being honest. I’ve said some not nice things about a bunch of window licking door swingers over the years. 

[Da Fino 2,715]

Just now, drifter379 said:

Mostly by my other trucker friends.

That’s what I meant. Sorry, should have made that clearer. 

[hookemATL 11,585]

50 minutes ago, drifter379 said:

This is going to take some real getting used too. It’s been at least 15 years since I was pulling dry van. Picked up my trailer and headed out early am to try and beat some of the holiday traffic leaving LA. 

This looks like the cover photo of a coffee table book about semi trucks. Nice one🤘

[Jkwellborn 6,616]

Mostly by my other trucker friends. And I’m a little worried about karma if I’m being honest. I’ve said some not nice things about a bunch of window licking door swingers over the years. 

Van drivers are the worst.

[drifter379 1,106]

10 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

Van drivers are the worst.

I agree. 

[Gil Bang 25,845]

"Stage Call" sounds like something a strip club DJ would say; "Lexus...5 minute stage call"