Model 05 Silver Eagle

[Chadluc]

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[Chadluc]

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[Chadluc]

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[lornaschinske]

Darn! I was hoping it would be a great thing for you. Just keep your eye on the prize (cdl). You can survive this!

[Chadluc]

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[lornaschinske]

Take what you can from them and give them back only what they pay for. Look out for yourself first and foremost. Keep your opinions to yourself and be careful!

[Bullwhacker007]

Unfortunately you are finding out this is "normal" in the trucking business.

Going through 3 "Trainers" won't make you look good to this company and I had similar situation with "trainers" in the past.
I grit my teeth and dealt with it until I was okay'd to drive company truck by myself.
One "trainer" didn't or wouldn't let me go since he was a lazy bastard and spent allot of his time in the sleeper and I was logging his hours.Of course those hours went into his log book. I over heard him tell dispatch " thank God you sent some one who can drive" I wasn't a newbie and had at least 8 years driving already.


If you are really going to stick with it as for me I went over repo auction sites and government sites.
I scored a Fruehoff 45 foot refer and a three axle white freight-liner when they were still called that for 20,000.00 out the door.
I had an in-frame over haul done when the dyno run indicated engine problems.
When everything was done I had a whole rig bought and paid for around 35,000.00.
Brakes and everything had been gone through.
Sure it wasn't all shiny and pretty in the beginning; that came later during lay overs I did this and that to the rig.
When you don't have all the "mortgage" payments you can then dictate what you will haul and for the best dollar amount.

I spent many years pounding a screaming Detroit 318 all over the country. Popped in brown injectors and had a road ranger 15 gear transmission. Split shifting that I got allot of forward gears and five in reverse.

The people who really make the money is the "terminal" owner and any shop they have.

As already said you have to look out for yourself. Sounds hard and it is; but how will you survive if you don't.

[yankeflyer]

The Railroads are retiering my generation of engineers so every railroad is hiring. Though my brother is team driving US mail LA to OKC twice a week look like a good run.

[Chadluc]

I got ya. yea I dont hate on anyone. I hope the lease works out for who even signs the contract, I can tell you not me. I just told the trainer nice and polite I was going to go company.That I did not come here to start a trucking company etc. Yes can you make money having your own truck? Dos an otr truck need to have a sleeper? I know my first trainer wanted to goto landstar.

Theres a website called proxibid.com I bought my 1994 blue bird school bus there. Once you register u can see the price of trucks if u search them. mostly goverment and farm auctions. but looks like you could pick a decent fleet truck for under 8000.?

Not looking to buy anything right now, btw.

[lornaschinske]

Next thing you know, Chad will have bought himself a big old semi truck and will be talking about buying.... A FIFTH WHEEL!

[Chadluc]

Lol. I'm not sure I want that.(a 5th wheel) lol. or a semi truck. But I had an idea to get a semi truck down the road w/sleeper , and use it to drive out to hollywood to live in and pull loads on the side for extra cash.run ad's on craigslist , "owner with semi truck class A license can move your large trailer(s)"

I need something i can do profitable , while I go back to los angeles to take acting classes etc.MMM i dont think I could ever part with the Eagle.So its up to how much i can save

[chev49]

well, if ya dont use it often enough ya get your authority removed...
aint cheap for bond, tractor maintenance n tires, medical, etc.
i sold my truck, next door business has 2 just sitting...
just saying...

[Chadluc]

Yea I'm proubly going to go otr just fr the year and get myself into the teamsters 399 union in hollywod. Just live in the bus the next few years until I work my way up the union board
l

[yankeflyer]

There are good paying jobs out there but you have to follow the work - North Dakota

http://www.ble-t.org/

http://www.ble-t.org/links/rail.asp

[skoolz out]

Pretty sad that those predatory lease programs seem to be going strong. Word has been out for a while how they are all scams. I'm surprised anyone is still falling for them. Sounds as if you stay in a company truck you'll be okay.

Chad, a while back I asked how you were hauling waste water from your bus to a dump station and how you are transporting fresh water in. I know that regular RV macerator pumps are only designed to push the waste a long distance over relatively flat ground and through a small hose. Probably not powerful enough to pump up into a 55 gallon drum or other transport tank that you might have in the bed of your pickup. I'd recently thought that a gas engine powered trash pump might do the job, passing soft solids with no trouble and easily having the lifting power.

Any time I think about hauling large quantities of fresh water, those 45 gallon collapsible bladder tanks that Camping World have seems like they would do the job. Could probably even drain by gravity into your fresh water holding tank if it were on the floor of a baggage bay, and would roll up for easy storage.

If you get the time, I'd like to know how you are handling the water and waste situation. Comments from others are certainly welcome too.

Christopher

[Chadluc]

Well the bus was last in Hollywood.There, I drove the bus 10 miles to a rv dealer to dump / refill. Then i drove the bus to New mexico, and got a job driving truck OTR. So i have nor had to transport anything as of yet.

[lornaschinske]

Chad...
It's been raining here since the hail storm on Monday.... Has your family that's here checked on your bus? The hail was fairly soft, so it mostly damaged plastic stuff. It seems to have been only on the South end of Roswell. Going thru town minutes after we were hit, there was virtually no sign of hail as we approached 2nd street. But the roads are standing in water from all the rain we have been getting.... It's lovely! Rain is supposed the be gone after Monday.

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by skoolz out

... I know that regular RV macerator pumps are only designed to push the waste a long distance over relatively flat ground and through a small hose. Probably not powerful enough to pump up into a 55 gallon drum or other transport tank that you might have in the bed of your pickup.

Most of the macerater I have looked at has a pretty good head.of 5 to 6 ft. Others will do more but I can't see paying for a pump to lift a high head when the max head we would most likely have could be measured in inches. As for a macerator, I like Jake von Slatt's garbage disposal macerator. Used garbage disposals tend to be very cheap at thrift stores.... and we're cheap.

Originally Posted by skoolz out

...Any time I think about hauling large quantities of fresh water, those 45 gallon collapsible bladder tanks that Camping World have seems like they would do the job. Could probably even drain by gravity into your fresh water holding tank if it were on the floor of a baggage bay, and would roll up for easy storage.

Out here, you could probably get someone to haul in a big container of drinking water and fill your holding tanks (and I would still filter it). Saw a truck just a few weeks ago that said "Rain for Rent". I think they are water haulers. I see a lot of big tanks on trailers out here. Looks like plain water in the translucent tanks.

[Chadluc]

I'm sure the back of the bus is sunk. I talked to my aunt today she said it was raining and about the hail. I will get her to do a drive by.when I get home time thats not looking like another 2 months.

[skoolz out]

I've seen Jake's macerator/disposal design and like it a lot because it is clever and cheap. While he says the pump head is good, I think he just pumps a long distance over flat ground, so in a sense the design is unproven for my intended use.

I've been checking craigslist for cheap used disposals, thinking that if I build one and it doesn't work for me I wouldn't be out a lot of money, and it could still be used to pump to a distant sewer outlet at ground level, which may be useful in the future.

Part of my interest in the trash pump is that I already own a pressure washer with a 5hp gas engine and I've found a trash pump head which will bolt onto that engine.

Christopher