Long Haul

[Mopar1973Man]

Some of you have been keeping up with the "Prayers Please" thread here and know what's been happening with MoparMom and myself. I've now got it down to science on how to handle her medical needs now and the fact I'll be doing long haul trucking for some time. I've got according to Google Maps a 164 mile one way (or 328 miles round trip) travel every other day. I will admit the mileage is close but the time is way off I'm closer to 3.5 hours one way. Basically in a nutshell I've got 12 hours travel or roughly 4,000 miles a month. 

 

I'm looking at the long travel a different way now. We've got local truckers that do this day in and out hauling lumber from the mills here locally to other places in the state. They do it 5 days a week and travel longer distances. This gives me the time to work on the Quadzilla tuning more so now because I can tweak and tune and test it out every trip I make. Giving me plenty of time to master the Quadzilla Adrenaline for the MPG crowd. I've added a Lund Rollup Tonneau Cover to the truck and ditched the old aluminum canopy. Then some of you might of noticed I've replaced my South Bend Clutch after 130k miles and wore it completely out. 

 

So I'm now changing my inspections to more of daily thing being I've got to travel longer distances in extremely cold weather dropping as low as -31*F. I'm carrying tire chains, tow strap, and basic tools for minor repairs. I've got a blanket and heavy cover-alls just in case. Being I travel Tuesday, Thursday and Saturaday I do have time in between for repairs but long distances to cover in all kinds of weather. 

 

So now when I do get to the clinic with @MoparMom I now can flip gears and take care of the grocery shopping during her treatment and then return back to the clinic and jack in with the laptop and continue to work on the web site. I know there is a lot of you that call me for support don't fret. My cell number is 208-315-1470 I'm all set up in the truck now for hands free operation of my LG G4 phone you guys can still get a hold of me but it will be on my cell more so than my home phone. 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2017 by Mopar1973Man

[hex0rz]

My concern is how your going to continue some sort of revenue stream to pay for your bills and expenses. Is that going to be an issue? I don't mean to ask personal things but that's going to be huge for you since your going to be burning allot more fuel, maintaining things more frequently and removing yourself from job opportunity to earn money since your time will be spent on the road more. 

Edited January 17, 2017 by hex0rz

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm going to flop back over to doing web server administration more so. So I can continue to make a small income to offset the expenses we are going to have. We are also redefining how we do things to cut back on expenses. I can still do odds and end mechanic work but I won't get into big projects because I won't have the time to do them. Like I've got a truck sitting out here needs a turbo I'll still do the job if the owner can find a turbo. 

[Killer223]

You will be better looking for a civic or similar. as good of fuel you might get it's not even close to the civic class types. if the cash isn't there to buy one might looking to selling one of the trucks. these trips will get SPENDY and fast.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but i'm a realist. the facts are the facts.

unless you have reserves of cash, your math is going to put you in the poorer house.

 

You might look into doing deliveries or picking up orders for locals to off set the cost.

 

[JAG1]

Michael I think that you are a whole lot safer in the truck. I have studied lots of wrecks and the folks in the little cars don't fair well at all. Most are fatalities while the pickup driver has minor injuries. It's sad but true. I personally would not like to see MoparMom traveling in a small car.

 

As far as income I don't think Mike worked a whole lot anyways. If it wasn't for the occasional truck to work on I think Mike would be fishin' mostl the time. Besides getting a lot of rest in between the 12 hour driving days is good and then work on the trucks in between assures good quality work.

 

Just my humble opinion.

[Mopar1973Man]

46 minutes ago, Killer223 said:

these trips will get SPENDY and fast.

 

Already figured out. It will cost me $600 a month in fuel. Not much more than paying rent on a apartment.

 

What will be the life saver is being able to haul the RV down and spend a entire week down in the Boise area if need be. Right now its about $45 to $50 a trip. So for the 3 trip for the week is $150. So there is 4 weeks in a month typically that comes out to $600 a month. Right now I'm a bit low in the MPG's being I'm working through the Quadzilla update and getting the tune figured out. Then toss in the fact of winter cold and snow. As the weather improves the MPG's will improve too.

 

50 minutes ago, Killer223 said:

You will be better looking for a civic or similar.

 

No for me. I count at least 5-10 car in the median every trip. All of them slid off the interstate and stuck on the middle. Some of them taken serious damage from striking concrete barricades. So far my truck  travels on snow and ice extremely stable. Those 235's are gripping the highway very well. I've been through 3 different storms now and nothing has slowed me down yet. 

 

Now what will kill me is if I got to use the 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 that is like a $80 dollar trip truck and that would get stupid expensive fast. 

 

As for small cars I've not found one that I can slide the seat back far enough or not have slump in the seat to keep from banging my head on the ceiling. Subaru absolutely not I don't fit in the car period. I've tried squeezing into a Hundai and again the seat doesn't go back far enough and my knees hit the steering wheel. I've always had to drive larger vehicles because of my size. 

 

38 minutes ago, JAG1 said:

I have studied lots of wrecks and the folks in the little cars don't fair well at all.

 

Lot of truth in that... I've been part of the fire dept for now 10 years and seen plenty of vehicle accidents. Small cars you chances of life are very small at 80 MPH. Hit a deer or elk at 65 MPH again your chances at living are really low. Remember I've got to travel through wilderness areas, then down to interstate of break neck speeds (80 MPH) where most are doing closer to 90 MPH. I could travel down highway 55 which is shorter but now you have all the speed restrictions and poor highway conditons with the snow. Doesn't get any better. 

 

Now like MoparMom and I were talking tonight that I'll have a shopping list of things to do tomorrow. Like grocery shopping, I got to haul over to catch Mark on the high Idle cables, head over to Home Depot for some miscellaneous home stuff. I can still haul quite a bit more in the truck than a small car. So if Diesel "the dog" is in the back seat that means the cooler of our food would be in the trunk. So where do you put the groceries at? Where do you haul the cargo? So we pack blankets, food, the dog, etc. Little car won't hack it very well. 

[hex0rz]

You could become an uber driver! :D

[Buzzinhalfdozen]

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4196489-duluth-man-survives-trucks-dive-blatnik-bridge

@Mopar1973Man looks like you need a Ford Ranger. 

[BBHD]

My 99 saved my life after an elk shot me into a 3rd gen. So I. Figured saved my life once I found my 2000. 

[Wild and Free]

I don't think that will buff out very well. WOW

Other than a few minor fender benders i have never been involved in a major automobile accident. Used to Demo derby in high school and college and had 2 vehicles up on 2 wheels and was lucky enough to bring em back down ion to all 4's without incident other than a puckered orifice.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Wild and Free

[Killer223]

i do love my little ranger. feels very planted in the snow vs my dodges. bad part is it's close to the same MPG's. i've been in a couple nasty wrecks. rolled my dads 93 f250 truck the night of his 50'th b-day. it wasn't  aloud back in the house for a month after that one.