Jamestown, OH

Well I'm here. I'm insured and own my APU-equipped truck, and am being processed as an owner-operator for Jaamestown trucking. And now that I've had the chance to interrogate some of the drivers, I'm pretty happy about my decision.

Randy--my recruiter--is actually more than that. He's one of the bosses, an ex-owner-operator, and has two of his own trucks leased on with the company. (I would do this if I had a partner to take care of all the headaches for me: typicly you pay off a truck, get a new one, and hire a driver to drive the old one for you. He is dispatched by the same company, but his pay goes to you, and you then take care of maintenance and his pay, and jeep the rest. Randy, who seems to think like me, took the job here, and rather than sell his trucks, kept them both running in this way so he'd have more income.)

At any rate, it's great for a trucker to have somebody like Randy recruit him. Non-truckers' understanding of this industry is abstracted. Randy will instantly spot any lies an applicant tells, and evaluate his potential accurately on an intuitive level.

Randy is a big guy, but looks like he could be my brother. That cuts no ice, of course--but I just think it's pretty cool.

Jamestown is a bare-bones operation, which is also fine with me. The drivers earn more partly because the company doesn't invest in a lot of frills. I will have Qualcom (so I won't have to make and recieve phone calls constantly). They don't direct-deposit, but I can have my checks mailed to my account. Not being a moron, I don 't live paycheck-to-paycheck, even with my savings depleted, as they are now. I may also be able to get something done there, too...wiring money and ACH transfers isn't that tough.

They reimburse for tolls. They may be more flexible than the bigger companies, and I'll see if they'll let me set up my own accounts with states and regions that use electronic billing, so I can blow through toll-booths and hit ATMs. Intead of sending my reciepts in with paperwork, I'd send the charges from my accounts. Probably not, though--companies often add these charges onto individual bills, per-load. But I'll see.

I should get a new Prepass unit (which enables me to bypass scales when highway sensors read me as legal).

I assume I'll need to mail my bills in, rather than scan them...don't know yet.

My address needs to change. I can use the company's address for my updated licence and Corporate address, and will have to get a PO Box for mailiong purposes. Randy said he'd have no probem recieving my mail, but he's not a Post Office, and the other drivers would be able to swipe stuff.

That's fine--most companies won't even allow you to use the address, let alone recieve mail there. If I get a traffic ticket or something, it will go there--I'll have everything else go to my bos.

Unfortunately, the Post Office has to confirm my prior address, by mail, before I can get the box. So I have to wait. I'll probably have to hit the road--the Post Office said that I could order stuff and have it sent there care of general delivery in the meantime. But to have my accounts changed over, I'll need the PO Box, or else Randy will get buried in my junk mail and statements and stuff. I need to make all the changes at once.

When I go out, I'll need to stay out. I'll check my business account for funds, but even if I can order the hydrogen generator now, it could...well I'll talk to Randy. I'm pretty sure he could take that one item out to set aside for me.

He's also interested in them for the company and his own drivers. Companies and others tend to be hesitant about these modifications to their trucks. These things aren't yet "vetted" or common. Most likely, Randy will let me be his guinea-pig, and wait to see if my engine blows up. So I don't see a problem with ordering the unit and sending it to the company.

I'll probably also order the ceramic additive shortly. I'll want to add that with my first oil change, 17-20,000 miles from now--and before I intall the generator.
I had to get my title transferred and fill out a bunch of stuff for Randy, but got that knocked that out. Got insurance too, from a company that Randy recommended. Set up automatic billing, too--it's cheaper than I'd thought!

But when I tried to get my license updated to reflect the new address and my corrected vision, Ohio's whole license computer system crashed. Right when I got to the head of the line. (THEM. Sorry, Ohio.)

I had a bad battery and it cost 200 bucks to replace. Unbleievable. And I have four of these. I couldn't get SelecTrucks to replace my drive recaps. I sure hope that Jamestown has a national account/discout that I can use, because to replace eight tires will otherwise cost me over 2100 bucks.

Recaps don't last very long, and when they go, they can tear up your truck. I'll have to run these until one pops. When I replace them, I'll replace them all. I refuse to screw around trying to save money and having to come off the road for repairs constantly. It's better tio bite the bullet and buy quality with a warrantee. Then you can run 75-100,00 miles without worrying about your tires shutting you down. In the long run, that might even be cheaper.

I'll probably replace three batteries the next time one goes bad, too.

Finally got this APU sort of figured out. It seems to shut itself down at about the right times. When I was getting the battery changed, the alternator belt started squealing and burning. I was trying to figure out where I could take it, then just got my tools out and went to work. Surprisingly, I was able to wriggle my rachet in there and actually tighten it up.

Of course, it started itself while I was in there, but I escaped with my fingers, thanks to the warning beeper.

Now it's saturday, and I'm parked at a Flying J. I've got one shower coming, and will hang around til tomorrow night before I take it and do my laundry. (No showers or machines at the terminal, either). I'll then park overnight at the license bureau, and be in there when they open, or shortly therafter.

Next, it's back to Jamestown, where I'll hopefully get my stickers put on and Qualcom unit installed, Prepass unit, plates, etc. They only have a two-bay garage--not an option for me to get stuff fixed, no matter how good they are. Time is money.

Monday night I'll hit Lowe's again for some more hardware to secure things, and park on the street outside the Buffalo Wild Wings in Wilmington. That's a Browns Backer's club, and I'll watch my Browns take on the world champ Giants in a preseason game.

I'll hit the road with a load tuesday if I can, but really don't know. If I'm hung up longer, I might stall until I can get the PO Box, and (I forgot) make contact with my next accountant.

That's another thing. My current one hasn't responded to me and has all my records. She's done a lot of work, for which I'll have to pay her. I'll delay filing longer, since this year I'll be showing massive losses--but I have to sign on with the new accountant, pay my current one, and get my stuff sent to the new one.

Jeez...I might hang around bleeding money a little longer. I hate loose ends. Seems to be the story of my life. Stuff hanging over me. I need that accountant, and that PO Box!

Well, I made me some super-healthy chili. It's cool to have the whole crockpot sitting in the refrigerator, right under the microwave.

Took the top mattress out--which I should have in the first place. Now there's "lip" to prevent all my boxed-up stuff from leaping off and trying to whack me while I'm driving. It's even semi-organized, finally. (The APU took away most of my under-bunk space).

I'm almost all set, except for the aforementioned loose ends.

I've been through a lot, but at least the worst is over.