Omha, NE

I got the last steering shaft in the world for my truck. They stopped making them. At three places, including two Freightliners, they told me I was out of luck, but somehow, Sapp Brothers here found one and ordered it for me.

I failed my inspection on the 25th because of this and a carrier bearing.

I gotta say it again: All bushings on springs, one set of springs, u-joints, every section of the steering shaft, a/c (twice), tire, alignment (3 times), transmission repair 650 bucks, air dryer, wheel seal, and half a dozen other things. Over eleven grand in the last six weeks.

Once again, the repairs ongoing this time will draw me down close to ZERO.

I could wait on the a/c? And have to stop again for repairs?

You'd think I'd be discouraged by now, but really I've addressed it before. Herbie has 850,ooo miles on him, and all of this stuff was due to be replaced. All the expensive stuff should now live longer than Herbie himself.

I should be rolling again on monday, and not have to stop for awhile. I should be able to save up some money, which I'll need.

The engine's life expectancy is 900,000 miles, but I'm sure that I'm extending it substantially using ceramic coatings, my OPS oil filter, and my APU to replace idling and starts. The ceramic stuff expecially, since I should be able to keep tolerances where they belong indefinitely as long as I add it every 60,000 miles.

Another thing I want to do is switch to this no-water antifreeze. It doesn't boil; doesn't build pressure. Using it, you can replace your thermostat and run hotter for better economy.

All the same, I must expect to replace my engine or my truck within the next 14 or 15 months.

I hope to replace the truck with a much smaller vehicle and run expedited freight.

If I've got this massive expense coming up anyway, I might as well give myself a raise and get out from under the DOT...

Speaking of which, this officer in Minnesota invented three violations and shot my CSA score to hell. Then this Texas Patrolman gave me a ticket for having a flat tire.

Yeah--now we're supposed to pull to the side of the road and get a road service truck every time we get a flat!

I got sixteen tires designed to support half again my max legal weight. I drive ten times the miles you do, and have four times as many tires, excluding steers. I get flats FOURTY TIMES as often as you do!

The road service guy in this case would have had the tires, his tools, and himself IN THE ROAD while fixing me.

Do-gooders are the bane of american society. Rules upon regs upon laws are suffocating truckers. This one will kill people, let alone cause more traffic jams, more fuel consumption, shut down factories, overtime on docks, shortages, and general misery, and it's totally unneccessary.

I had 40,000 pounds and could have had two more flats on different axles and gone over 100 miles to a repair shop without a problem. And of course I was heading for the next one I got to. DUH!

I'm sick of it. They're suffocating us. Some people think that unless they're concocting more rules they're not earning their pay. They'd issue breathing licenses if they could!

And the Minnesota DOT has a policy about screwing over drivers. Probably, they reward officers who find the most things wrong. That's the only reason I can think of why this one invented a bad marker light and tail light (they both worked fine).

Right now? I'm shut down because I couldn't pass an inspection in time for my company's deadline. Their policy is to have us get one every six months instead. I respect that--it's smart.

However, the last beancounter I talked to trying to get an extention wouldn't help me. He keeps asking me what about the DOT cops at the weigh stations when they see my sticker.

My sticker is an ANNUAL inspection conforming to DOT regs and is valid for several more months. I tell him this and he repeats his question: What about when the DOT sees my sticker? I ask him what company policy has to do with that, and he repeats the question.

Because of this, I had to deadhead four hundred fifty miles and burn at least two hundred bucks worth of fuel. If I hadn't landed the last steering shaft in existance, I would have been screwed. Again.

Ohhmmm....ok better now. Monday I should be ready to roll and keep rolling. Got a great dispatcher and damn near a new suspension. New tires all around, wearing evenly-oil changed, 34 hour reset, freight booming...

And the bar in this hotel just opened okbye.