https://www.lendingclub.com

If I told you what the lifetime average of my account with them was, you’d call me a liar; but let’s suffice to say that the lifetime net annualized return of all investments through them, as of February 2011 is above 9.8%. My returns are considerably high however.

Yes, p2p lending has had a gimmicky reputation (only partly deserved, I might add), but more and more legitimate investment professionals are recommending that investors put at least a small percentage of their portfolios in such investments. Lending Club has had positive reviews by publications such as Barron's, Forbes, the Washington Post, and even CNN and Fox News. I personally believe it will become more and more main stream as it develops a longer history and traditional investments continue to yield less and less; but of course I’m just a truck driver, so what do I know?

 

Ah! Yeah, I've thought that peer lending has its upside. How is it liquid though? Your money that's been lent out, you can just call it whenever you like? That would certainly take the risk out, but I don't see how that could work for the lending model.

 

They have contracted with a company (FOLIOfn) https://www.folioinvesting.com/
That facilitates investors to sell their “notes” in an on-line market. That is actually where I do most of my buying. I make most of my purchases at about a one percent discount and try to purchase notes that are due to make payment in a week or less. It’s only a small perk, but it does add up. I haven’t had a need to pull a large amount out yet, but I have experimented with selling some of my notes (twenty, to be exact) and was able to unload them with a day or two by discounting them one percent. That makes the investment liquid in my book.

 

That's interesting. Sounds like the marketplace has really evolved in a short period of time. I may have to give it a second look.

 

I’ve been taking it slow with them. I only put a few hundred a month there. I invest only a small amount in any one note, and only buy certain classes of notes. After six months, my earnings are way better than I had ever expected. I do have five notes that are in the past due category, two of which the borrowers have been making a concerted effort to catch up on. One was pretty much a scam… the borrower filed for bankruptcy after making one payment; but even if all five default, I’ll still be yielding way over the LendingClub lifetime average of 8.6%, so I can live with that.


Upon further reflection, I realize it might appear that I’m recommending LendingClub as a good investment. In spite of the fact that I’m doing very well there, I am not and cannot recommend them at this point. I have some questions about the methodology they use to derive their reported yields. To completely cover what they do with their data and what others have concluded after running their own analyses would take many pages and this isn’t the appropriate forum (although that might be an appropriate, albeit rarely visited category to create in the CAD forums). In addition, I might not be fully qualified to present such a discussion as I am not an investment professional, just a fan of math and money.

 

To get back to trucking, I picked up the trailer yesterday and dropped it off at Craftsmen Trailer near St. Louis to get tire inflators installed. After the wife wraps up her doctor appointment tomorrow, and after I get the truck picked up form Peterbilt and the trailer picked up from Craftsmen, we’ll be heading home to put the headache rack on and finish everything up. I have to admit that having gone many years only pulling box-style trailers, it sure was an odd feeling looking in my mirror last night and seeing the top and back of my trailer. It was even odder backing a 122” spread into a parking spot. Upon reflection, I don’t think it makes sense to drive around with the axles spread unnecessarily as it isn’t kind to the tires.

• To answer rank’s question as to whether or not the WLL is stamped on the J-hooks… YES. They do indeed have a WLL of 6,700lbs stamped on them.

 

Yes, the 121" spread takes some getting used to...especially on a 53. You will learn to take WIDE corners. Steel rims on the outside rear axle isn't a bad idea. And no more of those eensy U-turns like I see those show off van guys do in the truck stops.

 

Actually, the spec sheet from the factory claims 122" spread. I know, not the norm, but I haven't measured yet so I have to take their word for it. I drove the first 400 miles with the spread open, but closed the axles for the last couple hundred. I have an electronic dump valve on the front axle, but it's impossible to see how that functions without a load since there’s no significant air pressure to dump from the front axle air bags.

 

Y'all talking about corn likker?

 

10' 2" that's if you'd adjust both axles towards each other all the way it would reduce to 10'. I'm talking about where you adjust for alignment.