Steve You probably use a little more oil when it is getting close to the time it needs changing.


Are you going to try to plan a load so you can be at the Iowa 80 Truckers Jamboree July 12-13 There are allot of nice trucks to see, some live music and allot of "Chrome" to buy. LOL

Mike

Steve, You may want to check your oil for fuel (blow-by). An engine should use a little oil. Used oil may be being replaced with fuel. Maybe get an analysis??? :wink:

I have got an analysis before and everything was fine. Just curious why it would use oil sometimes and other times not.

As far as the truck shows, I'm not into that. I have a Harley and live close to Laconia and never go to bike week either. I use to when I was married. My ex is a singer in a band and still performs up there every year.

Not sure where that load was going to in the Bronx. I turned it down right away. There are no truck stops around NY and not interested in driving for hours and hours when I'm tired.

Bakersfield, ya that's what I meant. Must be all the tar here, it felt like 120 when walking across the lot. I'm from NH and 50 is T-Shirt weather. Anything over 70 and we have the A/C on.

Stan,

I took 58 the whole way.....I didn't follow your directions....Need I say more!!!! HOLY CRAPOLA BATMAN

Steve,

You're not far from the Grapevine. Take a cruise south on 5 and check it out.
It will add to your mountain driving adventures and you can go to the Ontario TA and see some real crazy people.

Why would he want to go live out the hell that is the Ontario truck stop. You know I was in there one time because I had limited options and I remember walking by a van parked in the truck stop and there was probably two or three guys in the van and one of them had puked beside the van and that just totally made me disgusted. After that I just went in there to scale out and then leave.
One time after scaling out at 1AM Friday night I was doing up my logbook and this hooker comes and knocks on my door and smiles at me. I just wave my hands like no way and she carries on. I was out of there as fast as possible. I just drove to Frazier Park or something like that I think it's called and stopped at the Flying J there. Pretty good food and lots of parking. One place you can stop at if you drive up North to in California is Corning. Lots of truck stops and you'll always find a place to park. There's a Flying J, TA, and Petro there. I've never been bothered by prostitutes there either.
Steve if you ever get a chance go up the I-5 through Oregon and Washington State. Oregon is pretty nice to drive through up until you get to Salem and Portland area then you deal with city traffic.

Well, the loads to NYC, usually pays premium!
As far as the truck stops concern, you could always park in PA and leave early in a morning, or park at Vince Lombardy rest area on NJ pike, if you want to get close!

I'm on my way back to Boston with 44,000 pounds of onions. My phone, once again was ringing non stop in Bakersfield. 3 brokers wanted me to cancel my load and go with them instead and said they would beat any price I already got. One broker wanted me to deliver to NJ and said he would pay the rate to my door in New Hampshire.

I loaded up in Huron at a farm. I got there at 6am and was lucky I did. It wasn't long before the place was filled with more and 30 trucks waiting there turn to get loaded. I've never been so hot and dirty in my life. Do you know how dangerous it is to tarp that load while walking on top of bags of onions!!!! That new 17' extendable ladder I bought really paid off.

So much for no idling in CA yesterday. Don't know what the temp was but if I shut my engine off it would have been at least 180 in the cab.

I'm sure nobody knows what I was talking about when I said I took Rt. 58 the whole way yesterday. Stan gave me directions but I was suppose to take another road not long after getting on 58. Well, Rt 58 came to a point where you actually take another road that is 58. There was a sign there that said anything over 30' from kingpin to rear axle is not recommended.
I said to myself, well, it can't be all that bad if it's just a recommendation.

It was 2am and no lights or anything on this road. It started out cool and the road was a little curvy. Well, that didn't last long then all of a sudden I realized I was committed to this road and no turning back. I was loaded with 48,000 and at some points down shifting to 2nd gear to make the hills. The grade was right off the scale and I'm guessing over 15%. It was one hair pin after another. I'm not talking a hair pin like other roads. I'm talking 180 degree ones where I was looking out my drivers side window because I had the wheel turned so much.

There are no side rails to keep you from going over the side. I had to use both lanes to make the turns or my rear tandems would have gone over the edge. Thank God is was night. I was able to use the darkness to at least get a warning that another car was coming. I was lucky and not a sole came the other way.

I was on this road for maybe 2 hours going over this incredible mountain. Screw Colorado and that snow covered mountain road I went over in the early days. I don't think anything will ever compare to this. There should be a barrier at the beginning at maybe 10' to prevent any trucks from using this road. Not even RV's or ANYONE towing ANYTHING should be on this road. This was terror to the max and no turning back.

I had only driven 3 hours total to get to the power plant and was told it would be 2 hours before I could come in. They had to arrange for an escort for me. It was a good thing because it felt like I had been driving for 20 hours straight I was so bent out of shape from that road.

So any ways, I'm off for home and need to deliver on Monday so it's another 600 mile per day run which I'm not a huge fan of. I would prefer 500 mile days and a little more time to relax at the end of each day. I'm sure all you younger guys are laughing.

I've had to cancel my doctors appointment for my yearly physical 4 times already because I was on the road. I had asked the nurse on the 3rd time to move some retired persons appointment to the following week and give me theres. She said no way, we don't do that and gave me another appointment 4 weeks later. The 4th time I called and canceled I sort of yelled at her like what the F was I suppose to do. She pretty much said she couldn't do anything. I told her to tell my doctor what was going on and from now on I was going to go to the emergency room for my physical because I had no choice. 15 minutes later I got a call back and she wasn't happy. She said she spoke to the doctor and any time I'm back to just call and they will have me come in!!!!

I've been with this doctor for years and I knew he didn't know what was going on and this nurse thought she was running the practice.

So much for ranting. Time for another coffee then hit the road.

I'd hate to lose a load of onions. That would make ya cry. :P

Unfortunately, it used to be legal for motorcycles to run between lanes. Evidently, it still is today. I think it is crazy for motorcycles to run between lanes. I had an incident about 30 or so years ago near Studio City. I almost switched lanes when I saw the front of a motorcycle. It turned out to be a CHP. Had I hit him he would have been run over by several other vehicles since it was rush hour.