[tootie04]

The george is really pretty!! I love the ride through there....just makes ya want to pack up and move there....oh well back to sailboat dreamin 8)

tootie

[west_coaster]

Hey Samael, here's the online report from the State Police on that chase you saw. Just thought you'd like to read it.

http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/NEWSRL/new...ude_ruiz.shtml

West_Coaster

[samael9]

Originally Posted by west_coaster

Hey Samael, here's the online report from the State Police on that chase you saw. Just thought you'd like to read it.

http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/NEWSRL/new...ude_ruiz.shtml

West_Coaster

Dang.... Nothing like a little police report to spice up an already exciting little jog to the old brain cells. Thanks, West_Coaster! That guy sure doesn't look so great in his picture.

Interesting little synchronicity, with your post this evening.

I made my way down from Baker City, OR through our SLC terminal and about 15 miles up the US 6 canyon on the way to Price. I found the nicest family-owned Sinclair station and food joint. The restaurant is called Yabbos. Not like in hooters, but apparently it is Aussie for "friends". A nice *wide spot* in the road; it has an RV park, little hotel and great grub.

There were a few other truck in the lot went I happened upon it, so I immediately pulled in. I racked up some good miles today and thought it best to shut down before heading further up into the hills. It was a very warm group of heavy haulers having dinner and this extremely nice family serving us all.

The TV was on, and we were all watching the weather and the local news. Really pathetic stuff: A nineteen year old rapist, and some other kid with a shotgun. My mind went oblivious to the details, but everyone else was really jazzed by the busts. So I asked the crew if they had heard anything on the news about the chase I saw up in OR. No was the general concensus, but here you are with the police report. It was quite something.

Another FYI: Should you find your trucking self traveling along US 6, this is another "must do". Great food, great people, lots of fresh air.

After a great meal, Andy the owner told me to park 'round back of the station rather than in the far east parking lot. He gave me the lock code to the hotel office and said that I was free to use the bathroom and the shower if I wanted to. You can be sure that I will take him up on his offer in the morning. I can't start running again until 0800, so it will be a leisurely launch into the day.

I'm hoping that I can make my first drop in Fort Worth late in the day on Saturday. We'll see how the mileage goes tomorrow.

Yes Tootie, we have our dreams, but it is the force behind them which makes them into realities. One close look at how you and Bo brought your new-found trucking company from a party of one to three is living proof that there is no limit to what one can accomplish with Will. Bo, who is so modest will write it off as dumb luck, perhaps. Maybe even sheer folly. But the fact of the matter is, that both of you worked your way *to this*.

And much in the same way, you will find your way to your yacht. As will my self. In doing some casual figuring today, I came to the conclusion that I could see this vessel under my feet within 5-6 years, if I play my cards correctly. Perhaps not a J44 as would like, but something similar. No matter. As Geomon so aptly put it, there are a jillion boats out there to be had. Many of which are distressed sale merchandise.

And if you think cars and trucks depreciate hard and fast, wait until you start looking into the used boat market. Also, a very good and old friend of our family is a prominant yacht broker down in Miami. Once you and Bo start finding your "tastes" regarding a yacht, we can put "The Boogie Man" to work for you.

Here's a fine example of an extremely stable full keel cruising yacht:
http://www.ipy.com/Default.php?Page=...nguage=English

Island Packet builds some of the finest, most forgiving, easy to handle boats on the water. Solidly built and great sail plan, these yachts are absolutely fantastic.

My roots are in yacht racing, so my tastes are a bit different. Once you look over the host of ammenities and layouts, you will see why this is one example of a perfect fit for you guys. And as promised, I will teach the two of you how to sail it. I think you will be quite pleasantly surprised when you see how similar running a boat is, in comparison to pulling a flat. You're gonna have to get your DH a blue blazer and a skipper's hat for when you pull up to the yacht club..... :roll: And don't forget the Nantucket Reds.

Anchors A'weigh.....

[tootie04]

OMG clint.....that is a great looking boat!! That would be beyond a dream come true!! How much money for one of these USED??

tootie

[geomon]

here ya go, you can change all sorts of search parameters

Island Packet...

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...&pbsint=&ps=30

[samael9]

Well, there ya go..... You ARE the man, Geo!!!

The one in Mobile looks nice. And only a shade over 160k. Gee whiz, I'll be going right by it after my drop in DFW. I wonder if they would take a gently used Volvo VNL 670 in on trade?

Likely, these used ones are within spittin' distance of your Hunter 45, eh tootie?

Parked in Albequerque. I'm doing my 34 hr. re-start here. Had an amazing drive down through Moab and along 191/491. Got some photos, but haven't looked at them yet.

The timing was perfect. I called my first drop today in Fort Worth. (Wheew) They don't unload on the weekends. So I hauled balls to NM so I could restart and have a full 70 to run all my drops with. I can get back on the road at 0800 on Sunday.

It's 615 miles to my DFW drop, which will make for a nice run on Sunday. I'll make my delivery right at 0800 on Monday. Then, it's off to two drops in LA and a few more in AL.

I gave my landlord my notice, so when I get back to Neosho, I'll be moving out and becoming a resident of my tractor. More on that later, though.

It was a long bunch of two-lane-ing today, so we goin' night-night now.

[samael9]

Indeed; a perfect day off.

Slept until 0930. Got up and sauntered over to the driver’s lounge and proceeded to use up all the hot water while showering and shaving. The facilities are excellent here. The TV area has some really big, fat LazyBoy recliners, and your author made good use of one of them while enjoying a freshly brewed bucket of joe.

So what to do on this cool and sunny Spring Saturday? Hmm. How ‘bout a trip to the local Kenworth dealer to talk numbers on a used T-600? That would be fun! And how ‘bout a trip to the Home Depot to look at new carpet for Betty’s floor? Hmm. That would be fun too!

Inland Kenworth had a brand spankin’ new T-660 parked right out front. (They must have known I was coming). Fortunately for me, there was no one in the new truck sales department at the time of my arrival. (Oh, thank goodness).

I had a good long talk with Carlos, a used truck guy who used to work as a technician in their service department. Good thing too, because I had a lot of questions regarding the C-15 and the ISX engines, either of which can/could be had in the T-600. He favored the ISX over the 2004 and newer C-15’s. And after seeing the plumbing on the ACERT C-15, I immediately knew to avoid these engines. Way too much stuff to break.

I learned about the ISX and the three “families”. Family # 2 produces 1850 ft/lb of torque, which is plenty for what I typically haul. Carlos said that finding a used T-6 with the ISX Fam. 2 is getting more difficult, as no one who owns one seems to be willing to part with it.

The numbers seem very reasonable. $55,000 + or - gets you a nice well-maintained x-Melton mobile, complete with headache rack and tarp box. 3.55 rears and an E/F 13 speed complete the package. They had three of them on the lot and more at their Denver location. $15,000 down on a three-year note at 10% interest would run about $1500.00 per month. Add a two year warrantee, cut a deal on all new rubber, chuck in a set of alloys and pitch the steel wheels on the inside drives and off you go. They even have their factory refrigerators in them. And these are 72” Aero-Cabs with a full sized mattress instead of a twin.

Can I do better for less money? Sure. As this is the first trip into a dealer, I guess this is the more expensive way to go. Bo called while I was there and he told me he has a hook-up for used trucks. He said that for $3000-5000 down would get me into a slightly older $30,000-ish truck with payments around a grand. We’ll just have to see how it goes, but I think this is the route I’ll be heading, after six months or so.

One last stroke on the fender of the pretty blue T-660, and I headed out of there.

$30.00 bought me enough black indoor/outdoor carpet to do Betty’s floor and then some. After strolling around in HD, I went back outside and took a long nap. I had a great parking space, wasn’t bothering anybody, so, why not….

Back at the terminal, the only empty place to park was next to another flatbedder. Donny came out to see what I was doing, as I was throwing all kinds of stuff out onto the tarmac. We had a great time yakking it up about all of our trips and how much we love what we do. He was just as happy with Swift Flatbed as I am, so it was very enjoyable speaking with him.

About an hour or so later, and my crib looks beautiful. I then realized I would need to dig out my little Dirt Devil vacuum when I get home. What a difference, though. How nice to be able to do this kind of thing for myself and enjoy the process.

As Donny was still hooked to his trailer, I asked if he wanted to join me for dinner, as I was going out. Sure, he said. When he got in the truck, I already had the restaurant category pulled up on my GPS. He had never seen one, so he was quite amused. I asked what type of food he wanted and we immediately agreed on Italian.

When I found one near to the terminal, which wasn’t pizza only, I called to ask if they thought a native New Yorker would be happy with their food. A confident “yes” was given, and off to Luigi’s we went.

Nice meal, great company, some good laughs and back to the yard. Betty is all put back together from today’s home improvement and we are good to go for a leisurely morning departure. Just gotta top off Betty’s tanks, and away we go.

[kybound]

Hey Clint, have been reading your post and enjoy them, good read. I am new to trucking about 6 months and would like to get into flatbed, i need the exercise, have gained 20lbs in 6 months of driving so i want to ask u a few questions about swift, do u get paid more for flatbed than van? 2. do u get additional pay for tarping and such and do u get monthly mileage bonus like the van division does. and lastly when u buy your truck can u stay with swift or are u going out on your own. thanks in advance for replys. danny

[samael9]

Originally Posted by kybound

Hey Clint, have been reading your post and enjoy them, good read.

As always, you are most welcomed. Nice to have you along for the ride!

Originally Posted by kybound

I am new to trucking about 6 months and would like to get into flatbed, i need the exercise, have gained 20lbs in 6 months of driving so i want to ask u a few questions about swift

FYI: While you do get some more exercise w/flatbed, you will still need to get a cardio-vascular work out to burn off the extra baggage. Remember: It takes 40 minutes per day of elevated heart-rate CV to accomplish weight loss. That means walking, cycling, swimming, etc. You will, in time see some muscle-mass building in your arms and shoulders from tarping, chaining, etc. And, diet is everything for loosing weight.

At the very least, flatbedding gets you off your ass, gets you out in the fresh air, and you get to meets some really cool people in industrial environments doing some pretty cool stuff.

Originally Posted by kybound

do u get paid more for flatbed than van?

I think Swift pays 1 CPM more on the flatbed side. It, on its own, isn't much. They have a graduated payscale determined by length of run as well. There are other companies who pay more than Swift on CPM, but you always have to ask, will you get the miles? I have never run more miles than I have with Swift. Period. They have freight that no one else has access to. So while the other guys were sitting parked this winter, I was busting hump. So, what's more important?

Originally Posted by kybound

2. do u get additional pay for tarping and such and do u get monthly mileage bonus like the van division does.

Yes, but I am a weird one in that I just do my work, and let the $$$'s mind themselves. Tarp pay is like $23 or $28. I forget which. But on a multi-stop tarped load, you will get stop pay and tarp pay for each stop. I would defer to Dempsy Hunter, my recruiter in Phoenix regarding monthly bonuses. I'll check with my DM as well.

Originally Posted by kybound

and lastly when u buy your truck can u stay with swift or are u going out on your own. thanks in advance for replys. danny

Dunno. I am so fuc*ing happy right now, I am not going to mess with ANYTHING. When I hit six months, I will sit down with my CPA and do the math to see if it's worth it or not to get my own rig.

There are more than a few flatbed companies out there who have nothing but O/O fleets. Hit up Tootie for more info on that one. At the rate I'm going, I couldn't be any happier with what I have. So, I am reluctant to change it. But, yes. I could lease on to Swift on the chance that I do buy my own tractor.

If you are a hard worker, and can manage your time wisely, the flatbed division will give you all you can handle. I've had absolutely ZERO complaints to date. And I am a very tough customer, as you might have gathered. No conflict, no abraisions, nada....Zip. Everything I wanted in a trucking job has come to be with Swift. Everything I have asked for has come with almost disturbing ease. I am treated with respect, I feel like family within the flatbed network, and they give me everything I ask for without batting an eyelash.

But you also have to remember, I am a freakin' cash machine to this company. Nothing is ever late, more so, it's always early. I always call my drops ahead of delivery so that no one else has to do it for me. All my QuaalComs are punctual and precise. In short, nobody ever has to wonder what Clint is doing. I make absolutely certain that this is so.

Be prepared to ride with a Mentor for a while. They may not make you ride for the full 42 days, but you will need to go out with someone to learn the ropes. There is a lot to learn with regards to securement and most of it is best learned out in the field. You will get class time, but you will get most of your hands-on, while on the job.

Having said that, I made my Fort Worth drop site this evening. It was a spectacular ride across I-40 to Amarillo and then south east on US 287 in to FW. Tomorrow, the shipping and receiving dude will be greeted by my smiling face bright and early. Then it'll be fukengrueven down to Houston and out to Sulfur, LA....... I want this gig done by Wednesday. We'll see how it goes. 8)

[Crackaces]

Just a quick break from your thread .. to repond ....

FYI: While you do get some more exercise w/flatbed, you will still need to get a cardio-vascular work out to burn off the extra baggage. Remember: It takes 40 minutes per day of elevated heart-rate CV to accomplish weight loss. That means walking, cycling, swimming, etc. You will, in time see some muscle-mass building in your arms and shoulders from tarping, chaining, etc. And, diet is everything for loosing weight.

Just to say the "lose weight" excercise is a little bit different than "conditioning" exercise.

If your purpose is to lose weight you need to get your heart rate about 25% above resting but not so high you exculsively burn sugar. At that rate every minute beyond 20 minutes burns fat. If you are burning sugar .. than you get that sick feeling after 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark your body will set into motion its long term fat buring operation if you have not exceeded the sugar in your blood stream.

The standard conditoning cycle is 80% of your max heart rate for 20 minutes.

I do 60 minutes every other day on the nordic track at 120 bpm .. then I do 20 minutes at 150 bpm three days a week.

Now back to your Swift flatbedding programing ..