Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

Tour 931 said:
Rest areas in the west are easy. I park with the trucks in rest areas pulling the trailer. With truck stops I park with the cars. I drove long haul and know where a semi wouldn’t mind me parking which is usually at the first slot where they can see you. If you park in the middle where they can’t see you they get mad. Also parking anywhere an 18 wheeler won’t fit helps.
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I've considered regional driving. Most RV owners wake up on travel day thinking "Oh, no!" I'm on the other end of the spectrum. 10 hours behind the wheel is relaxing to me. I'm just not sure I would want the days out, not to mention "new week" starting Sunday night....unless I did the spot market as an owner operator where I have a little control....
 
Tour 931 said:
Rest areas in the west are easy. I park with the trucks in rest areas pulling the trailer. With truck stops I park with the cars. I drove long haul and know where a semi wouldn’t mind me parking which is usually at the first slot where they can see you. If you park in the middle where they can’t see you they get mad. Also parking anywhere an 18 wheeler won’t fit helps.
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Good tips! Ever getting late night door knocks from lot lizards? More dangerous than grizz?
 
Sweeney said:
I've considered regional driving. Most RV owners wake up on travel day thinking "Oh, no!" I'm on the other end of the spectrum. 10 hours behind the wheel is relaxing to me. I'm just not sure I would want the days out, not to mention "new week" starting Sunday night....unless I did the spot market as an owner operator where I have a little control....
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I find long drives meditative, too.
And I'm looking forward to finishing the major home project(s) soon to be able to just wander..."hmm, that looks interesting lets turn here".
Heh, yep no stealth in a shiny CI...
 
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Kevin Bat-Tree Killah said:
Good tips! Ever getting late night door knocks from lot lizards? More dangerous than grizz?
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Great, now I have to watch that movie again --- Jeremiah Johnson, nothing related to lot lizards.

My other thing isn't going quite according to plan; my projections are WAAY off -- simply because my body won't let me stand for 8-10 hours at a time. Its not uncommon to 'starve out' in that business anyway. I'm close, or, at least I can see the trend isn't going in the right direction.

Also, the state of the business is not what it needs to be to be reasonably self-sustaining. Looking at P&L, there are some things there that improve the situation, but I'm questioning the ROI enough that I may take a pass --- the profit in a 2 way partnership makes it tough. I'm an investor, not an angel investor...I have to make my money. We'll see....

Lot Lizards -- I was just talking to a friend about them. He does mostly local, but periodically gets regional work requiring overnight. He said that they are still there but unless you look for them, they won't find you. A simple "no solicitation" on the door is more than enough to keep them away. Frankly, I don't know ...well...lets just say this. I don't like driving used cars. Just sayin'.


Kevin Bat-Tree Killah said:
I find long drives meditative, too.
And I'm looking forward to finishing the major home project(s) soon to be able to just wander..."hmm, that looks interesting lets turn here".
Heh, yep no stealth in a shiny CI...
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Would you do it again? I've seen assessments of income to CDLs swing wildly from "I barely make minimum wage" to "Hell yah..." Frankly, very similar situation to my above comments. I know I can do 10 hours in a row behind the wheel, but I know that there's a lot of dock time that bits into the payday.

I may find myself in a situation where I need to do something like that since my IT skills aren't valued as much as they used to be (old phart perceived as "too experienced" or "Set in his ways, and won't accept current methods.") and my "plan b" doesn't look like it was such a good plan :)

Little frightening, but I just have to remember the house is paid off, and all I owe is taxes....
 
Sweeney said:
Great, now I have to watch that movie again --- Jeremiah Johnson, nothing related to lot lizards.

My other thing isn't going quite according to plan; my projections are WAAY off -- simply because my body won't let me stand for 8-10 hours at a time. Its not uncommon to 'starve out' in that business anyway. I'm close, or, at least I can see the trend isn't going in the right direction.

Also, the state of the business is not what it needs to be to be reasonably self-sustaining. Looking at P&L, there are some things there that improve the situation, but I'm questioning the ROI enough that I may take a pass --- the profit in a 2 way partnership makes it tough. I'm an investor, not an angel investor...I have to make my money. We'll see....

Lot Lizards -- I was just talking to a friend about them. He does mostly local, but periodically gets regional work requiring overnight. He said that they are still there but unless you look for them, they won't find you. A simple "no solicitation" on the door is more than enough to keep them away. Frankly, I don't know ...well...lets just say this. I don't like driving used cars. Just sayin'.




Would you do it again? I've seen assessments of income to CDLs swing wildly from "I barely make minimum wage" to "Hell yah..." Frankly, very similar situation to my above comments. I know I can do 10 hours in a row behind the wheel, but I know that there's a lot of dock time that bits into the payday.

I may find myself in a situation where I need to do something like that since my IT skills aren't valued as much as they used to be (old phart perceived as "too experienced" or "Set in his ways, and won't accept current methods.") and my "plan b" doesn't look like it was such a good plan :)

Little frightening, but I just have to remember the house is paid off, and all I owe is taxes....
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I loved driving an 18-wheeler! It’s all the non-driving that is a pain. I retired from an office job when I was 54 and got bored. I took a truck driving class and got a cross country job. I drove the least I could and still have a job. When you are under load it’s drive drive drive. Between loads you can make it two hours or two days. Those that made it two hours made a lot of money. Drivers like me didn’t make much but I didn’t care as I had retirement income. So I would arrange to be at a NASCAR track the day before a race. I saw a lot of races for the cost of admission. No air fare. No hotel expenses. And no expensive food bill as I ate regular food in my truck which had a refrigerator, stove and microwave.

My wife was still living at the time and I would fly her down on Friday night and back on Sunday. Once I had her picked up in a limo and driven to a truck stop in Las Vegas. She dressed up and you know what everyone was thinking.

I drove for one year and quit.
 
Sweeney said:
I really want a cabin like that, even with camping "opening up" and begin able to find sites much easier than previous years, having a go to place to unplug would be wonderful.

I actually never really enjoyed that show, maybe I need to go back and re-watch and episode of two.
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Found the Hoosier episode from spring 2023, he was at Blackwell horsecamp in the Charles Deem wilderness area up near Bloomington (or down from your coordinate )

we are heading over to Buzzard Roost this weekend, overlooks the Ohio River from up on a Bluff in the Hoosier NF. Then to the food truck festival on Sunday nom nom nom)
 
Tour 931 said:
I loved driving an 18-wheeler! It’s all the non-driving that is a pain. I retired from an office job when I was 54 and got bored. I took a truck driving class and got a cross country job. I drove the least I could and still have a job. When you are under load it’s drive drive drive. Between loads you can make it two hours or two days. Those that made it two hours made a lot of money. Drivers like me didn’t make much but I didn’t care as I had retirement income. So I would arrange to be at a NASCAR track the day before a race. I saw a lot of races for the cost of admission. No air fare. No hotel expenses. And no expensive food bill as I ate regular food in my truck which had a refrigerator, stove and microwave.

My wife was still living at the time and I would fly her down on Friday night and back on Sunday. Once I had her picked up in a limo and driven to a truck stop in Las Vegas. She dressed up and you know what everyone was thinking.

I drove for one year and quit.
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Your situation isn't that different than mine then apparently. Currently, I'm 57 and want to work another 8-10 years.

Covid put a hurt on many small businesses, this this shop is no different. I see this one as just now beginning to get back on track...the sales trend is where they SHOULD have been in 2022.

I'm seeing myself less and less behind the chair. My body just can't take standing that long. My back especially. I camped this weekend and foundmyself awake at night hurting, this never happened before.

I need to figure out how to circle this square. I'm thinking that remaining an owner, consulting on daily issues, and 'running the finances', and coaching my friend and partner. Of course, returning an equity stake.

This is where driving >might< be an option since during the dock time and "down time," I could do those financial responsibilities. Ah, the beauty of a connected world!!!! I really want to help the younger owner succeed --- teach him what I know about leadership, management of teams, and basic money management.

Its that or back to IT for me --- and I want to stay FAR away from "big' anything. Big Pharma, Big money....I've realized none of them give a tinkers dam e.about people and want nothing to do with any of them. I want to be able to walk into the office of a board of directors member and have a real discussion.

We'll see. I'm a little lost at the moment, as I see the plans I made so carefully aren't going to quite work as I thought.
 
Sweeney said:
Your situation isn't that different than mine then apparently. Currently, I'm 57 and want to work another 8-10 years.

Covid put a hurt on many small businesses, this this shop is no different. I see this one as just now beginning to get back on track...the sales trend is where they SHOULD have been in 2022.

I'm seeing myself less and less behind the chair. My body just can't take standing that long. My back especially. I camped this weekend and foundmyself awake at night hurting, this never happened before.

I need to figure out how to circle this square. I'm thinking that remaining an owner, consulting on daily issues, and 'running the finances', and coaching my friend and partner. Of course, returning an equity stake.

This is where driving >might< be an option since during the dock time and "down time," I could do those financial responsibilities. Ah, the beauty of a connected world!!!! I really want to help the younger owner succeed --- teach him what I know about leadership, management of teams, and basic money management.

Its that or back to IT for me --- and I want to stay FAR away from "big' anything. Big Pharma, Big money....I've realized none of them give a tinkers dam e.about people and want nothing to do with any of them. I want to be able to walk into the office of a board of directors member and have a real discussion.

We'll see. I'm a little lost at the moment, as I see the plans I made so carefully aren't going to quite work as I thought.
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with that in mind truck driving might be something for you. I would recommend a small company with 20 to 60 trucks. Companies like Swift are not driver friendly and hire a lot of foreign born drivers who will take the abuse.
 
Tour 931 said:
with that in mind truck driving might be something for you. I would recommend a small company with 20 to 60 trucks. Companies like Swift are not driver friendly and hire a lot of foreign born drivers who will take the abuse.
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I've heard nothing good about swift. I kind of anticipate I'll be stuck doing Roehl or something like that for a few hundred thousand miles -- to build my safety score. May be buy a tractor/trailer and play the spot market. 10 years and I'd be out....

Crazy time :)
 
Van_and_Terri said:
Send some to northern Florida! Southern Florida is flooded, while northern Florida is a dust bowl.
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I was talkijg to my brother in Sarasota. I don't think you need to go that far. he was talking about building an arc...

We've been dry here in Indiana --- wouldn't mind if it stays that way, at least Wednesday through Monday morning. There's a gathering I'm trying to go too. My camping time has been severely limited as of late. :(
 
We broke down and turned the a/c on yesterday for the 1st time this year. Forecast is 90's for 5 of the next 6 days. 'Broke down' sounds like there was a debate or a struggle, neither of which was true - it was more of a shared glance at the thermostat...
 
I consider AC to be a life essential, under normal circumstances of course. Living in the midwest where humidity often hovers well above 85%, it impacts quality of work, and relationships as being hot and humid makes people irritiable.

I have considered in stallation of a minisplit to cool just the bedroom, or even a small window shaker, but the reality is we still need to be in the living room and at some point.

When camping --- its even MORE of a necessity. The small space and limited airflow (unless you open wide the doors, and roll out the screens to keep the mosquitos at bay) isn't so good. The sun beats the space mercilessly.

Speaking of which, wednesday through Sunday I've got reservations at my beloved park. woohoo!
 
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