slackwrdave

monday on the road

Tuesday, 2. December 2008, 23:47:27

rockingham, tow, coin laundry, truck, NC, us 74, north carolina

My work truck broke down Monday morning going to work, so this big blue monster had to come get me. It was kind of fun actually.

always got to have something in my moutha little net access while traveling

Comments

Mr Bi # 3. December 2008, 00:20

! hi Dave
i have just read your entry ! very intersesting

Two pictures is very nice !
Grertting to you and Brian

slackwrdave # 3. December 2008, 04:19

Hey! I love it when you stop by.

Nice to see you.

Shaunak De # 3. December 2008, 04:47

On the bright side,
Your monday morning wasnt boring....

slackwrdave # 3. December 2008, 05:03

It wasn't bad. Two hours sipping coffee and surfing on Opera Mini until help arrived.

Lorenzo Celsi # 3. December 2008, 17:45

This is what happens here most of the time:

The advantage of not driving an huge truck. Once my scooter broke and I got the same truck loading it.

slackwrdave # 3. December 2008, 20:03

My company rented me a Toyota Corola to get around to do a few things while the truck is broken. For an economy car it's pretty nice. The engine isn't too sewing machine-ish, but it does lack cruise control, which makes the long drives harder.

Lorenzo Celsi # 3. December 2008, 20:11

I've never seen a car with cruise control. And I have never driven one with automatic gears.

slackwrdave # 3. December 2008, 20:19

I also prefer a standard stick shift, but all our medium and smaller company vehicles are automatic. When I was younger, a had a sporty little Triumph convertable. Man, that thing was fun, but it rarely ran more than a few weeks without problems. English sports cars would make you swear so creatively at their mechanical problems.

MIKE124 # 4. December 2008, 06:55

Hi Dave, what happened with your truck? What was the problem? Did you find out?

slackwrdave # 5. December 2008, 04:36

Hey Mike!

The engine went crazy, the cylinders firing all random and making crazy noises. The transmission was changing gears (again crazy) and throwing me around from the gears being the wrong ones for the speed. Then it slowed down and stopped. It was demonically possessed!

I haven't heard yet what is the problem, but I assume it was the computer. With the Ford diesel, the problem is always the computer, a sensor, or wiring. The moving parts of the engine and transmission on the Ford never break. It is always the "support" stuff like its computer brain. They are really good though. Even with almost no preventative maintenance, they run forever. If you get the regular service, they run for 2 forevers!

The company fleet also has some Isuzu and Kenworth diesels. I don't like them as much. The Ford is stronger, quieter, and much more comfortable.

Due to it being the Internet, I've been evasive about my job. I'm not a truck driver, but my job requires driving some types of them, sometimes for long distances. There! Much clearer! lol

MIKE124 # 5. December 2008, 05:30

Oh, i thought you was a truck driver.

slackwrdave # 5. December 2008, 12:36

Oh, i thought you was a truck driver.

I would need to gain a lot of weight first.

It would require eating too much fried chicken, hamburgers, and French fries, oh, and I forgot the heavy smoking!

I shouldn't stereotype truck drivers, but most I see on the road look to be in terrible physical condition.

MIKE124 # 5. December 2008, 17:23

Why are they in the terrible physical condition?

slackwrdave # 5. December 2008, 17:32

Probably from the difficulty of eating healthy while traveling. Fast food is all salt and fat. It's easier to get the "heart attack in a sack" than to seek out or prepare good food. Truck drivers need to have a commercial drivers license which can be cancelled if they have high blood pressure. I imagine there is some kind of racket for getting around that.