Comments By Flatwater

Cool! Who are you going to be hauling for?

If you ever deliver salt to a tannery, breathe through your mouth. And Frebeeze is your friend. I thought feedlots had a "unique" scent. Ugh...

I was getting fuel at the Sapp Bros in Sidney, NE this afternoon when I looked over and saw... Pinkle!!! In all of it's pink, oops, sorry, purple glory. I didn't get the truck number, but it HAD to have been Ol' Pinkle. I mean, come on... Prime couldn't have bought too many pink. Ahem, 'scuse me, purple(ish) lightweight Freightshakers. :)

Just teasing, buddy! I can see where you got purple outta that. If you squint and tilt your head a little to the left... Yup! Purple! ;)

I started a new job a week ago yesterday and it's been a heck of a week! I picked up my new Volvo 430 and Tempte 50', 3-axle hopper in Omaha at noon with 73 miles on the odometer. I parked yesterday afternoon with 3695 miles on it. I also parked with only fifteen minutes left on my 70. They like to run!

The truck has a D13 Volvo engine and their 12-speed I-Shift automatic transmission. This is the second new auto truck I've driven in the last three months and I gotta say, I'm really liking it! The Volvo has really impressed me, too. Definitely a driver's truck. The dash area is well laid out with driver comfort and ergonomics in mind. And the stereo rocks! The only thing that bothers me is the sleeper size. It's a 47" flat top. There is very little little storage. Quite a bit under the bunk, but it's kind of inconvenient to get to. Also, I'm 6'5", 315 pounds. I fit, barely... LOL!

So far, I've been hauling soy beans, crushed rock and salt. Next week I start hauling corn and wheat. The biggest adjustment has been dialing in the weights and keeping the restrictions straight; 90,000 in Nebraska and Wyoming, 85,000 in Kansas on secondary roads only and 80,000 on the interstate. Iowa is 90,000 on the little roads, 80,000 on the big roads. Colorado is 85,000 and 80,000. Remembering where I'm at and where I'm going sometimes catches me...

All in all, I'm having fun. I like running hard and all the drivers I work with have been more than willing to help a rookie grain hauler out. I think they like watching me apply flatbed logic to hopper scenerios...

Reminds me of a Ren and Stimpy episode, "Space Madness." DON"T PUSH THE RED BUTTON!!!

YES! Me, too! "Don't push the big, red, shiny, fun button!" Hahaha! I haven't seen that episode in, oh, 100 years, or so. Ah, my misspent youth...

I picked up my new truck Friday and went straight to work. Hauled a load of rock from a quarry south of Omaha to a shingle factory in Kansas then boogied to a salt mine in central Kansas and loaded ice salt headed for NE Department of Roads in northwest Nebraska.

Parked for the night and going thru the new truck, having never been in a Volvo before, I noticed a "Panic" button in the sleeper. Hmm... I'm intrigued. Logic tells me what it's for but I'm enamored with shiny, red buttons. So, I push it. Yup. Lights and horns and all sorts of carrying on. Now I'm panicking and smacking buttons and switches, tring to figure out to shut the damn thing off! Finally put the key in the ignition and switch it to the "on" position and... silence. So my curiosity is satisfied and anyone within earshot thinks I'm a jerk.

I think I'll go ahead and read the manual first before I feel the need to go pushing buttons.

I start a new job in the morning with a local company hauling grain, salt and rock in hoppers. I'm in Omaha right now, waiting to pick up my brand spankin' new Volvo.

I didn't really want to leave where I was at, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. Average run of 500 miles with 2700-3000 miles per week. Occasionally a trip to Los Angeles (if I want) and Texas (again, only if I want), but mainly stay in Nebraska, Western Iowa, South Dakota and Northern Kansas. Park the truck at home Friday night, don't touch it again until Monday morning. And, for the cherry on top, AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE!!!!! My kiddos are wonderful, but honestly, they're walking calamities! LOL! It will be nice to have that piece of mind.

I'll keep you all informed on my new gig.

Usually there is an egress cut somewhere else along the right of way. It might be a mile down the path or fifteen miles down. Sometimes there's a turnaround area cut out and you go back the way you came. On some jobs, especially the ones with the strict BLM oversight, you DO NOT leave the ROW. Period. End of story. You just might endanger a Ruffed Neck Albino Church Mouse's nesting habitat... In that case, back it down.

Guyjax, I shot that using my state-of-the-art (ahem, in 2006...) Droid X2. If you can't view it, feel free to visit my Photobucket account, Flatwaterdan. There are pictures of trucks, scenery, fishin', coon dogs, kiddos and pickup trucks.

Guess who he drives for????? Hahaha!!!