10-4 Magazine April 2023

The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell Spring is here... well, that’s the hope anyways. Some of us aren’t sure if it’s spring or just the start of the rainy season. The weather report shows warming trends in the south, it just didn’t say where it would be south of! Now, for that warming trend, that too may be a problem around here. We all remember what happened to Frosty the Snowman. Too much sun and lots of fun will make Frosty melt away. I think everybody has had enough winter this year, so let’s wave goodbye to all the cold, wet, and miserable days of March. Show me some sunny warm days and clean trucks for a change. Shoot, I would settle for a clean windshield and 20 miles of clear roads with no salt spray. It never fails: I pull out of the truck wash and, before I even reach the highway, I find a pool of water to splash in. That or my shipper/receiver has a dirt lot. Well, you know what they say, “That’s truckin!” Another part of trucking is paying for all those washes and repairs, so that’s the direction I’m headed this month. Someone once said trucking is what most drivers do between paydays, and every day should be a payday. The difference is in who is getting paid! If we make a buck, we spend it before it has a chance to grow up. Not that all spending is bad, but sometimes we could help ourselves by keeping it in check. April 1st isn’t a trucker’s holiday, but it could be. Some of us were fooled into buying that first truck. I’m never sure who was the bigger fool – them for telling me or me for believing them. “Buy a truck,” they said. “It will be fun,” they said. “And it’s easy to make lots of money.” Those may be true statements, just not all at the same time. Trucking can be fun, especially on days when there’s a truck show, or when a group of your buddies get together and convoy across the country. In the old days, that was an every night thing, and once the wagons were loaded, we headed into the wind together. We were rollin’ coal an eating concrete with a constant chatter on the old C.B. radio. Nowadays, that’s not so common. With the invention of the cell phone, drivers don’t socialize in the same manner. As for the making lots of money part, that too is questionable. First and foremost, what constitutes “lots of money” and just how hard should you have to work to keep it? Without getting too long winded this month, I’d like to mention some tips for saving some of your hard earned pay. When your truck breaks down and needs to be repaired, and they all do at some point, there’s no need to be wasteful. What got me to start thinking along these lines was when I was recently a guest on John Testa’s weekly broadcast on Studio 10-4 Live. John had asked me about all the parts I’ve been purchasing and if I had a “Magic Checkbook” or something. Maybe he thought I was born rich and good looking? Actually, I think I missed out on all of those things. Many of you know from watching Facebook I have been rebuilding, or maybe I should call it refurbishing, my old steady work horse. I drive a 2000 Pete most of the time, and it’s a lot like me – it’s old and a little bit rusty, but still salvageable. With the current freight rates in the tank and too much snow on the passes, I decided to take advantage of the slow time. I’ve had some heat related issues with my truck, so we have been trying to find the cause. Unsuccessfully, I might add. That’s a lot like chasing ghosts in the dark. As soon as I would fix one problem, another would spring up someplace else. After I had to drop the third load in three weeks, I decided it was time to get serious before it hurt my service record and damaged my good reputation. There’s only so much money you can throw at a problem before you realize you are losing ground. I wasn’t too surprised when I couldn’t locate my troubles, as I had a fair number of miles on the old motor. I want to note here the “I” means I’m getting my hands dirty. Many of these repairs we have done are things most drivers can do with the supervision of a certified mechanic. I consider myself fortunate to have a superior one right here close to home. He is someone who is willing to work with me and allow me to help in the shop, which saves him from having to pay for additional labor to clean parts and sweep the floor. I may be an old dog, but I’m not too old to learn new tricks. I just can’t bring myself to pay these dealerships $150 or more an hour for someone to clean up the shop 56 10-4 Magazine / April 2023 THE ABC’S OF TRUCKIN’