What type of job that involves driving allow take home trucks?

Getting to take your truck home for home time is not really an advantage it’s more a pain in the butt because you have to find a safe place with the company approves Of to park it. And Many will not approve truckstops Because they worry about someone backing into her swiping your truck and damaging it while you’re off. Which is highly probable parking a truck at a truck stop for three or four days. So the burden is on you to find a safe place, that no one will mess with your truck or ticket or tow it while you have your days off. So let’s say you find that perfect place and it’s a rare place. You roll into town for your days off almost out of hours and go around the corner and there’s a truck in your spot. Now what do you do? And to answer your other questions, no you cannot use it as your personal vehicle. When you’re off your off. The company will expect a truck to sit safely and in the same area until you resume duty.

Getting to take your truck home for your days off may or may not be an advantage depending on your set up. But one thing for sure is, it can be a pain in the butt to find a place to park it.

 

nearly ALL the over the road companies have you take home the equipment, but it is YOUR responsibility to find secured parking.

as mentioned, a pain in the butt, best for you to get a job where you go to work, get the truck, do your thing, then park the truck and go home.

how old are you anyways?

you ask an awful lot of questions regarding trucks, truck driving, etc.

 

I was beginning to wonder myself.

I had a house and lands big enough with gravel deep enough to take a 18 wheeler if I had to. (And did...)

If the 2001 logbook information to IRS showed wife and I were gone 306 days that year. So there isnt much home time to speak of. We just as not stayed all over the USA for a few days on time off enjoying the local services.

Blue beacons wash trucks for a certain amount of waiting and fee. You pay. Company pays you. Wait until after you come out of a haboob (Dust storm) or winter storm before you do it.

Going home is expensive. You sit home making no money. Particularly between chain season when its the best time to stack your money. We would stay out all year with all of our house bills paid annually once a year. Then go home for winter. Let someone else slide down Donner or get blown across Wyoming. Make a mockery of your fuel mileage.

And trucks today with all that computer? It will tell you with codes, Im sick Fix me. Or just quit.

New trucks will quit when it sweats off a pint of coolant. Unlike the old iron that can run when nursed carefully two gallons low off river water by the bucket.

Its a different time these days.

 

in my earlier years of auto repairing, cars-pick up trucks, even motorcycles, were "simple" to work on. the came the high energy ignition systems, and computer controlled carburetors.

i attended a symposium on the repair industry future.

the "bottom line"??

all vehicles were going to be computerized, and for the BENEFIT of the dealerships and thier techs. the industry wanted to be rid of the shade tree mechanic, small independent garages, used car lot grease monkeys. they "the BIG 3" were losing money hand over fist in repair dollars to those smaller places.

so what to do? make things MORE difficult to diagnose, and repair. did it work? yes, many smaller shops closed (in my area), the stronger ones survived, so much so, that high dollar investments in testing equipment was done.

there are NOT as many small shops nor shade tree mechanics anymore. i am GLAD i got out of the business, as it was costing ME too much money in test equipment i could not recoup. i went form $10.00 per hour in my shop, to $18.00 per hour (1970's dollars) and i was accused of ripping off people!

nowadays, it is NOT uncommon for labor rates to be up and OVER $100. per hour. (i wonder how many of those former customers of mine, are handling THOSE PRICES...!!)

this is how i see the trucking industry to head to....no independent repair shops, and those that DO survive all the expenses to follow?

expect HIGHER labor rates, and HIGHER parts prices.

it's inevitable.

 

We are already there. Replaced a 1100 dollar throttle body electronic panel in a GM V6. The electronics inside them failed to old age. What it COULD HAVE BEEN is another 1000 dollars for a new fuel pedal and chip, another harnoess for god only knows how much and a third sensor group for the entire assembly that decides how much to speed up or slow down that engine via a strict voltage and binary.

Makes me physically sick. When I consider that on a double pump holley provided everything else is in order you can adjust that big nut until you hear music. Literally sweet song of power. None of that anemic cough and actual DERATE command on our dashboard when that throttle body quit. Turned that road car into a 20 mph limping sad sack.

What a experience that was.

And that throttle body? Labor? Im not sure but it's up there in additon to the part. Maybe two or three sockets wired to it and four screws to bolt. Plus a shop computer to verify and fiddle.

This is a semi rant.

Thats why I am looking at my Tahoe and wonder if I can drop a 327 geared engine into it and a differental ring rather than get a modern computer car. Tahoe does have a solid state basic computer but as long she advances at 31 degrees or so in real time shes running ok. Not perfect but ok. Its when she gets lazy and ####### too much in winter.

Funny how that works. Been pondering that problem for a year now. A new engine computer on that vehicle is only about 120 dollars plus reflashing and so on.

 

I bring my truck home but I leave the trailer in a drop yard. I normally get it washed before getting home. I avoid moving the truck as much as possible when I’m home more of a hassle to do my groceries in my truck rather than my car since I live in jersey and have many low bridges.

 

before ANY amounts of money are dumped into the Tahoe, make sure the frame, floors are rust free.

there are very reliable LS engines (still computerized) but minimally so.

 

As a matter of fact I am working the floor question, kind of inspired by Rocks and her wonderful jimmy. Thats why I am leaning towards replacing it by the time I fix everything I keep finding on the tahoe I might as well replace it.

The frame is a GIANT question mark. The truck previous owner in Helena Arkansas or Mississippi, somewhere on the river spent a lot of time canoeing with that thing so he parks it at the waters edge, go paddle come back and truck is in 2 feet of water. No problem drive home rust and all.

The paint and body work required will be a few thousand dollars minimum already. Its all steel. But how deep does that damage go? I don't want to know to tell the truth.

 

You just get fuel before you park or as soon as you are ready to leave. Yes, you can move it for repairs, but typically you just drop it at the shop when you go home, pick it up when you come back out. Washes you do the same as fuel, before or after hometime. Finding a place to park usually isnt hard, some people are just lazy and cant be bothered to try. Rv storage places, wrecker yards, dealerships, etc will all usually allow you to park for a few. Your company should cover that.