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I bought it used, with 183,000 miles on it. Seems from what I gathered that it had a couple of owners before me. Paperwork left in the van suggested a sound-crew or electronics outfit, and the other guy was the one who drove it maybe 200 miles in two years. Right now it has over 598,000 miles.

Hmmmm...... My '98 has been working for me so far. Needed some work here and there, and when I first got it it needed quite a bit---- the penalty of having sat for a couple of years. But right now--- it's the best van I've ever had, hands down--- and I'd drive it cross-country without a worry.

Right now--- at home, which is a good place to be when you have a proper blizzard going on. Heavy snow, high winds, low visibility--- if you don't have to go anywhere you have to not go anywhere.

I got pulled for a weight check once. I was driving a rig then for a local cartage outfit, the tractor was smoking heavier than it should because the owner didn't maintain it quite as well as he should have--- so based on the smoke I got pulled for a weight check. I was OK as concerns that--- as...

OK. Excuse me if this seems like a smart-alecky answer, but--- the more I see of this the more I wonder why you don't get a truck that is built for the job. A 3500 series 6 wheel pickup ain't it--- especially as you keep knocking your loaded weight higher. 30K? Imagine the load over that truck's...

If you run over 26K pulling with a 6-wheel pickup, turning down loads will be the least of your worries. You've got to get that thing moving--- hard on the engine and transmission. Gotta stop it somehow. Guess what that does to brakes. Do you think you might be in hilly country? That heavy...

The trailer will be inspected at the same place they inspect your pickup. They do it that way since you're running a "baby rig". Sure, they'll probably inspect each separately-- but they also want to see that everything works together since that's the way it'll be on the road.

If the subsidies do run out, that might not be a bad thing. Hardly anybody can afford the premiums without them, and once they're gone many people will have to drop the "insurance". The penalty for not being insured will be a bargain compared to the unsubsidized insurance premiums, and when you...

Hey--- my van resembles that remark! This one I bought in 2011 with 183,000 miles already on it--- a '98 Chevy heavy 3/4 ton. It had problems that I had to work through, but right now with close to 600K on it it's good to go anywhere. If I were to sell it--- I'd be lucky to get scrap value...

Way back when I started driving for a living, if you saw a rig stuck under a bridge 9 times out of 10 it was a JB Hunt. They had a reputation for being just about the worst. I think that has improved since those days.

As things go along I'll have to see what develops. If I have to pay to park-- for a length of time, not just running in to use the restroom and get a cup of coffee-- I will have to consider the cost of parking at the truck-stop and using its services against the cost of digs at a motel-- where I...

I think maybe I won't sign on at Panther. Say what you will about the outfit I drive for, I don't get treated like that on the phone. (Hold-time contests? Really?) Actually, even though it's a really small company I always get a relatively quick answer, and I have more than one way of...

OK if I ask why you're trying to re-invent the wheel? I'm looking at this whole thing and thinking it's too small to do what you're asking. Get a proper APU set up instead, it'll be big enough for the job and designed for the job from the get-go. A D-2 is good for heating the sleeper, OR for...

I might as well pile on too. A quickie look through my contract---- no guarantees that I'll get any freight. Not a single word. Well, really---- think of it. We're all in some form of emergency delivery service. If the customers don't call, dispatch can't make a load appear out of thin air to...

Not just Hinos. I've seen tractors of different makes with the same problem. Fiberglass just isn't that durable, and where the hinges fasten it has a tendency to crack and break regardless of how well it's braced.

I make a point of not sleeping in a truck-stop unless there's absolutely no other choice. Considering that I drive a van--- there's usually other choices.

I used Power Service when I had the Sprinter. Sometimes I would forget--- and the next morning I would be reminded why you shouldn't forget. ("Winterized" diesel up North? Yeah, right. I live in Illinois, and up here they sell that damnable soybean mix. A pox on biofuel's house.)

Bet the connectors are bad. Not hard to replace, you get a new pigtail and splice it into the old wiring. The connection between the headlight and the connector is subject to oxidizing and corrosion just like any other electrical connection in older vehicles. That, and ground-fault issues will...

I have undoubtedly lost a load today because it would fit in a car--- and dispatch wanted to hold me for a vanload. So--- it works both ways. Lose loads because you're not big enough--- lose loads because you're too valuable an asset to blow off on a couple of boxes.

Turtle mentions the problems of going over 10K in a van-- whether Sprinter, Promaster, the new Ford version (I forget the name) or just a plain ol Chevy or Ford E-van--- that you'll have to scale, log and have the DOT physical. Since in this case we're talking a 2500 series Sprinter rated at...