I remember this post. Brings back memories.
If Hanoki ever asks a Q, after going back 6 years in posts, I hope no one tells him to check the archives. I think he's got that part covered.
The Ford is still going. I hesitate to say still going strong, cuz I'm in the process of looking for another one. That vehicle has been good to me though. Prolly better than I deserved. So I'm very thankful for it. That puppy is now 12 years old. If it went tomorrow while I wouldn't be happy about it, I'd appreciate that it held up so well. My next one will be a Ford also.
I had forgotten all about the wiper issue w/ the Sprinter. Once I went back to the Ford it became a non-issue. The windows don't frost up while I'm driving. If I remember it correctly I fixed the frost problem in the Sprinter by putting a shower curtain behind my seat. That kept the heat up front. Check that, I fixed the frost problem in the Sprinter by getting rid of the flippin thing. Until I sold it, I had the shower curtain behind the seats.
Sprinters are prolly a lot better now than back then. I haven't heard nearly as many complaints about em in recent years as in the past. At the same time, I stand behind what I said back then. A lot of people had issues w/ em. I lost my backside on the thing. That's natural tough when ya sell a vehicle after less than a year of ownership & put the kind of miles on it that this industry does.
John, I hope you guys are doing great down there. I'm pretty happy here locally. I've moved to Royal Oak from Flint. Local freight is now a viable option. The same company I made $7,000 w/ in 9 months (or 9K in 7 months, forget which) I'm doing real well w/ now. It's pretty simple in that runs that made no sense to take when I lived 60 miles away are now good paying runs. Get 2-4 of those a day & it's been a pretty decent day.
Even when a run is a lil iffy, & there are a few of those, I just take em. It'll get made up sooner or later. In Flint when I tried the iffy runs it always seemed to backfire. In Royal Oak here it just seems to work out. At least so far it has.
When it's slow, like today so far, at least I'm sitting in the comfort of my home. So I'm appreciative of that. I may take a run to NC or something in winter, but then I won't care if I sit for a few days. As a matter of fact I'll prefer it.
The worst.. & I'm saying this in a way that I know it's not bad at all, not like I'm complaining in the least.. thing I think I've had to deal w/ is having taken a run, get home, just get inside the door, & have to head right back to where I came from. That's happened 3 times so far. 44 miles-22 each way- is my longest go back to where I came from. The others were about half that. No biggie in the least. That's nothing compared to moving 300 miles & still getting no freight for a few days.
I don't make what your drivers do, our OTR guys do, the Load 1 guys, etc. I'm not by any means getting rich. Freight along w/ a lil side business I have is allowing me to plug along nicely though. Winter will slow down but that's ok. I'm ready for it.
Also, outside of work there's all kinds of women jogging around here, a yoga studio across the street, etc. So the viewing is nice. Getting to know a new girl who's looking like she'll be my g/f. All in all I'm generally happy.
If a Memory Foam mattress is too pricey, the toppers help a lot too. [Memory Foam is easily cut to size if it's bigger than desired - truck beds can be odd sizes.]
