I actually slept very well in that sleeper last night. The vibration of the engine running and the sound of the air coming out of the sleeper vents kept me asleep much of the night.  I got up a little early but certainly a full night's sleep.  I had just decided that the truck would be taken into the same shop that had done the repairs in the first place.  They are a competent shop, they just didn't get this one right.

After getting to the yard - and not finding anyone there, which I thought strange considering Monday either the Safety Officer or the manager should be there - I unhooked the truck and took it over to the shop.  My car was parked there so not even an ordeal.  It was a bit uncomfortable when I walked in there. Uhh, did anyone call in from (my company)?  They just looked around and I said, no, probably not.  And went into the problem with the turn signal.  The owner of the company, very nice gentleman - was very apologetic.  Started explaining it was an electrical issue. I had already come to that conclusion after trying a different bulb and checking the fuses.

But, I didn't have a light tester with me, I could have figured the problem out myself otherwise.  He indicated the front running lights hadn't worked because of a short in the wiring.  I said that's great, but the turn signal isn't working. He started getting apologetic and wanting me to go look at what they were talking about. No, no, I believe you, I have no issues, I just need it fixed : )  No need to start trouble with them.  Is that all you need done then? Uh, no, they wanted a "minor inspection" and grease everything.  Y'all didn't have time for that the other day.  Oh yes, okay, we'll get it done!  Thanks, I don't think I'll be working for 2 days (I need a 34 hour reset) so plenty of time.

Oh hey, the owner says, could you do me a favor and take the truck around back and line it up in front of the trailer? Oh, do we have a trailer here too?  Yes, I need to move it.  No problem, do you need it hooked up?  Well no I can do that, I just need it lined up to hook it up.  Uhh, yeah, I just went out there and hooked the truck up and left.  They have the much trouble hooking a tractor to a trailer,l I have no problem doing it. Takes maybe 4 minutes including backing under the trailer, tug test, hooking up airlines and pigtail, checking connection and cranking up the landing gear.

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Okay,  now Tuesday.  I kept to my word and did much of nothing yesterday. Today will be different, just normal stuff I need to get done.  Texted my manager yesterday about taking the truck to the shop and never heard back from her - which is pretty normal.  And also very irritating.  She is an extremely busy person, yes.  Probably overworked - yes.  Probably more on her plate doled out by the company than she should have to deal with on her own - yes.  But, she has to at least be able to find a few seconds to communicate with the employees that are entrusted to her care.

I found a job opening with Cardinal in Shreveport and have fully filled out the application.  They are supposedly a very good company.  I'm sick of these companies that don't want to repair their trucks, don't have sufficient resources to deal with it and put it off.  Today starts the Roadside check, I'm just glad I'm not driving today and the truck is in the shop.  There are 10 check stations on the way down and back up to Brownsville, I wouldn't be surprised if every single one of them is open - when most of them are normally closed.  Oh, I have an app that will show it.  Well then. Only 2 of them are open.  Oh, now I see, it's raining lol. 

I haven't actually made my mind up about leaving this current place, but as I have stated before, priority on keeping trucks well maintained is a huge sticking point in my book.  The fact that I have to go through what I do to get a truck fixed is ridiculous. I have a written statement from a senior manager that states that if there is even something as minor as a lighting issue - which current truck has - it should be fixed before it leaves the yard. That's near impossible without a mechanic working there.  Yes I could have figured it out, I do some minor stuff on the truck, but I am not being paid to do mechanical work.  And I didn't have my tools with and and  I don't feel inclined to do such work for free.  This isn't my truck, I'm just paid to drive it and get it loaded and unloaded. 

By the way, the current job I'm looking at is "specialized tankers", home daily, whether there is weekend work or not is unknown.  Average $1,100 per week at 2,000 miles.  2,000 miles is fairly light for a truck driver.  On a 5 day work week that's only 400 miles per day.  It would be a pay cut but I'm perfectly willing to accept that, it's still far more than I was making at Ferguson.  In fact, it's not much less than what I was making with OT at Ferguson. It isn't awesome money, but I can live with it. 

Well whatever.  Weighing a pickup truck, the prices out here are just plain too high.  A 2005 Chevy 2500 HD for almost 20 grand? I understand HD is popular,, but there is nothing in my little world that tells me that a 13 year old pickup is worth that much money.  I emailed the salesman back and laughed, then asked him to take me off his email list.  Another pickup for almost 20 k, 8 years old. Not even HD.  Or 2500.  I just don't get where they think these old vehicles are worth so much money.  Apparently others think the same, the latter one just mentioned has been on their lot so long they have a "manager's special" of $18,895. Bring the thing down to 12k and I'll do business lol. 

I've looked all over the place and I am just saying no.  Unless some super deal comes along, I'm not going to take the bait.  I have found much better deals in Phoenix for used trucks, which is an option I could definitely take if it comes to that.  Same trucks for thousands and thousands less.  2017 and 2018 models still way up there, but going back to 2012 or around that year, the prices are 4 and 5 thousand dollars less, at the least, than anything I'm finding around here.  I also don't have to think about rusting frames and such in Phoenix, any truck that was bought there and stays there isn't going to have that problem.  And finding some with 100k or less mileage with those prices..

Well sitting here on the internet isn't going to get anything done today.