After getting the tanker unloaded and scaled out, I headed directly to the yard. It's an hour and a half drive. It is only 62 miles, but it's Arkansas, with painfully slow speed limits and lots of small towns that have even slower speed limits.  

They tried the same thing all over again.  Pathetic waste of time, if hadn't had to have gone there anyway to drop the broken trailer and pick up another one, I would have been pissed.  I'm not all that happy anyway, their fix did not, if you can't tell already, work.  The mechanic said his AC machine must be broken and not pumping out the correct amount of freon.  So get a new machine! 

Let me back up here. The AC quit altogether this morning.  I mean, at least I was getting something out of it before, sporadically but that's better than nothing.  Now? It lasts longer for cooling before the air volume starts to diminish and the air temperature starts rising, coming out of the vents.  But, it's still the same situation.  The manager promised me we could take it somewhere else if today doesn't work.  

I am scheduled to work until 2 Mondays from now, with this coming Sunday off, but not the next one.  I assume/hope this will change, I wanted more work but not this much. No, I didn't ask them for more work, I was just hoping. Go from one end of the scale to the other.  But, something always happens when they are putting this much work into the tablet. One plant or the other will shut down, it's almost inevitable.

Well what if you have to work all of that? Well, not much different than what I've done since 2 Mondays ago.  I had yesterday off but that was it.  I do like some time off here and there tho.  Basically, I figure if I work all of this, I can then tell them I need to go to AZ and sorry, I'm out of here.  What are they going to do? It's not fake, a lie or exaggeration. 

So what about getting the truck fixed? No idea, but I told them I will not be driving this truck like this.  I have 3 shops I have found local, they can call all of them and decide which one.  Or, find more, there are more than 3 truck shops in this little town, amazingly.  I'll go get the load tomorrow, deliver it Saturday but after that? We need to have an immediate plan, it's getting warm out there and I'm not interesting in driving anything that is hot inside of it.

I do wonder how long it will take to load tomorrow.  I could actually drive the truck through the small town and stop on the way back.  Stop where? Why, TYM tractors of course, in Carthage. It's a different route home but Google actually always tells me to take it even tho it takes me about 6 miles out of the way.  I am no longer being paid by the mile so mileage shouldn't be an issue.  

Yes, I just looked at satellite view of the dealer's yard, there is a huge dirt lot out front and in that pic are 2 dually pickups with what appear to be very long gooseneck trailers attached to each one.  That area should be ample big enough to fit my truck in there.  This would save me 30 miles each way of driving  and I'd like to see what they have, what kind of deal they'll give me and consider signing on the line of - eternal payments lmao.  

I just sent the dealer a message about that, make sure they're cool with it but it's obviously a huge area that I can turn around in, shouldn't be an issue. Yes, if I get one, I'm going to want them to deliver the thing to my place.  I expect Taylor will want to ride the thing, lol, she's already alluded to that. 

I haven't made my mind up, I have slowly been persuading myself to do what needs to be done and hope it all works out in the end.  Certainly, my current business bank account wouldn't hurt terribly much with a $400 payment going out of it.  The difference now is working a full time job.  If it were just business income I was living off of, I wouldn't even consider this as an option.  However, as I have stated previously, that shed payment is going away later on this year.

___________

So the other driver is having problems as well. Regen issue, he spent the day at a shop, who finally released him to go load.  He got to the plant and the thing was stuck below 1000 rpm.  He didn't load.  I'm supposed to load tomorrow morning, highly unlikely he will be fixed and loading before me.  

Now here's the kicker: He says he's going to load later tomorrow but will "have to unload Saturday morning".  You know, he is one of the ones that refused to change his schedule to allow for me to not have to do 2 late loads in a row.  That never materialized because the plant canceled after I loaded 2 days ago and the second late load went away. They instead scheduled me early load tomorrow and of course, Saturday.

He didn't ask me and I didn't say I was the early load on Saturday.  But I am sitting here thinking, why should he be allowed to just butt in front of me?  Especially after that?  

Anyway, it's getting late and 5:30 am comes awful early.  I hope to sleep a bit better tonight versus last night.

The forecast of thunderstorms has given way to almost nothing.  Typical of their forecasting around here.  One minute it's 90% chance of rain, the next, nothing.  

G'nite. 

 Sitting in Gurdon using iPhone. 

AC has now completely stopped working. It was working sporadically, giving me some relief but now? It’s hot in here. Currently 82, feels like 85 and going up to 87 today. 

I called the manager and let him know in no uncertain terms that I will not continue driving this truck like this. I also reminded him the thing has been in their shop 3 times now. 

He’s proposing a 4th time but I’m done with it. He’s still wanting them to assess the situation before making any decisions. I interjected: what is there to assess? They already had their chance. 

Yes I am unhappy, it was sitting there a week and they still couldn’t fix it? 

Anyway, product is coming out so fast that I expect an hour to offload. Thank God. 

 Thursday - morning

Just didn't sleep well again. I mean, I got some sleep just not quality sleep.  

Got up a little later than normal for the early load, they don't want me there before 10 am because they need time to drain out one of the giant tanks enough to be able to accept a truckload into it.  In reality, they wouldn't have taken this load at all if they had been able to call it in in time to cancel it before they loaded me in Lufkin.  

So, the TYM dealer sent me a credit application (I asked for one). No sense in driving down there to find out potentially that I don't even qualify for a loan with whatever lender they are using.  No, I haven't filled it out yet, I just got home and I am certainly not filling it out on my iPhone.  

____

Filled out the initial prequal app and it came back saying I am prequalified. What it didn't say was for how much.  That doesn't help me and I don't want to fill out the full app without knowing first.  They do a hard credit check which shows up on your credit profile.  It's usually only 1 or 2 points, I just don't want it on there. The thing that too many credit checks in a short period of time will do is lead lenders to believe that you are desperate and really won't be able to pay back your contractual obligations.  They say credit inquiries are nominal impact, but over the years I have read enough info to assert that in reality? It can seriously ruin your chances of getting a loan for much of anything if there are too many of them on there in X amount period of time.

So I'll wait for the rep to contact me back and presumably have access to that application and tell me how much the qualification is good for.  If I drive down there and find out I can't get what I need, what is the use of it? Waste an hour driving there and back and the fuel.  Why do I want to go down there? Because I have been slowly selling myself on the idea of monthly payments in order to satisfy the need for this particular piece of machinery.  It was a want at first, now it is an absolute need.   

_________

I am approved for a zero interest loan, but only for 60 months, I am told.  And for 25 hp tractor instead of the 40 plus he was proposing.  Just depends. Does the price of the tractor come down accordingly for this 25 hp and therefore, the payments are still good regardless?  I have to fill out the full credit app to find out, apparently.  I'll think about it today while driving all over the place.

First, up to Gurdon to offload, then to ElDo to switch trailers and then back home. Because of needing to dump this trailer in ElDo, it will put me getting home at 5-6 pm instead of the 2-2:30 I normally do.  Unfortunately, the trailer must be fixed. I will not just keep pulling that thing around with the defect on it and I don't feel like waiting at a repair facility for who knows how long before they figure out all the parts they need and then actually locate those parts. Remember, these are old trailers and finding parts for them has proven difficult, as I have found out first hand. 

It can sit in their yard until it's done and anyway, I'm hoping whatever I end up with today? Will actually have air ride on it, not this spring suspension garbage.  You just get bounced around all over the place with that junk. 

I can tell ya I've fairly well sold myself on getting a tractor, btw.  As I said, it's not a want, it's an absolute need and renting one every time, having to get it, use it and turn it back in all in 24 hours gets old.  If I could just get on the thing, do what I need to do and then park it, wouldn't that be better?   I can start clearing the land that has trees growing on it again, undesireable types of trees and even if I wanted them, they are growing all over the place.  Most of them would have to be removed again regardless if I do (will, hopefully) indeed expand the operation.

An online FB group for RV park owners/managers netted me a conversation with the main competitor.  Back and forth, he is not full and apparently no where near it. Many people in that thread complained there are too many RV parks opening up - new ones - and they take away market share and are more desireable for older parks weren't built for these mammoth sized trailers they make nowadays. Way back when, trailers were what, 20-25 feet long? Now they're 42-44 feet, especially fancy 5th wheels?  Those things are literally homes on wheels. They have everything in them.  

Well, fortunately for me, I have a newer park and designed it for those rigs, so my place stays full or if partially empty, it doesn't stay that way for long. The welder vacated 2 days ago, I need that lot filled and another lot vacated yesterday. So, I have 2 lots to get refilled.  

Next lot I install may be even 5 feet longer than what I have now.  Same width tho, I can't afford to lose too much width on each space, I need X amount of lots and that doesn't happen if I give them too much space. And the further you space them apart, the more pipe and underline wire you need, making the cost that much greater.  

Anyway, it got to the discussion about these crazy farmers.  They had stayed at his place last year and he eventually booted them. I am headed the same direction with them, one more instance of them harassing anyone and they can leave.  People in the thread thought they have mental illness.  I dunno, I don't make such judgments online based on limited information and I am not a doctor or psychologist. It's amazing some of the judgments people make on line that have no expertise, skill or education of things they are making judgments about.  But, it's easy to do, I guess, sitting behind a computer or phone screen with no repercussion for your words.  Say whatever, whenever, who cares, right?

Well, it's close to departure time. I intend on arriving right at or just before 10.  I have the extra time to spend today to go to Eldo so I don't want to get there too late.  

G'day