 Good morning, you fine person you how's it going? we're here in just south of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota and We're still waiting for a load and the load never came So we're going all the way home empty So all of you truckers out there all of you dispatchers all of you company owners any of you in any of you involved with the trucking industry and Transport industry right now Know exactly what I'm talking about. There's nothing moving There's nothing moving around right now and freight rates have dropped through the floor It's like millions of us truckers out here. We want to keep working. We want to keep things moving We want to keep the economy rolling But it seems that people want us to haul their stuff for less than free They're taking advantage of this whole situation right now and of course, it's what happens, right freight rates dropped through the floor So I mean the only freight I could get moving out of here wouldn't even pay the fuel So it's actually cheaper for me just to go home empty I could sit around here for another day after day after day, but I'm less than a day's drive from home Why would I sit around here twiddling my thumbs all alone board when I can go home and spend a day with my wife with my dogs It's supposed to rain when I get home, but hopefully that's not true Hopefully that's fake news because I'd like to go and sit on the porch But the good news is though that I have a load waiting for me back home Which is gonna take me back down to Indiana and from Indiana. I'm gonna have to scrounge around or not me I mean the load gods Find loads for me are gonna have to go and scrounge around for some freight That'll get me up to southern Ontario and I have a load in southern Ontario waiting for me to take me back to Alberta So my next week and a half has been planned out and it's it's looking all right. It's it could be better, but I mean, I'll take what I can get right now. I'm just thankful to be moving So no freight for us down here Nobody wants to pay us to haul their stuff. They all want us to haul it for free. So I don't I don't truck for free So I'm gonna go home and spend some time with my family. How about that? How about that and then so today's Thursday? I'll be home tonight spend tomorrow at home and Then on Saturday, we leave again on another week week and a half trip. At least we have a plan At least we have a plan right so I got to do my pre-trip here and we got about eight hours to drive home We're gonna be giving her petter petter petter petter to the matter It's what I was pedal to the metal all the way home, which means a 65 mile an hour That's all she's got I mean, she's got a lot more but there's this Province in Canada. There's actually two of them that are very annoying. They're called Ontario and Quebec In order for me to drive through their wondrous glory lands I have to have my truck governed at 65 mile an hour or 105 kilometers an hour even though I don't live there. That's Ontario and Quebec. They like to control the whole country Anyway, that's a topic for another vlog. Let's go and do our pre-trip Hood open here. This this truck you got to open the hood like a like a minivan like the minivan that it is I'm down here It's down here Just like a minivan. Alrighty. Let's check the oil Double check. She's full one good thing about this engine like this engine is solid in the fact that It doesn't burn a drop of oil. It doesn't lose a drop of oil between service change between like preventative Maintenance can't talk this morning Between p.m. I don't have to add a drop of oil It's always really nice So she treats me all right. I mean She's got her issues. She's a little cranky. You just got to know how to treat her how to talk to her So here we got our antifreeze between the minimum and the full line Looking good looking good our fuel level here Down there. That's good. If it's up here. You got to change the filter Filters good Tires are good. Oh, I don't want that rock in there. Hey How dare you all right did not invite you Look at that you're wrecking my tire a brand new tires man $600 $700 tire right here And I already tell that she's wearing down and these tires really don't last long do they Just bought these I already see the wearing At least they're wearing smoothly now right because I got these Centramatic wheel balancers they work really well so far. I would recommend them so far smooth as glass totally fixed everything At least I think it did And this is the sad part empty trailer There's no nickels on there. There's not even any pennies on this thing. Look at it Completely empty No, my tarps over here. I wish I got paid to call that at least but no those are mine. I Have to pay to use those I rent them. I got two end tarps and two center tarps But Yeah And then there's somebody who put this right here. I did not do this Look at nails sticking up everywhere. That'd be some good wood. I've been thinking of taking this home actually this is a This is my dad coming out in me see some see some wood laying there. Yeah, I could build something out of that Take that home, but I have no way of Yeah So full of nails already this summer. I want to build a dog run at home Just a cheap one just one that'll last a couple of years, right? It'll be out of pretty much treated two-by-fours and chicken wire. It's just something It's not gonna be like a dog It'll be a big fenced-in area more more so a big fenced-in area than a dog run a dog run sort of sounds small In people's minds. It'll be a huge open area. It's pretty much so that when we're working in the yard But we still want to let the dogs outside But we don't want to watch them that they have an area to go run around in where we don't kind of worry about them like You know spotting a deer or something or a rabbit and bolting off after it into the woods because they do that And then you have no idea where they went if you don't see which direction they took off in You have no idea where they went. They they're gone They've never caught the deer yet, but one of these times. I don't know Chevy's pretty quick He's over a hundred pounds now Chevy is a hundred and six pounds. I think he just went and had his annual vet visit Yesterday day before yesterday They weighed him. He's a big boy. It's all muscle to all muscle He's a beast our little puppy is a little beast now and close to North Dakota already. We've just been flying today Got all this foreign substance though on my windshield I'm not too sure what it is. I haven't seen it in so long Looks like it could possibly be bugs Strange back yet That's a big fire over there. Maybe it's just a farmer burning his field That looks like a lot of smoke for a farmer's field though. I have to check the news in Northwestern, Minnesota Something's on fire My collection of bug guts is accumulating very proud of it That is such a good sign Such a good sign that means It's springtime summer's on the way Love those bugs You see them my window look at that So we are what an hour from our yard about an empty step deck behind me We've just been cruising all day just sailing Not making any money just spending money today, but It is what it is Okay, let's do that Why would I have left the highway? Why can't you just assume that I know to stay on the highway every five minutes? Don't leave the highway What do you mean keep to the left Where where else would I go see if I wouldn't keep to the left that would be exiting at an exit I will just continue driving down this road and not exit this road See see how that works same road And this truck is running so smooth though. It's amazing how how much difference those new steer tires made These new steer tires are just amazing like Michelin Really really get a big thumbs up for me and those centromatic balancers just incredible It's like night and day. It's like a total different truck It's just can't even feel the road. It's just sailing just like slipping over it like it was glass It's wonderful This is southern Manitoba now if I haven't told you yet. We're back in canadia So I'm just sleeping at our yard here. I Have an important meeting in the morning in the office Trying to work out everything going on with this truck it's been a bad beginning of the series you guys know I've told you this before and You've got to work out a few details because there's still some work that needs to be done to this truck There's a weakening a weakening a leaking wheel seal that I have now on my front drive axle on the passenger side Leaking oil out of the wheel seal. So that's got to be replaced and the brake pads I bet you they're gonna have to replace the brake pads because they're probably all soaked and saturated in oil Just realize it here on my post trip and On top of that I still have that injector issue that needs to be looked at it's it's Been told it's not the most critical, but it will need to be looked at sooner than later and Huh Gotta go and work out something in the office because it's becoming Overwhelming and I still tread in water still doing alright, but it's getting stressful And I've got to make a few changes I've got to go and see if I can work out a deal and work out a solution To the predicament that I found myself in this truck has really really been acting up and been really cranky this year And you know It's trying to pull me under. That's what it's trying to do It's like you're in the deep end of the pool and you know one of those big sea monsters comes and grabs your leg and starts to pull You under I'm fighting it. I'm fighting it. Don't worry. I'm a fighter I've explored almost every option that I can think of To fight this monster off is trying to pull me under water. So Before I actually go underwater I'm gonna go into the office here and See what options we have to to fight this thing a little more. I'm gonna need their help a little bit and Two heads are better than one right and ten heads are better than two So I'm gonna go in there brainstorm with them try to come up with something But you know it's been tough and I can't say that I'm the only one because I know it's tough for all of you as Well, so I can only share my story But it's not really the economy That's got me if the economy was still going strong as before I would still be in this spot because of this truck and the way It's been acting up. So it's been a it's been a streak of bad luck a really bad streak of really bad luck. So We're gonna figure this out. We're gonna keep fighting and Come up with different alternatives different things we can do We're gonna make some changes tomorrow I'm gonna go into the office and sit down with the The big guy himself I'm in charge of everything and He's a great guy Love talking with him. He's just visiting with him. It's great, but we're gonna go in there. We're gonna We're gonna figure this out. I'm gonna let him know that this This truck has been just Brutal but let's let's not end on a downer. Let's not end on a downer. I'm still okay. We're still good We got money in the bank to buy food at least You know we have our home We have each other my wife and I and we have our dogs Got a lot of love in my life. Got a lot of people who love me and I love them back Got a great family great parents great in-laws great sisters a Lot of things to be thankful for but like I said everybody deals with their problems, right? And I'm dealing with mine right now. So tomorrow we're gonna go in and we're gonna figure things out we're gonna sit down have a meeting and Make some changes and I'll let you know what they are after we figure out what they are But changes are coming a little bit of a foreshadow in here, okay changes are coming We'll see what happens tomorrow. I hope you tune in. Thanks for hanging out with me today I hope that that made you want to watch tomorrow's video because I don't know what's gonna happen either I don't even know what the changes will be, but I know that there will be changes So stick around I'll see you later