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I don't know if anybody's soaking up loads this week. It's the holiday week, and personally I'm expecting it to be quiet. Traditional shut-down week in some places.

I have a question. It's like this: Since November of '87, I've driven tractor-trailer, since '90 it's been various sizes of four-wheelers in a courier outfit until April of this year, from then in vans of one size or another in out-and-back expedited. I've never, in all that time, had a use for...

I didn't see this thread--- didn't see this thread--- didn't see this thread.... OK, I saw it, and am having major trouble believing the OP is somebody I'd want to have a machete. Something about this smells to high heaven. To the OP: Everybody who suggests you should get a lawyer is...

Somewhere along the line, you have to grow a brain. Seriously overloading tires and your van in general won't make you a bunch of money in the long haul--- in my case, no extra money at all since I'm paid by the mile-- but it will sure play havoc with your equipment. It takes more out of your...

At that, the mileage won't be insufferable. I regularly pushed mine hard, and it still managed 21, 20 mpg on a really hard day. If I took it easy, I might get 22.5 out of it. One thing to watch for: They really love to eat idler pulleys. I had it happen with mine quite a bit, seems about...

I had occasion last winter to be in a rental Sprinter, a later model. It was quiet, the only way I could tell it was a diesel is that it required diesel fuel. It definitely burned more fuel than my '05 did. I noticed that the glow-plug light turned off almost immediately after the key was...

I'd consider it, but there's no way I'd be able to keep up on my Cannondale. Motors beat pedals every time.

Every vehicle has its upsides and downsides. Last vehicle I had was a 2005 Sprinter 2500. Upside, the ride wasn't bad, it got 21.5 to the gallon of diesel, it was tall-- I could stand upright and had to reach up to touch the roof-- and it was long. 14 feet between the back of the front seat and...

That's it, the suspension, brakes, tires, rear-axle--- the heavier vans can carry more weight. The cubic capacity of a standard van remains the same whether it's a 150, 250 or 350, but the weight the vans can carry is what makes the difference. I wouldn't dare load a 1500 Chevy with the weight...

Mostly, this one seems to have disrupted last-minute shopping. It was strong enough to cause mandatory evacuations and to break stuff that fell from cupboards, and to have caused some minor injuries. No deaths recorded, according to AP wires.

A 5.8 may be massive enough on already weakened buildings. They had a stronger quake earlier this year, so this one might not have to be very strong to break things and kill people.

Depending on my mood, and the availability of local stations: I may listen to Christian contemporary music, or possibly a country station, or just shut the thing off and think for a while. Sometimes I have to shut the country music off when the thoughts it generates become overwhelming. Maybe...

I'm running a '98 Chevy 2500, presently it has 222,000 miles on it. I've had some issues with it, mostly caused by the fact that it sat for two years (the previous owner drove it 200 miles in two years) so there were problems caused by that. I'm past the worst of that now, the engine is healthy...

"Drive-By Posters". I've read of them called that on two different systems now. "Seagull poster" is another name for it, the poster lands on the board, drops a load of %&^^ and then flies off to the next board system. I wonder if these posters have any other descriptive names?

According to that list, most of us vanners don't have any real use for a CDL unless it's required by the company. Fact: I have no business hauling hazmat just on the general principle of the thing, with or without a CDL. I can see it for a straight truck, but not for a van where the cargo...

In today's age of computer controls, it shouldn't be hard to engineer having the cruise adjust idle speeds. Two different sets of operating conditions, and the computer chooses which one it's meeting. If the truck has forward motion, then cruise doesn't engage below thirty-five mph. If the truck...

I work for a couple of out-and-back expediting outfits. The upside is that I'm home a lot, the downside is that about half of my miles are unpaid "deadhead" miles. That's no way to make money and my records prove it. It does allow you to get a handle on whether this is for you, though. If you...

I probably wouldn't lease to XXXXXXX just on the principle of the thing. A name like that sends up enough red flags to equip a Communist convention. XXXX--- OK, that's a bag of flour. It's probably OK. XXX-- That's either moonshine or porn, depending on the container it's in. Trouble...

One problem I noted when I had a Sprinter is that, during really cold weather, it wouldn't keep you warm at idle anyway. The accelerator stick helps with that by keeping engine RPM up, at 1500 RPM it might keep warm. At low idle, you'll freeze when it gets cold. Trust me on this. Watch the temp...

I am an owner/operator of a cargo van. I drive for two different outfits, and both pay FSC on the runs they give me. If we take a base of $1.00 per mile, then the one company will pay .05 FSC, and the other is paying .10 FSC at present. That is on top of the $1.00 base per mile. Loaded miles...