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Illinois uses two plates, except for tractors which have only the front plate. Indiana uses one plate, rear. I sometimes wish I had a place to put those "novelty" plates you can buy at the truck stops, but since Illinois has two plates I have no place for the "novelty" plate.

I imagine you got Turtle's attention. You took a pot-shot at one of the guys who has experience to be able to help you-- not one of the brighter moves, in my never-to-be-humble opinion. Something about the dead-head back home got my attention. I have to ask how tight you're running if three...

I'm in an outfit where it doesn't pay to wait. I clean up, I call in, and they tell me to head back. I can count on two fingers the number of runs I got coming back in the past six months. Now, I'm starting with a new outfit (along with the one I'm already with) and they seem to have some...

OK, let's see if I get this straight. We replaced horses and wagons with cars, that got rid of the droppings which horses are noted for leaving all over the place. Our cities became cleaner. Now, we want to replace the internal combustion engine with electrics, and our air should become somewhat...

I can't say I've ever done that. Somewhere along the line my body won't let me pull off a stunt like that, and I'll have to stop for a few more hours. Maybe not all at once, but the accumulated time will be more than four hours in forty-eight. By that time, Tinkerbell has flown in through your...

Right now, I'm looking into a second "business" to run with this one, if that's any indication. Look around and you find a lot of O/Os have their hand in two or three pies. Not just us vanners either, but the straight trucks too. Running for one outfit only can leave you sitting, and the smaller...

Somebody mentions HOS.... That's why I'm glad I'm in a van. I can take a nap without having to worry so much, and yes it does make a difference. If nothing else, pressing on when you're tired because you've got that blasted 14 hour clock staring you in the face can't be good. The "Law of...

Let me see if I get this straight. I'm supposed to be a "first observer" at truck stops, rest stops and such? I don't exactly know how to tell you this, but... usually, I'm at a truck stop just long enough to fuel up, maybe use the washroom and then leave. I might notice something if it's...

I hadn't thought about it, but since I'm under 10,000 it's doubtful I would. I did take a side-trip yesterday, after delivery to a town North of Detroit I decided to go to Hell. No, really. Now, as it happens it's mostly a tourist trap and hardly worth driving the twisty two-lane roads to get...

Looks like I got my answer, anyway. Everything I've had up to now has been East, with a run to Sioux Falls and Kansas City, Kansas thrown in just for odd stuff. I reckon I'll save the money I might have spent on chains and just look for a "hurricane hole" when the weather turns nasty.

Uh, Turtle--- Even a Ford or a Chevy demands a certain amount of maintenance or it quickly becomes a money pit. It may be a trifle less fussy about it than a Sprinter, but still-- Of course, I'm not writing this for your benefit because you've been around the block a time or three and can...

Question: Is the use of chains mainly a Western States thing? I ask because of the fact that the OP is from Michigan, and it occurred to me earlier that Michigan (and Northwest Indiana) are two areas I might encounter "chain weather". That's Lake Effect Snow territory, and I've seen and heard of...

I'm trying to figure out where Westmont borders Oak Park. So help me, I can't do it. About the subject of this thread: There's a number of towns around here that have ordinances that make it difficult if not impossible for people in our line of work to live there. Flossmoor won't let you park...

Well, the topic is goofy anyway even if the poster doesn't turn out to be previously banned. Anybody who's driven professional longer than twenty minutes knows that riders is generally a no-no. It's hard enough in some companies to get your spouse on as a rider, and even thinking of riding a...

Since you asked: This week has been a bit of a slopfest. The first run, Friday evening (anything after 5PM on Friday counts on the following week) wasn't bad, from Wooddale Illinois to London, Ohio. After that, though, it's been three runs each one hundred miles. This is the check I was hoping...

I just had a look-see because Turtle mentioned it and because the business about previous posts came up. A couple of months driving for somebody else doesn't make one experienced enough to make it on his own even if he had fantastic luck with the other outfits, and since by his own admission he...

Like others say, it varies. A lot. Based on things that you may have no control over. I operate out of the Chicago area, for a company that typically has us van drivers drive out loaded/come back dead-head. Loaded miles paid, dead-head on your own hook. This only works because I'm in the...

In this business, it seems any van that can't get over 400K is a lemon. A 2008 with 180K is still a pup, believe it or not. Right now, I've got a 1998 Chevy 2500 with 197,000 on it as I write this. It's got a few bugbears, but nothing you can't live with and the powerplant/tranny combo is...

About the isolators: Any good RV shop should be able to set you up with one of these. RVs have much the same problem-- if not more so-- that expedited vans and trucks do. Lots of power-hungry devices eating into your battery bank. Obviously you don't want them having access to your starting...

The only problem I see with the idea of letting corporations be free of regulation is that the idea of more competition that way doesn't seem to work in actual practice. What really happens is that as one company gets bigger than its rivals, it starts to buy up the smaller outfits...