5 Mar
2002
5 Mar
'02
10:57 a.m.
Roger Merchberger wrote:
Rumor has it that Gary Hildebrand may have mentioned these words:
I have driven diesel engines as a personal vehicle for 170k miles.
There are tricks to get them started.
I haven't done U-Haul since 1979, for apparent
reasons.
First, get a diesel truck. Mileage is much better; gas engines only get
about 5 mpg and the trucks might do 50 mph flat out.
This is good advice... except... no offense, but judging from your
location, you prolly never tried to start a big-honkin' diesel engine when
the temps dip below freezing... ;-)
If you're going to do the hauling in the northern latitudes during the late
fall/winter/early spring months, get a gasoline engine -- nothing sucks
worse than getting a late start the next day because that ^*$%&$^ diesel
won't start in the cold... it pretty much sets the mood for the rest of the
day...
Or... be prepared. Be sure to pack:
1) 1 each big honkin' belly-pan heater (the bottom 12-14 inches of a
55-gallon drum works great),
2) *lots* of charcoal & charcoal starter,
3) *lots* of tarps to shroud the truck so the heat doesn't get whisked away
by the wind,
4) an early start - it'll still take a little while to warm things up, but
at least it's not a lot of work [read: go out; start big fire; go back in
to stay warm & rest/eat breakfast/plan your days travels/whatever; go back
out an hour later & start up the truck; then extinguish fire & wait 5-10
minutes for the cooker to cool & the truck to warm up.]
One thing that works rather well is an ordinary hand held air dryer,
stuck into the intake manifold. Spraying WD40 works quite well too.
And a lot less effort.
Otherwise, yes... diesel is the way to go.
[[ my dad's a OTR trucker, hauling machinery & equipment, and we live on
the Canadian border... that reason (and that frieght sucks) is why my dad
usually takes January & February off...)
Merch, learning about the diesel's quirks is the best way to work with
them, just like learning a different o/s on a computer. If more people
had learned about the diesels back in the early 80's, we'd see many more
on the highways today. And if diesels were so bad, why don't OTR trucks
go to them??? 'nuff said.
Gary Hildebrand diesel lover
St. Joseph, MO
Second, have a partner to trade off on driving.
You'd be amazed how
tiring driving a truck at 50 mph can be. And take plenty of breaks.
You'll have to when you get gas/fuel.
If you don't have a partner, take *even* more breaks... not having someone
to talk to makes the trip much harder to deal with, and you will get
fatigued much quicker if you're not accustomed to that sort of thing.
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger --- sysadmin, Iceberg Computers
Recycling is good, right??? Ok, so I'll recycle an old .sig.
If at first you don't succeed, nuclear warhead
disarmament should *not* be your first career choice.