Chapter 35

Jacob and I made separate trips to take Kim and Kathy home around seven PM. I got a chance to talk to Kathy's dad when I took her home and he said everything was set for him to take a day off and help me tomorrow.

"Mr Carpenter asked me to give him a heads up if you take a real interest in big trucks. He said he'd buy a dealership," Bill said, and then laughed.

I laughed too. I guess I'd been a boon to Mr Carpenter's business lately. I asked Bill if we should ask him to help me get a better deal after I'd found what I wanted.

"Sure, it can't hurt anything and he can probably save you some money. I know that's usually not your first concern, but it won't hurt anything. You know, that trailer winch deal saved you a bundle. The trailer company is even planning on paying to install the new stuff for you."

"Bob Johnson told me that they were furnishing the parts for nothing but he didn't tell me about that," I said.

"They just mentioned it this week. They want to have an engineer here when we do it, to make sure everything goes well, and no doubt to see if there are things they should have done differently," he said.

That's when Bill told me how much money I'd be saving from their contributions. It couldn't hurt. I told Bill I'd see him in the morning. Kathy followed me out and we took a few minutes to say goodnight.

Jacob was already back by the time I got there and he'd disappeared with Holly and Jenny. No doubt he wouldn't show his face until tomorrow. I found my harem in the hot tub and it was a great beginning to an eventful night of women, women and women. We didn't have time for any wine or song.

The next morning saw me up early and I was showered and dressed before most of the women piled out of bed. Kamakeata and Tolishanea were right with me though. They were a temptation while we were wet and naked but they had things to do this morning too, namely cooking, so we restrained ourselves.

They'd set the morning coffee on automatic last night, so it was ready when we got to the kitchen. They rustled up the grub and had me fed and gone before eight-thirty. I pulled into the dealership right at nine and went to the shop to find Bill. He was giving some last minute instructions and he walked over when he was done.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"I'm ready."

I was in my Hummer so we mounted up and were away. He gave me directions to the first place and then started with a little groundwork while I drove.

"There's not a lot of difference between the makes of big trucks, and the most important ones boil down to what you like. Engines, transmissions, and drive axels are pretty much standard, according to the weight you'll be dealing with.

"To pull a fully loaded tank, you'll need a fairly standard over the road type tractor. Anything over and above that is mostly for the driver's comfort," he said.

"You mean that they're all the same?"

"No, but they are fairly standardized. There are three main makers of engines: Caterpillar, Cummings, and Detroit Diesel. At one time or another each one has enjoyed an advantage but now they are pretty much equal.

"The transmissions are now mostly nine-speeds, they give enough gears for the modern fast-torque-rise engines to get the load going with no strain and they're a lot easier for drivers to learn to use.

"Drive axels are pretty standard now too, there are different gear ratios but any normal road gear will be fine for what you want," he said.

"What kinds of things are different?"

"People that own and drive their own trucks like to have little extras sometimes. Of course the little extras can cost a lot more and often they aren't as efficient at getting the freight delivered for the least amount of money.

"For instance, most drivers want a bigger engine, no matter what size they have they all want to go faster. More horsepower not only means more top speed, it also makes climbing the hills easier with less downshifting.

"Bigger engines mean more fuel per mile though. Sometimes it isn't much more, but in a work everyday truck, you're talking about a hundred thousand miles or more a year and saving a little bit of fuel per mile can make a big difference," he told me.

"I don't see where that would make much difference to us. We probably won't put a thousand miles a year on this truck. It's mostly just an excuse to have a tank full of fuel around."

"I thought so, you'll be able to get by without much of a truck that way," he said.

"Maybe, but that isn't the way I usually do things. I guess you're right about one thing. I'm going to be looking for something that I like looking at, and I'll let you steer me clear of anything that isn't able to do what I want," I said.

"There are some extras available that make a big truck look even flashier then. I guess you'll want me to point those out to you too," Bill said, laughing.

"Now you're talking. Don't hold back in that department. I might not ever get to buy another big truck," I said, enthusiastically.

"I guess I can deal with that. I'll just plan on helping you find what a driver I knew always called A big old store bought truck, that seems to be what you're after. Something to show off and haul a little fuel as a sideline," he said.

"I'm afraid you know me too well already," I said, as we pulled into the Freightliner dealership.

I had expected the big trucks to be like the ones that caught my eye on the road, but those in the dealerships weren't. They looked nice enough but were all pretty plain too. I asked Bill about it.

"People that come to buy a big truck want one that will get the job done and keep on doing the job. They are interested in making money with a truck and not with what it looks like. I'd guess that eighty percent of the trucks are bought by people that will never drive them, hell, the buyers probably never even get inside at all," Bill said.

"Like me."

"You can say that if you want to, but I know you'll end up driving that truck, a little at least. With the normal buyers, if they spend any extra on a truck it's only because they need to keep a driver happy. The truck doesn't make a cent if it's sitting still and drivers are getting harder to come by now-a-days."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"In the first place, it isn't a really desirable job. In the second, the rules, regulations, and requirements are getting tougher and tougher. Big trucks are involved in less than two percent of the fatal highway accidents, but that never registers on people driving cars, all of whom think they are excellent drivers.

"Big truck accidents are always news too and they usually make the six o'clock broadcast. Automobile accidents are a dime a dozen and usually don't rate a mention unless they cause a big traffic backup or get several people killed.

"The voting and complaining public thinks big trucks are dangerous. Voters are easy to whip up into a froth over this and lawmakers are eager to pass more and more safety rules and regulations. I don't guess that really hurts anything either, but it makes a commercial license harder to come by now and the demand for drivers is going up besides. There's more freight to haul now too and it keeps growing," Bill said.

"So, in other words, the shortage of drivers has caused the trucks on the road to be newer and nicer."

"That's right. Drivers don't have to put up with worn out trucks anymore, there's always another company with a new one waiting for them. They're stupid too though, the very rules and regulations they bitch about are the things that are raising their pay and giving them newer and better trucks to drive.

"But you'd never figure that out by listening to the CB. If those radios could transmit tears half of the drivers would drown tonight," Bill said, and laughed.

I was surprised that no salesman came out to meet us but Bill didn't think it mattered. We looked over the Freightliners and found them to be nearly cookie cutter copies of each other. We left after only about thirty minutes.

"Why do they all have that aerodynamic look now, Bill?" I asked.

"It got popular because of the implied fuel savings. When it comes down to it though, there isn't a lot you can do to save money aerodynamically when you have to drag a thirteen-foot-tall and eigh-foot-wide box down the road. It's more of a feel good type of modification I guess. Many times more fuel could be saved by simply allowing trucks ten miles an hour of leeway to roll out on downhills," he said.

We went to look at Kenworths next and then Western Stars. The Western Stars looked more nearly like what I expected them to and I saw one that I liked pretty well. Bill told me to hold my horses since we hadn't seen the Petes yet.

"Peterbilt has had the reputation for being the best truck for years. It's mostly undeserved now but they still have it. You're more likely to find something flashy there because Owner Operators try to buy Peterbilts if they can afford to. In English that means, if there's a fancy truck in town, it'll be at the Peterbilt place."

He was right too, we saw it as soon as we pulled in and even Bill was surprised. He said they probably just had it out front showing it off until the new owner came to pick it up.

"They would never order anything like that for stock," he said.

I didn't care if it was only there for a few minutes; I wanted to take a look at it if we could. It reminded me of Mom's dually, I guess because it was as red or maybe even redder.

It had really big stacks and all aluminum wheels too. I asked Bill about them.

"Most big trucks have them on the steer axel because they cut down on unsprung weight, which helps the ride. They help a lot on the front axle but they're mostly for show on the drive axles. They cost over three hundred dollars each and that's a lot to save only about twenty pounds. They do make a difference on the front though."

We walked around the outside first and then took a look inside. The seats had real leather upholstery and the carpet was thick and plush. The dash was filled with gauges, many that I didn't recognize.

The gauges weren't the shocker for me though. The gearshift stick or sticks rather, got my whole attention.

"Bill, why does it have two gear shifters?" I asked.

He opened the door on the other side and looked in to see what I was talking about, I guess.

"It just proves I was right. This is a special order truck for someone. The two sticks are for a five and four. It's an outdated type of transmission. They were used back when the engines didn't have nearly as much power as they do now. It's actually a five speed transmission with a different gearbox to provide four even ratios to each of the five gears and they're not designed to take the kind of torque a modern engine puts out," he said, explaining.

"Why would someone want that?"

"Just because they like it. There's nothing especially wrong with them, in fact I always thought a five and four was fun. You have to be a little more careful with it and make sure you don't just shower down on the foot feed from a standing start, but if you take reasonable care it's perfectly useable.

"I'm guessing now, but I'll bet if we raise the hood we'll find a twin turbocharged 3408 Caterpillar engine. This looks like some bull hauler's fondest dream," Bill said.

I wanted to see what one of the engines looked like anyway so I asked Bill if we could look under the hood.

"Sure we can."

We got out and Bill unfastened a rubber hold-down on one side of the cowl and then one on the other side, then he went to the front, grabbed a handhold and pulled. The whole front end of the truck came with him, and on over until it was hanging off the front by hinges behind the bumper and held in place by cables with springs on them.

"I was right," Bill said," it's a 3408 twin turbo, and it isn't even the new electronic model. Whoever bought this truck bought what he wanted, exactly."

I didn't have any idea what most of that meant but I could tell Bill was impressed.

"I'll be damned, Bill Green, don't tell me that Sherry has kicked your ass out to go back on the road?"

I was startled since I'd thought we were still alone and even Bill jerked his head up at the new voice. Then he grinned widely.

"George, they don't have you in jail yet?" Bill asked.