mr. cob

Howdy Linda, My thoughts exactly, I have had serious back injuries over the years but I am not getting my back cut on till I convinced there is no other option. Dave

Howdy Roger, Good morning to you my friend. Yes tomorrow is a big day for both of us I am glad to get it over with and get on with the job of healing. I check in at 7: am Pacific time should go under the knife at around 9: am. Our plan is to head south last part of January I would like to go earlier but the va wants to do some tests on my lower back in mid January. I don’t know anyone who has had a successful back surgery at the seattle va so if the tests come back suggesting one the only way I will agree to it is if I can get it outside of the va like with my knees. Good luck to us, let’s check back in after a couple of days and compare notes. Dave

Howdy Dirt, We hope to be in Q, late January this year, see you there. Dave

Howdy Dirt, If you have access to a welder and a means to cut metal, anything can be built or modified, its not that hard I have built my own pin box on both the Freigthliner and the Pete. Dave

Howdy runaway parents, Mind you, I wouldn't wish this on my worstest enemy, but talking about s*#w and W@^K may cause algae to grow in ones diesel tanks.😮 Dave

Howdy All, We are at the condo in Chelan WA, no snow on the ground except for high in the hills probably about the 4,000 foot level, bright sunshine, 56 degrees, really quite nice for this area this time of year. Dave, Donna, Newt and Willy

Howdy ND B We Just a few minutes ago came over Stevens Pass on Hwy 2, NO SNOW not even on the shoulders. Dave

Howdy All, I have ridden that road and taken the ferry MANY times on my bikes, don't know that I would like to do it with the Pete and the trailer at 72 feet in lenght. Dave

Howdy runaway parents, Well that sucks, Donna and I are on our way over to Chelan, to spend a few days in one of her time share condos before my next knee surgery. We should get there about 5:PM or so this afternoon if we make it over the Pass. Dave

Howdy Roger, How are you doing? Today was my last day of PT for this knee, the folks who have been working with me are satisfied with my progress and tell me that I am doing well. Tomorrow I go to see my knee doctor and talk about getting the next one done which is scheduled to happen on October 7th. I am doing well, other then the darn pain at night when I am trying to sleep, still taking drugs for that, can't heal if you can't sleep. Part of me is looking forward to getting the other knee done as I know it will make for a better life down the road, the other part of me is asking WHY do you want to go through all this misery AGAIN. Hope all is well on your end. Dave

Howdy Don, I love the color, having an APU, is great. I don’t have one but do have a small Honda 2000 watt generator that if I can figure out a place to mount it I will install someday. Any interior photos you would like to share? Dave

Howdy Jack, I agree paint would be better but I don’t want to spend a couple thousand dollars on paint and when it comes time to sell the truck if the person who wants to buy it doesn’t like what I have done it’s easy to remove the decals. Dave

Howdy Denver, One thing I am know for, good or bad, is flooding my posts with photos. 😀 Dave

Howdy All, I am still working with the folks who do the vinyl decals, getting what I want is something they have not dealt with before so its a learning experience for everyone. In order for the colors to fade from one to another as in the flames, the lettering on the RIGHT side of the truck will have to be faded backwards from the direction you read, if this isn't done the color fade on the lettering will be backwards from that of the flames. So this is what we have come up with so far, this will be the name of the truck, the top set of lettering will be the RIGHT side of the truck, the bottom set will be on the LEFT side. In an attempt to make it easy to read, we are looking at three different types of capital letters, I like the Blackletter "W" and "M", they are easier to read. In this photo you can see the LEFT and RIGHT side lettering in three different styles. In this photo you can see "Mr. Cob" which will go under the drivers window on the LEFT side of the truck. "Mrs. Cob" which will go under the passengers window on the RIGHT door and "Wiener Window" will go over the top of the small window on the lower front of the passenger door on the RIGHT side of the truck. Dave

Howdy Don, It puts a grin on my face and that's all that really matters. Thanks for the compliment, can you post up some photos of your truck and what you have done to it? If your bored click this link it will take you to the photo gallery detailing the build of my Pete. https://mr-cob.smugmug.com/My-2001-Peterbilt-379-RV-Hauler/ Dave

Howdy Brian, Speaking of seats, if you ever run across a deal on used or take out seats that will fit my Pete, let me know. Thanks. Dave

Howdy Deezl Smoke, Under the windshield on my cab is aluminum, I can’t remember where I saw it but one of the large custom truck parts shops sells a kit to fix your problem. Dave

Howdy Deezl Smoke, Like I said in an earlier post for everyday practical reasons, my Freightliner was a better truck for RV purposes including passage between the seats and general cab space, if it had been able to carry a Smart Car, on the deck I would not have bought-built another truck. The cost to rebuild the Freightliner to be able to carry a Smart Car, would have never been recovered when I eventually sold the truck so to me when I decided to carry the Smart Car, on the truck it made sense to sell the Freightliner, which I ended up selling for pretty much what I paid for it less the cost of the repairs I had put into it. As I was going to build a truck I thought I would build what I wanted not what someone else had built. I remember three years a go I started a thread stating that I was thinking real hard about selling the Freightliner and building a classic truck that I KNEW would not be as practical for RV use but it would be the type of truck that "I" love, I decided then that it would either be a Pete 379, extended Hood or a Kenworth 900, extended Hood nothing else would be considered. It took a year to find the truck I wanted and another six months to build it but I am HAPPY with it. My aero Freightliner and the Volvo's are good trucks of that there is no doubt but as a life long gear head to me they just have no soul, they are an appliance that does a great job of moving freight but they have no style. I KNOW style is in the eyes of the beholder but to me nothing beats the LOOK of a classic "Hood" everything comes at a cost, that cost is something that has to be considered whenever a person does anything, I am 71 years young, I am a hot rodder of the old school, I don't plan on ever growing up no matter what age I live to so darn it I am going to enjoy my remaining driving years in the truck that "I" want and enjoy. Hopefully when the time comes to hang up the keys I'll be able to find another person who will buy my truck who will enjoy it as much as I do and treat it well. Here's a photo of my Freightliner, a great truck in its own right but which would you rather drive, the Freightshaker or the Pete? Dave

Howdy rickeieio That’s a BIG 10-4, Honk, Honk! Dave

Howdy Deezl Smoke, I also have a C-15, 550hp-1850t, 3.55 axles, 18 speed Auto-Shift. Truck with deck and Smart Car is around 22,000 pounds, trailer is around 19,000 / 21,000 depending on which or how many toys I have in the box. I have never gotten worse then 6mpg or more then 7.5mpg average on trips of 2,000 miles, usually more miles I tend to do long trips of 5,000 miles or more, I can't go anywhere without crossing mountain ranges. I got about a mile better fuel mileage with the Freightliner I had before I built the Pete, the Freightliner had a 12.7 DD, 10 speed Auto-Shift and 3.55 axle, in a purely practical sense the Freightliner was a better truck for RV use, it was shorter, weighed less, and was singled, but when it comes to climbing mountains while carrying the Smart Car on the deck and towing that big trailer, the SMILE the big Cat puts on my face is priceless and I wouldn't trade it for another mile per gallon. At my age my truck is a big toy and I enjoy playing with it, yeah I know I am going to HELL for causing the planet to burn up and destroy the lives of future children, oh well. Dave

Howdy Brad, This will be the first year since 2014 that I'll miss the National, I always enjoyed the rally and looked forward to seeing all the good folks I have met over the years. Barring unforeseen circumstances we'll see you next year. Dave

Howdy All, Today, was a very HAPPY DAY. I climbed up into the Pete, something I haven't done for over 6 weeks, started the engine and let it run for about a half hour. I have been worried about being able to use the clutch as it is a stiff one, before shutting the engine down, I pushed down on the clutch pedal fully expecting it to HURT, it didn't, I felt pressure but NO pain. I shifted into gear and eased the clutch out the truck moved forward, pushed the clutch in shifted into reverse moved the truck back a couple of feet to where it had been parked, shifted into natural, shut the engine down with a mile long grin on my face. This was a momentous moment for me as I had been worried about being able to use the clutch after the knee surgery, now I know it won't be a problem, we won't be able to go south this year until mid to late January so by then my knee's based on the experience I have had so far should be in great shape to drive and make the trip. My right knee was a tad worse then the left one but I wanted the left one done first so it would have the maximum healing time before driving the truck so I wouldn't have any clutching problems. The PT is getting easier, my knee is moving better when flexing, I know I am going to have to go through all the early pain again when they do the right knee but I am after today really starting to feel better about making the decision to have this done. Thanks to EVERYONE who has offered advice and given encouragement through out this ordeal. Dave

Howdy Roger, its better today I just need to vent now and then. I have been walking about a quarter mile a day when it’s not raining, yes it is getting to be that time of year again here in the NorWet, today when I did my walk I carried with me but did not have to use the forearm crutches so it is getting better. Hang in there everyone we will get through this. Dave

Howdy All, I will address a bunch of folks in this post, thanks for your suggestions. I have been using a pillow under my knee when trying to sleep on my back which is not normal for me, we have an adjustable bed while on my back it does help to have the head raised a bit but I can’t sleep on my side with the head raised. I take little to nothing during the day for pain just don’t need it but maybe I should take some so there’s meds in my system which might make it easier to sleep at night. I am NOT a person who does drugs unless I have to and the last thing I want is to have a drug problem after going through this so my very conservative use of the pain meds might be why I have the sleeping problem. I am about the worst sick or laid up person you will ever come across I am bored, so bored it’s really starting to bug me. I have watched tv and spent time on the computer to where I don’t want to look at either of them, the not being mobile and able to drive is awful. I am really turning into a “Cob” and that makes it hard on Donna and the dogs who are doing everything they can to help get through this it’s especially hard on the dogs as they can’t understand why we aren’t doing things and going places like we normally do. Dave

Howdy Roger, How are you doing? The folks who are giving me the PT have really been working my knee hard during the stretches and because of that the pain level has increased. I had stopped taking the heavy pain meds at night but am using them again so I can sleep. The pain during the day isn’t a problem but it darn hard to sleep if I don’t use the meds. Yesterday I walked using the forearm crutches to my friends home about a quarter mile away going up the pretty steep hill was a real work out going home down the hill was easier then going up but I had to be careful to control the speed if there is a Jake Brake built in to this new knee I haven’t figured out how to activate it. 😐 Dave