Vegas Teacher

Well I am back in Vegas..... I got to travel home for a week to see S.E. Kansas and do some fishing in the strip pits of S.E. Kansas (Pittsburg no H). For those of you who aren't familiar with this part of the country Strip Pits were made from the era of strip mining coal, they dug hug pits in the ground following the coal veins. These giant pits then filled up with water and the state stocked them with several species of game fish including Large Mouth Bass. I humbly reply after many fishing attempts were made to catch these fish that I only caught one bass of about 10 inches. While I was home my mechanic here in Vegas called me and asked me if I wanted to do some more work on my semi. I went ahead and did my windshield washer reservoir, he replaced all of the electrical lines that went to it and all of the hoses plus filled it up with fluid. Total job with labor was 650.00. He said he could have just hooked up the old hoses but they were extremely brittle and would have to be replaced in the near future. I also got a quote to do my leaf springs, front breaks, front shocks, all hardware replaced like nuts, bolts etc plus Labor came out to about 4500.00 However first I will have the cab bushings and leveling arm replaced. They are going to take my cab off with a crane and make sure it is sitting square on the frame, that is about 1500.00 with parts, labor and tax. Then 8 drive tires. That is my plan for the rest of 2020 /2021 June. In July of '21 I plan on my first trip across country, back to S.E. Kansas (Pittsburg). I am so excited about my truck now. I can see then end is near then I get to start adding the fun stuff like Chrome, lights, paint and camera's. I even ordered a catalog from Raynes in Florida. I know they have a website on line and I go there a lot but I am one of the old fashion people who like to have something tangible to flip through and show my wife. For those of you who love cars I have another project in the works. My dad has a 1952, 2 door hard top Chevy. It is the old 216 cubic inch in line 6 engine and has a 3 on the tree. I got to drive it while I was home. I think I am going to take over the restoration of this car. The seats are in really bad shape so now I am combing the internet looking for replacement parts for the both the interior and exterior. I am torn on the power train. I know I want to keep the shifter on the column but I would like to drop in a 5 speed manual transmission. I put in 5 speed on the tree and found there was a car that did have one. I am also considering dropping in a 327 to power it. I know I would have to upgrade a lot of things. It has already been upgraded from a 6 volt to a 12 volt system. So anybody who has opinions on this is welcome to comment too. Later, Vegas Teacher - Cory Ossana

Happy 4th of July to everybody....

Phil I did wonder if they were worth doing. I am not so sure I made the best of choices. But they sure are pretty LOL. We absolutely need to get together. I am flying home to Kansas. My home town is about 3 hours from where the big meet in the fall takes place. Won't be able to attend that, however might go try to see RV lifestyles they are about 45 minutes from my house in Pittsburg Kansas, yep no (H) in my Pittsburg. But we do need to figure out logistics of getting a diet Dr. Pepper or something a little stronger. Later Cory Ossana

Hey good luck yo you, hope you get fixed and on the raod with a great vacation ahead of you!

Well I had 3 magnetic signs made bright yellow background black letters in bold print that say private truck / RV not for hire. I made one for each door and one for the back of the cab when I am bobtailing. They look good. If you want to see pictures go to the Facebook HDT page, much easier to post pictures there. Total cost was $110.00 Later Cory Ossana

You are correct and that is how I thought of it too. I told Steve, the shop owner, I did not use the truck. I had been sitting idle at my father in laws house since last summer anyway, so I figured there is no difference in it sitting idle there or at a shop where good work can be done. The total for the ticket was about $5,000.00, I have a complete break down of what they did itemized and I was not really surprised at the cost. They had my truck for a full week and worked on it each day. I had asked 5 other places or mobile mechanics, including Volvo to take out the Qualcom computer that Schnider trucking put in the truck. They all refused to do it because they did not want to take the dash apart and put it back together, Steve said it was not problem. I just have a great feeling about this shop, so far I have been treated very good by them. I thought taking me for a test drive to see the differences was extremely nice. Nobody else offered to do that. So I am going to let him keep the truck until the school year begins and use it for fill work. each month I am going to do something different to it. He understands I have to wait for a pay check to do further work. So like dblr says it is a win - win situation for both of us. He did have a new 860 in lime green sitting on the lot, it was nice looking! Later, Vegas Teacher - Cory Ossana

Well I went to see my truck today, it was all good....... Most of you who have read my posts have heard about my truck and how I have been doing projects over the last few years. I have had ups and downs but I finally found a place to take my truck and a team of mechanics I feel like I can trust. I am using a Shop here in Vegas called True Blue Heavy Duty Repair Shop, It is just off of I-15 and sits between Cheyenne and Craig on Losee. Steve is the owner and his shop number is 702 - 908 - 5899 he will even do an emergency call with a mobile truck repair if you need it. Anyway I went to see how things were going on my truck and pay him for the work done up to date. I got there and a lot of new parts were on my truck. I have new king pins, all new air bags, every air back on the truck is new from cab to frame. I don't have a single air leak, my truck is tight. Many things were done on the engine from injectors to gaskets to rings to oil change. I now know why my cab leaned, I know why my truck drifts and pulls. I know it was never in a wreck and I know the frame is not bent at all. I asked about the "Bull Gear" both mechanics said there was no issue with it. I found out I was only running on 5 of 6 cylinders and man does it have a lot more get up and go now!!!!! I got to go for a test drive, the mechanic told me what each sound that made truck made what it was. I was taught how the Ishift transmission works and how the computer is set to run when it is under a load and when it is "Bobtail." I left extremely happy with the progress made on my truck. It is not perfect yet but I it so much better than it was. So I asked the mechanic if I could just leave it at his shop for the next few months so I could call him and ask him what he would do next. He has a large parking area and was happy to do that. I don't park my truck at my house so I have to go to where I keep it and drive it to the shop then have my wife follow and drop me off / pick me up. The other nice thing is the shop where I am getting tires is right across the street. Oh By the way I had a typo in the post about tires it is only $3000.00 for everything plus a 3 axle alignment and the two shops work together. Southwest Tire is who I am getting tires and the alignment through. True Blue will take my truck over to True Blue when they do the tires job. I just feel like I finally found the people I could trust. When I went to the shop he had a whiteboard that was 5 x 10 feet with a list of stuff to do just for my truck. I just can't say enough good about True Blue. I asked him about the truck overall and in his words he said this is one solid piece of machinery, fix the little things and it will be great. At this point I will not get red flagged for anything at any check point I have to go to. Also after it is 100% mechanically perfect I asked about the spit, polish and shine "Chrome won't get you home" type stuff and he said if I ordered it and brought it to him he and his guys would put it on. He also said he would help me located cabin parts I needed from wrecked 780's, he has a lot of friends in the business of slavaging wrecked semi's. So I finally feel like I am making headway. After going through 3 years of people not wanting to put in the time on small potatos type stuff it is nice to find a shop that is willing to do the work and take the time, plus go for a test drive before they started the work and after then call me to come take a test drive, plus keep my rig for me inbetween jobs. Happy Father's day to all the Dad's on the forum. Later, Cory Ossana - Vegas Teacher

Hey how are you doing? How is life over the hump?

Howdy all! I got a price for zenna tires 8 drives mounted balanced tire fee, F.E.T. tire change fee and all new valve stems + 3 axle alignment for just over $4000.00. What do you guys know about 14 ply Zenna brand tires? Later, Vegas Teacher - Cory Ossana

Thaks for the information, every little bit helps. When I started teaching in Stoctkon Missouri, (Yep Vegas is a ways from there) we sold the kids shirts with the school mascot holding a sign that said K.I.P. knowledge is power, each little bit of knowledge you accumulate gives you a little bit more power...... There is a lot to that saying I think.

Like I said I can deal witht the stuff I thought would need to be looked at. I was planning on spending about 15 to 20K to get the truck back into good running condition. Tires alone will be about 3 to 4K but 30 grand on one project really caught me off gaurd. Plus I really liked the fact that they took my truck out and ran it up and down I-15 to see how it handled. They really seemed to listen to me and that I thought was a huge difference. I also like the fact they are going to take me out for a drive and show me things about my truck that I don't know. I will admit there is so much I don't know and I want to learn. Cory

What is the air compressor bull gear? If I asked the guys to look at it, it that the name they would know???? Like I said I do listen to you who have been there done that and like learning from you. Thanks for the heads up! Cory

It is good to be back and talking to everybody. I won't lie when I came home from TEC / Volvo and the guy behind the counter told me to leave my truck in the desert I about lost it, inside. I got off of the forum because I just did not want to deal with anything at all. I was ready to give up completely. I am willing to spend the money to get my truck running right but to be told it was 30K for the transmission and the long haul trucker, standing on my side of the counter was laughing at me, I was done. In many ways it was like they just didn't want to do the work, or they didn't want to do the little work that needed to be done. I felt like I wasn't worth the time. So I figured Christmas is coming so forget this stuff. So I planned on spending around 15 - 20K to get stuff done like tires, the bed and all of that, and the issues that were found at the Mechanics today. It did not surprise me or upset me at all. I figured par for the course here. As far as getting back on the forum, I am happy to be back too talking to the guys who know and can give me good advice. I am a pretty social person. It is fun to be off on summer break having a good time, talking to you and the rest of the people on the forum. I might even start feeling good enough to start teasing and having fun before long. I think I am going to put new tires on my truck after I get it from the Mechanics. Southern Tire Mart is just 200 yards from where I am getting my work done. They have been good to me too. Later, Cory Ossana - Vegas Teacher

Thanks for you help, I am just not good with that information.

Thanks, I had no idea what it was...

So I say good news, not cheap news but I still consider it a win....... Some of you may or may not remember my story from back at the end of November / first of December. I took my truck into TEC Volvo for them to inspect and see if they could figure out why it pulled to the left, why it leaned and why it hard hard starts along with anything that would fail a safety inspection . Long story short I was called back two days later, told I had gear failure and I would need to spend between 15K and 30K to fix my truck. I went home parked the truck and went on about Christmas planning and that kind of thing. I was about to get things rolling again then Corana - Covid 19 hit and the world went into hiding. So over the last few months, while my truck has been resting, I have been doing research on line and calling and talking to a lot of people, plus reading what you guys put on line...... I never ignore anybody who gives me good advice. Today I took my truck to True Blue Heavy Duty Repair Shop, 3451 Losee Road LV NV, 89030 702-908-5899. ( I put this information in, not to advertise but they also run an emergancy mobile mechanic service, I figure if you are running near Vegas and need help or live here in Vegas and looking for a good mechanic, this is good contact information to know.) Anyway I took it in. It was slow in the morning so 3 mechanics plus the owner came out to my truck. The owner name is Steve, he was a really nice guy. The mechanics went around the truck with the hood up and the hood off, they had me turn the truck on and back off. The lead mechanic and owner kept me with them and just kept telling me stuff they saw more and more and more. It amounted to a lot of little issues. The big issue was the air leaks, I have about a million air leaks from everywhere. Then there is a lot of maintance issues which are being addressed. So I left they called me back. They took my truck for a test drive, they are just a block off of I-15, and came back and evaluated my truck again. They called me with a list of things that needed to be done ASAP: AIR LEAKS, all filters of everykind. King Pins, All bags were shot (4 large air bags and cab air bags) Injectors / fittings, leveling arm, valves, inspect air leaks on dash along with all wiring on dash plus an air leak under the dash (some kind of T valve he said.) They were also going to "Run the Rack." (Can somebody tell me what it means to "Run the Rack" This will cost about $4000.00 with parts and labor. I have been saving for this so it is a lot but could be a lot worse, it isn't 30K like I Volvo said it would be. Steve told me when I got there they would take me for a drive in my truck and teach me stuff about it that they saw miss set, like my Jake, other stuff he could help me with. They are also going to make a list of things I need done but could do each month instead of all at once, that way I can earn some money and pay a little bit at a time. I am looking at a two year time table. So far I am happy with what I have seen. I appreciate they way they treated me and would recommend them to everybody. I like the fact they didn't try to price gouge me or tell me to go leave my truck in the middle of the desert (Volvo told me that, that p!$$ed me off) So I have faith once again in humanity. Later, Cory Ossana - Vegas Teacher

I drove through Minnesota a few years back, it was beautiful country up there. I hope to make it back dome day. I would like to go way north and take the boat ride out to isle royal, I would also love to go Walley, Northern, Smallmouth and Musky fishing in Lake of the Woods some day. Later Cory Ossana

I registered under 26000 at the DMV after showing them my weight from the scales out at the speedway. They didn't give me any trouble. I don't have a trailer to worry about right now. What part of town do you live in? I live up on the north end, north of 215 just two blocks north of the DMV like you are going to the Clark county gun range. After all of this corona stuff is over look me up, I am happy to buy beer and trade stories and get advice from those who have been through it. Who services your Semi? I am never going back to TEC again. I am looking at true blue for my next place to go to. They seem so have good ratings.

About 400 less per year and a 200.00 since I paid it all up front. Also I carry only liability since my truck is paid off. I assume most of us have a paid off truck, since I am sure we would get the same kind of run around trying to get a loan on one of these things.

Sure GLG 702- 360 -2111

They were a life saver for me. When I was honest and told the other companies I didn't have a trailer currently or used the term Bobtail they either ended the conversation or said insurance would not cover me, if I was running bobtail. So at the frustration point I got to I asked one lady if I was supposed to hook up my travel trailer just to get the tires changed. She got rather pissy at that comment. Another company kept me on the phone for about an hour and that was a total run around, then they asked for my email address to finish things up. 30 minutes later I received an email that said I would not be able to get insurance without a CDL number from anybody. I was thinking about selling the semi or buying a cheap travel trailer. I even considered buying a large flatbed trailer. I think the biggest part of it was most companies just did not understand or the person on the phone was simply clueless how to get it done Later Cory Ossana

Chad, first of all good to hear from you, how is the corona virus in your part of California. I was in Delhi / Turlock last week for dog training / bite work and they said they were in pretty good shape. I really almost gave up. I considered buying a cheap trailer, then considered selling. I think my next trip to the shop will be a trip like you told me about where one thing snowballs into a major repair, but knowing I am not the only one makes it better. If you make it back to Vegas again look me up.

O.k. after a very long drawn out process I am insured with GLG insurance. I called every well known company everybody on the forum told me about. I took the advice of every person. I said what you told me too, and I just about gave up. At 4:45 I called the progressive office yesterday, I explained everything, and the guy said we can't but here are three companies that might be able to help you out. So when I called GLG the first lady said I can't help but I know who can. So I get transferred to a guy that was a long haul trucker. He wants to buy a semi too and do the same thing we do. He says do you drive bobtail too. I said yes, I don't always want to take my trailer, he says O.K. and I hear him typing away. 30 minutes later I am insured commercial policy, for a private truck for noncommercial use, and I can drive bobtail legally anywhere I want, plus I don't have to have a CDL and I don't have to classify it as an RV either.. I was so happy I almost cried. Later Cory Ossana

You guys are great and have given me so much to think about. I really really appreciate it. I can't wait to hit the bike shops. Later Cory Ossana

What is the spyder, no I have not? I will have to look them up for sure.