Suggestions for hauling Computer Garage from Beaverton, ORto Yates Center, KS?

From: Gary Hildebrand <ghldbrd_at_ccp.com>
Date: Tue Mar 5 18:57:19 2002

Roger Merchberger wrote:
>
> Rumor has it that Gary Hildebrand may have mentioned these words:
> >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... ;-)


I have driven diesel engines as a personal vehicle for 170k miles.
There are tricks to get them started.

 
>
> 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...)
>
> >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.

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
Received on Tue Mar 05 2002 - 18:57:19 GMT