In Newark Now, Waiting for Load to Orlando

After I left off yesterday, I slept a bit longer and then took over driving from Tina at about 2030 in Hurricane Mills, TN.

We had a fairly uneventful trip until the mirror insert on the driver's mirror came loose and went flying behind me. Now, this is the 2nd time this has happened to the mirror on the driver's side and we have also lost two from the passenger's side. Obviously and inherent problem with the mirror design.

I have learned to carry an extra mirror insert in the truck, but at 0300 on the side of the road it is a bit difficult to find and install. It too though, is very difficult to drive, safely, with a missing driver's side mirror.

I decided to stop at the next truck stop and buy a mirror and some tape and tape a temporary mirror in place to use until we arrived in Newark. I bought a "West Coast" style mirror like would be used on a Pete or Kenworth W900L and 12 yards of "Gorilla Tape" and below are the results of my hurried efforts to regain side and rear view vision.









Between this and the traffic accident just East of Dallas after we left yesterday, we were late for our arrival in Newark by about 15 minutes or so. The accident involved a big truck and a hazmat spill on the interstate and that always involves closing the roadway until the hazmat team arrives for cleanup.

We finally got here, Newark, at about 1315, dropped the trailer and went to find a parking place, which can sometimes be a challenge in this facility. We were lucky today and there was plenty of space left for us to park.

I started looking for the mirror insert that I knew I had. I found it in the toolbox, on the back of the truck, still in the original and ready for install.

I decided this time, since time did permit, I would not only install the new insert but also devise a plan to keep from losing it the next time it comes loose, and it will come loose again. I decided to make a tether out of a tie wrap and a short length of wire and loosely attach the mirror to the mirror housing.








The real problem with this insert is the method they used to attach the insert to the motor adjusting assembly. They us a locking ring that rotates after insert installation, upward. By rotating the ring upward and not providing a good lock mechanism onto the lock ring to keep it from rotation back to the unlocked or down position, they have allowed vibration to rattle the lock ring loose and failure occurs after enough vibration to release the lock ring.







After installing the home made tether, I installed the new insert. I also placed a tie wrap around the lock ring lever to try and keep the ring from unlocking while we are driving down the road. This is a problem Paccar really needs to deal with, in my humble opinion. These inserts are about $110.00 to $130.00, depending on which dealer you by it from. Below is a picture of the finished product. You can't see the retention method I used but it is there and should last this time.

Dispatch sent a load, via Qualcomm, at about 0730 and it seems they would like us to travel south to Orlando tomorrow. That is a good thing considering our new registration is at the Orlando terminal awaiting our arrival and retrieval.

We will be traveling straight down I-95 into Florida and the I-4 into Orlando. We are going to Orlando at a good time of the week actually. They always have a Vegas run out of there on Friday night Saturday morning. That would be a great start to next week if I can talk them into giving us that one. We shall see.


We hope to see you along the way. Should you see the 912 Truck, be sure and wave and let us know you seen us by commenting here with time and place.

Here is a novel item for the coming election year.
When The Politicians Are On TV, Blowing Hot Air And You Want To Scream, Just Grab Your Doll And Give It A Fling, Let Them Know...Hey, You Work For Me.

A useful, bipartisan doll to give you something to throw while watching the news and listening to the politicians lie with every motion of their lips. Throw your doll and scream while never causing any damage to your television. These dolls now come with a retrieval string for retrieval without moving from your perch on the couch.

All Dolls are bipartisan, Republican on 1 side, Democrat on the other.



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Thanks for your support.

In God I Trust
Have a Great Day and a Better Tomorrow
ADW