Return to Trucking
So I have spent the last two days in Orientation at James H Clark & Sons, Inc. in Salt Lake City, UT. Back in 2011 and 2012 I drove a truck for this company and ran OTR (Over-The-Road). I went and talked to them yesterday morning and asked if they had anything Local or at most Regional and they offered me a job running Utah-to-California and back, every other round trip I get a day and a half off at home (out 7-8 days). The trucks are a lot nicer than they where when I worked here before, they all have an 1800 Watt Invertor (House Power) and a small Refridgerator with Freezer built in. They have descent sized sleepers with adequate storage. Built in Navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and many more features than the trucks I am used to.
Plus they offered me a descent raise over what I used to make. When I was there before I had a base pay of 32 cents per mile with up to 2 cents per mile in bonus' paid quarterly. Now they are paying me 38 cents per mile with up to 5 cents per mile bonuses paid bi-weekly (every two weeks).
Sadly the trucks will only do 65 miles per hour (roughly 102 kmh) which is slow as hell considering the Speed Limit in Utah is 80 and Arizona and Nevada are both 75. However, with the reduced speed of the trucks it will make it easier to get a couple cents per mile in bonuses (3 cents per mile).
My new truck!
My Plans!
I will carry both my laptop and Canon EOS Rebel T3 camera with me everywhere I go and will stop and photograph (and post to Steemit) whenever I have a chance. It is relatively easy to find WiFi in the areas I will be running, plus my Unlimited Data on my cellphone will work descent in most of the areas I will be driving in. So staying connected and doing regular posts from the road shouldn't be too difficult.
Once I start getting regular pay checks (paid every two weeks) which will likely take 5 weeks before I get my first Full Paycheck, I plan to:
Phase 1:
Buy a descent vehicle (on credit) and work like a dog until it is paid off (hopefully within 6 months). In my post "☺❤✌Renewed Vision, Ideas and Plans - I'm Back! ✌❤☺" I mentioned I liked the Jeep Renegade but I have been thinking and I am going to look at an assortment of vehicles. Those include the Jeep Renegade, Jeep Cherokee (sized between Renegade and Grand Cherokee), the Toyota FJ Cruise and possibly a few other Compact to Mid-Sized SUV's. I might even consider a SUT (Sport Utility Truck) like the Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma TRD or the Nissan Frontier Pro 4x.
Phase 2:
Once I have a descent vehicle paid off I will start saving (hopefully in 6 months) and buy a Medium Class B RV or Bus (that I can easily convert to an RV) and pay cash for it.
Phase 3:
Upgrade, Repair, Modify the RV/Bus as needed to ensure proper and long-term operability both Connected (In an RV Park) and Off-Grid (Parked where ever I want). Hopefully, this will be able to be completed with in a few days of acquiring the vehicle, but that depends largely on whether it is already and RV or has to be converted. If it is a Bus I will take a few weeks off work when I acquire the bus and get it finished in Short Order. Then move it to my companies Yard so when I come in from the road I can just stay in it. My personal vehicle will also be at the yard so I don't have to drive the RV when I need to go somewhere.
Phase 4:
Once the RV is fully functional and I am living in it I will save for another 6 months (or so). I won't be paying rent or storage (in Utah) by then and my only bills will be Cellphone and possibly storage (in Alabama) if I don't let that unit go. Which I probably will as I am rapidly approaching the point to where it would cost more to keep it and go get the stuff in it than it would to just replace everything new.
Phase 5:
In approximately 18 months I will quit driving a semi truck (permanently and forever), load myself and possessions in the semi into the RV, hook the car up behind the RV (probably on a trailer) and hit the road. Traveling around from city to city, country to country visiting fellow Steemians, writing about my travels and enjoying myself until I find my "forever home"....place I want to retire and live out the remainder of my life.....I am pretty sure that is going to be somewhere in Central America but who knows where I will sow my seed, plant my roots and spend my final days!
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