Hi Scott in TX. Thanks for your input. I've basically given up hope for SSD. I'm pretty sure you have to prove that the disability prevented you from working for at least a year. I ran out of $$ before that so I had to get a job. I ended up not working for 11 1/2 months so I expect to get denied when my appeal hearing finally comes around. The pain does make working "challenging" to say the least. My boss is very understanding, though. It's a drag to earn so much less than I did before the accident but I gotta' pay the bills.
By the way, I lived in TX for 9 years before moving to Iowa and, as you noted, I had to have a truck while I lived there. I bought one the first month I was in Houston.