The Truckers Lair

When I got back from Edmonton, I delivered my load of pipe that I had to leave behind last trip and then I took a day off to recoup (log book issues).  I loaded up with 12 pieces of 18″ x 60′ pipe (61,742 lbs) bound for Nisku, Alberta.   Again the weather cooperated all the way and the roads were good.  After unloading, I headed to Fort Sask, Alberta where I got two days off while waiting for a load of foam to materialize for delivery to Duncan, Vancouver Island, B.C.  This meant that I could head home after visiting with a couple of very close friends of mine in Duncan whom I hadn’t seen in a while. It was great to be home for a couple of days to straighten out a few things that I let go for a while.  Stopped in to visit with my parents also.  Couldn’t get to visit with everyone I wanted to, but I will get to eventually I guess.  Bye for now.

Wow everyone wants their stuff yesterday!  Had to leave a load of pipe in the yard to deliver later and hook onto a load of lowbeds bound for Edmonton.  The drive was a good one with sunshine all the way, whew!  Of course I cannot pass Mount Robson in the clear blue skies without taking some shots (see photos) a weak moment I guess.  After unloading in Edmonton I headed to Sherwood Park for two 20′ pieces of 4″ pipe that had to be in Langley, BC for the next day (right).  At least it didn’t cost me much in fuel ha ha.  Bye for now.

Sorry folks for my delay in posting, however I’ve been pretty busy and got a little lazy with my blog.  As I am suffering from “Old Timers Disease” I’ll have to skip to the end of February as that’s all I can remember.  Took a load of misc equipment from a company who is moving most of their stock to their Edmonton branch.  Had to tarp it as there were some stainless steel items and a couple of lathes etc.  Once I unloaded in Nisku, AB, I headed to Edmonton to load some pipe for the trip home. Sorry that’s all I got. 

Got to haul a load of oilfield casing weighing close to 63,000 lbs to Edmonton, Alberta.  That’s two loads in a row that were very close to my gross vehicle weight which pays very well.  The Coquihalla has been closed for over a week due to avalanche hazards and I’ve had to take the Fraser Canyon.  Now the canyon is a nightmare to drive if you’re not familar with it as there are some pretty hairy stretches like the snake pit where two 53′ trailers cannot meet with out rubbing or even worse causing an accident.  The snake pit is a series of 40 km curves with cement walls on both sides right next to the fog line so there is no room for error.  Hours before I went through they finished peeling a van off of the wall that failed to negotiate the corner.  The road itself is in rough shape also with pot holes in and outside of some of the tunnels and bridge decks.  Coming into Edmonton I saw cars and trucks all over the center grass median due to freezing rain hours before.  It looked like a used car lot.  I forgot to dig out my camera so I didn’t get any pics.  Made my delivery and picked up a small load of pipe for Delta, BC delivery.  Got to go over the Coquihalla on the way home, yeah!! Bye for now.

My first load over my gross (46,500) vehicle weight turned out to be a load of steel plate bound for Edmonton, Alberta.  However, you’re allowed some leeway on your front axles and drivers at this time of year as long as your under or bang on with the tridems on the trailer.  I was 5600 on the front axle, 17,510 on the drivers and 23770 (46,880) on the tridems.  I had to remove all my chains and boomers etc from the headache rack to get to this weight allowance.  By the time I got to Tijion scale I had burned enough fuel to bring me down to 16, 880 on the drivers and 5480 on the front axle.  Coming into Edmonton I witnessed a very nice sunrise and took a shot through the windshield (see photo) that didn’t turn out like I wanted, but I didn’t feel like stopping for more stability.  After unloading I headed for Fort Saskatchewan to load some foam for delivery in Sidney, BC on Vancouver Island.  Bye for now.

Had a bit of a mixed bag for a load this time with some pallets bound for Red Deer, Alberta, a small pipe bend bound for northern Alberta, some steel lugs for a hyd neck on a lowbed for Edmonton and a steel ladel for a mine somewhere in northern Alberta.  The ladel generated a lot of questions from people at truck stops and resturants like: Is that a bell? or Is that a big thimble (seriously)?  The ladel weighed over 10 tons and had to be lifted off with a crane.  I unloaded in Red Deer first which allowed me to spend some time with my sister and nephews, then I unloaded the rest of the load back in Edmonton.  I went to Fort Sask to load some foam and dropped the trailer where I hooked onto an empty step deck trailer and headed to Calgary, Alberta to load a couple of trucks for delivery in Edmonton.  After all was said and done, I hooked onto the trailer load of foam and headed home.  Along the way there was some icy patches in the shade and a super b driver found out the hard way that speed isn’t the way to go outside of Vavenby, BC (see photo).  The drive was awesome with lots of sunshine and bare roads until I got to the Coquihalla Hwy where the snow was causing havoc again.  Bye for now.

Getting a lot of loads hauling pipe bends it seems lately, which is a good thing as they pay very well.  This one had to be tarped like the last few as the client is worried about the road salt getting inside the pipe and costing more money to coat.  Along the way I ran into some bad weather that started at Clearwater, B.C. and went all the way to Jasper, Alberta.  As always there were those who couldn’t stay to the speed limit or under and paid the price. A tractor/trailer got to close to the edge of the road on a corner and caught the edge (see photo) between Blue River and Valemount, B.C.  And on the other side of Valemount, a pickup truck rolled accross the road and landed on the opposite side from where he was heading (see photo).   Once I got to Nisku, Alberta to unload the temperatures were very cold (-30 celcius) and rolling up my tarp was a nightmare along with rolling up my straps.  The tarp looked like one of those hay rolls you see in a farmers field and I had to fold the straps and place on the trailer deck to be thawed out later in my hotel room.  I then went to Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta to pick up a load of foam for the ride home.  Bye for now.

Loaded with a tarped crate (pump inside), I headed for Cold Lake, Alberta.  There was five trucks with the same load convoying all the way there.  Going through Mount Robson Park in British Columbia I had to take a picture of Mt. Robson in the morning sun (see photo).  The sky was clear all the way, but it was cold (minus 28 celsius) when we arrived in northern Alberta. Got unloaded and headed for Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta to load some foam for the ride home.  Bye for now.

Live loaded some pipe bends for delivery to Nisku, Alberta that had to be tarped and was a little scarey the way we had to load it. It rode very well though all things considered.  Along the way I came accross an accident (see photo) where a tractor/trailer rolled over by Vavenby, B.C.  The tractor ended upside down with the trailer separated from the unit.  Not sure the driver walked away from this one.  The roads were very icy and it snowed off and on all the way to Alberta.  After unloading in Nisku, I headed for south Edmonton to load some more pipe and then drove to Sherwood Park to load a truck.  I then headed for west Edmonton to load an empty shipping container on the step of my trailer.  I then started the drive back to the lower mainland.  Along the way I again ran into a pretty good snow storm although this one was without the wind so driving wasn’t so bad.  Spent the night in Blue River, B.C. and woke up to the snow still falling.  Snow fell all the way to Kamloops where it stopped until I got to Larson Hill before the toll booth.  After arriving in the yard I unloaded the container and helped tarp my load for delivery next week to northern Alberta.  Bye for now.

Put my truck into the shop for three days to get my engine fan fixed among other things like three torque bars on the rear axle, two air bags on the rear suspension, a u joint on my rear drive shaft, a full service including a grease job and replaced an air line going to my transmission.  Twenty six hundred dollars later I drove back to the yard to hook up to a preload trailer to deliver to Edmonton.  The roads were pretty good all the way.  After unloading in Edmonton and Acheson, I headed into south Edmonton to load some pipe and a hydraulic cylinder for the return trip home.  On my way home I ran into a vicious snow storm between Edson and Hinton and had to stay overnite at a rest area before heading on my way again.  Bye for now.