After working for about 31/2 months straight, I’ve decided to take the winter off and change employers next spring. Getting pretty tired of hauling decks and may look for something else that may allow me to take every winter off. Truck is in good shape and just got my mvi done for next spring when I start looking again. Bye for now.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!
Well about five days ago I got my first taste of winter driving. Although there was no snow on the road per se, there was about one and a half inces on the ground (see photo) between Jasper and Hinton. I also heard that there was snow over the hump on Highway One between Revelstoke and Golden. (more…)
Since my last post, I’ve been to Fort St. John BC, Prince George BC, Leduc AB, Albion Sands just outside of Fort McMurray AB, Patricia AB, Edmonton AB, Delta BC and North Vancouver BC. Ran into some rain at Edmonton and all the way back to Valemount but other than that the weather has been pretty good. Had a bit of an issue with the piledriving hammer that I brought back from Albion Sands in that they forgot to lock the hammer in place. I found this out the hard way when I tried to stop at a stop sign and the hammer slid forward into the kick on my step deck trailer causing a loud bang and denting it pretty good. Scared the bejesus out of me as it was dark at the time and I thought someone had run into me. (more…)
Finally a good trip after the last one I had. Went to the docks to load some more pipe and while I was there one of the drivers who caused me grief last trip came up and apologized for allowing the other driver to butt in. I accepted and we talked for a bit then I got loaded and headed for Camrose. After unloading I headed for Edmonton to load a dozer (see photo) bound for Whitehorse, Yukon. Everything went well and the weather was good. Stopped in Watson Lake to reset my logbook and visit with Dan. Such a beautiful drive when the weather is good. (more…)
Well my first day back to work took some control on my part as things just didn’t go very well. I had to go to the docks to load some pipe bound for Camrose, Alberta and my trailer had been misused and abused so I had to track down some dunage and fix a couple of things. After loading and heading for Alberta I ran into some traffic issues which took me over 2 hours to drive a normal 45 minute drive because of road construction and three accidents. (more…)
Just seven more days and I’m on two weeks off. Can’t wait!! I really need the break to regenerate as it’s been almost four months since I’ve had time off. Been driving to Fort McMurray a lot lately as that is where the money is at. Weather has been good for the most part although there has been times of driving through torrential downpours. Keeps the truck clean though. Had a couple of loads where the dispatcher lied to the customer about delivery times and it came back to bite them you know where. I don’t lie for anyone so when I’m asked about loading times, driving times, etc. I tell the truth. Don’t understand why anyone has to lie anyways, the product gets delivered in the end.
Passed a bad accident (see photos) heading up the Coquihalla the other day just past the snow shed where a truck rearended another one apparently after the driver nodded off. No one was hurt but the damage done to the tractor was unbelievable. The ironic thing was the company responsible for the accident was called “Same Day Service” I guess even those guys need sleep eh?
Sitting in Hinton, Alberta waiting for log book to reset before I head back to Abbottsford to drop my loaded trailer and hook onto another preloaded trailer bound for Red Deer and then to…..you guessed it, Fort McMurray. That will be my last long trip although I may take something to Kelowna or Penticton etc. Bye for now.
Wow June sure was a bad month for weather. I’ ve never tarped so much this time of year. Thought it was winter for a bit. Still hauling to Alberta mostly with LTL (less than load) loads. Seems to pay more money and it refects well on my paycheck. I have to back into some tough spots and think more about how I load my trailer so I can get the next load on as well, but it seems to be worth it.
Just spent 4000 on my truck putting in a new clutch, rear seal and spring pins along with a motor vehicle inspection. All that’s left to do now is the transmission and rear ends if they go. Hopefully my driving habits will help to avoid those two going on me. When they replaced the clutch they looked inside the inspection plate of the tranny and told me everything looked good. Truck is in pretty good shape now.
All the farmers in Alberta have their crops coming up and the fields of canola look pretty (see photo) at times depending on the light. Got to give it to those guys they sure work their tails off. Wish I had more time to take pictures of different fields that contrast each other.
Came accross two accidents (see photos) in the last month or so. One was a rear ender while parked on the side of the road (I assume anyways). The other looked like a wild ride over a bank towards the Fraser River after bouncing off the ditch side and leaving his load there before heading accross the road to the river side. Heard a rumour on the radio that he swerved to miss a moose. Never heard how he made out though. Hopefully he’s alright as his truck is pretty banged up.
Bye for now.
Sitting up in High Level, Alberta waiting to unload some fencing material in the morning and there is roughly 5 inches of snow around. I arrived in Dawson Creek on Saturday morning to unload a 20′ container and it was snowing pretty good. So much for spring like weather in northern Alberta, lol. Been hauling a lot of pipe into Alberta until recently when they started loading me with 12 meter lengths which put me over my gross weight for my tractor. This happened four times out of five, so they are giving me LTL (less than load) loads now. I can make more money if the dispatch can get a good rate and I don’t have to waste much time loading and unloading (which has been the case for the most part) at each end. I won’t get two rounders a week doing things this way but it should even out or get me a little more revenue sometimes.
My truck has been running really well lately and the fuel mileage is starting to improve also due to my keeping the cruise control on all the time and coasting down hills without the jake. Of course, this will change with heavy loads. I have some pictures but I’m too lazy to upload them for now so I will do it another time.
My laptop finally packed it in so I went to Staples in Calgary last week and bought a new one with Windows 7. I’m not too thrilled with the new windows as it won’t allow you to install all your old software that you’ve paid money for previously. So now I’m uploading open source software that accomplishes the same thing. To hell with Microsoft and their paranoid tendencies towards loosing profits. Discovered a new email client called Thunderbird that seems to work well. Didn’t really like Outlook anyways. I am seriously thinking about reformatting and installing a linux operating system now. Might see if the old one can be salvaged and use it as the guinea pig until I learn how to use the system first. Bye for now.
Well after a couple of weeks off I’m back on the road doing the same thing I was doing before. I’m hauling pipe into Alberta and returning with crushed cars. However, I got to go to the Yukon again and visit with Dan (see photo) while I was there. It was very muddy on site at the mine, but the roads into the site were in good shape. It is such a nice drive up to Wolverine Mine when the weather is good with all the lakes and rivers etc. I’d hate to have to drive that road in the rain though as it would be very muddy I’m sure. I drove to Fort St. John, BC to load some crushed cars for the trip home. On the way I ran with a super b loaded with lumber and we talked on the radio about fuel consumption and drivers in general. Then a blue Kenworth hauling a van came up on us and told us to pick up our speed or pull over. I told the driver that I was doing the speed that the little white sign was telling me and if he was in such a hurry to pass on the next long stretch. Well he didn’t wait for a long stretch instead he started passing on a small one so I assumed he would pull in behind me so I maintained my speed while the super b slowed to let him in. The driver kept coming however trying to pass me as well so I shut off my cruise control and hit my jake and brake pedal as there wasn’t enough room before the corner for him to pass. Around the corner came a small car who was forced onto the shoulder before the driver could cut in front of me. Needless to say there were some short words expressed on the radio at which point he accused me of speeding up instead of slowing down. I told him to pull over and we’d discuss this further but he declined and sped off. The super b driver however let him know that it was drivers like him that give the rest of us a bad name and a black eye for our industry. The driver told us to let it go and get over it. I feel sorry for the small car as he/she must have freaked out for sure. What if it had been another big rig? I shudder to think about that.
Driving along crooked river to Bear Lake I took a couple of pictures of the beautiful reflections in the water of crooked river (see photo). Wish I could have stopped and shot a few. Got to 100 Mile House and slept.
After unloading the crushed cars in Richmond, I proceeded to load at the docks again before heading to Kal Tire to replace my drive tires. Then off to Peterbilt to replace my windshield and load leveling valve. While I was on days off I had my exhaust replaced and a few other items fixed that had been on my list of things to do. Now when I get pulled in for a level one I will definately get my sticker for the windshield.
Sitting in Camrose, AB listening to game six of the Vancouver/LA playoffs. Go Canucks!! Bye for now.
Had the you know what scared out of me the other night while hauling another load of pipe to Alberta. I was about 3-5 km from the BC/Alberta border and decided to stop for the night and get some sleep at the tourist info cairn by Yellow Lake. I put my left turn signal on for the three trucks behind me to let them know I was turning. Just before I turned, I checked my mirror and saw that the truck behind me had decided to pass me while I was trying to turn. I straightened out and he hit the shoulder trying to avoid me. I looked in the mirror again and the second truck was on his brakes trying to avoid hitting me in the trailer so I grabbed a gear and made my turn through all the dust raised by the moron in the first truck. Luckily I hit the entrance to the small road to the info cairn and got on the radio right away to voice my displeasure to the two who almost cost me my life. One driver responded by telling me to chill out because I was still alive wasn’t I? The other driver ignored me and with an excited voice told the first truck that his heart was still racing and what a thrill that was. I couldn’t believe my ears and didn’t know what to do as it all happened so fast that I didn’t get a name on the door only that it was a burgandy colored tractor with a step deck load of small diameter pipe. Both drivers sounded young which would explain their poor choices and exitement in just about getting in an accident. I couldn’t sleep for about an hour after that and must say that I haven’t been that scared since I was a teenager. I for one can’t wait for the speed restriction law coming to BC similar to the one in Ontario. I don’t drive over 100 km/hr anyways so it won’t affect me at all.
After delivering the pipe I headed to Edmonton to load a fiberglass tank (see photo) for delivery to Salt Spring Island, BC. Heading down Larsen Hill on the Coquihalla I came accross a fellow who left his foot on the brakes a little too long (see photo). At least he got the truck away from the trailer before it burned up.
I’m taking some time off after working four months straight and looking forward to it. Had to put my truck in the shop to get some issues taken care of so when I return I won’t have to worry about the truck. Bye for now.
