The Truckers Lair

Got back from a trip into Pemberton on a forest service road that runs along side of Lilloet Lake.  Didn’t have much fun or make much money.  To start with I blew a belt on my right front steer tire and had to keep filling it up with air to get to the site.   Then when I met up with the other truck getting unloaded in front of me, it seems that dispatch gave me the wrong instructions as I was supposed to wait at the beginning of the forest service road for the supervisor to show me where they wanted to unload me.  So I had to head back 20 km and park.   Read the rest of this entry »

Sorry folks, I had forgotten about my blog as I have a lot of things going on.  I have changed companies since my last post.  I’m now hauling B-Trains for a company called Macal Bulk.  We haul different types of asphalt to various clients and Magnesium Chloride to keep the dust down on gravel roads.  It’s an interesting job, however the money isn’t there yet due to the mild spring and summer so far.  The big attraction for me was being able to take winters off anyways.  Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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.  Read the rest of this entry »

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.  Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Been a little lazy with the posting lately, however I just went to the Yukon again and got to go up to Keno City.  Hauled some construction equipment to Wolverine Mine (3 hrs from Watson Lake) and then to Keno City operations up in the northern tip of the Yukon.  The weather was great all the way until I got to Faro when it started to drizzle a little.  Along the way I got to see black and grizzley bears, buffalo, cariboo, elk, moose, wolverine and a beautiful black wolf with brown blotches.  The wolf was an amazing animal to watch as he ran away from the sound of my big truck.  I only wish I could have gotten a picture of him but he was gone too fast. 

Quite the little mining town, there was museams and little tourist stores everywhere.  The museum was cool with all kinds of pictures, tools and info about the mining days.  This is a silver mining town of about 20 locals with about 120 workers that stay in camp.  Apparently it has been a successful mine for over 20 years. 

On the way home I stopped in Ross River to visit with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in over seven years.  Ross River is a nice place also with lots of rivers and lakes.  I’ll post some pictures below. Bye for now.