The Prairies at a muddy time of the year.

____Calgary is never just One-Day-Way from the yard; mid-day start on a Sunday puts me in the Moose Jaw 'J before sunset. Into the West, into the wind, into the Sun. The next day, the other half; 'J to 'J.
____Tuesday and the mattress factory gets their Virginian fabric. Then to Crossfield; to sink in a soft spot; Alberta thaws to the sound of cursing. Rescued by Bobcat; pushing with the bucket jammed in the jaws of my towing eyes. Insulation for Saskatchewan building sites; to Lloyd to end the day.
____Mud at Glaslyn, mud at Rosthern then the empty trailer to Swan River in exchange for a pre-loaded wood-chip consignment. Back to base: 3614 km.

Poem from a Long-Distance Runner.

I’ve considered every single word you’ve said,

And not just because you’re very good in bed.

But you’re banging your head against a big brick wall,

If you think I’ll ever take that job on short-haul.

It’s something that I find hard to justify,

But saying I hated long-haul would be a lie.

You were happy enough when this affair began,

So why can’t you still take me as I am?

My mood and attitude would not be right,

If you forced me to come home every night.

Your friends may say you’ve found yourself a keeper,

But I still look forward to nights alone in the sleeper.

There’s no-one else, no-where, no way,

And there’s nothing else that I can really say,

I’ve no idea where it all went wrong.

No future and I’m going, going, gone.

Seaboard Nine

____Day One: The trailer is loaded late on Friday afternoon and by the time I am through the border it's looking like a Mid-night finish. Sauk Centre it is, just before the witching hour; I hate running the logbook onto a new page just for a few minutes.

____Day Two: Minnesota's most Over-The-Top waitress is on duty at the Truckers Inn. I used to avoid her section and all the How are you? Awesome, Your welcome, No, Thank-you. But I began to feel left out; now I wallow in all the attention with knowing nods to the other customers. A ten o'clock start and  that gives me a trouble-free run at Chicago before the Elkhart Services on the Indiana Turnpike.

I could feel the heat as I went past.

____Day Three: To get a flying start at the nine drops, I need to be on the doorstep of the first, Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Monday morning. I arrive just before dark at a strip mall with very limited parking. Good job the lot is deserted.

____Day Four: The Eastern Seaboard is busy, busy traffic and the space to manoeuvre a truck seems to diminish as I get closer to every delivery point. Showrooms with unloading bays at the rear; but I get four drops done before a night at Bordentown Petro, a place I hadn't visited for several years.

2-MD, 1-VA, 1-PA, 5-NJ

____Day Five: Another four drops leave just one  for the Wednesday. This area has a reputation for un-friendly people but I can't fault any body at any of my customers. They all seem relaxed and I am taking my time as I don't want to deliver the wrong stuff to the wrong place. The last drop is another strip mall, I creep round the back and get a quiet night's kip.

____Day Six: A sign on the door says the opening hours are from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. Monday to Thursday. A bit longer Fri, Sat, Sun. Nice work if you can get it. The office hasn't found a reload yet, so I sit and wait. I get an empty trailer and a reload at the same time; a three hundred mile dead-head to Waynesboro, Virginia, doesn't give me enough time to load. So, a night at Harrisonburg's Pilot.

Autocar tipper working in New Jersey.

____Day Seven: Fork-lift truck drivers live in fear of truckers driving away before  the trailer is fully loaded. They used to ask for the keys to the truck, but found that most drivers had two sets. Some asked drivers to stand in a yellow painted square on the floor near the loading door; but this violated their human rights. Most new loading bays have a system that hooks the trailer to the bay. But this old place at Waynesboro just asked the driver to un-hitch the unit and park alongside. The loader then put a lock on the red air-line just to be on the safe side. Thirty thousand ponds of fabric loaded and the Appalachian Mountains to crossed; Interstate 64 to Charleston. Then US Highway35 to Dayton. a good north-east diagonal four-lane.

The answer to a fork-lift truck drivers fear of abduction.

____Day Eight: Out of Spiceland, bright and early, through Indianapolis before rush-hour. Enough hours to get home in two days, due to the limited mileage on the days when I was delivering. I pull into Roberts, just east of Minneapolis, at four o'clock. I rest-up to miss the evening rush, fall asleep and wake at half past 11.

____Day Nine: I don't always start work at three in the morning; but when I do, I make sure I'm going to finish up at home. Back in the yard at 10.30; which let the fitters service the truck; ready for the onward trip to Calgary.

____Overall Distance: 6671 km.

Under-floor aero-dynamics.
I wanted to cut a hole in it and stick on a toilet seat.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 



Short trip to Wisconsin.

____ Day One: The shortest trip for a long time. Monday morning saw me finishing off the previous trip with two drops in Winnipeg; then it was a short run out to St. Claude where I loaded the same trailer with seeds. I had a leisurely lunch at the Outpost Restaurant in Winkler while I waited for customs clearance and the go-ahead to cross the border. Then onto the truckstop at Swan River for the night.

____Day Two: A muddy yard at the seed warehouse in Ashland, where it starts to snow. It snows half way down to Janesville, 536 kilometres away to the south. I'm expecting to find a loaded trailer at one of Payne's regular customers; but the company has decided that it needs more empty trailers at the distribution centre. My orders are to leave the empty and bobtail back to Canada. Thank goodness the roads are now bare and dry; bobtailing on hard-packed snow is no fun at all.

The geese are back in the North, so why do we still have snow?

____Day Three: Over a thousand kays back to the yard; with a half-hour break at the Northstar Truck Wash in Fargo. Of course, sod's law, it starts raining at Grand Forks. Back to the muddy yard and hopefully a few more miles next trip.

____Overall Distance: 2636 km.

Chains on the yard shunter.

Sticking together.

 

Boca Raton Easter Run.

____Day One: Good Friday and the start of a 3650 kilometre trip to Florida. Four days to do it; so plenty of time, but with such a long trip it will require careful watching of the driving hours. First stint behind the wheel takes me to Albert Lea on the southern edge of Minnesota.

____Day Two: To Mount Vernon and the first chance to use the new stuck-on-the-windscreen gadget: PrePass. A tracking device that allows the truck to by-pass scales; electronic data is fed to an overhead monitor just before the scale and a green flashing light tells me it is okay to carry on. A red light means that I have stop and weigh, as per usual.

Peterbilt Cabover, on for Mullens, Paynes parent company.

____Day Three: Easter Sunday and the truckstops have their usual number of trucks parked for the weekend. Some companies try get drivers home for the Holidays but there are plenty who make very little effort. There are family men on the phone to wives and young kiddies, explaining how they will have the chocolate eggs and bunnies again when they get home. But there plenty who don't make those calls. Drivers with marriages on the rocks and children off the rails. To them, Easter alone in the truck is a welcome release to the pressures they would endure at home. A million and one things to do around the house; then the inevitable rows about the job, money and the kids. The sleeper attached to the truck is their man-cave until despatch comes up with the next assignment. For these drivers, weekends in truckstops are a way of life. They earn nothing, they spend nothing, they do nothing and they say nothing. Time is spent lounging in the sleeper, snacking on supplies bought at Wal-mart and peeing in a bottle. A trip to the truckstop for a shower is their only outing, even then they avoid eye-contact. These are not the heroes who keep the supermarket shelves full; not heroes battling adverse weather on dangerous roads; these are the huge grey area of drivers, all but invisible. Down to Macon, Georgia, a quiet Rest Area and warm night.

____Day Four: Georgia into Florida and soon onto Florida's Turnpike; the toll road that cuts across from Ocala south-east towards Miami. The PrePass on the screen also doubles as an EasyPass, automatic toll paying device. West Palm Beach for night.

A place for those who don't want the weekend to end. Kinmundy.

____Day Five: Unloading is all hand-ball so it takes awhile. Then reload instructions come; make your way to Grovetown, Georgia. A fuel stop at Saint Augustine before  making my way to Waycross with just a few minutes to spare on a fourteen hour day.

____Day Six: Still three hours to Grovetown but at least this lets me avoid the early morning loading rush. Loaded in less than an hour, only 18,000lbs, so its an easy run back around Atlanta, over Monteagle and onto Murfreesboro in Tennessee.

2616 kilometres before the next junction. Anybody seen a bigger number than that?

____Day Seven: Now the driving hours in the logbook are mounting-up. Eight and three-quarters hours per day is the magic number where a driver can drive everyday and not break the rules. I'm not far off that figure, so a short day up to Mount Vernon will then give me enough to get home on days eight and nine. A rainy night in Illinois.

New stripes, an old trailer and the same old muddy yard.

____Day Eight and Day Nine: Payne have a slightly different procedure when it comes to customs clearance. They use TransFlo, a system that scans and e-mails paperwork at truckstops. This is a great advance on faxing and has got my instant approval. The load clears customs on Friday and I'm back in Canada early on Saturday afternoon. Back to the yard; two drops in Winnipeg on Monday morning.

____Overall Distance: 7430 km.

Nervous as a Kitten.

____Day One: First load is to the Greater Toronto Area with two deliveries of furniture; just over 2000 kilometres. A two day drive under normal circumstances; but as this is all new, I give myself the comfort of an extra day and leave on Friday afternoon for the arrival on Monday. Picking up the trailer on the outskirts of Winnipeg; I  drive to Dryden for the night.

____Day Two: The bitter Winter of 2014 has frozen the Great Lakes to a record 80% of their area. As I drive Highway 17 to Sault Ste. Marie; Lake Superior is still ice-covered as far as the eye can see and this is in the middle of April. When will the water be warm enough for swimming is anybody's guess. Saturday night at the Husky Truckstop in the Soo.

The Church at Longlac.

____Day Three: The four days of orientation had one big omission: tuition on the operation of the Qualcomm satellite communicator. It's three years since I last used one and  advances in technology have left me behind. So I phone a friend; Mr. Ramsden, who gives me the heads-up on the latest touch screen messaging system. Only problem, the short cable on this thing is like a coiled spring and at every opportunity the electronic box flies out of my hand and onto the floor. A rainy day, driving down to the Husky at Mississauga; not 10 kilometres from the first drop.

____Day Four: Up early, too early, not wanting to mess-up the eight o'clock delivery appointment. Sitting in the truckstop, watching the stationary rush-hour traffic on the nearby Highway 401. Nervous that I wont do 10 kays in an hour, nervous that I will deliver the wrong stuff to the wrong place, nervous because I've had so much dis-orientating instruction; my self-confidence is shot to pieces. But by 12 noon, I have an empty trailer and instructions to re-load at Johnstown.

The Bay Truckstop at North Bay, Ontario.

____Day Five: A few evening snow flurries on my way to North Bay warned me that the run across Highway 11 would not be easy. Sure enough, six inches of the white stuff fell as I pushed on to Kapuskasing and fuel. After that it was bare and dry roads; all the way to Pass Lake and the newest addition to the Flying 'J chain of truckstops.

The ditches beside Highway 11 claim another semi.

____Day Six: An eight-hour overnight break gives me the chance to deliver this load on the Wednesday afternoon. An inter-depot move of cable for one of Payne Transportation's sister companies; Tenold. A cold start at Minus 15 C and the truck is still encrusted with the ice-spray from the day before. I hope it will fall off as the temperature rises; what I don't envisage is part of the front left fender falling off. Burdened by a heavy ice coating, it breaks off with a clatter and slides across the road. Luckily I see it in the mirror and go back to pick it up. With the load delivered, the empty trailer returned; I bobtail back to the yard at Niverville for repairs.

____Overall Distance: 4717 km.

Missing section of front fender: it just fell off whist going along.

Ice encrusted trailer leg and winding handle.

 

The Eagle Has Landed.

____ All change: the endless loads of peat-moss to Texas have finished and the distinctive logo of Flying Eagle no longer adorns the door of the Peterbilt 386. Only in North America can a truck change its licence plate, fleet number and name on the door yet still belong to the same owner and be driven by the same driver. Flying Eagle #26 is now Payne Transportation #557. In fact the whole Flying Eagle fleet will soon have "Payne" on the door.

____ The primary reason for this is "Workload." The owner of Flying Eagle puts in so many hours  running the fleet and he has realised it is never going to get any easier. Putting the trucks on with Payne will at least save him all the trouble of finding work, dealing with Customs, buying fuel and chasing after unpaid bills. Also we will be pulling Payne trailers. The trucks will still be maintained in the Flying Eagle workshops and the drivers pay cheques will still come from the Flying Eagle office.

____ Payne is part of the Mullen Group; an Alberta based Public company that includes other Canadian trucking outfits such as Tenold and Kleysen. The buying power of this large group will also help Flying Eagle; with cheaper fuel and tyres. Most of the Payne fleet are owner operators; either pulling flatdecks or vans. I'll be pulling vans. But first "Orientation."

____ Four days in a classroom with three different teachers/instructors and I came out wondering if I ever knew how to do the job in the first place. Payne want it done their way which is fair enough as the pay the bills. But if I learned anything new; I've forgotten it already. Day one: hours of service. Day two: customs procedures. Day three: hazardous goods. Day four: the "Smith System" and four stints of driving around Winnipeg. Oh, and a free lunch everyday.

____ The Smith System was something new; an advanced driving course designed to increase awareness and concentration in busy traffic. Look well ahead, watch out for other vehicles and don't tailgate. All good advice and I couldn't fault it. I just wish all North American drivers took the Smith System course after they got their licence.

____ So it's going to be something different; a chance to blog some different loads to a more varied selection of destinations. Watch this space!

Decals coming off; no longer will I have a CB handle on the door.

Pony Corral Summer Sunday Cruise Night, Winnipeg.

 

Phew! What a scorcher.

____ George is 71 years old and if it hadn't been for his service in Canada's armed forces then he would not have ventured out of his home Province of Saskatchewan. Forty years a farmer near Prince Albert, George now assembles South Korean compact tractors for a local agricultural merchant. We are swapping life stories in the back of the trailer on a rainy Friday morning; while a forklift drags the crates of orange machinery,by chain, to the back doors. He finds it hard to believe that in the past I have driven in five different countries in one day.
____ One of the rewards of the job is meeting people like George. I have memories that go back to the 1970's; of a kitchen table at an isolated North Devon sheep farm. Dipping fresh crusty bread into a bowl of soup; after hand-balling twenty tons of sugar-beet pulp nuts into a barn during a snow storm. Sharing goats cheese, bread and olives at a Turkish truck-building plant during the after-hours unloading of a diesel engine consignment. Trucking is a job that is too often too poorly paid for too many hours; it is moments like this that make it worthwhile.
____ The last trip to Eagle Pass started in a blizzard of blowing snow; the warmth of Texas was welcome. But in the height of Summer, three digit figures await my arrival. Running late into night helps reduce temperatures in the truck for when I sleep; knowing where the parking spots are for late  finishers is the hard part. First night at Cubby Bear's Truckstop in Norfolk is seldom a problem. Second night at the huge Winstar Casino and a late finish is beneficial, it limits my losses at the slots. Third night and I'm backed onto the unloading door at Eagle Pass.
____Three easy days driving are followed by a fourth as I head up to Mexia, after unloading. Loaded on Tuesday morning and then three days driving to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and George. A hundred miles south to Saskatoon; where a flour mill loads me for Winnipeg. Back to the yard, early Saturday morning, to finish a nine day trip of 7604 kilometres.

Bikers enjoying the heat in a helmetless state.

 

How many blankets?

Upgrade the House? -Versus- Buy More Chrome?

Saskatchewan sunset.

Low-flying aircraft captured on Dashcam.

Crop duster working over a field next to road works. Stop and go board guy must be getting lungs full of chemicals.

Heavy Haul.

A 2000 kilometre trip into Ontario.

Flying Eagle #38 with B-train loaded with two steer-able 4 axle bogies.

Sunday morning loading of a 128 foot long, 63 tonne concrete bridge beam.

Four Flying Eagles #38 #40 #41 #42, all with the same load.

Ten axles needed for a gross weight of 86 Tonnes.

Rear bogie is steered by manual controls in tight situations.

Converting to automatic steering on the outskirts of Winnipeg, after early morning police escort through the town when the rear bogie was manned.

Overnight parking at Nipigon, Ontario, where I was third of the four trucks to arrive.

Always read the permit. Overall length converts to 144 feet. Nineteen foot longer than a turnpike double.

One US gallon = 3.8 litres, so that's 1 mile to the litre.

Highway 11 through the scenic Palisades of the Canadian Shield.

Patrick in #42, heading back for another beam after being first to unload.

The twisting and turning road alongside Lake Helen.

Bryn, second to unload, topped-up with his rear bogie and about to head home after chaining it down as I wait to be called down.

The lift-off.

Christer, truck number four, parked on the old road bridge as the two cranes lift his beam over to make the new one.          The road was closed for about 15 minutes each time a beam was unloaded and each time a rear bogie was topped up on a trailer.

Back as far as Dryden for the second night-out

Patrick heading back with the 5th beam which will complete one-half of the bridge. Five more are due to go in three weeks time.

The Freightliner Coronado and the Peterbilt 389 back in the yard on Wednesday afternoon with their B-trains.