That's a lot of wheels.

Wow, in all the years I have been driving I have never seen this many wheels on a tanker or this other trailer

The Hard/Soft Shoulder!

I had to load out of a place called Beardstown Illinois. When I got there I was told to drop my trailer and wait for it to be washed so I went with another H&R driver Andy to get something to eat by the time we got back Andys trailer was ready but I had to wait. I was told they would come in to load it at 2pm so I went over to Wal-Mart and spent ages walking around and spending money on rubbish like you do lol. I got back at 2.30pm to be told they had loaded my trailer but they had gone home and left my seal in the safe so I had to wait untill 9.30pm for the night shift to open the safe it had been a long day so I called it a night and went to bed. I left there early in the morning and stopped at a place called Gary in Indiana to fuel up, while I was there I got my CB boosted so it kicks out 29 watts now lol. As it was my first trip to America on my own I rang the broker to see what she wanted me to fax to her but it had already been done and she told me I had a skip load which was good news but she said I had to stop at the border to pick up my mcap which is a bit of paper the customer needs before they can unload you. The drive to the border was normal drive nothing special. When I got to the border the border guard was a very beautiful looking lady we had a long chat about me working over here, my family and where I lived in the UK, turns out her mum and dad are from the Isle of Wight! She said I was lucky as I had a skip load which means I didnt have to go for a meat inspection but I told her I had to pick up my mcap from the brokers, she told me where to park and pointed out the brokers office. It was cold but I walked over to the office only to find a telephone and spoke to a woman who said because it was a skip load I didnt need a mcap so off I went to Quebec. Thats where the fun and games started. I was asked to fax my mcap to the office, I said I didnt have one, they told me I should of stopped at the border and picked it up. I told them I did stop but was told I didnt need it so the lady at H&R sorted it for me. On the way to Drummondsville I took the wrong turn and went through Montreal which was like driving through London but Montreal was alot bigger and a hell of alot more cars it just reminded me of the good old days when I was on the TML contract with Tony Alford and we used to drive through London in our trucks cutting up the car drivers while chatting on the CB lol. I got to Drummondsville I tipped out swapped trailers at the Montreal yard then off down to a place called Kitchener Ontario. Had to get trailer washed on route which was only about 30 miles from where I was loading I had something to eat as well while I was there. I got to the place at 7pm but didnt have to be there until 5am next morning and was told to back on bay 33. Was loaded right away I had to stay there until the morning and I had to pick up paper work from another place just down the road. The next day I got the paper work then off I went. I went on the scale, weights ok, fueled up then on my merry way. The drive was ok I was chatting to a Canadian truck driver all the way up to near Hearst where we have to fuel up. I needed a wee very badly but there was nowhere to go I said to the driver I had to go and he said stop on the shoulder I said it doesn't look strong enough to take a truck he said 'rubbish' he had stopped on them loads of times so I stopped, he said he would slow down so I could catch him up. But that was where my worst nightmare started, the truck on one side sank, it went down so far the leg of the trailer was resting on the ground I really thought it was going to roll over on its side! I sent an SOS to H&R I told them how bad the truck looked and they got a tow truck out to me with in an hour. A cop turned up we had a quick chat he said he had seen a lot worst and not to worry too much. Just for a joke I said your not going to give me a ticket then he laughed and said no the arse kicking I am going to get from my boss will be enough :-( . When the tow truck turned up he said he tows about 1-2 trucks a week out of the soft shoulder so they knew what to do and I was back on solid ground in less than 20 minutes. I know it sounds funny to people reading this but it did upset and scare me a bit to see my truck lent over so far all these years wanting to drive an American truck and I very nearly rolled her over without bloody moving!! Anyway not a scratch on her I drove to the truck stop and stayed there the night I went in a had a shower to try and calm myself down I really was shaking lol. I went to bed then when I got up the next day I just thought you dumb ass you won't do that again lmao. I got my fuel and then left I drove about 300 miles and I needed a loo so this time I stopped at the right place lol. Had to top my tanks up with fuel because the trip from Hearst to Winnipeg is about 800 miles which I can do but I am so low in the tanks I just topped them up in a place called Nipigon, it has been a great day sunny all day and no hold ups I have done 528.34 miles in 9 hours 5 minutes driving. Called it a night and I'm at a place called Dryden and got free internet. I have added a pic of the hard shoulder out here which is a very very SOFT shoulder!! So Bruce when you stop laughing maybe you should warn all the new drivers not to be a dumb ass like me and stop on them lol.

Some pics of my trip across Canada

Pics of my truck

A 2007 Freightliner Columbia

Mini oil filled heater

Took the pic of it sat on my steering wheel so you can see how big it is and because its bloody windy outside lol

Negative stories about H&R on the net

I didn't want to write about H&R on my blog but a few guys have sent me e-mails asking me if the stories you read on the net about H&R are true. A few drivers out there are worried about some of the bad things that they have read. All I can say is remember there are always 2 sides to a story. I never bothered about the stories myself. I came out here with an open mind to try H&R for myself I have been here about 7 weeks now and everything that was told to me in the interview has been spot on. I love this job and the people who know me well also know I have spent a lot of money over the years driving from one side of America to the other well now I'm doing the same but getting paid for it. Yes you do have to turn the wheels to earn over here but its easy. How many times have you heard guy's moaning about their wages being crap, constant moan moan moan yet they want to be home every night don't want to drive here there or anywhere and can't go a few miles without a tea break and they wonder why they're not earning!!! Some of the things they do here is not what we do in the UK but hey guess what.... we're not in the UK anymore! You will have to work their way. Its been hard for me at times because I have been driving for 20 years and doing it my way now I have to do it their's but I love it. You have to really want this job like I did. If some shit story you read on the net puts you off then 20 years down the line you will always wonder 'what if'. All I can say is find out for yourself, give it ago. By the way... I read the same stories and I have not seen anything to back them up, if you get on and work you get more work if you don't want to work then the good jobs go to the guys who want too, it make sense. Look at it from H&R's view, why should the fussy drivers who pick and choose get the good runs when it suits them! That is one good thing about H&R if you work well and want to work then they give you loads of work. Just answer this question... why would H&R bring you over here if all they want to do is muck you about when you get here. At the end of the day H&R are a company who need drivers and there's plenty of work if you want to WORK. And anyway how many times have you sat in a mess room listening to the same moans from the same drivers who have worked for the same company for years! We all know when you get a group of drivers together there is always someone bitching about something or someone. It seems to me if the driver can't get his own way then its time to slag the company off on the net. Another thing, for the first few weeks when you start to earn you might not think you have earned much thats because of they way the jobs overlap pay weeks but after a month or so you should start to see how your money is worked out. One week you might get $500 the next week you might get $600 but the third week you could get $2000 it all depends on when you get your paper work in, if you work on the fact that over a month if you work well you should be getting about $4000 a month in your bank.

Thanks to Lyndon & Jan

Well you have read some of the things I have put on here and on the British expats website about how helpful Lyndon is to new drivers. Well it gets better, when we went on my mentor trip he said I could leave my stuff at his house which was very decent of him and Jan. The other day I rang Jan to ask if she could put my stuff in her car and take it to her works so I could pick it up well it turned out she was not working but she said she would meet me in the yard just after 8am and she did. Not only did she bring me my stuff but they both gave me a microwave and a map book that cost Lyndon $80 now that is what you call nice people. Jan came all that way from their house just to drop off my stuff a 60 mile round trip. And all you seem to get is a few nasty people out there slagging Lyndon off. All that guy has ever done for me is to bend over backwards to help me out and he will help out any new drivers just ask (don't think you will all get a map book and microwave lol)....Thanks guy's really apprieciated.

I am sat in Iowa 80 truck stop

After getting back to Lethbridge from Toronto I spent the day sorting out my truck cleaning it out getting a few things fixed washed inside & out. Then spent the rest of the day putting my stuff in the truck wow didn't realize how much stuff I had! Think I need a sort out over the next couple of weeks! I fitted my CB which I got cheap from an old driver of H&R and it works well. On Wednesday went to Highriver to pick up my trailer for Waterloo in Iowa its just over 1400 miles. The scenery is awesome driving through Montana, I had to be there Saturday morning but because of a hold up at the border I got to Waterloo Saturday about 12pm had to fuel up the trailer before I dropped it off was in and out with empty trailer in about 20 mins. Then I went to the Flying J for something to eat, when I came out I got a macro saying I was loading out of a place called Beardstown Illinois going to a place called Drummondville in Quebec that will be great, another new state in Canada after this trip I should be adding a couple more states in America as well. I brought a slow cooker and all the stuff to make a stew. When I called into Lethbridge on the way to the border I filled it with all the ingredients and by the time I finished for the night I turned on the light inside the cab and a bag of lentils I brought had fallen over! (any guesses on what I said next lol). Well after cleaning up the mess I sat on my bed with a large bowl of stew and it was lovely, not bad for a first time & after one bowl I just had to have another one (lol). Anyway the mess and hassle was too much for me. Next day I cleaned the pot out and stuck it under my bed and I have a feeling that that's where it'll stay! Its nice to go into the Flying J, I had a steak last night and tonight I had a buffet it was so easy to walk away from all the mess and get back into my clean truck, I'm a trucker for christ sake not a chef! I am sat in the worlds largest truck stop Iowa 80 and it's huge. I was looking forward to coming here to buy some factory fitted mats for my truck to make it more cosy. I paid $125 for them and took them out & fitted them. They looked nice but I think they must have been made by Stevie Wonder because they didn't bloody fit! I took them back and got my money back I am gutted because they looked great so I am now going to be trying to find a company who makes truck mats to FIT. Some of you are thinking sad git he wants carpets for his truck but what you have to understand is I now live in this truck 24/7 and if I can make it homely in here then I will. I very nearly got a 32" LCD tv but I thought about it abit and wont bother........ for the moment lol. I read somewhere that if you have your bed made up in your truck just like you do at home with top and bottom sheet and a couple of blankets the study showed the drivers were having a better nights sleep so that is what I have done and I can tell you that when my head hits the pillow I am out like a light even with a fridge running outside. In the UK I had a quilt and I was forever waking up at night. I also brought a small oil filled radiator for when the cold nights get here I will plug it in and sit it in the middle between my seats. One of the things that needed to be fixed was a new inverta when the guy put a new one in I showed him the heater and asked if this was ok to use he said I could run 10 of them in here at the same time if I wanted so I won't be getting cold and at only $39 it's cheap. I have a few pics of me crossing Canada so I will try and put them on here as well and my lovely wife keeps asking me to take a pic of my truck but I keep forgetting, sorry babe, I will do tomorrow promise! Some drivers like to lay in bed in the morning but I like staring early and finish early when I am out of hours, then you can park in the truck stops. While I have been typing this I must have seen about 50-100 trucks try to get a parking place only to watch them drive off, never mind I have my parking space lol and I came in spun around and reversed the truck in the bay in one go, a couple of drivers said to me about 4 other drivers tried to do the same but they gave up and parked some where else. (dumb ass drivers) lol.

Its been awhile

Hi all I know its been a while but I have been really busy. I have done my 3 days with Bruce and lived to tell the tale lol. I met some nice people on the course we even went for a meal and drink and it was a good night. Met 2 great guys, owner drivers from Winnipeg. On Thursday I was asked to fly to Toronto to pick up a truck so on Friday morning David picked me up from the hotel and took me to the airport, I waited in the airport for about an hour. Half the flight was not bad watched a film and some other stuff then it was time to land. I was met at the other end by a guy called Shaun he took me to my truck. Well what can I say other than... if drivers want to take dogs with them then thats fine but please clean the truck when you finish with it! There was so much dog hair on the bed its taken me ages to clean and its not fair on me why should I have to do it (moan over lol). I waited for my trailer then I had to find a scale (I did Bruce) but its was closed for repair so I paid $12 for another weigh bridge the weights were fine I filled up with fuel and off I went. I was up at 3.30am so I only went up the road a few hundred miles then called it a night. I was up early the next day as I had over 1,800 miles to travel it was a long bumpy ride but a good one. Had no problems at all some very good sights its just a shame my camera man Lyndon wasn't with me lol, there was not one weigh bridge open on route. We use Husky fuel stops in Canada so I had my free shower after filling up then off to do a few more miles. I very nearly made a big mistake with fueling up, the fuel gauge on the truck seems to bounce about a bit and I didn't think I was going to make it to one of my stops my bum was starting to twitch a bit as I got close to Winnipeg but I had enough as I came round the bend about a mile from the fuel station it went up, by the time I got in the fuel station it was showing low again lol, won't be doing that again mind you I do know now this truck does about 800 miles on 2 tanks. I parked up for the night about 280 miles from my delivery point on the third night. I got up the next morning and got dressed had on a T-shirt got out to check my fifth wheel and my oil and other bits and it was getting a bit chilly. When I got back inside the cab I could see the outside temp was -8 won't be doing that again in the morning. When I got to Saskatoon I could not find the delivery point it was not on my sat nav or streets & trips so I sent a macro asking where this place was 1 second after I sent the macro I looked up and this very large white building with the name of the company in big letters about 10ft high was in front (lol what a plonker) mind you it was a very new building they were still doing the road. I had to drop the trailer and wait for my next job I waited for about 2 hours but didn't I enjoy the sleep lol it had been a hard 3 days. I have to take an empty trailer to Brooks so it was around to the Huskey truck stop to fuel up the truck and myself and go and have my free shower then off down the road again I stopped in Kindersley at the Wal-mart to buy a couple of things then off again to a place called Oyen in Alberta. I am parked outside a super 8 motel using there internet about time I got something for free. I wish we had internet in the trucks I do know you can get them because I have spoken to guys who have the internet in their trucks it comes in with the satellite they use, it would make life so much easier for the drivers who are away from there familys. Anyway time for bed no rush tomorrow as I have only got 134 miles to do I said I would be there for 8am, 5.30 am start should do.

Weekend shunting

Just got back from shunting. First trip was to drop off a loaded trailer in Calgary. The driver told me it was very light as it was loaded with computers but he did say there was about 2 ton of ice on the trailer I thought he was joking until I saw it! I have never seen so much ice (I wish I took a picture now). On my way to Calgary the sun was out and it was hot and the roads are really bumpy in places & every time I looked in my mirror after going over a bump huge chunks of ice kept falling off, you could see the cars hanging back, all I saw was big clouds of mist as they smashed on the road. My sat nav took me to the Calgary yard with no problems! Got into the yard and Eddie was there waiting for the lights to be fixed on his trailer. We had a chat before he was off to Vancouver. We both drove around the yard looking for my loaded trailer..... now the first place you'd look is where they keep the loaded trailers right? We spent about 15 minutes looking for it only to find it next to the trailer I just dropped (what a plonker lol). I picked that one up, went on the scale then sent all the macros then off I went. Now I have read other drivers calling these trucks 'freight shakers' and after driving one I thought they're really not as bad as some make out, yeah right..... until you get on 2 north to Edmonton there's a patch of road there so bad I nearly ended up in the passenger seat! Good job I wasn't having a mouthful of coke at the same time lol. The drive to Edmonton was really nice, lovely views and loads of beautiful houses. Until I got to Edmonton the road went all over the show and I didn't know which one to take and guess what? Yep.... I took the wrong bloody one, what a nightmare that was! I know I drove down some roads where I shouldn't have been but I didn't get caught so hopefully there will be no tickets in the post! Finally I got to my place to tip out, I just had to wait, then I drove around to Edmonton yard and stayed there the night. I rang in the next day & was told to wait for a job back to Lethbridge. When I did get the details I went and waited for the trailer, I wanted to go to the shopping mall at Edmonton, which by the way is the largest in the world and only 2 miles away but didn't have time, gutted! I picked up the trailer and drove down to Lethbridge, on the way down the views were the same except I was going the other way lol.
There I was sat on cruise control at 65mph and loads of cars went bombing by, as they do. As I got down the road and around the bend I saw loads of flashing lights, cop cars everywhere, the said cars that went bombing past me were pulled over by the cops which made me smile (somethin else that doesn't happen in the UK)!! I did my delivery to Lethbridge then went back to the hotel for the night. I will be in the hotel for the next 3 nights as I have to go and sit in the classroom at H&R to learn more stuff then hopefully at the end of the week I will get my own truck then I can really start my adventures and I can't wait.

Hope you liked the pics

As you can see from the pics it can be sunny one minute then snowing the next and then sunny again. Its a bit of a slower drive from Kelowna but the views are stunning. On the whole trip we only got caught up in slow traffic a couple of times, amazing!. Lyndon took most of the pics whilst I was driving, sadly, even though there's a lot, there's only a fraction of photo's compared with the veiws we saw.
I am sat back in the Sandman hotel in Lethbridge at the moment and the weather is sunny but its turned cold. I went up to Wal-Mart today as I only brought summer clothes with me so I spent loads on buying clothes for the winter. I got back to the hotel I forgot to get a scarf hat and gloves (what an idiot) so I jumped back on the bus, by this time it was getting really cold so when I got out of the shop I put everything on, I looked like I was about to do a bank raid, the only part of me showing was my eyes! When I got back to the hotel the manager laughed and stated the obvious..... 'you're feeling the cold then Mike'.
I'm being picked up at 7.45am (Saturday) to do some shunting over the next 3 days then I have to go in the class room for 3 days to learn more about H&R. I'll then be given my fuel cards and let loose on my own in what will be my truck which I am so looking forward to.

A video that sums up a truckers life

Bad weather driving into Texas

My first trip

WARNING T-MOBILE ARE RIPOFFS

A little while back I posted on my site about using my T-mobile dongle in America and Canada. I was misinformed by a guy in the business department, he told me I would still be charged the £20 a month that I already pay plus I would be charged an extra £1.50 a gig per month which when you look at it is not bad. Well I went to use the dongle but it would not work so I rang them in the UK today to find out why its not working and it just wasn't set up right so it works ok now. BUT..... I just found out what the guy told me back in June was rubbish. The full cost of using that T-MOBILE dongle over here is an extra £7.50 a megabite not a gigabite so to use Skype to make a call to my family would of cost me a fortune. So to save me loads of money I am going to catch a bus to wal-mart and buy a $5 hammer and do a few adjustments of my own to this dongle. I am so sorry if anyone out there has gone and signed up to a T-MOBILE dongle because of what I posted a few weeks back if any of you have then you have just 14 days to cancel the contract.

Wow a Big thanks to Lyndon

I have just got back from my mentor trip with Lyndon. My first trip was to San Antonio in Texas. Then we had a trip up to Kelowna in BC. Then back to Calgary then back to the yard at Lethbridge. It was Lyndons job to show me what to do at the border and other things H&R want us new drivers to know. Lyndon showed me a lot more, where to get the free showers where the best places to park up for the night etc etc. We got on very well and we had a good laugh. We took over 400 pics so when I have had a good sleep I will put them online so everyone can see. Driving a truck around America has been a 30 year dream of mine ever since my dad took me to see Convoy when I was a 12 year old lol. One thing is for sure it was like a dream... driving in America the roads were great and no hold ups, didn't even get held up loading or unloading. Maybe I was just very lucky for the first trip. Mind you I was spoilt a bit, my first 2 days shunting trailers from Lethbridge to Calgary was done in a new freightliner Cascadia and my mentor trip was also done in a new Cascadia so I think that will be my last drive in one of those trucks for a while but I did get to have a look in a freightliner Columbia and I can't wait to get my own truck. I will be more than happy driving a Columbia there is so much room inside them. I was gobsmacked at how beautiful British Columbia is, it was hot and sunny. Just before we crossed the border into BC Lyndon said 'whats that moving in the ditch' when we got close it was 2 young wolves..... what amazing site that was. After we crossed the border I kept saying 'wow' I could not believe what I was seeing. Lyndon told me a few guys from the internet said he was living in a dream world after some of the things he has posted in the past, well I can tell you one thing it was like a dream, America and BC are full of amazing sites as you will see when I get around to posting my pics. As for Lyndon he has a dream like most people that have come to Canada and he is very lucky he has lived his dream for the last 18months. I have just started to live mine and I cant wait for my family to join me. I got in touch with Lyndon before I came over here and he has helped me out like he has helped so many others out so why do people knock him for that. The last thing I will say about him.......any new drivers coming over here to work for H&R if you need to know anything just ask him, the guy will do anything to help you out . So my last thing before I shower and go to bed is THANK YOU VERY MUCH LYNDON I HAD A GREAT TIME MATE.

Hi all

My mentor trip is nearly over so when I get back to the hotel I will update and add all my pics