Truck fixed now

Just a quick one.... my truck was fixed and ready to go at 12pm Sunday. While I was waiting I was looking at the CD players and Freightliner had one on sale for $72 that would fit into my truck with out changing the leads. The best thing about it its got the jack socket on the front so I can plug my Sirius radio in and my i-pod.

I went up to Fargo to fuel up and was going to call it a night there as I don't like driving too late and in the dark. I backed into a slot and it was still light so I looked at my route and said sod it I carried on for another 2.5 hours and parked at a fuel station in a place called Carrington North Dakota. I had a very good nights sleep no wi-fi but I have been on line for the last couple of days so one nights not going to hurt.

I have got to do a very good days driving 700+ miles today as my deliver time has been brought forward till 7am tomorrow. When you cross the Canadian border you flick to Canadian driving rules which means I can drive for 13 hours so I am going to do my best to get as close to Calgary as I can tonight. I have worked it out I can get within about 50 miles of Calgary so it would be a short hop to the deliver point in the morning.

HI LYNDON LOL

Tracker

Me and George (The big trip) are chatting on line and looking at our trackers and we are both getting hits by an H&R driver who is still at Ogden Utah. This tracker allows you to add there names so instead of you looking up there IP address there name comes up Automatic.

HAHAHAHAHA No more anonymous comments lol.

A couple of pics of my truck

A few pics of my truck I have just spoke to Freightliner it seems number 6 liner moved and smashed the head so I have just been over to take a look at my trailer to see if everything is OK and while I was there I thought I would take a couple pf pics for my blog.

My truck with the head removed

The smashed Head

The piston liner

driver at the Flying J

There is an H&R driver in the Flying J in Ogden Utah who has been looking at my blog for the last 2 days he must be on a reset I wonder who that could be lolololol.

Thanks Mick Fly

Good news when I took Mick on his mentor trip he had a muck about with my computer and put a tracking device on there so when ever someone goes on my blog its tracked and if I am reading it right that comment about arse licking came from a guy who lasted not even 3 months at H&R and who is back in the UK so good luck with your life LOSER.


WHAT A JOKE COULDN'T EVEN LAST HAHAHAHA.

Hire Truck

I just thought I would add this bit as well.

I was offered a hire truck from Penski to take my load to Calgary but my load does not have to be in Calgary until the 31st so I said I would stay in the hotel (paid for by Penski) while mine got fixed. I am sat here chillin out and updating my blog and when this is done I will be going for a swim.

I am not getting paid but that's trucking in North America for you its whats called swings and roundabouts, rough with the smooth, then tonight I am going down to a very nice sports bar that I went to last night for a big steak meal.

Why am I Two faced!!

I got a comment from a driver saying I am 2 faced and too afraid to tell it how it really is, so here goes .

My truck broke down for the first time and I am in a hotel paid for by H&R. What should I be doing now jumping up and down screaming and shouting? No, if this was the 2nd 3rd or 4th time maybe but not the first time. As for the pay cut... we lost $5 a tip or load, WOW its not going to hurt my pocket there are drivers all over losing their jobs, at least we never got laid off. Some of my mates in the UK are on 4 days a week now that is something to moan about but not $10 a trip.

It goes to show how selfish the guy really is. There are a hell of a lot of people out there worse off than us and if I moaned about a tiny pay cut then I think I would of had a lot more complaints from people who are suffering a lot more than me. I have saved my wages since I have been here.

I don't drink or smoke if I never got paid for a whole year I would still be OK money wise so what have I got to complain about. There are pay cuts all over the world not just at H&R. I will give you a bit of inside info, the dispatchers got a pay cut (In January) and so did the workshop guys we are not the only ones, ask the guys in the workshop that got hit big time.

If you have ever read my blog the 2 moans I have had was about how cold my truck was nothing else so how does that make me 2 faced. I love driving over here its been a 30 year dream of mine and because I dare to enjoy my job I am called 2 faced, makes me laugh!!

Yes I have had a few moans about H&R but that's because of a few organisation problems. So do I leave H&R and go else where because of that, NO, every driver in the world wants different things but we all have one thing in common we have all been looking for the perfect job BUT HEY GUESS WHAT there is no such thing.

For me and this is my opinion no one else, I am not licking arse here but for me this job is as close to perfect for ME as I can get, so I, like hundreds of other H&R drivers here are happy and if all goes well I am hoping to stay with H&R for many years.

I have told H&R to stick the job twice but when I have calmed down I think about my family and what I am doing here then I just get on and enjoy the job. Some people say they work very hard over here well that's their opinion. I think this is one of the easiest jobs I have ever done I start early and finish early.

I wish the driver would come and chat to me and explain what I have done wrong! I never made a comment about the pay cut and because I enjoy my job and I want my family to move over and because I DARE say I want to stay with H&R that makes me an arse licker.

To all North American drivers.... now can you see why some of us drivers want to get out of Europe....because we are not free to say how we feel and what we like without being called an arse licker.

As for being scared to put things on my blog grow up! The only thing H&R don't want me to put on my blog is the names of the companies we go to or pick up from that's all. So why should I put second hand stories on my blog when they have nothing to do with me or put comments about pay cuts when we are lucky. It could of been an even bigger pay cut... this blog is MY blog its ABOUT ME no one else.

When you have a row with your wife you call her all the names under the sun then you spend the next 3 hours trying to explain you never meant it you were just angryat the time. Well that's the same with me when I get angry. I, like everyone else say things we don't mean then when we calm down we wished we never said some things. That's called being human not an arse licker.

I never got a reply to 2 messages I sent to American dispatch, when I rang Les I let rip on him on the phone which made him angry and then I slammed the phone down, the next day I rang Les to apologise does that make me an arse licker nope not at all. Do I really need to put bits like that on my blog, no, its my blog I'll put on it what I like if the driver is so clever why don't he have is own blog and put all the supposed bad bits on.

You might think I am putting a one sided story on my blog well I got news for you and everyone who reads my blog this blog is all about what I get up to while driving a truck in North America. NOT about rules pay cuts and why drivers leave H&R, if you want to see all of that why doesn't a driver start up a blog and put all that stuff on I'm sure you would get a lot of miserable bloody readers!!!!

My truck is not well

I am sat in a hotel in a place called Eau Claire in Wisconsin my truck is across the road in Freightliner my head gasket has blown.

I was told it would be back on the road by 8pm tomorrow night if the head was not cracked if the head is cracked it will be done by Saturday dinner time never mind this is what happens in the transport industry.

I am not even going to start to moan this is my first break down in 11 months its one of them things. OK I am not getting any money but that is also part of the job, I just wish I had some swimming shorts they have a great pool in this hotel.

Back to work

I dropped Dee and the girls off at the airport and made my way down to Lethbridge. When I got to the yard I found my truck was still in the workshop so instead of putting my stuff back in the truck I spent the night in the Lethbridge Lodge.

The next day I went up to the storage place and put all my stuff in the car and went to the yard my truck was having a new radiator fitted so I backed my car into the workshop out of the rain and spent the next couple of hours sticking my stuff back in to the truck. This bit is the worst bit, I have so much stuff I am glad I have a Columbia and not a Cascadia. I gave the guys in the workshop about 20 DVDs and got rid of some rubbish I left a lot in 2 storage tubs I use.

I gave my truck a clean out and went up stairs to see what they had for me the only thing that was there was a run to South Sioux city Nebraska for Wednesday I like going that way there is a good chance you will get a load from that side up to Toronto or Montreal.

When my truck was done I picked up an empty trailer from the yard to take to Brooks and wait for my trailer which would be ready the next day (Sunday). I could of stayed in Lethbridge the night and gone the next morning but why waste 2 hours of driving! when I got to Brooks there was 2 H&R trucks waiting, one coming out and about 6 other trucks all waiting for their loads, I dropped my empty in their yard.

I went across to security to see what time my trailer would be ready the next morning. When I gave them my number they said I can take it now the trailer and paper work was ready, wow great, so I hooked up and ran down to the border. It was a very quick crossing as it was Saturday night, then I parked on the door of meat inspection ready for when they opened up Sunday morning.

I woke up the next morning and waited for the guy to cut my seal off then a quick check and another skip load. As I was about to leave my mate Dave and Jay from Southampton turned up I have not seen them for a few months these were the 2 guys I brought back from Southampton with me in February for a job interview. It was nice to see them after all this time they run together as a team and they were off to New York I was going the other way so we couldn't run together.

I left the meat inspection place and ran down to Billings Montana to the big Wal-Mart and done some shopping. I picked up 10 cartons of milk and some food for the week the milk I buy is what we call UHT milk in the UK. I can keep it under my bunk until Feb next year but once I open it it has to go in my cool box and it has a life of 10 days, we only have UHT milk at home its got a much better creamer taste than normal milk.

I also brought a Electric Skillet for $19 its $39 in Canada for the same thing if you don’t know what this is its an electric frying pan you can do Bacon and eggs or stir fries in it. I brought 18 eggs for $2 and 2 large packs of Bacon for $2.25 each I have had a 3 egg omelette with Bacon for breakfast for less than $1... no carbs lol

I left Wal-Mart and went to the Pilot to fuel up and had a shower. I wanted to get past Broadus Montana so I know I could make it the next day with out any problems but because I have not been on this road much I didn’t know where to park. I was hoping I could park in the next town but it was like a ghost town so I screwed up a bit. I had plenty of time but it was getting dark and this road is not one you want to travel on in the dark I drove to the next big town which was Belle Fourche South Dakota a very nice truck stop there.

As I said this road is very bad with Deer they were every where I have never seen so many I had to slow down other wise I would of hit one. They were all over the road only a fool would speed down this road and 10 minutes later the fool came zooming by me about 20 minutes later I could see flashing lights as I got close there was half a deer in the road blood every where and that idiot sat in his smashed up car I bet he wished he had stayed behind me.

I warned all the trucks going west and one driver told me to slow right down because there was deer in the road on my side I was down to about 20mph as I went around the bend there must of been about 20-30 deer I had to stop ,then the cheeky things took their time crossing the road I was going to toot my horn but you never know what that would of done to them.

Lucky for me the next town was about 5 miles away and I was going to stop there and didn't care where I stopped as long as it was safe to do so then I saw a sign for a truck stop now that's what you call lucky.

I was going to start early the next day but I was 2 days in front so I had a bit of a lay-in. I drove all the way to Sioux Falls South Dakota and rang in I was told there was nothing planned on me so there was no rush. I got down to South Sioux city and swapped trailers but no reload for me.

I'm not bothered too much I'm a day and a half ahead so no big dramas. At least I met up with my mate George (The big Trip) and said my goodbyes to him, he is leaving and going back home to Scotland he has had enough of being away from his family.

Trip to Waterton Park

My week off

I had a great week off with Dee & Cassie and Jenny. I took them all over Lethbridge and down to Waterton Park we went on the boat down to Montana and fed the deer. I even got kicked by the bloody dear I think he got fed up with me handing him the food, he wanted the lot lololol.


On the way out of the park we took a drive where we were told there would be bears and there was, it was great I think seeing them bears made everyones day. We took loads of pics and had a great time there.


The most silly law I have heard of is no under 18's in the bars with their parents I could understand it if we wanted to go to a night club or saloon bar but not in the hotel we were staying at, it made the nights boring because we were in our hotel rooms early where as we could of been out until late.


After we had done Lethbridge we made our way up to Edmonton to spend loads in the shopping mall it was nice to walk around there with my family. They watched me in the shooting range I used a 45 hand gun for the very first time it cost me $63 for 50 shots but it was worth it.


We had a game of crazy golf then we had a Chinese buffet for dinner we also took a drive around Edmonton to look at some of the house's. They had some really nice one's there. Edmonton is a great place to live but its too far up, it gets colder there than Lethbridge.


Then it was the saddest part of the whole trip me dropping them off at the airport it was very hard driving away and leaving them there but at the end of the day if everything goes to plan it will be worth the sacrifice.

GET WELL SOON MONTY

I have just come on line and found out my buddy Phil Henderson is in hospital in Lethbridge with Congestive heart failure I have just had a quick chat with him and he feels fine.

I met Phil last year in the Sandman and we have been friends ever since he is what you call a genuine good guy. He has had a few moans about the company just like me but all the chats we have had he never once slagged any driver off.

If he is still in there when I get back to Lethbridge I will pop in and see him and take a couple of snaps for the blog lolololol. I meant of the nurse's, lets face it would you rather see snaps of good looking nurse's or Phil we can vote on it if you like lololol.

Joking apart you take care buddy I wish you a speedy recovery will pop in and see you when back in Lethbridge.

Back stabbing gutless prick

I have been driving a truck for over 20 years now and there has always been backstabbing gutless idiots and there always will be. I have had a couple of nasty comments since I have been doing this blog, it doesn't bother me I have heard them all I have even been in rooms where drivers slag off drivers then and when the driver walks in they buy him a coffee.


In this job you get drivers who think they know everything you can't tell them a thing because they know it all. I have met a few idiots like that over the years and they all seem to be the same sort of guy, in there 50s-60s scruffy, single or been married 3-4 times and no friends. Slagging everyone off a right 'know it all' and can't keep their mouths shut when they get told something by a friend but they make mistakes and but keep it to themselves because their too ashamed to own up to making a mistake.


When I passed my test I had a job where I had to rope and sheet my loads my Dad taught me how to rope and sheet but when you do it on your own you are slow. This guy at the company I worked at started all the back stabbing behind my back calling me alsorts, it was pathetic, one day he said to me you stand there and watch me do it I will show you hows its done. All the time he was moaning so the next time I had to rope and sheet I went and got this old idiot, I had to listen to him moaning at me but I was young and let him get on with it.


About 10 months later I got a job doing container work so on the Friday I walked in to the mess room and said my goodbyes to some of the drivers. The same bloke sat in a corner (on his own) and said I would never make it as a truck driver. I turned around and said to him what do you know he looked up and said he knows a lot more than me and was a lot wiser than I would ever be. I turned around and said how come this 22 year old lad had got you to do all his roping and sheeting while I stood back and watched..... you should of seen his face he looked like he just sucked on a lemon lololol.


In this job you learn something new every day there are to many idiots out there who think they know everything well you don't and you'd be nothing but an idiot if you think you know everything. If you don't like my blog don't read it its as simple as that.


I have had a few e-mails from drivers who have read stuff on the Internet and its put them off. No-one has said H&R are the best company in Canada I have had my moments with them I have even told them to stick the job twice but I am still here WHY? Because the grass is not greener on the other side. I have had a couple of job interviews and as soon as I look at what they have to offer and what H&R have to offer I stay put I have got a great dispatcher a good truck and earn good money so for me I have stopped looking. Now my wife is happy to move to Canada I will ask Dave for PnP.


You can go on a web site and read the ramblings of a scruffy old know it all guy from Manitoba who told everyone one he knows a hell of a lot more about me than I think, yet we have never spoken or even met lololol. So go on Graham tell the readers something about me that I have not already published on my blog but like all know it all twats he will have nothing new to tell you which proves my point they know nothing but think they know everything!


So to new drivers.... you have to read every story and see both side's before you make your mind up. Whats good for me might not be good for you, there are loads of drivers here who are very happy but like every company you get drivers who are not happy.


I will add one bit about my mate Mick (Cath) he never got the work I got because we had different dispatcher if he had the same guy as I did it might of been a different story. I hope you come back one day Mick you were one of the good guys (and you Cath). The thing I liked about Mick was he had a bit of a go at me for changing things on my blog but he told it to my face and not hide behind a screen name. Why hide, I am not going to do anything you can say what you like you won't say anything I have not heard in the last 20 years, so grow a set of balls and put your name at least then I can reply to you and see if you are doing it better than everyone else.

You Fat Wanka

It's still me (Dee) again. When we were at the hotel we had the internet on and Mike took a quick look at his blog. There was a couple of comments left and one said 'you fat wanka' left by an unknown of course. Mike laughed, so did I, BUT its been irritating me and I can't keep my mouth shut (being a woman and all that).
Whoever you are you obviously read his blog. Man you must be so proud of yourself. To take the time to log in and leave such a well written intelligent cool comment like that WOW. What are you 5!!!!
As it's been said before this blog was intended for us but its gone beyond that now, Mike gets loads of e-mails asking him all sorts and he'll do his best to answer them. If he can help someone out he will. He actually spent a lot of time answering e-mails. Obviously your comment was deleted, shame we cant do the same with the sort of person you are, delete you! I feel extremely sorry for your wife (if you have one) though I bet you've been married more than once! Divorced no doubt on the grounds of you being a complete and utter arsehole not to mention coward as you didn't leave your name. In future I would strongly suggest a more age appropriate read for you eg the Beano. Mikes over there doing what he can to make life better for us. Everyone has their opinions and many of us don't agree but being an adult I wouldn't dream of leaving a comment like that on there or anywhere else at least not without leaving my name. I've always lived by this....if you cant own up to something bad then don't do it in the first place. By the way, your a prick....Denise Nash!

Our trip to see Mike

Hi, this is Mikes wife Denise. Thought I would put a bit on here as we've just got back after spending 8 days out there with Mike. Was lovely to see him again after 3 months. Often people say Mikes looking at things through rose tinted glasses and sometimes I'd tend to agree so this is my honest and frank (and brief) opinion on what I've seen myself and what I've heard and read......
Lethbridge I thought was too quiet, for us anyway. Some people love it there and I can see why. Apparently the winters are more mild and it's friendly and clean. Our daughter would need a bit more life around her and frankly so would I. We were able to drive round some of the estates, I wanted to do this because I wanted to see for myself rather than take Mikes word for it. I can confirm that he was right when saying there are no yobs on street corners, it feels safe and everyones friendly. It got to a stage where we were saying 'oh look theres a person', its honestly that quiet. No matter where we went we could park the car with ease and no traffic to fight through and zero road rage. When I first went over last year I was looking at the food in Walmart and thought how bloody expensive it was and limited ranges but since then Mike knows where to shop properly and being as I'm practically a chef (yeah right lol) I know there would be no problems shopping and cooking for a family and lots of things were cheaper than UK. We found eating out pretty much cheaper or on a par with UK. If you find a good steak house then you must go, they put our steaks to shame!
We found one ridiculous law out there regarding alcohol. You cannot even sit in a bar with parents if under 18. Over 18's must have ID or you'll be kicked out. Even in the hotel when ordering soft drinks we couldn't sit in the bar because Cassie is 16. That left us stumped for things to do in the evenings. You CAN sit in a restaurant with an under 18 but thats it. They are very strict about this and it's their law so fair enough but I don't agree with it especially when you're a guest in a hotel.
Job opportunities are plentiful, can't say too much about skilled jobs as there was no need for me to look but I could go out in the morning looking for a part-time job and come home lunch time hired. Our daughters found this most frustrating as over here they just can't get one!
We visited the rockies and oh my god, its truly beautiful. I went last year in the truck with Mike and was blown away by the scenery. Even Cassie and Jenny were gobsmacked, many 16 year olds wouldn't take much notice but Cassie was stunned with the small area we managed to see. We fed the deer which apparently is not allowed and was probably why one of them kicked Mike lol (tried to video it but was too late) but there were no signs up! AND we saw about 6 bears. We got really close which is a stupid thing to do when you think about it but when your out there taking photos they just don't look dangerous!!! It really was beautiful and if you get the chance to go, it was called Waterton Park then you must eat in a little cafe called 'YUMS' they do the best burgers ever!
I spoke to a lot of english people out there and they all say the same thing 'not on your life' would they go back to the UK. I met a drivers wife Sharon who said last winter was terrible and I can see from her pictures on facebook she wasn't kidding but apparently the Canadians where saying its the worst one they've had in donkeys years and I should hope so coz I actually wouldnt survive the winters if they were all like that. Sharons shed was buried and thats where I would keep my supplies coz I do intend to hibernate during the winter!
I could imagine the culture difference would take a bit of getting used to particularly for the women. I say this because in most cases the man would be out working and the wife at home with the kids until they are able to work. The wives of UK drivers get together now and again which I would imagine would help big time.
Ladies....the shopping in Lethbridge is shit. I like fashionable clothes and surrounded by shops and it really is behind with the times however we did find the odd shopping Mal which could pass as OK. The kids out there apparently save their money and go to Calgary and shop there. I could definately say that living in Lethbridge would be a no go for me for the clothes shops!!
Police sirens....forget it, you won't hear one, I don't know what the crime rate is in Lethbridge but I can imagine it would be pretty low coz everyone stays indoors lol. We saw plenty of schools and colleges around and a big University in Edmonton.
Now Edmonton was more like it. Some parts reminded me a lot of London. I couldn't live right on top of it but certainly more life and amazing shops :-)
Even there though we parked with ease and there was bearly any traffic. Of course there were lots more cars but nothing like here at all. Mike got in the wrong lane a couple of times and I think that the Canadians are so laid back that by the time they thought about tooting their horns they were back indoors!! We did hear many horns at one time though, that was coz someone went up a one way road the wrong way and the other drivers were trying to warn him! Still, i bet he thought 'sod it i'm only going one way' lol.
We picked a terrible week to go as far as the weather was concerned, it rained when we got there and rained when we left, some sunshine in between but not brilliant. That though according to the Canadians was rare, in the summer its hot always hot and they couldn't understand it, I understood it alright, its just my bloody luck!!!
They were telling me that the kids out there get involved with a lot of sport especially in the winter, skating and so forth. We watched the little ones skating, they were about 4 and would put me to shame! They start them early and get them involved, its very family orientated. This too was coming from the Canadians themselves not from Mike.
I dont know where the kids actually hang out coz we didnt see any lol. I was told by the 17 year old in the hotel that they tend to have a lot of house parties and hang out in local parks.
We also looked at show homes and like the americans they certainly know how to make a beautiful home. We were looking at brand new 5 bedroom houses with loads of rooms and basement and garage for around $600. Thats brand new though, not many of us could afford those but if those beauties are that much how much could you get normal houses for!!
One thing I noticed too was the amount of Tim Hortons around (coffee shop). You wouldn't need a sat nav out there you could find your way across Canada using the Tim Hortons, theres thousands of em! No wonder they can't get the staff, theres more Tim Hortons out there than there are people!!
So I found out some basics for myself, just looking around gave me an idea of what life could be like out there. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that it would be a wonderful place to bring up children.
Then we came home.....and hit traffic no sooner as we left the airport. Queues bloody miles long, ambulances and police sirens, motorway blocked you know the usual oh and the average speed cameras (god they do me in). I had to draw some money out before I went indoors and low and behold getting out of the car you'd have thought I was in Poland!
As for H&R, i will not get into the politics of it all but so far as I can see Mikes doing well. He gets on great with his dispatcher which I know is half the battle. There's not many companies here though that would let him take the time off to see his family whenever he wants. They recognise the fact that drivers need their families even more when they're out there on their own and Mikes never had any trouble taking time out, they told us that at the interview and they've never gone back on that.
So all in all, I asked myself and maybe you should do the same........drivers and families are going out there for all different reasons but the main one being that the UK is going down the pan. So many aspects are hideous now, whats it gonna be like in another 5 years!!! Everytime I think about it my head gives me the same answer..... we are all idiots not to want to go out there. They say that Canada is like England back in the 70's and it is but when I hear this it's almost said as though that's a bad thing. I don't see that it is, it's a good thing. Low crime rate, low population, loads of jobs, friendly people, no road rage, no traffic jams, family orientated..........what the hell are we still doing here!!!!!!
Well bye for now, I'm going back out there in February and going in the truck with Mike for a couple of weeks, really looking forward to that as it's both our birthdays and he's coming back soon for our anniversary........Stay safe x
Ps...If Shona is reading this it was soooo good to meet you at long last, we could get on well and Sharon was nice too. Good luck with the driving Shona and look after yourself out on that road x

Wi-Fi booster

As you all know after reading my blog I try to find as much free Wi-Fi as I can but sometimes the signal is not very strong so last year I brought a Wi-Fi booster for my truck it helped a bit but not much it cost me $90 from Best Buy.

The other week when I was parked in Kamloops at the Flying J I could not get a good signal so I opened my window and stuck the booster on my mirror arm and got 2 bars so I checked my messages then the bloody booster fell of the mirror arm and landed on the floor as I got out to pick it up I missed the bottom step and landed on it lolol shit $90 down the drain.

Never mind I have been looking on the web for an even better one and found a company in America who make the type of Antenna I am looking for and today I got a very nice E-mail from the company and they told me about a new waterproof Antenna with built it booster that is powered by your USB port on your laptop they sent me a pic and it looks nice.

when it is ready for the market they will send me one to try and if it works really well I will put a big right up about it on my blog and take loads of pics of it on my truck and you will be able to order one from my blog page.(I think that's what the guy said lol).

Sorry but I can not show the pic on my blog page at the moment as I was asked to keep it to myself its still in the early stages but it should be out in about 2-3 weeks so hopefully in 3 weeks time I will not be fighting to be at the front of the Flying J to pick up there signal.

This Antenna will work with all Wi-Fi signals unlike the Wi-Fi booster the Flying J was trying to flog to drivers there one would only work in Flying J truck stops.

A Black Bear in Waterton park

A little film star

A couple of pics at the top of Rogers Pass

Montreal to Delta

I waited for my trailer to be loaded it was going to Vancouver but I said because of my time off I would drop it in Calgary and was told that was OK but after I thought about it and checked my hours on my computer I could make it to Vancouver as long as they had a trailer to come back to Calgary. I rang my guy (Wayne) and had a quick chat about the load he knew how important it was for me to turn around quick. By the time I got back to my truck there was a message telling me to pic up a loaded trailer from delta yard to go to lethbridge now that's what you call service lol.

It was getting late by the time my trailer was ready so I only got as far as New Liskeard in Ontario 2 reasons I stopped there 1 so I could start early the next day and 2 there is free Internet there.

The next morning I was following this truck through the road works and he was knocking over every other cone I was laughing and calling him a dumb ass and thought why didn't he move over... I know it was tight but not that tight! Then I looked in my mirror and saw I was knocking over the cones he missed, just up the road was a young guy standing the cones up in front when we got to him he looked behind us and saw we had knocked every cone over I could see steam coming out of his ears lololol. He was not happy but if he had stuck them in the right place in the first place we could of got by them without knocking them over I will not drive on that soft shoulder I had a very heavy load and it would of sunk (again lol).

I stopped for fuel and to ring my wife. Then I stopped at Ignace Ontario for the night as I pulled in I saw Phil's (Monty) truck so I went in and had a chat he was with his mate Paul a new driver. They were going on a few more hours so I pulled down the road to the hotel for the Internet because it's crap at the truck stop, they have an old router which is wireless B. For some reason my laptop will not connect to wireless B and mine has the new wireless N card.

The next day because I started early I caught up with them and we ran together to the Flying J then we fueled up at the Husky and met up with another H&R driver called Sean we got as far as Regina then they split off to Saskatoon and I stopped at a place called Caronport Saskatchewan for the night.

The next day I had a very long but good run all the way to the Husky at Sicamours BC I went in and had a shower when I got back into my truck I sorted out a film to watch then I fell asleep as soon as I laid down to watch it.

The new road in the Rockies will be great when its finished I left Sicamours early and went to the Delta yard. On the way down a baby deer came out of the bush in front of me I saw it in time to break but the dumb deer got spooked and jumped the centre barrier and got hit big time by a 4x4 truck, if the driver was paying attention to the road he would of seen that deer but like most car drivers over here they see nothing until the last moment.

I dropped my trailer in the Delta yard and picked up my other trailer and scaled it in less then 30 minutes it was very heavy I crossed the scale at 97,000 lbs I made my way back up as far as I could go in my hours and I worked it out I could get back to Sicamours BC.

I took it steady up and down the big hills until the very last hill in Kamloops for some reason the Jake brake was not working a quick check to see if I was in manual or automatic because mine will not work in manual and then I noticed I had turned my Jake off what an idiot!! I switched it on quick but by then I was going too fast so I hit the brakes hard, smoke was pouring out so much so I could not see the cars behind I have never been so scared in my life! I nearly ran out of brakes and there was cars stopped at the bottom by the lights I was just about to yank the wheel to my right and hit the guard rail but I managed to get the truck back under control and stopped in time the smoke was stilling pouring out from my wheels! If I had stopped there and then there would of been a very high chance my brakes would of caught alight so I took a very slow drive to the Flying J about 5 miles up the road which gave the brakes time to cool down.

This has never happened to me before the thought of hitting a car at the bottom of that hill scared the life out of me when I got to the Flying J I was so shaken up. When I got out of my truck to check my brakes I was sick everywhere lol.

The next morning I got under my trailer to check my brakes and everything was fine so I went to Sicamours to fuel up and made sure my Jake brake was switched on! There was a few mountains but nothing as bad as the others I had been up and down the day before. When I got to the top of Rogers Pass I stopped for 30 minutes to let my brakes cool down and because I have always wanted to go in the visitors centre I brought 2 books and fed a ground hog and took his pic as well lol.

I came down Rogers Pass very slow with my Jake's on and under full control. Coming down the mountain at Kamloops was a wake up call... I have been down that mountain loads of times but this was a very heavy load and I had switched my Jake off I learned a lesson that day and thank god no one was hurt!

Down to Denver and over to Montreal

I had a load to go to Nebraska but that was taken off of me at the last moment instead I was given a load to Aurora Colorado it was cat litter so no meat inspection. I got to the border at 6am they did their normal checks to make sure the radiation was coming from the cat litter and not a nuke I was smuggling into America lol.


I drove down to Billings Montana to buy a 1.5 TB hard drive and to do a bit of shopping at wal-mart. I spent 2 hours walking around and spending money then made my way down to Casper but I mucked up I spent too long shopping and was out of time so I had to stop at a place called Buffalo Wyoming that will teach me but as luck would have it the place I stopped had a big hotel and I used their free Wi-Fi lol.


I spent the night watching TV in the end, but called it a night at about 8.30pm I was shattered so I set my alarm to wake me up at 3am but guess what.... my tri-pac packed up again (how many Canadians does it take to fix a tri-pac.... 7 so far)! Well the tripac cut out and knocked out my alarm so instead of waking up at 3am I woke up at 7am this is what happens when they get you to start at different times of the day it mucks up your body clock.


I sent in a macro telling them what had happened and said I would be late I got a message back saying this is not acceptable yep you guessed it it was my fault the tri-pac went again even tho they know how many times I have had problems with it. When the shit hits the fan its always the drivers fault well you can guess how happy I was when I got that message so I sent a few comments back myself!!


This place in Aurora is well known for making drivers wait for days if you are late but the guys in the office picked up on my accent and asked me what football team I liked but I am not into football so I was just chatting to them about man united as the guy was a big fan of them! After 10 minutes of chat a guy came out and cut my seal off and told me to back on a door. Because of my bad arm cutting a bolt seal off is the one thing I can't do so when ever I have a bolt on I show them my arm and they do it for me.


I was tipped in an hour which made the guys at H&R happy and I was told to go and swap trailers at fort Morgan Colorado. I was planning on doing a quick swap and drive on for another 1.5 hours but when I got there was loads of trucks waiting for their trailers, even an H&R truck was sat there. A bit fed up at seeing that I pulled into drop my trailer and gave them my pic up number. Well it was my lucky night, my trailer and paper work was ready so a quick chat with Eric the other H&R driver (who had been waiting since the day before) then I did a very fast drop and swap.


I got up to the Flying J at Julesburg which is the edge of Colorado. I went in and had a nice hot shower this was the worst Flying J I have been into it was manky, now I have my full years worth of Internet at the Flying J I plan my routes so I go from one to the other its been a lot less hassle and its great I wake up an hour before I set off and I can chat to my wife and daughter.


A couple of guys who are coming over here have asked me which is the best Internet to buy.
The one at the Flying J cost $149.99 for the year that works out at .41 cents a day and it works in some Pilots, TA and Petro truck stops so I think its well worth getting the Internet from the Flying J. You can get a small booklet from the J telling you where all their stops are and another little booklet telling you were all of their hot spots are so if you can't make a J there could be a TA or Pilot on your route.


After I left Julesburg my next stop for the night was going to be the Flying J at Davenport Iowa but because of the muck up the day before it meant I didn't have time to fuel up. I got my card open so I could fill my tanks up at the next truck stop that would give me enough fuel to get back on track with my fuel stops. Some people think its a pain to be told where to fuel up but I don't I like it this way and its no great deal if you want off route fuel.


I made good time, no hold ups, no dramas. Got to Davenport then had a shower then time for bed because my body clock has been mucked up I just go to sleep as soon as I have had my shower. The next day was the muck up bit. I got as far as the bridge that crosses the Mississippi into Illinois and the road was closed so I had to take a detour but no great shakes it was Sunday and most sain people were still in bed. I got back on to I80 then made my way to Sarnia where we cross into Canada. Don't know what was wrong on the border but there were cops everywhere and big queues. It only added about 15 minutes that's all, when I got to the other side I saw Martin and Val, there was a muck up with their paper work and had lost about 4 hours at the border.


I went and sorted my paper work out and had another skip load lol I have been doing this job 10 months now and everyone was a skip load. You watch... me and my big mouth, I bet my next load will be a full inspect lol. Martin and Val were just about to leave when I turned up. They waited for me to get my m-cap then we parked at the Flying J in London Ontario we went in and had a bite to eat then we had our showers they never had any left so they were just about to cough up $10 but I still had a few left so I gave them one of mine we said our goodbyes as they had an early start and I had something else planned and could not start early.

I had a quick look at the fuel stop it was the Husky at Mississauga but that is a real pain in the arse so I went along to the next stop an Esso at Belleville. What a dumb ass... if I had read it properly I would of seen it was for trailers only so I made a quick call to the lady on fuel and told her what I had done....she was great, she said just fill your tanks up (see I told you its never a problem).


I parked at the Flying J at Montreal then made my deliver in the morning it was a very quick tip. I was parked up in my favourite spot where you get free Internet and spoke to my wife and daughters on and off all day my trailer would not be ready until the next day so I had a day off.

Dee and girls coming over soon :-)

I can't wait! My wife and 2 daughters Cassie and Jenny will be coming over on the 6th Aug for a week, we will stay at the Lethbridge lodge for about 5 nights then a couple of nights at Edmonton before they fly back to the UK.

I will be showing them around Lethbridge and I will be hoping that my wife likes it and wants to move over here but even if she says yes it will be about 5 years before she is ready because we foster kids. My wife and myself do not want to turn our backs on these boys. Dee will stay in the UK while I am over here working really hard (lololol) this way I can save all my wages for the 5 years which will fill the pot so we can then decide the next step for us.

My daughters have both been looking for jobs in the UK they have sent loads of cv's but had no luck. Cassie starts College in September but she wanted a small job so she could have some money of her own now her daddy is not there to give her any lololololol. UK just not looking good for jobs is it....they dont really stand a chance back there!!

I am going to look around Lethbridge at things to do when they get here so they will not be bored I have found out there is that river run where you float down the river on inflatables for 4 hours then have a BBQ at the end of it, it sounds great fun but Dee doesn't really do water lololol.

After we have been around Lethbridge we will drive up to Edmonton and spend 2 days there. Go swimming in the pool at the mall and on the rides in the fun fair. But then a sad drive down to the airport to say my goodbyes again! BUT I will be going home at the end of September because its our anniversary in October and last year I forgot to ring her lolol, she wasn't happy!! We have been together now 21 years but only been married 3 years so i forgot our second anniversary, now you understand why she wasn't happy lololol! But this year we hope to get away for a week on our own, maybe drive to Scotland.

BBQ with TJ

Well I got back to Saskatoon about 6.30pm I dropped my trailer then went to the Flying J truck stop to meet TJ. The bbq I brought had to be made up before we could do any cooking that was a laugh just doing that!!

The wind had picked up so I had to stick the bbq on my rear tyres as I forgot to buy a small table we just put all the food on the bbq and hoped for the best lol. It was great fun, we had a laugh then we packed everything away and went inside for a drink then it was time for bed .

The next day TJ had to get unloaded at 6am I thought he would of gone but he woke me up at 9am I put my washing on before we went and had a bite to eat then had showers. We spent most of the day sat around waiting for our jobs, mine came in before TJ's so I went around to pick up my trailer but had to wait for them to finish loading.

My load was ready to go at 4pm, great at rush hour! Not nice around Saskatoon at that time. As it was there wasn't much of a hold up then a straight run all the way to Calgary. I passed the truck stop and saw TJ's truck still there so god knows what time he got out of there. I got into Calgary and parked by Staples because it has free Internet. In the morning I went around the corner to do my deliver I sent in my empty Macro and was told to drop my trailer at Highriver and pick up a trailer to bring down to Lethbridge and have my reset.

I went around Lethbridge looking for a 10/4 phone. The guy in the bell shop said he was getting one sent down from Calgary 12 days ago but like so many H&R drivers have found out these phone shops will say anything to make you happy but most of the time they are full of s--t.

The only phone they had was a pink one at the other store in Lethbridge so I thought I would get the pink one and use a black marker on it to make it black lolol. The girl in the shop was very dumb any dumber and she would be eating grass (thank you wolf)! I was getting fed up with this company (BELL) all they did was lie so if any new drivers need phones stay away from these 2 shops I went to another store to buy the phone the guy there knew right away what I wanted and told me everything I need to know. The shop is called Protec and they are next to the Future store. Hi Wolf send me you 10/4 number I lost it and the lady will not give me your number its ok i will not publish it on here lol.

Now I am in the Lethbridge Lodge for just the one night I will stay in the truck tomorrow night as I will be leaving at around 4am to go and pick up my trailer from Brooks. I am off to South Sioux City in Nebraska this time I will be running in the day time so I might get to see the run I did the other night!

Running with TJ from Ice Road Truckers

Its been a dream of mine for 30 years to drive a truck in America but I could never get in. A friend of mine Ian from Smarts transport told me about H&R, at first it didn't mean anything until I saw a TV program called Ice Road Truckers and I really enjoyed watching it. that program made my mind up for me so I rang H&R and well you know what happened next.

The program itself is a big favourite of mine and a few weeks back when me Martin and Val were at Winnipeg we bumped into one of the stars of the show TJ. We had a chat and he seemed a really nice guy but because he gets loads of people coming up to him and saying hi I thought he would soon forget us... how wrong was I.

I picked up my load from the Brampton yard and headed towards Calgary I had to pull in for fuel at a place called New Liskeard. While I was washing my windscreen guess who came walking over to me yep it was TJ. Ee said hello and asked how I had been he said he kept looking for mine and Martins trucks because we have a union jack plate on the front (I know sad git lolol) this time I had my camera there so I took a pic of him stood in front of my truck (I know even sadder lol) we went in and had a bite to eat and he was going the same way as me so we ran together.

We stopped at Longlac for the night and the next day we drove up to Winnipeg. TJ went to the Flying J while I had a quick drop in Winnipeg. What a dumb arse.... no such thing as a quick tip they weren't even there so I drove round to the J we both went and had our showers then grabbed something to eat.

The next day I had to go and do my deliver. TJ said he would wait at the J for me I was told they would be there at 6am why was I so dumb to believe them so off I went at 5.30am only to find they don't come in until 8am! By the time I got tipped and heading back to the J it was gone 10am I thought TJ would of gone but nope he was sat there waiting for me (what a great guy) most other drivers would of long gone.

We went to the Husky to fuel up and grab a snack then headed west all the time we were chatting, I know this lad is only 24 but he is very mature for his age and we had a good chat and laugh over the 3 days running together he was going to Saskatoon and I was going to Calgary so we split at Regina. There is a trailer sat in Calgary waiting for me to go to Saskatoon so we arranged to meet in the Flying J. We are going to have a bbq by our trucks lol I just brought a gas bbq and some steak for tomorrow night, should be a laugh!

If there are any drivers who read this and are in Saskatoon tomorrow (Sunday) come over and say hi you wont miss us we will be the only idiots in the truck stop having a bbq lololol and if you see my truck smoking don't worry its not my tri-pac haha!

New Flying J at Mississsauge

The new Flying J at Mississauga is in Britannia Road east. It has showers and truck parking for 80 trucks and it has Wi-Fi so I'm off to have a nice shower now ready for bed because I have an early start and a very long drive ahead of me all the way to Vancouver Via Winnipeg.

TA TRUCK STOP WHAT A RIPOFF!!

I paid for 24 hours of internet at the TA in Napoleon Ohio but just after I brought it I was told to make my way to Toronto but on the way there is a TA truck stop at a place called Woodstock Ontario so I pulled in there for the night. I thought great I can use the internet, what a joke, it wouldn't work so I rang the out of hours number. I waited 20 minutes for them to answer then the guy said there was a problem on their side and he would sort it by the time I got back to my truck.

I got back to my truck and it still would not work so I went inside again to ring them it took 35 minutes and they still didn't answer. I just gave up in the end I know they must be very busy but I rang them at 12.30am and again at 1.30am it only cost me $5 but its my way of keeping in touch with my family and I hate being ripped off.

So if there are any drivers thinking about signing up to the TA truck stop internet forget it, its a joke and the service is as well. I have a full year of internet at the Flying J it connects every time I turn my computer on now. I have my computer on my dash it even connects as I get close to the Flying J its up to every driver what they do with their money but be warned!!

My trip to Napoleon in Ohio

After shopping and sorting my truck out I headed to the border. When I got there there was one hell of a queue for cars but no trucks lol. I passed over my paper work then went around and parked up. The lady in agriculture had sorted my paper work out before I got there so it was a quick hi and goodbye then a quick trip to meat inspection and no one was there as well so a guy there came out and cut my seal off you have to do that yourself but because of my bad arm I can not use bolt cutters I must of been there all of 5 minutes then time to go.

I drove to Shelby Montana to fuel up and get a subway sandwich then I drove to Havre where there is a Wal-mart with truck parking places I had to go and buy a net10 card for my American Pay as you go phone (I was told these had gone bust but it still works fine).

In the truck parking lot was another H&R but I didn't bother seeing who it was but when I was walking back to my truck the driver got out and came over to me it was a Canadian driver who I have met before we had a quick chat and then we left together we spent the next 6 hours chatting on the CB. We stopped at Beach North Dakota to fuel up I was going to stop there but Dale told me there was a better truck stop with free Wi-Fi at Dickinson which was only about 40 miles away I had plenty of time left so we parked there for the night.

The next day I stopped at Fargo for more fuel and bumped into an H&R driver who wanted to know if I had a free shower I said no but just after he went and brought one I forgot I had 2 cards I went looking for him but could not find him I felt guilty all day long because I could of helped him out and didn't.

I wanted to get down as far as Black River Falls Wisconsin but there was a nasty crash in the day and there was on hell of a traffic jam so I called it a night in a rest area about 50 miles from there.

I then drove down to Chicago, my god don't they charge you lots on the toll roads! It cost me $59.50 good job I have always got money on me. I think its very poor from H&R for not telling me about the tolls, what if it had been a new guy or a driver who had no money everything at H&R is learn as you go. You would of thought at the bottom of the qual-com message they would of put something like there are loads of tolls on that road take plenty of money naaaaaaaaa that's too easy why make a drivers life easy lol!!

I got down to Napoleon Ohio at about 8pm and parked in a Pilot for the night. I had a nice shower then watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds then went to sleep. I was on the door step to my deliver so in the morning I drove across the road it was about an hours tip now I am sat in the TA truck stop updating my blog and just got a message on my qual-com telling me to make my way to Toronto. I asked them which border do they want me to cross and its been an hour now so I think they are still tyring to pull there thumb out of their arse!

My reset

On my reset I got my truck fixed I bet you can guess what was wrong with it yep it was the tri-pak again! Needed a full service too so I had 2 nights in the Lethbridge Lodge thanks to Penski. The first night was because they could only start servicing my truck at 4.30pm so they gave me a room in the hotel for the night I spent most of my day making a bracket for my laptop as you can see from the pics. I can use Streets and Trips as I am driving along and if I wanted to I could just swivel it around and use it from the passenger seat. If you have a close look at the pics I screwed a metal plate behind my qualcom because we are not allowed to make holes in the dash up a little from there you can see where I had to add a bracket as well but I used the screw that joins the dash together.

The next day I finished off the bracket and just in time for my truck to come out of the work shop. I was just mucking about in the yard doing little bits then went over to my truck only to find my tri-pac had the same fault! I was told to book into the hotel for the night. The next morning I spoke to the fitter who had sorted the tri-pac out and he said it was time to put a new alternator on there and it would only take any hour so I just planned my route for my next trip and went shopping.

Backstabbing Driver!!

As everyone knows I started my blog to keep my family informed of my travels while over in Canada. I get loads of e-mails from drivers asking me alsorts which I really enjoy, there have been many times new drivers have come up to me and said hi and that they have read my blog which is great and always nice to put a face to a name.

If you have read my blog you can see from time to time I have put up little bits about the way Canadians drive, all the Canadian drivers I have spoken to have thought it was quite funny what I say about their driving and none of them have thought it was offensive....all except one driver! He hated it but... wait a minute... he's not a Canadian he is English!! yep its funny how an English guy has taken offence to what I right on my blog.

I ran with a H&R Canadian driver who told me this guy did nothing but slag me off he hated everything I had said and done since I have been here. He spent nearly 6 hours slagging me off I don't really give a toss but when he told me who it was you could of knocked me over with a feather because every time I met this guy he would come up to me shake my hand and ask how I was doing. We would chat for hours even went and had food together and I thought he was a mate now you can see why I like to keep myself to myself.

This driver left his family at home to come here and make a new life for them which is great but why be two faced. I'm sure there are a couple of drivers who don't like me which I have not got a problem with (everyones choice) but they don't come over to chat to me or keep in touch which is fair enough. This guy could not make a go of it over here so he used every excuse to go back home but he blamed everything on H&R. He was just not man enough to do the job he ran from Brandon Manitoba to Swift current in Saskatchewan and called it a day a total of 375 miles but he hated the fact that I can do the miles and making ago of it over here.

I am not going to name him he is not worth the shit I nearly stepped in just a minute ago but hey if you don't like reading my blog or you just don't like me why bother reading it or chatting to me!! I have made a number of friends out here but I have to watch my back even closer now. Guys like this really wind me up, i'd have had far more respect for him if he'd have said something to me face to face but behind my back is bloody playground stuff!!

I thought this was very funny

Canadian truck drivers

I met another Canadian truck driver on the road we started chatting between Hearst and Longlac his name was Steve, we were chatting about computers films downloading TV programs everything really we stopped for fuel and a shower at Nipigon then he waited for me to get my subway sandwich at Ignace then we drove to Winnipeg we went in and had a milk shake (your fault Val) then left the next day together and ran up to Regina then he went off to Calgary while I went to Saskatoon. It really is nice when you meet new drivers out on the road, there are some great guys over here and some not so great ones! This french guy had a go at me for being in his country lol he told me where to go so I just took the piss out of him I think he is going to kill me if he gets his hands on me lololol.

Every time I chat to Canadian drivers they ask me if I like it over here I tell them the country is great the people are nice until you get them into a motor vehicle! They all laugh at that and say the same thing I told a group of 5 truck drivers the other day what my thoughts were on there car driving test , one guy was laughing so much he chocked on his food his mate was killing himself laughing and was whacking him on his back lol this is my theory on the Canadian car driving test.

It come's in 3 parts. The first bit you have to sit in front of a large TV screen and watch 20 Nascar races. Part 2 they give you an x-box or ps2 and you have to do 100 laps of a Nascar race or F1 race when you have done that you get to go out in a car you have to overtake and undertake 25 cars in a mile. If you do that with out hitting anything then you get your full license! BUT if you can do the same thing while talking on the phone you get your advanced driving licence! I am not being nasty its just a bit of fun but everyone I have told that to they say the same thing the drivers over here are shocking to watch I wish I had a camera on the front of my truck I would get loads of money from you've been framed or police camera action

My trip up from Kitchener

I made my way to the Esso garage at Hearst Ontario because I got a message from a guy who works at the garage about how nice it is now that a new owner has taken over and that it had Internet (well I think by now you can tell I like the free wi-fi lolol).

I went in and spoke to them and tried to find out who sent me the message but know one there knew who sent it. I asked about the Wi-fi and they gave me the code so I could use it I went out side but I couldn't get on the net Ispoke to a young lad named JF (he's french and just 16 ) I asked him to reset the modem but he said that would not do it and could he just check my laptop. The first thing I wanted to say was bog off I didn't want some kid to look at it but how glad am I now that he did. He touched a couple of buttons and a few boxes opened up that I have never seen then he typed in a code and found the problem in less than 30 seconds we rebooted my laptop and it worked...wow.

I chatted to this lad it turns out he is a bit of a hacker and knows everything there is to know about computers and he had some better software at home. After his shift he went home and came back at 12am his time to have a better look at my laptop and put on a few programs he gave me a couple of programs that he and his mate made that gets rid of spyware. It worked well, then he ran another program which looked at my registry and there was 111 faults so he cleared them and changed a few things around, he was bloody brilliant.

Now my laptop runs really fast and it connects much faster to the Internet all he charged me was $30 but it was well worth it. So if there are any drivers out there who need their computers looked at go into the Esso at Hearst and ask for JF if he is not there then tell them you are a truck driver and ask if they can ring him and he will come into work. It'll be worth it and he is going to do a service where he puts a program on your laptop, if your in Texas and got a problem you can ring him then he can go on line and with your permission look at your computer while you are watching how cool is that you can sit and watch all your windows open up by someone 2000 miles away!

A funny trip to Nebraska

I took to much time getting back from California (Wolf it was your fault lol) so my next trip to Nebraska was foot down and a hard drive. There was a big muck up with border crossing I was told to go to the blue shed by my dispatch for meat inspection on a Monday they don't start until 4pm so I spent the morning shopping and sorting my truck out.

When I crossed the border and went to the blue shed I had to wait my turn then. I was informed I was at the wrong place so I drove around to see Tim at the other place. Lucky for me he was still there he was not happy as he informed H&R dispatch on Sunday my load was to go to him and he opened at 12pm and closed at 4pm, I got there 5.30pm he really is a nice guy and will do everything he can to make the driver happy its a shame the rest can't do the same! It pissed me off that someone in the office didn't tell me I could of been down the road about 5.5 hours as it was I had to run through the night I finished 1.30am I had to stop I nearly ran off the road twice!

When I got to Nebraska I spoke to the American dispatch who wanted me to carry on running at night I told him I can't drive at night I have been starting at 4am for 20 years come 8pm-9pm I am in bed I explained its not safe for me to drive at night I nearly dropped off while driving and he said we can't have that so switch back to days so I had a short day to get me back on track.

The next day I went into Beardstown to swap trailers I pulled up to security to tell them what I was there for I spoke to this young girl who stood 5ft tall but 6ft wide and boy did she have a chip on her shoulder! The way she spoke to me was a disgrace it should never be allowed I never said a word I just walked out dropped my trailer then went up to see this lady upstairs about a trailer wash and pallets she was nice, we chatted for a while I told her about the girl downstairs she laughed and said I was about the 5th driver today to say the same thing she told me to make a complaint to my company.

Don't get me wrong I still love driving a truck and I am earning not bad money but the way truck drivers get treated is a real eye opener! it really feels when you're out on the road what ever happens its the truck drivers fault. I left there to go to Cambridge Ontario but on route my fridge packed up I got it going again but it stopped again about an hour later so I rang on road repairs and told them I needed to take it to thermol king to get it looked at. He gave me the address I asked him if he could ring them and tell them I would be there at 5.30pm my time and 6.30pm there time when I got there they didn't even know I was coming (surprise surprise) so I had to wait in line to get it fixed I lost 3 hours getting the trailer fixed which now made my load late by 2 hours I sent my macro but I never heard a thing.

The next day when I got to Cambridge I was told to back on the door but 3 hours later still no joy I went in and asked what was wrong they told me basically I was being punished for being late and they would get to me when they felt like it that's great I used my time to get the trailer fixed and now I was getting punished for it now I can see why drivers don't go out there way to help.

When I was tipped I had to drive north to get my trailer washed out then come back south to Kitchener just around the corner from where I tipped to swap trailers now I have been to this place a few times so I knew where it was and the Lady's in the office are great very helpful always got time for a quick chat and the blond lady is very nice looking lololol.

It was about 5pm now and I didn't want to fight with the dumb car drivers so I left at 4am to get past Mississauga and made my way to Hearst Ontario because I am rolling my hours I worked it out on my computer I had to get to Hearst then Winnipeg then had only enough hours to get to Saskatoon it worked out when I went in the gate I had 5 minutes driving time left I dropped the trailer and drove in my time to the Husky truck stop where I sat and watched TV I was in bed by 6pm and asleep by about 6.01pm lol.

When I got up I went and had a shower and washed my clothes now I am just waiting here for my trailer which will be ready by 2pm lololololololololololol you think.

I have been reading a few things on the Internet about the new drivers contracts, they are going to pay them less, so what !!! you think its not going to bother me but it will it will affect all of us when there is a long driving job to Texas. Who will get the load... a driver on .42 cents a mile or a new guy on .40 a mile I have just looked at my map and the drive from Lethbridge to Laredo in Texas is 2071 miles give or take a couple of miles now do the math there is a difference of $41.42 times that by how many loads over a month a big saving which is very good for the company but no good for driver moral I have worked for a company who had a 2 tier pay scheme it just made drivers angry they soon got rid of it when drivers left.

I personally think every truck driver should get the same money after all we are all doing the same work the only difference with an experienced driver and a non experienced driver is the experienced driver knows how to get out of the shit faster. We are still learning every day so should a guy who has been driving for 40 years get more money than a guy who has only done 20 years nope I don't think so. Because of my blog I have chatted to loads of drivers and a few sent me e-mails telling me they are not bothering to come to H&R any-more.

Every day I wake up with a smile on my face because this was my dream to do this but the smile doesn't seem to last as long as it used too!! So many drivers I knew have left and a great deal of drivers who I have spoken to are looking else where. I admit I have looked else where but from what I have found out its the same shit just a different name on the door! I bumped into a driver yesterday who was so fed up I thought I hope I don't get like that then it will be time to just walk away.

A few pics of some of the trucks from the truck show

This truck show was rubbish last year this year it was even worse I only went to buy my freezer but here are a couple of pics of some of the trucks.