Sunday 29 March 2009
oh Deer
The pics are not very good (I was doing 60mph at the time) but it gives you an idea of some of the wonderful sights we get to see over here.
Thursday 26 March 2009
A nightmare trip to Montreal
As normal when the Qualcom goes you hope you are not going to High River to pick up a load it seems we have to sit there for days before the load is ready. I can't understand why we get sent there, they know only to well in the office if the load is ready or not. After waiting for another 24 hours the load was still not ready so I started to ask about layovers. Then the qualcom goes, can I bring a trailer to Lethbridge then take a trailer to Calgary. When I got to Calgary my load was ready 12 hours after it should of been... did they put the delivery time back by 12 hours you must be joking it was a none stop drive from hell.
As I left High River it was thick fog but I had to keep on going otherwise they would of taken the load off of me again and given it to another driver so he gets all the bonus for the delivery's. Last time I sat for 36 hours and had to give the load away to a Canadian driver who got all the bonuses! After the thick fog I had very high winds that nearly turned the truck over then to top that off I drove through freezing rain I took some pics will add them soon. I'd just gone passed thunder bay and it was heavy snow but the drivers coming from the east said it was only for 20 miles so another battle in poor conditions then!
I fueled up at Nipigon because of the 12 hours I lost waiting for my load I had to push on to Hearst that night. I just left Nipigon got about 5 miles down the road, that was it I was in a snow storm that was so bad I couldn't see the road. I had one eye on the yellow line in the middle of the road and another on my sat nav. Before anyone says why didn't you stop the route 11 from Nipigon to Hearst is lacking in places to stop the nearest place was 20 ks from where I was. I tell you something for nothing if I never had my sat nav I don't know what I would of done. By looking at the sat nav it showed me where there were bends in the road so I could be ready to turn and the yellow line had gone so it was just my sat nav helping me if I slowed down to much I ran the risk of a dopey driver running up the back of me. As luck would have it the snow stopped after about 10 miles but I was so lucky not to go off the road, never have I ever been in anything like that.
I carried on to Hearst and it only cost me 15 minutes so not too bad, then I parked in the husky and went and had a shower it felt great in that shower lol. The next day I could only drive for 8.5 hours because I started to roll my hours I got as far as Pembroke Ontario and stopped in this nice truck stop (Irvine) with free Internet. It would wipe the floor with the husky, the food was very cheap and you had a hugh plate full. I said to the lady, 'how am I going to eat all that lot' she laughed and said all the drivers say the same thing. In the 8 months I have been here that is by far the best truck stop I have been to (it was so good When I left Montreal I went back for breakfast).
I left there very early so I could get to Montreal for my 7.30am delivery as normal with Cargills they hold the driver for hours I think they do it for the fun of it, all they had to do was take off 14 pallets but it took them nearly 4 hours. Then stop 2, in and out in half an hour mind you my truck closed the road off that's why it was so quick. Then off to stop 3, that's when all the fun and games started! I had 7 pallets for them but only 6 of the pallets on my trailer were theirs, the other was the place I had just been to so off I went to get the other pallet back and pick up their one, sounds really easy but it was far from easy they had taken the meat out of the boxes. By the time I got back to stop 2 it was a mixed pallet that's what the problem was so stop 2 put stop 3 meat back in the boxes then I went back to stop 3 the guy took one look then said something in french. Good job I couldn't understand but it was words to the affect of you can stick that where the sun don't shine (I got a big arse but not that big lol).
Well after 4 hours of mucking about I took it to the Montreal yard. I did 2 extra stops and one collection I bet I don't get any extra for it all and nothing for the 4 hours I lost all because the packers and loaders at Cargills can't do their job right. But that's trucking in north America for you, all extra work and no money for it and if the shit hits the fan guess who gets it in the neck the driver every single time when anything goes wrong the buck stops with the driver, when the load is not ready guess who has to wait for no money the driver so it does explain why they can't get drivers in Canada and America.
If we got paid hourly I think a lot of things would change then when it goes wrong people would have to explain why a driver was being paid to wait for a load that was not ready then there wouldn't be too much waiting for loads then. I have seen some of the bigger company's are staring to pay hourly but you can't get on them because they have a queue about 5 miles long. A number of company's in Southampton who I did agency work for had the same problem and what they did was buy high top trucks with loads of room for the drivers then all the drivers would go where the best trucks were. Then everyone started to get the high top trucks one of the last company's I worked for was Elite all the new trucks had fitted fridges freezers TVs DVDs microwaves and they even had a coffee maker in them and there was talk of putting the money up to over £10 an hour but we won't see that over here sadly!
As I left High River it was thick fog but I had to keep on going otherwise they would of taken the load off of me again and given it to another driver so he gets all the bonus for the delivery's. Last time I sat for 36 hours and had to give the load away to a Canadian driver who got all the bonuses! After the thick fog I had very high winds that nearly turned the truck over then to top that off I drove through freezing rain I took some pics will add them soon. I'd just gone passed thunder bay and it was heavy snow but the drivers coming from the east said it was only for 20 miles so another battle in poor conditions then!
I fueled up at Nipigon because of the 12 hours I lost waiting for my load I had to push on to Hearst that night. I just left Nipigon got about 5 miles down the road, that was it I was in a snow storm that was so bad I couldn't see the road. I had one eye on the yellow line in the middle of the road and another on my sat nav. Before anyone says why didn't you stop the route 11 from Nipigon to Hearst is lacking in places to stop the nearest place was 20 ks from where I was. I tell you something for nothing if I never had my sat nav I don't know what I would of done. By looking at the sat nav it showed me where there were bends in the road so I could be ready to turn and the yellow line had gone so it was just my sat nav helping me if I slowed down to much I ran the risk of a dopey driver running up the back of me. As luck would have it the snow stopped after about 10 miles but I was so lucky not to go off the road, never have I ever been in anything like that.
I carried on to Hearst and it only cost me 15 minutes so not too bad, then I parked in the husky and went and had a shower it felt great in that shower lol. The next day I could only drive for 8.5 hours because I started to roll my hours I got as far as Pembroke Ontario and stopped in this nice truck stop (Irvine) with free Internet. It would wipe the floor with the husky, the food was very cheap and you had a hugh plate full. I said to the lady, 'how am I going to eat all that lot' she laughed and said all the drivers say the same thing. In the 8 months I have been here that is by far the best truck stop I have been to (it was so good When I left Montreal I went back for breakfast).
I left there very early so I could get to Montreal for my 7.30am delivery as normal with Cargills they hold the driver for hours I think they do it for the fun of it, all they had to do was take off 14 pallets but it took them nearly 4 hours. Then stop 2, in and out in half an hour mind you my truck closed the road off that's why it was so quick. Then off to stop 3, that's when all the fun and games started! I had 7 pallets for them but only 6 of the pallets on my trailer were theirs, the other was the place I had just been to so off I went to get the other pallet back and pick up their one, sounds really easy but it was far from easy they had taken the meat out of the boxes. By the time I got back to stop 2 it was a mixed pallet that's what the problem was so stop 2 put stop 3 meat back in the boxes then I went back to stop 3 the guy took one look then said something in french. Good job I couldn't understand but it was words to the affect of you can stick that where the sun don't shine (I got a big arse but not that big lol).
Well after 4 hours of mucking about I took it to the Montreal yard. I did 2 extra stops and one collection I bet I don't get any extra for it all and nothing for the 4 hours I lost all because the packers and loaders at Cargills can't do their job right. But that's trucking in north America for you, all extra work and no money for it and if the shit hits the fan guess who gets it in the neck the driver every single time when anything goes wrong the buck stops with the driver, when the load is not ready guess who has to wait for no money the driver so it does explain why they can't get drivers in Canada and America.
If we got paid hourly I think a lot of things would change then when it goes wrong people would have to explain why a driver was being paid to wait for a load that was not ready then there wouldn't be too much waiting for loads then. I have seen some of the bigger company's are staring to pay hourly but you can't get on them because they have a queue about 5 miles long. A number of company's in Southampton who I did agency work for had the same problem and what they did was buy high top trucks with loads of room for the drivers then all the drivers would go where the best trucks were. Then everyone started to get the high top trucks one of the last company's I worked for was Elite all the new trucks had fitted fridges freezers TVs DVDs microwaves and they even had a coffee maker in them and there was talk of putting the money up to over £10 an hour but we won't see that over here sadly!
Tuesday 24 March 2009
A joke from my mate
Four friends, who hadn't seen each other in 30 years, reunited at a party
After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest room.
Those who remained talked about their kids.
The first guy said, 'My son is my pride and joy.He started working at a successful company at the bottom of the barrel.
He studied Economics
and Business Administration and soon began to climb the corporate ladder and now he's the president of the company. He became so rich that he gave his best friend a top of the line Mercedes for his birthday.'
The second guy said, 'Darn, that's terrific! My son is also my pride and joy. He started working for a big airline, then went to flight school to become a pilot. Eventually he became a partner in the company, where he owns the majority of its assets He's so rich that he gave his best
friend a brand new jet for his birthday.'
The third man said: 'Well, that's terrific! My son studied in the best universities and became an engineer. Then he started his own construction company and is now a multimillionaire. He also gave away something very nice and expensive to his best friend for his
birthday: A 30,000 square foot mansion.'
The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned from the restroom and asked: 'What are all the congratulations
for?'
One of the three said: 'We were talking about the pride we feel for the successes of our sons. ..What about your son?'
The fourth man replied: 'My son is gay and makes a living dancing as a stripper at a nightclub.'
The three friends said: 'What a shame... what a disappointment.'
The fourth man replied: 'No, I'm not ashamed. He's my son and I love him
And he hasn't done too bad either. His birthday was two weeks ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand new jet and
a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends
Best views in the world Jasper national park
After I left George at Kamloops I went on route 5 to Edmonton I have been wanting to go that way for a long time. So many drivers have told me about the bears you see and all the other animals, It was too cold for the bears but I saw plenty other animals. I got to Jasper and my god what a beautiful place the best views I have ever seen in my life. I wish when my wife Dee was over here we'd gone that way she would of loved it. The weather was hot and sunny, clear sky's and a fantastic drive. Wish I had seen a bear but there will be plenty of time for seeing them. I took some pics hope you like them.
Ran with George
I took a loaded trailer to Vancouver and before getting there I got a message from my new dispatch guy saying there was a trailer waiting for me in the Delta yard to go to Edmonton. I went in did a quick swap then met Colin. He showed me where the weigh bridge was because my gauge was reading 80lbs and its never been that heavy before. I weighed 37,000 lbs on the drives and 97,500 total so I was good to go. I stopped and had something to eat with Colin then as I left I saw another H&R truck I looked at the number it was 2116 my buddy George. We had a quick chat on the CB and he said he will meet me at Chilliwack. His truck is a lot faster than mine so he turned up about 40 minutes after me there was a spot next one over from my truck a few drivers tried to back in but gave up George turned up and backed in with no problem at all (all that Tesco shunting lol). We went in and had a coffee and chat (he is still a moaning git lol) joke! We left the next day and ran to Kamloops together I was very heavy and he was light (no jokes about the body thank you) I have ran with loads of drivers over the years but they leave you when you are going slow but George stayed behind me all they way what a nice guy! We stopped for breakfast then we fueled up at Kamloops. Its nice when you run with someone you know. There are loads of drivers here but the chances of you running with someone is like me.....very slim lol. Don't know if you can tell from my tone but I am a lot happier now I have a very good dispatch guy (Wayne) who knows how to treat drivers and looks after them he has kept me so busy I have not had much time to update my blog.
Sunday 22 March 2009
What goes around comes around
I am a great believer in what goes around comes around. You have read a few moans from me about the very poor standard of driving in Canada. After I left George at Kamloops I was driving along on my own without a care in the world, I started to climb a big hill when this twat in a 4x4 over took me with double yellow lines on the road going round a bend and a truck coming the other way, he only just made it. I pulled on the horn and 2 fingers come out the window at me. On the back of the 4x4 there was a word written in the dust which said 'skool'. About 30 minutes later a 4x4 came by me this time the lady passenger stuck her fingers up to me I thought to myself what have I done to deserve that when it pulled in front I saw the same word as earlier.... it was the same car! Oh well never mind, I carried on driving for about an hour then I saw a 'Subway' so I stopped for a sandwich. When I left the subway car park and went around the corner there was a car in the middle of the road and a guy slowing the traffic down. As I went around the car I saw a 4x4 had gone off the road and in to a ditch full of snow it went in so far all you could see was the very back of the car and guess what I saw in the back window.... yep the same word as earlier lol. The man and woman who gave me the fingers were standing there looking at the remains of their 4x4. Now I could of been a professional driver and stopped and helped but nahhhh sorry my turn to get my own back! I tooted my horn they both looked at me and with a big smile on my face I just waved to them and drove on it really made my day seeing idiot drivers like them getting there just deserts lmao!
Sunday 15 March 2009
Update about lack of work
Just bumped into a friend of mine who has been at H&R for a few years now and he said its always like this this time of year. He said next month when the work picks up I won't know my arse from my elbow lol. Good just in time for when I renew my visa.
My truck inside
For many months now I have been wondering how to make my truck better inside because we all know the designers who design cupboards for trucks have never spent a night in one. For the last few hundred miles I have been designing a cupboard for my microwave DVD player and TV as well as storage space for my DVDs. This is what I have come up with. I have got a new carpet to fit which will be my next job.
Behind the drivers seat is a set of 3 drawers.
PS. before anyone sends me a message about not painting the side I know I didn't but when the passenger seat is back you won't see it!
Behind the drivers seat is a set of 3 drawers.
PS. before anyone sends me a message about not painting the side I know I didn't but when the passenger seat is back you won't see it!
Saturday 14 March 2009
Little work = little pay
The work is slow over here, the first 2 weeks money I got after tax was $418 then the next pay cheque was for $647.29 then my last cheque for the month was $958, do the math and for a months work it comes to just over $2023.29, an average of $505.82 a week.
Change that into English money it works out just over £250 a week I never turned any work down. Its a good job I don't have to send money home. The first 3 months I earned not bad money because I could go into America oh well only another month until I renew my visa. I have asked for work but it has fallen on deaf ears. Very soon I will be begging for work so guess who will be doing the wacky jobs they come up with meeeee lol. Coming over here was never about the money but all this siting around waiting for crumbs of work is starting to drive me bonkers. I send a message to my dispatcher and I get no reply, they don't care what we earn and why should they they get paid every week and go home at 5pm. I am not the only driver sitting and waiting for work I think this is what you call taking the rough with the smooth my first 3 months was the smooth now its my turn for the rough.
Change that into English money it works out just over £250 a week I never turned any work down. Its a good job I don't have to send money home. The first 3 months I earned not bad money because I could go into America oh well only another month until I renew my visa. I have asked for work but it has fallen on deaf ears. Very soon I will be begging for work so guess who will be doing the wacky jobs they come up with meeeee lol. Coming over here was never about the money but all this siting around waiting for crumbs of work is starting to drive me bonkers. I send a message to my dispatcher and I get no reply, they don't care what we earn and why should they they get paid every week and go home at 5pm. I am not the only driver sitting and waiting for work I think this is what you call taking the rough with the smooth my first 3 months was the smooth now its my turn for the rough.
Friday 13 March 2009
Result of bad driving
This was the smash a couple of weeks ago by Longlac. The innocent driver was killed just because a dumb ass truck driver wanted to overtake doing 100ks.
Big boys toys
The Canadian people know how to have fun I took these pics as we were driving by. I wish we had a little more time so we could of stopped and watched them race around the cones.
Thursday 12 March 2009
Just Wonderful
As I was crossing the 7 from Calgary to Saskatoon I had to slow down to 50ks coming into this little village and just in front of me this baby deer crossed the road between cars with out a care in the world. It has happened to me a couple of times but this time my camera was on the dash so I took a couple of pics hope you like them. Just one of the reasons I love it here and want my family to live here.
To Hell and Back lol
My ex mate (you git lol) Lyndon asked me if I wanted to go to Toronto on the hook with another truck the hook truck was an old Kenworth (I should of asked how old lol). I thought why not it could be fun, hahahaha.... NOT! I had to team up with a driver who smoked and wanted to stop every 5 minutes for a coffee and fag. After our crash course in hooking up 2 trucks they wanted us to leave right away but I said that the pair of us had been up all day and why can't we leave at 4am. In the end they said OK I told the driver we were going at 4am he just poked his tongue out and blew a raspberry then went out the door. At 4am I am sat in the Kenworth waiting for the driver but no sign of him.... until 7.30am! By this time I am well pi--ed off we finally set off at 8am we got up the road and he wants to do is stop for a coffee and fag, then toilet and a fag! Well this went on for a while and the end of the day it was his turn to drive and my turn to sleep well you can't sleep in that truck so at midnight I said lets call it a night and I slept in my truck and left the next morning at 6am after stop starting for the next few hours I said something to the driver about his driving after that he never spoke. Then it was my turn to drive again I drove to Hearst Ontario but just before we got there we had a row I lost it big time I had a right go at him but by the time we got to Hearst I had calmed down... maybe I should have stopped for a fag lol! I felt bad and said I was sorry for the way I had a go at him he was fine with that and the next day we got on very well and had a great laugh. When we got to the new yard at Brampton it was raining but we still unhooked the trucks. What a joke that was, forgeting everything we'd been shown. Mind you we were only shown how to hook-up not un-hook 2 hours later we were both soaking wet. We drove to the husky and stayed there the night. After driving that Kenworth my truck was like driving a Rolls Royce. Now I bet I get a few messages about how great them old trucks are all I can say is yes they were once..... about 30 bloody years ago! I spoke to an American female truck driver who said she hates automatic trucks I asked her what she had driven, she said she hadn't and didn't want to! I have driven automatic trucks for the last 6 years and I love them, like they say each to their own.
My truck, unhooked, on the way back to Calgary. On the trip there and back I saw loads of them Skidoo (snowmobiles) the Canadian people now how to have fun. I took loads of pics and a couple of video clips I will add them on my next post because its time for bed.
My truck, unhooked, on the way back to Calgary. On the trip there and back I saw loads of them Skidoo (snowmobiles) the Canadian people now how to have fun. I took loads of pics and a couple of video clips I will add them on my next post because its time for bed.
A pic of me in my cold truck
This was what I was wearing while driving my truck until it warmed up lol
Wednesday 11 March 2009
Cold truck
Wow Woke up this morning and its so cold I had a job to get out of bed. I took a look at the temperature gauge and it read -25 inside the truck the outside temperature is -35 I just went to have a mouthful of coke and its frozen. I am parked in the Husky truck stop at Swift Current Saskatchewan this is were they found a truck driver last year frozen to death in his cab I can see why. There is no insulation in these trucks so I am surprised its not as cold as outside. Anyone got a warm truck for me to drive lol.
Wednesday 4 March 2009
My last trip
My last trip was to do a trailer change in Ontario. I was supposed to swap in Nipigon but I was out of time so it was changed to swap at Ignace with a team but when I parked up I got a macro telling me the team had broken down at Hearst and would I swap there. So the next day a quick trip to Hearst (lol 500 miles) then do the swap I wanted to get back to Nipigon but the weather started to turn bad it started to snow and the visibility was getting poor I thought if it stayed this way when I got to Longlac then I would stop there for the night.
I got within 20kms of Longlac when I saw a truck with his flashers on I was just about to go around himwhen I saw a long line of trucks in front so I turned on my CB and asked what the problem was and was told there was a head on smash with 2 trucks and one of the drivers was killed so I was parked on the 11 for 13 hours. I was listening to some drivers moaning on the CB about how late they were going to be.... I grabbed the mic and said why don't you stop moaning and think of the poor drivers family its about the time they were being told they lost their husband or dad in a road accident. I know only to well what that's like my wife was at work when she got the phone call saying I had been in a very bad accident and the police wanted my next of kin at the hospital asap. Its been 6 years since my accident and when I speak to my wife about that phone call she got it still upsets her now.
I just layed on the bunk thinking of that drivers family then at 7am it came over the CB that they had opened part of the road so we could get through. There was hundreds of trucks in the queue so when you let them all loose you get the mad drivers still over taking you on bends and across solid lines in the road. Because my truck has had the speed limiter turned down she is one of the slowest trucks out there and all the idiots wanted to pass me. Not a single thought that a driver had just been killed because of w***kers trying to over take on bends.
As I've said before the standard of driving over here for truck drivers is very poor its a real eye opener. There are passing lanes but some of the truckers will overtake you at the last moment and force you off the road and if you flash them in they don't flash you back and if I over take someone they don't flash me in, all the courtesey on the road has gone.
I remember many years ago the film 'Convoy' I was 13. All I ever wanted to do after watching it hundreds of times was go to America and drive a truck. I tried many times to get a job there but not a chance! When I got a chance to drive for a Canadian company I was over the moon finally after 30 years of wanting to drive over here but boy was I surprised. I thought it was all buddy buddy with the drivers and they look after their own (truck driver) lol but they don't. If you drive along and just want a chat on the CB no one bothers chatting unless you are running with someone you know. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of sound Canadian and American truck drivers out here but they are far and few between. So there you go, my childhood dream in tatters and not one woman wrapping herself up in a ribbon for me like in the film lol.
I got within 20kms of Longlac when I saw a truck with his flashers on I was just about to go around himwhen I saw a long line of trucks in front so I turned on my CB and asked what the problem was and was told there was a head on smash with 2 trucks and one of the drivers was killed so I was parked on the 11 for 13 hours. I was listening to some drivers moaning on the CB about how late they were going to be.... I grabbed the mic and said why don't you stop moaning and think of the poor drivers family its about the time they were being told they lost their husband or dad in a road accident. I know only to well what that's like my wife was at work when she got the phone call saying I had been in a very bad accident and the police wanted my next of kin at the hospital asap. Its been 6 years since my accident and when I speak to my wife about that phone call she got it still upsets her now.
I just layed on the bunk thinking of that drivers family then at 7am it came over the CB that they had opened part of the road so we could get through. There was hundreds of trucks in the queue so when you let them all loose you get the mad drivers still over taking you on bends and across solid lines in the road. Because my truck has had the speed limiter turned down she is one of the slowest trucks out there and all the idiots wanted to pass me. Not a single thought that a driver had just been killed because of w***kers trying to over take on bends.
As I've said before the standard of driving over here for truck drivers is very poor its a real eye opener. There are passing lanes but some of the truckers will overtake you at the last moment and force you off the road and if you flash them in they don't flash you back and if I over take someone they don't flash me in, all the courtesey on the road has gone.
I remember many years ago the film 'Convoy' I was 13. All I ever wanted to do after watching it hundreds of times was go to America and drive a truck. I tried many times to get a job there but not a chance! When I got a chance to drive for a Canadian company I was over the moon finally after 30 years of wanting to drive over here but boy was I surprised. I thought it was all buddy buddy with the drivers and they look after their own (truck driver) lol but they don't. If you drive along and just want a chat on the CB no one bothers chatting unless you are running with someone you know. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of sound Canadian and American truck drivers out here but they are far and few between. So there you go, my childhood dream in tatters and not one woman wrapping herself up in a ribbon for me like in the film lol.
Just waiting at the moment
Not a lot to say my wife said my blog is starting to get boring so I might close it down or think of something else to make it less boring.
I am sat in the yard at the moment waiting for another driver to run to Toronto my truck is hooked on the back of a Kenworth truck so we will both be driving the kenworth to Toronto then unhook mine and both bring trailers back. There are 20 trailers that have to be brought over to Alberta (so any owner/operators want a one way trip from Toronto to Calgary ring H&R). This Kenworth has an 18 speed gearbox so on the way over we will be playing name that tune with all the gear changing lol its been many years since I last drove a truck with a crash gear box so this trip will be an eye opener lol.
I am sat in the yard at the moment waiting for another driver to run to Toronto my truck is hooked on the back of a Kenworth truck so we will both be driving the kenworth to Toronto then unhook mine and both bring trailers back. There are 20 trailers that have to be brought over to Alberta (so any owner/operators want a one way trip from Toronto to Calgary ring H&R). This Kenworth has an 18 speed gearbox so on the way over we will be playing name that tune with all the gear changing lol its been many years since I last drove a truck with a crash gear box so this trip will be an eye opener lol.
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