Fuel cards and Fuel pumps

I have had a couple of e-mails asking me about the fuel... where you fill up and how and where the fuel tanks are and how do you fill up both sides. H&R keep a close eye on the price of fuel because they have so many trucks and just as many owner drivers every cent counts.

Some people have a problem with that but it doesn't bother me to much (except Kamloops) at least you know when you get to the site you can use your card with no worries some company's here have to get the OK to draw fuel.

There are stories going round that some fuel stations are off route but I have only ever found one that you go off route (Kamloops) its not too far away but its only got 2 pumps and no slave pump so you have to drag the hose over your hood (bonnet) to fuel the other side which I hate. It would be much easier to go to Merritt in BC but the cost per litre is much higher and when you are picking up about 400 litres that's a lot of money.... now times that by the amount of trucks now you can see why H&R do it this way! In this job every cent counts in the slack times H&R didn't lay anyone off.

We have 4 fuel cards a Husky card to be used in Canada its just like the cards and card readers we use in the UK you swipe the card then it asks for pin number then truck number or trailer number then mileage then you good to fuel up. We use the same card and pump to fuel the trailer but you have to swipe card again and when it asks for unit number just put in the trailer number, the reason you have to do it this way is because H&R get a tax rebate just like using red diesel in the UK.

In America we use an EFS card this is nearly the same as the Husky card but it wants more info and there is no pin number. It will ask for your driver code then trip number then mileage then you're good to fuel up and you do the same as the Husky card. When you fuel up the trailer never keep the pump running and move up on the pumps to fuel the trailer up, they will pick this up and you will be in the shit then.

We have 2 other cards a Petro pass card and an Esso card but you very rarely use these ones. If the job gets changed half way through the day and you have to go somewhere else then you can ask for off route fuel then you get a message back telling you where to fuel. I have asked twice once with a job change and once because my fuel gauge got stuck in the cold weather and I thought I had enough to get to the next fuel station you should have seen my face when I went over a rough bit of road and the fuel gauge just dropped lol!! I just sent in a macro asking for off route fuel you have to put at the bottom why you want off road fuel but it was no problem they just told me to use the petro pass card in the next town.

There are a few guys on the net that don't like to be told where to fuel but at the end of the day H&R are just saving money and it would be a shit business if they didn't care about saving a few cents on every ltr anyway when I park up for the night I plan my trip the next day. I use Streets & Trips and I know before I go to sleep where I will be the next night and where I fuel up so there is no problem.

A wise thing for new drivers is when you go out on your mentor trip the driver will show you how to get all your reward cards so when your on your own you can get free showers when you fuel up as well as a free coffee or coke.

I think I have covered everything on the fuel side here are a couple of pic's I took when I fueled up.

As you can see we have these type of card readers in the UK

This in one of my fuel flaps as you can see the fuel tanks are covered up which is good you should see some of the brand you trucks driving about with out the tanks covered up they look tatty as hell and the tanks are dirty.

We can fill both tanks but in Canada only one tank will fill at a time but in the US they fill at the same time

Most drivers hold the nozzle with a rubber strap because if it comes out the driver by law has to clean up the mess.