The Truckers Lair

Got to haul a load of oilfield casing weighing close to 63,000 lbs to Edmonton, Alberta.  That’s two loads in a row that were very close to my gross vehicle weight which pays very well.  The Coquihalla has been closed for over a week due to avalanche hazards and I’ve had to take the Fraser Canyon.  Now the canyon is a nightmare to drive if you’re not familar with it as there are some pretty hairy stretches like the snake pit where two 53′ trailers cannot meet with out rubbing or even worse causing an accident.  The snake pit is a series of 40 km curves with cement walls on both sides right next to the fog line so there is no room for error.  Hours before I went through they finished peeling a van off of the wall that failed to negotiate the corner.  The road itself is in rough shape also with pot holes in and outside of some of the tunnels and bridge decks.  Coming into Edmonton I saw cars and trucks all over the center grass median due to freezing rain hours before.  It looked like a used car lot.  I forgot to dig out my camera so I didn’t get any pics.  Made my delivery and picked up a small load of pipe for Delta, BC delivery.  Got to go over the Coquihalla on the way home, yeah!! Bye for now.

My first load over my gross (46,500) vehicle weight turned out to be a load of steel plate bound for Edmonton, Alberta.  However, you’re allowed some leeway on your front axles and drivers at this time of year as long as your under or bang on with the tridems on the trailer.  I was 5600 on the front axle, 17,510 on the drivers and 23770 (46,880) on the tridems.  I had to remove all my chains and boomers etc from the headache rack to get to this weight allowance.  By the time I got to Tijion scale I had burned enough fuel to bring me down to 16, 880 on the drivers and 5480 on the front axle.  Coming into Edmonton I witnessed a very nice sunrise and took a shot through the windshield (see photo) that didn’t turn out like I wanted, but I didn’t feel like stopping for more stability.  After unloading I headed for Fort Saskatchewan to load some foam for delivery in Sidney, BC on Vancouver Island.  Bye for now.

Had a bit of a mixed bag for a load this time with some pallets bound for Red Deer, Alberta, a small pipe bend bound for northern Alberta, some steel lugs for a hyd neck on a lowbed for Edmonton and a steel ladel for a mine somewhere in northern Alberta.  The ladel generated a lot of questions from people at truck stops and resturants like: Is that a bell? or Is that a big thimble (seriously)?  The ladel weighed over 10 tons and had to be lifted off with a crane.  I unloaded in Red Deer first which allowed me to spend some time with my sister and nephews, then I unloaded the rest of the load back in Edmonton.  I went to Fort Sask to load some foam and dropped the trailer where I hooked onto an empty step deck trailer and headed to Calgary, Alberta to load a couple of trucks for delivery in Edmonton.  After all was said and done, I hooked onto the trailer load of foam and headed home.  Along the way there was some icy patches in the shade and a super b driver found out the hard way that speed isn’t the way to go outside of Vavenby, BC (see photo).  The drive was awesome with lots of sunshine and bare roads until I got to the Coquihalla Hwy where the snow was causing havoc again.  Bye for now.

Getting a lot of loads hauling pipe bends it seems lately, which is a good thing as they pay very well.  This one had to be tarped like the last few as the client is worried about the road salt getting inside the pipe and costing more money to coat.  Along the way I ran into some bad weather that started at Clearwater, B.C. and went all the way to Jasper, Alberta.  As always there were those who couldn’t stay to the speed limit or under and paid the price. A tractor/trailer got to close to the edge of the road on a corner and caught the edge (see photo) between Blue River and Valemount, B.C.  And on the other side of Valemount, a pickup truck rolled accross the road and landed on the opposite side from where he was heading (see photo).   Once I got to Nisku, Alberta to unload the temperatures were very cold (-30 celcius) and rolling up my tarp was a nightmare along with rolling up my straps.  The tarp looked like one of those hay rolls you see in a farmers field and I had to fold the straps and place on the trailer deck to be thawed out later in my hotel room.  I then went to Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta to pick up a load of foam for the ride home.  Bye for now.

Loaded with a tarped crate (pump inside), I headed for Cold Lake, Alberta.  There was five trucks with the same load convoying all the way there.  Going through Mount Robson Park in British Columbia I had to take a picture of Mt. Robson in the morning sun (see photo).  The sky was clear all the way, but it was cold (minus 28 celsius) when we arrived in northern Alberta. Got unloaded and headed for Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta to load some foam for the ride home.  Bye for now.

Live loaded some pipe bends for delivery to Nisku, Alberta that had to be tarped and was a little scarey the way we had to load it. It rode very well though all things considered.  Along the way I came accross an accident (see photo) where a tractor/trailer rolled over by Vavenby, B.C.  The tractor ended upside down with the trailer separated from the unit.  Not sure the driver walked away from this one.  The roads were very icy and it snowed off and on all the way to Alberta.  After unloading in Nisku, I headed for south Edmonton to load some more pipe and then drove to Sherwood Park to load a truck.  I then headed for west Edmonton to load an empty shipping container on the step of my trailer.  I then started the drive back to the lower mainland.  Along the way I again ran into a pretty good snow storm although this one was without the wind so driving wasn’t so bad.  Spent the night in Blue River, B.C. and woke up to the snow still falling.  Snow fell all the way to Kamloops where it stopped until I got to Larson Hill before the toll booth.  After arriving in the yard I unloaded the container and helped tarp my load for delivery next week to northern Alberta.  Bye for now.

Put my truck into the shop for three days to get my engine fan fixed among other things like three torque bars on the rear axle, two air bags on the rear suspension, a u joint on my rear drive shaft, a full service including a grease job and replaced an air line going to my transmission.  Twenty six hundred dollars later I drove back to the yard to hook up to a preload trailer to deliver to Edmonton.  The roads were pretty good all the way.  After unloading in Edmonton and Acheson, I headed into south Edmonton to load some pipe and a hydraulic cylinder for the return trip home.  On my way home I ran into a vicious snow storm between Edson and Hinton and had to stay overnite at a rest area before heading on my way again.  Bye for now. 

 Took a load to Wabasca, Alberta and on my way over the Coquihalla I came accross an accident (see photo) where a tractor/trailer got to close to the edge of the road and got sucked in. Once I got into Alberta I had to use hwy 32, which is a bit of a goat trail with some good grades.  The road was good up to Swan Hills and then was compact snow all the way to Wabasca. Once I got to Slave Lake it started to snow the rest of the way.  Some big loads of logs were met along the way.  Unloaded the machine and headed back for Nisku to unload the Peterbilt cab and engine.  I then had to go to Edmonton to load some pipe and head down to Camrose to load some more pipe.  Once I got to Camrose I discovered that someone had messed up because the pipe I was supposed to load was over 60′ not 19′ like I was told.  I then headed back to BC.  Delivered load of pipe to Annisis Island and took truck to the shop for repairs.  Bye for now.

I have to wonder why the Coquihalla from Hope to Merritt is so bad (especially since I plowed and sanded/salted roads myself for over five years) when the temp is hovering around 0 to plus one degrees celcius.  Salt can be applied up to -2 degrees celcius so there was lots of room to wiggle on this one.  All they had to do is salt the be jesus out of the compact and use the blades to remove it or at least take it down to a thinner layer that the traffic could remove over time.  Oh well must be a money thing.  The same thing can be said from Blue River to Valemount also as the compact there could be removed even easier as the traffic is not as heavy so it wouldn’t blow off the material before it has a chance to do its job.  I realize it isn’t as cut and dried as I make it out, but it can be done with the right amount of manpower and dollars.  Maybe we should go back to having the government take over the role, at least the taxpayer will be getting his/her moneys worth. My two cents…

Happy New Year everyone!  Finally got to start on my way to deliver the load that got left behind in December.  No problems other than the road conditions over the Coquihalla and the trip went well.  Once I unloaded in Acheson, I headed down to Calgary to pick up a 70′ load of steel roof trusses to deliver to Burnaby.  That adventure didn’t go as easy as the trip out to Alberta however.  I ran into a snow storm from Field, B.C. to Revelstoke, B.C. and it was a white out.  She was slow going for a few hours and I ended up spending the night at Salmon Arm, B.C.  On my way back over the Coquihalla I came accross two accidents involving four wheelers (see photo), one was a four wheel drive pickup upside down in the median and the other was a one ton dura max with a trailer on it’s side in the hammer lane.  As I arrived on scene for the dura max, there was a crowd trying to get the driver out of his crumbled truck.  I learned later on the radio that he was alright and that they had to put out a fire as well.  Bye for now.