Whats the score with temporary working in Canada? I am looking to give one of the Ice Roads a shot and need to find out if my uk HGV Class 1 licence will be valid for 2-3 month period.
This is where you need to be but don’t forget there 5 or 6 hours behind us Chap.
yeah cheers, just stuck this up ready as working nights tonight so wont get a chance to post later.
changed my mind… no use writting with hangover …
DABenji:
Whats the score with temporary working in Canada? I am looking to give one of the Ice Roads a shot and need to find out if my uk HGV Class 1 licence will be valid for 2-3 month period.
You car licence may be but not sure about the HGV ? … it’s not valid for 30 seconds south of the border.
DABenji:
Whats the score with temporary working in Canada? I am looking to give one of the Ice Roads a shot and need to find out if my uk HGV Class 1 licence will be valid for 2-3 month period.
Whilst I admire your enthusiasm and sense of adventure you don’t have a cat in hells chance,sorry.Your U.K.licence would not be valid,a job offer with zero experience in Northern Canada isn’t going to happen,then trying to obtain a TWP as well .
See what Bob the Dog has to say,he might have some contacts but don’t hold your breath.
I get PM’s and emails every week from drivers asking if I can give them advice about comming over here and getting a driving job and every time I have to give them the bad news … they don’t have a cat in hells chance of getting a job driving over here unless they are married … and I mean for a reason other than getting a work permitm INS are not stupid and they investigate every application with a microscope, every flaw is rejected.
Even if by some remote chance they have some relative that allows them residency it still takes a long time to get a work permit, then finding a company who will take you on and put you through a CDL test is about as rare as rocking horse poop.
I already posted on the other thread so am not going to repeat myself here.
My advice, as far as it goes, is to forget it. It is a harder life than you can imagine. It beats the crap out of you and the tension is incredible. Also, you will work harder than you can imagine. As has been said, your licence is technically valid for 90 days but you would not be allowed to go without showing you can cope with a winter. And I am not talking of 2 weeks of -15, I am talking 4 months ranging down to -55 ambient.
Having a dream is one thing… Living it is another… Trying to force a dream like that into a holiday is ridiculous.
An unskilled winter road driver they wont even look at you. You would need a couple years winter bush driving even to be considered for ice roads. You may think ice road looks like a nice little adventure. The reality I can show you where there is a D10 cat and a Pete sitting at the bottom of Great Bear.
They want PROVEN DRIVERS so unless you have driven and can prove it in some place like Siberia dont waste your time.
bobthedog:
your licence is technically valid for 90 days.
Wouldnt it have just been easier to answer with these 8 words above, would have saved you alot of time and effort. While I thank you for your reaslism like I said I am under no illusions that this is going to be a “holiday”, I want to work, I want the money and I want the experience simple as.
bobthedog:
your licence is technically valid for 90 days.
Your CAR licence is valid for 90 days, not your truck licence. As I enquired about this when I came over.
Think about it, UK Drivers know nothing about the air brake system, hell they wouldnt even know how to cage the brakes if it was required 
The longest pretrip i have seen is the UK was 5 minutes, DOT would cane your ■■■ if you did that here. Then you have the Transmissions here, which still occasionally i have trouble with … usually when im tired and dont match the rpm’s just right
I said technically. It general, Brits use their UK licence as a learners permit. It also varies a bit between provinces as well. Jon, I passed the airbrake written without opening the book, but I knew the systems well anyway.
I understand the appeal, I really do. But the ice roads and the lakes are no picnic, and you need to change almost every driving habit you have. You have to be resourceful and fairly fit (try shovelling snow for 4 hours to get a truck out and you will see what I mean). You have to be ready to sort things out for yourself because there is nothing around, and no help can be called.
A question… You are driving out of the bush and it is +3c. You come to a creek that was bridged the night before but has now broken through and is 4’ deep. How do you cross it?
People watch ‘Ice road truckers’ and think it would be great 
fact is if those drivers didn’t have TV cameras there and get paid a lot of money for the show they wouldn’t be so happy. The earnigs they actually make is probably rubbish for what they do.
I know Bob has driven the ice road but it was no TV show and the show is far from ‘Reality’ 
I like watching ‘Airline’ but I know it wouldn’t be so much fun working for Easy jet
Ah caging the brakes, your talking about the way to release the emergency brake when the trailer has no or not enough air presure, and I usually take 15mins to check my truck then 10 mins to check the trailer before setting off, and as for the air brake system its simple 2 systems operate the brakes one (service line) operates the brakes using air to push the pads onto the discs once the pedal is pressed the air preasure increases and the pads engage the disc and the emergency line uses compressed air to keep the pads off the disc so if the system fails the spring brakes lock on.
I would probably you couldnt cross it, but please tell me how as I have never come across that situation am i right in saying that you would have to wait for it to be bridged again,
So how do you release the spring brakes? You didn’t say…
No, If you wait for it to be bridged again you will become bear or wolf fodder in no time.
You use the chainsaw that you carry and you cut trees down and drag them over to bulid a bridge. It can take days to do but has to be done.
DABenji:
Ah caging the brakes, your talking about the way to release the emergency brake when the trailer has no or not enough air presure, and I usually take 15mins to check my truck then 10 mins to check the trailer before setting off, and as for the air brake system its simple 2 systems operate the brakes one (service line) operates the brakes using air to push the pads onto the discs once the pedal is pressed the air preasure increases and the pads engage the disc and the emergency line uses compressed air to keep the pads off the disc so if the system fails the spring brakes lock on.
if thats what you know about air brakes mate,stay where you are and come back when you have learnt about them things,we dont have a lot of pads here in canada (yet),sorry thats a wee bit abrupt but not bullying.
MPI.ca… then driver quizes …this is for written parts(multi choice) parts of test … GOOD practice…!!
the air brake part of the practical test ,has to be done word/practical perfect…this comes after the walk round point & tell part of the test… Then you can start your driving test if you fail the walk round or the air your test stops there!
then reverse in between cones ,then on the road test…then back in and do your brake ajustment exam (if you want) this is for manitoba
jimmy
Alberta
Here your not even allowed to book your training until you have done a 1 day air brake course (going up to 2 days very soon). aswell as your knowledge test. then you do your driver training after you have added the air brake endorsement onto your licence, giving you a class 5Q (Q = Air brakes). You can only legally drive class 1 here as a learner with a 5Q. Class 1 test comprises of , pretrip , daily pretrip airbrake test (to make sure your brakes work as designed) then its the backing up (reverse) into a ‘bay’ , then its out on road. If you complete all this succesfully your a class 1 driver at the end of the test… however you cannot drive till the registry has changed your licence from the 5Q into a Class 1 (Class 1 doesnt need to have the Q designation on your licence, as you require the Q to take the class 1 test)
Right let’s clear a few things up, I do know more about the braking systems of a truck and trailer just giving a short answer as I was off to work, never heard of brake caging before until here so I Googled it but answer me this, where did you get your knowledge? Probably books and the old chestnut other drivers, I wanna give this a go so just come to peace with it, if I don’t succeed oh well, instead of saying don’t bother the bears would get you before your first tip can’t you be more well this is what you will need to do and who you need to speak to, as a newbie to driving across the pond Idon’t have that knowledge to cut a few trees down and build a bridge using nothing but some string and a tube of toothpaste (that btw was a joke) so I’m looking to the drivers in the know for some advice, thank you ta, also has releasing the spring brake got something to do with tightening or loosening the bolt in the centre of the brake cylinder?