taffytrucker:
Just found out 1st mentor run is off down stateside to Salt Lake City in the morning will fill in on the trip when I get wifi access. After that may have my 3 days in the classroom or over to Vancouver yet have to see how it pans out
Nice one Taffy, hope to see you out on the road sometime. I will be passing through Salt Lake Saturday afternoon but hopefully you are not still there by then 
shauntel:
You said earlier in this thread that the Volvo you took your test in was being changed for a newer model but more importantly it was going to be an automatic gearbox, if you take the test in this do you still get the manual aspect to your licence granted or not.
They don’t give a toss here about taking the test in an automatic, you still get a full licence.
Thats mad. Wonder how lOng it will be this side of the pond before the majority of drivers have never driven a manual.
I’m 33 and at a guess I’d say there isn’t many drivers my age or younger who have driven a roadranger or twinsplitter. I
kr79:
Thats mad. Wonder how lOng it will be this side of the pond before the majority of drivers have never driven a manual.
I’m 33 and at a guess I’d say there isn’t many drivers my age or younger who have driven a roadranger or twinsplitter. I
Never had a twin spliiter but have driven plenty of road rangers in Canada and while they’re fine for long open roads, I detest any crash box in traffic congestion where American car drivers with their kelloggs frosties box dispensed driving licences cut you up every 15-30 seconds etc. I’m 28 and moved to Canada at 25 and I’m eternally greatful that I never had such a gear box in the UK in the years before that. I dont mind a good proper fully syncromesh gearbox but a decent automatic will win hands down for me any day now. I never thought I’d say that while I was in my first truck, a 2005 DAF95 with a 16 speed manual that I thoroughly loved, but after experiencing I-shift and the renault equivillent, Id rather an easy life.
I drive a fair few fodens and an couple of the older type MANs with a fuller when I first started driving and got on with it as that was all the people I worked for would let me loose with but in London traffic I shift wins.
The gearstick ain’t the problem in the Pete, it’s the [zb]ing clutch pedal, it comes up about 18" through the floor and because it is fixed to a rod that goes straight into the clutch it has not one bit of air/hydraulic assistance, not a problem usually as it only gets used to pull away, but in stop start traffic it is an evil thing 
I got stuck in the middle of Chicago because a mental thunderstorm flooded a section on the north side of town, at the time I was just south of the city center, it’s a 4 lane motorway all the way through and it was like the M25 on a Monday morning, 3hrs of stop start and my left leg was killing me by the time I got through, I stopped for a coffee when I got through it all and when I jumped out I nearly ended up on my arse as my leg had gone numb 
I went right through Chicago eastbound this week on 90 and I can honestly say I found it worse than the 95 in CT or the CBE in NYC. I’ll be doing all I can to avoid the place in future. Nice view of the sky scrapers but thats all!
Go through at night and you don’t have to lift off, I’ve often thought of doing a video of a run through, cruising at 65mph (naughty) It would look like one of those speeded up car chases in CHiPs 
Ok ok so I got the year wrong on the truck sue me 
lol
So drop done yesterday morning in Costco all done and dusted in no time had message after couple hours to head over to Pendleton Oregon for reload happy days. Parked up in the Walmart (try doing that in the UK 
) lol. Got a message through this morning that gotta reload in Washington State at 8am tomorrow so a lay up today $100 for sitting on my arse.
*s for the roads the one down through Montana is mad as someone said they test both brakes and nerves but such a great drive its a pleasure at the moment to get on the road and drive you can keep your M25 ill ave the interstates over here lol gotta watch. Speeding though even more through the roadworks as the fines double then and for those back in the UK different states = different speed limits and keep eyes posted for open scales think we hit every single one on the run down through. The unit runs well with a 13 speed auto box and a 530 (I think) under the hood and wow talk about space even the top bunk is bigger then most normal bunks you will find on a euro unit so plenty of room even for chunk lol (only joking ■■■■)
taffytrucker:
Ok ok so I got the year wrong on the truck sue meSo drop done yesterday morning in Costco all done and dusted in no time had message after couple hours to head over to Pendleton Oregon for reload happy days. Parked up in the Walmart (try doing that in the UK
*s for the roads the one down through Montana is mad as someone said they test both brakes and nerves but such a great drive its a pleasure at the moment to get on the road and drive you can keep your M25 ill ave the interstates over here lol gotta watch. Speeding though even more through the roadworks as the fines double then and for those back in the UK different states = different speed limits and keep eyes posted for open scales think we hit every single one on the run down through. The unit runs well with a 13 speed auto box and a 530 (I think) under the hood and wow talk about space even the top bunk is bigger then most normal bunks you will find on a euro unit so plenty of room even for chunk lol (only joking ■■■■)
Sounds good mate. I presume you’re limited to 65mph with H&R? If so dont worry too much about speed limits except for California and their obsession with 55. Some states like Michigan are 60 for trucks and Ontario and Quebec are 100kph for all vehicles but every one just sits at the limiter and nothing ever gets said. 99% of the time they’re not bothered about trucks doing a few mph over the limit.
I’d say that the scales here were the biggest difference I noticed when I first started. In the UK you can go years without getting pulled by vosa and weighed, here you can get weighed several times in one day, yet they very rarely check your log books. I’ve had about 5 checks in 3 and a half years. On reefers its often a pain because loads tend to be heavy and put you right up on or near your gross and then you have to fanny around with your axles depending on how the mongo’s have loaded you.
As for the size of your cab, I remember it well, if you’re anything like me you’ll still look back behind you in six months from now and have to pinch your self!
newmercman:
Go through at night and you don’t have to lift off, I’ve often thought of doing a video of a run through, cruising at 65mph (naughty) It would look like one of those speeded up car chases in CHiPs
I bet its a good run at night, especially with all the sky scrapers lit up. I always liked crossing the George Washington and running down the NJ Turnpike in the dark to see the buildings of Manhatten lit up.
Yea I’m limited to 100 kph it do me nicely Oregon is 55 mph to kinda feels slow now even though I only 5mph slower then what we normally doing atleast got a better chance of getting yout timing right when doing 60. Tried to post some pics from my phone but it not letting me 
I’m really enjoying your topic here. While the missus has pretty well clipped my wings as far as doing anything like this goes; its an interesting insight into how you get on over in Canada and the new life you have started. I did the 2000 mile harvest in 2003 with a Custom Harvesting crew based out of Kansas. Nine months spent driving tandems, semi trucks and combines from Oklahoma to North Dakota. While the testing was very similar to other members’ experiences the truck driving was mainly shuttling from field to elevator except that is, for moving days which were ace. The scenery around that continent is just breathtaking. I look forward to seeing and reading much more about how and what you are doing, where you are and so on.
kr79:
Thats mad. Wonder how lOng it will be this side of the pond before the majority of drivers have never driven a manual.
I’m 33 and at a guess I’d say there isn’t many drivers my age or younger who have driven a roadranger or twinsplitter. I
I have an ‘Advanced’ American truck … it has a roadranger in it
Hi everyone , I’m new here and have a interview with H & R in Ireland on 24th sept. I live in England but I’m in New Orleans when they’re interviewing in leicestershire , hence why I’m going Ireland. Enjoying reading your threads 
maybe need to apologise to some of you guys thought i had done a lot maybe i have but reading newmercman comments… maybe not… bit ■■■■■■ off wanted to do canada 40 years ago one day will put photos on will explain why i didnt move and it wasnt because of ambition…and good luck to taffytrucker…
Has Lyndon or Dave “the Daddy” Foder gave you the OK to post any negative info about your job with H+R “if” any such thing ever happens 
Have a couple of guys I know here in NI about to go for the H+R interviews in Dublin during Sept and would be interested to know “truthfully” what their “driver retention rate” is now and why the ex UK guys who have been with them the last 4/5 years have stopped writing in their blogs IE:
TBH I not got anything bad to say about H&R I have been treated well and the training has been spot on.
Just got back from my first mentor trip and enjoyed it as I said its a pleasure to drive over here still getting used to other drivers saying hi when at the flying J or where ever. Off to Vancouver in the morning for my BC trip be back monday night ready for my 3 days orientation in the classroom then get my own unit and let loose
O and bargin of the week was a Garmin trucknav for $250 bought in the flying JMontana coz of no sales tax also seen a nice coleman cooler for $119 for a couple of weeks time
