Saskatchewan Bound (Photos Added)

[duck]

daleyboy:
P.S I’m glad you didnt go into why you didnt like your boss on the open forum

What I meant was I’d better not mention what happened when I jacked it in over there. Senor Nasty wasn’t happy about it but I’m sure you can read between the lines…

[harry]

The ■■■■ is a ■■■■■■ .Its funny when they become boss in a foreign country many ex-pats lose it. I see it all the time in LOS with the ■■■■■■■■ Brit bar-owners. They can’t cope. The whole World is against them.

[flat_to_the_mat]

Shame you didn’t know in advance of your trip to Lumsden,we could have met up.You have the right attitude by putting this episode down to experience,build from it,do some research and come back over .BFS have been advertising for drivers in Regina recently.

[daleyboy]

harry:
The [zb] is a ■■■■■■ .Its funny when they become boss in a foreign country many ex-pats lose it. I see it all the time in LOS with the [zb] Brit bar-owners. They can’t cope. The whole World is against them.

And don’t they like everyone to know it!!! That’s why I always do my best to avoid places that are owned by expats. There is only 1 place I goto in bkk that is expat owned and that’s bei otto opposite Windsor suites on soi 20. And it’s not for the company, but the homemade bread and the pork neck. Mmmm

[duck]

@ harry & daleyboy- Yeah, I know exactly what your saying about “ex-pat syndrome”. I saw it on many occasions during my time in Asia, especially in Thailand.

Then you’ve got the type like “Canadian Jonny” who claims to know more about the country than the locals.
Btw, your dead right about becoming a boss overseas and doing the whole power trip thing. He was a manager for several big companies in the past. Always had a brand new company car, kitchen, bathroom etc. as part of the job every 2 years. Things aren’t quite the same when you have to start paying the bills yourself are they?

I should have figured that he was a nutter after my second or third day in Canada when he gave me a rucking for the manner in which I made a cup of tea…
I banged the tea bag straight in the cup (just for me) and poured away. Apparently they only make “real tea” (from a pot) in his house. I was told that if it happened again I’d be killed. I honestly thought this was a joke and started laughing. It didn’t dawn on me untill some time later that he was actually serious!!
That’s pretty childish for a grown man of 50 years old eh?
Anyway, that just about concludes my ranting & raving. I couldn’t care less about a crank-case like that, just thought you may find it amusing.

@ flat to the mat- I never had a schedule for the next day, just reported at 8/9AM and received my instructions.

I normally like to get up early and get the job done so that I can get back sharpish. I soon realised that this wasn’t the way to go. After returning from Lumsden I had to steam clean a 39’ combine header, fit new back lights, clean the dog kennels out and take the muts for a walk. Oh ya, then I was allowed something to eat!! Hehehe
I’m not complaining about the long hours as I’m used to it but I think you get the picture right?

I was gonna send you a PM when I was down in Regina looking for work but I thought you’d be busy.
I imagine you know where the Bushwakker pub is?
If things go according to plan, maybe I’ll see you there next spring.

[daleyboy]

Fair play mate sounds like you did the right thing getting out of there when you did. He sounds like a right prick that could do with a healthy dose of kick in the nuts.

[big_truck]

Some more reputable harvesting companies from the States who will get you a H2A temp harvest visa if you give therm enough time:
demarayharvesting.com
hollandharvesting.com
frederickharvesting.com
bergman-harvesting.com

ALL run topclass kit and are highly respected by their workers.

[harry]

Re Expats; The other thing with these pillocks (90%) is how they go on & on about how rich they were in the UK - Tramps with tans. The only thing you have in common with 'em is that they speak English.
The giggle is that I always tell these morons that I was a trucker- pure & simple . But because they are liars they think I am lying also & showing off? I wonder which social strata they are from when they think having an HGV brief is like being a movie star.
In short after a five years living away from Blighty they have lost the plot.

[flat_to_the_mat]

Spent many a happy time in Bushwackers,one of the few places to serve proper beer and draught Guiness.Always see adverts in the Regina Leader Post newspaper for drivers to haul grain,especially with super B experience.Best of luck for next spring.

[duck]

Cheers Bigtruck…

I’d already tried them all before departing to Canada. Tim Demaray told me to give him a call in Feb. if I’m still interested. Also had a similar sounding e-mail from Susan Holland. Never heard back from Lance Frederick or the Bergman crew though.

Whilst staring at the 4 walls of a hotel room in Regina I received a call from Shawn Gallagher who was working in “nearby” Moosomin, SK. I could have probably joined up with him straight away but he was leaving to one of the Dakotas the next day and therefore that idea went up the swanny because I didn’t have a U.S. visa/work permit.

I was running a CAT/CLAAS Lexion 460 for a day. There was also a 470 and a 480 which had supposedly just been purchased over in Manitoba. I was gearing up to take the Freightshaker (a.k.a. “the rodent mobile”) and combine trailer over to the Winnipeg area to collect it. However, the deal fell down, nasty Nick reckoned it had been sold from under him. My suspicion is that the finance didn’t go through as I heard a few whispers from some of the locals. At the end of the day it’s none of my business but it all seems to fit…He probably didn’t need an extra operator/driver and therefore started giving me a BIG dose of “faeces” in the hope that I’d jack the job in.

Harry, I guess we are “reverse-snobs” then. Although my job description isn’t exactly that of a truck driver, I just say that rather than trying to explain my situation. Most ex-pats in K.L./Singapore/BKK etc. thought that I was a student because I’m in my mid/late 20’s but I look younger. A few got the hump because they thought I was trying to be clever!! I don’t get it, in the end I used to do everything I could to avoid other Westerners. The nice thing about Sask. was that almost everybody seems to respect blue collar workers. Other b-train drivers were saluting me on the road (I thought something was wrong at first) and the staff at the local truckstops/filling stations would often take a moment to talk to you and ask you what you were up to and where you were heading. The rule in the U.K. seems to be “don’t speak unless spoken to”… Right or wrong?

[harry]

Re the Thai ex-pats 90% ; They will talk to you, feel you out & then try to get you down to their sad level.

[daleyboy]

harry:
Re the Thai ex-pats 90% ; They will talk to you, feel you out & then try to get you down to their sad level.

That’s if their not trying to con you out of your money. I seemed to attract these numpties when I lived there, so I refused to speak English and would only speak thai, they soon got the message

[harry]

I used to do that around EU ( Not speak English) unless I knew the driver. Saved me no end of hassle from the ‘no permit, no diesel, no money brigade.’ It helped that I nearly always had foreign plates. The Thai thing is harder ,its a language that has come too late for me altho it amuses me to listen to the long term ex-pats who talk to their Thai wives in pigeon English & think they are speaking Thai altho the wives speak perfect English.

[duck]

A few more shots from Sask:- A couple aren’t of the best quality.
Thankfully I’m better at driving than taking photos.

[newmercman]

Sorry to hear that it all went ■■■■ up for you mate, even sorrier to hear it was a fellow Brit that ■■■■■■ you over, still you don’t seem too upset about it all, that’s refreshing to see, good luck next time

BTW I like that engine, as it’s red I’m thinking it’s a ■■■■■■■■ courtesy of a google search I found a V16 ■■■■■■■ that goes into an Hitachi excavator, there are only four in the world, three of which are in the oil sands in Alberta, it only knocks out 1945hp maybe this is a spare

[duck]

Newmercman,

I’ve just done some research, you may find this interesting:- waukeshaengine.com

Re. the job in Canada, I was rather [zb] off in the departure lounge of Regina airport but I knew that I HAD to quit the job even though I loved it. Pratt-features had got me so wound up & on edge that I didn’t know what I was doing. I found it so uncomfortable to work with a welder/spanner/grinder etc. when someone was stood right next to me, breathing down my neck and staring at me. Same thing re. the truck driving, I found it was so easy over there but on the day that I quit he was supposed to be guiding me to a local workshop in his pick-up truck. He chose to stay behind me which I thought to be strange. I was more worried about my mirrors than where I was going, when I missed the turn he got another dose of the ravers! This may sound daft but I didn’t mind all the verbal abuse because I’m used to it but when it gets to the stage where you don’t feel comfortable enough to do your job safely it’s time to go…
Â
I could have (and thought about) given him a right hook and laid him out in a nano-second.

Doubt it would have done me any good though, still wouldn’t have been paid and I’d probably be banged up in a Canadian nick right now sharing a meatloaf with Julian & Leroy (no offence to anyone with those names).

You’ve gotta try and put these things into perspective…
There’s no point in getting upset, I have had to contend with a lot worse overseas (like firm taking p’port away, no money, no food, credit cards expired etc.)… At least on this occasion I was just a man with a suitcase and free to go.

Look at some of our fine men & women who return from Afghanistan etc. with limbs torn off, now that’s what I’d consider to be a serious problem. Â Â

[newmercman]

Duck, next time you head this way I’d like to meet up with you if I’m in your area, you sound like a decent bloke, my name’s not Leroy or Julian, so no worries there mate

All the best,

Winston, but my friends call me Powderpuff

[big_truck]

Duck,

How did you come to know that this ex-pat idiot was needing drivers,was it from the combine pro boards forum
Did you try looking for harvest work with any other local outfits
Been told the local big Agri machinery dealers and nearby coffee shops are a good bet for custom cutters offering work.

[duck]

@ newmercman:- Ok pal, I hope we can make it happen soon but it’s still early days for me.

I’m not going to rush into anything, I’d like to get it right next time.

I’ve been offered a couple of jobs with haulage firms in Sask. but none of these companies have ever employed foreigners.
That could be a sticking point.

If it doesn’t work out then there’s a 90% chance that I can return in March/April with one of several agricultural firms (Canadians, not ex-pat nut jobs ).

Btw, can you (or any other ex-pats) tell me WTF is a “double-double” from Tim Horton’s?? Coffee with 2 milk/sugar or what? It has been playing on my mind since I got back. I tell ya, I felt like a right pratt on several occasions whilst trying to order food/drinks. It doesn’t help matters when the staff behind the counter presume your an Australian and start a conversation about Bondi bloody beach!!

@ bigtruck:- Yes, I made initial contact with “Dangerous Brian” via that forum but I wasn’t going to take the job at first. The thing that swayed it was the fact that he’d lived in Nottingham (my hometown) for several years and had worked for an ag. contractor that I knew of. I dug a little deeper and found that he’d been head tractor driver/farm manager at a lot of big firms and corporate farms in several countries.

When I realised he was from the U.K. I thought that we’d get along ok, WHOOPS!

I couldn’t go with Gallagher’s due to a lack of an H2A but thanks to the help of the locals I got a job with a Canadian crew running a grain cart and JD tractor. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, had to share a trailer with a couple of lads who were in to “medication” and that isn’t my scene… PERIOD. The boss of that firm also runs a trucking company and told me that there’ll be plenty of work next year hauling grain & fertilizer throughout Western Canada in b-trains. He’s also after a livestock contract, I’ve never done anything like that before. Given my recent run of bad luck on foreign soil I’d probably end up transporting raging bulls to a rodeo contest or bucking bronco horses… Ouch

[big_truck]

OK mate no probs.

Have you thought about some of the big silage outfits out in San Joaquin valley in California
I can vouch for the “Lamb Chop” outfit run by “Joblo” on the Forage harvesting forum on combine pro-boards.
(think about Vegas and Santa Monica beach during the slack times )

You can go out there via a H2A and work starts around Feb time and they have some pretty big truck fleets.
Only thing is ALOT of the other truck drivers are mexicans

Tim Demaray starts to cut wheat in April at his home place in Arizona and Altendorf Harvesting could have you working out of North Dakota hauling spuds/beets/fertilizer/machinery OTR from around March time.
Some of the guys on the pro boards forum are with Jan Altendorf right now.