Thank you very much for putting this diary together, you have put in loads of effort to do this.
I read every word and I was right there on the trip aswell.
American/Candian driving is appealling especially with manual gearboxes and log books rather than digi taco’s and automatics.
I will definatly look up your older diaries Thanks again. 
Robinhood_1984
Excellent write up again ,it must be times like that that keep you going when you are back home and doing the likes of Immingham to Drax umpteen times a day.
But I bet you miss the security men at Drax!!
Cheers Bassman
Enjoyable read, really enjoyed it. Best I look back at your previous tales!
Excellent diary, fella. Thanks for taking the time to post it.
They seem to be particularly ■■■■ about their axle weights and load distribution over yonder, so a couple of questions if I may:
Are the scales just located at the entry to a state, or will you possibly have to scale several times in one state?
If overweight, do they insist that the load be lightened on the spot or do they drag you off to some compound to get the excess forked off?
I am aware that you can change the load distribution on your drive and trailer axles by being able to slide the trailer tandem axles. However, having the trailer axles attached to the trailer body by just a couple of rails and securing pins does not seem to me to be a very stable set up. Are there many instances of axles and trailers parting company?
Thoughly enjoyed that read thankyou, it’s killed the boring trip to calais!!
Would you be kind enough to put links up for your previous diaries please…
Well done, ollie
The trick is to load and go check ya weights at a CAT scale. They’re certified scales and will stand in court with ya if the slip shows you’re ok on the weights. You can find scales anywhere in the state/province. But don’t take long to remember where they are and I’d they will give ya any extra allowance for fuel or apu unit. Not heard of the axles coming apart like that but probably has happened somewhere lol
Mike-C:
Great diary mate. One request though, any chance of photos of the people you come across? I’d love to see the security guards and goods on people you interact with every day. Maybe more for entertainment value than anything else as i’m not a big fan of Americans or Canadians. And a mobile church just sort of cements it for me !!
Thanks. The diaries do lack a human touch, I know. I’d feel very awkward about taking photos of people though, or even asking. Sometimes I get grief just for taking photos inside where I’m loading or tipping etc.
taffytrucker:
Nice tidy run there Robin and not to much hanging around. Nice to see a KW with a apu instead of screaming it’s nuts off all night
I can’t be doing with idling the engine all night, especially on high idle. The noise and vibrations really do my head in. The APU being a Carrier isn’t exactly quiet but its a darn sight better than the main engine.
thomasb9295:
Great read Robin enjoyed it , was just wondering what the fan thingy at the back of your unit is , wonderd if was a heating / cooling system for the sleeper cab ,great photos and a great read keep them coming Robin all the best
Yes mate. The fan is part of the APU (Auxiliary power unit) system, which is basically a little generator mounted on the chassis which is connected to the coolant in the main radiator up front and in cold weather it circulates the coolant round and keeps it from freezing and that provides enough heat to the engine to stop the oil from freezing up too. I don’t know how low in temperature you could go to rely on it, but I’ve often gone to lets say -25’c with just the APU running at night and the motor fires up fine, any lower than that and the APU can’t keep up and starts blowing cooler air in to the cab so then you have to run the main engine for heat any way. The APU also has its own dedicated A/C system for warm weather, something I was very thankful of in Florida and in addition it also provides 110v mains power inside the truck when its running so you can just plug your things in without needing an inverter.
Another great feature which has saved my bacon twice now, is that it can be made to turn on when the voltage drops below a certain amount and on two occasions when I’ve had an alternator belt snap and the subsequent drop in voltage, the APU has fired up and kept the truck running until I could get it back to the yard or in to a repair shop. Plus its also set so that if when I’m at home for the weekend for example, and should the temp drop very low, the APU will start up for a few hours to prevent an engine freeze up, even if I’m not there to attend to it. All in all its a bloody good piece of kit.
Inselaffe:
Excellent diary, fella. Thanks for taking the time to post it.They seem to be particularly ■■■■ about their axle weights and load distribution over yonder, so a couple of questions if I may:
Are the scales just located at the entry to a state, or will you possibly have to scale several times in one state?
If overweight, do they insist that the load be lightened on the spot or do they drag you off to some compound to get the excess forked off?
I am aware that you can change the load distribution on your drive and trailer axles by being able to slide the trailer tandem axles. However, having the trailer axles attached to the trailer body by just a couple of rails and securing pins does not seem to me to be a very stable set up. Are there many instances of axles and trailers parting company?
Every state is different. Some states like New York don’t really have any fixed scales and just have random check points in rest areas where they may bring their own portable scales, but not usually. Most states will probably have a scale at or near to the state line when you enter and they could also have several within the state as well. In other states such as Wyoming, they’re not that bothered about weight, but you have to park up and go inside the building in a totally pointless exercise of presenting paperwork for them to glance at before proceeding in to that state.
As for what happens when overweight. That also varies from state to state and also depends on how much overweight you are. If its only a small bit and it can be sorted out by sliding the axles, most will just let you do it and wave you on your way, unless you come across a jumped up little Hitler. If its considerably over weight, some places will put you out of service there and then until some of the load is taken off, I’ve never had this happen to me thankfully. In other states you just get issued with a citation no matter how much over you are and are let on your way, Florida is one such state.
North American trailers are extremely flimsy in comparison to European ones. Its a fairly common sight to see a fridge or dry van snapped or buckled over here on the road and a work crew transferring the load to another truck. Also like you ask, it has been known for the sliding tandems, if they’re not locked in place properly and the trailer brake (dead man’s handle) is used, for them to slide backwards at speed and smash through the rear bumper and for the trailer to drops on to the road and smash/buckle to pieces. Its very rare though. In almost six years here I can only remember seeing such a thing once.
taffytrucker:
The trick is to load and go check ya weights at a CAT scale. They’re certified scales and will stand in court with ya if the slip shows you’re ok on the weights. You can find scales anywhere in the state/province. But don’t take long to remember where they are and I’d they will give ya any extra allowance for fuel or apu unit. Not heard of the axles coming apart like that but probably has happened somewhere lol
I don’t know about fuel, but we’ve given an extra 460lbs allowance for having the APU fitted and have a sheet of paper (I won’t stretch to call it a certificate) to present at a scale to that affect. I’ve never had to put the paper to the test, although I did once get questioned about being a bit over weight. I went in and told them I had an APU and they just said “Oh, alright then, bye”
I really enjoyed the read my friend. 
great read and love the leaf blower idea would have saved me a load of sweeping over the years.
robinhood_1984:
Every state is different. Some states like New York don’t really have any fixed scales …
Cheers for the info. Have a good weekend
Gwinness:
Thoughly enjoyed that read thankyou, it’s killed the boring trip to calais!!Would you be kind enough to put links up for your previous diaries please…
Well done, ollie
I’ve done quite a few but for some reason on just about all of the past ones the images no longer load. They’re uploaded to facebook and then I link to that image so it loads up on Trucknet as you see them in this diary. Perhaps facebook has moved servers or something and changed the locations? I really don’t understand how all that works.
I did however do one diary a few years back by manually uploading each photo on here and that one still works, maybe I should do that again in future, although its a lot more tedious and you can only put so many photos per post.
The link to that trip is here… viewtopic.php?f=2&t=92735&hilit=+diary
robinhood_1984:
Thanks. The diaries do lack a human touch, I know. I’d feel very awkward about taking photos of people though, or even asking. Sometimes I get grief just for taking photos inside where I’m loading or tipping etc.
I know what you mean I don’t even like taking pictures of trucks with drivers in them, hear the description of a stobart spotter ringing in my ears when I do 
.there’s an oap in the port of bergen who takes photos of the numberplates of every truck and trailer that enters, I should ask him what his secret is
milodon:
I know what you mean
I’m the same. I quite often see a truck I’d like to take a photo of, I get my camera out and walk towards it and then the driver gets out of the sleeper or something and I just abort. It feels like too much of an invasion of privacy.
I remember the scales at the top of Donners pass the other February. Got a red light went in and the officer goes ‘ya 400lbs over on ya drives gotta shift it’ asked about apu weight and the stupid amount of tire chains you gotta carry in CA and the fact I had just filled up in NV ‘no extra allowance for all them here in CA’ was the reply.
On the B trains last month got a tug at Bonners ferry ID 200lbs over weight on the bridge axles to be told ‘no allowance for snow build up in Idaho gotta get rid of some snow from ya truck’. It differs from state to state pain in the a$$
taffytrucker:
I remember the scales at the top of Donners pass the other February. Got a red light went in and the officer goes ‘ya 400lbs over on ya drives gotta shift it’ asked about apu weight and the stupid amount of tire chains you gotta carry in CA and the fact I had just filled up in NV ‘no extra allowance for all them here in CA’ was the reply.On the B trains last month got a tug at Bonners ferry ID 200lbs over weight on the bridge axles to be told ‘no allowance for snow build up in Idaho gotta get rid of some snow from ya truck’. It differs from state to state pain in the a$$
Have a look at this. energy.gov/eere/vehicles/map-sta … -exemption
That’s a pretty good link. Very handy. Not got apu on our trucks atm but you never know. We supposed to have 500lbs allowance for the weight etc but as I said each state does as they please.