That’s a tidy read Robin cheers for your trouble!
Tell me shag…what actually is a turnpike?..Is it like a toll road?
Just another thought…My mate Rusty Bywater said to me the other night,all American trucks have round diesel tanks and this is because of the c&u regs…Really? Is that true? He can be a bit of a wind up merchant and you can’t tell when sometimes!
ShropsBri:
That’s a tidy read Robin cheers for your trouble!
Tell me shag…what actually is a turnpike?..Is it like a toll road?Just another thought…My mate Rusty Bywater said to me the other night,all American trucks have round diesel tanks and this is because of the c&u regs…Really? Is that true? He can be a bit of a wind up merchant and you can’t tell when sometimes!
Thanks Bri,
In the case of the New Jersey Turnpike its a toll road and any other interstate type highway with “Turnpike” or just “Pike” in the name will be a toll road. Some older single track roads maintain their heritage by being called “Something Pike” etc but they’re not toll roads these days. Also, a toll road can be called anything, not just a Turnpike. They like having different names for the same thing here. Turnpike, Expressway, Parkway, Freeway, Thruway etc etc etc. In New York state for example, Parkways are for cars only, with very low bridges etc and trucks are strictly prohibited, yet in other states any old road may be called a Parkway and is fine for trucks to use. It can get quite disorientating when you’re new at it and don’t have a clue.
Its true that all, or nearly all trucks here have round diesel tanks but I really don’t know the reason for it. Some Volvo’s, especially rigids and such like are now seen with more European square tanks but its very rare on other brands. I’ve not seen a long haul highway tractor with square tanks yet but perhaps they do exist.
robinhood_1984:
In New York state for example, Parkways are for cars only, with very low bridges etc and trucks are strictly prohibited
and it’s not only trucks that are off limits on parkways in ny, its every vehicle with commercial plates! so back in 2002, when heading to jfk from my employer in red bank, nj, I had to take a detour through bloody queens while driving a small chevy van 
milodon:
and it’s not only trucks that are off limits on parkways in ny, its every vehicle with commercial plates! so back in 2002, when heading to jfk from my employer in red bank, nj, I had to take a detour through bloody queens while driving a small chevy van
lol I can imagine. You are totally right, I think the sign says something like “Passenger Cars Only”. Queens and Brooklyn are horrible places, I’ve had the displeasure of delivering there in a full size truck and getting caught out by low bridges and having to make ad-hoc detours down residential streets at 4am with cars parked right up to and around the corners on intersections. I’m shuddering just thinking about it.
Thank’s Robin!
So are all the fast roads tolled then I wonder?
ShropsBri:
Thank’s Robin!
So are all the fast roads tolled then I wonder?
No mate, its only some roads in some states that are tolled. The majority are not.
Ok ta.
Are you glad you’re there and do you ever see yourself coming back?
ShropsBri:
Ok ta.Are you glad you’re there and do you ever see yourself coming back?
Depends when you ask me! Some days I love it here and others I wish I were back in England. Its chalk and cheese really. I like the freedom here and the lack of personal restriction in my working life that the relaxed regulations allow and in turn I’m much less stressed despite doing a bit more but on the same token and the reverse of that double edged sword, I do miss the safe predictability of England and knowing that when I start work that morning, I’ll be parking up no later than 13 or 15 hours later and earning a proper wage that isn’t related to how far I’ve driven, which is often out of my control. As things get more and more regulated here though, without the benefit of hourly or day rate pay then England is more and more appealing to me because Canada/USA will start getting all the negatives of the EU but none of the positives and protections.
One thing however that the UK and Europe cannot compete on are driver facilities, they are outstanding here on a level that leaves the very best of mainland Europe looking like a dirty camp site compared to what in some cases are like five star hotel shower rooms here, and just about everywhere here is free to park too. I did a few months over the winter back in 2012 in the UK and I actually really enjoyed most of it, I didn’t mind the smaller trucks and even got used to the digital tacho after a while but what got me down the most was the dire parking situation that I’d come to forget. Battling against the tacho to find somewhere to park or even abandon the truck and then wake up at 3am bursting for a ■■■ with nowhere to go isn’t a great experience and one of the biggest downsides to the driving life in the UK. Too many firms don’t pay for parking and even if they do, there is such a shortage anyway that its a bad situation all round. I didn’t really realise how bad it was in the UK until I came here and saw how good it could be and for a civilised country, how it should be.
Aye,I can imagine being on mileage rate combined with logbooks could make you rich and old very quickly if you get my drift. I have to say Robin that wishing for a day that is only 15 hours long kinda suggests,how do I put it…that you work hard over there?
I wonder how the haulage industry will be affected over there if they do bring in tacho laws like here? Do you see yourself making a wage or would it be a big cut?
The haulage companies,would they,could they do trunks and trailer swaps like here…it would take either a lot of co-operation between hauliers or work for subbies.
As you say it’s a double edged sword!
Hey,here’s something that crossed my mind…the parking is mostly free from what I’ve read from you lads over there and I notice a few of you fill your fridge over the border…sooooo what I’m wondering is,how do the truckstops make their money,is the food to eat inside the cafe expensive? It seems to me that in Britain here the truckstops make their money from parking and only have a cafe to attract the drivers there in the first place. Mind you,saying that,food here is getting to the expense of somewhere you’d take the wife or girlfriend out to…although not both at the same time!
Some companies over here run on what they call e-logs, it runs off GPS built in to the macro system from what I can gather not to different from tacho in a way. If you run ya logs legal then the boys I’ve spoken to say it don’t make much of a difference to the wage they just lose the freedom to run say that extra 10 mins to the next truck stop.
As Robin mentioned before where you can roll your hours (no more than 70 hrs work in 8 days in the US) you can carry on rolling and switch at the border
ShropsBri:
Aye,I can imagine being on mileage rate combined with logbooks could make you rich and old very quickly if you get my drift. I have to say Robin that wishing for a day that is only 15 hours long kinda suggests,how do I put it…that you work hard over there?I wonder how the haulage industry will be affected over there if they do bring in tacho laws like here? Do you see yourself making a wage or would it be a big cut?
The haulage companies,would they,could they do trunks and trailer swaps like here…it would take either a lot of co-operation between hauliers or work for subbies.
As you say it’s a double edged sword!Hey,here’s something that crossed my mind…the parking is mostly free from what I’ve read from you lads over there and I notice a few of you fill your fridge over the border…sooooo what I’m wondering is,how do the truckstops make their money,is the food to eat inside the cafe expensive? It seems to me that in Britain here the truckstops make their money from parking and only have a cafe to attract the drivers there in the first place. Mind you,saying that,food here is getting to the expense of somewhere you’d take the wife or girlfriend out to…although not both at the same time!
Its not such much running bent over here, in the US we’re on a 14hr spread, its more the mileage pay which means you can do a 14hr spread and earn a terrible wage for it, whereas in the UK if you work for a day, you get a days pay and its the companies responsibility to run you profitably within that time, not the drivers hard luck in his wage packet if they don’t. I nip the odd bit here and there on my log book but I don’t do anything silly any more, I left all that behind when I packed in my first job here. Of course there are differences, in the UK someone could be accused of running bent just for going 2 minutes over their time, while here you’d have to do a darn sight more for any one to even notice. On a paper log book for example, you record in 15 minute increments. They probably have it better in New Zealand, paper log books but hourly pay. No stress and a fair wage, best of both worlds, perhaps.
As for truckstops, they’re a huge business here and do very well indeed, but its something of a monopoly with a few big companies operating the vast majority of them. They probably make a much higher profit on diesel sales here as I’m sure the percentage of the cost of diesel thats fuel duty is a lot less and all truckstops also have pumps for cars too and all truckstop restaurants also do a roaring business with passing cars and local people. I don’t often eat out as I think its a waste of money, my wife sends me out with a load of food and I cook in the cab the rest of the time but the average yank is bone idle and spends a fortune in truckstops and its one of the reasons why they come unstuck in bad weather when roads are closed and they’re stranded, they carry very little or no food in their trucks. Usually I could last a week in the truck if something happened, I carry loads of drinking water, loads of food and I have the APU generator to provide heat/AC/Power etc so I’m pretty well set up. The only thing my truck doesn’t have is a toilet!
The portion sizes for meals are huge, steaks the size of steering wheels.
I used to like their Malt milk shakes.
Tacobell for tacos and burritos,hot and spicy.
Dennys and Wendy’s.Keeping fit and loosing weight can be a problem.
Do truck drivers carry bar bell weights or a bicycle on their truck to keep fit ?
In Europe, most of the hotels are truck friendly and have a drivers menu in their restaurant, you dine with business men, tourists and locals on white clothed table clothes with a full waiter/Waitress service.
The UK is a joke for parking, look at London, a capital city that hates trucks,a few service stations.
The main deep sea ports, again a joke, not enough parking and facilities.
Where is the plans for parking when Operation Stack is on,a huge truckstop is needed between London and Dover, but they park them on the motorway with portaloos brought in.
Some firms do not pay for parking, mainly ones from Devon and Cornwall.
Great read.
That temperature range seems horrific to me! - I’m expecting it to be -21 in Canada and all - but +27 down Florida way in mid-winter? That comes as a surprise! 
S’gotta be around 100f difference there…
As a matter of interest - where is the big swing gap between temperatures? SC-GA?
…I’m wondering how far the tropical weather can extend up the eastern seaboard here… At least it brings the warmth…
toby1234abc:
The portion sizes for meals are huge, steaks the size of steering wheels.
I used to like their Malt milk shakes.
Tacobell for tacos and burritos,hot and spicy.
Dennys and Wendy’s.Keeping fit and loosing weight can be a problem.
Do truck drivers carry bar bell weights or a bicycle on their truck to keep fit ?
In Europe, most of the hotels are truck friendly and have a drivers menu in their restaurant, you dine with business men, tourists and locals on white clothed table clothes with a full waiter/Waitress service.
The UK is a joke for parking, look at London, a capital city that hates trucks,a few service stations.
The main deep sea ports, again a joke, not enough parking and facilities.
Where is the plans for parking when Operation Stack is on,a huge truckstop is needed between London and Dover, but they park them on the motorway with portaloos brought in.
Some firms do not pay for parking, mainly ones from Devon and Cornwall.
Toby at his best…
I’ve personally experienced a more than 60c temperature swing in one trip, delivered in San Diego and took great delight in telling one of the bosses wives (who was on reception) that it was 26c or so degrees, loaded back for Edmonton and parked for the night in Red Deer and the dash gauge was reading -38c.
The truck needed no modifications except turning the A/C off and the heating up and buttoning a winter front on the grille, pretty impressive.
Having your cab heater fail could be lethal!
I wouldn’t want to rely on those crappy DAF ones - that’s for sure.
I am reminded of 3 wheeler’s post of earlier this month…
If you are asleep in one of these wagons, and your night heater falls over and the outside looks like this - you’re plucking at a harp on a cloud already!
On another note - what with not being paid when stationary - is the “per mile” rate enough to make the job a “good earner” when you’re doing 500+ miles per day?
I reckon even 50c per mile would add up to a fairly decent wage IF you’re doing the mileage every day like…
brilliant diary / pics and read !! keep um coming !!
When it gets below -15c I run the engine, I don’t have an APU, but even with one they’re only good for another 5deg colder or so. The oil gets really thick and causes a lot of wear on start up, idling is the lesser of two evils.
As for not getting paid when the wheels aren’t turning, our friend Robinhood keeps mentioning that and in his case that may be true, but with all due respect, he has a ■■■■ job!
I’ve been in Canada since 2008 and I’ve always had paid waiting time, extra pay for running in the mountains where you run at lower speeds, a premium for overnight runs and other extras such as fuel bonuses.
I’m an owner driver now, so things have changed, but I still get paid waiting time and a better rate running the slow roads. My average pay at my last place as an employee based on the gross wage I earned for the year and the actual miles I drove (paid miles worked out on a computer are always less) worked out at over 57cpm, so don’t believe all the horror stories you read on here, quite often those with the least to shout about are the loudest voices…
newmercman:
As for not getting paid when the wheels aren’t turning, our friend Robinhood keeps mentioning that and in his case that may be true, but with all due respect, he has a [zb] job!I’ve been in Canada since 2008 and I’ve always had paid waiting time, extra pay for running in the mountains where you run at lower speeds, a premium for overnight runs and other extras such as fuel bonuses.
I’m an owner driver now, so things have changed, but I still get paid waiting time and a better rate running the slow roads. My average pay at my last place as an employee based on the gross wage I earned for the year and the actual miles I drove (paid miles worked out on a computer are always less) worked out at over 57cpm, so don’t believe all the horror stories you read on here, quite often those with the least to shout about are the loudest voices…
Yet again you’re implying that its only a small minority of idiots who aren’t on the great terms and conditions that you’re on when you and I both know that the vast majority of the industry in Canada is mileage pay only or a token gesture hourly pay after X amount of hours sat and even then its only usually half of what you’d be earning per hour if the wheels were turning. Your last job at PBT was not typical of Canadian long haul work so lets not pretend otherwise.
If BF was that good, why do so many people hate the place, I’ve met several people in NB who started at BF in Manitoba and couldn’t make it pay so moved to NB, and that was before BF based trucks out here.
As for my job being crap or whatever word you used to describe it, I don’t think so, but if you say so. I’m paid waiting time but its still not anywhere near the equivalent of paid driving time and while I hardly ever do wait so its not a problem, I think its only fair to warn others of the pit falls of an industry that is almost entirely mileage paid in a country that many people on here are interested in to let them know exactly the pitfalls of such a setup so they don’t take a running jump and accept any old crap job because some on here sing Canada’s praises so loudly that you’d think it was the land of milk and honey and nothing could possibly go wrong.
Mileage pay with a small token gesture waiting time is the rule here, anything more is the exception. Fact.
I agree with you about big fright, I only lasted four months there remember, but even they pay layover!
There are lots of crap jobs out here, no doubt about that and I’m not trying to be the ambassador for Canadian Trucking, but equally there are some very good jobs out here. If all everyone reads is your stuff (which is good reading BTW) all they will hear about is you moaning about stupid drivers, ridiculous traffic levels and unpaid waiting time.
Yet that isn’t the case everywhere, my old job at PBT isn’t the best job in Canada by far, I wouldn’t have left otherwise. I know company drivers pulling in $6000 a month and they’re in Alberta, I also know of drivers in Alberta that are really struggling to make ends meet at a terrible job.
But that’s the same the World over, location plays a part too, you’re in the equivalent of Cornwall which is a lovely place to live, but the wages aren’t the best. You choose to live there though so your terms and conditions are dictated by that decision, you could move to Alberta, get paid for every minute you’re in the truck and take home twice the money if you wanted too, or take the middle ground and live in Manitoba and earn similar money to PBT.
Now you have your reasons for staying there, no problem with that in itself, but there are other options and most of the other options would address the things you complain about.
