Star down under.:
Chris, I’m surprised you were allowed to load a container without pins.
Me too, there is quite a lengthy exchange about the subject elsewhere on TN of the time when a mate of mine, right in front of me, deposited a flat loaded with spuds onto the road just outside Preston. The spuds never moved, except with the flat of course. 
WHEN CONTAINERS, first started to come in there were a few companies using them and having storage room for the empty’s we on general haulage with flat trailers some twin axel , we had to lay our opened sheets on the deck and put the container however the trailers never had a RAVE so you would see right under the container with it bowing on them
Many single axel 40 footers merryworth make ,we would load empty containers from FELEXSTOWE to north BIRMINGHAM I think it was a JONES DEPOT near Cannock area we never had twist locks at all just a chain around the front through the container twist lock holes and one on the back ,and if you had 2 spare long ones 2 over the top on to the rope hooks,straps were not in use then well not on general haulage.
Do the USA trucks go round corners now ■■
I’ve only ever driven one once, back in about 1976 or so I was in Jeddah and a Father & Son team from Birmingham Alabama had come to show off their wares at a trade show in Jeddah.
I think it was the first time they had ever left the USA, let alone visit any other USA state, talk about fish out of water !!
Anyway, they tagged on to me to help them out and smooth their way. At the end of the show they asked me to drive their prime exhibit: a 6x4 Kenworth Tanker to a holding compound.
This beast was constructed out of at least 15ml steel plate and would have been considered overloaded in Europe even when empty.
I’ve tried Google to find a picture of the type but the nearest I can get is this, which shows how much unnecessary steel work it carried.
So come time to move from the show ground to the other side of Jeddah it’s about Rush Hour. Jumping aboard it all seemed familiar with a fuller/Eaton box and splitter switch held on by a jubilee clip the same as the vintage UK built motors that were still being built when Scania/Volvo/Mercedes/MAN etc were building modern vehicles.
I thought OK this is just like an Atkinson except there is 6 or so feet of bonnet in front of me, so off I go into the traffic and up to a T Junction, so far so good. Time to do a left and fighting for space I went hard over expecting to easily make the left hand turn - BUT NO, the wheels hardly turned - 30 degrees if that, I had to shunt twice to get round.
You learn quick, so after that I tried to avoid any sharp turns and eventually got to the compound.
So my question is have they improved the lock on those antiquities (they still build and still look just the same) or do they go round corners now ■■
EDIT - I just found a Picture of a 2022 Kenworth which looks the same as the 1976 model I drove - apart from the sleeper pod and the steel visor plate over the windscreen to stop you seeing out
Whisperingsmith:
EDIT - I just found a Picture of a 2022 Kenworth which looks the same as the 1976 model I drove - apart from the sleeper pod and the steel visor plate over the windscreen to stop you seeing out2020-kenworth-w900l.2.jpg
I have always like those external steel visors. I still always drive with the internal visors down but they don’t stop reflections on the screen that an external does. When I was TM at Toray I bought some Mercs with plastic externals which shattered at the first bird strike. At several hundred quid a time I eventually said sorry lads you’ll have to do without. They didn’t stop reflections anyway.
As regards going round corners I remember reading back in the mists of time that the Americans were slow to adopt rear steer trailers especially on heavy haulage and it was a common practice for a vehicle, presumably with a crane, to travel through awkward parts with oiled steel plates to stop trailer tyres popping off. 
Urban myth or true Chris? Lay it to rest one way or the other.
WS, it sounds like the power divider was engaged.
> Star down under.:
> WS, it sounds like the power divider was engaged.
Does that stop the front wheels turning more than a few degrees ■■
whisperingsmith:
> Star down under.:
> WS, it sounds like the power divider was engaged.Does that stop the front wheels turning more than a few degrees ■■
It creates much understeer.
____ I think containers have to be secured on pins if you loading or unloading at the docks or at a railway yard but the DoT is quite happy with chains at the front and back corners and straps over the top. However I have not done a lot. The turning circle of the hooded trucks can be a problem but you get used to it. The conventional units come in two styles. The Kenworth W900 which has the steer axle at the very front and the Kenworth T800 which has a set-back steer axle. The T800 obviously goes round corners better than a Dubya Nine.
____This trip was a good paying regular load from a high-end window manufacturer in Steinbach. Two drivers shared the work and I only got the nod if they were on holidays or the load was too big for just one trailer. Here the shipper had filled up the trailer with deliveries from two quite separate routes.
____Day 1: Any Manitoba based long haul trucker will tell you that Texas is good miles. Florida is even better. But not many would have done a round trip that takes in both Texas and Florida. But on a Saturday afternoon in late April, 2014, that’s what I set off to do. Getting down to York, Nebraska, for the first night with just a few snow flurries in South Dakota to liven up the day.
____Day 2: With the first drop situated just north of Fort Worth; I don’t have to push on all the way into Texas. The Worlds Second Largest Casino, the Winstar, on the Oklahoma border will do fine. On a fine Sunday afternoon, I pull in and have a couple of beers in the Toby Keith Bar and Grill.
____Day 3: Chaos engulfs the whole of the first drop at Flower Mound. I arrange to meet a guy at the junction of Interstate 35 and Farm to Market Road 1171; I head to Interstate 35 East/ FM 1171, my guide goes to Interstate 35 West/ FM 1171. I phone and tell him I don’t need a guide; I have GPS. He says that it’s a job-site in a gated community and I will need him to get in. OK, see you there. I beat him to the gate. The wrong gate! Tradesman’s entrance is for trucks and I’ve passed it by a mile. They won’t let me come in and turn round so I have to continue along a narrow road and turn round in another gated community which has a much nicer gate-keeper. Finally inside; things don’t get any better. I can’t the truck within half a mile of the house which being constructed on a lake-shore connected by a narrow tree-lined track. The windows are trans-shipped, a few at a time, onto a pick-up truck for the last leg of their journey. Thankfully delivery number two at Lancaster is quick and easy but the four hours at number one stops me getting to number three before they close.
____Day 4: I’ve done the Austin delivery before; so park on the un-loading dock overnight. There’s nothing worse than parking on the door-step only to wake up and find some early bird has relegated you to number two. Next: 2098 kilometres to delivery number four in Naples, Florida. A run along the Gulf Coast that affords the drive no view of the sea. Through Houston, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and to the eastern side of Mobile, Alabama, on a day of a thousand kilometres through Uncle Ben’s rice fields of America.
____Day 5: A thousand kilometres in Florida, making the state crossing longer than could be expected. Busy roads around Tampa and the west coast. Another series of phone calls setting up an early morning rendezvous in a Walmart car-park as it seems another in-accessible job-site is waiting for my windows. There are worse places to stay over-night than Walmart car parks, which normally tolerate trucks, but they normally don’t have alligator warning signs like the one in Naples.
____Day 6: Lyndoll is the guy in charge, he leads me to a waterside construction site. The owner paid 4 million dollars for the plot, the invoice for the windows is $250,000. Half a dozen agency labourers turn up and get their stuff off quicker than expected. One roadkill alligator and the snout and eyes of a live one in a river are spotted on US Highway 41 on the way across the Everglades from Naples to Medley, a suburb of Miami. If I had more time, I would have stopped for the experience of an air-boat ride. Plenty of air-boat tour establishments on the ninety mile crossing of the swamplands. The last consignment on the trailer is destined for the Dominican Republic; just one window for the Archbishops residence, going to a shipping company before be containerised for the sea journey. Reload is in Alabama; so another 4-figure kilometre day, to Dawson in Georgia for the night.
____Day 7: Across country on US Highway 280 to Birmingham; then north on Interstate 65 to the small town of Morris. Deliver Austin, load Morris makes me think I’m a Rover on a Mini-tour. A heavy load of refractory powder for Selkirk, Manitoba. Loaded and enough time to reach Nashville; where I find I have only one and a half hours left of my weeks 70 hour work allowance. A 36 hours re-set is needed. First evening’s entertainment: downtown to Broadway, drinking with runners, in town for Saturday’s Nashville Marathon. Surprisingly out late on the eve of the race.
____Day 8: Heavy rain through to late afternoon keeps me cab-bound; missing the after-race street party on Broadway. But Rippy’s restaurant is ticket-tout central for the next door concert venue. Jimmy Buffett is in town and as the one-time owner of a battered V-Dub Combi who spent many Summers barefoot on the Riviera; I have always been a fan. The aging hippy on the sea-side of the country music scene knows how to entertain. Lining up in front of three drum kits and a full backing band; the place rocks. There is a tribute to the people of Boston and the marathon runners of Nashville who have defied the threat of terrorism. The recent passing of George Jones is honoured by a rendition of the classic, " He stopped loving her today." The band’s rhythm guitarist does such a perfect imitation of the country music legend’s voice that the audience is stunned into a jaw-dropping silence. The arena fills with emotion.
____Day 9: Nashville has to be my number 1 all time night-out location. Amsterdam, Barcelona, Istanbul have an edge that makes the adrenalin flow. Dublin and Vienna are friendly and safe. Las Vegas and New York might by the choice of others but Music City USA has it all in my opinion. Live music bars and restaurants that buzz seven days a week, reasonable prices and a top class truckstop within walking distance. But I have to leave; two days driving back to Canada with day one finishing at Evansdale in Iowa.
____Day 10: Minnesota is the fifteenth State of the trip and as the trip counter clocks up 8000 it becomes my longest Flying Eagle tour. The heavy return load hits the fuel consumption figures but the truck doesn’t miss a beat. Back to the yard and the city driver can pop up to Selkirk with the load.
____Overall Distance: 8462 km.
Hi Chris that last trip you posted sounded like a music lovers delight,
in the last 7days just 3 of you posting accumulated 1,433 views very popular why others do not reply i cannot say just keep them coming.
Just off the subject of trucks i have just finished reading by MATT LEWIS ""LAST MAN OFF “” absolute true survival in the south Atlantic .first published 2014 how did i miss it??dbp.
MY TIME AT ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■
IHAVE POSTED THIS BEFORE . After 13 years driving i was made redundant with others after a disastrous 8/9 week strike.after time i managed to get a job here , AT ■■■■■■■■ ENGINE FACTORY KV12.KV16S NOT TRUCK ENGINES DAVENTRY.1980.
I got along with the training very well in fact I enjoyed it as I had been used to cranes and fork lifts also just getting into the rhythm of being in a factory.
The target was how many complete engine blocks in one shift could be machined by one man then moved on to other machine stations where the men working on them with another type of drill or bore that would alter the look of the engine block.
Some men held the blocks at their work station slowing production down while some men had nothing to do, that practice would annoy the foreman it was the material handlers [me/us]s that would try to move the blocks along to keep production to capacity up after being told by the Forman to , we clashed I would say to the Forman that man is holding on to his engine block he is working on his work is finished, he did not want to start another block before his time on the shift was up, as that meant he would have to set all his machine up and by the time he had done that he would not have time to start working on another block so it would be ready for the other shift It went on and on pure silliness.
The rivalry even crept into our small band of handlers the fork lift would be left with flat batteries and not changed over for the next shift you would then be playing catch up all shift. and we were always last to be finished when it was time to go home all because of the men on the shop floor not playing the game.
After every shift you had to change your overalls, they were black with machine dust and your hands were like a coal miners. most of the machinist there always got cleaned up and ready for the off at least by a quarter of a hour before home time that ■■■■■■ me off as a lot could have been done to help us out, but they never didAfter about a year there I was eventually one of the team well my own team i had got to know the job of how the whole engine block line worked there was a sequence to where the engine blocks were moved to for to be worked on also talking to the other material handlers in to make sure they put the spare fork lift batter on charge. before they left to go home.
When I started my shift work it made life easier finding the batteries are charged silly I know but it worked] finding a wheelbarrow and brush was harder they would just be abandon it was all equipment you needed.
As the shift started I tried to get one step ahead and it worked ,it would mean I was able to leave the factory on time with all the others I would work through my dinner break [no one would know, or even notice just to get out of work clean and on time as I was now sharing a car with 3 men from the same village we were all on the same shift all in different departments jobs though and it worked.
I was able to eat my dinner at any time the food I had at the time was very small and low in calories as I was on blood pressure tablets 1000, calories a day it was a women’s diet, however I was overweight we were like butterflies everywhere on the shop floor I soon got the weight down.
While I was working at the factory there was no transport driving work around local for me so I thought make the best of what you have got .
The get out was join the prison service as a prison officer [warder] I had looked into it in depth? and there was one man living in the village and I got to know him quite well he gave me insight as much as he could into the job. He was a chef so was a bit different but he did start on the wings, landings prison term.
After I had made the first moves for a application form things started to move quickly my reverences were checked from previous employers all of them from 20 years [not CW KNIGHT] I left them out. I did think though after all what went on when I was on strike. the big day arrived and I was asked to report to a Borstal near WELLINGBOROUGH
I do recall i was a bit on the nervous side, but not ■■■■■■■■ myself, just going into the unknown .and getting in my head to call everyone sir, there were about 20 men all of us stood around a massive circular table until told to sit by the prison officer with a hat on just like they wear in the army guards units the peak was covering nearly all his noise we did as we were told we were given examination papers ,he told you sit, and start when told to.
The first page was easy then it got harder, and harder and I knew i was now out of my league in the end I had not go a clue as to some of the papers so I just sat back and waited until we were told to stop the papers were collected and we were told to stay seated.
I knew I was out so I did not feel bad at all everything seems easy until you are put out of your normal level and comfort zone however after a time some of us were told to stand and leave the room I was not on my own once out of the room I was told to follow this officer, still no idea what for he told me the governor would like to see m e
I went into a room and a lady was sat down i assumed the boss she tells me that all my previous work history and background is what is required by them and I would fit in etcetera, however my English and Maths were of a twelve year old, standard, go to night school and reapply when you get up to GCSE standard.
Goodbye and that was it disappointed, but I knew before I went what my standard was like so nothing new I then knew that I would have to carry on at the factory just like all the others, in actual fact I was no different from any of unskilled men there on unskilled work however around 70%were skilled men and apprentice trained.
I felt I needed to get on and get a better job within the factory there were a few opportunities with inhouse training within the engine block line to get promoted as the work was highly skilled both departments including the engine block and the engine build department only recruited skilled apprentice trained men from outside before they would give any in house training on the engine build.
My time in the machine shop was expiring for me I wanted to move on to the engine build department as a material handler that was going to be a wait or impossible it was a better clean job
I knew that there would be a lot of competition from all the workers not classed as tradesman for internal transfer to the build department I asked one of the engine build workers I knew, if there was any company reading material showing and describing the sequence of the engine build so I could in theory be able to describe engine parts and where they went and show I was interested I went to the foreman and ask for it ,he said when a job come up I would have it a job as far as they were concerned however I had to ask the human resources department as a material handler in the engine build department at least it was a start.
I had to stay where I was for the time in the engineering shop the smell of the lubricant oil they used did not get any sweeter I did not dislike working at the factory at all, I was thinking it is better that pounding up and down the roads nice and dry however I was always getting drawn to the doors to get out of the factory I could at least see outside, men. stayed at their work station all of their shift on the same machine doing the same skilled work day in and out.
They were highly trained 5 year apprentice-ship time served men. but
now a lot of their skilled work was done by computers and they just programmed their work orders to the machine and let it get on with it.
I let the human resources department know that I would like to move departments, over to the engine build ,i was sure that if the engine block foreman knew I wanted to move he would block it
I was told that they were only recruiting experienced men with a trade from outside as it took to long to train in house men up to their standard that rarely happened however there may be a vacancy soon in the stores would i like to go for that so I said yes please. but I would still have to have a interview with the relevant head of the department and no guarantee I would get the job as departments did not like taking men from one department to another, also outside recruiting would take place for the job.
The Falklands war was taking place and there seemed to be a sort of buzz around the factory men talking in groups at break times it just seemed as if there was a together spirit about the place a nice change. small union flags would appear on walls all eService men walking ramrod straight all wanting to go and stick it in the Argentines.
All to old but willing i thought, among all the workers in the whole factory I would bet anything that I was the only person ever who had been to Argentina, but I never let on, I was waiting for anyone to say yes I was there, but no one did so I told no one i did not matter any way so had thousands of other men been to Argentina on Cargo ships.
The time kept marching on and I was waiting for my stores interview, that never happened, but a strange thing did! I was asked by the personal department human resources if I would consider moving over to the engine build department as a material handler, as there is a“ vacancy “, going to be created” there was no material handler in the build department All the heavy material was lifted by a man from the stores on a fork lift all the other material was collected from the stores by the individuals working on the engine they were building it was strange, how do you get something you want in the end, I knew a lot of people within the factory and I was not shy in saying what I would like to do so as they say strange things happens not always bad.
After a time I left the Machine shop no one blocked the move I then started within the engine build department as a material/stores handler I had to have a week in the stores to try to get to know some of the ancillary pieces, fly wheels , all bolts ,washers, all manner of things I had no idea what was included within the building of a engine the amount of numbers they went by was mind blowing for me and I do not like a challenge.
I also had to get to try to know the sequence of build when the engine block got to the build station that was called a “cell”.
The procedure of the journey of a raw casting engine block from AMERICA.
First it was [the machined engine block] put through a pressure wash, then after it was what was called “ de burred ” that was two men with wire brushes and reels of emery paper, [abrasive paper just like sandpaper ]but just for metal and castings, and they had to get everything on that engine block smooth as silk inside all the crevices and journals, they had long brushes [like baby bottle cleaners] everything they needed to get it perfect ,so it would pass a microscopist inspection, by eagle eyed inspectors that was their job.
They used a big roll over machine it does what is said, to inspect engines blocks ready for the machines shop to drill all the holes and needed for the building eventually of a engine.
Once the block has been reworked and passed A1 the de burr men then had to fit in the main bearings caps ,they hold in the crank shaft the part that actual made the engine pistons work they were bolted on to the crank-shaft with massive bolts ,and torque up with a [special torque wrench] =a very large spanner 4 foot long ,at the end [just like a socket set you would use for home mechanics ] you put adaptable heads that fitted the size of bolt you were tightening up, there was a screw device on the end of the spanner that you could set the amount of poundage, [pressure] you wanted the bolts tightened up to .[it had to be right written down in the build sheet] once that had been achieved the spanner would not move. it made a cracking noise .so you knew the pressure had been reached, and that went for all the nuts on bolts throughout all the engine build.
The main bearing caps held in the main crank shaft and they would stamp a number on the bottom of the casting, that was shining bright, a number that followed the block all through its construction the main part of the engineering masterpiece. Then it was now ready for the engine builders [mechanics] to do their work.
There was one main engine build plan to each engine the skilled builders have all relevant paper work as the block was on a stand made to take all the weight when finished, the stand was fitted to a steel flat sheet ,as thick as a kit- kat bar , and it floated just like a air bed - hover craft ,and would be moved wherever need by a air umbilical air hose, very clever.
In the build cell.
Inside these cells there were perforated sheet metal sides that would take plastic bins that held all kinds of bolts and nuts screws that they needed to build the engine and to attach all the ancillary parts that made the engine up, in fact the cells were stacked out with boxes of bolts and nearly all of the fitments to build the engine however not all like cylinder head bolts ,fly wheels ,any heavy piece or part that had to be fitted to complete the engine.
How the engines are built.
6 men ,3 shifts
The men work in the same cell for the same engine until finished you would think that they had all the ancillary material they needed they did not , they would not stop to look around their cell or the other cells next door , they would then go to the stores and loose time waiting for bolts [whatever] else they thought they needed that they already had and not bothered to look for it apparently it was a unwritten rule that the men only used what was in their cell and never went and asked the men next door if they had any spare .
The job I had been given was created to stop men wasting time
It was down to me to try to stop the men from going to the stores. my job was to be the unpopular redistribution man to stop the men from wasting time at the stores
Though it was never put to me that was what the foreman wanted to happen to boost production up it soon came apparent that was what it was about .
The foremen knew how much material was out on the shop floor not being used that the men should use, the output of the engines did not add up ,with the material issued.
This was the very first time I had seen a computer, as I was allowed in the stores i was given a free reign and I was shown how to add or subtract from the stores computer what I wanted or returned I now realise that all the computer was only a stores program but then it was a magical piece of equipment.
I will be honest the actual trying to remember all the numbers of the bolts, washers, I thought no way in this world will I be able to cope with the new challenge ,also the very bright strip lighting was given me massive headaches ,it was as if why am I doing this.
Also I was on a very low food intake diet for high blood pressure ,I was finding it very hard going
I have always said I do not like challenges, I have never been competitive I could not really care if I won or lost at darts, anything, throughout my life and that job in the build shop ,was one big challenge although I never looked like one i just thought get back to driving ,who needs nuts and bolts in the factory.
However no driving jobs were available at that time so I had to get on with it and try to make it work i did make the foremen aware of the situation but there is always one. It probably took about 3 months of moving all kinds of material around, and knowing how many actual pieces of the smallest to the largest engine needed for the men needed to make up the engine , I did not know it all by any means ,however I used to be able to look at the work production sheet the men /women used and could see what was needed for the build and make sure that it was in their work station[cell] for them.
I did have a few bust up with certain men about me taking any type of material out of the cell they were working and redistributing it around as if it was theirs i used to say it was my job nothing personal , they got it in the end .
This one man came in the shape of a big chap from rugby with a reputation ,that I was not aware of ,also he was the union representative for the engine build and came from Coventry so I knew where he was coming from with all the engineering works at the car factory’s slightly militant just what I needed .
No one had any idea where I had come from only the bosses so he never knew about the strike we had come through , it used to start when I went into his cell ,usual banter and he would sort of lean on me with his shoulder and laugh, [ being a bully] after a time I waited until most of the men were at dinner and I knew where he was with is mates, so I went over and I give him some of my tongue , I shouted about unions ,strikes, etcetera and what work I was doing was as I was told to do just like he does i never had any problem after ,I had said what I wanted to him he asked me to run a sweepstake for a big race as I moved around the factory as no one else was able to without being asked what I was doing.
I had now got the used bolt numbers in my head ,i also used the fork lift to get all the fly wheels down from the high racks for the men instead of the stores men
Also learning more about the engine build over time however if you have never been trained from the very start of anything basic at the bottom you cannot fully pick the technical part up without proper training and that goes for most things.
I now had the basic sequence of the engine build in my head I had watched it enough, getting to know how to sweat the gears on the end s of the cam-shaft also [there were small high power ovens in the cells to heat the gears up hot to be sweated on the ends ] however getting the right key that went onto the end was the hard bit that I would not be able to do.
the engine timing was by the gearing inside the front plate there are so many small but important things to be done on the engine and to be sure that it was right could only be done by a trained mechanic .
I knew i had got about as far as I would be able to go within the build system in my head and I would be a material handler no problem but I still kept going to the open door it was like a magnet to me I would watch the lorries delivering, however production began to slow down.
The economic climate within the country was not that good and it seemed as if the work was slowing down, I would notice that not so many engines where being pushed for completion some shifts and have absolutely nothing to do, maybe I had done such a good job and done myself out of work.?
I could walk around all shift with a empty box and no one would ask me what are you doing.
It got as on nights there was nothing at all to do ,only find a place within the stores and doss down for a few hours, something was going on and no one was saying yet ,but it arrived one shift we were there , a notice was on the board stating that, low demand for engines was hitting the world demand for engines being a American firm they meant worldwide, they would have to cut back with staff from all departments ,and it listed how many from where and it was last in first out, so as I was technically from the stores it looked as I was f–ked, and as it turned out I was
However the good news was that they were going to pay a minimum redundancy package going in 3 year stages [1month employment or 3 years you would get the same] and up it went. I did not need to apply I was out but the cash deal was good however you would not get unemployment benefit for [I think it was 6 weeks] so off I went .and now to think about my future again.
Shift work i did not mind it at all as you got a premium payment so that made up for the inconvenience so I would look around for factory work within my area for a time. that was like trying to find rocking horse ■■■■. it was going to be back to the lorry, or dole.
____ PDB, you should really try and get your writing into print; even if it is just one book for your coffee table. Have a look at “Blook”, they make a paper/print version of any stuff you have on a blog type website. Not cheap for just one copy, but nice to have something tangible to show for all your hard work.
____ This next trip was in the colours of Payne Transportation, part of the Mullen Group. All the long-haul drivers were leased to the company as owner-operators but the boss negotiated to put nine of his trucks on with Payne with the drivers still being paid by Flying Eagle. This saved a lot of hard work searching for loads and as Payne had a lot of direct well-paying contracts there wasn’t much difference in revenue.
________Day One: Good Friday and the start of a 3650 kilometre trip to Florida. Four days to do it; so plenty of time, but with such a long trip it will require careful watching of the driving hours. First stint behind the wheel takes me to Albert Lea on the southern edge of Minnesota. The load is good quality ready-made kitchen units, a lot lighter load than a trailer of flat-pack crap and all for just one customer too.
____Day Two: To Mount Vernon in Illinois and the first chance to use the new stuck-on-the-windscreen gadget: PrePass. A tracking device that allows the truck to by-pass scales; electronic data is fed to an overhead monitor just before the scale and a green flashing light tells me it is okay to carry on. A red light means that I have stop and weigh, as per usual.
____Day Three: Easter Sunday and the truckstops have their usual number of trucks parked for the weekend. Some companies try get drivers home for the Holidays but there are plenty who make very little effort. There are family men on the phone to wives and young kiddies, explaining how they will have the chocolate eggs and bunnies again when they get home. But there plenty who don’t make those calls. Drivers with marriages on the rocks and children off the rails. To them, Easter alone in the truck is a welcome release to the pressures they would endure at home. A million and one things to do around the house; then the inevitable rows about the job, money and the kids. The sleeper attached to the truck is their man-cave until despatch comes up with the next assignment. For these drivers, weekends in truckstops are a way of life. They earn nothing, they spend nothing, they do nothing and they say nothing. Time is spent lounging in the sleeper, snacking on supplies bought at Wal-mart and peeing in a bottle. A trip to the truckstop for a shower is their only outing, even then they avoid eye-contact. These are not the heroes who keep the supermarket shelves full; not heroes battling adverse weather on dangerous roads; these are the huge grey area of drivers, hating their life and all but invisible. Down to Macon, Georgia, a quiet Rest Area and warm night.
____Day Four: Georgia into Florida and soon onto Florida’s Turnpike; the toll road that cuts across from Ocala south-east towards Miami. The PrePass on the screen also doubles as an EasyPass, automatic toll paying device. It triples as a green light for the Agricultural Inspection Stations that are on all roads entering Florida, these are on the look-out for pests that could ruin the citrus crop and other produce. West Palm Beach for night at the customers doorstep on a new wide-open industrial estate.
____Day Five: Unloading is all hand-ball so it takes awhile but as they have the whole trailer, I don’t need to standby and check they don’t take anybody else’s stuff. Then reload instructions come; make your way to Grovetown, Georgia, a regular pick-up where Paynes have the Canada-wide contract for delivery of medium size John Deere tractors. A fuel stop at Saint Augustine before making my way to Waycross with just a few minutes to spare on a fourteen hour day.
____Day Six: Still three hours to Grovetown but at least this lets me avoid the early morning loading rush. Loaded in less than an hour, five tractors weighing only 18,000lbs, so its an easy run back around Atlanta, over Monteagle and onto Murfreesboro in Tennessee. Most farm equipment is seen on low-loaders and stepdecks but JD like to keep their stuff clean so anything that fits in a dry-freight box trailer, ships in a dry-freight box trailer. A quick load with an air-nailer hammering in the chocks and just one strap across the back wheels.
____Day Seven: Now the driving hours in the logbook are mounting-up. Eight and three-quarters hours per day is the magic number where a driver can drive everyday and not break the rules. I’m not far off that figure, so a short day back to TA [Truckstops of America] at Mount Vernon will then give me enough to get home on days eight and nine. A rainy night in Illinois after all those dry nights in Georgia.
____Day Eight and Day Nine: Payne Transportation have a slightly different procedure when it comes to customs clearance. They use “TransFlo”, a system that scans and e-mails paperwork at truckstops. This is a great advance on faxing which is always hit-or-miss and has got my instant approval. The load clears customs on Friday and I’m back in Canada early on Saturday afternoon. Back to the yard; two drops at John Deere dealers in Winnipeg on Monday morning, one agricultural, one horticultural
____Overall Distance: 7430 km.
Chris Arbon:
____ PDB, you should really try and get your writing into print; even if it is just one book for your coffee table. Have a look at “Blook”, they make a paper/print version of any stuff you have on a blog type website. Not cheap for just one copy, but nice to have something tangible to show for all your hard work.
I used Lulu.com for my book. Cost me nothing to upload it and they make their money by printing to order and selling the books themselves. I think my large hardcovers cost £15 each to buy. I was told by someone recently that it is ‘out of print’ but still available on a download for about €9 I think.
They did try from time to time to get me to promote it but I wasn’t interested, I ordered the copies I wanted for myself and family and was happy with that.
Another interesting tale Chris. I note that you weren’t required to get involved in the handballing and that backload of tractors seems like a dream load to me.
Lulu are good, I’ve heard, also Kindle will print books on demand where you can sell them on Amazon. Now has to be the easiest time ever for budding writers. I had some books done by PixxiBook, just a couple of copies of each, very impressive quality with great photos. Any body with a lot of posts on TruckNet could easily get a book together (thinking of PDB and Bewick )
Really enjoy reading your long distance journeys Chris keep it up. Reminds me of Truck magazine with Phil Llewellyn and his long distance diaries.
Yes Chris another good trip .i follow your trips on GOOGLE EARTH thanks for the precise routes it make me think [WHY DID I NOT DO IT ] that would have been impossible for me years ago a wife and 3 boys…
when i was on EUROPEAN i just wanted to go further and further but you had to be on the right company in fact very BRITISH COMPANIES DID OUT SIDE OF EURO. the real long distance was done by owner drivers or select companies with other interests ie exhibition work…that is why i went to DENMARK but never worked out for me so i was happy with what i did, or not do…
As for writing a book[ i called it a journal] i tried once and the expense is frighting ,impossible for me ,also cannot afford to get in to any [tax]situations so i will just plod on here when i reply to a post but i have noticed i tend to drift of the subject that is being kicked around and end up talking about me [again] i never kept any diaries at all
however i can still remember some trips that made a lasting impression on me some not in good ways.
one that i could have committed murder ,i had a full load of beef for the meat market in HAMBURG just off the REAPERBHANN you know the red light district once leaving the ABBITIOR GUILFORD it was more or less one hit .i had left home in the company run about car,after 2 days off[we all used the car it would be left at GUILFORD and get picked up by the next driver leaving his truck and trailer there to be loaded,and he would go home.
It took about 3 hrs to get to the truck from home and hopefully the ,trailer loaded full of beefand would be down to temperature and sealed up total gross weight 38,000tons + they always wanted a full load of meat in the trailer on about 350 ish hooks hang ing from the roof s 5 bars running from front to back the hooks weighed around 1 ton to start and diesel in the fridge?so you were always over the top weight on 5 axels however i never ever got pulled by the ministry shipping out.
I missed the ZEEBRUGE boat and shipped to Calais we had a blue book so no permits needed for FRANCE or elsewhere once on the other side tachograph card out once out of the dock [so starting a fresh] a full shift left to drive…along the corridor to DUNKIRK into BELGUIM ENROUTE TO HAMBURG via VENLO -OSNABROKE ,HAMBURG i think you are looking at a good 9 hr drive, luckily i knew where the market was a few Irish trucks there, i found the market customer he just said wait so i crashed out it was now around 3am ,4am German time if you have never been knackered you will not know the fell of tiredness is
After about 2 hours sleep they are banging on the door ,wanted me to back into their open type whare house ,i opened the back doors switched the fridge of backed in it was full of men moving around with meat on their shoulders some cutting meat up,if you were not used to the blood and mess it would look beyond real about 4 men all covered in grease blood and mess jumped up in the trailer the boss checked the meat temperature all ok he had the CMR, IMADE THE UNIVERSIAL SIGN of going to the bunk he grunted and that was it…
The next thing i know a banging on the cab, up i jumped as usual [i always made a point of no matter how long i was gong to be in the bunk when tipping i would strip off as if proper going to bed ]i found i went off straight away ,well thought i did dressed quick grabbed a ■■■ walked round the back of the trailer and there was the most demoralising sight you could wish to see…
AT the back of the meat rails in the roof there is a big steel bar at the end to stop the meat hooks coming off with large bolts and nuts so when unloaded all the hooks are hanging on each rail and you just push then all to the front a put clips down to hold them there, theses ■■■■■■■■ had removed the bolts so instead of lifting the sides of beef off they just slid them off on to deck and left the whole pile of meat hooks like a pyramid of metal and grease and i had to put every one back it took me hours one because i was tired i had no gloves they were slippy and the floor was like a blood bath of grease .my CMR WAS LEFT SIGNED at the back of the trailer , that was one of the worst moments of fridge work i ever had did i leave it no like a ■■■■ just carried on . Then you haad to find a hot wash or a jet wash to get the trailer clean and grease free not a easy task eventual a reload was in BELGUIM so to LOCKEREN A HOT WASH.
once i had moved on within the meat fridge work they brought out a fitment that clipped up to EUROPEAN meat markets and abattoirs so all meat was just slid of the trucks to where ever they wanted it no mess no lifting.
The best bit about that episode it was not the GERMANS IT WAS WHAT THEY CALLED GUEST WORKERS they could have been TURKS,OR FROM any east EUROPEAN country when you drove around most towns they were always like block houses FOR MIGRANT WORKERS allowed to earn currency then go home ,all the migrant exodus coming over here is nothing new at all the Germans have been exploiting workers since the WAR.
How do you think the GERMANS are so efficient its the foreign workers what stuffed them was the wall coming down ,when you approached the boarder at Frankfurt odder to east GERMANY there would be Buses full of people going home all behind curtains they had had their time .dbp
I thank you all for the information on printing however posting on here is enough for me .
____ I’ve always been proud of my work ethic, always seeing the job through to the end come what may; putting in the big hours knowing the rewards would be there at the end of the day. Never calling in sick, claiming benefits or going on the dole. However this all ended on my sixty-first birthday with one big bang.
____ It all started with a Monday morning departure, six drops of kitchen cabinets and four of them are in Grande Prairie, Alberta. All delivered by Wednesday followed by a couple at Fort St. John and chance to drive a tiny bit of Alaska Highway. Then run back empty for a trailer swap in Edmonton that was going straight back to the 'Peg. Ee-Zee-Pee-Zee-lemon-squeezy.
____I thought I had better retrieve my load-straps before the swap; so did it when killing time in the Flying’J at Sherwood Park. I was just climbing down out of the trailer when WHOOSH; the trailer door whipped round and smacked me on the elbow as I held up my arm to protect myself. I dropped to my knees, rubbing my elbow before finding that my left arm was hanging limp and there was a huge void behind my shoulder blade. Dislocated shoulder and a lot of pain, the fingers still worked but it felt like the arm was hanging by a thread.
____ I phoned my despatcher at Payne Transportation and explained the situation; he put my through to the Fort Saskatchewan depot and they sent round Kevin in his pick-up truck. Within an hour, I was at the brand new, state of the art, Strathcona Hospital. Only problem; the place wasn’t kitted out with a doctor who knew how to fix dislocated shoulders! After three enthusiastic attempts; they gave it up as a bad job and left me laying in an examination bay for 24 hours. I got given something for pain; but no sleep. I was strapped to an automatic blood pressure testing machine that kicked in every hour with a violent squeeze of my right arm. This was the second time that I had problems with my left shoulder. The first was when I was ten years old and had gone over the handlebars of my push-bike while racing my brother on a scrambles track. He was Dave Bickers, I was Jack Hubbard. My left arm was broken at the top but the doctor who reset it had come from a liquid lunch that Sunday; after six weeks in plaster, I could not lift my arm above my head. The surgery to re-break the arm and secure it with a metal plate left me with a foot long 35 stitch scar. Maybe it was this scar that made the Strathcona doctors reluctant to work on me.
____Eventually an ambulance arrived on Friday night; to take me to the University of Alberta Hospital in down-town Edmonton. I felt bad about throwing-up in the ambulance; but I did tell them that I got car-sick and still they wouldn’t let me sit in the front. Since the injury happened; I had been given nothing to eat or drink as they wanted to anaesthetize me as soon as they got a chance. At this time; I felt about twice as bad as when it first happened. It did cheer me up when half a dozen ambulance crews sang “Happy Birthday” when the check-in nurse announced that I had done it on my birthday.
____Finally I was admitted to hospital for the first time in fifty years, getting I-V drip, the humiliating gown and listening to the snoring of the other guys on the ward. Still no food or sleep; but plenty of morphine. Still nobody to say when my ball and socket joint would be re-united; but plenty of circulating hospital staff to ask the same questions. Again and again. Any allergies? Any heart problems? Any previous dislocations? Drug-user? Diabetic? Alcoholic? But looking at the state of some of my fellow patients; my troubles were minor. I thought I was now in the right place and had a good chance of being last-in and first-out.
____Six o’clock on a Saturday afternoon and I had given up any hope of my number being called. Death looked like the only possible release from the pain. Don’t believe anything you see in the movies concerning dislocated shoulders. Clint Eastwood in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot: you can’t reset bones by tying your arm to a car and slamming the door. Lethal Weapon; the one where Patsy Kensit gets her ■■■■ out: Mel Gibson dislocating his shoulder and resetting it just for fun. The pain is horrendous!
____But just before the theatre staff went down the pub; they managed to fit me in. I don’t know what the hell was on the bits of paper I signed. All I know is that when I came round; they had all gone and so had the pain. The cleaners were in charge; with just a porter to push me back to the ward. I spent most of Sunday trying to escape. Getting yourself dressed and walking out is not an option. Eventually I persuaded them that me, going back to my truck in a taxi, by myself was better for them than having me in their hospital. You’re only supposed to be released if you have some one to look after you; that’ll be a first.
____ On the Monday morning, everything changed at Flying Eagle; the owner had been secretly negotiating to sell the company and that was the day it happened. Ernie Schroder had bought Flying Eagle for his son, Tim, and he came into work to find a truck stranded in Alberta and a driver with a long term injury. It was Thursday morning when Jim the part-time semi-retired driver arrived to drive me back to the yard. He reloaded the trailer first; it was Friday afternoon when I got home; heavily dosed up on morphine and full of apologies to the new owner being so much trouble.
____ The Edmonton hospital had given me instructions and paperwork saying the shoulder would need further surgery and luckily Winnipeg had the Pan-Am Sports Injury Clinic and Mr MacDonald, a world-leading shoulder expert. But it was still six weeks before some micro-surgery super glued the broken pieces of my rotator cuff. Back to square one for next to no left arm mobility. Twice weekly physiotherapy and acupuncture, along with daily visits to the gym and by April, I was back at work. Six months off and thankfully paid by the Workers Compensation Scheme; 90% of your average wage. Just goes to show; your guardian angel steps out of the office for a cigarette and bang.
____ “There but for the grace of God, go I.” has always been my thought when I see the bad luck suffered by others. But now it’s my turn; in a heartbeat your life goes from “Fair to middling” down to “Down-right awful.” I could write a piece moaning about my moaning but I’m going to be positive and give some advice on what to do if you find yourself in my situation.
____Do not Google.
The Internet is great and I love it; information at your fingertips on every subject under the Sun. But when it comes to medical issues; maybe there is too much information. Reading all the stuff about your condition will only leave you feeling worse. You may become an expert and understand such phrases as “Multiple fractures of the rotator cusp due to reduction failures.” But this will lead to mental health problems; especially when realize that you know more about shoulders than some of the doctors who have treated you.
____Phone a Friend.
With hind-sight; my first mistake in this saga was going to the nearest hospital. A small urban facility that would not have been my destination if I had called an ambulance. Now back at home; I didn’t want repeat this by going to the local Steinbach hospital and just hope they could get me back to fitness. I’m sure they would do their best but shoulders are special so why not go to the specialist first? If your local health-care provider messes it up; you’ll end up at a specialist anyway and will have wasted a hell of a lot of time. My good friend and fellow Brit, Bobthedog, suffered serious shoulder damage in an atv/quad-bike accident. Now back to full fitness, a quick call told me that the Pan-Am Clinic in Winnipeg was the best place to go.
____Be a patient Patient.
The Pan-Am started out as a small sports injury clinic attached to the Pan-Am Pool, a facility built in 1967 when the Pan-Am Games were held in Winnipeg. It is now a large well-regarded centre for all types of injuries; with a first-come-first-served hobble-in service. Be prepared for long waits between check-in, exam, x-ray, re-exam; but they do know their stuff and it’s not like a normal hospital where you are waiting around with a whole bunch of sick people and are liable to catch something. Life has to be planned around clinic appointments with only total uncertainty controlling the future.
____Buy a 1990’s beige Buick Century.
A black Mustang is not the right car for you if you are pottering along at 35 mph in an opiate-induced haze with your left arm strapped to your chest. Some do-gooder will phone it in as a DUI. If it’s an old guy in a Buick Century; it’s expected. Get used to acting as if you are in God’s waiting room. Everything takes time; washing, eating, even sleeping. I’ve always gone to sleep; laying on my stomach so sitting-up with a pile of pillows behind me is not what my body expects. The drugs don’t help either; I doubt if I’ve had more than four hours of continuous sleep in the last three weeks.
____Pooh Happens.
Make sure pooh happens. Morphine is a great pain reduction drug but it does have side effects. One is: the Workers Compensation Board don’t like it’s habit forming qualities and won’t authorize prescriptions for it. You have to pay for it. Second: it binds you up. Avoiding one-armed visits to the crapper might seem like a good idea at first; but you will pay for it in the end. The pain in the bum will match the pain in the shoulder. Keep constipation at bay with plenty of fibre and fizzy drinks. Get in a supply of laxative chocolate; even if you don’t use it, you can have some fun with it afterwards. You don’t want end up sitting on the bog for hours; thinking about the wonderful times when you over-did the truck-stop buffet and it went through you faster than a Ferrari.
BLIMY CHRIS that was a bummer and yes no sleep goes with a shoulder injury last Sunday i went to CHCHESTER HOSPITIAL for a ct scan and a cortisone injection in my left shoulder ,after waiting 8 weeks ,a sprain after,carry a heavy shopping bag… 3 days the shoulder was about normal and im left handed
NO WAY near what you must have went through i took paracetamol 8 per day that was it, i did not want to take “co-codamol.” sleep 4 hrs than awake so100% with you must have been horrendous.and yes looking at google showing you how to sleep i did ,then realised the supposed phiso never had anything wrong with them. 2 pillows and a channel for my shoulder was about the easiest until the pain came again…
I understand with the MORPHINE, I had a stomach cancer operation October 2021 luckly not stage 1 i was expecting a colostomy bag but thankfully avoided it im very lucky , the morphine was excellent . completely over it, no chemo so again lucky .
Thanks for bringing a MEDICIAL angle in your post ,just for anyone out there who maybe having irregular bowel movements too many, get checked out, its always someone else .dbp.
On a medical theme; DPB, It is good to know you have got yourself back to full fitness. I have always thought that a long career in road transport comes with certain medical issues. I can’t remember how many times I’ve banged my head, skinned my knuckles or crushed my toes. Injuries that I have usually ignored after having a quick look round to make sure no-one has seen me being so stupid as to self-harm. Other issues have had a lasting affect; years of roping and sheeting without gloves, compounded by tarping and strapping in bitterly cold Canadian Winters has left my hands suffering from arthritis. Constant bumping up and down in harshly sprung lorry cabs for 10 hours a day leaves me peeing rosé. A kidney problem that I didn’t know I had until applying for Permanent Residency in Canada and the subsequent medical examination. The tests for prostrate cancer proved negative but as there was a one in 7 chance of a positive; it was a worrying time. Not least because the tests included sending in the camera crew and some ■■■■ intrusion. Blood in the urine turns out to be quite common for any one who is frequently bounced up and down. Sadly, I was dating a nurse at this time and felt guilty about getting cancer so was a bit stand-offish about what was going on. I didn’t want her to think I only wanted her for the healthcare so said nothing; she misunderstood this and promptly dumped me.
In hindsight, she was the best thing that ever happened to me and often think of what might of been. The nurse also enlightened be about doctors and how contrary to there super-confident god-like attitude, they regularly make mistakes and often have no idea what they are doing. It confirmed my worst fears as my respect for the medical profession has been in a downward spiral for years and after suffering malpractice and seeing it happen to others; my dealings with doctors had become few and far between. It used to be every three years for a truck driver’s medical but now it is every 12 months. I thought I had found a good one with Dr Damsgaard, the old boy seemed more interested that I had paid with cash rather than debit card and filled in the form, no problem. Sadly, just the other week, I found out he had retired and the walk-in clinic had a bright young thing straight out of medical college in his place.
As I was her last patient of the day, the doctor said she wanted to devote extra time to me. I told her I had been sitting about for two hours already and had other things to do. Ignoring me, she put my details into a computer program and came up with a graphic that said I had a 56% chance of dying in the next 10 years. She suggested some lifestyle changes but I’m 69 and an even-money bet that I don’t make 80 didn’t seem too bad. She was taken aback when I scowled at her and said, “Just fill in the Form.” I didn’t bother to mention the interrupted sleep and the constant need to relieve myself. I thought I’d go down the self-medicating, homeopathic, search-engine diagnostic route for that one. Enlarged prostrate seems to be a common problem among older men and “Saw Palmetto” is the magic potion. I sent away for some one-a-day patches similar to the stop-smoking stick-ons and after a week there was a noticeable difference in frequency and flow. Now after three weeks, I have slept through the night on two occasions with the other nights having just one dash and splash. So if you have persevered until the end of this boring post; remember just one thing: “Saw Palmetto.”
Hi Chris boring NO WAY intresting to read and you have spoken about it that is why i did also i see BUZZER has been very frank and honest about the problems he had , some may think why are these ex drivers telling us these things that at the moment will not concern i was the same i would have said"silly old ■■■–rs"a few years back but believe something will get you me in the type of work you all and prostrate will be high on the list i used to be able to hold my bladder for a unbelievable amount of time thankfully i am ok at the moment
to be honest my trouble stated with bowel movements ,3 years ago and ignored it it i thought it was the extra beer i was drinking then it got to 3/4 times a day in the loo ,then crept up to sometimes 6 then i new i had to get seen and belive me once i had the first colonoscopy camera up your rear [total painless they give you anesthetic ,it was not long and i was in .4.45 hrs op remove part of intestine i am very lucky .
THE morale is do not ignore anything ,have a day of to see the doctor [if you can will save your life] and eat properly. this is not what i was going to write about it was going to be my trip ashore .
Last November I went for the Geriatric Flu Jab, but the pretty youngish nurse couldn’t find me in the computer so she said 'What’s your date of birth ■■" So I told her when in 1947, to which she said "ZB me, what’s your secret ■■"
I replied: "All the things you lot tell me not to do"
However, that doesn’t stop the aches & pains that come from handballing up to 60 tons a day in my early years 
