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Back in Alberta

I'm back in the flying j in Calgary, and after 16 days out of Alberta, it feels good to be back. Got to deliver this load in Calgary at 0800, so i get to lie in again! I'm hoping after this that i'll get a run over the mountains into BC. Once i've finished on here i'll take a run round to the yard and get a shower and do some washing. Nothing exciting to report on the run across, pretty boring really.

Back in Saskatoon

Made it into Saskatoon for 21.00, dropped the trailer and ran solo round to the flying j. Been in and had a shower and now i feel all squeeky again. Nothing much to report on the trip across, apart from a bit of heavy snow near Kirkland Lake, and -13 c just outside Saskatoon. Only wildlife i saw was a fox, so no panic. Got a pre-plan while i was still 2 days out, to pick up a loaded trailer from the place i just dropped at, to deliver Calgary on monday. Its only 7 hours across there, so i'll have a bit of a lie in tomorrow( it is sunday) then go back round and pick up the trailer. I've had to book a couple of days of in Lethbridge, just to get back to pick Barbara up (the laundry is building up now).

Very funny tv ad

Next trip

Just had a pre-plan through. Got to pick a trailer up in Kitchener tomorow morning to go to Saskatoon again. So that will keep me occupied for the next 3 days. Hopefully this time i'll get something going west from Saskatoon, which might give me a chance to pick Barbara up. The friends she's stopping with are beginning to plan for her still being there for xmas!

Canadian weights

As i've got a bit of time to kill, and someone commented that i was running over weight, i thought i might try to explain canadian weights.                                                                                                                       Gross vehicle weight for a tractor and tailer on 5 axles is 39,500 kgs (all provinces except atlantic and quebec is 41,500 kgs. ontario is 44,100 kgs. yukon 43,700 kgs)
Gvw for tractor and trailer on 6 axles is 46,500 kgs (all provinces except atlantic and quebec is 49,500 kgs ontario is 53,700 kgs. yukon 48,600 kgs)
Gvw for the B-trains on 8 axles (most popular) is 63,500 kgs ( yukon, british columbia, alberta and ontario)
all other provences 62,500 kgs.
The gross weights are determined by the individual weights on each axle group.
Steers 5500 kgs
tandem drives 17,000 kgs
tandem trailers 17,000 kgs
tridem trailers 23,000 kgs ( 12 ft spread axle 24,000 kgs)
eg. if your running 5 axles 5500 kgs + 17,000 kgs + 17,000 kgs = 39500 kgs
So for B-trains ( super B's) which run 3 axle power coupled to a 3 axle trailer and a tandem axle trailer
you have 5500 kgs + 17,000 kgs + 23,000 kgs + 17,000 kgs = 62,500 kgs.
There are lots of weird and wonderful axle configurations, you see lots of 7 and 8 axle trailers in ontario, with odd axle spreads. These are generaly used in certain applications eg steel, stone, logging and anything too heavy to fill trailer to capacity, they are not used very much by companies who operate interprovincal.
H & R are permitted to run at 46,500 kgs when using the 12 ft spread tridem axle trailers, so all the weight variations above this are not relavent to us.Where the GVW 's vary from provence to provence, can be seen by the different axle weights allowed. Ontario allows 9000 kgs on steers 18,000 kgs on tandems. Also you have to be legal for every provence you travel through. So you could load in Toronto for Calgary, and gross at 42,000 kgs on 5 axles You are legal to travel in Ontario ( assuming you're axle weights are legal) but you cant get to Calgary because you're over gross in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. If your're gross is ok for travel to final destination, but if you are over on an axle group then you need to start axles. If your'e drives are over, then you move your trailer axles forward(shorten the wheelbase) which will reduce weight on the drives and increase weight on the trailer tandems, and vice versa if your trailer tandems are over. You also need to allow for fuel, unless your tanks are full. If your steers are over, then you need to slide your 5th wheel back, but you will find that once you get your weight correct on the steers, they dont really alter much.Whilst moving your trailer axles about you also have to remember to keep your wheelbase legal. Wheelbase is measured from the trailer kingpin to the center of the trailer axle group. The maximum is 41 ft and the minimum is 37 ft, also you have to watch the REO ( rear effective overhang) which is 35% of the wheelbase, also measured from the center of the axle group. So if you have a tridem on, and the axle group is set to 41ft then your max overhang is 14.35 ft from the center of the axle group, to the very rearmost point on your trailer. This all probably sounds a bit confusing to those of you that haven't yet had the Canadian experiance, but once you've done a few loads, it will be second nature. From experiance, i have found if your picking up an m/t trailer, and loading a heavy load, and the axles look like they haven't been slid for a while, slide them backwards and forwards a few times. If you don't and need to move them when your loaded you'll find it almost impossible. Hope this helps anyone coming out, it helped me pass an afternoon.

Rockies mentor trip

This was my mountain mentor trip. A very enjoyable 4 days.

My mentor trip

Just learnt how to do this, so i thought i'd put my mentor trip on. 16000 kms!

3118 looking a little dirty. hwy 11 Hearst

Tuesday 24th nov

Well got the load delivered on time yesterday, ran back to Brampton and dropped the trailer in the yard. I ran round to the flying j and started a reset. Today i got the truck cleaned inside, had a shower and watched a bit of tv. I think i might treat myself to a burger for tea from bk. Haven't had a preplan yet, so i dont what'll be doing from here, just have to see what tomorrow brings.

Last two days

Got to the flying j in Kapukasing at 2pm, so i'll be rolling out of here at quater past midnight, oh joy. Last couple of days have been fairly unaventful, appart from a close call with a female moose. As i approached it, it was stood on the other side of the road facing away from me. But when it got spooked, the stupid thing turned round and ran across the front of me, it was even looking over it's shoulder at me! Whilst i was in the flying j at Saskatoon, i noticed they had some energy drinks on offer (2* 475ml cans $4) so i thought i'd give them a go. About an hour after the moose incident, the adrenalin wore off, so i thought i'd try one. And i have to say it worked very well, about every 30 mins i had to stop the truck and take a leak. This happened 4 times. It was getting light by then so i didn't bother with the second can, i'll save it for the next emergency.

Friday 20th

Well i'm back at the flying j in Saskatoon, loaded and ready to roll. I'll leave here really early in the morning so that i can do 2 full days and that should leave me loads of time to run in on monday. I've just had 2 big slices of pizza for tea, and it was awesome!! Anyway feeling a bit tired now so i'm going to get my paper work upto date and then go to bed.

Woke up this morning and just laid in bed for ages. When i finally got out of my pit and looked at the time it was only 9am, damn. Oh well not to worry, so i gets up, pulls the curtains, realised everyone around me had gone and left me sat in the middle of the truck park, like a billy no mates. So i thought i'll move it to a proper stall, second mistake. As soon as i moved a pre-plan came through to load Saskatoon today to be in Waterloo Ontario for monday. So that'll be 10,000 kms in 11 days. Anyway got to go to Yanke's yard on the other side of Saskatoon, then back.

Saskatoon

Well made it to shining Saskatoon as the sign says when your entering the city limits, not sure why they call it that. But anyway i'm goosed and i'm going to bed. nite nite.

Rush hour!

Busy as usual on highway 11 in Ontario

Update

During our last reset, we got a pre-plan for a load from Lethbridge, typical. Anyway, night despatch couldn't find an m/t trailer for us to run down with, so we sacked it and went back to bed. In the morning we got an m/t,and ran down to Lethbridge to pick up our loaded one for London Ontario. Barbara had decided she was going to have a bit of time away from the truck, so i dropped her in Lethbridge. The load was due in London at 09:00 monday morning, so i would be three days of hard graft! There was heavy snow in Dryden Ontario, and a couple of trucks had jacknifed and were blocking the road. I got to the drop on monday with about 10 mins to spare. As soon as i had tipped i got an assignment to load asap in Mississauga, about an hour or so away. What a great result. Usually when you get into Toronto you drop your trailer in the yard and wait for a loaded one to come in, this could take hours and hours. So to tip and load the same trailer in half a day is perfect. After i'd loaded i couldn't be bothered to go anywhere, so i parked up at 2pm in the husky. The load is going to Saskatoon, for friday am, so i've got 3 days. That will take me close to 7000 kms in 7 days, thats similar to driving from Leeds to London and back approx 11 times in 7 days! Anyway i'm parked in Kapukasing Ontario which is in the middle of nowhere, and coronation street's on the telly, so i'm going to be sad and watch it. ta tah

Here to stay

We had some great news on the 18th oct, it seems H & R are very pleased with  my work and would like to sponser my application for permanent residency! So hopefully in about 18 months or so we will have our pr.We had an appointment with the immigration company who will be helping us, on the 11th nov, and all the forms have been filled in, the money has been paid so it's offical. The offer was made by H & R just 3 days after i completed 6 months service. So Barbara's going to stay in Lethbridge for the next trip, and have a look at houses. We've been pre-approved for mortgage of $350,000 which will definately buy something decent in Lethbridge.

Moving house

We caught this house up on highway 16, which is two way

traffic, and he was travelling at 45mph!

Update

We got tipped in Brampton and got a reload same day, but as it was my birthday i just couldn't be bothered to do anything, so we watched a bit of tv and had an early night. The load we had was for Saskatoon, which is 3000 kms from Brampton, and 3 days to do it. The first day we got to Hearst, next day West Hawk, then 3rd day run into Saskatoon. We got up this morning and recieved a pre-plan for Calgary to tip wednesday morning, so that'll take us up to our 2 weeks so we'll just reset when we're tipped. Perfect.

Next trip

We got to the drop the evening before we we're due, went in and dropped the trailer. The next morning we went in and picked up the same trailer (m/t). Within 10 mins we had a preplan to load in Kansas City the next morning. So we ran down there and went in to see them. They told me to stick it on a bay, drop and go to bed in there yard while they loaded it. Result. At 5.00 am we got a knock to say it was ready. The load is going to Ontario for friday, so a steady 1600 kms to in 2 days. Also we get to see St louis and Indianapolis. So all in all another good trip, plus we get to run across Canada, more good mileage.

Wall drug

You see bill boards for this place for about 30 miles along the I90 and we've often fancied stopping, but never really had time, this trip we had the time spare so we did. It's basically a huge gift shop, with lots of stuffed animals. We spent a good hour or so wandering around looking at everything. I think we'll call in again during the summer season, when there are more people about, as there was only 5 of us in the whole place.

Rockies

We had a really good steady trip both ways this time. The weather is starting to get worse now. The second photo is the Coquahala summit, a little further on the snow had compacted and was really slick. We were ok as our gross weight was 100,000 lbs (45.5 ton) but all the light trucks that flew past us on the big climb, slowed us down, until things improved. When we got tipped in Calgary we took a reset, then ran to Brooks AB for a load to Souix City NE. We've got 3 days to get there instead of 2 like normal, so we're taking it steady.