Update

So not a lot to report really! The poultry market is usually slow early on in the year, but it will start to pick up as the barbeque season gets underway. The volvo has been running really well so far with no problems whatsoever. The big Cummins is starting to pull really well. It tripped over 100,000 km last week, so its on target for approx 180,000 per year, and Sunrise plans on keeping it for 7 years! This weeks a 3 day week for me, but I've got the same amount of loads in 3 days as all the other trucks have in 4 days, so I'm pretty happy about that.

2500 hp Kenworth at last years Lethbridge 

tractor pull event.
      

Inter Provincal Live Haul

For the first time since august 2011, I get to go out of province by road. I'm running to a farm north east of Saskatoon on sunday night, having my time off, loading turkeys on monday evening, then running back to Taber with them. It was about two weeks ago that I was asked if I would do it, and I've been looking forward to it ever since, until I saw the weather forecast tonight! A major winter storm is heading east from BC and going right over Saskatoon, wonderful. Still, I've got plenty of time, two days to do a 1500km run so shouldn't have to rush.

Driver wanted

Sunrise contract hauler, El Trison Trucking, has asked me if I know of any Lethbridge based class 1 drivers that would be interested in working for them. You must be a permant resident or a citizen (sorry no twp's). You would be working nights/ early mornings collecting chickens and turkeys from farms around Alberta. We don't go out of Province, our furthest chicken farms are Tofield (Camrose area) to the north, Bow Island to the east and Pincher Creek to the west. The working week starts on a sunday night and finishes thursday night, only 5 shifts everyweek! So finish friday morning and back to work sunday night everyweek. Your not expected to sleep in your truck (unless you really want to!) If anyone is interested or requires more info email me and i will answer any questions and pass on phone numbers etc.

The story so far

Last time I posted, I had been helping out at the hatchery picking eggs up, after that I spent three weeks delivering chicks. During this period I was going on ride alongs with live haul drivers so the transition from chick truck driver to live haul driver would be almost seamless. Sunrise had planned to finish a driver, then move me across to live haul driving the old Kenworth. However a higher authority had a different plan. At the end of August, their 2010 volvo was rolled onto its roof, the driver escaped with minor cuts and bruises, but the truck, trailer and load of chickens wasn't as lucky. The truck was a total loss, the trailer was rebuilt into a turkey liner and most of the modules which were on the trailer were bent beyond repair. The driver had his nephew in the truck, who also had a lucky escape with only a minor cut. Carrying passengers is totally against company policy, so the driver was fired. So all this meant I got my position on live haul two weeks earlier than I expected. After many phone calls Sunrise managed to acquire a rental truck for me from Ryder in Calgary. It was a vermillion red freightliner columbia!!!  During September we had a trip back to the UK, it was good seeing family and friends again, but it made us realise we had done the right thing moving out to Alberta. Before we left for the UK, I was told that Sunrise had bought a brand new volvo to replace the wrecked one, and that i would be getting it. During the last week of September, the new truck was delivered. And what a truck it is. Its a 2012 volvo twin bunk sleeper, it has the office pack, so i have the bottom bunk set up as a table and two chairs, built in fridge freezer, cb factory fitted, big big bunk heater, 3000 watt inverter, shore power, leather seats, walnut effect plastic dash! (it can't all be perfect) and all the other boring stuff behind the switches (no qualcom is good too). The truck is limited to 117 kph and the boss doesn't mind us doing it when the need arises. It has a 15 liter cummings 500 bhp and a fuller 18 spd, so its a pretty sweet set up, at 40,000 km its starting show real potential for being a good puller. The other odd thing is how unusual it is to work for someone again who buys their trucks and cares for them. It's been serviced four times in 40,000 kms, they spent nearly $2000 having half fenders fitted to protect the paint work! They pay for diesel additive and insist we use it, and any problems with the truck it goes straight in. As for the job, what can i say, picking up live birds is definately not for everyone, I did it for a long time in the UK and love it, and i plan to do it for a long time here too.

Update on the new job

So this is what I've been doing for the last three weeks, going to farms and picking up eggs, and I must say what an easy job its been. Hourly pay and overtime, no qualcom messages to send, all in all very laid back. Next week I start training for carrying chicks, which will be interesting. Back home I've carried chicken thats been two weeks old right upto eighteen months, but as I've never been involved in this side of the business, I havn't done day olds (well about two or three hours actually!). I'll be doing the chicks until september, then I'm hoping to get back onto the big stuff again. Will keep you posted as things progress.

Pics from our last trip with H&R

Wood Bison, Liard River BC

End of the line

Its official, we are no longer working for H&R. The moose strike Barbara had, had completely shattered her confidence, so much so that she couldn't even sleep while i was driving at night. So we made the decision to come off the Whitehorse run and give someone else the chance to learn the road before winter. When Barbara started truck driving, i knew it wouldn't be for ever, so i decided that when the day came, i would quit too. I didn't think it would be quite so soon, but anyway no problem. So what next? Well i got a job the next day driving a city truck, pulling a 40' trailer. I get paid hourly, i get overtime, a meal allowance, 4 day working  week ( we dont work wednesday, saturday and sunday)and best of all i get to go home every night. Barbara hasn't decided want she wants do yet, but it seems likely that she'll try for a job with the same company, but working inside the factory. As for H&R, i mostly enjoyed my time there, saw some great places, made some good friends and we got our residency. If i had to go back in the future, i dont think i would hesitate. So our next goal will be citizenship, which if my maths is correct, we should have in about two and a half years.

Muncho Lake BC

Muncho Lake, Northern Rockies BC

Alaska Highway Wildlife

Sh!t happens!

This was how our last load ended, not good. Barbara was driving, it was 0230, we were about 150 km north of Edmonton, at the very last minute she saw two moose in front of us, one in each lane. She hit the brakes hard and the moose just stood and stared, so when we hit we were doing around 80 kph, and you can see the rest from the pics. Barbara suffered a back injury and has been signed off work, i'm back to being a single driver who can't go south, as our PR cards are stuck in the postal strike. 2503 is in Freightliner Edmonton for a minimum of two weeks. Perhaps now H&R will put some proper auxiliary lighting on the front of these trucks that are running north, that would probably have given her another second or two of braking. The damage may have limited to just a bent moose bar, instead of an intercooler, rad, aircon condenser, grille and moose bar.