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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK BY JOHN WHITE

One of the things that I missed most during the Pandemic was trade shows. That is why I was so excited to see the return of the APNA show at the Tradex in Abbotsford. And what a return it was. Before the Pandemic, the crowds at the shows seemed to be getting smaller, but this year’s APNA show was definitely a return to the numbers not seen in years. Sunday is usually the big crowd day, and I did not think it could get any better after seeing the Saturday crowds, but I was wrong. Sunday was even busier, and the people in the trade booths loved it. I, for one, have always been interested in going from booth to booth to see the new trucks and products coming on the market. Of course, running into old friends like Steve Zary from Cool It, Sepehr Saebnia from Cool Heat, the always present Ron Basi and numerous others were just icing on the cake. Writers Frank Milne and Glenn Mallard were also present. It was also great to finally put a face to the voice of some of people I have only met over the telephone. I often think how good it could have been if Truxpo and APNA had joined together years ago, as I suggested when sitting on the planning committee for Truxpo. At that time, it was easy to see the direction the industry was going and that being all-inclusive was the future. Unfortunately, change never comes easy, and it now seems that the ship has long since sailed. It is now hard to say if Truxpo will ever return to B.C. The good news is I saw a large cross-section of drivers at the show, so I expect the success of this show will encourage even more industry participation in the future. On another note, the industry is in great need of a facelift in the public’s view. Dashcam videos of idiotic drivers are now a regular occurrence on social media. Our race to the bottom is disappointing, to say the least, and unfortunately, like in any profession (and no profession is exempt), a few idiots make everyone look bad. Company drivers are easy to spot, but the few owner-operators that pull these stunts are sometimes harder to recognize. We can only hope that the shippers and receivers see these antics themselves and, not wanting their company to be associated with that behaviour, limit those drivers’ ability to operate. Changing the subject again, I saw a recent video that said, for the sake of road safety, drivers should be paid by the hour for all hours worked instead of by the kilometre, a percentage, or by the load. This would make it so drivers are not encouraged to speed to make a decent wage. Many European countries have enshrined this into law. “Regulation No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council from 15th of March 2006 states, that “a transport undertaking shall not give drivers it employs or who are put at its disposal any payment, even in the form of a bonus or wage supplement, related to distances travelled and/or the amount of goods carried if that payment is of such a kind as to endanger road safety and/or encourages infringement of this Regulation.” Since our federal and provincial governments refuse to consider a basic MELT program that ensures proper training that includes all aspects of truck driving, or a red seal certification, this would be a move in the right direction. But in the end, it would still only be a Band-Aid solution for a festering problem.

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RIG OF THE MONTH by John White

I was introduced to Cody Trasewich by good friend Mike (Motor) Rosenau. Motor said that Cody is a good example of a young driver who was raised in a trucking family and has a great work ethic and attitude. After talking to Cody, I can only say the industry needs more young men like him. My name is Cody Tarasewich. I was born in Kelowna, BC, in 1992 and grew up just north of it in Oyama. I have loved trucks for as long as I can recall. Growing up with my family in the industry is probably the cause. My father owns a trucking company consisting of logging and gravel trucks, and since I was a kid, I knew I always wanted to drive. I would sit in the passenger seat with Dad just about every chance I could. So many of my childhood memories are in the passenger seat of a western star. The first truck I drove was a 1986 Kenworth W900 five-axle long logger. I was riding with Dad in the bush like usual when he stopped and said, “You want to drive?” It was a forest service road just off Beaver Lake main, and he was the only one hauling on it. I was only 8 or 9, and I don’t even remember how we got the truck in gear and moving. But I still remember the excitement; even Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

though we were just idling along, I was over the moon. Dad’s advice was to keep that KW logo on the hood pointed to the middle of the road and follow the other tracks to dodge the rocks. We only went a couple of km before he took over again, but the passion for driving was definitely ignited that day. Once I got a bit older, I’d start moving them around in the yard when servicing and greasing and trying to teach myself how to shift in the process. And, of course, jumping in and backing it up to the trailer loader in the mill when I was riding along. In hindsight, with today’s world of safety, the mills would not tolerate that. One of my fonder memories was taking off of high school one day when I had a spare class to go up to the bush with Dad. We were in a 95 Western Star with a jeep and a pole trailer, and he let

Cody, Emmett and Katie

me drive up empty right to the landing. Dad was loading himself, so I sat in the driver’s seat, calling out the weights to him. When he finished, I helped him wrap the load, and then he said. “You might as well keep going!” I was ecstatic. It was my first time driving a loaded truck. It was a slow trip, and I remember constantly asking what gear I should be in to come down the hills. Dad would just say, “Oh, that one will work. Just feel out the truck.” I was a bit hard on the brakes here and there, but when we got to the bottom I was shaking with excitement. It seemed only fitting that I would take a truck to my graduation. It was 2010, and at the time, my favourite truck was a 2005 set forward Western Star tri-drive with a triaxle long logger. I was out partying with my friends the night before, but unlike the rest of them, JULY / AUGUST 2022

www.driverschoice.ca I was up at 6 am polishing wheels. Dad drove it close to the school so I could drive it from there. That solidified my love for trucking. The day I turned 19, I went for my knowledge test at ICBC and then jumped in the lowbed with Dad, this time at the wheel going through town. It was exciting and frightening all at the same time. Even though I got my learners as soon as possible, it took me about ten months to get my full license. I was already in college doing a business course and working for a construction company in my spare time. That year at college, I also met Katie, my future wife, so I didn’t get to the test as soon as I thought I would. I was so busy with work and my education that finding time to jump in with Dad and help him with gravel deliveries was hard. I was with him when I could, though, and it was quite the role reversal to finally be in the driver’s seat instead of the passenger. Once I passed the road test, I worked full-time for the construction company and didn’t drive as much as I thought I would. All that time, my Dad kept bugging me to pursue the education I had received in college and stay out of a truck. But an office job wasn’t for me, and against his wishes, I ended up going to Fort McMurray and working for a camp company.

while trying to miss the cribbing. They also had a specialized Manac trailer, made back east, for placing the shacks. It was amazing what could be done with that trailer. It had hydraulic cylinders on top of the fifth wheel plate and the rear suspension. When lifted fully, it could clear 8-foot pilings. Backing a shack through the piles with it that high in the air was definitely unsettling and kept a guy on his toes. Once that construction phase slowed, I did various things for them, including pulling a Belly Dump and a Landoll and hauling water into the camps. All of which furthered my trucking experience. The Landoll was by far my favourite. It was so versatile for us and allowed me to move construction materials to sea cans and equipment. Eventually, construction came to an end on the project, and after a summer of running a volumetric cement mixer and placing concrete, I was ready for a change. I left for a winter to drive a tanker in Grande Cache. Being from BC, I was confident with my winter and mountain driving skills. I was still surprised when I got there to find myself in the mountains and foothills of the Rockies. That was my first winter of actually having to run chains regularly. The challenge was new and exciting for me, and it was amazing how much better shape a guy got in when he was throwing on 2 or 3 sets of triples

multiple times a day. While I was doing the tanker work, my previous company called me and told me they had a new tri-drive T800, which turned out to be one of my favourite trucks, and would love me to come back. How could I say no! Even though I loved working in the mountains, the hours and company housing left me missing the camp life. It was much easier to work those long days and just come back to camp to have all your meals prepared for you. The truck was purchased to lowbed, but in the meantime, I would be hauling shacks from Penticton, BC, to Fort McMurray. So I jumped at the opportunity. It was my first long-haul job, and it would get me close to home a couple of times a week, which was a welcome change from the three weeks on one week off rotation. The shacks were 14-16 feet wide and my first dimensional loads on the highway. Those first few loads, I don’t think my head stopped moving while watching the mirrors. I was so concerned about hitting something, but every load made it without sustaining any damage. My pilot was even bragging to the other drivers one day. “My Cody doesn’t hit anything,” he said. I had a good little chuckle at that because

It was a lot of hard work and long hours, but the experience was great. I started just running equipment and doing some labour. Then they realized I had my class 1. So at 20, only having my license a few months, I got thrown into a highway truck with a trombone step deck and started moving shacks from the laydown yard to the staging yard and then to the crane. It was a great way to perfect my backing techniques. The shacks were never left lined up very well, and it could be quite difficult to get the right angles when backing underneath them JULY / AUGUST 2022

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earlier that same day, leaving the brake check before Merrit, I caught the corner of a garbage can and gave it a good spin. There was no harm done though. After that build finished, my highway hauling was over. The oil sands had quite the downturn, so I was laid off with most of the construction crew, and my truck was sold soon after. Fortunately, I had already made plans to return home and work for my father that summer. I just had to start six months earlier. So at the start of 2015 I started working at home driving a gravel truck. The first year and a half at home were pretty tame and uneventful until I finally convinced Dad to get back into logging and buy a tri-drive for me to drive. It was a 2000 T800h with a 475 Cat, Jake, and Brake Saver. She was a tired old girl, but she did the job. It only left me stranded once that winter. On a hard pull, about 60 km up a bush road out of Kelowna, the truck spun off a u-joint. Thankfully was still reasonably close to the landing, and a skidder was able to pull me up and out of the way. I came up with a mechanic the next day and fought to get the remenants of that u-joint out and change the short shaft. Driving that truck was a huge turning point in my career. I became a better driver and learned to cope with driving in various conditions. There were some moments from that season that I will never forget. Such as sliding down a couple hills backwards while trying to make it in empty and barefoot. Once I was even following another empty with no chains. He rounded the corner and kept going with no problem. I got to it, spun out instantly, and slid back about 3 or 4 truck lengths until it stopped. Nothing makes a guy pucker like going back down a hill out of control. And that set of chains seems to go on real quick when you’re blocking the road. That same winter in that truck probably gave me the worst highway conditions I’ve ever been in. I’ve driven in snow and storms through the middle Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

of the night with no problems. But my first encounter with freezing rain was something I’ll never forget. It was about 4:45 in the morning coming down highway 3 into Rock Creek. I went to leave the brake check and felt the truck spin a bit while I was starting to move. I thought nothing of it. I figured the brake check was just iced up. As I approached the hill, I thought maybe I better take it a bit cool. As I was downshifting, I looked in my mirror to see my trailer sliding across the center line, attempting to pass me. The hardest thing in those situations is realizing I’ve got to speed up a bit and pull this trailer straight. I managed to get it back in line and slowed myself down enough to stop on the edge of the highway to throw on a set of chains. I recall being able to slide from my front drive axle right to the bumper without lifting a foot. In hindsight, I probably should have put two sets on, but I made it down the hill. Maybe the adrenaline pumping helped me get through it. When I stopped at the bottom, there was another driver there in a 5-axle highway truck who was literally shaking after coming down the hill. I remember him saying to me I hope you had those chains on to come off a bush road. I had a little laugh with him and then carried on my way. Needless to say, that was a one-load kind of day. Since that winter, my skill set has definitely improved, I haven’t slid backwards down any more hills, and the truck has been upgraded. Currently, we just use our logging trucks in the winter, and for the rest of the year, we are busy hauling gravel. As for the gravel hauling, I now do much more than the simple foundation backfills I started with. We keep two trucks contracted out to Westridge quarries, the largest gravel pit in the area, and have worked on most of the large job sites in the Kelowna area. Both trucks are 2019 Western Stars that we purchased new with Cummins x15 565/1850.

We go to various job sites and bounce between using tridem pups and quad wagons. The latter takes some skill and considerable seat time to be good. Once you’ve got it down, you feel pretty proud to be able to do a u-knife and reach out your window and touch the end of your trailer. My “winter ride,” is a 2016 tri-drive Western Star 600/2050 Detroit with a quad hauling three bundles of shorts. There seems to be a fair amount of debate with Western Star owners about which motor is better. Of course, they both have pros and cons, but I’m a bigger fan of the Cummins, especially with the hold back on the engine brake. I love being able to bounce between the two trucks. Having the logger in the winter can really help the mental state of being and boredom that can sometimes come with the repetitive gravel hauls. But at the same time, gravel allows me to have a good family life and not get up at ridiculous times of the night. Katie and I also welcomed our first child, a son named Emmett, this February, so having that home-work balance is something I strongly value. Both the gravel and logging have pros and cons. Some days I would love to be doing the opposite, but overall am happy with my position. As for what the future holds, it’s hard to say. Both industries can be boom or bust, but we are established enough to stay busy. We have one more New Western star on order for gravel and may even consider making it convertible so that I can stay in one truck. My father is also considering retirement, so in the next couple of years, I’ll be transitioning to being the owner of a truck or two. Some days the challenges in this industry can be gruelling and exhausting. But also extremely rewarding with what you can accomplish and with the people you meet along the way. I don’t foresee myself doing anything different and look forward to seeing if my son will take to the industry as I did. JULY / AUGUST 2022

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Letters to the Editor Dear John If any of you had watched Global News Vancouver on TV on Sunday June 12 at 6:00 PM you would have seen dash cam footage of a truck with a red hood and a Dan Chambers Super B chip truck trying to pass him on a double solid line. The road appears to be level with two on coming lanes (passing lanes) and the Chambers truck is in the one lane. It shows the Chambers truck over ¾ of the way past the red truck and both are going the same speed. Then the Chambers truck puts on his right hand signal light indicating he wants to pull over into the travel lane and rather than the red truck slowing down to let him in, the red truck maintains the same speed and pulls over to the edge of the road to give Chambers more room. The courteous thing to do would be to slow down and let him in – but some drivers do not have any manners. Obviously the Chambers truck was going faster than the red truck when he pulled out to pass him (he was ¾ past him) but the dash cam shows them going the same speed. Did Chambers slow down or did the red truck speed up so as not to let him in. (It’s called playing chicken) I personally have never slowed down to the other vehicles speed when I was passing – rather the opposite I would be going faster than when I pulled out to pass. I have driven trucks for a couple of days and I have seen lots out there. I would like to see the dash cam footage and speed of both vehicles for the previous 3km not just what was not shown on TV. I would also like to see the name on the door of the red truck. Dan Chambers name is all over TV, why not the red truck if he is so proud. How did this get on TV in the first place? Either the trucking company or the owner are the two obvious answers. Then 2 days later (Tues. June 14) the same station had another dash cam showing a black truck with a semi passing him on a solid line. This time the passing truck was going faster than the black truck. It would appear to me that the driver of the passing truck has misjudged and therefore is in the wrong. Then they showed the red truck dash cam for the second time. With the red truck I’m in favour of the Chambers driver and I hope he still has his job. But who am I to judge – maybe I am seeing it all wrong. The announcer said the dash cams were on a web site and because of the first incident (red truck) that there was going to be an inquiry launched. Now presumably the Dept. of Transport is going to be involved. Millions of dollars and 3 years later we may have a solution – or not. Maybe they will limit trucks to 90kms (California is 55mph for vehicles 3 axles or more) and Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

cker azine Pro-Tru Choice Mag s Driver’

maybe the only time a truck can pass another vehicle will be when going up a hill with a passing lane. The smart thing that should have been done is that the dash cams should have been presented to the passing vehicles company and have them deal with it and give an answer of what they did to the owners of the dash cams. However it is now in the hands of the general public and that could be devastating for the trucking industry – keep digging, the hole will only get bigger. Maybe next time you turn on the news, sports, weather and the latest trucking hazards as a regular feature. P.S. Before the above happened I had already written an article for the Sept. Oct. issue of this magazine about a related subject. P.P.S. Remember – Two wrongs don’t make a right – but they can make a disaster. Frank Milne

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It’s Time, Gentlemen, Time W

e have all heard that statement just before the bar closes. It means it’s time for you to go.

How about reefers, tankers, furniture haulers, car carriers – all specialized commodities to be transported. The knowledge of what was behind the truck was just as important as driving the truck. Thinking back a long time ago, I remember when I would jump off the deck of a trailer, land on the ground and start walking. Now I sit on the deck, roll over onto my stomach and lower myself gently to the ground. Have I got smarter and looking after my knees and hips better? No, I’m getting older and can’t do it anymore. A long time ago, under dry road conditions, I used to go around an 80km corner at 100km and felt comfortable doing it. Now I take that same corner at 90km and feel comfortable. Have I become a safer driver? No, I’m getting older and can’t do it anymore.

888 9209

LETTERING

As I look back on my driving career, I reflect on what I have done. Driving the truck was only really part of it – it was what was behind the truck that was a big part of it. First, it was the flat deck and what was on it, how to tie it down, tarping it and just plain how to load whatever it was in the first place. Then there was the low bedding. You often had to know how to operate the machine you were to transport as there was not always an operator there. Then it was – do you load it on the side of the low bed or over the tail end – do you back it on or drive it forwards?

Then comes the most important part: how to chain it down.

604

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I can remember checking my slack adjuster and tires in about 5 minutes. Now it takes me over 10 minutes to do the same thing. Am I getting more careful? No, I’m getting older and slower and can’t do it anymore. I used to do a lot of things that take longer to do now that I am

By Frank Milne Retired Driver, Lease operator and company owner

older. So it’s time for me to realize that I’m not as capable as I was in my younger years. The last time I used my class 1 licence was when I drove my 1996 Classic Freightliner and a 53-foot trailer from Vancouver to Yuma, AZ, and returned. That was three years ago, and I no longer have them. That said, I am now 84 years old and still have my class 1 licence (1 – 6 with air endorsement – yes, I have a motorcycle licence too that I haven’t used in 35 years!) I’m going to be 85 this September and have decided not to go for my medical – therefore, I’m giving up my class 1 status. In my mind, it is better to give it up than to have them take it from me. I know that I could pass the medical and keep my class 1 – but as the heading of this article says, “It’s Time, Gentlemen, Time.” So it’s time for me to go. P.S. You haven’t heard the last of me; I will write some more articles for this magazine, and hopefully, you will enjoy them. P.P.S. Why do they call it the “Golden Years” when your hair turns silver?

JULY / AUGUST 2022

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It ain’t the years - it’s the miles. I

’m sure you can all relate! If you bought a state-of-the-art semi and just drove it back and forth a few miles locally on occasion, maybe four to six thousand miles per year, it would still be in pristine condition 20 years later. Over the course of a half dozen years, recording 120,000 miles or more per annum, that same semi would show a bit more wear and have gone through a few more procedures such as an in-frame, bearing roll-in, injector rebuild, and replacing several sets of tires. You know what I’m saying. Our bodies are somewhat similar the more active we are, especially if one is adventurous and likes to give it everything we have, then the more wear and tear after several decades of activity. I will be celebrating four score years and seven this month of July, from a wheelchair, riddled with whole-body severe osteoarthritis and extreme stenosis in my back and lower legs. I recently bought a kayak. I can fall into it quite easily, but it will take a couple of burly chaps to extract me from it upon landing back on firm soil. Also, for my birthday mid-month, I will be falling from the sky at 12,000 feet at the Vancouver Sky Diving Club at the Abbotsford Airport. So my bucket list will be greatly reduced by summer’s end. In the early days, when most semis were cabovers because of the restrictive length regs, one eschewed the ladder to exit the cab and just slid down the grab handle, landing abruptly on the ground. This cavalier activity had a damaging effect on the knees after a few years. It was nothing to leap off a load of lumber while

Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

spreading one’s tarps, and you were considered a wuss if you used the stairs to exit the dock rather than just jumping down onto the pavement, once again compromising the joints. Before pallets and forklifts were invented, you often hand-bombed a full load (42,000 lb.) after driving five, six or maybe even 800 miles. Wear and tear on the body was over the top. Personally, I have suffered several surgeries, but I awaken each morning with a smile on my face having cheated the Grim Reaper once again. I love life and am living it to the fullest possible limit I can reach. There is not a negative bone in my body. What am I saying to you? Today’s semis are state-of-the-art in technical engineering and creature comfort. New technologies in shipping and receiving practices have removed the majority of physical labour necessary to add to one’s daily log. Beating yourself up is a personal choice, not one demanded by the occupation. However, it is still possible to forget the long haul ahead in one’s life journey and overdo things to the point of detriment. Your body IS your temple … treat it as such. It will wear out sooner than one thinks if not paced appropriately. I quit smoking in 1985 in a bar. I quit drinking alcoholic beverages in 2010 and am better for it. I am NOT telling you to follow my example, but if there is a need to cut back, at least give it some thought.

By Ed Murdoch

Ed has held a commercial drivers license for 65 years and has spent the better part of 50 years on the road. You can get Ed’s new book at www.drivingthroughmymemories.ca

flies,” and seriously, it does. I think I can remember most of the almost 5 million miles I have driven both privately and commercially, but now what did I have for supper last night? It is good to exercise your body and your mind every day. Thirty-two laps around a semi and 52’ trailer are approximately one mile, and you never know what you might discover that needs attention as you circle your rig. I know that’s boring. Sometimes I would stop my big wheels on the outskirts of a small village and take a tour of the townsite to familiarize myself with the community. One never knows what interesting discovery one might find. If I had the time, I would stop at a tourist site to walk a pathway and partake of the area. Beware of scorpions, grizzly bears and poisonous snakes … lol. Life itself is an adventure that can be exhilarating and fulfilling if approached with the proper mindset. That’s for each one of us to figure out for ourselves. Remember that negativity has no rewards, while positivity is a very awarding attitude with myriad benefits. So enjoy yours to the fullest! Motor with care, be well and be safe, and god willing and the crick don’t rise, we’ll see you in a few weeks. Stay tuned for the results of my summer activities. 10-4!

“Tempus fugit” is Latin for “time JULY / AUGUST 2022

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Blind Man’s Buff B

lind Man’s Bluff. Essentially a game of tag played by children with a blindfold on. The original name is Blind Man’s Buff. Buff is a synonym for a small “push” or “shove.” Dashcams are a brilliant piece of kit. They’re simple to operate, relatively inexpensive now, and easy to install. They provide the driver with protection from insurance fraud and provide clear details of traffic in its view. The information is stored and runs on a loop that can be programmed to delete old recordings to free up new recording space. The videos from these dashcams are making their way onto YouTube and social media hubs. This is where dash cams are becoming a window for the average citizen to get a first-hand view of the larger part of a trucker’s life the highway. The video snippets provide an insider’s view of the daily monotony of driving miles and miles of endless highways. From shipper to receiver. They show four-wheelers doing the dumbest stunts in front of trucks. And they also show other trucks doing incredibly stupid acts as well.

But dashcams record everything. They don’t just record the other operators, they also include the cams o w n e r / d r i v e r ’s behaviour. Something I’ve been witnessing with great alarm is the increasing number of “truckers” behaving with little or no regard for the safety of others or themselves. Each day there is new video footage of steering wheel attendants caught on dash cameras doing the most dangerous of acts on our highways. Crossing the centre line is probably the most dangerous thing that can lead to a collision causing death. And these videos are being seen more now than ever. They don’t just show the foolish or reckless behavior. They paint every single professional driver with the same viewer’s brush. It not only damages the driver’s personal record, but it damages the entire industry’s integrity. In many of these short films, neither driver is behaving in a professional manner. Often creating far more dangerous situations by attempting to “teach the other driver a lesson.”

By Scott Casey

Scott, our Rig of The Month for May 2003 has written “Ghostkeepers” a book about his years as a gun toting truck driver while serving as a Canadian Peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia.

Two wrongs in this industry can put innocent people in body bags. The Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) program has missed the mark. Implemented in 2020 following recommendations out of the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, the program only covers new Class 1 drivers. It doesn’t address the literally thousands of drivers who couldn’t drive a sharp stick up their backsides if they sat on it. My point is as long as we have drivers on our highways who have no training and no moral compass through a proper industry-regulated trade certification, then we will continue to drive a spike through the heart of this industry. And in doing so, the collision and fatality rate will be on the rise. Playing Blind Man’s Buff with commercial vehicles isn’t fun. It’s not a game out there. It’s a dangerous business.

80 year old woman arrested This 80-year-old woman was arrested for shoplifting. When she went before the judge, he asked her, “What did you steal?” She replied, “A can of peaches.” The judge then asked her why she had stolen the can of peaches, and she replied that she was hungry. The judge then asked her how many peaches were in the can. She replied 6. The judge then said, “I will then give you six days in jail.” Before the judge could pronounce the punishment, the woman’s husband spoke up and asked the judge if he could say something. The judge said, “What is it?” The husband said, “She also stole a can of peas.”

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Coincidences I

n July 1988, I worked for Canadian Auto Carriers in Calgary, Alberta as a truck driver carrying cars and trucks from rail yards to the dealerships. It was a good job, with no weekend work or night work. I also helped to coach a rep team of hockey Bantam kids 12 to 14 years. There were three coaches, and the team was practicing to enter a tournament in Calgary. The winning teams would put on a show for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. I had coached upper-level teams after taking coaching courses, and l played junior hockey in my youth. We were allowed 24 players and three coaches on the roster, and all the young kids in town wanted to be on the team. One day I was approached by a peewee coach, who asked if we could help one of his boys. This boy was 12 years old, and his Dad drove a truck, but on a recent trip to the USA, he had a heart attack and died at the border crossing. The boy’s name was Bradley Hunt, and he was having trouble dealing with losing his Dad. So I agreed to take him under my “wing.” I explained that our team

was a rep team, and it would be hard to make a place for him, but if he was willing to work hard, I would help him with extra exercises and teach him how to eat properly, (no pop and candy) and he agreed! We told the team that if we won the tournaments, we (the coaches) would arrange to get sports jackets with the Boston emblem, except it would say Bowness 1988 – an area of Calgary to the west. Each jacket would have the player’s name, and the hats would have the Bowness emblem on them. We all worked hard, Bradley spent extra time and work, and he enjoyed it. We won the tournament, got the jackets and hats and trophies, and we played in front of a crowd for the Olympics. I carried on hauling cars and lost track of Bradley, but I felt certain that he would be successful in life.

In 2017 I sold my trucks and worked part-time for Allan Dyke, a friend I had known for over 35 years. He owned a heavy haul company Drivers 70-80 CENTS PER MILE! in Chilliwack, and one day he said he had an overdimensional Super B & tridem step gravel screener 2 yrs exp & acceptable abstract that had to go Western Canada & USA to Fort St. John. Some dedicated runs It was to be at the Hydro Dam

Hiring Qualified O/Ops & Drivers

By Glen Millard

Glen “The Duck” was born in Saskatchewan. He has driven trucks for 50 years, mostly long hauling. He’s now retired, that is until another adventure comes along.

Site, 15 miles southwest of town, at precisely 4:30 pm on Friday. It was a Government site, so if it came earlier, there were too many safety rules to follow, and the equipment would have to be inspected. Our chains were the proper strength, and we wore safety vests, helmets and boots. If we were there at 4:30 pm, we could use two loaders to lift the screener six inches off the trailer, and I could drive out from under the screener. The loaders could then set the screener on the ground. All in all, we would be done by 5:00 pm. Everything went well, and the boss had the men put the chains away on my truck. Then he stopped and looked at me with a really strange look. He said, “Where did you get that hat?” I told him that it was a very special hat and not everyone has one. He said, “I have one.” I said, “Who are you, because only players and coaches have these?” He grinned and said, “I’m Bradley Hunt.” He said everyone calls me the boss, but I’d rather be called the foreman. So I told him my name and we reminisced for a short time before I had to get out of there. I drove away feeling great. Somehow I always knew that Bradley would be successful.

Call Al 604-882-7623

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I learned a New Trick F

red, Dad and I had an evening off, and Dad wanted to take in the sale at the local Auction Barn to see if there were any good deals on cattle. Now Fred and I knew that a lot of local farm girls would be trucking in there with their Dads, so we figured we might as well tag along and see what was up. At the barn, there were always two things going on – Cattle and other livestock were auctioned inside, and everything from soup to nuts outside. Except for a very few gals that had cattle of their own for sale, the rest would be outside, so that’s where we headed. Things were going along well when we heard a loud crash and turned around to see a Case Backhoe loader in the parking lot had removed the tailgate from a Tandem Gravel truck, and his chain had broken or slipped, and he had dropped the tailgate. Without missing a beat, he merely slipped it aside, swung around and placed the loader bucket inside the box and proceeded to lift the front of the loader up until the front wheels were on the box level. I realized he was attempting to load the machine into the truck so I moved much closer to watch. He slid the wheels in about a foot, then turned the seat and used the backhoe to

lift the rear wheels and push forward. Every once in a while, he would swing around and lower, (actually raise) the bucket to keep the wheels in contact with the truck box, then swing back and lift the back wheels with the hoe. Finally, after three or four wiggles, the Case slipped into the truck box. They then picked up the tailgate, put it beside the Case, chained the machine down, and drove away. Later that evening, Fred disappeared with Beverly, and I managed to get the phone number of a young lady named Collette, but that Case still stuck in my mind. The next day we were up at the pit, and our Case was just sitting there, so in between loads, I took it over to our loading ramp and tried loading it from the bottom to the top. It took me most of the day, but I finally had it figured out and I was sure I could load it into the back of our gravel trucks.

By Dave Madill Dave Madill was Pro-Trucker Magazine’s Rig of the Month in June of 2001 and he has been entertaining us with his poetry ever since. Dave has published three books of poems that are available by special order through Chapters Book Stores.

Two weeks later, we were on a job site with our Cat and the Case and a couple of our trucks. After the job was over, Dad loaded the Cat on the trailer and said that we could come back for it tomorrow unless I wanted to drive the Case the 40 miles home. This was when I called Fred over with our old B61 Dumper and, with a chain, lifted the tailgate off and, without one missed step, loaded the Case in the back, loaded the tailgate and threw a couple of chains on it and told Dad we were ready to go. That was the first time I saw Dad look at me like I was some kind of magician, but he slapped me on the back and said, I don’t know how you figured that out, but that was one hell of a job. Going to auctions can be fun. I learned a new trick, and Collette was all right and then some.

Take a Message A Missouri farmer got in his pickup and drove to a neighbouring farm and knocked at the farmhouse door. A young boy about 12 opened the door. “Is yer paw home?” the farmer asked. No sir, he ain’t,” the boy replied. “He went into town.” Well, said the farmer, is yer maw here?” No, sir, she ain’t here neither. She went into town with paw.” “How about your brother, Howard? Is he here?” “He went with maw and paw.” The farmer stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other and mumbling to himself. “Is there anything I can do fer ya?” the boy asked politely. “I knows where all the tools are, if you want to borry one. Or maybe I could take a message fer paw.” “Well,” said the farmer uncomfortably, “I really wanted to talk to yer paw. It’s about your brother Howard getting my daughter, Pearly Mae, pregnant.” The boy considered for a moment. “You would have to talk to Pa about that”, he finally conceded. “If it helps you any, I know that Pa charges $50 for the bull and $25 for the boar hog, but I really don’t know how much he gets fer Howard.” Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

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Isolation G

oing by the law of averages, it was only a matter of time before I caught the Covid virus. My good lady and I did all we could to stay safe. We had our three injections, we hardly ever went out, and we always wore our masks when we did. Then last Saturday, we brought a snottery two-year-old into our backyard to run wild chasing bubbles and balloons. Although she had the inexhaustible energy all small children have, at the end of the day, it was obvious she had run out of steam and had something working on her. I took her and my eldest son back to their home, then it all started in the next couple of days. The two-year menace who calls me grumps for some strange reason left us a parting gift. Well, I’m blaming her anyway. Like a lot of truckers, I can usually shrug off most illnesses, keep the wheels rolling and the money coming in is my train of thought. But this was one time I was glad to be retired and could follow the rules of isolation. With all the time I spent in bed, I started to think back to drivers I knew in the old days, and how they would have coped with this virus. To start with, it wouldn’t have been called a

virus. It would’ve been a bad case of the flu. But if herd immunity had been a thing back then, that’s the camp we would’ve been in. Truck drivers are used to isolation, it’s part of the job being away for weeks at a time, and if you or the truck fall ill when you’re away from home, old-school truckers would always try to nurse the truck or themselves back to their depot. This was back in the times when trucks carried a spare wheel and drivers stopped to help another driver change a punctured tyre. And a network of breakdown recovery companies was not a phone call away. There was a driver from my depot who ran down to the same nightshift trailer swap point as me. When I pulled in, it was obvious something was going on. He was having chest pains but just wanted somebody to hook his tractor unit to the Scottishbound trailer so he could get home. He said, ”It’s only indigestion. I’ll be fine once I get on the highway and get cruise control engaged.” He was lucky the driver he usually swapped trailers with could

By Colin Black Colin Black lives in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland and has been driving truck for over 40 years. His story shows us once again that the problems drivers face are universal.

see he was in no fit state to go anywhere. The English driver called an ambulance and the nearest depot to bring a spare driver. The chest pains turned out to be a heart attack that kept him in an English hospital for a week before being transferred to a Scottish hospital nearer home. When you think of the worst-case scenario, there could’ve been carnage if he had got on the main M6 with the cruise set at the 56mph limit all UK trucks run at and then collapsed at the wheel. So maybe it is better all us old codgers are making way for the young, fit healthy drivers. Modern trucking is not the job it used to be. Health and safety and insurance companies don’t want old guys with dodgy knees and bent arthritic fingers from roping and tarping loads in the freezing cold. One old driver I worked with was very annoyed he was made to retire due to his right hand only having a thumb that worked properly. He said, “I can still grip the steering wheel with my bent fingers and thumb.”

Truth be told In Africa, every morning a gazelle awakens knowing that it must outrun the fastest lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning, a lion wakes up knowing it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Moral of the story: It makes no difference whether you are a gazelle or a lion: When the sun comes up, you had better be hauling butt.

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NEEDED IMMEDIATELY

LEASE OPERATORS & COMPANY DRIVERS Contact Bill: F: 604-539-1715

604-539-1700 E: bill@keywestexpress.ca

20795 Langley Bypass, Langley, BC V3A 5E8 JULY / AUGUST 2022

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The Brain W

ell, to start off, I mentioned in my last article that some new additions were going to be added to The Brain. There was a slight delay, so stay tuned to hear about them next time! In the meantime, I’m gonna use the words of Usher Raymond IV, “These are my confessions Just when I thought I said all I can say.” I thought I’d take a minute to confess a few things that have happened to me in my years of trucking. I’m sure a few will have some “mmmm hmmm” moments because you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ll probably be leaving all the really juicy stories out. Who am I kidding? I don’t lead that kind of lifestyle!! First and foremost is messing my pants. A wise man once told me that any trucker who said they’ve never messed their pants is a liar. That could be either poop or pee. I remember one night at a Petro in Pennsylvania, I parked for the evening and that all too familiar tummy gurgling feeling came upon me. I sat in my driver’s seat a minute to sort of let that storm settle. Just when I thought it was safe to make a move to head into the truck stop to use the bathroom, I sneezed!! Suddenly the need to use the bathroom turned into the need to use the shower. Another bathroom confession is holding the need to use the bathroom for longer than necessary to avoid getting stuck behind a slow vehicle or an oversized load. The other day, some oversized house movers were pulling onto the interstate behind me. I wanted to stop at the rest area to use the bathroom before I headed into heavy traffic, but I thought if I pulled over for a couple of minutes, I would be stuck behind them up the road. So instead, I held it in, and by the time I got to a safe place where I thought they would probably go in the opposite direction, I was just about bursting! Suddenly the thought process of what I had done kicked in and I had to

Pro-Trucker Driver’s Choice Magazine

wonder if it was worth it. I have taken a few freebies when offered to me by a customer. Most just range from cookies to granola bars, but the best was a free spray tan while I waited to load tanning beds. Try explaining to everyone back at work why you have a golden beach tan when all you did was go to Ohio and back. I have never bought anything out of the trunk of a car, no matter how good the deal is. This applies to C.B.s, X-rated videos, stun guns and tacos. I’m sure more items have been offered up in the past, but this is what I remember off the top of my head. I’ve fibbed once or twice to try to get unloaded early. You know, when you have an 11 pm appointment, and you show up at 11 am pretending you read the itinerary wrong. It hasn’t worked yet, but I’m hopeful that maybe once, it will be in my favour. Every once in a while in the U.S., I’ll chat with a guy while waiting at a customer’s or in the parking lot of a truck stop. I am the one dancing around in the parking lot by my truck, so I can see how this screams, “approachable.” On occasion, they ask for my number, and I say that my phone only works in Canada and I cannot call any U.S. numbers. Very lame excuse, but I’m not quick on my feet, and that’s the first thing that comes to mind. I suppose if I was really interested, I might consider the exchange of numbers, but it’s usually the ones that give off a strange vibe that want to carry the conversation further. Now that I think about it, maybe I’m the one with the strange vibe that’s like a beacon that attracts them!! O n e

By Myrna Chartrand Myrna was born and raised in Oak Point, Manitoba and was our April 2019 Rig of the Month driver.

little tidbit that other drivers find a bit interesting is when I tell them I don’t smoke or drink coffee. It’s often assumed that as a trucker, you must do one or the other. In my defence, I’m a snacker. It’s the whole reason I get out at the end of the day to Sweat to the Oldies or throw air punches and kicks. In my very early days of driving, I had to ask another driver to back in at a dock for me. I’m sure I struggled for what seemed like an hour. Traffic was backing up down the street that I was trying to back in off of, and I was beyond frustrated. I’m embarrassed to say that I just gave up, but at the time, I thought I would cause damage if I kept at it. Even though I still have days when I struggle, I would never let a soul sit in my driver’s seat and do it for me now. There are very few people that I would feel comfortable with driving The Brain. I apologize if these aren’t the juicy stories you thought you would hear about life on the road. I still have lots of trucking years ahead of me, so maybe the really good stuff is yet to come. I’m really not that exciting of a person when it comes down to it. Loud and colourful, sure! Exciting, not so much!

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INDEX Berry & Smith ..................................................................................................... 43 Centurion Trucking Inc. .................................................................................. 04 Challenger Motor Freight ............................................................................ 47 Coastal Pacific Xpress ..................................................................................... 48 Day & Ross ........................................................................................................ 03 DeckX ................................................................................................................... 46 Dhillon & Dhillon Transport .................................................................... 39 Dhesi Enterprises ............................................................................................. 17 Geyser Transport ............................................................................................. 08 Golden Express Trucking Inc. ..................................................................... 13 Grant Transport Inc. ......................................................................................... 32 Hap Transportation ......................................................................................... 21 Key West Express Ltd. ..................................................................................... 41 MDR Transportation ....................................................................................... 23 Moh Trucking .................................................................................................. 25 Motion Logistics ................................................................................................ 29 Natt Enterprises .............................................................................................. 05 North Coast Trucking Ltd. ............................................................................ 37 Piston Transport Ltd. .................................................................................. 31 Rai Express Lines ............................................................................................... 19 Reliance Logistics ........................................................................................... 09 Rocket Transport Inc. .................................................................................... 16 Select Classic Carriers ..................................................................................... 30 Transam Carriers Inc. .................................................................................... 35 TransX ..................................................................................................................... 24 Via Logistics .......................................................................................................... 33

IT’S TIME, GENTLEMEN, TIME

TRUCKING SERVICES B & W Insurance ............................................................................. 02 & 06 Cool Heat Truck Parts .......................................................................... 38 Howes Lubricator ......................................................................... 26 & 27 The Gear Centre .................................................................................. 43 Mobalign .................................................................................................. 15 Norris & Co. .............................................................................................. 18 Ocean Trailer .......................................................................................... 20 Truck West Collision .............................................................................. 29 VOLTAAIR ................................................................................................. 34 Westland Insurance ............................................................................. 15 WITHOUT TRUCKERS, CANADA STOPS .......................................... 45

Glen Millard

Myrna Chartrand

COINCIDENCES

THE BRAIN

Frank Milne

Ed Murdoch

Dave Madill

IT AIN’T THE YEARS IT’S THE MILES.

I LEARNED A NEW TRICK

Scott Casey

Colin Black

BLIND MAN’S BUFF

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ISOLATION

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Pro-Trucker Driver's Choice - July August 2022 ( Find Your Trucking Jobs)

Articles inside

RIG OF THE MONTH CODY TRASEWICH - (PRO-TRUCKER/ DRIVER'S CHOICE MAGAZINE)