Awesome front Cover!
Dave brings to you 38 years of valuable experience in transportation, management, business and compliance. Dave has driven in every condition across North America and overseas as military, police, company driver to owner operator to now Publisher Editor of Canadian Trucking Magazine.
I have to thank Eric and his better half Kherri for a awesome photo shoot. We started off at the GeeTee yard in Springfield and movered to the convention center where the Tri Service Vets were for the Motor Sport Show. A load of work goes into making a working truck like Eric’s look as good as it does in the pictures. A entire night of washing and polishing! I hope my readers hook up to the Expanded Web Edition so you can see more shots of the truck and shoot.
On the CTM web site you click on current copy in the right corner and it gives you an expanded version with more NASCAR and photo shoots. If you have not LIKED us on Face Book please do as we pass along important updates and first sneak peak of each Edition. Below is Steve & Marc (BFG) at the Road King Calgary enjoying the new Road King Chrome Shop! Drop in, tell Steve what you need and he will find it for you at the best price you will find anywhere.
continued from page 3
Back to the shoot for a minute! On page 5 top is the bike from the center fold built by Mark. Mark has done several bikes and each one more exciting then the last.It was on display during the show and a attraction at the Tri Service Military Vets booth that Mark and I proudly belong to. If you are a Vet and looking for like minded people to spend time with, check out the web page. http://www.cdnveterans.com/ Kherri did some awesome shots at the booth and help out there. Below is 2 old farts having coffee at the dog! John and I got together at the Husky Truck Stop in Cowtown for some breakfast and a visit to some of our extended family the serving staff there. Picture of one you might reconize on the crossword puzzle that use to be at the Road King.
Bottom Left corner of Page 5 is an Ad for a Driver Trainer Officer/Instructor in Vancouver. I bet a few of my readers meet and exceed what qualifications they are looking for. Give it a look! Dawn Truell this month really gave us some interesting pictures and stories about our border. It is amazing what people try to get away with. KARE this month has Sara on Page 16. Please look hard at this one and pass this information around to everyone that will listen to you! As transport people and the servers in travel centers that read CTM we have the advantage of seeing a lot of people and vehicles. I can’t tell you the number of time while I was in law enforcement that it was a truck driver that was a Hero that spotted the bad guy who grabbed a child or other wanted situations. Please, let’s bring Sara Home!
Dave continued from Page 4
Saturday May 4th the famous Rubber Duck Race! This is for a very great cause, teen challenge! If this is one you support, well on Page 7 is all the details you need to get a ticket. Below you might have noticed on my last delivery my friend Marc from BFG with me. Tell you how dedicated he is, we were at the flying hook and he saw one of the first BFG’s he sold and went over to check it out bottom to top. Now you know why I stand behind that product so strongly, not only a great deal, only 300lbs, and of course stainless steel but a rep that stands behind his product. Don’t forget to ask for your CTM discount. Did you see the Pet Page with the good looking guy with the Snortn’Boar Transportation hoodie on page26. You too can get one of those from Marc Springer who writes on Page 40. Just use the link to his web site and to his store and order yours.
MATS - Mid American Truck Show, how many of you have been or are going? I have enjoyed that show for years as it is the worlds largest truck show and worth taking in if you can get a load that way. I would love to say see ya there, but with the crowds and over 1,000 vendors I doubt we would bump into each other unless you ask for me at the Uship booth or the BFG booth where I will be in and out of with some CTM gals. Marc Springer, writer in CTM will be there at the Uship booth, meeting and greeting fans. I again want to thank my readers for picking up and reading CTM and those of you that facebook for LIKING the CTM facebook page, linked right from the CTM website. Please make sure when you contact the advertisers in this magazine that you mention CTM as the reason for the call, it keeps the bills paid. Happy trails,,,,,,, Dave
(Jiggs) Edward Franklin G
Well it is 2013 we are all a little older but are we wiser always leave my little stories till the last minute I don’t plan what I write because I write from the heart so this month is going to be a little off topic. One big reason why have succeeded in life was because a person in my life was tuff on me ,some times I thought a little to tuff at times but the love was always there. He would say, study it, look at it, and figure it out. That gave me the ability to get out of difficult situations which we run into every day in the towing business, no two jobs are the same and there is no text book, figure it out, study it, come up with a plan . The next thing is not to be wasteful recycling is not new, I saw this person build complete additions onto houses and barns with used lumber and straighten out his own used nails to put it together . Nothing was wasted. the hardest one for me to over come was fear, he had none and he pushed me to the point where I over came my fears ,but there is a difference between fearlessness and stupidity and this man knew the difference, common sense always prevailed. He would say look at it study it you gosh darn prune . So here I am 41 years later doing the thing I feared the most talking about my grand fathers passing. JIGGS, Edward Frank Grant Borland. the greatest fear of my life has come true my biggest hero the man who taught me to be a man has passed . We all know these things happen but we are never really prepared so I am enclosing some articles with my words today about my greatest hero and true hero he was .
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My words of this wisdom this month, study it come up with a plan then do it .
I think most companies call it a JSA or Risk assessment these days, use your head think before you act, you don’t live to 86 being careless. Read the following this is from articles I have collected over the years We have to remember our war vets Borland, more commonly known as "Jiggs" by his family and friends, was born of Canadian parents in Reading, Pennsylvania and migrated to Canada with his parents at the age of 10. He volunteered for the Canadian army at the age of 17. From here he would attend jump school in Manitoba but did not finish due to an injury. From here he moved onto tanker school in Borden, Ontario. Once he had completed this portion of his training he was assigned to 14th Canadian Hussars. Once in England a number of the armored units were asked to assign a number of its members to a new unit known as the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron, better known as the Canadian 8th Recce. Jiggs’ role within the unit was to be a main gunner, radio operator and secondary driver. In a letter from French President, Jacques Chirac in 2005, it was stated that he has been chosen to receive the “Legion of Honor ”. The honor has been bestowed upon Mr. Borland for his saving of the French town of Dieppe , Seine-Maritime from a planned Allied Command air raid. The 8th Recce was made aware, by the French resistance, that the German army had left the town overnight. The Germans had fought with the 2nd Canadian Division earlier in the war and didn’t fare well and had no interest in doing it again. Upon learning that there were no Germans in the town Jiggs radioed to headquarters with the news. The response was to go and verify this because the bombing mission had been planned for a long time and wasn’t about to be called off without concrete evidence.
Grant Borland 1925 - 2013 by JAMIE The 8th Recce set out to verify the claim. Only six vehicles in the unit had radios. Due to the terrain and limitations of the radios the communication link with headquarters was lost every 8 to 10 miles (13 to 16 km). At this point they would leave a vehicle and a few men to re-establish the link. This tactic is never done as there is always the possibility of attack from an enemy force. The 8th Recce didn’t have a smooth trip as they encountered small enemy ambushes and a retreating anti-aircraft unit. All of which put up a limited fight. Upon reaching a hill overlooking the town of Dieppe, with only 1 armored car and a bren-gun carrier, Jiggs and his crew of eight others were approached by the Mayor and members of the French Resistance. They told them that there was only one German machine gun nest left in the town and pointed it out. As Jiggs lined up on the window with his main gun, a white flag emerged indicating surrender. The French police then arrested the Germans. Jiggs radioed back to headquarters the following message; “Francis is alive and well and will be expecting his friends for dinner”. This meant that the town was indeed free of the enemy and that the rest of the 2nd Canadian Division could move up to this point. At this point the allied bombers were already in the air and less than 30 minutes from the target. The bombers were then re-routed to another target.
When interviewed by local and national news media, he had commented that he does not consider himself a hero. Borland was quoted as saying "There was no heroism in it, we were doing our job".
After the war, Jiggs started homesteading in Oakville, Ontario where he met his wife Alma Giles.
Alma was from Newfoundland and convinced Jiggs to move there. In 1953, the family and all their belongings were moved. They settled on a small plot of land between Bishop’s Falls and Botwood. The farm was developed and went through many changes over the years, from vegetable to hog to poultry and egg farming. Jiggs has now turned the farm into a popular tourist attraction with a petting zoo, horse back riding, and a bed and breakfast among other things.
Jamie Integra Recovery
info@integrarecovery.ca
(780) 719-8077
Editors Note: Thanks Jamie for your dedication and services to the trucking industry through your service, articles and support for good causes! Thank you for sharing this story of a real Canadian Hero! I know who to call for recovery! Dave
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Normally I write about drug smuggling and human trafficking, both of which are unfortunately rampant nowadays, this time I have chosen to enlighten you all on some other types of smuggling going on, beware, this will scare you! In this past year of 2012 you wouldn’t believe some of the more dangerous, scary and downright unusual items that TSA Officers have found. Here’s a glimpse! 637,582,122 travellers that were examined in 2012, which is around 1,746,800 per day, these are some of the things that were found. 1,543 firearms have been discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country. That’s a little over four firearms per day! Of those, 1,215 (78.7%) were loaded. Firearms have been found at a total of 199 airports with Atlanta on the top of the list. Sadly some people (if that’s what you want to call them) use children’s stuffed animals for concealment of firearms.
Somehow people think that a reading book is a good concealment option.
While the number of firearms discovered this year might shock you, here are some explosively dangerous items that passengers attempted to travel with this year:
Interesting items that were caug By: Dawn Truell, President, Cross Border Services Or how about luggage with marine life in it, like eels and venomous snakes!
Look what they found in someone’s luggage getting on a plane!
The constant fight against terrorism, weapons smuggling, explosive devices, drug smuggling, and human trafficking seems to worsen by the day. When I see reports like this it makes this world seem so scary. Next time you decide to travel, check your bags, did you know that there are people out there that follow others and plant such things as above in your bags? Look for different coloured ribbons or tags on your luggage.
ght smuggling this past year!
Recently two sisters were coming back from a trip in the Caribbean, they leisurely checked their bags at the check in before their flight, one of them had put a blue ribbon on her bag for easy recognition upon arrival, once arriving in Toronto she noticed that her bag now had 2 more ribbons on it, a red and a yellow one, she immediately called over the CBSA Officer on duty at the time in the airport exit area, they met with her in a room and investigated the situation, turns out that her bag had been used as a mule to carry cocaine in from the Caribbean Island that she and her sister had just returned from. How they do it is they pay off a baggage carrier at the departing end to plant the cocaine in someone’s bag, mark it for easy recognition at the receiving end, once plane lands, receiving baggage clerk who has been identified and paid off also opens that marked suitcase with the red and yellow ribbons, removes the cocaine, zips back up the bag and puts it on the carousel, but he had forgotten to remove the red and yellow ribbons, therefore the woman noticed it. Eventually it was investigated and traced back to the drug dealers who had “muled� her. The woman was n e v e r charged nor found guilty of anything as she had nothing to do with it except that she and her bag had been used for the carrying of illegal cocaine! So check your bags! Lock them if you can!
Watch for any unusual markings on your bags upon arrival and where feasible, bring a carry on!
for further information on aiding
In the fight against smuggling, terrorism, C-TPAT, FAST, PIP please contact; Dawn Truell, President, Cross Border Services, at: www.c-tpat-certified.com dawntruell@c-tpat-certified.com. Note from Dave here, if you see suspicious activity, persons asking you for a ride acrosss the border in your truck, a loose lipped driver talking about smuggling loads of drugs or weapons, do us all a favour and contact authorities. Try to get as much information as possible without becoming involved and shut these bad guys down!
BORDER WATCH CALL
1.888.502.9060
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By Sandy Long
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Clocks are a trucker’s nemesis. We work by the clock, eat by the clock, sleep by the clock and are constantly watching the clock. Our days are regulated by the clock, HOS rules, delivery and pick up deadlines and making sure we call in on time by the clock. Sometimes the hands on the clock whirl wildly as we rush to make a deadline, sometimes they move at a snail’s pace as we wait to load, deliver, in traffic or await our break time to end. Filling those last slow hours is sometimes hard. Not much can ease the boredom of waiting out a backup or traffic jam, but there are always books on tape, music or the cb radio for those times. What can you do for those other times that time weighs heavy on your hands? One can always sleep to take up time, but there comes times when even that is boring. If one is parked in a truckstop there are often video games, movies to watch or laundry to do if you choose to do them. I personally don’t like hanging out in truckstops much.
Killing Time !
I prefer most times to wait things out in my truck. I am not alone. There are many hobbies that truckers have adapted to doing in their trucks. Most likely the most common one is reading. Some truckstops offer used books for resale and some have an exchange box in the drivers lounge. I have even seen some warehouses that have book exchanges. Another hobby that is getting more prevalent is watching and collecting movies and dvds. There are some exotic hobbies out there on the road too. Not too long ago, I ran into a driver that had real, live green houseplants in his truck. He said they thrived in the truck and he felt they helped keep the pollutants out of his truck. Another driver that I happened to be parked next to one day had one of those type of tools that you can do different things with such as sand, cut and groove. He was doing some wood carving while he waited on a load. Many people do crafts on the road. I learned how to needlepoint from a male driver a long time ago at a truckstop in California. One lady I know quilts, another does embroidery, another does bead work and makes jewelry. Some drivers color those neat col-
oring book type posters one sees for sale in the truckstops, others build models. One driver carried one of those model airplanes that actually flies on his truck. He said that many truckstops and warehouses have large fields behind them that make great places to fly it in. Another hobby that people do is word puzzles and jig saw puzzles. They make a cloth roll up mat to work a jig saw puzzle on and when you aren’t working on it, it rolls up holding the pieces in place. I do several different hobbies while on the road depending on my mood. I write short stories, crochet, read and always collect rocks. I have run into several drivers that collect rocks. It is cheap, easy and there are always rocks around to search over for pretty or valuable ones. Last year I found several large pieces of amethyst and this year found, along with some very large agates, a piece of amber in a truckstop parking lot in Montana. A side effect of rock collecting is one gets a lot of exercise in both walking and in bending over to pick the rocks up to look at, not to mention carrying the big ones back to the truck! Sports are another area that many people adapt to their trucks. Some carry bicycles on the truck with them, some carry their golf clubs and find golf courses to play on, fishing can be poles
bought that telescope and of course the exercise people hike, walk or work out. With the advent of satellite radio, many drivers avidly listen to their favorite sports like football, baseball and nascar races on the radio to kill time and stem off boredom. Clocks are usually our enemy on the road unless we are going home and even then we are watching the clock to see when we have to leave again. Hobbies can stave off the adverse effect of time when we are just sitting around and most hobbies, that you do at home, can be adapted to the truck with a little imagination and ingenuity. What do you have to loose by trying a hobby on the truck…just time. Forrest Gump would say, “Safety is as Safety does”… don’t be as his famous saying goes, “Stupid is as Stupid does”, be a safer, smarter driver. Ya’ll be safe and I wish you peace and some serenity in your busy lives
Do not cuss a trucker or a farmer with your mouth full!
Street Smarts: A Guide to a Truck Driver's Personal Safety Arriving Alive: personal safety, driving and sharing the road with semis tips Just a Lady Driver blog Sandy Long's Faire personal website Sandy Long @ Facebook TrailerTruckinTech Life member OOIDA Women In Trucking Association
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She That Has the Keys Has the Control!
www.cdnve
CHECK U
eterans.com S OUT
What drivers should consider when choosing a company
The transportation industry is struggling to find enough professional drivers. Many companies tell me they have the freight – they just need more drivers. If we have a slight increase in demand then the driver shortage will exponentially increase.
As a professional driver it’s up to you to decide which company will best meet your career needs. In this article we will discuss the 6 items that make up the “Total Employment Package.” In the past some thought it to be enough to ask how much do you pay and when will I get home. That limited analysis of a carrier’s compensation package can lead to a big surprise when you look at your net take home pay.
When you call a trucking company the Recruiters job is two fold: Sell you on the company and qualify you as a driver. Your job on the recruiting call is two fold: Sell yourself to the company and make sure the company is right for you.
Item 1 – “Appreciation and Respect” is listed by drivers as the number 1 reason for leaving a company. It doesn’t matter how much you make if you’re not treated like you want to be treated. You spend too much time away from home to work for a company that doesn’t appreciate the sacrifices you make.
To get an idea of how a company treats their drivers I recommend talking to their current drivers. I would also pay attention to how they treat you on the recruiting call? Do they treat you like a number or a person?
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Item 2 – “Pay per Mile” is only part of the compensation package. Experienced drivers should expect to be paid for their experience. Inexperienced drivers should look for a progressive pay scale.
Many carriers offer Bonuses for Fuel Mileage, Accident Free Driving, and Productivity. Inquire into how many of the carriers current drivers achieved the bonuses in the last month. Achievable bonuses can be a great way for those who put forth a little extra effort to make a lot more money.
Item 3 – “Home Time” many carriers offer a variety of runs. You can pick from Local, Regional, Dedicated and Long Haul operations. Two things will usually be affected depending on the type of run you pick: Home Time and Take Home Pay.
Long Haul drivers usually gross more money per month. In considering which type of operation is right for and what you can afford to give up in gross pay per month for the ability to be home more you have to consider road expenses. Local drivers incur less road expenses by not having to purchase meals out every day. This alone can save you over $200 a week. Item 4 – “Benefit” costs have increased with all insurance cost. You should take a careful look at what their portion of the insurance premium and co-pay will be. This can make a significant difference in your take home pay.
For instance, if your portion of the insurance premium at Carrier “A” is $300.00 a month and you drove 10,000 miles that month then .03 cents per mile went toward your insurance cost. So if you were making .40 per mile once you take your insurance premium into consideration you are now making .37 per mile. If Carrier “B” is offering to pay you .38 cents per mile and they cover the full cost of your medical premium then on the same miles per month you are actually making .01 cents more per mile or $100 more per month.
Other things to consider are: What is the insurance deductible? What is your maximum out of pocket expense per year? Do they offer a prescription card?
Every dollar you don’t have to spend goes to your bottom line. A close look at benefits should be part of your employment decision.
“The 6 Items of a Complete Employment Package” By Kelly Anderson Item 5 - “Type of Commodity” being hauled will dictate the difficulty of the job. This will go hand in hand with the type of equipment driven and pulled. Each commodity has its inherent pros and cons. It’s up to you to decide which type of operation is right for you.
Item 6 – “Equipment” is another major concern when choosing a company. Not just Make and Model but overall appearance and maintenance.
Dirty and poorly maintained trucks attract DOT attention. When you are being inspected or placed out of service you aren’t making any money.
You should ask about the age of the fleet. How the trucks are assigned. How often you are allowed to get a truck wash. Look for the companies trucks on the road and judge for yourself the condition of their equipment.
The 6 items listed above collective create a complete employment package. There are other benefits carriers can offer in addition to the ones listed above. For instance, several carriers are paying for XM Satellite Radio for all their drivers. Another carrier is offering WiFi compatible laptops at a substantially reduced price to all their drivers.
Although not an employment benefit, carriers CSA Score should also be considered. A carrier with high basic scores can be an indication of their attitude or the attitude of the drivers on the fleet toward safety and compliance. Regardless, this could result in you being flagged for inspection more frequently.
Making the right employment decision will make all the difference in your career and ultimately retirement. Every time you change jobs you lose a minimum of one weeks pay, you start over on seniority, vacation time goes back to zero, and you have to learn a new carrier and its operating procedures. Over the course of your career this will make a major difference in your earning potential and quality of life.
This article was written by Kelly Anderson, President of Impact Transportation Solutions, Inc. An independent consulting firm specializing in Driver Recruitment and Retention issues in the transportation industry. You can reach Kelly at 417-451-0853 or Kelly@impacttrans.com.
NOTE FROM DAVE; In this months magazine you will find Ads from a variety of Carriers in different regions. That is because CTM is not a Job Posting Magazine but one with Articles, Entertainment and loads of pictures. The companies you find in CTM are Dave approved and geared to be different to suit any type of work you love to do. Take a hard look at thier Ads and make them your best next move! If a company is not in CTM it may be the worst move you ever made, talk to me driver. CTM is built for you!
Dave with Val the Truckers Pal Husky Regina!
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Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
See 8 more Pages of NASCAR Danica Patrick - Go Daddy @ www.canadiantruckingmagazine.ca
Expanded Web Edition
Last of the North American Cowboys
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Only a Trucker knows that feeling when your loads all lined up, your truck is serviced and ready roll, you are ready and you head out on your next adventure. No more looking for the right shipment, no more sitting around itching to be in the driver seat. Time to hit the road and do what we do. Execute the plan you have visualized and capitalize on the success you have created. Now some may say, they only take off for the money, and I get that, but many will tell you as I would, it’s all about the freedom of the road and that unknown of what’s around the next corner. How will this one go, will I make some nice cash, and will my truck do its job with no complaining? Simply taking off knowing that what happens for the next few weeks depends on you and your skill and instincts. Knowing you can handle whatever comes your way is a great feeling. I just can’t get enough of it. New scenery every day, different landscapes, roads I have not been on. Securing my load, rigging the chains and straps so nothing moves and the rig travels as one mass along the thousands of miles I ask it to endure. I enjoy the peace and quiet of being in my cab. No one asking me questions or talking to me when I really don’t want to listen. You know what I mean.
Another thing I really enjoy is finding a great camp spot. Now truck stops are okay but hey, it’s a big world. I’d rather find a spot without a refer van parked 2 feet from my sleeper! Once in the UP I parked my rig out on a dock facing one of the great lakes. When I woke up and looked out the windshield all I saw was the sun coming up over the Lake even with the top of my Herd Bumper and knew it was going to be a great day! We all know winter time can wear on you and the driving is always more challenging but those cold crisp sunny winter days are my favorite. My old Detroit likes the cooler weather. I sleep better when it’s cool and of course I like my cold weather gear. The very newest addition is an RCMP beaver hat, which I am very proud to be the owner of. (Thanks to the individual that pasted this on to me and enlighten me on the history of the RCMP). This winter I have spent a great deal of my time in the Southwest and Texas and this has proven to be much easier than the Midwest, Rocky Mountain States and Western Canada where I have worked the past several winters. I’m thinking it was a good choice. I will again call to the tune that only an Owner Operator can tell you how awesome it is to decide where you are going to run and when with what! Working for yourself is not for everyone. Lots of times it would be much easier to just call the boss and say “hey your tractor is broke and needs to be fixed.” Instead of shelling out thousands of dollars you had not planned on spending to fix it yourself.
www.snortnboartransport.com
By- Marc Springer - Snortn Boar Transport
But the rewards of ownership and knowing it is up to you and you alone to make it work are well worth It in my opinion. Not to mention that I reap the rewards of my labor and skill instead of some other guys who is hanging out the lake while I am making him money. There is a still a breed of men and women who roam the open spaces and seek the freedom of that movement, who do not need the security of a big house or lots of people around them. They feel more comfortable on the move! The kind that once roamed the land on Horseback. Who knew no borders and just went where their instincts took them. Anyway back to reality, seriously being an Owner Operator as far as I am concerned is outstanding. Just knowing that I don’t have to report to anyone but myself is great. I value my time on this earth and plan to be the one that dictates how I spend it. One of the things I like the most about driving aside from just plain enjoying the drive, is all the cool people I meet all over The US and Canada. There really are some great folks out there who can appreciate a trucker and what the truckers do for your economy’s. As we all know nothing get to the store without a trucker! The waitresses in the truck stops are always friendly and I enjoy talking with them. After many trips you begin to make friends with people all over and
it’s great to see them again when you pass through their areas. We all have a mental list going of the truck stops we like, the parking areas that work for it a long list after a while. I encourage some of you that have thinking about this to explore it in depth. Take back the control of your destiny. Be the one that decides how well you do each month. Decide what is good enough for you. Have a factor in your ultimate success. I wish you all the luck in the world and happy to answer your questions should you have any. All it takes is the desire to win and will to do what that takes! No one holding you back but yourself! Now get after it!
All the best and be safe and profitable out there! Marc Springer Owner/Operator Snortn Boar Transport Providing Quality Transportation Throughout the US and Canada www.snortnboartransport.com https://www.facebook.com/Snortnboar
If you got it! a Truck brought it! Thank a Trucker Today! 41