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PRO-TRUCKERMAGAZINE MAGAZINEe PRO-TRUCKER From the Editor’s desk... “Unsafe is Unacceptable.” by John White
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 3 PUBLISHER/EDITOR John White john.protrucker@shaw.ca PRODUCTION/CIRCULATION Tori Proudley tori.protrucker@shaw.ca ADMIN/SPECIAL EVENTS Donna White donna.protrucker@shaw.ca ADVERTISING/MARKETING John White john.protrucker@shaw.ca Tori Proudley tori.protrucker@shaw.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Madill • Mel McConaghy Ben Proudley • Ken Davie • Scott Casey Ed Murdoch • Frank Cox • Colin Black PHOTOGRAPHY Hank Suderman • David Benjatschek HEAD OFFICE Ph: 604-580-2092 Fax: 604-580-2046 Toll Free: 1-800-331-8127 Published eleven times a year by Pro-Trucker Magazine Inc.,
The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. The advertiser agrees to protect the publisher against legal action based upon libelous or inaccurate statements; the unauthorized use of materials or photographs; and/or any other errors or omissions in connection with advertisements placed in Pro-Trucker Magazine. The publisher can and will refuse any advertising which in his opinion is misleading or in poor taste. The publisher does not endorse or make claim or guarantee the validity or accuracy of any advertisement herein contained. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editing at the publisher’s discretion. The act of mailing or e-mailing material shall be considered an expressed warranty by the contributor that the material is original and in no way an infringement on the rights of others. Pro-Trucker Magazine is written and produced in Surrey, B.C., and printed by Coastal Web Press Inc., Langley, B.C.
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It is with great sadness that I tell you MaryAnne Arcand, the Executive Director of the Central Interior Logging Association, passed away March 17th after a brief battle with cancer. ‘Unsafe is Unacceptable,’ was her byline when she wrote articles for Pro-Trucker and she lived by it. I have known very few people who were as dedicated to helping others as she was. She was affectionately known as ‘Bulldozer,’ a nickname she earned from her relentless pursuit of her objectives. And those objectives were always for the good of others. Many people benefited from her projects such as lobbying the government and then finding corporate sponsorship to build a wilderness camp for troubled kids in the Chilcotin and more importantly to our industry, her relentless pursuit MarryAnne Arcand 1955-2014 of safety for both loggers and logging truck drivers in BC. Much of the reduction in logging industry deaths – from 43 deaths in 2005 down to 0 in 2011- can be directly credited to her efforts. Not that she would take the credit, she passed that on to others she worked with. In 2007, long before she took the Executive Director’s job she was awarded their association’s Member of the Year award. She believed in having her feet on the ground. It was said at the presentation that the previous year she had met with over 6,000 workers and their families teaching them safe practices and responding to their issues and concerns. In 2009, when she became the Executive Director of the Central Interior Logging Association - she was the first woman to hold that position in a resource-based industry association in B.C. Many readers will have met MaryAnne at provincial truck shows from BC Big Rig Weekend to the Vancouver Island and Cariboo Truck Shows, where she advocated truck safety. MaryAnne was truly one of a kind. Safety was not just a job for her. She was dedicated, down to earth and truly cared about what she was doing and the people that she was doing it for. She loved people and made friends wherever she went. She will be sorely missed. In November 2002 we profiled a young Calgary man as our Rig of the Month driver. In August of 2007 at Alberta Big Rig Weekend we then presented the same young man with the very first Pro-Trucker Magazine’s Community Service Award for the various charities and community events he has been involved in, from the ‘18 Wheels of Christmas’ food drives, to the ‘The World’s longest Convoy’ for the Special Olympics. Most recently he has wrapped his truck in support of our Canadian troops. Most Western Canadians will already know I am talking about Mike (Motor) Rosenau. I am ver pleased to say that Motor has recently been chosen as the Highway Star of the year by Today’s Trucking. On April 12 Motor will receive his award at Truck World, at the International Centre in Mississauga Ontario. Congratulations Motor – we are all proud of you and pleased to call you a friend
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talks with this great lady and I have the utmost respect for ETTERS hite e W in her. The province of BC, the trucking industry and truckers, z n to the ga Joh r Ma rucke T o have lost a great and knowledgeable advocate in her passr DITOR P John White gazine ing. It is with great sadness that my family and I pass on Pro-Trucker Ma our best wishes to MaryAnne’s family. RIP MaryAnne, you Letters to the editor are occasionally edited for length, have earned the right. language and objectionable content. Dennis Ruttan and Family, Duncan, BC John, What a sad day for safety in the trucking industry. We Editor’s note, Thank you Dennis, I know how closely you have lost one of the staunchest supporters of our industry worked with her at conferences and the ride-a-longs that with the loss of MaryAnne Arcand. She was a lady who she took with you as well as others that you arranged for her put her money where her mouth was by setting her butt in on Vancouver Island. Because of her dedication and work the passenger seat of trucks in some of the toughest and there are many drivers both now and in the future that have most dangerous rides in British Columbia. She rode in her to thank for making it home safe at night. everything from huge off-highway (fat) trucks on steep, dangerous Vancouver Island logging roads, to small deliv- John, Your editorial on Glen West Express was forwarded to ery cube trucks. The first time she told me she was going me the other day and after reading it and sharing it with to ride with a log truck driver I thought it was all talk. The my co-workers, I thought I should write to you and tell you next night she called and recounted the day’s exploits and a what a great article it was. Maybe its vanity but I may have resolution of the driver’s complaints. I knew then that here was a Bulldozer, (as she was affectionately called by those appreciated it even more because it was kind of about us, who knew her well) that was a force to be dealt with. She did too. My name is Sarah and I’m the Scale Operator for the these rides so that she could see for herself what the driver’s Nordegg quarry mentioned in your article and my husband, complaints were, their origin, and how to fix them. When Len, is the Quarry Manager. We had been told by Brad Glenn that we were the first MaryAnne spoke, those listening knew she spoke from experience. She never gave up and she never backed down quarry that has ever been able to keep up with them but we on safety. I was fortunate enough to have had long serious didn’t realize how many other quarries they had tapped out.
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SPRING RECRUITMENT DRIVE. GET BEHIND OUR WHEEL!
We very much appreciate the positive comments but I must point out that we couldn’t do our jobs as effectively if Glen West Express owners, staff & drivers weren’t such a great group of people. They make our jobs easy! Tare em’ in, load em’ up, scale em’ out. No problems, no headaches. We hope we get to continue working with Glen West Express for a very long time. Sarah Wilson Nordegg Limestone Quarry A Division of Fish Creek Excavating Stone Products Hi Pro-Trucker, I’m writing to you today to tell you I have really enjoyed reading your magazine. I think you probably rely on advertising to put it out. So I’m bringing it to your attention that I have seen individuals putting flyers in your magazine maybe you know about it maybe not. It’s not the first time I have found them in your magazine. Keep up the good work on putting out a great magazine. Thanks, Paul
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Editor’s note: Thank you Paul I’ve been told that the company you told us about is not the only one. I left their name out in order to give them the chance to correct this situation. To our readers. I hope you enjoy the stories and humour we bring to you each month and that it helps to get you through the day whether you are in town or a long
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ways from home. The only way we can continue to bring this magazine to you is if you support our advertisers because they are the ones who make it possible. As you know it is a free publication. (Unless you purchase a subscription and have it delivered to your home.) Any inserts that we put in Pro-Trucker will be stapled into the centre. To be fair some people may not have realized that what they were doing was not right but from this point forward if you see business cards or pamphlets inserted by companies that do not have an advertisement in the magazine, you will know they are looking for a free ride and if we can’t trust them, can you?
strike has been for the same reason, driver’s rates and wait times. Each time the Port says it will fix the problem and then drivers go back or are forced back to work. A short time later things are right back to the same old thing. The definition of insanity is defined as doing something over and over again and expecting a different result. The only way this is going to stop is if there is a guaranteed rate for all the drivers – not the companies - and wait times are reduced. Other ports run 24 hours day why not Vancouver? (name withheld by request)
Editor’s note: Merry Christmas! From what I have read John, all your suggestions are in the new agreement. I agree, guarI am a company driver. Every 5 years or so, for the last anteeing company drivers and O/Ops a set rate means future 15years, we have had a strike at the port of Vancouver. Each undercutting will have to come from the companies profits.
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I`M NO LONGER CONFUSED I became confused when I heard the word “service” used by these agencies: Revenue Canada Service, Canada Postal Service, Telephone Service, Civil Service, Provincial, Municipal, City, & Public Service. This is not what I thought ‘service’ meant. But today, I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them said he had hired a bull to service, a few cows. BAM!!! It all came into focus. 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.
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When I was a kid we were into trucking but we also ran a pretty good farming operation and at times the farm and trucking sort of came together. We had just started into haying season and on the first load to the barn Dad hit a pretty good bump and the load collapsed when the main beams on the wagon broke. Rather than unload, fix, reload and bring it in Dad went and got
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our stock truck, pulled the racks off and we reloaded onto the truck. We then dragged the wagon out of the way and continued on to the barn. After that we got a pretty fair system set up where Mom drove in the field, Grandpa and Dad loaded, Dad drove to the barn and I unloaded on to the bale elevator. I then went up and straightened out the barn while Dad went for another load. The first day went off pretty good and we finished with only about four or five truck loads left in the field. Day two however was another matter. Dad had previous commitments and ended up taking the B61 and float to town to load a small Cat and deliver it to somewhere up around Sudbury. Grandpa decided that we would continue but he would drive the truck back and forth from the field. Now Grandpa never had a driver’s license and even when he was on a tractor he was known to holler at it to gee, haw and whoa. So needless to say I was a bit apprehensive. First load went off pretty well after Mom showed Grandpa where second gear was. He managed to get in to the barnyard and stopped then watched as I backed it into the elevator. Load two was a slightly different matter. Mom and Grandpa got it loaded and Grandpa got to the barn but then he decided that he would back into the elevator himself. Remember the old 5 speed shift pattern where second was right beside reverse? Grandpa stopped,
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cubbybuddy.ca shifted into neutral, and then shifted back into second. Thinking he was in reverse he gave the old girl some gas and let the clutch out. Now about thirty feet in front of the truck was the creek that ran through our farm. It was about twelve feet wide, about three to five feet deep and fairly fast flowing. Our barn also sat on a little knoll so it was downhill to the creek banks and the banks were about six feet high. The truck doing exactly what it was supposed to do took off ahead and Grandpa paused for a second then shoved the throttle to the floor, all the while yelling whoa at the top of his lungs and pulling back on the wheel as if it was a set of reins. The truck accelerated, Grandpa hollered, and just before he hit the creek bank he turned the wheel hard right. The left front wheel went over the bank and the rear end just kept pushing as the truck slewed sideways and toppled almost completely upside down into the creek. I went running and clambered down into a now almost dry creek bed – the truck and hay bales making a temporary damn - and helped Grandpa out the passenger’s side window, as the truck engine finally sputtered to a stop. Pop wasn’t badly injured, except for his ego, and we both clambered back up the bank as the water finally burst around the truck refilling the creek bed and filling the truck up as well. Our little tractor was not about to pull this out so there was nothing to do but wait until Dad made it back. The next day we went up to the pit and picked up
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our D7 dozer and retrieved the truck out of the creek yres cross he ond bed and back onto dry land. Aside from a broken side Colin Black lives in Bellshill, window and a crushed fender and mirror and the loss Lanarkshire, Scotland and has of all fluids the old truck didn’t fare too bad and we been driving truck for over 40 had it back on the road in time to pick up a load of pigs years. His story shows us once the next morning. That was the last time Grandpa ever again that the problems drivers attempted to drive a truck but he did at least manage to face are universal. learn how to drive a tractor to do the plowing, although he still used to talk to the tractor like a team of horses Dayshift Perks by telling it to gee, haw and whoa. When I look back at this I can see the humor in it I don’t want to give up my nice easy night shift trunk but if this happened today there would have been seven job and go back to the cut and thrust of multi drop dayshift or eight Government agency’s involved regarding pol- deliveries, but there are some things I do miss about worklution of a waterway and destruction of fish habitat.r ing dayshift.
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I used to deliver to a bakery that made among other things, great cinnamon shortbread. There were no men working in this bakery and they had a problem moving the heavy pallets so I would give them a hand. After unloading and putting their pallets where they wanted them I always left with a bag of shortbread. I would’ve done it for nothing, as part of the job, but it’s always nice when people show their appreciation. I used to work for a firm years ago called Archibald Brechin and whisky transport was their main contract. Back before the Breathalyzer days you could get all the whisky you wanted in the bonds and bottling plants, as long as you drank it in there. I’m not a spirit drinker, and I have never drank on the job, but sometimes at Christmas, if you were lucky, you might get one of the bottles of whisky allocated as gifts. Sometimes I was offered cash at places I delivered to, but I always preferred a token of their appreciation, like the flower shop who made up a bunch of flowers for me because I delivered early. I used to deliver flowers that were trucked over from Holland and all the shops wanted early deliveries so they could make up their displays. If you were delivering to a shop where the guy was moaning you were always late no matter what time you got there, and another shop that gave you a free bunch of flowers, where would you go first? I went to a small factory in Ayrshire one day where I
hand bombed a load of cartons off my flatbed trailer, the foreman checked my load and signed the delivery note. As I was stowing all my gear he came back with a lovely small dark red velvet box, it was about the same size as the boxes you get watches in. Here driver, he said, this is for you, I said thank you very much and climbed in the cab. Before I drove off I opened the box to see what he gave me - it was empty. That was what the factory made, boxes, all kinds of fancy boxes for gifts or whatever and he had given me a free sample of their craftsmanship. The perks of the job might be as simple as a big bunch of bananas when delivering to Fyffes warehouse, or a hot meal in some works canteen because they were not ready to load a shipment you were in to pick up. Another thing night shift drivers miss out on is freebies given to your company. Sometimes airlines would have giveaways to encourage shippers to use their services as opposed to a rival. Office staff have usually gone home when night shift drivers are clocking on, so they tend to be forgotten when freebies are about. I worked for a company called Lep International many years ago. They were an import/export company and shipped tons of airfreight through Glasgow airport. One time, in an attempt to get shippers to put more freight their way, Swissair was giving away Swiss army style pocket knives. Since Lep was a big shipper, the young guy in charge of air exports, Jim Tierney, ended up with
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a drawer full of knives. He passed them out first to his team, and then round the office and finally to the drivers and warehouse staff. I’ve still got that knife, and carry it everywhere. The thing night shift drivers should get, just like every other employee, is holidays. I was working for an Irish company called Express Cargo Forwarding, when we got a new depot manager. If needed, we would work the holidays like Easter Monday. We call them trade days and you get 8 per year. If you worked one of these days you were paid time and a half and got to take the day at some other time. My buddy Les did the night shift run over to Belfast and Dublin at the time, when he got his wages he noticed he hadn’t been paid the holiday rate. When he queried this with the new manager the surprise on his face was obvious to me, and I was at the other side of the warehouse. The manager said, but you don’t clock on till 20:00, the working day is done by then ! Les could see he was dealing with a halfwit and just said, ok, and walked away. The owner of the company had an office in Dublin and his door was always open, the next day Les knocked on that door and explained his problem. The owner said, ok Les, I’ll sort that, It’s strange, but that new manager never spoke to Les for months after that. But the thing I miss most about working dayshift is the people. Material things and money are great, but, good or bad, customers made every day interesting. r
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“I have been with Monarch Transport for 3 years and I have enjoyed working here the entire time. I have to say this company treats me like family, a real person and is one of the most relaxed companies out there.� ~ Rod Witwer, Owner Operator US Division
MONARCH TRANSPORT IS LOOKING TO BRING ON BOARD CLASS 1: ~ Owner Operators for our Western Canada Van Division ~ US Van Division Ask us about ~ AB Cartage Division r new sign Requirements: 2 years OTR experience Clean commercial drivers abstract No criminal record Professionalism & positive attitude
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We offer: on bonus Paid Plates Safety & referral bonus programs Loaded & empty miles paid Fuel Surcharge & much more!
Please contact : Annette at: 1-855-877-0619 or annette.paradis@monarchtransport.com Ken or Caralee at: 1-800-661-9937 in Edmonton or ken.fullbrook@monarchtransport.com APRIL 2014
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Rig of the Month By: John White
Photo: David Benjatschek, Wowtrucks® The beautiful truck above belongs to Johnny Singh our shiny and in tip top shape. This is his story: My name is Johnny Singh, but some of the names I’ve April 2014 Rig of the Month driver. He is a second generation trucker who, like his father, likes to keep his rig clean, been given by other truckers are Brown Sugar or even
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National Safety Code Compliance Services 1.800.965.9839 Ext. 2 Surrey, BC: #4 - 8333 130th Street Ph: 604.507.7736 Fax: 604.507.7742 Abbotsford, BC: 2633 Montrose Ave. Ph: 604.755.4230 Fax: 604.755.7816 Bellingham, WA: 1313 E Maple St., Suite #219 Ph: 360.543.5608
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High Baller. Don’t ask me why! I was born on January 17, 1983 in Vancouver, BC and I am the second son of a trucker. My dad, Surinder, has been driving dump trucks for over thirty-five years. Having been around trucks since I was born my interest in them naturally started at a very young age. Everything I did as a boy was trucks, trucks, trucks. I remember when I was in kindergarten that while other kids were drawing houses, people, and horses, the only thing I ever drew was trucks. During recess, when other kids were out playing games on the playground, I would be standing by the fence watching the trucks to by. Our school was on a main road so there were always lots of them passing by. A highlight of the week would be when my dad would drive his dump truck past my school and then hit the air horn just so I could see him. My dad taught me a ton about trucks while I was growing up both by answering all my millions of questions, and by letting me watch him while he worked. Some days he would take me to work with him and he would explain what all the different gauges were for and while he was driving he would explain the mechanics of the truck and how everything worked. He would even let me push the red and yellow tractor brake release buttons and operate the lever to raise and lower the box, which of course as a kid I thought was the coolest thing. After graduating from high school I was not interested
APRIL 2014
Johnny Singh in pursuing post-secondary education and, like a lot of kids, who were uncertain of what direction to go in life, I made some bad choices. One day my Dad came to me and gave me a couple options; I could go back to school or learn to drive truck. Faced with making that decision I realized that I liked trucks too much to even consider doing anything else so at the age of 20 I decided to go out and get my driver’s license. At the time that it happened I wasn’t too happy about the ultimatum but looking back now I realize that it was the best thing that he ever could have done for me and I thank him for that. I often think that if I didn’t start driving – I don’t know where I would be today.
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The process of getting my license was fun. After being on the road with the driving instructor for just a few minutes he asked me if my dad was a truck driver. I said he was and the instructor said he could always spot a truck driver’s kids because of how much they already knew and how quickly they picked it up. Shawnee is approved by ICBC so the instructor comes to the school. I did not know it at the time but when he came in the yard he watched as I was backing up all the Shawnee trucks for them. When he took me out for my road test he told me that he had already seen me backing up the trailers so he didn’t have to see me do it again - I passed with flying colours. When I decided to pursue trucking as a career my dad was very supportive and helped me in any way he could. The first dump truck that I drove was my Dad’s, a pearl white 1999 Kenworth T-800 and it was nerve wracking because it was his baby and he took good care of it. It had a 550 horsepower CAT engine and an 18 speed transmission. That thing just flew. The box was fully polished aluminum and looked like a mirror on wheels when it was coming down the road! As a matter of fact as far as I know it was the first gravel truck in BC that had a fully polished box and transfer. The driving school may have taught me enough to pass my test but it was my Dad who taught me how to drive a dump truck. Not that it was an easy process. There were a
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box. It was the last Big Rig Weekend to be held at Mission Raceways and, besides getting hooked on truck shows, meeting Don was one of the best things that happened to me. It Don who years later told me that my dream truck, the one I drive today, was up for sale. This second truck of my Dad’s, the 2006, was one of my favorites to drive and it was the first brand new truck I had ever driven. It was done out in chrome from front to back, had a polished aluminum K-Line box, and most importantly was black and silver which just happened to be the colors of my favorite football team….the Oakland Raiders. The colors just exemplified MEAN, and that’s exactly what that truck was! When I first started driving truck it was for my dad. The economy was doing really well at the time so he decided to add another truck and that is how I came to drive his 99. Since then we have worked together on and off for over ten years. Approximately eight of those years have been driving local with Mainland Sand & Gravel. Mainland is a class organization from the owners right through to the sales guys, the dispatchers and the loader operators. They were all really patient with me and constantly helped me out when I was a new driver. My dad still works for Mainland today. After I left Mainland I got my own truck and started with Triple West, another class organization. Working with them opened up opportunities for me to haul into the
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Phone: 403.278.1129 • Fax: 403.278.8307 Email: marilynt@diamondinsurance.ca Okanagan and the Interior and it has given me first-hand experience on the Highway from Hell! The first year I hauled for them they gave all their salt deliveries. This took me all over the lower half of the province as far north as Prince George and as far east as Revelstoke and Grand Forks. In January of this year I started hauling copper concentrate to North Vancouver from various places around the province like, Williams Lake, Merritt, and Kamloops. I also haul loads of slag out of Trail. Having driven local for eight years I had never experienced the brutal winter road conditions that the Coquihalla has to offer. The highways up to Quesnel and Williams Lake have also been a challenge, it’s been a real eye opener to see how nasty winter can be in the interior. From snow two feet high to absolute white out conditions, driving down the road at 30 to 40 km with a full load has definitely been an experience. I have never seen so many jack-knifed trucks in my life as I have this winter on BC’s interior roads. The more I drive these roads the more comfortable I have become, however I have learned to never become too comfortable because in this environment Mother Nature is boss and when she fires you its forever… One of the highlights of my career was having the opportunity to teach my best friend, Lorissa, how to drive truck. Her dad is a truck driver and he had moved up to Alaska to haul logs. I originally met her at Mainland Sand and Gravel Pit and she said how she would like to learn
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to drive. We became friends and she ended up coming to work with me every day for a while to learn how to drive. Once she got her license she moved up to Stewart Alaska with her family where she drives logging truck. She is a great person who really loves trucks. She does all the girly things like getting her nails done but if you look closely you can see that she has the CAT emblem put on them. She is doing great up there, making lots of money, and we still get to talk quite often. There is always something new happening out on the road but the funniest thing I think I have ever seen was at a dump site in Abbotsford. I pulled into the site and there was a dump truck sitting on its tailgate with its nose straight up in the air. Apparently he forgot to release the locks on the gate and when he raised the box the load shifted back and forced the front of the truck up into the air. It was quite a spectacle as one loader hooked a chain to the tow hitch on the front of the truck while another loader lowered his bucket into the box. Then they slowly pushed and pulled until the front wheels were back on the ground and he could unlock the gate to let the load out. Unfortunately the funny things we see as drivers are far outnumbered by the tragic ones. One incident, that happened about three years ago, scared the living daylights out of me. It happened on one of those rainy days just after a hot spell when the roads are really slick. I was in the centre of three lanes driving empty down the hill eastbound on
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Hwy 1 just before the Sumas exit when I saw a truck slowing down ahead of me in the exit lane. The truck must have been having some trouble because he put his signal on and started to pulled over. There was a small car coming up fast in that lane and the driver did not realize the truck was stopping until she was right beside me. She hit the brakes and then, as I went by, pulled in very close behind my truck. Unfortunately she did not realise I was pulling a pup and I ran right over her car from trunk to hood with my trailer wheels The police said that she did not see him in time because she was texting while driving and not paying attention. The driver of the car was airlifted to the hospital and thankfully survived. There ended up being about 14 cars involved in the accident. On another note ICBC made me pay the deductible on my insurance, ‘until they figured out what happened’. That was 3 years ago and there were plenty of winessses yet it still took them up until now to clear me of any fault. No matter what type of rig you drive two things that all truckers have in common and that is Scales and DOT. While everyone has their own opinions about these and I’m sure you could spend hours talking to some drivers about it, I am thankful that I have never had very much trouble with them. I believe that a good part of the reason for this is that I take a lot of pride in my truck. I work hard to maintain it and keep it in excellent running condition.
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Let’s face it when they have the choice of calling in a well maintained, clean truck, or one that looks like it may not make it back to the yard, they aren’t going to waste their time on the good looking one. I now drive my dream truck, the one that I have always wanted and that has always been my favorite - a 2007 Peterbilt 379 long-nose. It has a 550 CAT engine and an 18 speed transmission with 3.90 rear ends. This was not the original equipment on the truck. When the original 15 speed transmission packed it in I put in the 18 speed transmission. The gear ratio in the rear ends was also changed from 4.10 to 3.90 in order to help with fuel mileage on the freeway, since this is what I tend to do most of the time these days. The truck looks great thanks to Johnny and Suzie at ZZChrome. Johnny has built a lot of trucks and he has a great eye for detail. It is because of him that I have been able to bring home trophies from BC Big Rig Weekends and was picked to be in the 2014 Wowtrucks. com Calendar - both of which were a great honour. As far as my family goes, I’m the middle kid with an older brother, Tony, and younger sister, Rebecca. Thankfully my mom, Shuma, and dad are still around as well. Although my dad and I are the only full-time truckers in the family, all of us are involved in trucking in one way or another. My brother has his licence but he really only drives when he is picking up trucks or dropping them off from the shop. He says he doesn’t have the patience for
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driving daily which is why he works in health care fulltime. My sister has a career of her own but she also does invoicing and helps my mom do the books on the side. I’ve only been driving trucks for a little over 10 years, but it’s been a pretty good life and I am grateful that my father introduced me to trucking when I was so young. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I just genuinely enjoy driving trucks. You can never predict the future so we’ll see how long I continue to drive but one thing I’m pretty sure of and that is if I ever do decide to quit I will still continue to be involved in the industry in one way or another. *****
Truth in Advertising
While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... “Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust.” *****
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Idle Time
By Scott Casey Scott, our Rig of The Month for May 2003 has written “In the Devil’s Courthouse” a book about his years as a gun toting truck driver while serving as a Canadian Peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia
Earning Your Stripes
There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday Remember the first truck you drove? The first time I and announced to his congregation: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money was in a truck was when I climbed into the cab of a 73 to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it’s Kenworth, silver with two candy apple green stripes down the side, a headache rack and logging bunks. I sat on the still out there in your pockets.”
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Bostrom seat and jacked the air to the top so I could see over the dash. I was a young gaffer then. My first truck as a Class 1 driver was in an 87 Freightliner. I was the junior man on the pole and got what I got. I spent time everyday cleaning and polishing that rig, for personal pride reasons, but also to show the boss that I appreciated my ride. It wasn’t long and I got a truck promotion because I proved I would take care of the old stuff like it was new stuff. As I moved to new fleets, upping my skills and wages, came the opportunity to drive newer rigs. That was the case right up to my driving a new truck every 3 years in my last fleet. How many of you have been approached by a fresh face, wild eyed and gums flapping, about how he or she expected to be driving the newest piece of iron in the fleet? About 15 years ago, as I was washing my new W900, a young lad approached me saying that he deserved the truck I was operating. He continued on about how he had been driving for a year and had seen his fair share of miles and sleepless nights. Not taking time for a second breath he thumbed over his shoulder and disgustingly said, “That’s the piece of crap I get.” Not taking the time to raise an eyebrow, I quietly put my wash mitt down, dried my hands and climbed up in my cab. A moment later I stepped down and gave him a photo which I had retrieved from my gear. As he gazed at the photograph now in his hands, I explained pointing
at his truck, that that “piece of crap,” was my old truck. “Nice picture of it when it was new,” he scoffed. I wasted no time pointing out that the photo was three years old and taken shortly after coming out of the bush two months prior. Continuing his education I informed him that when an owner sees his employees taking care of the older models they have a better chance of getting a new one in the future. I know personally I would not give someone the opportunity to destroy a new truck if they can’t prove they can properly care for an old blister first. Regardless of your trade, one simply does not climb to the top of the pile in a week, a month, or a year, but much rather gets promoted by earning their stripes through hard work and dedication to professionalism. r Big Rig Weekend Trophy Sponsor
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Three things you can absolutely count on: 1. The sun coming up tomorrow 2. A deer playing chicken with you on the turnpike 3. ULSD being a royal pain in your system all year long About Item #3? Howes can help. When the weather gets hot, Meaner Power Kleaner actively fights the loss of lubricity and excess wear responsible for premature part failure. To beat back the worst that ULSD can throw at you, count on Meaner Power Kleaner.
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There’s Always a Catch…
On the sixth day, God turned to Archangel Gabriel and said, “Today I am going to create a land called Canada. It will be a very diverse land of outstanding natural beauty. It shall have tall mountains and rolling plains full of game and eagles. It will have beautiful sparkling lakes and streams bountiful with fish of all kinds. The forests will be full of moose, elk and deer. The prairies and valleys will have fertile soil with an abundance of nutrients to grow things.” God continued, “I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper, I shall call these inhabitants Canadians, and they shall be known as the most friendly people on the earth.” “But Lord,” asked Gabriel, “don’t you think you are being too generous to these Canadians??” “Not really,” replied God... “Just wait until you see the winters I am going to give them!” *****
Supermen…
All of his life Ole had heard stories of an amazing family tradition. It seems that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 21st birthday. On that day, they had all
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Terry 604-882-7623 walked across the lake to the boat club on the other side for their first legal drink. So when Ole’s 21st birthday came around, he and his pal Sven walked out on the boat dock and stepped on to the lake. Ole nearly drowned, but Sven managed to pull him to safety. Confused, Ole went to see his grandmother. “Grandma, it’s my 21st birthday, so why can’t I walk across the lake like my father, his father, and his father before him?” Granny looked into Ole’s eyes and said, “Because, you dummy, your father, grandfather and great grandfather were all born in January, you were born in July.”
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Lil’ Roadhammer
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by Dennis Ruttan In October of 1999 Dennis Ruttan started entertaining our readers with trucking adventures as seen through the eyes of his toy poodle and partner, “Jake the Trucker”. Sadly, in May of 2008 Jake pulled his last trip and Chase, also known as lil Road Hammer, took over for his mentor.
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Well Guys, This is the follow up I promised to the story about Dennis using his many years of experience to out-think the ‘Caution Flooded Road’ signs. As usual he knew better and ended up giving the truck his version of snorkeling lessons and a deep water bath. After getting towed out of the lake (in the road) we stripped the engine completely down and measured everything twice. Dean, Dennis and Yvonne’s oldest son, suggested that to be safe we should install new main bearings and connecting rods. Unfortunately Dennis’ selective hearing - an affliction much like his selective road sign reading – kicked in, as he was convinced that he knew better. Anyway we ended up putting in new bearings and cancelling the rods. As it
turned out we worked for the next month and everything was just fine. Then one Monday morning we loaded out of Cow Bay Mill for Nanaimo. We pulled 2 trips from there before being dispatched for a load from Chemainus to Nanaimo on a 53 foot tridem. This meant dropping our lumber trains in Nanaimo and grabbing the tridem. While Dennis was doing his pre-trip I had a quick pit stop against a front tire. While doing my business, and contemplating life in general, I thought I could hear a slight tick from the engine. I tried to get the Man’s attention but that reoccurring curse he has of selective hearing had kicked in all over again. As we headed south I strained to hear the tick and I was
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604-888-4670 or 604-376-1189 Unit #2-19349 94th Ave, Surrey sure I could just faintly hear it in the background. I pointed this out to Dennis but as usual he chose to ignore my complaints and suggestions. Everything is running fine he said as he checked the water temperature, oil pressure, turbo and all relevant gauges. He managed to convince me that I was just being paranoid (as if being paranoid is a bad thing when around him) and that everything was fine so I settled down for the ride. As I said being paranoid around Dennis is not a bad thing and past articles have proven that. Like the time during his famous “Reno Days” when I suggested the retaining wall needed a bit more bracing before pouring the cement. After ignoring me and the side of the form blew out dumping all the concrete that he had poured by hand
all over the lawn, he came in the house and sheepishly said, “Concrete runs downhill, don’t eat with your hands and it’s payday on Friday…” You can try to figure where the wisdom is in that statement because this Poodle can’t get his curly little head around it. He said it was a plagiarized version of something a plumber friend always said… Another time he was moving a wall in the house and he had to take down the original wall. I suggested that he shut off the power first but – well you know the story. The man kept on working until 110 volts blew down through his reciprocating saw and unceremoniously introduced his butt to the kitchen floor. Anyway back to my story. We got through Ladysmith and were just taking off from the Davis Road traffic light
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when the truck leaped into the air with a terrible bang… We immediately pulled over at one of the very few spots where there is room to get clear of traffic on that road and saw that a puddle of oil had started to form under the truck! Dennis, with that deer in the headlights look of his, mumbled that he thought we had dropped a universal. I slid under the truck knowing full well what I would find and yup, I could see daylight through a hole in the block! I came out and convinced Dennis to open the hood, as by this time even he realised the driveline was fine. There was lots of oil in that puddle now. Luckily we carry a spill kit so Dennis quickly grabbed it and spread the kit out to contain the oil. Clicking his tongue like it was all a mystery to him, he said, “I think our next call is for a hook” Good call Sherlock… Anyway away we went to get a new engine put in the good old girl. It seems one of the coolers had quit spraying on the bottom of the piston and it jammed and went out the side of the block. Now, whenever we go by the sign for the Cow Bay Road the idiot always looks at me, sheepishly gins and says, “Once bitten, twice shy.” Yeah right! I just wish that were true. ***** A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. - John Burroughs
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We’re Not Here! Quit knocking on my door, no one is at home! Quit trying to call me, I just shut off the phone! Quit looking in my windows, I won’t put up with that! Quit messaging my computer, I just don’t want to chat! My man has just came home, we were so far apart, Yet while he was gone he still dwelled within my heart. Now we have some family time, just two of us together, Curtains closed, doors locked. We don’t care about the weather. Give us some space, we need this time, just two of us alone, Besides, school will soon be over and the children will be home. For now we have some special time, just a simple man and wife, These times come all too seldom when you lead a trucker’s life.
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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 or amazon.com
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We could tell you all about our 50 year history, but we thought we’d let one of our drivers tell you instead.
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APRIL 2014
MICHEL LAFRENIERE: Eastern Based CDN / USA driver Email: michelltransxdriver@gmail.com
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