Pro-Trucker Magazine - June 2014

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PM #40033055

Proudly

June 2014

BC Big Rig Weekend • July 5-6 • Chilliwack, BC Now with 70,000 sq. ft. of Indoor space Alberta Big Rig Weekend • Aug 16-17 • Red Deer, Alberta


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JUNE 2014


From the Editor’s desk...

PRO-TRUCKERMAGAZINE MAGAZINEe PRO-TRUCKER

Back in the day, long before CB’s, good radio station coverage or cell phones, there were many small truck stops strategically located where truck drivers could get repairs, VOLUME 16, ISSUE 5 fuel, and a good meal. But most importantly they could get PUBLISHER/EDITOR up- to-date information from fellow drivers on road condiJohn White john.protrucker@shaw.ca tions ahead. PRODUCTION/CIRCULATION There were a number of these early truck stops but few Tori Proudley tori.protrucker@shaw.ca were more important for driver’s heading into the mountains ADMIN/SPECIAL EVENTS east and north of Hope BC than the Flood Café. The Flood John White Donna White donna.protrucker@shaw.ca Café was built in 1942 and over time had a variety of other ADVERTISING/MARKETING amenities like a tire shop, mechanJohn White john.protrucker@shaw.ca ics, government weigh scales and a Tori Proudley tori.protrucker@shaw.ca fruit inspection station. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS East of Hope BC, lay the HopeDave Madill • Mel McConaghy Princeton road and north lay the Ben Proudley • Scott Casey formidable Fraser Canyon. Both Frank Cox • Ed Murdoch were little more than gravel goat Colin Black • Dennis Ruttan trails that clung precariously to PHOTOGRAPHY the sides of the mountains as they Hank Suderman • David Benjatschek switch-backed to dizzying heights above roaring rivers and back down to the valHEAD OFFICE leys below. These routes were often closed in the winter and even under ‘good’ conditions could take days not hours to traverse. For that reason the information Ph: 604-580-2092 Fax: 604-580-2046 Toll Free: 1-800-331-8127 passed at places like the Flood Café was invaluable to drivers. But those days are long gone. Many of the old truck stops have disappeared to Published eleven times a year by Pro-Trucker Magazine Inc., be replaced with the impersonal, truck stops of today. On August 16, the Flood The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any Café will also be closing its doors. All driver’s both young and old are invited to means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. The advertiser agrees to protect the publisher against come out between 10am and 4pm to meet with old friends, make new ones, and legal action based upon libelous or inaccurate statements; the unauthorized use of materials or photographs; and/or any other say goodbye to an important part of trucking history. Don’t forget to bring your errors or omissions in connection with advertisements placed in trucks, pictures and stories. Pro-Trucker Magazine. The publisher can and will refuse any advertising which in his opinion is misleading or in poor taste. A part of west coast transportation history that we are anxious to say goodbye The publisher does not endorse or make claim or guarantee the to is the unrest at the Vancouver docks. Mediator Vincent Ready in his final validity or accuracy of any advertisement herein contained. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editing at the report said, …immediate action must be taken with respect to wait times.” He has publisher’s discretion. The act of mailing or e-mailing material shall be considered an expressed warranty by the contributor set a fee schedule and also said, “…the fee must be forwarded to drivers, and not that the material is original and in no way an infringement on retained by the trucking companies.” the rights of others. Pro-Trucker Magazine is written and produced in Surrey, B.C., and printed by Coastal Web Press Inc., Vancouver Container Truckers’ Association representative, Gavin McGarrigle, Langley, B.C. said, “It’s time for those opposing this plan to get with the program and realize PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT that the days of undercutting and downloading costs onto drivers are over.” #40033055 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE Unfortunately the new policy will only work if a follow-up program (with CANADIAN ADDRESSES sharp teeth) is there to guarantee compliance. TO CIRCULATION DEPT. 9693 129th Street. On another note, due to a computer crash, if you have reserved an indoor spot SURREY, B.C. V3T 3G3 at BC Big Rig Weekend, please call us to ensure your name is still on our list. Email: tori.protrucker@shaw.ca

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• Pro-Trucker Magazine Show & Shine • Ride & Drive • Conference Sessions & Luncheon • Various Entertainment • While at Truxpo don’t miss Pacific Heavy Equipment Show right next door For more information Call: 1-888-454-7469 or Visit us online: PAGE 4

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LETTERS to the EDITOR

e Whit azine John ker Mag ruc Pro-T

John White gazine Pro-Trucker Ma

Letters to the editor are occasionally edited for length, language and objectionable content.

John The article in the Bear’s View this month hit close to home for me. Too many accidents witnessed. Families, kids, pedestrians, animals... I’ve been able to keep trucking because I’ve always had the knowledge that the accident has caused the death or injury. Speed and impact is a very black and white picture. December 19, 2012 my views were changed, as was my bubble of acceptance, after witnessing an accident and being unable to save the driver from the water. What is there for drivers out there that need the job to support their family yet struggle emotionally to keep putting miles on? Who is out there to listen to us when we are having our nervous breakdowns after having witnessed an example of the above? There seriously needs to be more for the emotional health of drivers out there than there is now. I know I’m not the only one out there wanting and needing it. Sincerely, Jme Andrew - Kelowna, BC

that trucks and those that drive them are invincible and nothing can harm or affect them. A good example of this is a television report I recently watched concerning suicide by truck. This, as we all know, is when someone purposely drives head on into the front of a truck. I am not in any way passing judgement of the poor individual who, for whatever reason, feels there is no other way out for them. The point I want to make is that the TV announcer at no time thought to mention, or consider, the devastating personal injuries that truck drivers often sustain or the mental anguish that they go through after being involved in one of those crashes. Many drivers never return to driving after being first on the scene of a bad accident but just because they do not go back on the road does not mean they are free of the memories.

John “White line fever, a sickness born down deep within my soul.” Some days I wonder, how I can better at running my truck, to achieve top efficiency. To squeeze every last MPG out of it while still making destinations on time, how to drive it gentle and not be hard on it while simultaneously getting the job done. I’ve been fortunate to have very good role models in how to do this, Eric Thiessen, Jeremy Thiessen, Ivan Remple, Just to name a few. I’ve been at this for almost 10 years and I still learn little tricks Editor’s note: I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately people every day to make me, and my truck, run a little better, a from outside the industry are often under the misconception little smoother. It’s discouraging to learn about all these

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V

LIFE TIME

W TY

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Editor’s note: It sounds like you’ve got a good handle on the important things and that you’re heading in the right direction to be that driver that young people look up to. But don’t be too quick to blame the driving schools for the quickie courses – the provincial governments, they set the standards for testing in each province. In the 1990’s the Federal Government spent millions of dollars putting together a course that they said would be the minimum standard for Canadian truck drivers. Then they never had the intestinal fortitude to make it mandatory nationwide. Seems it’s easier to bring in temporary foreign drivers instead of spending the money needed to train young people. Most schools offer very good advanced driver training but they also are forced to offer a bare bones course which only teaches enough to pass the test, or they will lose a big portion of their business to their competitors. Most people cannot afford the advanced courses and government red

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driver schools pumping out steering wheel holders and seat warmers, it’s killing the industry. I hope that one day I will be considered a true “driver” and people will ask me for the same advice I asked for when I was coming up. Listen to the wiser generation kids. Those old hands know a little something about the road and how to run it. Keep the shiny side up! Trevor Thiessen

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tape prevents them from getting student loans. One inspector I know routinely used to tell new drivers, “Here’s your license – now you can learn to drive.” By the way I took the liberty of putting quotation marks around the first sentence of your letter. It sounds like another verse from the same Merle Haggard song applies to you, “Guess I’ll die with this fever in my soul.” John I remember growing up as a kid trucking with my dad and him giving a wave or a blink of the marker lights to say. “Hi ‘n how you doing driver?” Now a days you’re lucky if you get 1 return wave out of 10. You can however tell which ones are going to wave and which ones aren’t, just by looking at the type of the truck they drive. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t expect every driver to wave but it’s just a nice gesture to let people know that we’re all out here for the same thing -trucking! Somewhere along the road we lost our way, so to all you drivers out there, next time you see someone wave, take a couple seconds out of your day with a wave or a blink of the marker lights. Trucking used to be a brotherhood. So I don’t care what you drive or who you’re pulling for, if you’re wondering I’ll be the guy that just waved at ya… Trucker Trev Editor’s note: Keep it up Trev – odds are pretty soon you’ll get 2 out of 10 responses and who knows where it may end.

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The Bear’s View

Sgt. Mark Whitworth

I traveled through the B.C. interior on a short vacation over the Long Weekend and thought I would share some of my experience with others who do this regularly, especially professional drivers. Although it was mostly an uneventful drive for my family and me, we did see a few things that caught our attention and likely others as well. Even while on a family vacation it is difficult for me to

JUNE 2014

forget what I do as a police officer and ignore some of the bad driving habits seen everywhere, and of course, there are also many good ones. The response to these observations is usually a brief comment to my wife and son – who are both quite accustomed to this – about how improvements could be made to the other’s driving behaviour and occasionally, highlighting examples of thoughtful drivers who seem to realize there are other drivers on the road. It is unfortunate that some drivers don’t think about their driving actions more often and realize that even a seemingly simple action can be extremely frustrating and dangerous for other drivers. For example, those slowing down abruptly on a main highway to look at a road side attraction, without signalling or moving off the travel lane. To them, it may seem that everyone should be sharing the same level of

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interest in the attraction and know exactly what it is they’re doing when in fact, it takes most of us by surprise. It is particularly concerning and dangerous when these drivers do this while a commercial vehicle is traveling at highway speeds not far behind. Fortunately, most professional drivers have come to expect these occurrences and respond appropriately. An example of this was seen while traveling on a four lane stretch of road when a vehicle in the left lane decided, just as the right lane was ending, that they were going to make a right turn off the highway. The highway was quite busy with vehicles traveling at 100km/h. The offending vehicle almost came to a complete stop in the left lane with its right signal on and numerous vehicles approaching from the rear, in both lanes. It quickly changed from a two southbound lane to a three lane highway with vehicles braking hard and a few near misses. Although these actions don’t surprise me any longer, it does generate a few emotions when it occurs. I have tried for many years to understand why drivers continue to ignore others on the road and fail to realize how their actions affect everyone else. These drivers are stopped by police whenever unsafe behaviors are seen and appropriate action is taken. In some instances, these drivers have difficulty grasping what it is they did wrong while others do learn. There are many examples that I’m certain most of you could share also.

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My advice to these drivers when I stop them is to think about how their actions affect others. If a turn is missed, find a safe place to turn around. If you see an animal at the side of the road, signal and pull completely off the road. If there is no safe place then don’t stop or slow down. If someone catches up to you on the highway they are traveling at a greater average speed than you are and the best place for you to be is behind them. Let others pass safely - don’t speed up in passing lanes and slow when the one lane ends. I’m sure there are other examples that many of you could share. I like to express my appreciation to the professional drivers I encountered on our trip. It was a pleasure following commercial vehicles along our route – consistent speeds, signaling when required, moving over to let traffic by when

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possible. I know we really appreciated it and I’m sure others may learn from it! ***** Trucking ~ You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

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

Chicken Lights ‘n Chrome I was sitting in the bosses office years ago, absolutely filthy with jewelers rouge, when he spoke to me with a grin of acknowledgement beaming across his face. “You can sure tell that a guy’s truck is shiny if he stops and turns back to take a look in admiration at the work he’s done.” My Kenworth was in fact, sparkling. After running off highway for the previous two years I decided to enter the ol’ girl in BC Big Rig Weekend truck show. It didn’t take more than a couple of hours of cleaning for me to realise the daunting task I had taken on. The calcium rich mud had penetrated every nook and cranny of my ride and the frame had been

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sand blasted by thousands of miles of gravel road and now badly needed some new paint. Pressure washing three times, wire brushing the frame and cut polishing the aluminum were the major labour intense portions of the clean up. Then came the cut waxing and polishing of the “black” paint. If you are unaware, black paint shows everything. Once the major stuff was done I ventured into the finer details like blackening and shining the tires. Pulling rocks from the treads and painting the logos white on the sidewalls. It’s the little things that will make or break a judgement call should your truck be in a ‘tie’ on show day. I had just driven my truck out of the bush, delivered my load the following morning and set to work for a total of four days in the yard cleaning and polishing. My four days of cleaning started at 7AM and ended around midnight. Friday rolled around and I parked my truck in the slot for the show, next to dozens of other gleaming semi’s. Seeing the highway rigs I was up against, I knew I didn’t have a snowballs chance in Hell that I was going to win anything, but that’s not why I went. Strolling around the grounds over the weekend I met lots of people and had a great time shootin the breeze. On Sunday I stood watching as the winners of each category went forward to retrieve their trophies. I never made it to the podium, but I came away from that weekend with the best thing a trucker could ask for, new friends, a sense of community, and fond memories of a timeless working lifestyle.

Good luck to this year’s Big Rig Weekend entries, have fun with it and I’ll see you there. ***** I just received my tax return for 2013 back from Revenue Canada and it puzzles me!!! They are questioning how many dependents I claimed. Under the line: “List all dependents” I wrote: 1 million crack heads; 7.3 million Unemployed people, 100,000 people in prisons; Half of Haiti and Africa; 105 Senators and 308 Members of Parliament. Evidently, this was NOT an acceptable answer. ***** National Tank Services Open New Regina Facility. Due to rapid growth, NTS is opening a new 34,000 square foot facility in Regina that will allow them to continue to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations. Six drivethru bays and 25 mechanics will enable them to service up to 12 units at once. This new facility will provide inspection, maintenance, repairs and cleaning services not only to bulk trailers, but also to tractors and trailers of all types. It is located at 705 Henderson Drive in the North-East region of Regina, along the Ring Rd and McDonald Street. Jason Graham, the Service Manager will be happy to address your inquiries at 306-721-1988. For more information please contact Michel Torelli at 905-315-1150. “We Keep Your Wheels Turning”

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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.

Dave Madill

Reflections Thru My Windshield

Not that I have to explain most of my work but this was always one of John’s; (our erstwhile editor); favorite poems and I thought some of you might like to know how I came up with it. First here is the poem which some of you may remember.

The Rookie

We heard him top that mountain pass; the brakes began to squeal He headed down that six percent hands clenched upon the wheel Smoke was coming from the back by the time he hit the level The color of his brake drums would have even pleased the devil Sweat was pouring from his brow when he pulled off to the side He shook his head in wonder and said “Man, what a ride” His trainer said, “You did OK you kept it on the road But the next time we come over here we have to pull a load”

with a pilot car and we made it to the top of Cabbage and I pulled into the brake check and had started to do my inspection just as a, (unnamed carrier), team truck pulled in. I could see he was unloaded by the bounce of the unit and the height of the springs but I could also see it was a trainer and trainee by the way they were doing their inspection. I wandered back to my pilot car and told them we would let the “rookie” go ahead of us as they looked to be empty and I didn’t want to hold them up. She agreed thinking that it was a good idea that we would not be worrying about a rook passing a wide load on a steep downhill so we waited and pulled out behind them and started down the hill. Now Cabbage has a bad name as far as hills are concerned but I had never had any problems I was headed west on I 84, overweight, over width and with it and I expected none this time. I selected the proper

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gear and turned the Jake on, heard the snarl of that big old kitty and settled in for a long slow ride. We were not even a 1/3rd of the way down when I noticed the smell of brakes and I hollered back to my pilot car that we had smoke on the hill even though I had not yet touched the brakes. She replied she smelled it also but my brakes looked fine and wondered what was up. We rounded a corner and I could see the other truck ahead of me with smoke rolling from the drums and proceeding at a slow rate of speed so I dropped another gear and jaked the big load down. Ended up having to drop one more gear to stay behind as I could see that the rookie was having problems and I sure as heck did not want to compound things by passing him with the wide load I had on. Finally we made it to the bottom of the hill and just after we straightened out I seen the rookie pull to the side so I checked and then pulled out to go around. As I passed I looked over to see the young man driving with a death grip on the wheel, white faced and with sweat streaming down his face while his trainer talked and tried to get him back his composure. Pilot behind me also got a real good look and stated that the brake drums were red hot on their trailer but it did not look like they had any fire so they would probably be all right. We proceeded along the road and pulled into the next truck stop and watched the rookie and his trainer roll on by just as we pulled off. Needless to say the poem wrote itself over a cup of Joe and we were back on the road again. Now my friends, as Paul Harvey used to say, ”Now you know the rest of the story…”.

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Lil’Roadhammer By Dennis Ruttan

Dennis Ruttan, tells stories of life on the road as seen through the eyes of his toy poodle and partner.

Tough Times I figure most drivers can appreciate that lately we have gone through a pretty tough patch. It seems that as fast as we fix one thing another problem rears it’s ugly head. I always get to do our pretrip as it is easier for my petite butt to slide under the truck and trailer. Also I have to say that I can really outhustle

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the old boy. Often it seems that I spot a problem and have to be the messenger bearing the bad news. Heck of a feeling first thing in the morning to see the Man hang his head and shrug but I have to say that Dennis always bounces back with a smile and often a strange twist to bad news. His favourite is, “At least we have our health”. Yeah right! Try to buy groceries (or a juicy bone) with good health! It ain’t gonna happen - or at least it hasn’t yet for this dog. Another of his famous lines is, “It could have been worse.” This message really hit home for us in April with the senseless shootings at W.F.P. Nanaimo Sawmill. We knew one of the fellows who was fatally shot and certainly prayed long and hard for his family and again thanked God for our health. You have to give W.F.P. credit as, out of respect for those involved, they shut all their mills down for the rest of the week. Safety is a big part of my job and the other night when Dennis was airing up a low trailer tire at home I spotted a twist and kink in the air line from the compressor. I tried to get his attention but it was another classic case of his selective hearing. Finally after an hour of only gaining about 10 pounds of air, the idiot actually followed me to the problem spot. Of course the story changed when he told it to Yvonne. He said that HE spotted the problem and then fixed it. B.S.! Why can’t he can’t give a little credit where credit is due? It could have something to do with that medical problem he has. It seems that words stick in his throat and he chokes when swallowing his pride and admitting he is wrong… I often wonder how Jake the Trucker

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put up with it for 12 years of team driving. Obviously he was a better dog than me. The other day I spotted a saggy front spring with a bad pin and immediately pointed it out to Dennis and made him mark it in our pretrip. I still haven’t heard the end of that as Dennis said I should have overlooked it rather than forcing him to replace the front springs, pins, and bushings. The last time we were on a scale he was 173 lbs and I was 4 lbs so who do you think did the forcing? Of course blaming me gives him a wee bit of slack with Yvonne as she is the one who has to stretch the nickel to cover our expenses and keep our ride safe and reliable. All B.S. aside the Man is very safety conscious and does all his repairs immediately and without taking shortcuts. We may drive an older

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truck but we do our best to do it safely. Like all drivers, Dennis and I both like to get the best, ‘Bang for our buck’ when having work done, and we have found a great shop in Lantzville, just outside of Naniamo, that gives us just that. It is Independent Diesel. A lot of older drivers will remember Al Anderson, from when IDSL was the Freightliner Dealer in Nanaimo. Some shops have been known to try to duck the issue but they never hesitate to stand behind the repairs they do. Not only for the labour - IDSL has always been knows to go after the parts supplier whenever possible to get the whole job covered under warranty. I have to say that my little black butt sure feels good riding above their repairs. *****

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The Other Day By Mel McConaghy

The other day I was online, talking to a friend of mine on Skype. He is truck driver that I met through my web site. This guy and I have been in contact with each other for a number of years now. Remembering exactly how many has become a problem at this point, because of my ever advancing years, but it sometimes seems like a life time. When in fact, according to my wife, who thinks it’s her job to point out these little shortfalls, it’s been about six or seven years. Now this guy is a heck of a nice guy, his only problem is, he has a speech impediment. When we e-mail I have no

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For more information visit our website www.cubbybuddy.ca problem understanding him, but when we talk face to face on Skype, I miss half the conversation because he’s Scottish and his brogue is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I spent some time in the British Isles while I was in the Navy but none of that time was ever spent on the history of trucking over there. I was too busy looking at historical buildings and other well-built things a young sailor would be looking at. It wasn’t until I started conversing with this Scotsman, and he sent me some books, that I realized, trucking over there, especially heavy hauling, didn’t automatically go from horses to motorized vehicles like it did here. They used Steam Tractors. Big old steel wheeled, fire breathing steam tractors, with a fireman and steersman. They pulled wagons that looked like over sized farm wagons. They hauled steam locomotives and over sized steam engines for ships from the factories to the docks to be used in their ship building industry or shipped around the world to their customers. Most of these moves were made at night, when there was very little traffic, and utilized very large crews. Considering their speed was only about four or five miles an hour it’s a good thing that on that island, you are never more than 71 kilometers from salt water. Although he’s far too young to have driven one of these monsters, he can still remember them. It’s a good thing he communicates by email and not an audio recording, so we understand what he is saying and can still benefit from his experiences. His name is Colin Black and you can read his stories every month in Pro-Trucker Magazine.

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Rig of the Month

PRO-TRUCKER MAGAZINEe

By: John White

Photos

by

Shaunessy Rae Nichol, Nanaimo B.C.

Randy Bryant from Nanaimo, BC is our June Rig of the later I moved to Pender Harbour with my Mom. When I Month Driver. This is his story: was 3 we moved to Sechelt, where she says the only things I was born April 1st 1981 in Langley BC and six months I ever played with were my toy trucks. By the time I was in

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elementary school I had learned that if I stood at the end of my driveway pumping my arm and waving at the trucks, most of them would throw me a honk. When growing up in Sechelt my best friend was Lisa O’Neil, daughter to ‘Big Al’ O’Neil, from Gibson’s Building Supply. Everyone knew Big Al and the Super B he drove to town every day for supplies. My first truck ride was in his old Ford Aeromax L9000 and on Spring break he would take me on the odd trip to Gibsons and even let me move trailers around the yard. Doug, a friend of my mom’s, had an old dodge gravel truck that was the loudest and smokiest thing that I’d ever seen but when he would take me for a run to the gravel pit, I’d climb in quick and sit high and proud in the jump seat like I was king of the world. On my twelfth birthday we moved to Nanoose Bay, where I joined Sea Cadets and developed a love for the sea and the Navy. I met a friend at cadets whose mother was dating Julian, the owner of J.R. Herter Contracting. He owned two trucks that were on with Nicholson Ventures Ltd. As the years went on Julian’s operation grew and I decided that whether I joined the Navy or not I would have to get my Class 1 because those shiny trucks still drew me like a moth to a flame. When I got my driver’s license my mom gave me a 1990 ford ranger and I installed a CB so I could listen to the truckers as we cruised the town. By this point J.R. Herter

Randy Bryant contracting had gone from a small two truck operation to a small company called White Line Estate. As I grew up I started thinking of Julian as the father I had been missing all my life and he kind of took me under his wing and taught me about trucking. I worked dead end jobs around the marine community and by the time I got out of high school and cadets, I was living on my own in Sidney, B.C. moving customer’s boats to and from marinas for Sherwood Marine Center. The summer I turned 19 I got my class one learners, intending to get my license, but I had to put that on hold when I got laid off from work and had to move back home. I was able to convince the province that there was a future for

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me in trucking so EI paid for my course while I worked part time in Richardson’s warehouse. The job I was supposed to have at Richardson’s was not there when I finished so the next morning I went to see Julian. He said to come back after lunch and we would go for a drive. I went back after lunch and talk about nervous. The man I looked at like a father took me out in one of his favorite trucks and what did I do? In true rookie fashion I coasted over some train tracks and blew about 101 shifts. He looked at me and said, “I thought you knew how to drive? How’d you pass the road test”? I had nothing to say... Later that day Deane, one of his senior drivers, came in and asked how I did. He said, “It wasn’t pretty.” Deane said, “I bet he was just nervous in front of you. Let me take him out and we’ll see what happens”. Julian agreed and so Saturday morning Deane and I started doing California rounders. We took paper down from Port Alberni and brought produce back for Thrifty Foods. I’d only left the coast twice before. Once to Ottawa, in fourth grade when my aunt became a member of Parliament, and once to Tacoma for military exercises, so seeing California and the big city of L.A. was just amazing. I drove with Deane for four weeks with no problems. He laughed at me but then said that he was nervous himself when he first started out. After Christmas I was sent out with another driver who was to teach me about driving the lower 48 and Canada from New Brunswick to BC. I had to

have a partner because I was only 19 and too young to drive truck in some states. Six weeks later I was sound asleep in the bunk, somewhere in Ontario, when I felt a big bump, then heard a bang and swearing. I jumped out to find that my ‘seasoned professional’ had taken the wrong exit for a truck and was attempting to turn into a parking lot. Our new Great Dane trailer meanwhile was in the ditch and the bang I heard was the refer hitting the back wall of the sleeper. I said, “What now?” and he replied, “I don’t know.” So I climbed out of the truck into the cold and saw that there was no major damage to the truck other than a small dent and the refer only had a couple pieces of broken plastic. I hoped in the driver’s seat, locked everything up and put the 15 speed into deep reduction, (Something my partner knew nothing about.) and managed to pull the trailer out of the ditch. I then climbed back into the bunk and went back to sleep. I woke up later that day to find we were at the Flying J outside of Montreal. My partner wasn’t in the truck so I went in for breakfast. I didn’t see him so I ate and went back to the truck where I found him in the bunk - drunk. So there I was, more or less on my own, with all of 3 months under my belt and only having been in Montreal once before. I got the map book out and managed to get to our drop and then back to the truck stop where I climbed into bed and slept before calling the office. They asked why I was calling – wasn’t it the other guys time to be up? I lied and said he was tired so I let him

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sleep. I got our reload, which fortunately was going to bring us home rather than back down south, and hit the road. My partner slept well into the evening and when he woke up he asked where we were. I told him how I felt about his drinking and that it was up to him to tell the boss what happened when we got home. Not much was said about it after that and the rest of the trip went as normal. After arriving home I got called to the office and I felt like I was back in high school and the principal was going to yell at me. However the scene was much different. He asked so I told him what happened and he said that was pretty much the story he had gotten and thanked me for taking care of things. He also said that I was now the lead driver on the truck and he would find someone else to send with me. I was excited and a bit scared but he said that I seemed to have a good grasp on things and, since I wasn’t afraid to ask if I didn’t know something, things would go just fine. The miles started to add up and the job continued but as time went on I started feeling frustrated with the lack of home time. Then one day we were in Atlanta, Georgia, delivering frozen fish, when the world changed. My partner and I were relaxing in the cab while getting unloaded when I had noticed that the truck had stopped shaking. I got up and went in the warehouse to find the trailer half empty and no one around. I found everyone in the staff room and asked the supervisor why no one was unloading my trailer. I said, “I have a schedule to keep, places to go and other things to be

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I figured I should be able to put some distance between me and the east coast. As we drove we saw gas stations with line-ups around the block and truck stops would only sell Canadian trucks 50 gallons of fuel at a time. I was a little worried but hoped, if we got far enough away from the coast, things would improve. By later the next day we made it to a truck stop in the Midwest. I pulled up to the pump and told my partner to keep filling until the tanks were full or they cut him off. I managed to get a call through to my boss and I told him what I had been up to. I expected to get yelled at for wasting almost an entire tank of fuel, but I was told not to worry and to head towards Chicago. The next day I called from the outskirts of Lafayette, Indiana and he said to pick up a load he found just south of Chicago and head home. It was good to be heading home but what a scary couple of days for a young man out on the open road. By 2004 I decided that after almost 5 years on the road it was time to get closer to home so I found a job hauling super b’s that would keep me in B.C., Alberta, Washington and Oregon. Julian didn’t take the news well but I think he was more hurt than anything. Two weeks later I was told that I wasn’t allowed leave. I said, “Excuse me?” He said he had bought a set of super b’s and had put my truck to work with the same company that I had found the job with. I laughed and said, “Okay let’s do this.” About 3 months later we finally realized that the job

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A

wasn’t working out so we pulled the truck off. I went to Julian and said “Let’s put the ‘White Lines’ name back on the door and I’ll find enough work to keep us busy”. He said, “All right - it can’t be any worse than what we’ve been doing.” So off I went and the truck never missed a beat. I was so busy in fact that he had to buy another set of trailers. I ran this part of the company on my own so over the next few months I learned all about managing, billing and payroll. One day I met Dean Ruttan and we soon became good friends and started doing business together. That summer Dean ran into a rough patch at home while we were in the middle of a Sure Span job up north of Port McNeil. Dean and I had spent the weekend moving trailer loads of equipment to the bush and I decided to stay there Sunday night to meet the Sure Span crew Monday morning. Meanwhile Dean and the other truck went back to Duncan for the last loads. Monday morning I woke up when I heard the crew rumbling down the logging road and we went straight to work. Right around lunch time I saw Dean’s yellow Western Star coming down the road and who climbs out of the truck but Dennis Ruttan and Jake the Trucker. I must say to finally meet the man and the dog was pretty cool. After years of reading Jake’s stories in Pro-Trucker about riding in the truck with Dennis, and then to see them both standing there in the flesh, was a really cool moment in my career. (As cheesy as I’m sure that sounds…lol.) It wasn’t long after meeting Jake that he passed away so I feel really privileged

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to have had the opportunity to meet him. As time went on, I became the Dispatcher and then the Operations Manager for the White Line Estate fleet until the only thing I was driving was a desk. I learned lots about the industry but by late 2006 the US economy was struggling and we were getting burned by brokers and customers so Julian decided to down size. He started selling off equipment and wanted me to go back to pulling b train but I felt that after 7 years my time had come to an end. I said I would stay till he no longer needed me but then I would be moving on. In October of 2006 I took delivery of my first truck as an owner operator. It was a brand new Western Star Lowmax and went to work hauling pipe to Fort McMurray for Can Am West Carriers. That was the first of a few short jobs I took as I moved from company to company looking for a home in the industry that fit my lifestyle. Then one day my friend Andrew Wincott called and said I should check out Sunrise Transport in Cranbrook. I called and worked there for a little over 2 years where I saw some of the best money I`ve ever made in trucking - I even bought a second truck and trailer and put a driver in it. Everyone I knew told me I was nuts and that I wouldn`t make any more money, but of course I had to learn the hard way. Frank was a good driver and did a good job for me but after a year he decided flat decking wasn`t for him. I was fine as I wasn`t making much money so I sold his truck and trailer. I had an interview with the manager at Marpole Transport

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and decided to go to work for them. I went back to Cranbrook and told Glen and Brandon what my plans were and thanked them both for an amazing couple of years but I wanted to be home more again. They both understood so I said my good byes and headed for my new life at Marpole. I liked my new job and it had me home every weekend but unfortunately, that summer, on the Monday after BC Big Rig Weekend, I had the worst, scariest morning of my life. I flipped my truck and trailer and honestly didn`t think I was going to make it out. I was quite badly injured and very upset that, after all these years and all the crazy stunts, on this quiet Monday morning, on a stretch of highway I`d been up and down countless times, that this happened. After the dust settled the officer told me that it was as much of an accident as it could have been. I wasn`t speeding, I wasn`t driving like a lunatic - it was just an unfortunate series of events that happened in a split second. After 3 months of healing I bought an `03 Western Star with a C-15 Cat and went back to work. It was my first and last cat engine. After running the truck a short time I had engine issues. The engine had warranty on it but Cat said that poor craftsmanship during the rebuild, something that had been done prior to my buying it, voided my warranty and they wouldn`t cover the entire bill. Frustrated and angry I took the truck and went back to work a few days later. The following summer I had another failure just south of Port Angeles. I limped the truck back to the shop in Victoria.

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“Our mileage was 75% to the United States in 2008. Then Wall Street collapsed.” Donnie Fillmore Jr., President, Atlantic Pacific Transport Ltd., Clairville, New Brunswick “We used to haul

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is often too late. At

shipping 10 loads a day

Northbridge®, our

to three in three years.”

flexible approach means we can make adjust-

Nobody knows trucking and logistics, or

ments as your needs

the unique challenges

change because we

facing transportation

know your business—

companies, more than

whether you’re a

we do at Northbridge

“meat and potatoes”

Insurance®*. With over

operator or a

60 years of industry

1,000-truck fleet.

experience, quite

Ask your broker

simply, we get trucking.

how Northbridge

We understand that

Insurance lets you focus

market forces can impact your

trucking specialists, they got it

business, putting your insurance

when my business changed

premiums at odds with your

dramatically,” says Mr. Fillmore.

revenue.

Some insurers aren’t interested

“Because Northbridge are

in re-evaluating your contract

on your customers and profits. “Working with Northbridge is a partnership,” says Mr. Fillmore. “They’re very helpful and always there for us.”

nbins.com/trucking

*Policies are underwritten by Northbridge Commercial Insurance Corporation. ®Registered trademark of Northbridge Financial Corporation (“Northbridge”). Used under license from Northbridge.

JUNE 2014

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PAGE 33


PRO-TRUCKER MAGAZINEe

uncertain terms, that I wanted that engine out of my truck and a rebuilt N14 put in its place. They looked at me with shock and said that it wasn’t an easy task. A couple hours later my truck arrived with the engine in pieces and the

NEW Extended Hours Mon-Fri 8 am- Midnight • Sat 8 am- 5pm

decision was made that they would rebuild my CAT, at their cost, and get me back to work while we figured out how to install the Cummins. Over the next few weeks I talked with Bruce, one of the owners of I.D.S.L., about how we could do this. He told me that the factory said we would never get an N14 Cummins

under the hood of a Lomax. Challenge accepted! I rolled the old girl into the shop, looked at Curtis Oxbury, the mechanic, and said let’s do this! By that night we had the CAT out and sitting on the shop floor. By Saturday afternoon Curtis had the new engine sitting in the truck and it fit like a glove. Now came the big challenge, making this engine talk to the truck using the parts we had. Curtis designed his own engine-tocab harness and it worked - the truck came alive again. Next he made a new wiring diagram and parts list so that if I had a failure other shops would know what had been done. It was definitely a long 5 days but my hats off to Bruce, Curtis and the whole crew at I.D.S.L. They did what the factory didn’t think could be done and I`m now well on my way to owning a very custom 2003 Western Star! r

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PAGE 34

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Ask us about our new sign on bonus

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PAGE 35


PRO-TRUCKER MAGAZINEe

Tyres Across The Pond 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.

Mom and Pop Team

Many years ago when I was a young trucker and just recently married to the Lady Bella, before the addition of two boys to our family, I used to take my wife on trips with me. It wasn’t a mom and pop team as you would know it, my wife doesn’t drive and sleeper cabs were as rare as rocking horse dung. For a lot of the trips I drove an old Atkinson, it was a cab-over of course, as were the majority of trucks back then. Atkinson were the mainstay of UK trucking along with a few others like ERF and Foden. They had a wooden framed cab covered in fibreglass and aluminum and were a far cry from the warm comfortable trucks of today. The window in the drivers door took both hands to raise or lower and on a warm day it would be down but if it started to rain you had to steer with your knees so you could pull it up and lock it into place. As I had no sleeper cab the trips that my wife went on meant I had to be back home without an overnight stop. This wasn’t usually a problem as tach-o-graphs

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JUNE 2014


PRO-TRUCKER MAGAZINEe

Parts: 604-852-5848 Service: 604-852-6066 Unit 100 - 663 Sumas Way Abbotsford, BC

PARTS SERVICE INSTALLS AVAILABLE FOR THE FOLLOWING

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www.fraservalleytruckparts.ca

We Have Moved 32860 Mission Way, Mission

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32860 Mission Way Mission, BC, V2V 5X9

TEL: 604 826 2614 • 1 877 967 8585 FAX: 604 826 0392 • parts@fvtp.ca PAGE 38

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JUNE 2014


PRO-TRUCKER MAGAZINEe

and tracking systems were still in the far distant future so, like many drivers back then, I just kept driving until I got home. The trips my wife went on weren’t too long, usually just to Hull or Liverpool, which is about halfway into England. It had to be somewhere I could start early in the morning, get the freight delivered, and find a return load all in the same working day. It normally worked out well but I did get caught out once on a trip to Hull. I was hauling the usual load of wire rope for the fishing boats and after 30 minutes of my arriving the trailer was empty and I made a few phone calls to find a load home. That particular day there were no backloads to be found in Hull itself, which was very unusual for a big port, so I had to go over the new Humber Bridge south into Scunthorpe. By the time I got to the loading point it was too late to load so the warehouse clerk told me that they would have to load us first thing in the morning. “Oh dear,” I said. (Or something like that…well not really like that at all.) If I had been alone I would’ve got a wash in the factory toilets and bedded down for the night across the seats and engine cowling. But as you all know, the female of the species expect a more comfortable night’s sleep so I dropped the trailer at the factory and went looking for a cheap bed and breakfast. I found one not too far away and booked us in but we had Toby, our old Boxer dog, with us on that trip and

unfortunately had to sleep in the cab. In those less regulated days of yore, when I was loading all day and driving all night, the chance of a weekend at home was not to be sniffed at. So when I got loaded at my depot last thing on a Friday for an early Monday morning delivery I hatched a plan to have a weekend at home. The boss told me to leave on Sunday and be waiting to deliver outside the drop on Monday morning, he said, Colin you MUST be there first thing Monday. I knew how long it would take me to drive to the delivery so there was no need to waste a full Sunday of leisure time when leaving during the very early hours of Monday morning would give me enough time. My good lady and I had a very nice weekend, we visited an outdoor market and looked round all the stalls, and we bought a couple of burgers from a fast food stall. This was another trip that my wife was coming on as it was up into the highlands of Scotland. My truck was right outside the house, so about one o’ clock in the morning I fired up the old Cummins. I think we got about 45 minutes into the trip when the fast food burgers we ate kicked in. We were both violently sick at the side of the road and there was no way we could go on any further. I had to phone the boss, who was still in bed, and say I’d felt unwell all weekend but thought I would be ok to make the delivery. The best laid plans as they say… It took almost the rest of that week before we were back to normal. r

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Call Now: 1 (877) 452-9414 x.8706 Email: recruiting@continentalcartage.com Visit: www.continentalcartage.com

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