Haul Road Heroes and SuperTrucker Shenanigans

nativewolf · January 30, 2019, 09:51:30 PM

Quote from: Southside logger on January 30, 2019, 09:16:08 PM
I don't know the latest but their is a serious proposal to make that whole thing a toll road, $50 ish for a passenger car to make the trip, not sure about a truck. I suspect the DOT enforcement will become even more intense if that happens.

I drive 81 almost every week sometimes the spend 10 hours on the thing. I would be all for more enforcement on 81 and slower truck speeds and no trucks in left lane until they fix the *DanG thing...then no trucks in left lane every. I ship by 81 almost every day but would gladly take a hit. Hopefully it would keep all the wonderful Shenandoah Valley from becoming one gigantic warehouse center. 20%+ of all traffic on 81 is trucks which is just...crazy high. 81 is not a well designed road and certainly traffic statistics bear out how dangerous it is. So a toll road would hit my pockets but if it removes the stress of driving and saves a few dozen lives I'd be ok with that. Hopefully it would push some distribution centers away as a benefit.

mike_belben · January 30, 2019, 09:57:45 PM

You need to go further up into scranton toward binghamton then .. Or even worse, NY thruway, mass pike, boston, anything thru connecticut or jersey. 81 is the best trucks and cars coexisting i have ever seen by far. I love 81.

DOT is heavy on it already. If you park at any of the rest stops that have had decades of trucks on the shoulder of the in/out ramps that are now heavily posted, its a $100 ticket. They skip the rvsnand campers though cuz VA is for lovers right, see the caverns leave your check! just ticket the truck drivers. My bad, thought i could close my eyes here on this mile of gravel at 3am instead of wrecking the truck. Not like there is EVER an open space ANYWHERE after dark since ELD. Oh govt shutdown, lets close the rest areas to save money. Yeah one mexican taking out the trash will save us a boatload. How many legislative aids go home?

Skip · January 31, 2019, 09:21:27 AM

You wouldn't like Buckeye D.O.T. either , :(

mike_belben · January 31, 2019, 10:19:20 AM

Theres a chance DOT will get ya someday in anystate. Theres a guarantee a toll will get ya everyday, in every state. A $50 toll is unacceptable for me when there are alternatives still open.

The reduction of hills may pay off anyway, ive never been that way.

Grizzly · January 31, 2019, 01:00:40 PM

I was hauling logs out the Saddle Hills in AB pulling a 3 axle hay-rack along with the rest of the fleet which included 2 other hay-racks and about a dozen jeep/pole units. Jeep/pole units were hauling tree length while us hay-racks were hauling the pulpwood. DOT decided to setup for the oil haulers on the hwy but that just happened to be where we were coming out of the bush to hit the hwy and head for the mill. Well the hwy trucks got a little slow so one of the DOT chaps decided to walk over and check me and my load out. He thought some of my front logs were sticking up higher than what our permit allowed so he set up his height pole and was trying to get the attention of one of the other DOT chaps to tell him when the pole was at height. It wasn't working so I finally walked over and walked up to the pickup he was sitting in and mentioned how his coworker was looking for some help. So he looks right up and sees what's going on and starts pointing down and then down some more........ I'm looking over and the pole is certainly below my top log. The DOT by my truck is looking back our way and looking puzzled as well. So the guy I'm standing by points down once more indicating just a tiny bit and then looks at me and asks, "figure that's low enough?". I very quietly chuckled and suggested that that should be about right and headed back to my truck. The DOT guy by my truck is taking down the height pole and doesn't even bother to look at measure just looks at me and asks, "what was that all about?". I shrugged my shoulders and said I'm not sure but maybe he didn't see it like you and me. He chuckled, put his gear away and said, "get er gone ya hear".

Even DOT has some fun now and again.

barbender · January 31, 2019, 01:21:08 PM

They're not all bad guys, Grizzly. Some of them are power trippers, some of them are just kind of naive about how trucks work, and then there are some that are solid guys that get it and just want to keep the roads safe👍

mike_belben · January 31, 2019, 10:49:50 PM

Nevermind. Deleted video

Grizzly · February 07, 2019, 12:27:56 PM

In my first year of driving i was pulling a 42ft Univision convertible west through the Fraser River canyon (hwy 97 & 1) with a load of pipe bound for oil land (AB). I somehow didn't get the hotshot idiot attitude that many of my age group had and I've been very thankful for it over the years. I was quite a careful chap and was running the hills and curves a little off of optimum speed to try and learn the rhythm as I had felt that I sometimes rolled through with ease and sometimes it felt like work. So I was humming along and things were going alright. Traffic was very light so I wasn't holding anyone up and I was watching so that if anyone did get on my tail I could let them by. Well, anyway, after a while a couple of AB supertruckers pulling b-trains (the first b-trains with 4 axles not the later ones with 5)caught up and they start nattering on the cb about my speed and driving, and not politely. Well, I got a little embarrassed but held my position and just started focusing on finding a stretch of hwy where i could let them by nice and easy. So we keep going for a mile or two and a 3rd truck comes up behind us. But before I can get a worry in or a thought about getting off the road quick he pipes up on the cb and says "young fella, you just carry on. Those two chaps can be quiet and enjoy the ride. You do what you gotta do and be safe.". Well that was quite a boost to my confidence and it sure shut down the chatter from the other two young hotshots! And after I got those two past me he settled in behind me and helped me with quite a few little techniques that made me a much better driver. From that time on I could assess curves and hills with a greater level of accuracy, confidence, and that part that just allows you to roll. We parted ways at Kamloops as he pulled in and I carried on so I never met the fellow but I've always appreciated how he handled things that day and what he did for my driving career.

Stoneyacrefarm · February 07, 2019, 01:16:14 PM

Great story Griz.
Enjoyed reading it. 👍

thecfarm · February 07, 2019, 06:37:47 PM

A very nice guy,he was.

rjwoelk · February 07, 2019, 07:54:10 PM

Grizzly that is what happened to me on my first trip from kamloops to hinton. I got a fellow that coached me through the turns. Its scary full load of pipe on with it feeling like its tipping.
15 years latter i still take it easy. One guy said. If you feel you went to fast then for you you did. Heading back to winterpeg.(wimnipeg) . From Bowmanville ON 36000. 2 ft off rhe deck steel fabrication. Storm ahead but should be cleared by tomorrow.

sawguy21 · February 07, 2019, 10:09:20 PM

I am really glad you and Grizzly are good learners, I know those roads all too well. Far too many overdrive conditions and pay the price.

rjwoelk · February 08, 2019, 12:27:08 AM

Saw guy sometime coming through i need to get in touch and have a coffee. Do you live in vernon.

sawguy21 · February 13, 2019, 09:02:03 PM

That would be good!! I live in Enderby

rjwoelk · February 14, 2019, 05:17:14 PM

Ok will watch for it and try and give you a heads up.

Grizzly · February 21, 2019, 12:24:16 PM

Back in about '98 or so i was running for one of them outfits you should never work for, but anyway, i was running a load from out east (PA or OH) headed to Vancouver, BC and about midway through my work day i happened across scales at Haugen, MT on I-90. So i roll in cause you got to and roll over the pad with no worries cause i know i'm light, but then they flash the "park and bring in paperwork" light. So i'm wondering what's up but probably just a logbook check or inspection neither of which i'm worried about but they are a time consumer. So i park and grab my stuff and head on in. It's a beautiful day and i'm in Montana, what's not to like? So i lay my stuff on the counter and the officer politely asks me to wait which i do. While he's walking over i realize I've got a scale receipt from another scale with a time stamp on it that don't match my logbook and which i was sure was no longer in my possession. Well glory days! So as he's walking up to me and in full site of him i put a finger on it and begin sliding it my way and he slowly walks over and puts his finger on it and says i'll just slide that over my way how bouts. He and i both know he's got me dead to rights. So we go through the motions and get things figured out and he needs me to take an 8hr off as well as pay a fine. Now this is USA so the fine is cash only and they want more than i'm carrying. So now it's a phone call to the local judge who's out in her flower garden but takes the time to talk with me. After some small talk she confirms that that's all the money i got and gives the ok for me to be released for my 8hr rest. As this phone call has been happening we've all been watching an eastbound rig come off the hwy onto the ramp and he's doing the classical low gear crawl up to the scale. Classical in that any scale officer or driver know's exactly what that driver is trying to do. Update his logbook to be within 4hrs. So they scale him up and then call him in. They're not finished with me yet so i get to be there when he walks in and oh boy! This is gonna be entertaining! He's grumbling, yipping, and snipping before he gets through the door and all the way up to the counter. His officer, my officer, and i all look at each other and shake our heads. Another officer who'd been doing an inspection comes in another door and hears and rubs his hands in delight. This guy is asking for the full treatment and is going to get it. So i don't get to hear all the rest cause about now they get finished with me and i head back to the Silver Dollar which they have politely allowed me to do for my 8hr. I take my break and head out which causes me to pass the scale again and yep; that truck is sitting there and there's a wrecker parked out front of it. I don't know what all happened to him but i know that when you treat an officer badly when all he's trying to do is his job, things are going to end badly and much more expensive than when you try and cooperate with them. I rolled on to Coeur d'Alene where i needed fuel and a shower and having missed my Friday turnaround i now had plenty of time to make my delivery. Just another day on the road.