Sunday, September 20th, 2009
Kingdom City, MO, USA

Some people posted here they enjoyed my trucking tales ... so I'll keep updating till I get the first stepdeck work pay slip. That should happen on October the 1st.

I'm sitting at the Petro off I-70 west in MO writing this as I have to deliver 2 transformers to a customer in Lake Ozark, MO tomorrow. For some reason they don't look like cars, but rather like 2 big steel cabinets. Each is 8 ft tall and 7.5 ft wide and about 6 ft long. They weigh only 4,000 lbs each. And they've been keeping to themselves the entire 900 mile trip from Guelph, ON Canada to here.

Here's what happened. When I delivered Load #6 (9 coils to Peterborough, ON) on Friday, Dispatch asked if I needed a reset. I replied I had only done 2 loads and had a ton of hours. So they told me they were working on a load that delivered on Monday in MO.

I did something like 650 miles on Friday to be back in Guelph for the early Saturday morning (8 am) pickup. The customer was a plant 1 min away from our own yard and this was my first time there. The shipper was surprised to see me (which is never good) because:

A couple of "scientists" with big screwdrivers were still doing something inside the machines I was picking up; and "David (the Load Planner) promised me a rolling tarp stepdeck", according to the shipper.

I said I can't help him there but I re-checked their address and the shipper's name in the truck and told the guy, "You are on my satellite as my pickup location." He went to his computer and started sifting through emails about this load but couldn't find the one he was looking for, so he gave up and just shrugged.

The "scientists" were still deep at work inside of the machines so I told the shipper I'd drive over to the nearest shopping plaza to grab a bite to eat (there's one right next to our yard).

I took the truck and trailer and drove to the plaza and the only place to park was near a sign that said, "Bus stop" because the entrance to the parking inside the plaza had concrete islands and I didn't feel like rolling over them with my new 17.5" trailer tires.

I bought a plastic mini-box of raspberries and two 250 ml cartons of raw egg whites (good snack when you're in a hurry). My next stop was at the Starbucks where I rewarded myself with a 'tall Americano, no room". That's a double espresso in a small cup, topped up with hot water. It tastes much better than dripped coffee and - surprisingly - each shot has only 75 mg of caffeine, or 150 mg per 2 shots. That compares favorably with a large cup of regular coffee that would put my count of caffeine in the 300 to 400 mg range. And for some reason I find that espresso tastes stronger even with water ...

A girl in front of me in the line bought a 'grande' (large) cup of ... white tea (hot water + tea bag in a cup with the Starbucks logo), one muffin and one cookie or something (2 pieces of various types of pastry). The salesgirl punched some numbers on the register and said, "$8.75" I almost said something this is Canadian dollars but still ... almost 9 bucks on a cup of tea and 2 donuts seemed extreme at 8:30 in the morning (I'm sure this girl hasn't even had breakfast yet).

My Americano clocked in at $2.45 and I left the coffee shop feeling like a financial genius. Back to the truck ... Now how do I get out of here? I have to go back towards the lights the way I came, but I can't turn around and I can't go into the plaza. I can only go straight deeper into the residential area, or I can turn left into a crossing residential street with no evident exit. So, I turn left into this residential street, put the truck and trailer straight and then back up into the plaza. I watch both mirrors and move slowly so that people don't ram into me and then get out of the plaza, turn left - back towards the lights. Sounds a bit risky but this was Saturday morning and and there was hardly any traffic.

When I get back to the shipper, the 'scientists' with big screwdrivers are gone and now a regular grunt just walks around the machines wrapping each in plastic. He puts on so many layers that I ask the shipper: "With that much plastic, maybe I shouldn't be tarping?" The shipper doesn't see the irony and answers seriously, "No, you have to tarp."

When the forklift guy (the "grunt") brings the machines one by one to the truck with 1 mile long FORK EXTENSIONS on, I ask him not to bump the guard rail. He listens and then moves towards the trailer and hits the guard rail! I tell him to back off and inspect the rub rail. No damage has been done as far as I can see, but I tell the guy (half-kidding) if he does that again I'm going to grab my pry bar and damage something on his forklift. The grunt smiles but doesn't hit the guard rail again after that.

Each machine weighs 4k lbs as I mentioned and is mounted on its own skid. The shipper insists I put 2 separate chains on the bottom of each skid and then add 2 straps on top of each machine! I try to argue but the shipper says that's their procedure and if I don't like it he can call David the Load Planner and let him talk to me. Naturally, that puts an end to the argument and after a very-very-very long time the machines are strapped, chained and covered with one piece of my 24'x 20' tarp (I got some help from the grunt while spreading the tarp on the top).

I leave the shipper close to ... 12 noon! Because the chains and straps are in the front, as I"m driving I see in the mirrors how the tarp balloons on both sides. So I stop to rearrange the tarp:

- in Cambridge, ON - some 10 minutes out of the shipper; then again in
- London, ON; then again in
- Sarnia, ON (on the border); then again in
- Lansing, MI

It drove me nuts .. No matter how many bungee cords I used and how hard I tried to seal the front (I used the remaining 3 tarps as a counter weight at the bottom of the first machine), the tarp kept puffing up.

Finally, as I stopped for the night at the Flying J in Battle Creek, MI I just took off all the bungee cords, put the front strap on top of the tarp, and got rid of the first chain. Its binder kept the tarp open at the bottom corner ... and the air was evidently coming in the hole at 58 MPH. I used a small ratchet strap to hold down the skid. It had only 3,000 lbs WLL but I figured that was more than enough to hold a 4,000 lbs transformer.

I can't say the tarp sat perfect after that but it looked much better and I got to where I'm now (Petro Truck Stop at Exit 148 in 70 west in MO) without any incidents.

It'd be interesting to see how much this painful load pays when I get my payslip on October 15th (we have 2 weeks delay in pay). The shipper said the machines were expensive and the trip is almost 900 miles.... so I hope it pays good. Of course they should tell us the freight charge in advance, but the only way to change the system at MacKinnon is to quit and become 100% independent and I'm not ready for that yet.

 

Tracer,

Thansk for the info on trucking ive been watching and following ur videos for a long time now i really like them ! very informative. do you have a blog anywhere? if not keep up the posting here i love reading it. great color choices on the trailer!!

 

Thanks for the kind words, chromewheelz. I"m glad to be able to shed some light on the fascinating world of independent trucking thanks for the tip about a blog: after i post here my first pay slip for the stepdeck loads, i'll move the entire content (my posts only) to stepping ahead blog on blogger.com.

as for the trailer's color i wanted yellow originally - like my truck's - but the salesman said it would affect the trailer's price at resale. since i wanted something bright, he suggested the so called "wilson red". it turned out a great choice. i love it.

 

I'm stuck in MO for the second day in a row so I got busy by moving my thread to www.blogger.com (thanks to user Chromewheelz for the suggestion). This is my last post in the stepping ahead thread on classadrivers.com. For future updates, pictures and more please bookmark/visit my new "Stepping ahead" blog at: Stepping ahead Thanks to everyone for their comments.

 

Tracer,

I enjoyed your posts, keep em up!

I am looking in to start traveling to canada (hopefully for more $$). Never have done it before, I run flatbed (plain old skateboard) under my own authority. What is involed in regards to shipment paperwork, my own documents (passport?), etc. I have no criminal record nor any DUI's.

Thanks!

 

It has been several years since I have crossed the border, but I will see if I can remember a few things that might be helpful. The first thing you need to do is make sure you have those provinces where you will be traveling added to your cab card. You also need to make sure you have authority for Canada. You need to make sure you have a manifest for your load and that it has been cleared before you get to the border. Your shipper or broker should have taken care of this, but you should make sure before getting to he border. You can call ahead and make sure the shipment has been cleared before getting to the border. If not, I would call the broker or forwarding agent to make sure it is done before arriving at the border. You will also need a passport. I understand that there is a card you can get instead of a regular passport that may cost a little less. I would also make sure your truck is in good working order and that everything is working and adjusted properly. I don't recall ever having been inspected in Canada, but I understand that they have been checking for speed limiters. A friend of mine runs Canada frequently and he had his truck set for a maximum speed of 65 mph, which is a little over 100 kph. I believe 62 mph is equivalent to 100 kph. Like I said, it has been a few years. I would also either use a debit or credit card for any purchases other than the border crossing. It is usually less expensive due to the exchange rates. Some truck stops and companies add a little extra to make the exchange into Canadian dollars. Unless you run Canada frequently, you don't want to come back with a lot of Canadian dollars. Most U.S. companies won't accept them. When I ran Canada the U.S. dollar was worth quite a bit more than the Canadian dollar so I usually gave the U.S. dollars to the waitresses for a tip. At that time most of the truck stops would accept U.S. dollars, but would give back Canadian Toward the end of my time crossing the border I believe the Canadian dollar was worth about $0.68 in U.S. dollars. I believe they are pretty close right now, but it will still work better using a debit or credit card. You will need cash to cross the border. U.S. or Canadian will both work. I am sure the cost has gone up since I crossed.

 

US debit cards will work in atm machines in canada, but not usually at interac machines at the cash register.

credit cards work anywhere.

 

Count on 15-20 bucks U.S.D. at each border crossing. I've been up there several times and haven't been checked for a speed limiter, but that doesn't mean they aren't checking. One driver said it is a 375$ fine, one said 1000$. Mine is set to 65mph (on the floor), but the cruise control is another story....

Like GMan said, have your broker in place prior to arriving to make sure the shipment is clear. Also, you may need an ACE manifest to come back stateside, loaded or empty. I know I do, being leased onto United.

HTH

 

jasontherock, I moved the thread to my blog (see the link below). As for Canada, what I can add to what Gman wrote is this:

- if you have a FAST card (especially the new secure one), no one will bother asking for a passport, either entering Canada and US when you come back. I used to have a passport but it expired early this month, so I'm not even getting a new one. in 5 years i had it i was asked for it only once - by a U.S. customs guy when going into US. 99.9% of the time border guards are happy to see the new updated FAST card

-PARS is something you need to have when going to Canada. it's a bar code/sticker (with a bunch of numbers and your carrier's name) that we put on the Customs Invoice (a very important piece of paper that is usually provided by the shipper). You stick this PARS on the invoice (or the bill of lading, if the shipper didn't give you the invoice) and fax it to the broker on the Canadian side. ACE doesn't exist unless you go back to US. It's important to write down right next to the PARS where you're going to cross and your ETA to the crossing point (not just the date but time as well). If you show up in Windsor, ON and your paperwork is set up to cross via Sarnia, ON, you'll be told to park the truck and "go see your broker".

- US dollars: most stores, coffee shops and restaurants will take US dollars; but nowadays the exchange rate isn't the best. I"d use a credit card wherever possible. The only coffee shop chain that doesn't take VISA is Tim Horton's but they do take MasterCard.

- if you cross into Ontario or Quebec, your truck must be governed for 65 MPH

- the speed limit on 401 in Ontario is 62.15 MPH (100 km/h) but 99.9999999% of four wheelers do at least 70 mph. police usually doesn't bother you unless you go above 75 MPH (120 Km/h). I know that fines raise sharply when you exceed the speed limit by more than 15 km (9.5 mi). We have a new law in Ontario now that was designed to fight street racers: if you're caught doing 50 km (30 mi) above any speed limit, you can: lose the vehicle, lose the license, and be fined for ... $10,000.

 

Tracer you snob!

That was me yelling at you, at your famous pit stop. The blue water bridge duty free. I was heading into Canada. Big white Volvo with the big ugly tarped load on the back.

Nice rig btw, looked very clean!