Humble beginnings as a trucker

Good day every one! My journey as a flying trucker. I would like to keep it simple and share my experience and skills learned for the younger generation. I am grateful for all the great knowledge, wisdom and things shared by many "Old school Truckers" on this forum. Hopefully you will enjoy the different qualities and views coming up. Willingness to never stop learning, but also keep on "grinding the wheel" Have a great day ahead of you, and keep on trucking!

 

I was born and raised on a farm in Nederland where my dad had a dairy farm. We also did work some agriculture land. My love for"work" did arrive early, because after school time we were always helping out on the farm Started driving tractor on my dad's lap, learning to plow, cultivate, seed, spray etc. Also the dairy cows needed lots of attention to detail. Summer times were always the best. Lots of problems to solve and never had a dull moment. There I learned quickly that "Play and Work" don't go well together. Made lots of mistakes in the beginning! Not paying attention have consequences. Still the best memories and learned a lot!

 

Driving currently a 2019 VNL760. It's got the turbo compound boosting rated at 455HP. 500k on the clock. July driven 14500miles at 8.8mpg fairly medium to light loaded. Driving Midwest to Alberta and some Texas. Past four months average 12500miles at 8mpg. May month heavy loads 78000 Lbs to 80300 Lbs. Got the 400 Lbs exempted weight because of the stationary APU. Average fuel consumption was 7.3 mpg. Had some minor repairs needed, nothing Major. Battery needed attention, loose wire giving fault code. There's a separate wire connector for the EPU. Make sure it's grounded solid to battery pack. It will prevent lots of issues with engine check light and fault codes. Most problems will be electrical, but lots can be done by preventing maintenance. The ride is superb, with everything close at hand. I like to be efficient with my time management, and drive at 61 MPH for best fuel efficiency. Downhill let the eco+roll run to 70MPH. It's working great and use Cruise control a lot. Done about 2 million km shifting gears, enough. Now I like the automatic, it very effective and does not miss a beat. Especially in the mountains. Winter driving is another story........!

 

That's a long journey ☺️ With a 33 year visit in South Africa. Will keep you updated as we're going along

 

Humble beginnings as a trucker after school graduation. I learned the "Old school way" Back then 1990 I did do a 7 day "crash course" how to drive a truck properly! At least I thought so at that time 19 year's of age, and on the 8 day passed my EC driving test at the license department. My first trucking job starting immediately the following week. What a learning curve. Normal procedure at that time was you are a co-driver for a couple of months before getting your truck. You were always at the mercy of the "Pro" and after couple of " shouting and screaming madness" you are getting drilled until you understand fully what is required. It's not the best environment, but you learn quickly to adept which wind direction the "Pro" is sailing! They picked me up at my hometown for my first Road trip.

 

The company was a good outfit to drive for. They had the Mercedes Benz Powerliners with 380 HP, manual 16 speed eco-splitter. Trailers used were the B-train 6\12m tri-axle 22m combination. Old school manufactured believed the heavier the better, empty combination weight at 57000 Lbs. Normal load was at 45 Ton / 100000 lbs which brought the combination to 157000 pounds. Main fuel tanks 100 gal with auxiliary tank behind the cab another 500 gal. The trucks were heavy on fuel, but we managed at least 3.75 MPG. Most of the mountains uphill driving shifting down until 3rd gear, with a string of cars behind. At that time there were no weighbridges build yet in South Africa. No cellular phone network available, we used the ticky-box phone at the post office or used the long distance call inside. The first trip was amazing About 750 km, I wanted to show off with my newly acquired skills, how good I am! Not so quick my son! The "Pro"driver was not even trying to hide what he thought of me, The whole trip I was not allowed to touch anything! But my "eye's" were learning quickly and everything was observed to the letter! My high hopes were grounded but I was determined to succeed no matter what.... Later I learned the "Pro" did trust nobody's good enough. He was a loner and wanted to hide his drinking problem. The water drinking bottle was always filled with Brandy and Coca-Cola. Later he died in the same truck crashing down a mountain. The insurance company didn't want to pay the claim, because he was three times over the legal alcohol limit. Big lesson learned there, never assume something on face value. Proof is in the pudding! So my first trip was not a great experience as a passenger New fresh licensed driver demoted to an observer