Hauling Chips

Last week on the way back from Skookumchuk we saw 8 cow elk near the highway, but that was on the USA side. So far I've seen only deer in Canada.

 

Well I drove all week. 18 speeds mostly, but a 15 speed for a couple of days (all manual trannys).

Definitely getting very comfortable with shifting.

Not quite so comfortable with having an ounce of chips and sawdust in each ear at the end of the day, but it's a paycheck.

These rear axle triple axle trailers definitely back a lot differently than the 53' tandems dry vans I was driving, and the mirrors on these older tractors are a lot narrower, butI'm getting it.

These tilt dumps are pretty narrow.

 

I hauled chips for years for one of the bigger companies and loved it. I can say from experience as a lease op that there is very little money hauling chips here in B.C. unless youre loaded both ways and not getting stiffed on the backhaul (which are limited) The big guys have most of the work, and there isn't enough left over working for them to get ahead and expand.

It's nice to be home every day but unless you'e on banker start times, it isn't much of a life running 11,12,13,14 on/off around the clock.

Plus, a lot of companys want you to double shift the truck - the rates are not worth the headache of having employees and replacing a truck every 2-3 years. I got by for a while owning mine, but the wet lease trucks that Chambers and Arrow push are lucky to net 1000-1500 a month on top of wages, double shifted

 

I found that getting on the old narrow tippers like that it's easier for me to just focus on one side (usually the driver's side) and just try to keep a couple inches off the rail. At least at the chip dumps after a while you get to know them all and it gets routine. Landfill work is another story because they keep moving the tippers around, about the time you get the hang of one they move in on you. lol

 

Today I'll be hauling hog fuel, which goes onto a different tip dump, and it has a pretty tricky set up for the back. You can blind side it, or you can set up for a straight back but that's really tight. Tricky either way, but doable.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely getting the hang of it.

Compared to driving a brand new double bunk sleeper cab with AC, automatic tranny, inverter and fridge, this job really sucks.

Climbing up on chip bins, coming home with my ears full of saw dust, heck my truck has broken down more in 2 weeks than my megas truck did in eight months.

I love it.

 

Ahh the memories. lol Just wait 'till you load shavings on a windy day and you have a bunker that is stuck then breaks loose and all comes out at once. I've had to darn near strip naked to clean up from that a couple times.

 

I hauled hog fuel (bark) all day today. The bark dump is a bear to back into unless you get the setup just right, and I don't have it just right yet. Ugh.

Also, the dump is really easy to overload, like when it all goes in a huge avalanche all of a sudden, it spills over and the utility guy had to clean out under the tipper with a loader or the tip dump won't go down.

Fun times.

 

Just wait 'till you have fun with frozen hog fuel. ha ha

 

Long week. Really starting to like the 18 speed. Driving 7pm to 630 am, or so, I've been seeing a lot of deer and elk. Good times.

 

I did the night shift thing for a year 6:00 to 6:00,never got used to it.
Some guys prefer it I guess, less traffic and what not but I had trouble day sleeping.