Running produce to Alaska

I guess it really depends on who you work for. I see guys making close to 50 cents a mile and benefits and others drive for 31cents. Also some guys get paid a percentage of the load. Percentage pay can be great, but you will work for free when you have to come home empty. Check out Fairchild Freights web site. They are always hiring.

 

The roads are the worst I have seen right now. We had freezing rain in Northern BC and Yukon. You could not get nicer ice with a Zamboni. I will write a post about my last trip here later today or tomorrow. I did have to chain and ran about 200 miles on chains and pretty much solid ice or later in about 6 to 8 inches on snow on top of the ice. You know you are an idiot for driving when you have to use your Jake brake to steer, because your steer tires have no traction and are just sliding along.

 

I guess time flies when you are having fun. I am actually home and I am enjoying some time off. The last trip was another doozy for sure. Like I had mentioned before the roads had been the worst I had ever seen for ice.
On my trip North I was doing pretty good on time and spend the night on top of Steamboat where it was 38 degrees. I hoped I would have been far enough ahead of the freezing rain that was predicted for the next day, but no such luck. I started to hit rain in Toad River and it just went downhill from there. Temperatures stayed in the low 30s and the roads were okay for most of the morning. After coming through Fireside the rain picked up and the temperature kept dropping into the high 20s. I still had good traction going up Army Hill even with the super bs spinning out and sliding off the road.

But things did change quickly and I found out that traction had gone away on the next down hill grade and everything had turned to solid ice. I lost traction on a long downhill right curve and felt my trailer come across the South bound lanes and I had no steering or traction for the drives. I kept looking at the steep embankments on either side and pretty much resigned myself to going off the road. The trailer did catch the deeper snow on the shoulder and to my disbelieve bounced off the snow berm and came back. Unfortunately it did not stop and went onto the shoulder on my right and once again bounced off the snow berm. At this point I am looking at the steep drop off on my right and I am still ready and bracing myself for the ride over the edge. When the trailer came back I was pretty much in line and had a straight shot out of the long right turn. I had my foot flat on the floor and managed to keep the truck and the trailer on the road.

I felt so sick and was ready to puke and my stomach was in a knot. I am still not sure why I did not go off the road, but when I had time to think I felt like the luckiest guy out there. I stopped so I could chain, but the truck and trailer started to slide off the road sideways. I got going again and made it on top of the crown in the middle of the highway, but started sliding backwards. After setting truck and trailer brakes and throwing a single chain under a drive tire everything finally stopped moving. I chained my rear drives and got a drag chain on the driver side on the trailer when I saw a loaded flat bed sliding down the hill towards me. I jumped in the truck and moved off to the side and our eyes just met for a split second when the other guy slid passed me.

Nothing had to be set and our looks said it all. I was about to chain my left front tire when the plow truck came down the hill and laid down some gravel down. It looked more like 5/8minus than sand and I skipped chaining the front axle and went for it while the going was good. I ended up chaining the front drive axle as well and ran on chains for nearly 200miles. After the ice went away I caught the tail end of a snow storm and had now 6 to 8 inches of snow in the road.

I made it to Anchorage with 2 hours to spare for my appointment and was just happy as a clam to be there in one piece.