Truck Pile-Up on Coquihalla (again):

That reminds me of the time I got hauled into the CPX office for doing 145KM/hr through the Coldwater roller-coaster heading east to get back up over next hill, in a similar Peterbilt with a big engine and tall gears. They claimed I was not saving fuel but I would actually be in pieces all over the road. My thinking was if an uphill is coming, and there's no danger of flipping the truck or pulling too many G's laterally or hitting anything ahead of me I might as well rollercoaster it and save some fuel. Got into some deep deep #### for doing that on a gps-tracked trailer.

 

My guy didn't care. We were almost like partners. First time we met, was over at the Lickman truck stop. A handshake, here's the keys, here's a company credit card. basically it was like my own truck, didn't even want him driving it. He knew I had been an owner/op before. Always brought the truck home to my place. I would take care of the ongoing stuff. Even used to do my own taxes. I'd just tell him the amounts for his side and what he owned me. Set up a special folder that was hidden under the desk at the Chilliwack Husky. I'd leave all my paperowrk for the month there, and grab the check that was already waiting for me, and always the correct amount.

But that all came to an abrupt end one day. I had taken it over to the local shop on Thursday (after last run of the week) for ongoing stuff. Called the shop on Saturday to see if it's ready. Manager told me that Bob (my guy) and some other guy came and took it Friday. Hmmm... So called Bob the next day saying where is is cuz I need it tomorrow. He tells me that the company he was subbed to screwed him over, demanded he cover a run and he didn't have any available trucks. So he came and grabbed mine. Then he says bad news. Idiot he put in my truck promptly rolled it in Chetwyin. Worse, the guy laid the trailer on top of a car with someone in it. . Oh ####. Anyways, I had my house in it, so I took off up to Chetwyin. I get there the next day. Got plenty of evil eyes from the inhabitants when I was asking where the truck got pulled to. Finally found it. turns out it was left on the side of the highway for over 24 hours, unguarded. Picked clean. Everything of mine was gone, expensive electronics too. Learned that the town called it the night of the watermelons, cuz the trailer had been picked clean too. Bunch of locusts up there for sure. Anyhow, I told my guy, yeah the thing ixs totaled. I took some tools with me and took off whatever parts I could that ICBC wouldn't notice gone lol. Went to the local cop shop and filled a claim for my stuff.

Sigh, was a good gig for a company driver too. $300 per day. Pick up at EV in Aldergrove, go up to 100 mile then Willies Puddle, then shoot back empty. Everybody knew I couldn't do that run legal. But hey, Hunter Creek was always closed when I'd roll back through. I'd drop the trailer over at Lickman, go home. Grab the trailer, the next day, go to EV, drop it and grab a loaded one, and do it all over again. Not gonna tell ya about my log book lol. But was always a little dicey when DOT would set up at the MacDonalds at 264 lol. But I was legal again magically when I'd leave EV. So yeah I'd do 110 back then on 97. Not to get legal, cuz that was impossible, considering 100 mile would take 45 minutes to unload half the trailer. But I did it so I'd get a bit more sleep each day.

Not many gravy gigs like that for a company driver.

 

So I take it you were logging sleeper birth or off duty at EV Logistics just to make sure you had run time going up to Williams Lake. Here's the thing, if the inspectors cannot account for all the mileage on the truck, it won't pass the sniff test. You didn't get caught, but I wouldn't want to know your heart rate, if it even continued beating, the moment you realised you did get caught.

Speaking of heart rate, the less sleep you get over time the higher your risk of dementia and heart attacks and strokes get.

Get your sleep. No amount of money is worth your health.

 

Magical time shifting. Quantum mechanics physicists tinkering with the string theories would have been amazed with what I did. But of course, it's secret to the rest of the mere mortals lol

PS: I was home in my bed, so I didn't log anything like sleeper time lol

Oh, and past the required record keeping date, so my evil scheme has now been lost for all time lol lol

 

I have over 1300 trips up and down the Coq, and you are correct. The signs may change, but it has steep pitches of almost 14%, not the entire 20 kms only part of it is that steep, and some is only 9%. Speed and lazy drivers not throwing triples on is the problem. Chain up, slow down, and it is not really a big deal. I've never had a problem on the Coq even in a bad snow storm. Throw on the chains, and not just singles either, and drive at an appropriate speed. Numerous times I've been passed, only to later pass that same truck stuck, or crashed, and the rule of mine that slower is actually faster, is proven again. A couple years ago I was training a rookie, he only had 2 years experience driving truck, and even those were only in a 5 axle. About mid day of day 3 riding with me, he asked, if you could share with me just one thing to remember forever about being a professional driver what would it be. I said, slower is faster! He didn't really understand what I meant at first, but a year or so later of driving on horrible roads in 7 axles, we were chatting, and he said to me, now I understand what you meant. So many times people have passed me, only for me to pass them a while later when they got in over their heads. Yes, i see it regularly, and I mean it, slower is faster. If I average 70 kms per hour day after day, I am sure a lot faster than the guy who did 120 briefly, then crashed. Its not a race, its about being in control, safe, and conducting myself in a professional manner.

 

I was always told, "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast".

 

Yep, I live by that one. Semi's, Bikes, 4 Wheeler, Shooting, Cooking Eggs lol.

Do you guys really throw triples on pavement all the time? I always found my 4 V-Bar Singles were awesome on pavement/the Coq vs Standard Triples. Maybe its just me, but I found triples to be super rough and slipped more than 4 singles on pavement. Offroad, Triples no contest. I've got 6 autosocks now, and they are great! Smooth predictable traction, I put them on all the drives and steers.

 

I am almost always on 7 or 8 axles, and if I have a feeling i need chains, I run triples, and on all the drivers and on at the very least 1 trailer axle as well. I've seen too many problems over the years, but I also run roads that make the coq look like a training camp for rookies. Some of the logging roads I haul logging equipment into, some of the job sites that need fuel hauling to, even gravel trucks over, have made me almost laugh at the chaos the coq causes for the rookies. Even just the hill up hwy 24 out of Little Fort causes drivers problems, and its really not that bad even in a snow storm if they just stopped and put on 4 or more sets of triples. Climb it a blistering 16 or 18 kms hour or so, get to the top and take the chains off. I actually like 24, very scenic, and little traffic.

 

At some in my driving career I want to go up and down the coq. Just because it’s there. Not because it’s the biggest or baddest just because I’ve seen it in so many episodes.