Day Cab Duty

So lets update you so far.



Well Monday I was back on the day cab duties same old same old, but it was a 15 hr day. I was tired by the time I had got home. But as always I still did not go to bed till 10 that night and was still up 2am. Had fun that morning. Rang the cab to come and get me. Now they normally tell me how long they are going to be but this guy did not. 45mins later I had to ring him again to see where he was. 5mins later he turned up. Just before the cab turned up, some of the boys was just coming home from a night in the bar while they are on their days off. Anyways got to the yard just to catch Mark hooking the trailer up so had to fly down to Oromocto just to make sure we got there in time. If you use the cruise control they do 100km per hour but if you use your boot they do 105km per hour when these trucks have a bit of weight on going down hill they can do 95mph its wicked shhhhhhhh WAS NOT ME OFFICER. Got there with 4mins to spare. We did the same routine but only did 12 hours that day. When I'm coming down the gearbox I was still really bad, but as each day goes by I’m improving. Then Wednesday came around. Same again 230am start went in the office to get paperwork and was told I had got a different day cab. Much newer and nicer to drive.

Two of many Brand New Trucks Joining the fleet

International Prostar & Freightliner Cascadea

My gear changers was sooo much better. It was more powerful too so did not looses as much momentum when going up hills. We was done by 1030 that morning after finding out I had another couple of days on the day cab. The problem with that is, if you go on the day cab. You do not get paid. It is free work. You don’t have to go and do it if you don‘t want to, but it is experience and if you are like me have a problem with the gearbox or even anything else, it is good to practise and I need as much as I can so am doing it. The problem they are having is I’m not allowed to drive in the US till I take my road test so I can only drive in Canada and there is only a hand full that train and stay Canada only, and they all have trainees already with them, so they are trying to juggle things to get me out ASAP. Lets hope that happens in the next day or so. When I got back to the Ayr Motor House one of the lads was going up to Walmart so I got him to drop me at the top of town where all the car dealers are to see if there was something I could afford. All the $10 cars had gone so I was stuffed. I spend that at the KFC instead. They do not have the boneless chicken here so I had to settle for the 4pcs meal for $10 the coleslaw was lime green, but really nice. I did glow in the dark after though. It had been raining all morning. I was beginning to think I had brought the rain from the UK as that’s all it as done since I got here except 2 days. So no sooner as I was dropped off. The sun came out and it was red hot. 27 degrees but they said felt like 31 degrees. Where I was is 5 miles from the house so I walked it back. Wearing dark clothing didn’t help. I had to get in the shower when I got back I was that hot. I did take a few pic’s on my way home though for you to see how nice it is here.

You would not believe that this pic is took stood next to the shops in the town centre. it’s the St John river.

These houses our just 3 of the houses on the main road that runs straight through Woodstock. This is how nice they are. don’t get me wrong there is some old ones but over all this is what you expect to see around

One thats For Sale 4 Bed 2 1/2 Bath $157,900

Nice Car

Nice licence Plate

Today I have been in the day cab again in hot weather again. It was 20 degrees at 5am. Then tomorrow I’m on the day cab again. Hopefully after that it’s the highway trucks for me. So till then

First Day Driving

Well I got the phone call. Not quiet what I was expecting but it was a start. My trainer had got most of the way back to come and get me when they decided to divert him west. So instead of one of these. (or a Freightliner)

I Got This

Day cab duty... In probably the oldest nineteen nought blob truck on the fleet. starting at 0230 in the morning …..good job im used to getting up at that time in a morning. I have driven some sheds in my time but this …well im lost for words. But if I was the management, I would have put me in that one first anyway, knowing full well that us European truckers are used to driving modern technology and not something with a crash box my dad learned to drive with. Anyway I got there a little early (there I go again, on time) I got the truck took it down the yard and hooked up, all by my myself double clutching and everything. I was well impressed till the driver that was going with me turned up, Mark, then I went all to pot. Our first drop was in Oromocto at 5am got there bang on time. Dropped the trailer then normally Mark would do some shunting round the yard , but we did not need to so just stood chatting to the other Ayr Motor trucks while we all got off loaded.

Went to Tim Hortons a couple of times while we waited.

Tim Hortons Drive Thru 6am

I started to get the hang of going up the gearbox by the second coffee run but going back down the gearbox is such a pig. You normally go down the box when coming to a stop. In order to stop you have to brake, in order to come down the box, you have to blip the throttle on every gear change. You need the same foot for both, so after pealing Mark off the windshield a few times, I still have not got the hang of it. I never spilt his coffee down him though….I must try harder next time. Once we got our trailer back, I had a play at backing up and parking between trailers in the yard. I thought backing onto the bay first time was a fluke, but no, turns out im a wiz kid at that. Must be all that practice of backing onto awkward Woolworth loading bays that helped me as its no different been sat on the other side of the truck. After the other boys that was on the bays went for there next load we could go and get ours so it was down to Nackawick for a load going back to the yard ready to go on. We finally got back to the yard and done for 3pm. Now I get the weekend off then im back doing this till middle of next week. Hopefully my trainer will be back by then so I can start earning and learning. But the good thing about day cab town work, I do get to have lots of practice at going up and down the gearbox all day polishing up the only thing im bad at. One of the trainees did Mark a favour last week by blowing up the old banger he was driving before. Now if I go and drop a gearbox out of this one, Maybe then, they will have to give us something proper to play with.

Even our Fire Truck gets Flame Decal

3 went over us while at Sobeys. Army Base just down road

Test day

This is our head office

International Eagle

International Eagle & Freightliner Cascader in the shop

Just a few pictures I took while waiting to pee in a cup

Foggy Day till 9am then lots of sun

Nice Classic didn't get phone out fast enough to take Picture

Well its good Newsssssss, I passed all 5 theory tests and the practical brake adjustment, now im just sat around at the house waiting for a phone call now to see when im off out on the road with my practical trainer. The person they have in mind is due back in the yard at Ayr Motor any time now. So locking myself up in my room with my computer and books have paid off. Since I have been here (9 days) wow seams longer, I have not gone anywhere other than important things like getting bank account and licence etc and a couple of times been taken to the store to get food. The longest venture out I have had was the other day. It was pee in a pot day. I was told to be there at 8am. It was the first time I had seen fog here. I thought it was just because I had got up earlier than I had done before since I got here. Its only down the road so I walked it down and was bang on time. For those of you that know me….yes on time. No one was there, typical, im on time and they are not. Anyways time ticks on then the company turn up next door about ten to nine. They kindly made a phone call for me, and was told she would be there in 20mins. Now in Canada they are so laid back like me, so that means double........ 9:45 she finally rolls up and had not got a clue I was coming but was sorted anyways. Got back to the house and rang the office to be told they are just about to pick me up to take me for a drug test. I said “what another” they had forgot they had told me to be there at 8. Anyway they took a couple of other guys for random one’s also then took me to the office so I could be shown the practical brake adjustment & practice on it.

So that brings us up to date. So now I have got to start and learn my pre-trip practical that you take on the day you take the driving test, so while im waiting for the phone, I better get started on that. So buy for now