My best destination yet

Well I managed to get back on the Thursday night, a day early than I thought, due to driving for 11 hours on the Wednesday and 13 hours on the Thursday. I had a great three days off. I promised Emma I would take her to Bangor, Maine. So on the Saturday, we took the two hour drive down there. Its only one road all the way there, so Emma drove down. We was told it was one of the better places to go shopping. I drive through there all the time, but never stopped there before. It reminded us of the shopping malls in Orlando, Florida. We spent all day there and got back about midnight. We bought a proper American BBQ Grill. Not a massive one, but one a lot bigger than the ones you normally get in the UK. I will be setting that up when I get home next. The massive one will be the next step up lol

My truck got back Sunday night, so Monday morning I was back on the road. My first trip was to Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Very Posh place

My reload was in Ohio which was going back to Toronto.

This is Cincinnati

Then it was a reload going to Moncton, NB, but I was just taking it back to Woodstock. There was still snow around in Quebec.

I was kind of glad to go back to Woodstock as my AC belt and fan belts started to look like they needed changing. So when I got back Thursday night, I had them changed along with the service. I went home for the night, so they did not disturb me while working on the truck. I then came in this morning to find it still in the shop, waiting for me to take it round to the dealer, as my exhaust muffler was cracked and needed changing under warranty. When I got back. I went to see dispatch to find out where I was going to. I was well chuffed. I rang Emma and said ‘can you tell me what the weather is going to be like on Monday in Tampa, Florida‘. lol. I cant repeat what she said. So that’s where I’m off to.

Anyway I have wanted to do a post for a while about essential things you need when you are a long haul truck driver, and it is coming to a point when some of you new guys will be coming over and will need this info. Ralph did tell me the first ones, but I cant remember as I have a tendency to shut off when people introduce them selves or I get told names etc. sorry guys, Ralph will tell you soon.

There are several things you need, but three things you cannot do without is a truck specific GPS, Laptop and satellite radio.

North America is a very large place, 9,365,000 sq miles to be exact. There are hundreds of radio stations throughout, but they are only local stations. By the time you have driven 10mins down the road, you have to find another radio station because the one you was listening to is already out of range. Satellite radio works the same a satellite TV. It works all over North America. You can listen to the same station whether you are in New Brunswick, or in California. The only down side is like TV, you have to subscribe. For your money, you get over 130 stations covering every kind of music there is. a lot of the stations do not have adverts, so its just music music music. Then there are entertainment stations like Howard Sterns chat shows or Comedy stations, travel, weather, and sports. So what ever your taste, they have it covered. You can either buy the ones you stick to the windshield or you can be lucky like me and have it built into the truck.

With you been new to the country. You are not going to know your way around, and in this game time equals money, so the quicker you get to one place the faster you can get to the next. That’s where a GPS comes in. These days its no good just getting a normal car GPS, because they are not going to put you on the right roads. You will end up going down a wrong road to find a low bridge or weight restriction, and your are not going to be able to turn round. It is bad enough trying to turn round 50ft of European truck never mind 75ft of American truck. The police will end up coming out to block the road off, then you will get, not just one ticket, but as many as they can throw at you, costing more than it would getting the right equipment in the first place. Truck specific GPS’s have been around a couple of years now. I had one when I was in the UK, so when I moved here I did my research. My first one was a PC Miller. That was pants. Stay well clear, they still mess you up. Then I got to try the Garman Nuvi 465, which is a great one, except it is only truck specific in the US. In November the Cobra 7700 Pro and the Rand McNally TND 500 both came out at the same time. I Sold my PC Miller and straight away got the Cobra 7700 Pro. It has the exact same software as the one I owned in the UK so trusted it straight away. It uses vehicle height, width and limits along with national and state truck restrictions to provide the best route possible. Truck-Specific Points of Interest which includes all major travel centers (truck stops) with detailed amenity information such as food options, internet access, shower availability, etc. Commercial Vehicle Service & Support Information quickly find towing companies, repair shops, truck-friendly motels and emergency services. Camera and Driving Hazard Protection will avoid costly tickets with speed and red light cameras location alerts as well as speed traps and dangerous intersection notifications. So you can see they are an essential piece of kit. I could not do without mine. Even when I know where im going, I still have it on. I can give accurate eta’s and when its coming to the end of my driving hours, I can just ask it where and what are the truck stops along my route, so I just pick one and it takes me straight to it. Out of all the GPS’s on the market. The Cobra is the only one that will allow you to put the Canadian postal code in to set your destination address. You don’t even have to get the road exact as it will give you all the roads with the letters that you have typed in, even if you start to type the middle word first.

Im currently at the truck stop at the top of the list

Last of all, is a laptop. I have a program called ‘streets and trips’ on the laptop which I use to have a look at my over all routes. I mainly find my destination and see which way the GPS is going to get me there etc. I also use the laptop for internet access, plus watching TV that I have downloaded when ever I get chance.
That’s my tips to you. Well its time for bed as I have sunny Florida to get too so I will update you soon.

Sorry Sir you cant park that there, lol