Yellowknife ice trucking

[gsd4me]

Australian road trains, B doubles and B triples. The sound is not real flash and sorry, sub-titles are unavailable.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfPQC...feature=g-vrec

[ChazCable]

Hey, Squonker, bit of something cool for ya, when the Deh Cho bridge opened in November the first tractor trailer to cross the bridge was the 1972 Chevy that my dad restored for the Rowe's Construction bosses, you can see her on the CBC news video of the bridge opening ceramonies

[squonker]

Thanks, I haven't checked out that news clip yet but I will.

[hardwaregrrl]

Ben

[gsd4me]

In the scene where the KW is leaving with the two Bushmaster army vehicles, you can see the the "Border Village" roadhouse and accommodation across the road, which is situated at the South Australia and Western Australia border on the Eyre Highway (Nullabor Plain).

The annual "Border Run", which started around the mid 1970's is held at this place; I have been making the run out there, from Brisbane for about the last five years.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgVYdSx-oLw

[squonker]

Those are nice rigs, David. The first one there has a seriously long wheel base! (Love that air started, too).

Cat engines definitely sound the best

I should have some news in the next few days about what is happening this winter. Possibly even tomorrow...

(And hi Jenna!)

[gsd4me]

Brand new Mercedes Benz Actros. 13 litre V6 (I think) 440 HP and 12 speed automated transmission. Runs a bit quieter than our Volvo`s but the automated transmission is not a patch on the Swedish truck.



Then they gave me a Scania 8 wheeler for a run down to Surfers Paradise. 5 cylinder engine, 280 HP and another very confused 12 speed automated transmission. Parking at surfers was apparently at a premium as you can see in the pic. I showed the pic to my bosses on my return and got a bollocking; they reckoned I shouldn`t have attempted to put the truck in there. According to them I should have thrown my hands n the air and given up.....Bloody office wallah`s!

[Phlemdog]

Originally Posted by gsd4me

Then they gave me a Scania 8 wheeler for a run down to Surfers Paradise. 5 cylinder engine, 280 HP and another very confused 12 speed automated transmission. Parking at surfers was apparently at a premium as you can see in the pic. I showed the pic to my bosses on my return and got a bollocking; they reckoned I shouldn`t have attempted to put the truck in there. According to them I should have thrown my hands n the air and given up.....Bloody office wallah`s!

Now that's a scenario I wish had been caught on camera. I see the crazy situations that I would never attempt with anything bigger then a full size pickup, and to y'all it's just another day on the job.

[Pro Mover]

Originally Posted by gsd4me

Then they gave me a Scania 8 wheeler for a run down to Surfers Paradise. 5 cylinder engine, 280 HP and another very confused 12 speed automated transmission. Parking at surfers was apparently at a premium as you can see in the pic. I showed the pic to my bosses on my return and got a bollocking; they reckoned I shouldn`t have attempted to put the truck in there. According to them I should have thrown my hands n the air and given up.....Bloody office wallah`s!

THAT, my friend, took some large balls and a lot of skill! Did you have any help shoe-horning into that loading dock (back-up cameras, swamper, clueless receiver) or just a bunch of G.O.A.L. ?

I would guess that unaided, took you at least 10 mins to wiggle that bad-boy past the car, concrete pillar and moped?

Did the Pre-death Brain-Donor that parked illegally at least get towed away or leave on his own before you had to get out of your nice tight parking spot?

[gsd4me]

It would have taken me almost ten minutes from when I entered the area to getting the truck on the dock, I took a short time to get myself set up. There is actually more room between the truck and the scooter than appears in the pic.

Those trucks do have reversing cameras which do help, but are no substitute for good mirrors.

Once in the hole, I had to shuffle the truck across to the right to gain access to the dock leveller, and on the way out had to shuffle across to the left as the car was still parked there. The type of truck that we usually use for that delivery is a prime mover of similar configuration as the Mercedes with a tandem axle 16 pallet capacity trailer.

The Scania`s are 14 pallet capacity and can be a bit of a bugger in tight spaces as the rear of the body will flick out if the steering wheel is turned too sharply. Here`s a profile look at one.

[tacodriver]

Originally Posted by karhaulr

"Dave was on the move when Dave himself came on the radio - he'd accidentally hit his brakes and now he was stuck! I'd pretty much had it by then but we had no choice but to wait until his trailer brakes decided to free themselves up again, then finally we were off."



Could Dave have connected the service line (blue hose) to the back of the tractor, in the plastic holders. Thereby bypassing a signal air supply to the trailers brakes, causing the brake lock up? He would have zero brake action on the trailer, but still have 3 axles up front working.
The supply (red) would still be on the trailer.

I'm expecting a qualified instructors answer here....lol, no pressure.
Best of luck with your new career!!!!

Dragging this one up from the past I have been told a loonie between the gladhands on the service line works to block the line.

[squonker]

I had never heard that before, but it makes sense - thanks for the tip!

And re:the pics above, David that's some good reversing! One of the things I enjoy most is when a student figures out the parallel park that he/she has to do for their test. It is really hard to teach someone how to back up a trailer - I can give them advice and tips and tell them what they should be doing/why what they're doing is wrong, but really it comes down to experience and seeing for themselves what works/doesn't. One student has his test on Tuesday and we finally nailed the parallel park this afternoon, I know that he knows what he needs to do - and more importantly - why. He'll be good

[gsd4me]

I took these a few years ago on a trip to the Northern Territory.

[gsd4me]

Here`s a link that I came across; note the lousy condition on the roads they have to drive on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKAlog_W5dE

[Pro Mover]

Originally Posted by gsd4me

It would have taken me almost ten minutes from when I entered the area to getting the truck on the dock, I took a short time to get myself set up. There is actually more room between the truck and the scooter than appears in the pic.

Those trucks do have reversing cameras which do help, but are no substitute for good mirrors.

Once in the hole, I had to shuffle the truck across to the right to gain access to the dock leveller, and on the way out had to shuffle across to the left as the car was still parked there. The type of truck that we usually use for that delivery is a prime mover of similar configuration as the Mercedes with a tandem axle 16 pallet capacity trailer.

The Scania`s are 14 pallet capacity and can be a bit of a bugger in tight spaces as the rear of the body will flick out if the steering wheel is turned too sharply. ...

Thanks for clarifying that. I have a fair amount of experience around Metro Vancouver (Canada) and around most of the Western part of Canada/States pushing around straight trucks; 70% in-town, and the rest highway. I know what a challenge some docks can me, and parked cars near loading zones are always a bugger--I have several parking enforcement numbers pre-programmed in my mobile, and know the right words to say to get offending vehicles moved quickly too...

I am also not above putting out my power tailgate (tail-lift for you!) with a few moving blankets/pads on the end and picking up one end or another of an improperly parked car. Matter of fact, on more than a few household moves (removals for you!), my crew and I have "moved" illegally parked vehicles either with brute force, or lifting and using 4-wheel dollies/piano skates to be able to get situated properly.

Almost all my iron doesn't have backup cams, so when it gets really tight and I am solo, there is a lot of G.O.A.L.

I no longer have any pics of the unit I ran for the longest time at one employer, but it was a '04 Freightliner M2-106 with a 28' moving box (4' kick over the cab, multiple side doors) -- thing of it was, it was a single-axle, and the WB was not correct for a 28' box -- I had over 12.5' aft of my rear axle, so I know ALL about swinging the ass-end out. Take this shorty-WB truck, and throw a 20' pony trailer on it, and that is what I more or less marched all over 9 western provinces and states when they had me on longhaul.

I have had my learners for tractor-trailers, and have a fair amount of practical time in those, but I must say, running a 39' straight truck with a 20' trailer (discounting the 3-4' "tongue") based solely on articulation points, and I think I used up more skill getting THAT rig around! I will try hard to find a pic of this, as it was humourous to see -- a bright orange ALLIED VAN LINES power unit (with lots of side doors, belly bins for my walkramps etc) hauling a DARK (almost NAVY) BLUE de-decalled trailer --- it may have looked odd running up and down the highways but I had almost as much cube as a full-on VAN setup, made for quite a few interesting long haul trips in a daycab! (on the company's accommodation tab of course!).