My story of trucking in North America: Confirmed.........its bananas !

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Confirmed.........its bananas !

Hi,black is the outward load,red is empty miles and blue is the homeward leg of the trip
Its been confirmed. I need to load bananas out of Port Hueneme CA. So far its been a great run down, shoes off,feet up, cruise control and music on. On a few occasions I have even found myself smiling for no reason. The run down has taken me past San Fransisco,through sacremento and I am bound for the Port which is just slightly North West of Los Angeles. I should load tomorrow morning and fingers crossed have the night off in Las Vegas Whoo-hoo! I will need to get some directions for parking as I know that you can park just off the main strip but I dont want to take a wrong turn. So far this trip has covered the following :
Idaho.....Boise
Oregon...Pendleton,Biggs,Bend,Klamath Falls.
California..Weed,Redding,Sacremento,Bakersfield,Ventura,Port Hueneme.
The return leg is :
California.....Santa Clarita,Palmdale,Victorville.
Nevada.........Las Vegas,Mesquite
Utah..........Cedar city,Salt Lake City
Idaho.........Idaho Falls
Montana.......Butte,Great Falls,Sweetgrass.
Alberta.......Calgary,Edmonton.

5 comments:

jako said...: hi montedarlo,just checking the map,did u take i5 allthe way from oregan to sacremento thats wot it looks like on the map is it really that straight forward,then did you take 126 to ventura then the 101 to the port,do you plan your own routes or are they planned for you,if you get my meaning...jako; January 13, 2008 at 10:23 PM
jako said...: hey montedarlo,its me again,on the return leg,when you go from palmdale to victorville will you take the 138 onto 18 if so do you get weight limits on any of the routes,sorry to be a bore...jako; January 13, 2008 at 10:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Monte,

Keep up the good pictures. So how has H&R been lately? Have you seen or heard of any more new drivers coming into Canada in the last few weeks?

Take it easy mate.

Andy; January 14, 2008 at 4:35 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hi Jako. I ran the I-5 all the way down from Oregon to Santa Clarita in California. It really is that easy. All routes are planned for you and sent over the satellite. Its advised to stick to the routes as the fuel stops are calculated along them and also if you breakdown then in theory you shouldnt be too far from help. There is no weight limits on H-138 to Victorville, just open spaces and desert.; January 15, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hi Andy, have no news regarding new drivers. I dont really get into Lethbridge so I dont get any gossip. i called in to the yard about a week ago but I was in and out, just collect my mail, that sort of stuff.; January 15, 2008 at 11:50 AM

Your bank, its your choice.

I have already covered a bit about credit here but something has come to light.
When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to a bank and an account will be opened for you.
You are no way obliged to open an account at a branch you dont want.
I have had a few hiccups lately with ATB, the latest being having to wait 2.5hrs to have it authorised for me to be able to but my new laptop as I was going over my daily withdrawl limit.
If you are not happy with your bank then you can always change it, just as I am about to do

Rubbish pic but I have seen it

The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. The lake covers a surface area of approximately 376 square miles (974 km²), the largest in California. While it varies in dimensions and area due to changes in agricultural runoff and rain, it averages 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km), with a maximum depth of 51 feet (15½ m), giving a total volume of about 7.5 million acre-feet (9.3 km³). Sea inflow averages 1.36 million acre-feet per year (53.2 m³/s).

Facts about Canada

Canada invented the baseball glove in 1883
Canada does not own the North Pole.
Santa Claus does !!
Its population equates to 3 people per square Km
Canadians rank 6th in the worlds standard of living
Canada has almost 2 million lakes
Cigarettes and Alcohol are cheaper in the UK
Hockey is the national sport
The word Canada translates as "Village"
it has the longest highway,7604km long
Canada has 42 National parks
25% of the worlds fresh water is in Canada
Second largest country in the world
There are 3 oceans on 3 sides
Canada hs the worlds longest coastline
population is roughly 33 million
6 million of those speak french
It has six time zones

Winter is coming and its serious

A few weeks ago my night heater packed in through the night. I woke at 2am and the temp in the cab was -2. I was freezing in my pants and summer quilt. I told a canadian lad about it and received the biggest bollocking. How was I to survive if I got stuck somewhere for a few days in temps as low as -30 ? Basically I would die so the need for proper winter clothing is essential and needs to be in the front of the mind of lads coming over in the winter time. I have added a list of what I consider essentials and a rough guide to the prices.

Bank accounts and Credit

When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to open a bank account which is easy enough. Unless you can prove your credit worthyness from the UK its unlikely you will be offered a credit card. You will need one in the USA unless you pay cash for everything. The answer is to put cash up front. Mastercard/visa will give you a card if you put say $500 up front so in theory you are spending your own money but it will build you a credit history in Canada. Its worth budgeting for this before you arrive over here.