Well today is Thursday…and after breakfast we all went over to the huge grounds of the exhibition centre…chauffered of course by the hotel courtesy bus…a mere Chevrolet mini bus…the hotel had a few of these and shuttled the guests to and from the centre and also to the airport…as i said before we were V.I.P.s at the pre opening before 1pm. My first instinct was WOW..the place was so huge..there were trucks and trailers parked outside the building..there was another huge parking area just for working trucks..special category trucks..and across the road a huge parking area just for visiting truck drivers and their rigs who wanted to visit the show..they had their own evening entertainment.food bars etc..and stalls to buy goodies from..we visited there one evening to see them cooking 2 pigs over a grill..the camarderie was fantastic..and ill say a bit more later about that.
We went into the great hall and everyone was wearing their V.I.P. badges for the security staff to see. We were given a free program and layout of the complex, i couldnt believe that this hall was completely covered in carpet, which may i add would put most homes to shame, im not talking cheap either, but very expensive carpet. I caught the first glimpse of the huge models on display and it took my breath away, for its ok to see them in magazines or on the t.v., but to stand next to them was something else. I had teamed up with Dave the other competition winner (from truck & driver) and we had to get some kind of plan with which to tour these great halls, there were in fact several. Every stand had a giveaway of some kind , pens..key rings..rulers..cassettes..c.d.s…badges of various marques of truck…air fresheners in the shape of truck & trailers. and a lot more than ive mentioned. They also supplied carrier bags with which to carry all this stuff, but it was the same on the second and third day too, so had to be very careful not to be overweight at the airport. I collected a great deal of souvenirs which i will give away to drivers when i meet them on the road..especially the volvo badges..as i drive a DAF..who wasnt represented anyway..no european truck manufacturer was there..even Volvo were the american company, i wwas told that last year one of the brits asked about i shift..they never heard of it.. There were various tea and coffee stands as well just for our benefit with biscuits, doughnuts etc..all free of charge..At 1pm when the public arrived the various manufacturers held raffles with various prizes for the winners of their products..for eg:Volvo were offering jackets..cool boxes..models of their trucks etc, and all you had to do was fill in your name and address to win, plus be there on the hour when the draw took place. You were allowed into most trucks on display and i was very interested in the huge sleeper pods that were there, but all of the show was just too much to take in and we often dissapeared outside for a smoke. There was hall after hall and the weather was fantastic for this first day..glorious sunshine..but it wasnt to last for the next day it was cold enough for snow. We went outside to look at the concept vehicles and the vehicles that were working trucks, speaking to the owners who were there in a competition and waiting to be judged, the paint jobs were brilliant to say the least..purples..yellows and royal blues..special paint jobs on some were mind blowing..the trailers painted and polished too took my breath away. There was a tank trailer there who normally worked in the food industry, it was cleaner than some factories ive been to, with polished bellies and marker lights there too with mirrors placed on the ground so that you can see the underneath of the trailer. Animal transporters that were all polished chromed…inside and out…one that a pig would be happy to climb into. There were husband and wife teams displaying their cherished trucks, and i asked one if this was his working truck to which he replied sure is fella, we did half a million miles last year…talk about long distance…but these huge trucks with their living accommodation are used as houses, and i am very jealous of them, to have such living space with all mod cons, and its not always the owner who gets to drive these machines…but company drivers also. There were various companies at the show to recruit not only subbies…but drivers too, all trying to outdo each other with what they offered…there were various organisations offering health care…insurance…trailer hire etc.everything to do with trucking…and only trucking whether it be vehicles…trailers…spare parts…accessories etc…and it was all mind blowing…i cant describe the vehicles in words on this site…but you will see the photos not only from me but from the others who were there too.
We visited the show again on Thursday…to fill our bags once again…and always finished the evening witha meal at the hotel and a visit to the bar.
Friday morning i was intending going back over to the show, when i was pulled up by friends of Rikki & Lucy called…Bob and Cathy.these two are writers for various magazines and they had arranged a trip to Cincinatti to do a phone in radio show with all the truckers right across the states via sattelite, the station was called W.W.W. and they almost told me they wanted me there, but did politely ask. Rikki & Lucy were going to be there as well and we would all have a microphone and answer the truckers questions that they had, and they wanted to compare the truckers way of life in the U.K. and make comparisons.
Ol Bob was a lovely guy and is trying to change the truckers way of life over there, for example they complain about the cost of fuel…let leave their engines on for 24/7…speed along the highways at 70 - 80 mph so he is trying to get them to change that for starters…well we all know it makes sense…dont we ?
We arrived in the studio a bit earlier than anticipated because bob thought the show started at 11pm instead of midnight, and we were there till the show finished at 0500. It was a very interesting debate and i thought the drivers were impressed with our way of life over here, They are also worried that the Tacho is going to be introduced over there and asked many questions about that, how it will affect them, etc…they were quite shocked when they said that their price of fuel had doubled in a year to 2 dollars a gallon…until we pointed out that ours is 8 dollars a gallon…it seemed to me that we had been in their position years ago…for the D.J. was making comparisons and saying to them…have we heard that somewhere before…so all in all they are living in the past …of course they have it easier in some ways because they have no taxation…no M.O.T. no road tolls…no 6 week inspection…no tacho…theyre still on log sheets/books…and for those that remember…so were we…but the american truckers way of life is going to change…shortly.with road tolls coming in…tachos on the way…thats a good start…maybe limiters will follow…that way they can save a lot of fuel…and the president wont have to keep picking fights with oil producing countries. 
Theres not a lot more i can add except to say if you get the chance book for next year…the hotel Executive West was advertising already and bookings have to be there by end of January…its a 5 star hotel and opposite the exhibition centre…there is also various others located nearby in Louisville such as the Marriot Hotel which would be cheaper…but whatever you decide …you gotta be there to appreciate it. If i remember anymore i`ll post it.
Once again…i thank everybody concerned for making this a trip of a lifetime.
