Been a while since i did a diary , i have had these pictures on the laptop since the middle of November.
As i am on holiday i finally got down to doing it lol
Monday -
A 5.30 start today and i am to tip the trailer i loaded on Friday afternoon.
I had for some reason ended up with our only Skelly trailer without a timber crane.
Commonly known by the rest of our drivers as " The old mans " trailer , due to no back loads and no need to
set up or move the timber pins 
.
I had got loaded with a load of 4.9m logs and they were bound for the pier at Sandbank nr Dunoon.
This morning is barely above freezing and looks as if it,s going to be a good day.
Personally i like the weather when it,s like this , much easier to work in and due to the woods being
slightly frozen , its a lot cleaner.
I arrive at Sandbank just after 6.30 , we are not allowed to tip until 7am , so its straps off and coffee time.
One of our timber cranes arrives and at 7 he starts to tip himself.
I reverse down the pier and wait for " Tam " to tip.
Once he is tipped , we shuffle around and i get reversed alongside him ,he has to tip my load at the other side of the pier.
The multi docker is not working as the boat is not expected to dock for a couple of hours.
It only works when the boats are in …our responsibility to tip motors till then 
.
I am soon tipped and pull off the pier , sunrise over the Clyde is stunning.
I call the office and get a change of plan , back to our yard at Struchur and drop the Skelly.
I have to pick up a flat and load for away …Boat will not be in till late in the afternoon.
I arrive at the yard and find only one empty trailer , the rest have all been loaded for the expected boat.
Saves a lot of time if you are just running from the yard to the pier , but when it all goes wrong !!!
You are left with a lot of trailers parked up .
I am sent to meet one of our waggon and drags , the stacking area is at the bottom of a steep hill and its not the best
to get artics out.
“Marty” takes the load to the top of the hill and cross loads onto me.
The load is 3m pulp that has been left lying too long and has dried out too much to be used for making paper.
It,s now to be taken for chipping up and made into " Fuel wood pellets" another new use for older wood.
The worst thing about chip wood ,its usually that light , you end up with a monster load to get your weight on.
Timber is the same as bulk tippers, you get paid by the weight you carry , so it,s as near to 44 tons as you can get !.
They used to pay up to 45 tons , but that has been stopped now and if you are over 44.500 you will only be payed for 44ton.
So the days of running heavy are now gone .
This load is for plant at Girvan , a full 4and half hours drive from where i load.
I arrive at the plant and go onto the weigh bridge.
It,s a self weigh !!! you need to be a computer genius to work this one !.
I,m not stupid but there is no way i can follow the instructions on this thing !
lucky there,s a help number beside it … the lady in the office talks me through it .
As i sit getting tipped the loading shovel is busy feeding the plant.
The finished wooden pellets are then loaded through a hopper to bulk tippers , to be delivered to biomass heating systems.
As i am running late , i am told to head to a loading area 5 min,s from my home and drop the trailer.
It will loaded either late that night or very early tomorrow morning.
I manage to nip home with the unit and get a night in my own bed.
Tuesday-
5am start today !
I arrive at the loading area to find the loader driver has loaded my trailer and is busy putting a load on another one.
i pull my trailer out the loading are and strap it down , much easier than wading around in 6 inches of mud.
Back to the pellet factory again , manage the weigh bridge on the way in this time.
I get tipped next to the log deck and am soon ready to go out.
I have to weight a few moments till this chap gets under the loading hopper :-
I am told once again to head up the road … quiet on the back loads this week.
As i near Ayr , i get a phone call from our office , i have to meet another of our trucks and swap trailers.
He has been running logs from the Isle of Bute along with another of our loaders and has developed a problem with the trailer
I get to Irvine and have to wait there , " Cammy " is tipping at troon and will be a while.
I drop the trailer and night heater goes on and i tip the drivers seat back … 40 winks lol.
An hour later he arrives , I’m still dead to the world and nearly end myself as he toots his horn !!
We change trailers .
This trailer has to go back to our yard at Strachur for repair.
I drop the damaged trailer at the yard and pick up another flat and head to a job near Dalmally at Loch Awe.
This load is for the boat that has finally arrived in Sandbank.
I join a Que of motors waiting to load.
We are getting into the loading point 3 at a time , and after the truck in front has loaded.
I finally get into position.
I end up loading on a slope , so to level out the bed of the trailer , i blow the air suspension right up.
This means the logs are not being loaded facing down hill and helps reduce the risk of them sliding forward
into the back of the cab !.
When loaded i pull forward and strap down.
It,s off to Sandbank again.
I arrive and find my load is the last to go into the hold.
Most of these boats take a deck cargo and you can loose a lot of time waiting on them shutting the hatches and setting up
the timber pins on top.
I call the office and am told to head home again .
I,m loading tomorrow morning in another timber job 20Min’s from my home.
I am very lucky where i stay as i get home a lot.
Wednesday-
Loading in the dark again .
Colin has new LED lights on his loader and its even blinding trying to take pictures lol.
This load of 4.9m logs is heading a couple of hours north to the Bsw sawmill at Fortwilliam.
They have just opened a new sawmill there but they are still running the old one !!
With both the sawmills on the go the demand for timber is amazing !
My load is for the old mill and there is a steady stream of trucks.
I head to another loading point towards Oban.
Colin has moved from the earlier loading point and is waiting for us to arrive back after tipping.
I turn round and park alongside the Bing of timber , the loader reverses to the back of the trailer and he starts throwing
the load on.
The logs are hardly out the forest , off the forwarder and they are on the truck.
The area is being clear felled , other than a few trees left to give birds of pray somewhere to perch ( they usually blow
down in the first big winds) but the forestry say they have to be left lol.
Colin has a good supply of grit on the back of the loader , no gritters in the forest lol.
I stand well out the way as he loads the front bolster.
The log stacking ain’t the best , if you had a real good forwarder driver the pile would be all level !
Off to the old mill at the Fort again.
I wait as one of Ferguson’s motors gets tipped.
I get parked next to the log deck and my load goes right into the mill.
The massive grab on the Volvo makes short work of the load.
6 grabs and i,m tipped.
As i sweep off the trailer another 2 crane motors tip onto the stock pile.
I weigh out and park till i can get our office on the phone.
Another local lad is having a break as well.
I wait a while to get our office and the reason soon becomes obvious !
Another of our trucks has broken down and i have to go and cover his load , a load of Salmon from a fish harvest station
at Lochinvar , Sutherland … a full 4 and half from Fortwilliam !!!
Empty running the whole way !!!.
That will finnish my day lol.
I stop for a break at Ulapool and finally out my timber pins in the headboard of the trailer…it,s been rainin till then.
It,s becoming dark ,so i turn on the bank of rear work lights i have …it,s a standing joke that i don’t like the dark !.
Only thing is they are right lol… hate the dark !!!.
I arrive in Lochinvar and find a fridge motor local to my home waiting to load.
I drop my trailer and park away from the harvest area , i cant sleep as they load during the night.
Another lad is already in his bed , i don’t know how they can sleep with the noise of the forklifts !!
They are already getting the insulated bins ready for the nights fish.
I head for my own bed.
Thursday-
Early start today
I pick my trailer up and strap the bins down , no wind or rain so i,m happy.
Between Lochinvar and Ulapool , i don’t meet a single vehicle.
The bank of spots on the front light the road well ahead.
Not many places you can go onto full beam and not dip for over an hour lol…well without blinding anyone !.
I manage to get to the start of Glen Coe in my 4 and half hours driving and find a nice big la by to park in.
The weather is starting to look good and shows the mountains in their glory.
I get the truck tilted slightly to the drivers side (sleep with my head to the pass side) and hit the bunk for an hour.
Another couple of hours See,s me at the fish processing plant and after i tip the bins i head for a load of wood.
Another boat at Sandbank !
Again i,m not going right into the job !.
A lot of forests are trying to stop damage to the roads by trucks , so some bits are off limits to trucks without CTI system.
I am met by " Ian " , his new motor has CTI (Central tyre inflation ) and he loads me.
His CTi allows him to reduce the tyre pressures and the theory is it will reduce damage to the roads.
The wheeler is piped to the drive axles.
And the trailer has the air supply coming through the hubs.
Its a lot of money to fit this ,but without it there are parts of the forest we will not get too.
As i am about to set off "Davie " arrives with his " Lander " , I’m told it,s not a premium lol.
It,s also CTI , so he heads farther into the wood to get a load.
I make it back to our yard at Struchur and am out of driving time.
I drop the loaded trailer and pick up another empty.
As one of the lads is going back by my home , i abandon the truck at the yard and get a lift home.
Once i get home , i arrange with Colin on the loader to pick me up in the morning … I’m loading with him anyway.
One advantage of understanding bosses lol.
Friday-
I get picked up from outside my house and taken to the yard for my truck.
We then head to a loading point in the forest , but find we are not the first !.
A couple of the wheeler and drags have beaten us there.
once they are clear we go to load.
Another truck is waiting to load, so i go nose first up a spur road , Colin starts to load the other motor.
The work lights mounted at the side of the truck show the ditches up well .
I,m soon into load and before i leave the loading point i shout on the CB radio , another truck is coming in to get loaded.
I wait a few min,s and he arrives.
I go and tip this load and then i,m sent to another site to load.
I,m running short of my 90 hrs driving hours , so i get a shorter run.
This site turns out to be a real hole !!!
The forwarder has been running on the road and their is nearly a foot of slurry type mud on the track !.
Its OK to get about in but its a real mess .
Colin,s brother Donny is loading on this site (least as they are 2 of the bosses they can see the state of the roads).
Careful hopping around on logs to get these pictures lol.
I manage another 2 loads to the pier , meeting " Marty " and "Cammy " again.
we are keeping the harvester busy today.
As you can see he is cutting trees that have been blow down … dangerous job .
I run short of time and have to head for home , leaving the lads still at it.
I am loading Monday morning , so just run home , drop the trailer and park my unit up.
Been another busy week and it has went real quick !.
Thanks again for looking , Niall.
Doing a bit of extra for myself.
Your lorry is far heavier and more advanced than the piles of crap we run here. You can be proud of your work, I always loved the rougher work more than sitting on my backside for Tesco or some other soft job, that’s why I quit Tesco to do show work, it gave me a sense of achievement 
).