Tangray:
Great diary, thanks for taking the time …
3827 miles at 40 cents, is that your weeks pay ? About 1500 dollars before tax ?
Thanks again…
Yep. That 3827 miles is a good week. The average is about 3000 miles a week.
Freight Dog:
Please do more. Fantastic. Only request would be a little more text, to fill in the gaps of the story nothing huge. A few details of what you did/things that happened. I’m getting on like you’re being paid for thisCouldn’t put up with that food they offer on the road out there.
I understand what you are saying, Freight Dog, and I could have written a lot more but I was trying to work it so that the picture and caption would both be on the screen at the same time.
Over the Port Mann Bridge and into Burnaby for a Monday morning delivery. A new bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway that did have a toll but is now free.
Modern art exhibit on the waterfront as I take the rat-run across to Annacis Island for the re-load back to Winnipeg.
The third leg of the triangle across the Rocky Mountains and home in 2 and a half days.
The pick-up warehouse is in the shadow of the Alex Fraser Bridge and about a mile from where I spent the night.
Nine inches of snow in 15 hours on the Coquihalla Pass. So mandatory chain-up. I get to try out a brand-new pair of shiny singles.
The climb over the Coquihalla wasn’t too bad and I could probably have done it with just the diff-locks engaged. Here are some stills that I grabbed from the dash-cam footage.
I think…
Having what appears to be a rubbish bin just outside your door is a good idea.
The CL9000 is possibly the tallest truck I’ve ever seen.
Great diary, thanks.
No snow at the Sicamous Husky Truckstop. A popular trailer change-over spot and Greyhound bus stop; it is a bout half-way between Vancouver and Calgary.
The snow-sheds help keep avalanches off the Trans-Canada Highway and the road open. There are about 10 of them.
A snow-plough out and about near the summit of the Rogers Pass.
Re-fueling at the Town of Golden and the Kenworth suddenly acquires a Black Crow hood ornament.
I always like to see the wild animals; preferably with enough time to stop before I hit them. These are Elk; well-fattened for a hard and long Winter.
Into Alberta and the Banff National Park where the animals have their own green bridges to cross the Trans-Canada Highway.
What a fantastic, enjoyable thread! Brilliant pictures!
The only snow in Calgary is at the Winter Olympic Park and of the man-made variety. It was here in 1988 that Eddie the Eagle had his finest hour.
The ponds are frozen in Saskatchewan but most of the snow has blown away.
Tim Hortons is a popular doughnut and coffee shop spread right across Canada. Sometimes with ample truck parking but often with local truck-parking restrictions in their area.
The four days work since the log-hours re-set at Pendleton add just over 2000 miles to the trip. Making 5880 miles for the completed triangle, done in 105 hours.
Back in the yard after dropping the trailer at the customer in Winnipeg. Snow flurries; just like when I left 12 days ago.
A map of the whole trip. Two days off and then I’ll be away on another one.
Excellent. Thanks.
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ChrisArbon:
Ramone suggested that “Loads to Mexico” might be a good subject for a thread. So here is a picture diary of what is 90% of the work that I do. I hope you enjoy the photos.
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The truck is a 1998 Kenworth W900 and I have been driving it for just over a year.
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The engine is a 12.7 litre Detroit Diesel with 500 hp. Gearbox is a 13 speed Eaton Fuller.
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There are 18 dials on the dash but none are a clock or outside temperature gauge.
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The bed is 40 inches wide and sits in a 63 inch double bunk stand-up sleeper.
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The trailer is a 53 foot dry-freight box-van with sliding tandem axles. Running height is 13 ft. 6 inches.
Wonder how many of us about the UK would drive a 1998 truck!!![emoji50]
Great dairy btw,
Keep them coming!!!
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Hi Chris, great diaries. Just to let everyone know that if they enjoy Chris’s writing, that before he moved across the pond he did continental driving from UK to fund his summer lifestyle on the beach in the South of France and documented it all in a book called “Roadtrip Ramatuelle”. Good reading, but unfortunately no photos (shame).
Les.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Tim Norton’s how I miss that chain.
Great coffee, hot soup, chilli con carne,
Fantastic rolls and cakes 
I’m dribbling for the stew now 
kickstart:
Hi Chris, great diaries. Just to let everyone know that if they enjoy Chris’s writing, that before he moved across the pond he did continental driving from UK to fund his summer lifestyle on the beach in the South of France and documented it all in a book called “Roadtrip Ramatuelle”. Good reading, but unfortunately no photos (shame).
Les.
I’ll see if I can grab a copy as I also enjoyed this thread, and did think to myself that he could probably come up with some interesting little snippets about euro driving that the rest of us never noticed.
Cheers to Chris for taking the time to take all the photos and put the thread together. Really interesting read. Looks like there’s more than a book in this current collection of adventures too!. I’ll check out the first one Chris has written.
Speaking of books, some years ago, a poster wrote what was pretty much an entire book on a thread. It was about his European driving in the early 80s. For a UK firm that ran bonneted American units. Had me hooked. It was a brilliant thread. Did he ever go to print with it as a book?
Brilliant.
Memories rekindled, thank you.
ChrisArbon:
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Typical truckers breakfast; corned-beef hash, scrambled eggs and fried potatoes with toast, coffee and a glass of water.
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Then straight into the fitness room for 20 minutes on the recumbent bike.
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Showers at the TA Truckstops are the best in the US in my opinion.
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Tipper with strange flip-over axle at the back. Popular in some states, unseen in others.
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Loves the truckstop chain are opening 50 new truckstops in 2017. That is a huge investment, I hope they aren’t over-stretching themselves.
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I always thought the Alamo was a set of ruins in the middle of no-where, like Stonehenge. But they are right in Downtown, San Antonio, and not for visiting with an 18 wheel semi. The Alamo is one of five old Spanish missions dotted along the San Antonio River and now linked by a new cycle-path. It’s on my bucket-list for when I have a bit more time in the area.
I would thoroughly recommend a visit to San Antonio - the Riverwalk is stunning. Inside the Alamo there’s a flag of every nationality that fought there and I was pleasantly surprised to see the St George’s cross was first in line.
The day we arrived happened to be the day that Def Leppard were playing the Amphitheatre that evening and the hotel staff pulled strings to get us tickets.
Managed to do Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Corpus Christi (to do a tour of the Blue Ghost)
Texans are ace and Texas is a great place for a holiday.
Brilliant diary and high quality pics.
It’s much appreciated and very informative Chris, so please keep up the good work. 
Fantastic diary and amazing photos, well written and very interesting.
But one thing I never understand is, why do the Yanks love long bonnet trucks ?
Is there a reason why European trucks are not used there ?
If we can go all over Europe , and happy with the power and cab space and use mountain roads, hot summers, cold winters and similar distance to you guys , why can’t you have European trucks ?
Toby its bad enough trying to convince them that disc brakes and super singles on trailers on local quarry work is the way its been done in Europe for decades…more than a few think if you drive a Volvo you sit down to pee.