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He's just got moving . . .
Fair covering of snow. |
Truck stop 08.20 local
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.9403601...16&l=0&m=h&v=2 Rolling again 08.44 local - snowing . . . |
127 miles in 2 hours - average 60 mph - not bad . . .
Not much traffic about now, also snowing heavier now. |
Another truck stop:-
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.4899992...16&l=0&m=a&v=2 550 miles done - 2100 left |
He's just stopped.
Was the previous fix 'anticipated'? |
Rolling again.
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He's just cleared the Ohio toll road and is heading for a truck stop.
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That was a quick stop. Seems he breaks every two hours. Heading for Chicago now.
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Still going . . .
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He's just stopped for fuel.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.3961274...12&l=0&m=a&v=2 Rolling again 22.47 - parking up 880 miles so far (from Malaga) 1820 to go. |
11 hours driving today - 600 miles - 55 mph - good going!
He could reach his goal in 3 more days . . . |
Davenport weather forecast -
Cloudy with light snow likely early in the morning...Then mostly cloudy. Areas of blowing snow in the late morning and early afternoon. Little or no snow accumulation. High around 11. Temperature steady or slowly falling in the afternoon. Northeast wind 10 to 20 mph increasing to northwest 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow 70 percent. Wind chill readings to 22 below. Omaha weather - Temperatures falling to zero to 5 above by late afternoon. North winds 25 to 30 mph decreasing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow, 20 percent. Wind chill values 15 below to 25 below zero in the afternoon. |
Still square-wheeled with snow obliterating the windscreen (again). 08.00 local (GMT -6 hrs)
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Hi G-CPTN, please do not book any holidays for 2009, until you have mailed Steve, and asked if you can ride shotgun with him for two weeks.
I am thinking that that would be your perfect holiday. |
I'm intrigued to learn about this type of operation. I suppose many of you here will have done similar work. I drove down to the southern tip of Italy but only carried concrete blocks (and brought them back).
He's just cleared the windscreen again. |
Rolling 09.20 local - plenty of snow . . .
He seems to be refuelling (again)? Pick-up truck ploughing the parking lot. |
The Laptop he uses is the Toshiba Satellite P205. 1.85GHz, 2GB RAM, 32-bit Windows Vista. Cobra 400 Watt Power Inverter to power the laptop from the truck's 12VDC system.
The web camera in use is the Logitec Orbit AF. The Mobile Internet provider used is Sprint Broadband Access Plan. Sprint Compass 597 USB Modem. The Modem is also connected to a Wilson Cellular Truck Antenna to help give a better range. The webcam video is processed by Windows Media Encoder 9 then uploaded to Camstreams. Above from BigRigSteve website |
That all sounds very technical and expensive. Have you uploaded any of yours to the site?.
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I've seen folk with laptops (and digital cameras) 'spotting' near airports.
I know that some mobile 'phones can access the internet, but how does a laptop get connected (and are the costs similar to having a mobile 'phone running all the time)? Sure looks purdy (with all that snow) . . . |
Sprint Broadband as used by Steve -
Who can benefit from Sprint Mobile Broadband service?. The clear winners are businessmen who travel a lot, whether it's flying in and out of airports or driving around the city while on-call. A mobile Internet service allows these people to continue to be productive, enjoying the benefits of a virtual office wherever they go. |
He's stopped - looks cold . . .
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http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.681118&...15&l=0&m=h&v=2
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.681118&...12&l=0&m=h&v=2 Do they still use CB radios? Weather for Newton, IA, USA -15°C Current: Haze Wind: N at 18 mph Humidity: 78% Wed Chance of Snow -16°C | -27°C Wonder what this is:- http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.6974017...18&l=0&m=h&v=2 |
Seeing the wide expanse of flat snow reminds me that I did antilock-brake trials on a special low-mu (0.1) surface with a 38 ton 6x4 rigid and 4 wheel drawbar trailer.
He's rolling again. |
Requirements to operate a big rig in the USA -
http://www.mifotowa.com/Trucking-And...ted-states.php Differences between Owner and Company driver - http://www.mifotowa.com/Trucking-And...ny-drivers.php |
Indian Country
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Passing Omaha . . .
Sunset. 950 miles to go (to destination) and he can drive another three hours today if he wants to . . . 370 miles so far today. . |
Off-highway (in a city) truck-stop.
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=40.8683531...12&l=0&m=h&v=2 Extra 105 miles - 475 total today - not bad considering the weather. 845 to go - too far for one day, but he should make it on Friday . . . |
Howdy From THE BigRigSteve!
:) Well, I got an email today that asked me to check out this forum, and possibly answer some questions. LOL I have read ALL the posts.
First, it made me laugh and cringe at what I read. LOL Not sure if it is a good thing to be talked about or not. LOL At any rate, I will do my best to help answer questions best as I can. Things that come to mind are: "He sure can't reverse"! LOL. Well, sure I can. What you folks don't see is what is behind me. I have doors to line up with that has all of 6 inches varience either way. In snow, there are no markings to help guide me in. Another issue is the other day while in New Jersey, the docks I backed into had metal plates sticking out that if you hit, or even off a little bit, they will tear the insulation on the doors. Also, keep in mind, I have a big sleeper, and the truck is 72 feet long bumper to bumper, so in order to get in perfect alignment, I have to approach at an angle. Alot of the woring space I have to back up in is shorter than the length of the truck and trailer itself. :( The other guy you saw back up easily??? Could it have been the yard dog? They have very short tractors, and have twice the steering ability than I do since all they do is move trailers and they are not street legal. But then, sometimes, I DO have trouble backing up. LOL. Nobody (not me anyway) is perfect. Sometimes I win, othertimes I lose. LOL. As long as I dont get into an accident or damage the truck, trailer, cargo, etc, I figure it is a good day. LOL Ok, on to the good stuff. I do NOT run every available hour that i can legally drive. It is not a race. If I do get to a receiver early....I just end up sitting. Every shipper and receiver operates to a strict appointment. That is why you see me sitting sometimes and not driving. MOST of them will not load or unload you early at all. LOL Don't forget the time difference between us and you as well. I perfer to drive during the day so I can see more and be safer than run at night when the drunks, animals, etc are out. Not every place is a drop and hook. Most are live loading/unloading. Some places I can be in and out in 2 hours or so. Other times, I have sat there for as long as 23 hours!!! I have to get fuel where my dispatch tells me to. Sometimes that means 1-2 times in a single day. The computer tells me which stations are the lowest prices for fuel. I am a company driver, and this is a company tractor. I haul freezer loads. produce, etc. I agree, the US drivers rules can get confusing at times. LOL. Basically, I cannot drive more than 11 hours in any day. I cannot drive AT ALL after my 14th hours since the start of the day. I must get 10 hours total rest. 8 of which must be continous sleeper berth. I cannot work on duty and/or drive more than 70 hours in a rolling 8 day period. Hope this answered or explained some stuff. I will check back tomorrow and see what else I can offer in the way of help. |
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Speaking of which......I saw another previous post about me not using wipers.....I do. Because the speed of the camera framerate is slow, and when I am in dialup areas, the wipers move faster than what the camera can catch. -OR- In case of extreme cold and ice, the windshield may ice up at the bottom right where I have the camera mounted. I do try to keep the camera area clear for folks.....but you can be rest assured, I DO use wipers when needed, and DO NOT drive with iced up windshield, etc. :) |
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I have a flat rate mobile internet connection. I can stream all I want for $69.00/month. The laptop is connected via a USB modem. I do not use the cell phone for anything computer related. |
Thanks for your comments, BigRigSteve, they are very interesting.
Any chance of some photos of the inside of your sleepercab please? |
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I checked out that link above....and it sure looks like a steel/auto/scrap metal recycle yard. :0 Best guess anyway. |
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Well, I have none of the interior....but it seems to be a constant request from folks all over the world. LOL Not sure why the incredible interest....LOL, but I will take some, and let the world see "behind the scenes of BigRigTravels". Just give me a few days....Deal? :) |
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Hi BigRigSteve. Absolutely! At your conveniance, Sir! Whenever you can spare the time. I think a few of us are curious (I know I am) as to how things fit out in there. Is it cramped, is there plenty of space?? :) |
Oops!
Dangit!
Just noticed that there is an "I" missing from bIg. LOL. Wonder how the heck I can fix that. Anybody know? |
If you P.M. Ian, he can change it for you, or he may read what you have posted and change it anyway, but I'd be tempted to P.M. him. I think it's a "staff only" thing.
You could also try G6 UXU! |
Done thanks to Andy (admin)
A warm welcome to the forum BigRigSteve, from the staff at Truck and Bus Ian |
High there, BigRigSteve - and thanks for the responses.
Many of us here are old crusties who no longer drive for a living, so we are interested in current conditions. Also, most of us are (or were) UK-based and your operation is interesting. I've never been to the US (and I'm unlikely to) and by following your travels I'm learning about your Country. Reversing (or backing-up) - I'm no expert and I usually drove flatbeds rather than containers and our tractors were much shorter than yours. I had drivers that were very good at reverse parking and I see delivery drivers (such as fuel tankers and supermarket deliverers) who do it several times a day that can seemingly do it instinctively. I admire that (and, of course the 'yard dog' has no excuse for messing up). I note that you are a company driver, so you've got someone looking over your shoulder as well as 'holding your hand' and carrying the operating costs. I wondered about trailers (if you were an owner-driver) but I guess that that's not your worry. Are they company-owned - or are you moving third-party trailers? What load is so important that it needs moving from New Jersey to Utah? Would it not be 'better' to send it by rail? How is your sleep-cabin heated? Do you have to run the main motor? If so, does this happen automatically? Cat or Cummins? What size? What is your current gross weight? (I saw you catching another rig on upgrades but losing it on the downgrades.) What speed do you choose to cruise at (given good road conditions)? I see many rigs passing you 'easily' (here all heavy trucks are fitted with speed limiters so tend to 'follow-my-leader' - or run side-by-side trying to pass - though higher-powered rigs can overtake heavily-laden slower trucks). |
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