Ice Road Truckers!!

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Is there anyone else out there that sees a problem with these folks?? For one thing: I've never heard another driver resorting to the horn when they pass!! It's MUCH easier to grab the mic and tell the other person what you really think of them!! :-laf



I haven't seen it in a while and decided to tune in for a bit... It's 99. 999% TV drama and . 0001% real life #@$%!



No better than the stupid show about drilling for oil!! PS: Spills, short sleeves, and lack of safety glasses are NOT ALLOWED!!

EDIT: It's really pretty boring!! Most of the time, they are cleaning, wandering about as if they have a purpose, hanging out in the smoke shack, or DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY when it's time to sign a work ticket!!



I work in the oilfields of "backwards arse" Wyoming, and it's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE THE SHOWS on the "brain damage box" !@!



Yea, maybe a fight or two amongst the "roughnecks" at the gentleman's club once in a while, but the drivers I encounter out here drive in pretty close to the same conditions, are ALWAYS courteous (always wave and yield right of way to loaded trucks, etc... ), and are NOT complete idiots!!



ADDITIONAL EDIT: Another thing is HOW MANY TRUCKERS NEED CHAINS IN JULY?? I have gotten several confused looks when I rattle up to the fuel pump when it's raining!!

 

[NIsaacs]

Yup, there is no reality in the reality shows, I watched American Loggers for the first time last night, it was the same way. Some good equipment and real time logging, but the narrator gets it all wrong:-laf



mwilson might know of them, they log in Maine and drive Western Stars with four axle trailers and 12' bunks. Mostly off highway with big loads. I watched season 1, episode 1, and it was about the Pelletier Family, seven of them!



One thing I was curious about was they run all Dayton wheels, I always hated those things but they are cheaper and lighter. Maybe Mike knows why??



Nick

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Several reasons for my frustrations!!

Mother-in-law works at POE as does my future Brother-in-law... And Wife is EMT/Firefighter, AND I used to work for a haz-mat response team!!

I call BS on 99% of it!! However, it is entertaining at times (when it's the ONLY thing on TV on Sunday mornings!)

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

One thing I was curious about was they run all Dayton wheels

Silent sponsor??? Just like a Coke or Pepsi can in the cup holder??

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

OKAY GUYS!! It's time for me to quit stewing over this and go to bed!!

Before I do, what's wrong with whacking the freaking drum loose with a hammer??

Sorry, but I gotta have at least 10 hrs off... DOT rules!!!

 

[dresslered]

Oh great, you guys just shattered my image. You mean all truckers don't look like Lisa Kelly? :-laf

 

[Tractorat]

If you just want to watch a show about truckers, try to catch some reruns of the old "Movin On" with Claude Aikins.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

We can also throw in the Alaska Gold show in the mix.



Watched the season finale this morning. What a load of Grizzly Bear poop!

 

[Jim W]

Hey,

The show producers are trying to make some money. If they were to show what real workers do and act, we would all fall asleep from lack of excitement. Most construction, mining, truckers and other trades are professionals; they would be fired on the spot if they acted like this in real life. OSHA or MSHA would close down the job site for some of the on safe things that reality shows have the works do.



Jim W.

 

[jgillott]

Giving IRT credit, I do want to visit Alaska now at some point. Never would have considered it before watching the series.

 

[rscurtis]

We can also throw in the Alaska Gold show in the mix.



Watched the season finale this morning. What a load of Grizzly Bear poop!

They would all do a lot better if they understood the need for simple preventive maintenance. If I had run my rental business like that I'd have been gone in six months.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I have been around the block in a big truck a few times.



1. I like that/ the big fat one needs a slip and fall accident to happen (aka gettin his butt kicked.



2. Real truck driving is nothing like what the show is it's long sleepy nights on the road ( hopefully by yourself) teams would be something I WOULD NOT DO . after a week or two with very little sleep I didnt like ME IN THE CAB



3, Lisa Kelly is not a truck driver she IMO is on the show to make it possible for us guys at home to watch the show without the wife getting to mad. She is IMO AN AIR HEAD. She has a Commercial Ticket but so does the wife my son my daughter my FIL SIL ALL 4 of them and BIL and they ARE NOT TRUCK DRIVERS



4 You say that truck drivers are courteous They have to be ILL BET YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD THE 3 GOLDEN RULES OF TRUCK DRIVING have you? well let be the one to give you the heads up



Rule 1 The Customer is ALLWAYS RIGHT no matter how big a mistake they have just made.



Rule 2 Dispatch or management NEVER MAKES MISTAKES AND I MEEN NEVER. The only reason that 99 percent of the people in dispatch are because they couldn't do the job as a driver and they knew someone in the company. And Management are the ones that bent over and took it in the keister so the owner of the company makes them his personal B***H



Rule 3 IF ANY THING GOES WRONG WITH RULE 1 AND RULE 2 ITS THE DRIVERS FAULT AND YOUR GOING TO TAKE BLAME FOR IT EVEN IF YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.





Truck driving is something that I have enjoyed for many miles and years I have met some truly nice people both drivers and mechanics. But when I got my ticket it was because I WANTED TO BE ON THE ROAD and now days the average driver is only there until something else comes along. JMO





PS CHAINS IN JULY IS NOT THAT UNCOMMON THINK ABOUT MUD AND SNOW??????? NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE

 

[mwilson]

Yup, there is no reality in the reality shows, I watched American Loggers for the first time last night, it was the same way. Some good equipment and real time logging, but the narrator gets it all wrong:-laf



mwilson might know of them, they log in Maine and drive Western Stars with four axle trailers and 12' bunks. Mostly off highway with big loads. I watched season 1, episode 1, and it was about the Pelletier Family, seven of them!



One thing I was curious about was they run all Dayton wheels, I always hated those things but they are cheaper and lighter. Maybe Mike knows why??



Nick

One reason is the fact you can change a Dayton style wheel in the woods with only a 20 Ton jack, a 3/4" drive 1 1/4" socket, a 12" extension and a good 3/4" drive ratchet.

You are not going to do that with 10 hub-piloted aluminum budd nuts torqued to 450 ft lbs.

And even if you did break the 10 nuts free you will never get them tight enough again to make it out without destroying both rims, the drum, the hub and all the studs.

Also hauling heavy a steel budd will not take it, aluminum budds will stand it but the bead of the tire will wear the rim and make it sharp as can be after 100,000 miles or so.

Michelin tires are famous for wearing a sharp edge on an Alcoa rim in short order.

Also the aluminum reacts with the steel hub and causes a white residue that will bind the wheels to the hub. That is fine if you are at a facility that has a rim puller like we do but no good in the woods.

Aluminum rims have gained favor up here in the last 15 years but when hauling extremely heavy it is hard to beat a Dayton set-up.



You have to realize just how heavy they load these trucks at times, I have seen scale slips for 215,000 lbs. for a load deliverd to a mill on a tandem tractor with a tri-axle trailer. When hauling off-road they fill the trailer to get as much payload on as possible.



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Forgot to mention, the Pelletier Garage is about 30 miles from my house.



They are customers of ours and many of the trucks shown have been purchased from us including "Bigfoot" and the tri-drive tandem Western Star.



Up North those loggers can break just about anything... .....



Mike.

 

[NIsaacs]

Thanks Mike



I wondered about the whys of the Daytons, I figured there was a reason. Hub piloted wheels and hubs came after I quit logging, we still had the inner and outer nuts.



They look like an A-OK outfit, just the hype of the show and a dumbell narrator. They have a nice Barko Loader mounted on an older Mack too I figured you would know them when I saw their equipment.



Nick

 

[BIGNASTY]

Mike what is the legal ON ROAD weight in Maine? Do you go like MI more rubber on the road the weight you can haul . I figured by watching the show that off road is what ever your truck is capable of

 

[mwilson]

Mike what is the legal ON ROAD weight in Maine? Do you go like MI more rubber on the road the weight you can haul . I figured by watching the show that off road is what ever your truck is capable of

Legal weight for a tandem tractor with a tri-axle trailer is 100,000 lbs.



They recently added legislation to allow the 100,000 lb units on the interstate, makes it a lot safer as it gets the heavy trucks out of the towns and cities.



The only provisions for weights in excess of 100,000 lbs is by permit for special moves, oversize loads etc.



It used to be 88,000 lbs. on a tandem trailer, tri-axles were not used yet back when I hauled wood. We used to gross 100,000 lbs on the tandems anyways so the move to tri-axle units made things much safer for all.



More stabile trailers and an extra set of brakes always helps out. .



Off road they can do anything they want, some mills have set weight limits so the mills weight scales don't get destroyed from loads of wood over their rated capacity.



Mike.