WRITTEN BY PAUL WINTER
As some of you may know I am a semi-retired heavy vehicle driver and on occasion, when needs must and someone is sick or hurt, I am called on to go out and about. This could be as simple as taking a trailer to the hook up yard at Northam or a little more complicated, as was last week, taking a triple road train to Port Headland.
So, to start at the beginning, Tuesday lunch time I get a call from the Ops Manager of Sykes Transport, conversation goes something like,
Ops: “G’Day Frosty how are you doing?”
Me: “All good thanks Mate”
Ops: “Got much on this week?”
Me: “Not a lot”
Ops: “Tim’s hurt his back, fancy a trip?”
Me: “Where?”
Ops: “Port Headland, you need to be there by 10:00 Thursday”
Me: “Is it ready?”
Ops: “Will be by 18:00, you take your lead to Wubin and meet the Dog Runner with the other two and off you go.”
Me: “Ok, see you at 16:00”
See it’s really quite simple, I keep a bag packed with sleeping gear, washing kit and spare clothes also a 12-volt fridge for water and food, so not a lot of preparation needed.
On arrival at the yard I pack my gear into Tim’s truck, a Kenworth 909, and fuel up, was just on half full so only took around 1,000 litres.
Hook up to my lead trailer and dolly, check all the lights and tyres, have a chat with my Dog Runner and set off for Wubin.
The new North Link is fantastic, it cuts nearly 25 minutes off the journey to Wubin and the Road Train Hook Up Yard, so there I am waiting for the Dog Runner. When he doesn’t appear after about half an hour I call the office only to discover no one had told him the new road was open and the old road closed, he therefore had to follow the diversion and arrived a little later, not a good start!
After hooking up the triple which involves backing the dolly attached to the rear of the lead trailer under the middle trailer and doing a thorough check of all lights, tyres and hubs (62 tyres, 31 hubs) I set off to see how far I can get the first night. In the end I managed to find a space in a parking bay 40Ks short of Mount Magnet for a sleep at 02:45 and got my head down.
Kenworth 909 triple I took to PH, 53.5 meters long, 600 Horsepower
Wednesday morning I push on to Mount Magnet for some of the best Coffee and breakfast on the Great Northern, also buy a packed lunch so as not to be limited to servo’s for a feed. Then on to Meekatharra around 13:00, quick toilet break then onwards, the aim was to get to Port Headland Wednesday night so continued to press on, being sure to stay legal with regards to driving hours and breaks.
One of the challenges of keeping a good pace is overtaking, yes you can overtake a Road Train with a Road Train, it involves a great deal of trust in the other driver and the use of the UHF two way radio all trucks are fitted with, it usually involves a brief conversation.
“Northbound Toll copy?”
“Yeh Mate”
“How’s it looking”
“Clear for about 2 k’s bring it on I’ll back off if needed”
“Thanks mate on my way”
“You’re Done”
“Thanks mate”
See, really quite simple, it also works at night when the drivers have a really good knowledge of the road and know how long the straights are.
Fortunately, I have no issues (flat tyres etc) and arrive at Port Headland just after midnight, this gives me time to fuel the Truck ready for the return and have a good sleep ready for the following day.
The delivery point is just over the road from the BP Truck Stop so after a bit of a lie in I’m at their gate at 09:30 and have unloaded the wire coils by 11:00 and heading home again with the empty trailers.
Usually the story would end there, however having got just south of Meekatharra I receive a text message to call the office, finding a parking bay I call in:
Ops: “Where are you?”
Me: “Just south of Meekatharra”
Ops: “Fred’s broken down just south of Payne’s Find can you do a quick hitch and take his load for Port Headland up to Capricorn Roadhouse at Newman and meet Jes who has just unloaded in Port Headland do a change over there and then come back with his empties, Fred should be able to nurse his home with your empties”
Me: “Yep”
So about 20Ks south of Payne’s Find I find Fred at the side of the road with a loaded triple, we do a quick swap and off I go again North, arriving at Capricorn 20.30, I meet Jes, do another trailer swap and settle down for Friday night.
Saturday dawns a lovey day and I’m woken by the sound of Whistling Kites in the tree next to my Truck, after the usual checks, oil, water, tyres etc I set off for my first stop at Kumarina Roadhouse for breakfast which gives me the driving time to then get to Mount Magnet for lunch, as I won’t have the driving time to get all the way back from MM in one hit I decide to have a break about half way at Wubin then on home.
All goes well except for a few delays due to Oversize loads heading north, not little ones either these were Haul Packs and their bins, so 8 Mtr’s wide which means finding a space to get completely off the road until they are past, you get plenty of warning of their approach on the UHF radio which is why I would recommend ALL drivers who are going to use the main highways to drive long distances to have a UHF radio and have it turned on all the time, the advanced warning it gives you of what’s on the road ahead is invaluable.
Yard to Port Headland: 1620
Port Headland to Payne’s Find: 1243
Payne’s Find to Capricorn: 784
Capricorn to Yard: 1163
K’s for the week: 4810
This is just a little insight into a Truckie’s week, and on this trip I was lucky, no tyre changes at night, in the rain, on the side of the road, no breakdowns or equipment failures. I don’t do this every week, but a lot do, so please give them the due consideration they deserve, and remember if the trucks stop Australia stops!
Comentarios