On the Road with Henry Albert

I sure can tell a difference in traffic levels now that fuel prices are coming down. Maybe the economy is starting to get moving again. I just hope that the increase in travel doesn’t raise the fuel prices again. I have not seen traffic congestion like this Fridays in a long time. Has anybody else noticed a measurable change in recent times or is it just me?  One thing that I really appreciated was the Ultra shift transmission that my Cascadia is equipped with. It was nice not having to search for a gear every time that traffic started and stopped.

Yesterday I stopped at the Burger King in Nelsonville Ohio to eat. When the cashier gave me change it had a 1908 Indian Head penny mixed in.I thought to myself, wow this could be worth something. After a while I started to think about what it must have been like in the year of 1908. Today when I reached in my pocket and came across this coin again. This made me think about it some more. So I decided to do some research on this particular year with some free time that I had. As it turns out this was quite a busy year for the United States of America. So much so that John Rasenberger wrote a book about it (1908 THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING). Hear are some of the more interesting things that I found out from my research. It was five years since the Wright brothers first flight and they finally showed the public their flying machine.Henry Ford introduced the model T, and put the world on wheels. The United States sent the Great White fleet on a world wide tour to show off its naval supremacy.The ball dropped for the first time in Times Square. The US Olympic team finished second to Great Britain. The race to the North Pole was on. Some other interesting facts were as follows,average life span 47 was years, only 230 murders for the entire U.S.A., 14% of homes had a bath tub, 8% had a phone, 6% of students graduated high school, 8000 automobiles and 144 miles of paved roads. The people of that era could not have imagined driving something as comfortable as my 2009 Cascadia. Just think about what how they would react if you were able to tell them that there would be trucks rolling down a interstate system that we have today.If you were able to convince them that you could easily travel 600 to 700 miles per day. Imagine when you started describing air conditioning microwaves and refrigerators being anyware let alone in trucks. We sure have come along way in a 100 years. If the hard working people at Freightliner and Detroit Diesel keep advancing like they have in the past, it will sure be interesting to see what they are like 100 years from now. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching this magnificent year 1908 (the year that changed everything) If you get a chance google it up your self there is so much more than I posted here

Today I needed to take my truck to Charlotte North Carolina for its first PM. I was greeted with prompt professional service. If you have not been to Charlotte Freightliner in a while I would advise stopping in and seeing all the changes that have taken place. This dealer is under new ownership. Many changes have been implemented. I must say that I was very impressed . I think you will be too. So stop in and pay them a visit and ask for Jerry in service.

Yesterday I met a nice couple from the expediting side of the trucking world. They were driving a beautiful Freightliner Business Class truck with a huge sleeper. It was really nice meeting such a professional couple. We ran together for about a hour . I enjoyed trading stories with them . They were telling me stories about how they have helped others to be successful. I quickly realized that we had many things in common . I also enjoy helping others to succeed in our industry . I owe much of the success that has come to me from having the having the right mentors at the right time. This is why I always try to help others when the opportunity presents itself. This is how I give back to a industry that has blessed me with so much.

Who would have thought that we would have the conveniences that we have in a truck of today. Twenty six years ago when I started driving we did not have seventy inch stand up sleepers refrigerators, television, microwaves, storage,and now parked HVAC systems. The newest item for me is the parked HVAC system. In the past a driver would have to decide on being comfortable or efficient . Now you can have both. The system that my truck has is a battery powered system . This system works very well for me because I only use it only for overnights and I am home on weekends. For some people this would not work for layovers lasting more than a day . However it has a provision for shore power hookup if it was available. The things that I like most with this system are the quietness and not having another engine to maintain like you would with a APU .We sure have come a long way from the forty eight inch cab over sleepers that I started driving with.

Yesterday it took me nearly three hours to check the oil in my truck. You are probably wondering what is wrong with the design of the Cascadia or the DD15 engine. The answer to that is that nothing is wrong with them at all. What happened was when I opened my hood to check the oil some curious drivers came over to check out this phenomenal power plant from Detroit Diesel. After that one thing led to another and we had a great conversation about its wonderful attributes. I told them how quietly it was able to pull like freight train. I also showed them how easy that is to maintain with all its filters accessible from above the frame rails. Also they were very interested in how its compound turbo gives it a fifty horsepower boost from what is normally waste exhaust gasses. The rest of the time turned into shop talk . I am really glad that the the time was available to me on this day to spend with them . Normally I would have been too pushed for time to take the time for this lengthy of a conversation. It sure was a nice change and I really enjoyed the time that I got to spend with these drivers.

Today I found my self reflecting on a moment that happened a good number of years ago. It all started on a morning I was having a particularly bad day or so I thought I was. I walked out to the pipe yard where a truck needed unloaded. The driver , which was a fairly older gentleman, asked me how I was doing this morning. That question opened a big can of worms. I then proceeded to tell him what a bad day I was having. He just stood there and left me unload all the problems that I thought I had. Thinking back on this moment I realize that he was a very patient man.After I was finished this wise old man said to me, any day that the good Lord see”s fit for you to experience is a good day.Then he took the time to explain to me that it takes a hot day to appreciate a cold day and a sad day to know what a good day really is. I don’t know if he realized how his wisdom affected me , but his words have stuck with me for nearly twenty years .I can only hope that his words help someone else besides myself.some how I feel that they probably did.

We all enjoy living in this great free country we call the United States Of America. Its now time to take advantage of our greatest right as citizens. I can only hope that each and every one of takes advantage of this by voting in the upcoming election. Please take the time to make a educated choice and not a knee jerk reaction to the political ads we are bombarded by. Remember we are voting for more than just president . Many of the people that we elect have as much or more affect on our daily lives than the president. I am going to vote early in my home state of North Carolina when I get home.

The other day I decided to stop and see a mechanic I knew at an independent truck repair shop. I did not know that I would be spending so much time there. All of the mechanics and all of the their customers came out to see the Cascadia and the DD15. They were all impressed with the truck. Some of the points of interest to them were the rack and pinion steering ,compound turbo and the battery operated HVAC system. It was also noted how easy it was to get to all of the filters.

I can not believe how good I feel today after running as hard as I needed to yesterday.I had a (hot) load that needed to be delivered in the the morning and the only way that I was going to have enough hours to get there was to keep the door shut and keep driving. I only stopped for a brief half hour break.It just amazes me how the Cascadia pampers me.I thought that I would be totally wore out this morning and to my surprise I felt great.It sure makes a big difference having a truck that has the power to get the job done while being quiet at the same time.In the past I would have not felt this good the next day .If they make this truck any better they will need to send a cape along with it .This truck needs to be driven to fully appreciate how good it really is. The engineers at Freightliner have really designed this truck to be the best truck money can buy.