On the Road with Henry Albert

Showing truck at CMC

Hello to all. This week I’m in Denver, CO attending the Certified Master Contractor” seminar .  This week long event is hosted by Kevin Rutherford. Many of you know Kevin from his radio show “Business and Beyond”. Driver attendees are taught business skills and ways to improve their bottom line. A full day was spent learning “Negotiating” skills.  Another topic of the seminar included “Getting Your Own Operating Authority.  Mr. Bruce Mallinson hosted :”Pittsburg Power”. I will keep you posted on topics that occur throughout the rest of the week. The evenings allow me the opportunity to meet some of these fine folks.  Many of these drivers are committed to their business and want to make positive improvements for our industry. I drove the “Cascadia” to Denver in hopes that drivers attending the seminar might have the opportunity to view this truck up close. Many were familiar with the “Slice of Trucker Life” program.  In the evenings,  I have been taking many of them for test drives. It’s lots of fun watching the expressions on their  face when the door of the Cascadia closes. They are always shocked by how well this truck seals out noise from outside the cab. Many of the drivers are very impressed with this incredible truck. I will give a more detailed report of the happenings at the CMC after the event is over. Until then be safe.

Interesting fact from the CMC seminar: When taking notes, you will retain 48% of your memory if you use yellow paper and a red pen.  Something to try, ha ha!  See if it works for you…

Henry

Hello to all! The OOIDA meetings are over and I am leaving MO today, (Sunday) . As many of you know, I was elected as an “alternate to the board” of OOIDA this year. I just attended all-day meetings  Wednesday through Saturday. The board members and alternates met to discuss issues concerning the trucking industry.  I was impressed with the diverse backgroud of the board members. As a group, their views contributed to well rounded discussions of the issues that face our industry. Plans and strategies were decided upon, in hopes to bring positive changes.  I am honored to be associated with such a fine group of individuals who are fighting for the rights of the “American Truck Driver”.

Best Regards,

Henry Albert

I am on my way to Grain Valley MO to attend the Owner Operator Independant Drivers Association board meetings. The winds have been strong  all the way to Trenton MO.  In route to MO, I had the opportunity to visit with some new friends I met  at Mid America . I enjoyed spending time with Bob and Linda Caffee. I also met with Vince Crisanti. The Caffee’s had their daughter along and it was very nice meeting her as well. She is back from serving in Iraq. The Caffee’s can be proud because there daughter seemed like quite a nice person. Bob and Vince went on a short drive with me in the Cascadia. They enjoyed the quietness of this outstanding truck. It’s always nice to catch up with friends. I’ll keep you posted on my meetings with OOIDA. Take care and be safe.

Henry

All this week it has been fifty to sixty degrees outside while I slept. It is times like this that the insulation in the Cascadia really makes my rest periods enjoyable. I like peace and quiet while sleeping, and this truck muffles out all the outside noise to a level that is almost like sleeping at home. Last night I slept next to a refer truck, and it even quieted the noise from that to a reasonable level. I could still hear it, but it was not annoying. Thanks to the engineers at Freightliner for designing a truck that is so comfortable to take my rest periods in.

Every Friday I pass through Atlanta GA. during the morning rush hour. Many drivers call I-285 the Watermellon 500 but I have a new theory as to why people drive so wild in the Atlanta area. I think that the jobs must be really good because people will take chances that would make a Nascar driver flinch just to gain a few seconds of time. It don’t even seem to matter if their children are in the car as they cut and weave jockeying for a better position on the highway. I often wonder what kind of jobs they are going to because it sure seems like they are afraid that someone will beat them there and steal their job. One of these times when I am not pushed to make it to a delivery I would like to follow some of these people to their job so that I could apply for one of these great jobs. On second thought, I think that driving my Cascadia is a better way to make a living. Besides that they will probably beat me there anyway.

Henry

Let me start out by apologizing for not blogging recently. I have been very busy quoting freight rates for the next year. Last Thursday I stopped at the Yellow Hammer truck stop along I-65 in Alabama. When I walked in there was a lady who asked if my company made me dress the way that I did. My uniform consists of a button down oxford shirt that has our logo embroidered on them, pleated slacks, steel toed dress shoes and is finished off with a tie. She was once a driver her self and had never seen a driver sporting a tie as part of their uniform. I told her that it was my way of trying to improve the image of our industry. Dressing the way I do starts a lot of conversations that have helped my business tremendously. I consider my self a representative of whoever uses me as their carrier. This is my way of showing them that I take representing them very seriously. I also like all the conversations that my attire has started while I am out on the road.

Hello everyone, I really appreciate the interaction that has been happening with our readers, so I just wanted to say thank you. Please keep on commenting so that I know what interests you. After all this site is for you our readers.

Today I am going to respond to the question posted by Craig. The question was about how the Jake brakes performed on the DD-15. The best way to describe the operation of the Jakes is that they walk quietly and carry a big stick. I can not hardly hear the engine brake but, I can sure feel them slow me down or holding me back on a grade. When I travel down Fancy Gap in North Carolina splitting one gear down to twelfth is all that is needed to hold me back when I am loaded to 78,000 pounds. The engine brake has three stages and I find that the number two stage is more powerful than most of the units I have used in the past. I hope that this answered your question Craig.       

Be safe, Henry

Hello everyone, I just left the house. It sure was nice to spend some time with my family after spending almost three weeks on the road. On Sunday we went horse back riding. My wife likes to ride and I wanted to do something that she enjoyed. It was also the first time that my fifthteen year old son rode a horse. We had a good time and it was good to get away with my family. My wife had a real good time and my son did as well, however I don’t think my son will be trading his dirt bike for a horse anytime soon. This week I am going to try and break the eight mile per gallon mark, so wish me luck.

Henry

I just averaged  my last ten fuel mileage figures. When you work for yourself, saving fuel becomes a big priority.  On the first five  fill ups, I averaged 6.681. The figures for these fillings were 7.16, 6.661,6.279, 6.638 and 6.172. I drove in a manner that  I would consider normal during this time period.  I decided to push the envelope and try for the best fuel mileage possible. I accelerated slower and limited my top speed to sixty two miles per hour. The results were an increase of .778 M.P.G. and a average of 7.459. The figures for these fillings were 7.782, 7.716, 7.011, 7.227 and 7.563. My weekly trip from Charlotte, North Carolina to Laredo, Texas is 2,924 miles. The the savings is 98.14 based on a fuel price of $2.15per gallon. I normally operate for forty eight weeks a year.The results would add up to $4,710 a year in savings. This figure would double if fuel goes up to four or five dollars per gallon.  Driving in this manner only increased my trip time by four and a half to 5 hours. This means that I made around twenty dollars per hour for my extra effort.  My goal is to break the eight M.P.G mark. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

Be safe, Henry