On the Road with Henry Albert

       Me with the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders: Alicia, Rachel and Stephanie        

Hello everyone,

I have returned from my trip to Philadelphia. On Friday, I participated in an open house  at Philadelphia Freightliner. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with many of their customers. We discussed issues such as, fuel mileage, drive train specs and the Park Smart HVAC system. I explained how I am able to get the most out of the HVAC system. I have learned that it must be used properly in order to operate successfully. A stereo was playing music outside of the Cascadia during the event. When customers went inside the truck and closed the door the noise from outside the truck disappeared. The quietness of this truck stands for itself.

I want to thank the folks at Freightliner Philadelphia for allowing me to participate in their event. It’s always a pleasure to meet new faces and share information regarding our industry.

Regards,

Henry

Hello to all,

I am back from a short visit to West Virginia. My son and I enjoyed some time together riding our dirt bikes and atv. The fall months are a beautiful time to enjoy the scenery from the top of the mountains.  West Virginia offers the Hatfield/McCoy trails  which includes six different trail systems. It’s definitely a trail riders dream.  I enjoyed some fresh air and clearing my mind of work related issues. We sure had fun and I enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

On Wednesday, I loaded in Charlottte, NC and headed to New Jersey. I then picked up a load in Newark, Delaware. I will be spending the day on Friday at the Philadelphia Freightliner “open house” event. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop in and say “Hi”. Also, you can check out the new Cascadia. The event should be lots of fun and will include a visit from the Eagles cheerleaders.  I’ll let you know how the event goes in a later blog. Take care and be safe.

Henry

Hello everyone,

It’s Saturday and I am getting ready to get away for a few days with my son,  Austin. We are going to West Virgina to go ATV and dirt bike riding with some friends of ours. The place that we are going to is one of our favorite riding areas. I’m sure the leaves will be at peak… it should be beautiful in the mountains.

This week I’m sorry to report that I didn’t meet my fuel goal of 8.5mpg. I had experienced too much wind, rain and traffic jams while en route.A few years ago, if you told me that I would be disappointed with a  7.82mpg week, I would have laughed.   When I return from the mountains, I’ll be leaving out on Wednesday. I’ll be traveling toFreightliner of Philadelphia, PA to participate in an “open house” at the dealership. It’s my understanding that the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders will be attending the event as well.  If you get by the dealership in Philly on Friday, October 30th, be sure to stop in and say “Hi”.

Henry

Hello to all,

The cooler weather has surely set in this week. I am on my current route from Charlotte, NC to Laredo, TX. I stopped at Hattiesburg, Miss. to take my ten hour rest break. Over night the temperature dropped to 40 degrees. During the night, I did not use my HVAC system. I had no clue how cool the temperature was outside the Cascadia. I was warm and had a good night’s rest. When I awoke and stepped outside, I was amazed at the weather change. This is a testament to how well the cab and sleeper are insulated. I really appreciate this feature on the Cascadia. Hope all of you are staying warm. Until next time… Be safe.

Henry

Hello to all,

I hope all of you are paying attention to our website these days. Freightliner is searching for another “lucky driver” to join us for the slice of trucker life program. The winner will participate for next  season in 2010.

I have been very fortunate to participate in the program this year. The experience has been very positive for me. I have enjoyed getting to meet lots of new people over the past year.

The blog has been a new adventure for me as well. I appreciate all the comments from the readers. Each of you can bring a new perspective to the industry. We can all learn from each other. 

It has been a pleasure working with Freightliner, Detroit Diesel and my fellow drivers, Kurt Grote and Dick McCorkle. I look forward to meeting the new “lucky winner” when chosen.  Good luck!  it might be you.

Stay safe, until next time,

Henry

Hello everyone, I want to do something a little different on my blog today. Most of my blogs are about something that I did or a report on how the Cascadia is performing. Today, I would like to blog about my wife of over twenty one years, Karen.

Lets start at the beginning when we first were dating and I was racing stock cars. Karen was always there supporting my racing and after we got married agreed to move to Charlotte NC. We didn’t know anyone here in NC ,  but I wanted to  pursue a racing career in NASCAR. We ended up going broke during this endeavor.

About five years later, I decided to start our own trucking company and Karen was right there by my side once again. Karen was home with our son, Austin. He was just a toddler when I began the trucking business. At the time, we were living in a rental house in Charlotte. Our furniture was old and we laugh today about our coffee table.  The table had a broken leg and would fall over if you bumped into it. As I remember back to that time, we only had one car which was a 88 Ford Crown Victoria. I sold my Chevy, one ton dually and cashed in my 401k to begin our trucking business. You see, we had big plans for our future. Karen was a valuable asset to me as she did all the sales and book work as I drove the truck. Her many years of prior “hotel sales” experience came in quite handy. We made many sacrifices during that time. As tough as things were, I could always count on Karen being by my side.

Once we were on our feet, we were able to upgade our cars and home. Karen was a big help in growing our business, which included five owner operator drivers. She scheduled loads, managed the books and continued to make sales calls. All this, while taking care of our son, Austin . When the opportunity presented itself, I took them both along in the truck, as we enjoyed spending time  together. 

Karen was already busy when the teachers at school explained that our son was above grade level in all subjects. After some research and exploration on the subject, we decided to home school our son. Homeschooling was new to both of us but we decided to give it a try. Austin is a very fast paced learner and needed to be challenged. Once again, Karen was there to step up to the plate and do whatever she could to give our son the best possible education. She set high expectations for Austin and he has proven to be an excellent student.

One thing I really appreciate is to come home and the yard work is done. Groceries are in the refrigerator and most of the house duties are completed. Karen has given us the gift of “quality time” on the weekends. My time at home is short and it means a lot to just hang loose and enjoy whatever we feel like doing as a family. 

The reason I wanted to do this blog was to share my love and appreciation for a wife who has contributed to all my success.  The years past haven’t always been easy, but it’s the journey that has made us stronger. I will forever be grateful for her love and dedication to me. I look forward to many more wonderful years together.

Henry

Hello to all,

Today is Tuesday, October 6th and I am travelling toward Cleveland, NC. I will unload in Cleveland and pick up a shipment in Charlotte, NC. I will take that shipment on to Laredo, TX.

I wanted to update you on the progress I am making toward fuel mileage. Presently, I have gained  4 and 5 tenths in my fuel mileage. So far my theory that an aerodynamic trailer is the perfect match to an aerodynamic tractor. The air flow is already smooth as it leaves the tractor, making the perfect marriage between truck and trailer. I have noticed two other benefits upon putting on the Air Slippers. One being, reduced road spray in the rain. Second, it improved vehicle stability in turbulent weather.  The return of investment on the product should be under six months.

I recently learned that the Air Slippers, made by Fleet Engineers is available through Freightliner parts and distribution network.

In the near future, I plan on making additional aerodynamic enhancements to the Cascadia and trailer. I’ve decided to only test one at a time in order to reveal each potential for fuel savings.

Henry

Hello everyone, I just  finished attending the fall Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association fall board meetings. It’s always nice to attend the board meetings and be surrounded by  people who care about the future of our industry.

This season, we had some special visitors and I would like to thank them for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend. First, we were addressed by Jack Van Steenburg, director of the FMSCA Office of Enforcement and Compliance. Jack listened to our concerns with a very open mind. One of the points  he understood  was how long dock delays contribute to driver fatigue.

Some other attendees included our Lobbiest Rod Nofzinger, Mike Joyce and Laura O’Neill. These folks gave us a report on upcoming issues from Washington DC. Each spoke of our industry moving in a positive direction in the future. I ask  that each of you take time to contact your lawmakers when issues  affect our way of making a living. It’s very important that our voice is heard on capital hill.  The lobbyist can only educate our representatives to a  point, then it’s up to us. It’s  our responsibility to let the lawmakers know how we feel and are affected by the laws before they’re put into place. You can find out about the trucking issues by going to www.ooida.com.

We also had Paul Yurkovac, public relations/project coordinator for the owner operators coalition of Virginia. He discussed issues affecting drayage truckers who pull intermodal containers from the ports of Virginia. His association is new. However, he is off to a fantastic start representing this sector of our industry. You can find out more information by going to their website at www.oocva.org. 

Finally, we had Mellissa Clausen, Dave Siler and Miguel Soetaert from Freightliner and Detroit Diesel. They made  a presentation for the board of directors. The new “Coronado” was shown and the details of SCR were discussed. I believe that many of the fears as to how SCR operates were put to rest. I also know that Mellissa, Dave and Miguel left impressed by the way the board meetings are conducted. I think it was important for the board members of OOIDA to hear about issues regarding regulations. Such as, EPA mandates, California laws and other government regulations. For me, it’s been a very informative and productive week . As always, I enjoyed my time in Grain Valley, MO. Be safe, until next time…

          Henry