On the Road with Henry Albert

Hello everyone,

I had a pleasant surprise as I arrived home this weekend. In Charlotte, North Carolina as I unloaded on Friday evening, the snow began to fall. By Saturday afternoon we had an accumulation of around ten inches in our area. For those of you who know me, I am from the north and the kid in me comes out when it snows. On Saturday my son, Austin and I played on our ATV. We picked up some of his friends and had them over to our house for the weekend. It was Austin’s sixteenth birthday on Sunday. He and his friends found a big hill in our neighborhood that occupied them for the entire day. They had lots of fun sledding down some big hills. Watching them brought back lots of memories of my childhood days up north when we looked forward to a “snow day”.

On Sunday evening, I went out to my truck to clear the snow off the windshield. Tomorrow, I’ll be heading off to Laredo, TX on my regular run. My body is a bit sore from all the fun this weekend. The morning should prove interesting as I get out of bed as my inner kid played harder than my outer body wanted to. However, it was an awesome weekend playing in the snow. The weekly forecast shows that we may get more snow coming our way this Friday. If so, you can count on me having more fun next weekend. Take care…

Henry Albert

Paul, my son Austin and Tim

William Butler and Greg Fenn

Hello,

Yesterday upon loading, I had the pleasure of meeting two very nice drivers, William Butler and Greg Fenn.  On Monday, we were all loading at the same warehouse in Charlotte, NC. Upon discussion with these two, I found out  William (left) is twenty one years old and has only been driving for six months. These two guys work as a team for Werner and drive a Cascadia. They shared with me how much they really like their truck and can tell that Freightliner and Detroit Diesel put a lot of thought into the manufacturing of this product.  They sat in my truck and somehow thought my seats were more comfortable than theirs. They explained  the only issue was their seats were making their legs sore. I went over to their truck for inspection and found that they didn’t have their lower seat cushions pulled forward, which allows for better leg support. I showed them how to adjust their seating for better comfort. They were thrilled!!! and said now their seats feel like mine. This should help them tremendously in the future. They enjoy the quietness of the Cascadia, good handling and power of the DD15 engine. It was my pleasure to spend some time with these fine professionals. Werner should be proud to have these two drivers. I hope our paths cross again sometime in the future. Until then… be safe.

Henry

Hello,

On Thursday, I awoke in Pearsall, TX to a beautiful sunrise.Before beginning my trip to Laredo, TX,  I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Pearsall Travel Center. After delivering in the afternoon, Dick McCorkle and Scott Kinley met me that evening for dinner. During our time together, we swapped stories of the road and had many laughs. It was great to catch up with these guys. Thursday was one of those great days when a day at work was fun. Take care and be safe.,

Henry

Hello to all,As promised, I was going to tell you what my version is of the perfect truck. The Cascadia already offers many attributes which would be includeded in my list. Some examples are: fuel efficient, quiet and roomy                                                                                                                                                                                                    

As pictured above, I would take my styling cues from a 1952 GMC cab over. Of course, the sun visor would be eliminated due to aerodynamic considerations. I chose this design because it would offer room to include a larger sleeper without extending the wheel base. Not extending the wheel base would allow for retention of maneuverability.

The sleeper would be a 96 inch sloped roof aerodynamic design. The inside of my sleeper would include a fold up murphy bed. When the bed was in the upright position, a table would fold out into the space. The table would offer seating on both sides.  For more space availability, the truck would  offer a fold up upper bunk. The clothing cabinet would be of full length. I would have a built in microwave and cabinets with secure bars so that items would not shift or move around during transport. I would include cabinets above the drivers seating area to increase storage capacity. For me, I would prefer a large refrigerator being  approximately 4 ft. tall.   A sink and water system would be great, however, this might add too much weight. “One can dream”.  Power for all the accessories in the sleeper would come from a fuel efficient , quiet turbine power generator.

The cab would offer the latest ergonomic seats. The floor would be flat like the last of the cab over truck designs were.The steering wheel would include  the same tilt and telescopic features of today’s trucks. The switches on the dash would have a combination of toggles and rockers. The toggle swithches would control the most frequently used items. Such as, the jake brake and cruise control. The gauges would be clocked with the needles pointing at 12:00 when everything was operating at “normal”. The dash would have the wing design, which is currently on my Cascadia. I would like the HVAC system to be controlled by thermostat. The cab and frame would be aluminum  to save weight.

The outside of the truck would be totally aerodynamic. There would be no exterior grab handles.  The stacks would be mounted in the rear of the cab. The trailer to cab gap, would be 18 inches.

The truck would have an independent air ride front suspension with rack and pinion steering. The rear suspension would be air ride with a liftable pusher. The axles would be dressed out with ABS  disc brakes, aluminum wheels and wide based tires on the rear.  

My engine of choice would be the Detroit Diesel DD15 445 horsepower 1550/1750 multi torque. The engine would have the latest Blue Tech SCR  emissions technology. The power from the engine would be transferred to the rear axles by the latest automated transmission technology available.

Henry

Hello everyone,

 While traveling through the state of Alabama, I had the chance to visit  the Race City Truck Stop and Restaurant, located along I-20 at exit 168 in Lincoln, Alabama. This place has some neat race souvenirs throughout the store and gets its name from the close proximity to the Talladega Speedway. I enjoyed a nice dinner which included catfish. Fish and BBQ are a specialty for the restaurant. The food was good and the price was reasonable. The service I received was excellent. They offer home cooking with all you can eat buffet on Friday and Saturday evening. Breakfast buffet is offered on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I plan to stop here again when in the area.  If you see my blue Cascadia in the parking lot, feel free to stop in and chat. Until next time… be safe.

Henry

Hello to all,

At the end of this week, An employee of mine informed me that he had an injury and would not be able to work until further notice. One of our customers had a request for us to take a special shipment down to Pensacola, Florida. I decided to take the load myself. I left on Friday and delivered on Saturday.

I decided to take a picture of my old trailer and the new Cascadia. This was the first time my Cascadia has ever pulled a flatbed. I’t wasn’t an easy pull as this load weighed in at 49,125lbs. The weights were as follows: steer axle (11,780lbs.) drive axle (33,800.) trailer axle (33,960lbs.) total gross weight was 79,540lbs.

I was surprised how well the DD15 engine handled this load. I had plenty of power going uphill. The route didn’t offer many mountains to climb, however, I had plenty of steep grades in which to test this power unit.

My fuel mileage on this run was 6.2mpg. I realize this doesn’t sound great, however the other trucks that deliver this material on a regular basis average fuel mpg. around the low 5′s. While this doesn’t seem like a high number, I was very pleased with the results. Chain link fence is usually not a fuel efficient material to transport. Every little piece of wire grabs the air.

I enjoyed seeing some of my old flatbed customers and staff. Have a great weekend everyone… catch you next week.

Henry

Hello everyone,

I wanted to update all of you on how the Cascadia has been performing over this past year.

My fuel mileage for year end was 7.4mpg. The steer tires have worn 5 /32 nds. since new for a wear rate of 35,029  per thirty seconds. My drive tires have worn 11/32 nds. for a wear rate of 16,282 miles per thirty seconds. The result being,  the steer tires could have the potential of lasting for approximately 385,321 miles. The drive tires could possibly perform  as long as 390,768 miles.   

The  DD15 engine continues to use between one to two quarts of oil per 50,000 mile oil change.

The Cascadia currently to date has 175,148 miles on the odometer.  I am as pleased with this truck as the first day when I stepped into the Cascadia to take my first drive.

If you have the opportunity, don’t forget to post your idea of your perfect truck as suggested in my last blog. Take care and have a great weekend.

Henry

Hello everyone,

I thought it would be fun to get your feedback on what your idea is of  the “perfect truck”. Let’s think of the following attributes that would make this truck perfect for you. I’m giving you a clean sheet of paper to  fantasize the truck you wish could be yours. Remember to use your imagination while designing your awesome machine.

Some examples to think about:

What would your sleeper consist of ? a sink ? large refrigerator ? more storage ? or even a nice stove for your convenience.

Describe how you would design the outside of your fantasy truck. You might select a cabover or conventional. Tell us what color you would choose.

 Your dream truck should include your preferred engine, power train and suspension. Try to have your truck meet the current standards for emissions, weight and length laws.

I am fortunate to be driving the most advanced truck on the road today. The Cascadia offers many features in which I would select for my version of the “perfect truck”.  However, I am interested in your ideas.  I look forward to getting some great feedback out there from my fellow drivers. Be creative and have fun with this!! I will post my version  in an upcoming blog. I Look forward to hearing from you.

Henry

Hello everyone, On Thursday, I spent the night in Vidor TX. Exit 858 I-10 at the Gateway Truck Stop. I have been wanting to stop at this truck stop for a while and seem to always notice it as I pass by. This evening appeared to be the perfect time to drop in.

The reason I have been wanting to stop at this location was because of the restaurant that is attached to the Gateway Truck Stop. The restaurant is called The Spindletop and looked as though it would be a nice place to start my day with a delicious hot breakfast.

I have a weakness for small restaurants that are not part of a large chain. The service  I get at small mom and pop type of establishments tends to be more personal and genuine.  There are some exceptions to this, but typically this has been my experience.

Friday morning, I woke from a good nights rest in the Cascadia and started my walk across the parking lot. I could smell the wonderful aroma of breakfast from the back of the kitchen as I made my to the door.

I opened the door,  walked into the restaurant and sat down. Ashley, my waitress greeted me with a smile. She took my order which was bacon, eggs over medium and a piece of toast.

 When my meal arrived, I knew this was the start to a good day because my eggs were done just  the way I like them. Ashley kept my coffee cup full.  I finished my breakfast  and paid my  bill. By the way, the prices were reasonable. Now it was time to go and do my pre trip inspection of the Cascadia and get this day started.

Till next time, Henry

Hello to all,

On my travels this week, I stopped at the Pearsal Travel Center on I-35 for my  needed rest period. It was  very windy last night. I slept in total peace as the wind raced across the truck and parking lot. The Park Smart HVAC system also kept me comfortable. When I awoke this morning, I was hungry. I decided it was a good idea to eat some breakfast inside the travel center. As I opened the door to get out of the truck, the wind blew the door away from me. I had no idea it became so incredibly windy! As I walked to the travel center, the gravel on the pavement was blowing into my eyes.  I was glad to have a truck as quiet as the Cascadia which left me rest in total peace.

Henry