On the Road with Henry Albert

Hello again, This concrete marker probably doesn’t mean  much to most people as it does to me. The reason for my saying this is because I have another picture of this marker that was taken over twenty one years ago. The other picture was taken during me and my wife’s honey moon. At the time, I never knew that this marker would be a regular sight in my life. This marker is at the Louisiana welcome center on I-59. The old welcome center has been torn down and a new one has been built in its place. I ’m glad that they kept this part of the old welcome center here because it reminds me of the begining of my marrige to my wonderful wife, Karen. I usually stop at this welcome center every Tuesday morning in my  Cascadia. If you catch me there ,walk over and say hello. Untill next time be safe,

Henry

 Hello everyone,

I will be attending the Mid America Truck Show in March and I am looking forward to the many events in which I will participate this year. Join me and others as we begin our walk on Friday morning, March 26th. Hope to see you there!

Above you will find the information regarding Trucking’s first Health Awareness Walk to be held on March 26th at the Mid America Truck Show in Louisville, KY.

To participate you must pre register online at www.driverhealth.org or you may register the day of the walk. You must be 18 years and older to register.

There will be a pre-meeting at 7:30am in the conference room in the west wing of the convention center. We will be warming up and stretching with the assistance of our trucker fitness trainer, “Bob Perry”.

The walk begins at 8:00am in the west wing. Goody bags will be given to participants while they last. The walk is 1.5 miles.

The walk is sponsored by Airtab, Carroll Fulmer Logistics Corporation, Driver HEALTH Magazine, Healthy Trucking Association of America, Landstar, Marten Transport, The Mid America Trucking Show, Ramp Media Group, Roadside Medical Clinic and Lab, The Trucking Solutions Health Group, Quality Carriers, Women in Trucking, Fed Ex Custom Critical, Road ID Sleep Dog Mattress, Heathe Trim, US Xpress and Freightliner Trucks. I hope to see you there,

Henry Albert

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to tell you about the Queen City Truck Stop located in Meridian, Mississippi. I visited here a couple of times during my travels. You will find this to be a good old fashion mom and pop type of establishment. They offer good down home cooking  and friendly service. This place reminds me of the truck stops from when I first began driving a long time ago. Each time I’ve stopped, there have been lots of drivers having conversation with each other. I think this type of communication gets lost today in our world of technology. In the past,  the only form of communication was a drivers CB radio. When you finally arrived at a truck stop or restaurant, it was great to see and talk with the folks around you. Today, you can go into a place and never speak to anybody. People are tapped into their phones and computers and often never even look up or have face to face conversation. We are all so busy in our every day lives that we don’t pay attention to how really busy we are. It was a nice change to drop into the Queen City Truck Stop for a reflection of the past. I rather enjoyed the change of atmosphere. If your ever in the area you can try them out for yourself. Until next time… be safe.

Henry

Hello to all,

I wanted to let you know that I’m feeling much better. The beginning of the week was a bit challenging with the virus, thankfully it only lasted twenty four hours.

Yesterday in Laredo, TX, I was loading at the ususal warehouse when I noticed a truck pull too far forward onto a  concrete parking stop. When the driver pulled backward, his bumper got caught and tore the bumper loose. I watched as he got out to inspect the damage. I was loaded and ready to leave but thought to myself “I should help this guy”. He  had no supplies along to repair the damaged bumper. I got out of my truck and went over to ask him if he needed any help. I explained that I had some heavy duty  over-sized zip ties and ropes. I assisted him in attaching his bumper back into place. 

I really didn’t  have the extra time to help this guy, but I’m glad I did. You never know when it will be “you” that needs help. We should all try to assist our fellow drivers whenever possible. Be safe…

Henry

Hello,

I left out on Monday for my regular trip to Laredo, TX.  In a few hours I began to feel sick to my stomach. I started aching all over and made several stops to the restroom. I decided to pull over early in Tallapoosa, GA at the Newborn Truck Stop. I took some medicine and went to sleep. I awoke this morning feeling better. Maybe this is a twenty four hour virus. My wife said there is a virus going around such as this in our area.

  Last evening, I really appreciated the well insulated cab of the Cascadia. I had chills and the Park Smart HVAC system kept me warm. So far, today has been much better and I am making my way to Laredo as planned. Hope all of you stay well and watch that virus… stay safe,

p.s. Wash your hands often!

Henry

Hello to all,

Yesterday in Encianal, TX at the Loves Truck Stop, I met a driver trainer along with the trainee. They were working for Swift Transportation. The trainer came over to me and asked me questions related to my work and the Slice of Trucker Life Program.  We enjoyed some nice conversation about trucks. He informed me  he was in the market for a new truck. I invited him to climb inside the new Cascadia. He already had his own perception that this truck would be like the old Freightliner Columbia. He seemed to not be interested for various reasons. However, I convinced him to get into the Cascadia and then form his opinion based on what he sees. When he got out, he commented on how quiet the truck was inside. Also, he really liked the extra room behind the steering wheel. He told me he was glad he had taken the opportunity to check out this truck. He then explained that the Cascadia is now at the top of his consideration list for a new truck. We were on the fuel island at the time, so our time together was short. I enjoyed meeting him and his trainee. I was glad to change his perception of the Freightliner Cascadia. 

To note: my fuel mileage at that fuel stop was 7.963.

Be safe and have a great day!

Henry

Hello everyone,

 Last week, on the Cascadia, I had the experience of replacing a headlight bulb.  I found it quite easy as everything was accessible. It only took me a short time and reminded me of the great engineering that went into this truck. the high beam, low beam and fog lights all use the same replacement bulb. Freightliner has accomplished this by changing the reflector in the light housing vs different bulbs for each location 

Some other nice maintenance features include, translucent power steering,  coolant reservoirs, firewall mounted fuses and relays. Also, the fuel and oil filters are top loaded for easy access. 

The engineers at Freightliner have created a truck which makes maintenance on the road a little easier. Be safe..

Henry

Hello to all,

This week has been pretty cloudy and rainy. On my run to Laredo, TX , the rain began to fall. The rain continued for three days straight with no sun in sight. This week, my load weighed 44,200lbs. I experienced heavy winds, traffic jams and lots of rain.  With all of these effects,  I still managed to pull off six miles per gallon. Normally that isn’t good fuel mileage for me, however this week it turned out better than expected. be safe…

Henry

Hello everyone,

I wanted to give you another update on how the Cascadia has been performing. My average fuel mileage over the last six tank fill ups is 7.968mpg. The low being, 7.401 and the high was 8.509. My lightest load was 19,800 and the heaviest was 44,200lbs. The route has been between Charlotte, NC and Laredo, TX. My mileage is 184,331. I have approximately 20,000 miles since the last oil change. The level has not changed enough to be visually measured.

Now that the temperatures are much colder, I can really appreciate the new Park Smart HVAC System. The system has kept me warm on many cold nights which provided me to get the sleep I need.

I am still trying to obtain my goal of  a 9 mile per gallon round trip. My efforts have been hampered by the colder temperatures and dense air quality. Also, the use of winter blend fuel, which has a lower BTU than summer blend fuel, has not helped the situation. 

On Friday, if time allows, I will be meeting with someone to dicuss improving the aerodynamic package on my trailer.

I’ll keep you posted on future updates regarding the Cascadia. Be safe…

Henry

 Hello everyone,

If you know me personally, you’ll know I”m pretty picky about the cleanliness of my truck. Most of the time, the job of cleaning my equipment gets done on the weekend. My wife and son are a big help in this area. I guess you would say I haven’t been too pleased with the results of many truck washes one receives  on the road. However, recently the truck just needed to be washed on the road. I had some reservations about stopping at Charlies Old Fashioned Truck Wash in San Antonio, TX. As I pulled in, I noticed this place was extremely busy… so I thought maybe this is a good sign that they’ll do a good job for me.  While sitting in line, I met some drivers and showed them the Cascadia. They were very impressed with  the quietness and the way the door opened and closed like a fine luxury car. When it was my turn to pull into the wash bay, the workers did a very thorough job and even wiped the truck dry upon completion of the wash. The workers were courteous and professional. I felt my money was well spent on this particular wash. I would recommend this place to anyone out there needing a good truck wash. Thanks and be safe…

Henry Albert