On the Road with Henry Albert

Hello everyone,

Today , I met another driver, named Trent at the Pearsall Travel Center in Texas. It was beginning to become foggy this morning and we discussed the poor visibility.

 Trent then began to share a story with me about two different unfortunate accidents he had while driving his truck in the fog. The first incident he spoke of being an innocent victim and just got caught in a collision of vehicles due to the lack of visibility. The second incident he was also an innocent victim. He came upon an accident which had already occurred and due to poor visibility, he ran into a tractor trailer hauling logs. Several of the logs came through his windshield of the truck he was driving. Trent explained to me that he was going very slow in both cases and was being cautious. Apparently, his efforts still weren’t enough to avoid these circumstances.  

Needless to say, I sympathized with him as he explained that he was a little nervous this morning to be driving in the foggy conditions.

As I reflected on Trent’s experiences it really made me think. I believe we all need to consider weather conditions when we drive. So many of us are consumed by the thought that” we must get the load delivered”.I suggested to Trent that he share this story more often so that we all might take time to pause when driving in adverse conditions.

Due to my meeting Trent on this foggy morning, I was definitely more cautious on my run to Laredo, TX. I will always remember his words… thanks Trent and be safe my fellow drivers.

Henry

Hello everyone, 

On Saturday, October 23rd the Freightliner plant in Cleveland, North Carolina held an “Employee Appreciation Day”. The event was a huge success as over 1,500 people came out to spend a wonderful afternoon with their families  It was a beautiful, warm fall day with not a cloud in the sky. The event took place from  12:00 noon to 4:00pm. 

I brought my Cascadia for the employees and their families. It was fun watching the employees proudly show their families the truck and the roll they play in building the Cascadia. Some employees were interested in how the Cascadia perf0rmed over the competition. Many were familiar with the Slice of Trucker Life program and enjoyed discussion regarding  my various promotions throughout this year. I was impressed at the level of pride the plant workers have towards their product. 

Lots of adults and children went inside the truck during the entire event. The kids had fun blowing the air horn. 

Lunch was provided all afternoon. The two gentlemen in this photo did all the grilling of the hot dogs. Plant tours were offered of the manufacturing facility. There was also a petting zoo, bounce castles and slides, pumpkin painting and a clown. Kevin Harvicks # 29 Chevy Impala Super Sport was on hand. The U.S. Army troop brought a convoy of military vehicles. (They allowed the kids to blow their horns as well, so… this became a battle of horns between their vehicles and my truck). They out numbered me, 4 vehicles to 1. Needless to say, I lost the horn battle miserably, but it was lots of fun for all. The local fire company participated by bringing a Freightliner fire truck. An employee car show was held with prizes awarded. 

I would like to thank Mike McCurry, plant manager at Freightliner for inviting me to participate in the event. It was great to meet everyone on Saturday. Keep up the great work on building an exceptional truck! 

Henry

Family members lined up for plant tours

The trucks that started it all

A early areo warrior

Everyone enjoyed the military personel and their vehicles.

 Hello everyone, 

I’ve just returned from Washington DC where I attended the  Diesel Technology Forum.  This year celebrated a decade of progress in diesel emissions. The main theme of the event circled around the idea that ten years ago,the words “clean” and “diesel” would n’t  have been used in the same sentence. 

Detroit Diesel Corporation asked me to bring my Cascadia to the event in order to share the efficiency of the DD15 with BlueTec SCR emissions technology. I took the opportunity to speak with senators, congressmen, EPA officials, FMSCA officials, reporters and some of the general public in attendance. Due to my height, I was selected to do the white handkerchief test across the exhaust stack. This test is used to demonstrate the cleanliness of today’s modern diesel engines If you hold the handkerchief next to the tailpipe and rev the engine, it stays white-picking up no smell or black soot. 

Margo Oge, Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality,

 Pictured above, is Margo Oge, who led the forum in discussion regarding the future of diesel technology. She explained how far we’ve come in the way of improving diesel technology today.  Today it would take over 60 trucks to equal the emissions of just one in 1988. Diesel is the most efficient of all internal combustion power systems. Because of the superior efficiency of the engine and higher energy content of the diesels typically deliver 20-40 percent more miles per gallon and 10-20 percent fewer GHG emissions than comparable gasoline vehicles.  

Hello to all,

I was asked to bring the Cascadia to a home school co-op group on Friday morning. The teacher is giving a class on “transportation”. She will be having several forms of transportation taught throughout the semester. I agreed to stop by during her hour long class and give the children information and allow them to take an inside look at the truck.

When I arrived, the children were very excited. They were assisted up the steps and enjoyed sitting at the wheel. They liked the bunk beds and were surprised to see a TV and refrigerator.

Once outside, we walked back to the trailer and I showed them inside where the freight is stored while en route. The teacher  had the students count how many tires were on the truck and trailer. They also counted paces by foot to determine the length of each unit.I explained where I travel and discussed all the different types of freight in which I transport.

The hightlight of the morning was that I left each of them blow the horn. I got many smiles and words of thanks. I also took time to explaine safety tips while driving a car near a truck. 

I’ll be heading out on Sunday en route to Washington DC to participate in the clean air summit on behalf of Detroit Diesel. After leaving, I’ll be taking a shipment to New Jersey. Be safe…

Henry

Students measuring the truck and trailer in paces

Hello again,

Upon finishing the Charlotte Diesel Super Show, I took a shipment to Swedesboro, NJ. From there, I picked up in Newark, Del. I only ran half a week of shipments as I was invited by Rick Gibson, General Manager of Triad Freightliner in Greensboro, NC to participate in their”open house”.

Triad Freightliner had a successful day as many people came out for the event. I enjoyed showing the Cascadia and answering many questions from fleet executives and owners. Most questions centered around fuel mileage and SCR performance. Fleet owners discussed how a tenth or two in fuel mileage can make a huge and dramatic effect on their bottom line. I thought I was a stickler on tracking fuel mileage until I had talks with these people. I guess if a tenth would make a quarter of a million dollar difference in my budget per year, I’d pay lots of attention also!

I also spoke with a few carriers who use the Cascadia in their fleets. All said they were pleased with the performance of this new truck.

Detroit Diesel had their blue-tec SCR trailer on hand. Richard Johnson who goes by “R.J”, does a great job explaining the exhibits located inside the display trailer. Stop by to see him sometime if you get a chance. Also in attendance were some Detroit Diesel Reliabilt representatives. This was my first opportunity to speak with them regarding parts and remanufacturing. I was impressed with all the steps they take to bring the parts back to original quality.

After leaving Triad Freightliner, I headed for home. It was nice to spend a long weekend with my family.

Henry

Hello everyone,

We had awesome weather for the show this weekend. Friday and Saturday brought lots of sunshine and warm temperatures.

Friday got off to a slow start. However, Saturday brought large crowds. I had many drivers stop by to visit and see inside the Cascadia. Many discussions were had in relation to the truck and the Detroit Diesel DD15 engine and it’s performance. One of the main topics of conversations was my fuel mileage. People were interested in my recent fuel mileage numbers which have been in the 9 and 10 mpg range. I was happy to share many of the strategies I’ve used to attain these numbers.

This show was in my home area. Therefore, my wife and son were able to attend on Friday. A portion of  Freightliner corporate offices are located nearby Fort Mill, South Carolina. They were a sponsor of the event.  Many of the people from the corporate offices were in attendance.

Kurt Grote Dick McCorkle and myself at the show.

My fellow driver’s Dick McCorkle and Kurt Grote attended the event. I enjoyed seeing them again. In the evenings, we had some time to catch up on our over the road adventures and experiences with the Slice of Trucker Life Program.

John Rich entertaining the crowd

On Saturday evening, the country singer John Rich entertained us with a concert. Overall, I feel the first Charlotte Diesel Super Show was a success and I look forward to attending again next year.

Henry

 Hello again,

The next two days I will be attending the Charlotte Diesel Super Show in Concord, North Carolina. The show will be held at the Z- Max Dragway and this is a brand new event.

I am here with Dick McCorkle and Kurt Grote and we will be located right in front of the Pride and Polish section of the show. It is always fun to attend events like this with my fellow Slice Of Trucker Life colleagues. 

Some of the attractions at this show will be, Freightliner ride and drives, Pride and Polish show trucks, show of lights, semi truck drag racing and a John Rich concert.

I look forward to letting you know how this first year event turns out .

  Till next time,

Henry

Hello again,

One of the principles I have operated my business from is the old adage when life throws you lemons you make lemonade. This adage has served me well over the years through the many twists and turns that my business as well as my life has gone through.

I adopted “When life gives you lemons make lemonade” originated from my days racing stock cars.   Nearly every year something in the rulebook would be changed in a manner that I found would disrupt the performance of my racecar. Sometimes the rule change would add an expense that would make it more difficult to be competitive and other times it would take away, something I all ready had which would reduce my cars performance. 

Here is how the process would normally go, during the racing season drivers and team owners would enthusiastically lobby either the sanctioning body or the track promoter for rules that would most benefit their race team. I was always active in lobbying for rules that would benefit my race team and many times the racing division as a whole. Sometimes my efforts would lead to changes that I had lobbied for.  However, all the other teams were actively pursuing the powers that be in a similar manner.

Despite all of these efforts we were not the decision makers. It wasn’t until after the rule book was published that we knew what the rules would be for the new season. Some of the rules I would find worked to my advantage while others did not.   At this point I was left to decide, do I want to continue to race or not. Every year that I could I raced. 

Many of the teams exerted their energy complaining about the rules rather than finding ways to make the rules work in their favor.   Little did I know that my early days of racing would lead me to a philosophy that would serve me so well in my business today. I learned how to stop concentrating on how bad the new rule was, but instead I turned my thoughts over to make decisions made by the officials work in my favor. On each rule if I looked hard enough I could find silver lining to be exploited advantageously on the track. Sometimes making lemonade out of lemons was not the answer, as at times I had to make lemon pie.

The big parallel I see is that whether it be officials in racing or regulators in trucking neither one gets behind the wheel.

Do you see where I am going with lemons to lemonade? I would like to hear your comments and thoughts on how you have made out of lemonade lemons. Just click on the comment button below the blog.

Hello everyone,

This weekend, we finally had a touch of cooler weather. Even though fall is approaching, its still been in the 90 degree temp range in our area. I enjoy cooler temps and the fall season with its beautiful foliage.

This time of year gets me to thinking that I need to prep for winter. I usually take stock of inventory stored throughout the year in my truck. I get rid of the summer items and replace with any needed winter gear.

This is the time when I get winter survival items organized. I check my flashlight and purchase new spare batteries. My list of survival gear includes: sleeping bag, granola bars, water, ravioli in a can, snow boots, hat, gloves, hunting socks, goggles, candles, winter coveralls, long underwear. These are just some personal items that I will carry along with me on my travels during the cold season.

As for the truck, this is a good time to give a thorough check of belts and hoses. Also, check the cooling system for anti-freeze strength and the supplemental additives (SCA). Make sure your cooling system is coming up to pressure. This is also a good time to inspect your cooling fan and clutch.

 Before winter begins, I like to put in a good fuel additive to eliminate any water which may have accumulated over the summer. A few bottles of anti-gell are placed under my bunk at this time.

 I make sure my heater and defrosters operate properly. I check my fuel fired bunk heater to make sure it’s operating properly.

I check my battery condition by having them load tested. Also, check the battery fluid level if applicable. I clean the corrosion from the battery terminals and coat all connections with dielectric grease.

I change my windshield washer fluid to a solution suitable for winter use and replace windshield wiper blades. (preferably winter blades). Also, at this time it’s good to make sure my heated mirrors are functioning properly.

If my air dryer is anywhere near needing it’s desiccant cartridge replaced, I’ll do that at this time. I make sure there’s no moisture built up in the tanks and check the entire truck for air hose condition and a through leak check is done.

This pretty well covers my winter preparation. Yes, it’s a bit time consuming and some may be trivial, however, if I run into trouble out on the road on a cold winters night… I’m sure glad, I took the time to be prepared during the fall months.

Henry