On the Road with Kurt Grote

Hello everyone, some of the things that being  part of the “sliceoftruckerlife” program, it allows me to do special events and parade’s, such as the Christmas Parade in Sapulpa OK. As you might imagine Spencer was a big hit!! I don’t know what the crowd enjoyed more the truck horn or the fact Spencer was jumping from window to window barking or in his language Merry Christmas! He was so wore out when we got home all he did the next day was sleep! All in all we had a great time and I hope we are invited back next year! I also want to thank April and the whole JCT family for helping me get to the parade and helping me decorate my truck. Now the big push is on to get out to California and back by Christmas!! I will post another blog and let you know my progress before Christmas. Until the next truck stop all of you be safe!!

Kurt and Spencer

Hello everyone, I hope all of you had a safe and profitable week! It always surprises me when I pull into a meat house be it beef, or chicken, or pork, and see a flock of birds like the ones pictured gathered on the front lawn. Almost like they are taunting us because we don’t eat them! We as drivers go through great pains to keep our trailers as clean as possible.We will wait in line at the truck wash for 2 or 3 hours just to wash our trailers out. However at most facility’s they have dirt lots to park in and we have to walk in the dirt and mud if it’s raining. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me in the fact that these facility’s are very clean on the inside!! I think by far most of them one could eat off the floor. However the outside leaves much to be desired! I can’t think of any that have a paved lot, now that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. We put on hair nets and beard nets when we enter these facility’s, we also walk through a water bath to remove any outside contaminants that might collect on our shoes. As you can imagine these type of place’s do not smell like a bed of roses. I for one just think it is some what funny when you see birds like the ones in the picture gathering on the lawn. Oh and by the way if you have guessed or know what those birds are that are pictured they are buzzards! Until the next truck stop.

Kurt and Spencer

Hello everyone I hope all of you had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!  Just a week before Thanksgiving I had the pleasure of have a good friend of mine Tom Bennett from the New Group Co. do a little ride along with me. I had picked him up from the Tulsa airport and I made arrangements to travel back to Portland OR. Tom had never ridden in a big truck before so this, in my opinion was going to be very interesting. The first thing he noticed was how high we were from the road. He mentioned how he could look down inside the car next to us. I pointed out that for most of us drivers we look down the road as far as we can and look for hazards. After we picked up our trailer from John Christner Trucking in Sapulpa OK we headed over to Joplin Mo to load. It didn’t take very long to load us and we were out in record time! I decided to go across hwy 400 into Wichita Ks. up to Salina Ks., across I-70 to Oakley and up to North Platte Ne., I-80 all the way to hwy 30 at Little America Wy.,  over to Mccammon Id., up I-15 to I-84 all the way to Portland. If you have never traveled this route I highly suggest it! Not only did it give Tom a taste of riding in a big truck but it also gave me a chance to see how the Cascadia would work as in a team operation. Tom commented several times how smooth the ride was, he assumed that the ride would be so much more rough than it was, with lots of jolts and bangs. He also commented on how quite the truck was, that he could if he wanted or needed to do some work he would not be distracted by the road noise and general highway noise you would typically hear and associate with this kind of big truck. I was a little puzzled at the looks he was giving me as we drove. He finally ask me how was the handling of the truck. We had just crossed under I-25 in Chyenne Wy., and starting to pull Sherman. When we left Joplin we scaled out at 78, 200 lbs. I told him he was going to find out because the sign going up Sherman said high winds and blowing snow and icy spots ahead. As usual the Cascadia preformed effortlessly! As we rolled into Laramie Tom asked me when we were going to hit some wind, which made me start to laugh!

Tom was just full of questions. He was amazed on how much thought us drivers have to go through, with fuel purchases and weights and wind and rain, snow. When and where to stop and how much to put on if we need to. I was starting to think he was going to get a brain hemorrhage. Then I pointed out that all of us drivers have to be attorney’s on top of accountants and mathematics geniuses! By the time we had reached the Oregon state line I could tell we was really wanting to get home to see his family. But first what is a trip on a big truck if you don’t get to experience a truck stop shower!  Myself I like to carry a thermos of hot water to wash my face and brush my teeth in the morning and get my day started. To me all of this comes as second nature, but Tom he thought it was all very interesting. He was also fascinated on how good most of the drivers are with the backing and turning and being able to maneuver around one another with out incident! All in all I think he had a very good experience his first over the road ride in a big truck, even better being in the Cascadia! Tom made a very good passenger and I would take him on another trip when he feels up to it! Until the next truck stop Kurt and Spencer.

Hello everyone, I hope all of you have had a safe and profitable week! I recently had a run from Washington state to Florida. As usual my weight was 79,000 lbs., plus. It is what most of us long haul drivers like, to cut across the country on one load, one drop and only one pick up. However now the question becomes do we run or not? It is that time of year when the weather becomes a major factor in our loads, if they are late or not. That being said I want to give you a scenario! You have a major snow storm on it’s way in, knowing that all the mountains are going to get hit with lots of snow and lots of more snow, do you try and out run it? or go ahead and take your mandatory breaks? If taking your break means that you will probably be right in the middle of the storm! If they close the road on you, do you have enough fuel and food in you truck to keep yourself warm and fed until the road is open? Now what about your load? If the road closes is your load going to be late? What about the road still being slick? With the road closed everyone stops. Now you are having to contend with all the other motorist that travel that road. If it is slick for you, you know it is slick for them as well. If someone spins out in front of you, now you have an accident. No matter how good or how safe of a driver you are at these moments you are forced to depend on others drivers to be just as good as you are, and this goes for auto’s as well. Which brings me back to my original question safe or be safe what would you do?  Until the next truck stop all of you be safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving!            Kurt and Spencer

Hello everyone, I hope all of you have had a safe and profitable week! I would like to introduce all of you to my new found friends from The Trucker Buddies program and Leland Wolfe elementary school, from left to right, Brayden, Tony, Cacee, Daniel, Dylan, Sam, and not in the picture is Olivia which could not make it to school that day! I would like to thank all of my “little buddies” for a very nice time I really enjoyed the time we spent together! They were chalked full of questions and comments about the truck and places I drive, and what we load and put in our trailer. They were excited to also meet Spencer “even with his loud barking”! I hope they will have fun tracking Spencer and I as we travel through out the country! They had fun climbing in and out of the truck, but mostly I think they like honking the horn more than anything else. I would exceptionally like to thank Terri Hall the students teacher for inviting us to her class!! She made Spencer and I very welcomed. She even got in to the act of pulling the air horn! Spencer and I look forward to writing letters and email’s back and forth with the class! Until the next truck stop all of you be safe!!         Kurt and Spencer

Hello everyone, I hope all of you have had a safe and profitable week!! I usually try and stay away  from topics that are controversial, however on this occasion it might be different. I have been driving into California for many years, and one thing you could always count on is the fact that if you get tired you could find a place to stop and park in the desert. We hear all the time that if you get tired pull over and sleep before you end up getting into an accident, and perhaps killing not only yourself but an entire family along with you! That is not the case these days I believe. What I am referring to is the stretch of highway that starts in Needles Ca, and ends in Barstow ca,. There is 156 miles between the state line of Arizona and Barstow, with only two rest areas (which one as a norm is closed), and two truck stops all with limited parking. Those of you that do drive a Cascadia already know that this truck is not only easy to drive but very comfortable to drive as well! As I drive across the desert these days, I can’t help but see most of the wide spots that drivers would use as a safety stop when they do get tired are all plowed up and we can’t use them any more!! What about the times it just kind of sneaks up on you, and you just get tired? What is up with all of this stuff any way? I know for me, when I start at either end of this stretch of highway I try and finish it as do most drivers. However there have been an occasion or two that I would stop out in the desert to sleep, no one to bother you, away from the noise of the truck stop, and just general “city” noise, nice and peaceful. Is it because of the trash that people “not just drivers” throw out their door including R.V.’s as well as auto’s. Is it because of the cost of picking up the trash? A way for the state to save money? Is it worth the price? A sleepy truck driver, a tired R.V.er, or any motorist for that matter. What is the cost of peoples life’s? By what I have seen the price is the cost of picking up the trash!! It is very disturbing to me to know that my life and other travelers life’s are worth so little!  I just wish California would do the right thing an “reopen” these area’s for the safety of all!! Until the next truck stop all of you be safe!                Kurt and Spencer

Hello everyone!  Hope you all had a safe and profitable week.  As most of you may already know, I attended the Charlotte truck show, October 8th & 9th.  This was the first year for this particular show to be held at the Z Maxx drag strip.  The weather was beautiful & the show turned out very well.  It was nice visiting with all of those showing interest in our trucks.  It was especially nice seeing & visiting with my fellow Slice Of Life drivers, Henry and Dick.  We missed Gina being there however, she was attending another engagement.

As promised from my earlier blogs, I have in hand my DDEC report which states the following:  29,080 miles and I used 4404.97 gallons of fuel.  For an MPG of 6.60.  For those of you that don’t know,my operation consists of hauling refrigerated products to all 48 states.  My route runs mainly mid-west to west coast. Therefore I run the Rockies. My load capacity is at 41%, & my average vehicle speed is at 58.6 miles per hour.  My driving economy is 6.71.  I have done one parked regeneration and twelve driving regenerations.  I have used 86.13 gallons of DEF for a driving economy of 337.65 MPG.  Considering all of these factors, I am very pleased with my overall results and performance! Did I mention that this motor is not even broke yet! I continue to be amazed of the strength and ease of the DD-15 and the Cascadia. Until the next truck stop all of you be safe!

Hello everyone, I hope all of you had a safe and profitable week! It has been a busy couple of weeks for me. I have done two truck shows. The one of course in Joplin mo., and the one here in Charlotte. I have had a very good response at both truck shows. There are a lot of drivers that are truly interested in the Cascadia with it’s impressive MPG. for those of you that track my MPG, I am averaging 6.65. and that is per ddec report. I believe that at 72,000 lbs to 80,000 lbs and 70 mph and running the Rockie’s, that is a very good mpg. This truck continues to impress me! Not only with the mpg but with driver comfort. Back to the truck shows, I think Gina and I had the most aerodynamic trucks in the Chrome Shop Mafia show! We did not receive any awards or trophies, which was not a big surprise! However, just the presents of Freightliner at the show, shows that Freightliner is commented to the owner operator and the development of the bridge between the two. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from the Chrome Shop Mafia truck show. I will post some pictures from my Charlotte truck show in a couple of days. In the mean time all of you be safe and I will pick Spencer up from the sitters. Until the next truck stop.
                                          Kurt and Spencer       

Hello everyone, I hope you have had a safe profitable week! One of the thinks I like about driving a truck is the fact that I have the opportunity to see different things in different parts of the country. Just like when I went to the Dallas Tx. zoo. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to go to the air and space museum just south of Portland Or. I do thank my friends Tom and his son Drew. They are very knowledgeable of air and space travel. It seems that drew has a passion for the air travel. Which made it very enjoyable for me. I was able to see the spruce goose, along with bi-planes and various fighter jets. Not only did I get to see the planes but next door was the space museum. They had all kinds of rockets and missiles, which also housed some of the space missions of the Apollo series. Along with moon rovers and moon rocks. Some of the volunteers, that didn’t bother you but if asked for an explanation were also very knowledgeable and just seemed very happy to see you and that some actually cared to ask. It was one of the most incredable times and informative trip! It was one of those trips that I will never forget. I know a lot of people don’t have the time or opportunity to do this. I took several pictures so I hope you all enjoy them. I am on my way to the Chrome Shop Mafia Truck Show this month I hope to see all of you there. Until the next truck stop all of you be safe!
Kurt and Spencer