Video summary
The video begins with the trucker showcasing his W900 truck in Bristol, Indiana, while preparing a load for delivery. He explains his strategy for securing the trailer, noting that he has moved away from wrapping straps around just one axle to instead secure both axles and the tongue. This method involves using four separate straps on each side along with protective padding to prevent damage to the tires and rims. His primary motivation for this extra effort is safety; he fears that if a single strap were to snap, the trailer could shift or roll, so having secondary restraints on the second axle provides a crucial backup for his peace of mind and the safety of others on the road.
After securing the load, the driver takes a moment to address his glasses, which he finds are constantly dirty despite careful handling. He uses specialized lens wipes to clean them without scratching the lenses, acknowledging that while they need replacing soon, they still serve their purpose well. Once ready, he departs from Bristol, passing by a castle-themed building and navigating through traffic near Gallops truck stop. During the drive, he encounters various road conditions, including a blind corner where another driver left their fuel cap open, and deals with GPS recalculations due to unexpected traffic patterns that resemble a parade of vehicles clogging the road.
The journey continues into the next day as he heads toward Black River Falls, Wisconsin, to refuel before making the final leg of his trip home. He notes the current diesel price in the area and mentions that this will be a busy "go-go-go" day since he is delivering goods on Monday and has another load lined up immediately after. Although he had hoped to arrive home for supper, fatigue and the desire to maintain a regular sleep schedule lead him to decide against driving further last night. He estimates arriving just in time for bedtime, though he worries about the excitement this might cause his children and dog, potentially forcing him to wait until they are asleep before sneaking into bed.
Upon reaching the Canadian border near Steinbach, Manitoba, the driver faces a minor delay due to paperwork issues that required him to fix them personally. He expresses relief at being able to handle these administrative problems himself rather than relying on brokers, highlighting his experience and confidence in managing such situations independently. Despite the one-hour delay caused by fixing the documentation, he remains focused on getting home safely and efficiently. The video concludes with him heading toward North Dakota via Interstate 94, ready to complete his route and return home after a long day of driving and securing his cargo properly.
Read the full video transcript
Good morning, good afternoon, good
evening.
Start the day with a beautiful,
beautiful W900. Wow. I'd like to switch
sleepers with him. I'd like to have a
bit of a bigger sleeper
one day.
This is good enough for me now. I'm just
thinking for the future when I want to
take the kids with me. I'm going to need
a bigger sleep. We'll worry about that
then.
Here we are. Bristol, Indiana.
And I've got my load here. I've tried a
new strategy this time. Instead of going
around the center of the axles there, I
went around both sides. So, there's four
separate straps holding the back down
here. Plus
the tongue wrap up front here with
protection around it there so it doesn't
damage the trailer or my strap.
We should be good with this. Here we got
that tied down. Same thing here. Tongue
wrapped and protection.
Back here, I did the same thing. Uh here
I did the loop, the wheel loop around
here, good and tight with protection in
here to
keep that tire and rim safe. And then I
did another one. Same thing around here.
So it goes in here, wraps around the
axle, and goes down there. So it
actually wraps around, holds it down and
prevents it from going side to side and
front to back. And I did the same on the
other side.
I also put uh wheel chalks. I used
dunage here as wheel chalks. You might
have seen it on the other side. Nailed
them in here into the trailer so they
won't move. That there and this here.
Extra protection just to make sure that
trailer doesn't roll around anywhere on
me.
And that's that. You see the same thing
here. I don't have to use donage here
obviously because that's not going to do
anything. But uh
let's go around the back end there. Wrap
around the inside of the axle and hold
it down
here. It also uh prevents the trailer
from going side to side. Right. So
see some garbage under here.
Some of these straps are brand new. I
bought them specifically for these
loads. And here you can see it goes
really close in here, but not quite
touching.
Not quite touching.
So, we should be able to just slip
through the wind.
And those things ain't going nowhere.
The reason why I did both axles instead
of just one, cuz I probably could have
gotten away with just doing one. My fear
always is, what if one of these straps
rips? What's going to hold the trailer
in place? That's why the secondary
straps are there. The second axle's tied
down as well. That's for my peace of
mind and also everyone else on the road.
So that if for some reason, let's say
my wheel loop here snaps, I still got
this holding the trailer down. Or if
this snaps, I've still got this holding
the trailer down. So both axles are tied
down.
and the tongue.
And right because I loop the tongue,
it's holding the tongue from going side
to side. It's also holding it down.
So again, that ain't going nowhere.
Just going to make myself a coffee and
we'll be on the road.
Glasses, am I right? Glasses.
People warn you about how annoying they
are before you get them. Like, oh, they
can't be that bad. And then you get
them. They're always dirty.
I don't even know where it comes from.
Nothing touches them. Yet, they're
always dirty.
So, I use these uh lens wipes, right?
Cuz they're the best things to use on
these lenses cuz everything else I use
seems to scratch them. And then you got
scratches in your eye and you see these
scratches all the time. These lenses
need to be replaced badly,
but they're still doing the job.
Okay.
Okay. All right. All right. Shall we
[groaning]
buckle ourselves in so we don't fall
out?
I've got myself all changed, cooled
down.
Got a coffee ready for me here. I am
ready to rock and roll. Okay, trailers
are tied down. I've double checked them,
triple checked them. Everything there is
ready to go.
Are you ready to go? Just wait for this
guy here. And ready or not, here we go.
So, we're going to take US 20 west of
here. That'll avoid the toll road just
north of us that runs parallel.
This is the castle building I was
talking to you about yesterday. It's
obviously not. It's just fake made to
look like a castle, which is kind of
lame, but it is cool nonetheless. They
do it for real. You know, they don't
build buildings like they used to. They
build them cheap and quick now. They
used to build like real buildings out of
stone that lasted centuries.
Now it's like our buildings if they last
100 years. Like wow, that's an old one.
Right.
This is a really nice stop though, by
the way. I said it yesterday, I'll say
it again today. Uh really nice truck
stop here. They got everything in there.
This is Gallops at the corner of US 20.
And what road is this that goes up to
Bristol? US 20 and 15.
This guy left his fuel cap open. Whoops.
Wonder if he realizes or she. It's a
she. Yep.
Ah. Blind corner. Thought it was clear.
And we're racing around the corner here.
And of course, it's a whole parade.
Okay.
All right. May as well get comfortable.
We'll be here for a while.
The simulation
found out that I was turning onto the
road. So, it quickly sent all of these
NPCs to
clog up the road. Now, they're coming
from the left. Not a car on the road
before. Carl's watching. Now look at all
these cars.
You guys watch the Truman show, right?
Oh, come on. Nonstop now. Now there's
another parade coming from the right.
What in the world?
Okay, after this white car, I'm going
for it. I'm going for it.
and we got to turn right here. This is
US 20 that goes across there.
recalculated.
Really honestly makes no sense. In case
you don't know, a few days ago, Zilinsky
announced that he would like to do some
kind of ceasefire in the Black Sea. He
gave sent proposal to Turkey and then
from there, Turkey gave it to Russia.
And today we heard from the Russian
foreign. Did you know
>> a man has been charged with a terrorism
offense following an investigation into
two pro Palestinian demonstrations
downtown in 2024? Police say the suspect
used amplification devices to make
public statements that quote advocated
for the detestation and harm against me.
[music]
>> [music]
>> Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey.
>> [music]
[music]
>> Heat.
Heat. [music]
>> [music]
[music]
>> We made it to Black River Falls where we
fueled [music] up. It's the next day.
We're going to continue home from here.
You know what that means?
It's a go, go, go day. The last day of
the trip is always a rush, rush, rush.
We want to get home.
These are being delivered Monday. I'm
going to take it there Monday morning.
We'll be home tonight, which is a It's a
Saturday today. We'll park it in a
secure yard. Then I'll go home for
Sunday.
Get these off the trailer Monday
morning. Then I have another load lined
up
on Monday. After that,
we're going to be busy busy for a while.
Got to make up for all our vacation
time, right?
So, let's get out there. Let's get on
the road and let's get home. It's about
a 10-hour drive home from here.
Got to stay focused. Stay focused today.
Only necessary stops.
I'm already getting back so much later
than I wanted to. And that's every time.
So, I may as well not even mention that
cuz you already know that.
I was hoping to be back for supper time.
Now I'm uh projecting and estimating
myself to be back home just in time for
bedtime,
which can be risky cuz if I get home
right before they go to bed, the kids
get all excited, the dog gets excited,
and then they don't want to go to bed.
So, I don't know if I'm going to have to
wait until after they're in bed and then
sneak in and then just be there first
thing in the morning when they wake up.
I'll probably just go home. You know, I
always think, hey, it's the weekend.
Daddy came home. It's okay if they stay
up a little longer, right?
We'll see.
Let's just get there as quick as we can
and we'll figure that out as we get
closer.
I still got a full day ahead of me.
I could have legally gone a little
further last night yet, but uh I was
feeling tired and I sort of wanted to
make sure that my schedule was on a
regular schedule for when I got home so
that I'm not used to, you know, running
nights and then get home have to be up
early, right?
[snorts]
It's just the decision I made.
I should have gone.
I should have gone. Diesel fuel price
here today in Black River Falls,
Wisconsin is $546
per gallon US.
I'm going for it.
Gasoline price is $3.86. 86 cents per
gallon.
Let's get ourselves out there.
Let's get this show on the road. quite
literally.
We'll get on to I94 West just over the
bridge here.
And this road will take us all the way
up to I29 in North Dakota.
>> Start navigation. We're heading to
Steinbach, Manitoba. Now turn left.
There we go.
Buckle your seat belts, folks.
We are trucking.
Yee-haw.
Grenada.
Took me a little while to get my border
clearance. The paperwork was messed up.
I had to fix it myself.
Guess no one noticed it the past two
days while I was on my way up to the
border. But uh I noticed it and I called
in and got them to fix it up.
Delayed me by an hour getting home,
which is unfortunate, but I'm glad that
I'm experienced and know know what I'm
doing so I can fix it myself. I used to
have to do all that broker work myself.
But now when problems arise, I know what
to do.