Video summary
The trucker begins his day dressed in his Sunday best while wearing a hard hat, preparing to transport a twenty-one-foot load of lumber from Ontario down to Minnesota. He expresses uncertainty about whether he will be unloaded that night, noting that the facility's unloading hours have fluctuated wildly throughout the week, shifting between 10:00 p.m., 1:00 a.m., and finally settling at 12:30 a.m. Despite the unpredictable schedule, he is hopeful that arriving early will allow him to unload before the day shift begins, which would significantly reduce the workload for his colleagues and give him more flexibility for his return trip.
While waiting, the driver shares personal news about his family's plans to move into a new campground site next year with his wife Britt and their children. They recently visited a potential location that they love, intending to develop it into a permanent summer retreat complete with a deck and a screened-in gazebo. This decision comes after they stopped renting out their camper due to the high maintenance costs and damage from previous renters; instead, they want to provide their kids with the camping experiences Britt and he enjoyed growing up. The video also captures his arrival in International Falls, Minnesota, where he complains humorously about the overpowering smell of a nearby paper mill, though he notes that the town itself is nice and the locals are great.
Once unloaded, which happens faster at night due to less traffic and helpful staff, the driver enjoys waking up to an empty trailer the next morning. He avoids the long lines typical of day shifts where multiple trucks wait to be unloaded first thing in the morning. After completing his pre-trip inspection, he realizes that his current driving time is insufficient to return all the way to Canada before his shift ends, so he may only make it back as far as Deer River, Minnesota. He concludes by thanking viewers for their support and inviting them to join him on future trips, acknowledging that the upcoming day will involve a long haul back up to Ontario to load another shipment.
Read the full video transcript
Dressed
in my Sorry, wrong hand.
Dressed in my Sunday best.
Just in case the sky falls, I have to
wear a a hard hat out here in the open
air.
And inside my truck.
Technically, I don't have to wear it in
the truck, but I'm stepping out here
right away, so I do have to wear it out
here.
How do I look?
Do I look like I have a big brain?
That's what it's supposed to look like,
right?
Got this behind me, 21-ft lumber
tarped
here in Ontario going down to Minnesota.
>> [clears throat]
>> I need some water, man.
Ready to go.
Take this down there with me, drop it
off, come back up for another one.
Like to get unloaded tonight yet, we'll
see. Last week when I was there, they
said that they would unload me
at the time when I'm going to get there.
I'm only going to get there like what,
11:00? Something like that. They said as
long as I'm there before 12:30, they'll
unload me.
But that changes all the time. And they
don't they don't mean to change all the
time, just they they're moving things
around, right? So, for a while it was
10:00, that's it. And then all of a
sudden it was 1:00 a.m., that's it. Then
it was 2:00 a.m., I remember that.
And then all of a sudden, bam! Without
telling anybody, it was 8:00 p.m.
Then it was 8:00 p.m. for a while, and
then it went back up to 10:00 p.m. And
then back down to 8:00.
And now it's at 12:30.
Are we going to get unloaded tonight? I
have no idea. We're going to try to see
what happens.
I'm scheduled to unload in the morning,
but if I can get there the night before
and they're if they're open,
they'd gladly unload me. That's less for
the day shift to do. Like that's they'd
rather me do that.
I don't know. Let's see what happens. I
have no idea what's going on.
Let's get this week started. It's
Monday, and we need to make some money
this week. We need to make some money.
So, yesterday while I was at home,
uh Britt and I and the kids went to go
look at a campsite or a campground,
actually, that we're thinking of moving
into next year
uh with a seasonal, making some use out
of my or our camper
that's been sitting in the shop for a
couple of years.
We were doing rentals with it for a
while, but uh we don't want to keep
doing that. We had one renter that kind
of wrecked
a little piece of it. I still got to fix
it. It's not big. It's just one of the
gears on the slides got stripped
somehow.
Uh so, I got to fix that up yet, and it
wasn't very profitable renting them out.
It It wasn't a short burst, but with the
amount of maintenance that would need to
be done on it every year if we always
rented it out. Uh I just I don't I do
not just not up for that. I want to use
it.
So, we're looking at this campground,
and uh we brought Micah and Theo there
to take a look at it, and
we really like it.
We really like it. So, next summer, I
think we're going to have a nice spot,
a nice summer spot for our family to
hang out. It's going to be a new site,
so it needs to be developed, getting
some new uh geotextile in there, some uh
gravel packed down in there, and then,
you know, got to get the trailer
leveled, put in there permanently. Like
it's a permanent site then, right? We
got to build a deck on there. I want to
build like a screened-in gazebo.
All kinds of stuff. It won't all be in
the first year, but
Britt and I both had that experience
growing up camping.
So, uh we want to give that to our kids
as well. It's important to me and to
her.
And
this campground is really nice. We'll
talk about it more as the time gets
closer. Like that
We've reserved our site already.
So, it's already a done deal, but
you know, it's it's for next year.
So,
we got a lot of time to get excited yet,
but it's hard not to be like super
excited now already.
So, off we go.
I'm pretty sure we should be able to get
unloaded tonight yet.
We shall see.
I'll do my best.
Getting unloaded there doesn't take too
long, especially at night. That's why I
like going there at night. One of the
reasons is cuz it's slower. It's a lot
faster.
The guy who works night shift there
helps me roll up my tarps. He's a really
nice guy.
So, it's usually in and out within an
hour, right?
Whereas when I go to during the day, I
could be sitting there waiting 3 hours
just to get unloaded.
That's just the way it is.
More stuff going on during the day.
I prefer nights. When I can adjust my
schedule to drive into the night, I
always do.
I'd much rather drive really late, and
then I'll start like mid-morning.
It's uh
Just makes for a little bit of a less
stressful less stressful day.
I've got enough gray hairs already.
I don't need to be putting more into
there uh
unnecessarily, you know? They'll They'll
come. They'll come on their own, but I
don't want to rush them.
Keep my stress levels down as much as
possible.
>> International Falls, Minnesota, you
stink.
Just the town. It literally stinks.
There's a paper mill here in town that
just reeks up the air. The people here
are great.
The town is really nice. It's just that
paper plant. Woo.
>> Now turn right.
>> That is ripe. That is ripe.
Wow, can you imagine living in that all
the time? I don't know.
It stinks so bad.
Paper mill's just off to our right over
there. It's right on the river, right on
the border with Canada.
So I'm sure like Fort Frances on the
other side on the Canadian side just
stinks some days, too.
>> Follow the road.
>> But you don't notice it as often over
there. They seem to keep their smell on
their side of the border.
Mostly.
Man.
It is really bad today.
It's not always so bad.
All depends on what the air and the wind
is doing, you know.
This main street here, whatever this
street is, is just dead.
What's going on? It's Monday evening.
No one around. Just that guy in his
truck.
So I'm on schedule to get unloaded
tonight still.
If the hours they gave me last week are
correct.
I don't know. I only believe it when I
see it.
I'll be able to let you know if we made
it once we're unloaded.
Uh finally getting out of the
out of that stench from that paper
plant. I guess the wind is going the
other way. Thank goodness. That was Oh,
so bad.
The gate is open.
Yes. Oh, it's always such a good
feeling.
I'm getting unloaded.
A day early. Hey, look, there's a bunch
of deer over there in front of me, too.
You see it? Right beside that pile of
dirt or whatever that is there.
I guess I'm going to drive straight at
them real slow.
See them?
Another one over there.
Oh, there they go.
Looks like I'm not the only one.
That's Jake up there in that truck
getting unloaded.
I've known him since I was a kid.
We went to uh the same church together.
Once he is done getting unloaded, then I
will
get unloaded. Then it'll be my turn.
My turn.
Let everybody know that I'm here.
And I don't have enough time on my clock
to get back up to Canada, unfortunately.
I have an hour and a half left of
driving.
2 and 1/2 hours left of my overall day.
So, we'll see how far back we get. Maybe
I'll just get back to Deer River.
Actually, that will give me just enough
time to get back to Deer River.
We'll see what happens. See how long it
takes to get out of here. Shouldn't take
too long.
Feels great to get unloaded the night
before cuz now I'm waking up in the
morning
with an empty trailer and I can just
book it back to go get my next load up
in Ontario.
I don't have to go wait in line now to
get unloaded cuz guaranteed there's
going to be probably like four, five,
six trucks there in line waiting to get
unloaded first thing in the morning.
Make sure this is good tight. These
aren't going anywhere. I have my tarps
on the back here cuz I'm going to need
them right away.
Okay.
I just finished the pre-trip doing
everything on the truck and trailer.
We can get straight to work.
So, that's it tomorrow's video, but
thanks for hanging up helping me on the
way down here. Hang out with me on the
way back up. It's going to be a long day
again cuz we're going to go all the way
up, load, strap, tarp, come all the way
back down. We'll probably make it back
to Deer River, Minnesota, but I would
enjoy your company. So, I'll see you in
my next video.