Pro-Trucker Magazine

As a kid (7-8), I would go to work with my dad, who was a construction foreman and my very first mentor. This was my introduction to all types of construction equipment, pretty much anything with tires or tracks. I would ride around with my dad and eventually earned the opportunity to try it for myself. As I got older, my summer jobs included being around a lot of trucks and equipment where I would watch and learn. Eventually, I learned how to operate the equipment and drive the trucks.

At 18, I was offered a job swamping on picker trucks and bed trucks, moving service and drilling rigs for Babco Oilfield Hauling, but the thought of becoming a driver hadn’t crossed my mind yet. After spending two years with the company, the manager encouraged me to go for my Class One. I ended up doing my class one road test with another guy in a tandem- tandem Kenworth C500 picker truck because the tester only visited the town once a month, and that was the only truck the company who arranged the test had in the yard. We both passed the test and took that truck to work that same afternoon. I eventually left that company because the opportunity to be in my own truck wasn’t there. However, the manager, Jordan Werzun, is still a mentor to me to this day.

As a swamper, I got to experience a lot of tasks that would to this day be frowned upon, like riding in the rig dolly to steer it down the road (off-road, of course). Before I got my license, I got a lot of off-road practice “two-trucking” the derrick (one truck pushing, one pulling on each end of the drilling rig derrick), moving them hundreds of kilometres through the bush and spending a lot of time in the yard on my own time, learning how all the trucks worked and practicing backing up.

I started work at Total Oilfield in my very own truck at 21. It was a 1996 Kenworth T800 day cab Texas bed winch truck moving oilfield rentals and equipment. At 23, I had the opportunity to move from Fox Creek to the big city of Edmonton. I started working for Hamptons Oilfield Services, where I drove a 2005 Kenworth C500 tandem-tandem, 400” bed truck moving drilling rigs and construction equipment. This was seasonal so when breakup came, we would find other jobs. I got a job as a garbage truck driver in Edmonton. This wasn’t really for me, and I preferred to stick to oilfield-related jobs. I ended up staying with Hamptons for four years. I met my partner, Shelley, there, but due to the company downsizing, I switched to an oilfield hotshot service. Shelley’s dad, Sandy (whom I had originally known from working at Hamptons), owns a heavy-duty repair shop called Sandys Heavy Truck Repair, and he had the opportunity to buy a truck if I could keep it busy. A 2002 Peterbilt 378 winch tractor with a c15 6nz 475 cat with an 18-speed transmission and 46k rears with a 30 Braden mechanic winch (old school, everyone runs hydraulic now, and I still get comments about my mechanical winch). This was my first foray into becoming an owner-operator, and we were business partners for six years.

Sandy has taught me everything I know about fixing trucks and has been my biggest mentor since putting me in that truck. The truck belongs to me now, but it wouldn’t have been possible without him. He’s taught me everything from brake jobs to rebuilding my engine. Any owner will tell you that there is always something to fix. I am proud to be able to fix those things myself. With the rising costs of the industry, the more I can fix myself, the more I save on repair bills.

I’ve been lucky not to have been involved in too many incidents, but one that comes to mind was during the first winter that I had my license, working for Total. We were heading to a job site, and I was following the picker truck in my truck. It was quite icy; the road conditions were poor. I was pretty green, and neither of us had tire chains on. We were climbing a hill, and the picker lost traction and had to stop. I was too close for my own good and had to stop. I jumped out to put tire chains on while the driver of the picker truck was doing the same. It didn’t happen in time, and the picker truck started to slide down the hill. All I could do was watch, tire chains in hand, as the picker truck took out my truck, and they both went sliding down the hill. No one was hurt, but it was an expensive error and a real hit to my pride.

I got pulled into the scales once, and my paperwork was a mess. I got it all together, and everyone knows that feeling as you walk into the scale house waiting for the inevitable. The officer looked at me and said, your bunk door is open. Have a nice night. If only you could be that lucky every time.

I may not have spent any time up on the ice roads, but I’ve seen my share of icy roads. I remember a trip I made headed out, and the roads were good and dry. The next thing I knew, jackknifed Super B’s were on a hill, and I was putting all my drive chains on, including both steer chains. I needed chains on my feet just to stand on the highway. Another time, I came upon a workmate stuck on a hill blocking the highway, and I used my big oilfield bumper to push him up the hill and clear the highway. A lot of off-road experience comes with a lot of mud. Being on location in the mud with ruts up to your neck and spending eight-plus hours in the wash bay to get the truck clean.

Being in remote locations gives you the opportunity to see some pretty great wildlife. I’ve seen caribou, moose, and wolves, two of which were wrestling in the middle of the road as I turned a corner. There were also grizzly bears and mountain goats. It also brings some wild weather. Some things just can’t wait, and if there’s a blizzard and you can’t see three feet in front of you, that’s too bad. It can be wild out there, from the beautiful northern lights of the Yukon and North West Territory to the thunder and lightning shows in Saskatchewan.

I’ve always been into shiny and lit-up trucks, but once I started running as an owner-operator, I really started to get more into the polish and lights scene. I had been to a few truck shows as a spectator, but in 2019, I registered my faded old oilfield truck to my first-ever truck show as a participant. That weekend, I received an award. I was the guy whose truck had potential but wasn’t quite there. I was awarded a gift card for polish supplies.

The winter of 2019 hit, and so did COVID. I worked the whole winter in Slave Lake in northern Alberta, living out of my 36” flat top sleeper with little to no amenities. With the world ending and the economy dying, it gave me all kinds of time to put my polishing supplies to the test. For most of that summer, I spent time upgrading the lights and practicing my metal paint restoration skills.

The 2020 Lesco Proshow truck show was a participant-only event due to the restrictions from covid. This was the first year it was held at the Leduc West Antique Society, which is an absolute wonderland for a truck nut. It’s filled with all kinds of antique trucks, farm and heavy equipment, along with private collections like a Rolls Royce museum and thousands of die-cast collectables. That year, I became a huge part of the truck show scene, becoming a volunteer and organizing the parking of what is now up to 200 units.

In the winter of 2020, as restrictions were starting to lift, I received a call from Tina at Lesco. Leduc Kinsmen Club hosts a walk-through lights display at the Leduc West Antique Society with over 2 million lights. This organization wanted some all-lit-up trucks to come out and hang out, and they wanted me to get some buddies together and do it. The wheels started turning. Why not make this a toy drive? So, through Lesco, we collected some toys for Santa’s helper in Leduc and food for the food bank, gathered 15 well-lit trucks and winged it. Down the highway, we went with trucks and trailers. We didn’t know what to expect, but the trucks were a big hit, and they asked us to come back the following year. In the second year of our “convoy,” we asked if we could officially stage the event at Blackjacks Roadhouse in Nisku. The owner of Blackjacks, Clarence Shields, really stepped up to help us out. He knew who to talk to to take our convoy of Christmas trucks right through town. With his help, we were able to get permits and help from the city and the county to take us right through Leduc and out to Leduc West. That year we had over 60 trucks and a ton of donations. It was amazing what it had turned into in just a year’s time.

In our third year, the group of friends I had made through the truck show community, and I decided we needed something to set us apart. To show that we wanted to take our event to another level. We named the event The Leduc Country Christmas Convoy and purchased “The Command Centre”—a 1998 Stoughton 28’ van trailer. With the crazy idea set in motion and the ability to modify it to our every whim, we went to work. We sandblasted and painted it, installed over 350 lights inside and out and polished everything we could. But how would we fill it? We decided to reach out to friends we’d worked with to see if they would be interested in sponsoring our event. Sponsorship included advertising their name on the side of our trailer. We started with five sponsors, which has grown to over 15. Since we started with the Command Centre, we have raised over $90,000 in toys, food, and pet supplies. This is thanks to so many supporters of the County Christmas Convoy.

I’ve been in many industry sectors, including gravel, fluid, hauling animal feed and bales, and flat deck work but the hands-on oilfield work is what I really enjoy. Moving equipment, rig moves, and all the things that take you away from home. I relax at home when I’m not trucking or fixing or adding things to my truck. I have two big dogs, Nova, the ten-year-old pitbull mix, and Peter, the two-year-old retriever mix, and I have a big yard to mow. I like getting out on the North Saskatchewan River for kayak and camping adventures and snowmobiling in the winter. I have two younger brothers, Kyle and Brett, and I have just become an uncle. A couple of years from now, I will be teaching him everything I know (sorry Delainey).

I’ve enjoyed the last 25 years of being a trucker. I’ve learned from the old boys of the industry and try to pass on the knowledge where I can to keep the industry alive. I would never take back the experience or the opportunities that have come my way, even with some of my bad decisions. I don’t plan on hanging the keys up any time soon. And I’m always up for a fuel island chat.