cattle haulers

[irish cattle hauler]

are their any members on here who are hauling cattle or hoggs for a living i spoke to numerous drivers who i found mostly polite and courteous as i had quite a number of questions towards some it seems a lot of these companies dent advertise in the otr magazines that drivers see at the road kill and different truckstops across canada but i have now made a lot of enquiries into taking up employment i was shocked though i must admit to the lack of volvo tractors which i thought had a lighter tear weight as they didn't have half the garbage as there counterparts as air cleaners and chrome boxes and grab bars i rode in a peterbilt 379 and found it noisy uncomfortable and cramped i know im going to make enemies by slating the pete as it seems a drivers favorite also the dash layout on these trucks would be confusing as of the number of clocks and switches take the volvo the dash has a superior layout good driving position small steering wheel and driver friendly i suppose im going to get burned for saying this but at the other end of my computer i dent have to fear personal attack now i know the petes and kenworths have more lights that lapland and the seating position you are basically sitting on the floor iamb sure there are cattle haulers out there somewere running volvos plenty of volvos on road work hauling reefers and box vans thanks kieran

[Accremonious]

I have driven Peterbuilts, Kenworths, Volvos, Henrybuilts(Ford), Western Stars, Cornbinders and Macks. (I forgot Freight shaker)There is much personal preference and discrimination in equipment just as in choice of motorcycles! First of all the traditional warranties and design lifetimes vary just like in cars. I drove the older conventional Volvo's before this newer design came out. Then when I was issued one of the early VNL610 Volvos, it had 6 or 7 warranty problems in the first 100,000 miles! We also now know that the VNL style is quote a throw away design. Once is it is off warranty it does not keep its resale value like a Pete or KW. Likewise Mack used to have a long lasting value but with the newer CH series that waned too. Don't even speak about the Navistar, 13 letter manure spreader(intercrashable never start). It has the best warranty in the business because it needs it. They produce the cheapest units for much of the government bidding/purchasing and then their equipment is in the shops more than out! For every complaint though, you can find exceptions to the generalizations. Plus, you cannot compare the higher priced optioned out Owner/Operator units with any of the big bulk purchased line haul units in any brand! By the way, I never hauled anything that went moo, oink or said stickum up! Dry box and refer freight generally does not talk back. If is talks to you, you better listen up quickly!
As for weight restrictions, that varies from Province to Province and State to State with their exceptions to the Federal rules! You need to be a locker room lawyer to figure and remember all the details. It is a recent industry change to tridem trailers for cattlewagons to make them legal or allow for excess weight permits.
I will go out on a limb and recommend that you try your first employment over here with a large company that has a better than average safety dept. and orientation for new drivers. They want to protect their Operating Authority from unecessary fines so they do a better job of training. Just because your experience is in hauling livestock, don't ignore a job hauling grain in dump trailers, or a drybox job that is LTL/OTR. It maybe the entry into our environment that gets you acclimatized! Regardless of anything else, ask and heed all the information and help on cold weather survival. How our ancestors ever survived this country is still an amazing feat. There is a small book I read from the Oshawa Public Library called "Tales from Western Canada". It will open your mind to the scope of this subject if you can find a copy! Good luck.

[Accremonious]

You were mentioning how you noticed that some of the cattlehaulers tractors were rough riding and noisy, rattle traps? Well, what kind of suspensions were they equipped with? Some people buy heavy duty leaf spring suspensions for off road use in gravel pits, back country roads to the mines and logging camps, etc. These do ride hard in comparison to the airride freeway suspensions for fragile freight use. I had a road test once in a KW that even had an airride front end suspension. It was leased on to Challenger for running dedicated freight for a national drugstore chain at that time I believe. That one rode like an airmatress on a calm pond! Some airrides are very stiff too. We had heavy duty Peterbuilts and Freightshakers for hauling grossed out loads of aluminum from the rolling mills in Quebec to our terminal where they were crossed docked down to the 40 ton max. when delivering Stateside. Those Petes ride like old Amish lumberwagons, but they stand up to the constant pounding under full loads. If you were to put a lighter built unit like is commonly purchased from Henrybuilt now Sterling, it would be a rattletrap in no time. You only get what you order and pay for, especially in Class 8 freight tractors. Specifications at time of ordering are very important for the life time you designate that you need for your business survival. The drivers also pay a price in the wear and tear on their bodies!

[bikerboy]

I know of alot of cattle haulers here in southern Ontario, some of them only run canada, but mostly they all cross the border into the USA, and alot of them haul both cattle and pigs.

Most of the guys that want to haul cattle around here, want to look cool doing it! Thats why most cattle haulers run pete 379's or kenworth w900 or freightliner classics!

If you want to haul cattle, you have to want to run hard, and sometimes you have to keep going even when you run out of hours. You also have to keep going in bad weather, no parking it! The cattle or pigs can only stay on the truck for about 48 hours or less.


I wouldn't haul cattle myself tho, i don't like smelling like **** all the time!

[Pipeman]

I know of alot of cattle haulers here in southern Ontario, some of them only run canada, but mostly they all cross the border into the USA, and alot of them haul both cattle and pigs.

Most of the guys that want to haul cattle around here, want to look cool doing it! Thats why most cattle haulers run pete 379's or kenworth w900 or freightliner classics!

If you want to haul cattle, you have to want to run hard, and sometimes you have to keep going even when you run out of hours. You also have to keep going in bad weather, no parking it! The cattle or pigs can only stay on the truck for about 48 hours or less.


I wouldn't haul cattle myself tho, i don't like smelling like **** all the time!


Try a shower.

[bikerboy]

Some days there is no place to shower, when you are sleeping at a farm or a sales barn.

[Accremonious]

Next time you shop for your on the road groceries make sure to include a container of "Wet Ones" from the personal health care section.
A partial "sponge bath" with wet ones will tide you over until the next fuel stop showers.......... and maybe your truck wont reject you!!!!
Bin thar, dun dat, too often!

[Drifter]

Have you never been around farmers? Yes, you do get a whif of the barn, you have been around drivers smell the deisel fuel?? Same-same
Volvo trucks, my opinion, :yikes: yuch

[Accremonious]

All my kin on both sides were farmers! I was a town kid because my Dad ran a grain elevator before the oil refinery career. I can stand the smell of manure but I can't stand to see well dressed salesman go into the rest area washroom and boldly piddle all over the unraised seat! In all my years on the road it was rare for you to see such disrespect of his fellow man by a trucker. This tells you just what uppity corpulent manglement and their sales pimps think of us working people! My further thoughts on this subject are totally sensored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!