I've Trucked All Over This Land

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Action Trucker
Posts: 27
Joined: 11 Feb 2023 19:06
Location: New Zealand

I've Trucked All Over This Land

#1 Post by Action Trucker » 24 Mar 2023 03:10

Hello all :)

This thread will cover my many adventures in American Truck Simulator through my various profiles across the United States and Canada, along with adventures in outback Australia and on the Dalton Highway in Alaska through map mods and beta versions of older versions of the game.

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To start, the first trip logs will follow Ansel Aaron Carter, a third-generation trucker from Atlanta, Georgia who runs the family-owned heavy haulage company, C.H. Carter Heavy Haulage LLC. It is so named after his grandfather, Clayton Howard Carter Sr., who drove heavy haulers across the country from 1923 to 2000, when he finally retired at age 95.

Trip #1 / Log #1:
The sun rose over the outskirts of El Paso and the alarm clock woke me from my slumber. I had just delivered an excavator to a brand new subdivision in the north of the city, before heading to spend the night at my cousins' ranch, Bar-H. I packed up my small travel bag with fresh clothes and other things, before climbing out of the sleeper and making my way to the main ranch house for an enjoyable hot country style breakfast with my cousins. Uncle Rex told me he was off to Kansas, delivering aircraft engines to the Cessna production plant in Wichita, before he spent the next few weeks' running crated replacement parts from the Cessna plant to all points across the Midwest and the east coast to private airports and private air-parks.

I finished up, said my goodbyes and headed back out to my rig, one of our original 1967 Kenworth W900A's. My next destination was the YTD production plant near downtown El Paso. I pulled through the gate and looped around the plant, before reversing into one of the spare parking spots. I climbed out of my rig with my bill of lading and went to the out-bound delivery office, where the Sales' Agent marked my bill and spoke to the floor manager, whom got the two YTD-1000s' loaded onto my tri-axle lowboy. I returned to the rig, chained down the yard trucks and double and triple checked they were in a position to not slide off of the trailer while I was driving. Making one more check, I climbed into the cab, turned over the ignition, and the Cummins KTA-600 roared into life. I turned out of the YTD plant and began the lengthy 30-hour drive to Virginia.

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Last edited by Action Trucker on 12 Apr 2023 09:41, edited 8 times in total.
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Action Trucker
Posts: 27
Joined: 11 Feb 2023 19:06
Location: New Zealand

Re: I've Trucked All Over This Land

#2 Post by Action Trucker » 28 Mar 2023 05:45

Trip #1 / Log #2:

I arrived at the Maverick Travel Center in Eastland, Texas just after 2:00pm, having been on the road for just over eight hours. Finding a spare park near the fuel island, I pulled up and switched off the rig. I made my way over to the main building and ordered a late lunch at the counter, finding a booth in the restaurant and had begun to tuck into my patty melt and fries when I heard someone ask if they could take a seat with me. The voice was familiar.

It was my cousin Harper, known by all in our extended family by her handle of Honey Bee. She ran her own trucking company in Nevada from Reno, Las Vegas and Carson City. She was currently running from the Peterbilt plant in Denton to all points across the West coast delivering brand new Peterbilt rigs and picking up damaged Petes and bringing them back to service centers for repairs.

We spent a pleasant hour together before I had to get back on the road. I headed out of the truckstop and pointed the W900A towards Texarkana, Texas and the Arkansas border, about 1/3 of the way through my overall trip.

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Last edited by Action Trucker on 11 Apr 2023 23:50, edited 1 time in total.
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Action Trucker
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Location: New Zealand

Re: I've Trucked All Over This Land

#3 Post by Action Trucker » 28 Mar 2023 06:07

Trip #1 / Log #3:

I crossed the border over into Arkansas and revelled in its splendour. I had travelled through AK many times on my runs and made my way through Little Rock, where I remembered being locked up in jail due to several anti-trucker cops who happened to be patrolling when I rolled through late at night in the mid-1970s. The time flew by and I soon found myself in Tennessee, making my way through its heart via Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville, now halfway through the trip.

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Last edited by Action Trucker on 11 Apr 2023 23:50, edited 1 time in total.
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Action Trucker
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Location: New Zealand

Re: I've Trucked All Over This Land

#4 Post by Action Trucker » 01 Apr 2023 20:24

Trip #1 / Log #4:

Tennessee was perfect in every way and I definitely thought I would enjoy retiring here after I gave up chasing the white line - finding a small place in the mountains near a lake, so I could go and fish all day, hunt in the woods and just enjoy what the rest of life would have to offer an old trucker. I decided to come back later on and wander through the mountains for a few days to find my own future piece of paradise.

Passing through Memphis, I silently paid my respects to the late, great Elvis Presley as I passed by Graceland, and then swung through Nashville to pay my respects to the greatest country singer/songwriter I thought ever lived - Jerry Reed - at the Grand Ole Opry, having visited many times over the years. In no time at all though, I found crossed the border into Virginia and the Kenworth hummed along the outskirts of Richmond. One more hour and I would be unloading and then ready to make the run home.

The hour flew by like it was nothing and I soon found myself caught up in the snarl of traffic. Ahead, I saw the large sign stating that the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown was only half a mile away. I crawled along the roadway with too many four-wheelers for my liking and eventually, the huge heavy gates appeared on the right hand side. The rig swung through the gates and I was stopped by an MA, who stepped out of his small sentinel box and asked to see my paperwork, which I duly gave him. He returned my Bill of Lading and directed me to drive to a storage lot near the waterline. I did as directed and it was chock full of other logisitical vehicles, so I had to weave and snake through the rows of loaders, yard trucks and such to find a place to park.

Eventually, I found a parking spot and then a wheeled crane appeared and a handful of ratings followed behind and they unloaded the yard trucks in quick time, before my paperwork was signed off and then I began the eight-and-a-half hour drive back home to Atlanta.

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Action Trucker
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Re: I've Trucked All Over This Land

#5 Post by Action Trucker » 12 Apr 2023 07:03

The second set of trip logs will follow another family member, Harper Brett Greig - known by her handle of Honey Bee, and her travels delivering brand new Peterbilt trucks from the Denton production plant to the Peterbilt dealership in Casper, Wyoming for this run.

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Trip #1 / Log #1:

I returned from the small roadside cafe over the road with my topped up thermal flask. Taking a quick gulp of chocolate coffee, I inspected my pride and joy, a 2013 Peterbilt 389 tractor with 63-inch flat top sleeper. She was a good truck and I had driven her across the 48 states, and even took her up north to Alaska on the ice roads since I first brought her back then. With one final walk around, I climbed up into the cab, turned over the ignition, and moved off, heading north from Denton towards Albuquerque, New Mexico, ten hours' drive away.

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Action Trucker
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Location: New Zealand

Re: I've Trucked All Over This Land

#6 Post by Action Trucker » 12 Apr 2023 08:26

Trip #1 / Log #2:

After taking a quick break at a local Love's truck stop near Lubbock to stretch my legs and check the three Peterbilts I was delivering, I continued on and soon crossed the border into New Mexico. Today was a gorgeous day and New Mexico was sparkling under the bright sun. I headed through Albuquerque in no time at all and found myself crossing the border into Utah. Looking at the clock on the dashboard, I knew it was time for another break soon. Ahead, I saw another truckstop on the horizon, this time on the outskirts of Wellington, Utah. Pulling into the parking lot, I found a large enough space and pulled up. I walked around the three Peterbilts and they were still in pristine condition and their candy apple red paint jobs were still sparkling under the sun.

I grabbed my day bag from the passenger seat and made my way over to the main building, entered the private area, paid for three hours, and then went to have a nice hot shower. It was absolutely heaven after spending hours behind the wheel. I freshened myself up and went to the dining room and I had a hot meal, finishing off my chocolate coffee. I spent the next hour catching up with the other drivers and read trucking magazines. Soon enough, my time was up, so I returned to my 389, did a customary check, climbed into the cab, turned over the ignition and then began the final leg to Casper, Wyoming.

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Action Trucker
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Location: New Zealand

Re: I've Trucked All Over This Land

#7 Post by Action Trucker » 12 Apr 2023 09:39

Trip #1 / Log #3:

I swung past Salt Lake City and hoped that I would be able to make back on my next run, so I could spend time with my sister, brother-in-law and cousins, if they were not out running to all points across the lower 48 states delivering anything and everything that could be carried on any type of trailer.

I headed back east towards Wyoming and crossed the border, passing through Evanston as just as the clouds began to change colour and the sun started to dip down. I carried on, knowing I was making good time on my run and made it all the way to Rawlins, when I heard a loud hissing sound behind me. As I was thinking of having to pull over on the side of the roadway, I saw the lights of a rest area ahead, so I pushed my Pete on just a little further, and she finally rolled to a complete stop as I pulled up in a parking spot.

Climbing out of the cab, I grabbed my torch, pulled on my hi-vis jacket and went hunting for the source of the problem. I crawled along every inch of the tractor and the three new Peterbilts, but everything was in tip top shape. As I made my way back to the cab to call out a roadside assistance crew on the CB radio, my eyes fell on the trailer cables - the brake cable had somehow overstretched itself while I was turning a corner and it was starting to fray.

I grabbed a spare brake cable from the tool storage box underneath the sleeper and commenced a DIY repair that would hopefully hold out until I got to the Peterbilt dealership in Casper. I attached the brake cable to the stand and to the trailer, before checking and double checking the brakes. Everything was working- albeit for the time being - so I took a well deserved power nap in the sleeper.

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