Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 19:20:47 -0700
Reply-To: Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Logging roads and trailers
In-Reply-To: <CA+2G-yCL7U7nV+wCZ1a6ZcroS7nWmjritH+uFPceTDdc-fcbSw@mail.gmail.com>
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Dear Would be Logging Road Traveler
I spent a number of years as safety manager for a builder of logging roads
-
On a logging road - ANY TIME IS LOADED LOGGING TRUCK TIME -
There are some who view these roads as free for all to use any time they
want -
This is not the case -
Question # one - are your tires rated for stones and extra rough road - are
all your joints and steering components greased -
Question # two if you have a failure of any of items can you get off road
on your own power - so as not to block road -
Question # three Who is your travel plan filed with - does cell phone work
there or do you have a HOT SPOT with text capability -
Question # Four - You know that AAA or CAA will not come and fetch you -
A> In Canada very often the logging road will lead to - or cross an Indian
Reservation and that First Nation may have jurisdictional sway over traffic
flow and permissions to travel
B> Nearly every logging road has a sign at the place where the Logging Road
intersects highway - that sign will delineate behaviors to be followed on
the road - during active haul times -
ACTIVE HAUL TIMES ARE ANYTIME - even if the sign offers typical times - you
could meet a truck coming 'DOWN LOADED' at any time - Lets say the logging
roads active hours are 3 am to 3 pm monday to saturday - you arrive at road
side at 5 pm saturday evening -
1. DO YOU have a radio that can be tuned to frequency used by haulers on
that road?
2. DO YOU know for sure that every truck up Empty has Come down loaded ?
3. Do you have any way to announce your intention to travel up ?
4. Are Loaded Trucks your only concern ?
5. Do you know that the mechanics and service trucks have all booked off
for the night and are safely off road ?
6. DO you know what a turn out on the road is for ?
7. DO YOU know if logger's ambulance is not heading out with injured
workers - they typically DO NOT have sirens -
THERE ARE SEVERAL SECTIONS Around here that are deemed LEFT HAND UP - LEFT
HAND DOWN - does driver understand fully the consequence of not being on
the proper side of the road??
Then there is the idea of your own trailer -
1. If you have a trailer breakdown along the way does your vehicle have the
ability to pull trailer off the road ?
2. if you are caught in a jackpot - not even your own jackpot - lets say a
logging truck has left the road and you are held up from your desired
camping spot while they extricate the upset truck - which may involve
getting a load of heavy equipment (or two) past your rig - can you get your
rig sufficiently off the road -- DO YOU KNOW HOW TO BACK UP YOUR RIG ?? DO
YOU KNOW HOW TO BACK UP YOUR RIG IN THE DARK ? CAN YOU DO A THREE POINT
REVERSE TURN WITH YOUR RIG ?? -- IF YOU ANSWER no TO ANY OF THESE - you
should not be on Logging road with a rig -- and preferably you should be
able to answer yes to all three questions - If you are answering no to any
of these three questions you need to practice - Not a Joke !!
More over if you are held up are you or your guests going to be idiots
demanding that road be cleared to let you get on your way - (real world
events - that happened to me ) more than once - and once during active
blasting - had to get local law enforcement involved in that one -
Along with that police or first responders may not have a clue where you
are or how to get to you if you require rescue (do you have a GPS device )
NOT A phone but a dedicated GPS -
Second to that - what do you do when you reach a rope across road that has
a sign remarking about active falling - or active blasting -
DO YOU take rope down and continue because the sign is only to inform
loggers and you are not a logger ???
DO YOU Take rope down and leave it on the ground because it is after 3 PM
on a Friday - the loggers can put it back when they come to work ?
Do you know what blaster signals mean ?? do you know how close to the back
of a logging truck you can travel to be outside the swing zone ?
Sometimes two or three loaded trucks will head down and only the first one
will call miles on the way down - the first one goes by and the haplass
traveler pulls back onto road only to meet truck #2 head on - and yes this
is a real world event that happened -
One afternoon i was heading down - part way down i had that huge urge of
nature calling right now - in only the way a rough and bouncy logging road
can produce in the late afternoon -
I stopped my pick up - I had not heard a call out on the radio -- but a
little voice in my head told me to pull as far to the left as possible - so
before exiting truck i did that - pulled my pick up off into a turn out -
and let nature call - just as I was finishing that 'streaming episode' a
loaded truck down roared past my location - I had no idea they were there -
-
on another occasion I was coming down and met a camper on way up - truck
with camper and loaded with family kids and all - I let them know there was
both active falling and active blasting on going that day - they told me
not to mind about them as they were going up early to get a good spot - --
They had no radio =--- with out telling them i radioed up to road channel
that this ship of sillies was on the way into an active work area --
Use abundant caution my friends when on logging roads - they are called
logging roads due to the reason for creation - they are not called lets go
camping roads
AND I HAVE not even addressed the multitude of walkers - people on bikes -
people on horses - or joe racing becky on ATV to see who gets to lake first
-
On Mon, Jul 20, 2020 at 11:00 AM Harry Hoffman <hhoffman@ip-solutions.net>
wrote:
> Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and helpful guidance!
>
> Cheers,
> Harry
>
> On Mon, Jul 20, 2020 at 9:52 AM Harry Hoffman <hhoffman@ip-solutions.net>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Volks,
> >
> > I know several of you travel the logging roads for camping/exploring.
> > Having just done this last week, for my first time, I was wondering if
> > anyone has brought trailers along? The roads are really rough so I
> > wasn't sure how well a trailer would handle the roads.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Harry
>
--
roger whittaker 604.414.6266
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