The drive from Vancouver to the Ontario border is 2,500-kilometers long. After that, there’s a further 2,000 kilometers to go before one reaches Ottawa. (For a total of 2,800 miles.)
As the Freedom Convoy traversed our vast country in late January 2022, it dealt with an array of issues. For starters, different kinds of vehicles were involved.
Big rigs are called tractor trailers. Or semis. Both of these terms suggest two components. The tractor is the short part up front, where the driver sits. Tractors do the pulling, are often owned by the driver, and often have a bunk (small living space) behind the cab. The trailer is the long part that contains the cargo. Trailers can be hooked up to a tractor, hauled elsewhere, and then detached again.
A tractor without a trailer is also known as a bobtail. Many of the trucks who took part in the Freedom Convoy were bobtails. Paying for fuel was expensive enough without pulling a huge trailer across the country. Bobtails are more maneuverable in tight spaces. But they’ve been designed with that extra weight in mind. Without it, braking is trickier. Even experienced drivers need to be super attentive. Especially in winter.
Freedom Convoy road captains made attempts to group the vehicles. Tractor trailers in one section. Bobtails in another. Then there were the privately owned pickup trucks and cars. The truckers referred to these as four-wheelers.
Because most of the four-wheelers didn’t have access to the radio channel the truckers were using to communicate, they were often out of the loop and didn’t behave as expected. It hasn’t been talked about much, but that entire journey is a testament to a great deal of patience, grace, and goodwill.
Shortly after it reached the Ontario border, the Convoy split in two. The bobtailers took the northern route (Highway 11). It’s slightly longer, but the terrain is less challenging. Members of the public were gathering to greet the Convoy on both routes, so this gave more people an opportunity to participate in this historic event.
The tractors pulling trailers took the southern route (Highway 17), which skirts Lake Superior. That’s a stunning drive in any season. But there are lots of hills. Under the best weather conditions it takes eight hours of non-stop driving to traverse the northern shore of this lake.
The fact that everyone arrived in Ottawa safely a few days later, the fact that there were no known collisions, injuries, or deaths is itself a small miracle.
Welcome back!
I wasn’t just counting the the number of sleeps to go Donna but the hours ad well. Pot in my order a few days ago for 30 copies of Opa’s Convoy letters - was just talking to Jacob ( the fellow from Winnipeg parked beside me with the wine or matron tractor and aluminum step deck trailer. He was at the Ont border parking his rig for the night with an oversized permitted load (not allowed on road when headlights required). He has a couple of drops in southern Ont thdd Ed n will be passing through my area on way to pick up a return wide load in Dorchester. If I receive my books in time I will rendezvous with him at the 402 250 truck stop and give him his 2 copies for his 2 boys (the youngest born a couple months ago). I will never forget when had to leave one day about 3/4 of the way through the “Occupation” with tears in his eyes as he slowly snuck though an honour guard for him. He was forced to leave by one of customers to pick up a load in Montreal the next morning or lease the . What a joy last night to chat a half hour with another of my many Sons. so welcome back Donna.