The day the sat nav died (again)

Disaster struck on Wednesday when, completely out of the blue, my trusty old say nav gave up the ghost.
It couldn't of come at a worse time because I was in the middle of motorway hell, Greater Manchester.

I don't understand this road network.With so many motorways and A roads merging and crossing I rely on the sat nav, probably a little to much.

I was in Oldham and trying to make my way to Heywood distribution park. I had emptied my work bag and taken out my spare sat nav. ( yeah I know ) and I had given back the other satnavs I had ontest the week before. I went from four to none in one day and I felt stranded.

Then I remembered I had an ace up my sleeve.
I had downloaded an app for my iPhone called Co Pilot and tested it along side some other iPhone apps.*

Well I typed in where I wanted to go and the iPhone sprang into life and started directing me.

It wont replace the trusty old Tom Tom but it certainly got me out of a tricky situation and helped me for that day.

I took up again with my ex (spare) for the rest of the week and it has served me well, including my trip up north this week as far as Carlisle.


The next day was a multidrop in the Northwest. I started in Beverly then up to York, Sedgefield, three drops into Gateshead and then one Whitley Bay before heading over to Carlisle for a collection in the morning
This truck was being repaired at the Gateshead delivery and I was bringing it a new ram.

And then over to Carlisle for a night of Truckstop bliss in Kingstown.

I parked up next a row of trucks, pulled out my card and settled down for a little rest.

I woke up and realised Id been asleep for four hours! it was nearly 9 -O clock so I decided to take a look at the facilities.

I suddenly realised why there were lots of trucks opposite me but only a few next to me.
The ones next to me where all ADR , two gas trucks and a dubious looking rigid with more orange signs than a mobile phone advert. Whoops.

After looking in the restaurant and deciding not to eat anything I had a walk around the truck stop shop, I don't get all these specialist places , they act like the truckers friends but try to sell us crap plastic tables to put our junk on for £22 or £28 for the deluxe models, electric kettles that take an hour to boil and cost a days pay or electric lights that just make us look like Idiots when we hang them around our windscreens.

Many of these things can be bought much cheaper and some are better quality in other stores like Maplins or on line even.


This was the first building I saw at my collection this morning in Dalston, just next to the BP fuel terminal. The poor cows, even though they didn't look like they might make a dash for freedom, they were still chained around the ankles.



This 3 tonne case is what I collected and it was responsible for giving me on of my easiest days on this job. The size of this case meant I was unable to fit any other jobs in the truck on the way back down the M6.


And when it got to where it was going, they couldn't get the big forklift to start so its staying on me until 8 am Monday and I was back home by Three.


One bright spark suggested using this. He was wearing a white coat though. No pies for telling me what its called but I would like to know a bit about it. Its at the old GEC plant in Whetstone, Alcatel now if anybody knows it.

* I have written an article on using the Iphone that can be found in Aprils Truck & Driver