Trucking Digest

Last time, we joined Motown Dog on a night trip from Santa Fe to Kingman. Today we’re going to join Azyet as she takes a load of Stone Wool from Esbjerg in Denmark to Le Mans in France. It’s quite a long trip and we’ll need a rest stop around the halfway point. Lets do a quick introduction. Azyet is a DAF XF 105 equipped with a 460HP engine and a 12 speed automatic gearbox. In addition to the engine brake, she also has a retarder to help with slowing down. She’s hauling one of our company’s curtainside trailers.

We collected our load from the harbour and set off with a view of the docks…

Not far along the E20 heading east, we found someone who was not having a good day…

…A reminder of the importance of securing the load correctly before setting out. At Kolding, we picked up the E45 heading south to make our way into Germany. At the border near Flensberg, the road becomes Autobahn 7 and we continue over the Kiel Canal…

…It’s quite a climb over that bridge and despite having a relatively light load, we lost some speed. But the guy who was overtaking us lost a lot more and had to try again on the down hill after the apex! I don’t know what his problem is – I’m cruising at the truck speed limit of 80kmh and the retarder is holding my speed to a little over that. He’s risking a fine if the Polizei spot him 🙄 On these roads Azyet is very happy cruising at 80 in top gear and she will put in a pretty economical performance over distance.

Staying on the ‘7’ and we dive under the Elbe River at Hamburg, surfacing in the docks area of the city…

…Just south of Hamburg we leave Autobahn 7 and take Autobahn 1…

… which will take us south west past Bremen. There’s some nice rolling countryside around here and we’re enjoying the ride…

…the ‘1’ will take us most of the way to the Belgian border so we can relax and enjoy the drive. Can’t relax too much though as there are always things going on including other trucks joining the autobahn at slower speeds. This was near Osnabrück…

…a Bring truck pulling out. With a string of traffic in the fast lane I had no choice but to slow and then grind my way up the hill at his speed.

As we pass the Kamener Kreuz junction we can admire a sculpture by Alex Gockel featuring 8 angels carrying a helicopter painted in the colours of the ADAC – Germany’s rescue helicopter service…

…Popularly known as the ‘Gelbe Engel’ – Yellow Angels

Not far to go on my first shift now, At Westhofen we diverge onto the 45 and see the first signs indicating Liège…

…the 45 will connect us to autobahn 4 to pass south of Köln. You can see the famous railway bridge and cathedral in the distance as we cross the Rodenkirchener bridge…

We’re fast approaching the Belgian Border, but I plan to pull in at the last German services to refuel (it’s cheaper in Germany), and park up for the night. I planned the stop at the start of my journey and here we are on time with a few minutes to spare on our driving hours…

The fuel cost €766 and early next morning we were off and driving across the border into Belgium. Initially on the E40, we picked up the E42 as we passed Liège and continued past the airport…

…This is an older un-rebuilt section of the #ETS2 map and some of the bends along the route are unrealistic. I always slow to 70kmh for the section past the junctions to Luxembourg and Reims. Some time ago SCS introduced random events which placed roadworks and accidents at different locations on the road. But on the older maps some roadworks were permanent structures, like this one near Namur…

…There have been some changes over the years as if the work is gradually nearing completion and I assume this fixed roadworks will disappear when the mapping is rebuilt in this area.

We picked up the E19 near Mons and crossed the border into France…

…where the E19 becomes France’s A2 autoroute. We’re now into the Peage system and during the rest of the trip we will pay €151 in tolls 😟 The plan is to head west towards Le Havre so we picked up the A29. We cruised along this road maintaining a steady 80kmh. Although the limit for trucks on much of the Autoroute network is 90kmh, it’s more economical to drive at a slightly slower pace. We only drive to the full 90kmh when we’re tight for time.

Not long before we reach Le Havre I spot the name Paluel on the road signs…

…I’m going to turn off there and take a short cross-country drive to pick up the A28. Coming off the autoroute means we have to pay the first of two tolls on this run…

…They have security guys at every peage – probably there to deter acts of vandalism.- Nous Français détester donner de l’argent au gouvernement 😅

The short trip on the D490 has its benefits because we get to cross the River Seine via the Pont de Brotonne…

…and nothing says ‘Bienvenue en France’ better than a field of Tournesol…

…Sunflowers 😎👍

Off the D490 we picked up the A28 heading southwest. There are some lovely forested areas here…

…and long open viaducts carrying us far above deep valleys…

…That speedo is still sitting resolutely on 80kmh😅 Then, almost before we know it, we’re there…

We dropped off our load at Wilnet…

…watched leaving by the security guard. Then it was off to get Azyet maintained (another €494) and find a hotel for the night. Another job completed and 1452 more kilometres on the odometer. Fuel consumption worked out at 24.2l/100km or 11.67mpg in UK measures. 👍

Here’s the in-game map of where we’ve been. Northern section – Esbjerg to near Dortmund…