For Al Bryce, driving a concrete truck has been a hobby that pays instead of one that costs him money. The Langley, B.C., resident has been doing it for the past 50 years.
Bryce started driving concrete trucks in 1975 at age 21. He had just gotten married, and his father-in-law took the young man to work with him. His first few trips included driving the empty vehicle back to the yard.
The truck had two gearboxes — five main speeds and a four-speed auxiliary — that created 20 total gears. “He didn’t explain rpms or anything,” Bryce said. “The shift pattern was on top of the knobs, but they were worn off.”
After his father-in-law finally explained how things worked, Bryce began to progress in his driving skills.
His father-in-law worked for Lafarge, but early in his career Bryce moved to Valley Rite-Mix. When Lafarge bought Valley Rite-Mix in 1985, he found himself back under the same banner. After corporate changes over the years, he now drives for Amrize Canada.
The first truck
His first truck was a Dodge 500 with a 671 “Screaming Jimmy” engine. “That six-cylinder was 71 cubic inches per cylinder. It didn’t have much power, and it made a lot of noise,” he said.
Today he drives a 2013 Kenworth and has turned down newer models because he likes the truck. Bryce notes that modern trucks are built for comfort, with air conditioning and soundproofing. He recalls that in the past, on the hottest days, you’d get out of the cab and stand in the sunshine to cool down because the interior was a sweat box.
His first day at Valley Rite-Mix, he was sent toward Vancouver with only a wall map and no GPS. He said that if you went to a site, delivered the load and made it back, they’d give you another load.
Work conditions were different too, with companies focusing on production. When he started out in the industry, drivers had to figure out how to reach job sites. Some roads were not in great shape, and sometimes “you almost needed a six-wheel drive” to navigate them. In some places, they were narrow, and bridges could be covered with water.
Veterans helping rookies
Formal driver training was limited, and Bryce says companies didn’t get involved in the process. Senior drivers took it upon themselves to help rookies. He remembers veterans standing and watching new drivers and predicting what mistakes would be made.
“The fellows I worked with had been in World War II; some had been through the Great Depression. They were a much tougher breed,” Bryce said. “They wanted you to screw up so you would not make that mistake again.”
He isn’t convinced modern truck technology helps new operators. He feels automatic transmissions are okay in some respects, but they don’t allow new drivers to learn to listen to the truck.
Home every day
Bryce has built his life in Langley. He bought a house and raised a family with his wife that includes two daughters and a granddaughter. He had no desire to be a longhaul driver and was happy to be home every day.
There are no more 14- and 16-hour workdays for Bryce. He still puts in eight to nine hours daily and is happy to stick around to see a job completed. He loves the social part of his job, reacquainting with people he has gotten to know over the years.
Lessons from the past
He still applies the lessons passed down by older drivers. A WWII veteran who served in Italy used to say, “I give the company a fair day’s work, and they’ll pay me a fair day’s wage.”
Bryce wants newcomers to the industry to have a strong work ethic. Don’t sit and scroll on the phone or park someplace and hide out, he urges.
He gets about seven-and-a-half weeks of vacation a year and says that’s about how much time off he needs. Retirement will come eventually, but not yet. Until then, there are loads to deliver and people to meet.