Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question? You might find the answer below. If not, you can submit your own question to BigRigSteve for inclusion on this page by following THIS link..

How many and what models of trucks have you driven?

I have had multiple Volvos in the beginning. I have also driven a Kenworth, Peterbilt, International, and several Freightliner Cascadias. I personally like the Cascadia best because they seem to be more comfortable and breakdown less.

What camera do you broadcast the LIVE stream from?

The YouTube broadcast phone is the Samsung A51 and the 24/7 and GPS location data comes from a Samsung S10

How do double and triple trailers get weighed at the weigh stations?

The scales they use are axle scales, which means that each set of tires on any number of trailers all get weighed individually as they roll on the scale. In general, the limit for any set of drive axles on the tractor or trailer is 34,000 pounds.

Where is the bridge located that is featured on your YouTube Channel?

That bridge is US Highway 97 that crosses the Columbia River in Biggs Junction, Oregon. You can see our test drone flight of it here on our channel https://youtu.be/qUDNtTydmf8

Do trucks have winter tires?

No, the tires are pretty much “all season” tires. I am sure that extreme conditions such as in Alaska might possibly have something special, but I’m not sure since I do not drive there.

When did you start BigRigTravels? What made you think about doing this?

BigRigTravels.com went live for the first time on February 8, 2008.

I did it in the beginning as a way to show family and friends the places I go and the things I saw throughout the day. Apparently people around the globe and from every walk in life found this information exciting as well and we just grew from there to what we are today.

Do you use chains on the mountain passes when needed?

Every commercial truck is required to carry chains in different states certain months of the year such as winter in Colorado, etc. I personally do not put chains on when conditions require it because if it is that bad it is safer to just stop before you even get in the area. To me, chains are meant to get you out of trouble – not get you in the middle of it. Yes, some truckers do chain up to get over the mountain passes, but the customers I deliver to understand and would rather have late freight than no freight.

Why do you stop the LIVE broadcast before you reach the customer?
Why can’t you tell us exactly where you are loading or unloading?

The answer is the same to both questions. Since the customers we visit are on private property, we cannot broadcast or show images once we enter their gates. This is also one of the agreements made between myself and the company I drive for.

How often is DEF and reefer fuel required compared to the tractor?

The tractor fuel on my 2019 Freightliner Cascadia is 200 gallon tanks which get me about 7.5 mpg. The DEF tank I have is 18 gallons I think and I can go about 3,000 miles on a DEF tank. The reefer all depends on a wide variety of conditions of course. If the cargo has a required temperature of -10F and you are running the northern states in the winter, then fuel lasts longer. Conversely, if that same -10F cargo is running through Arizona in the middle of summer at 100+F degrees, then it will use alot more reefer fuel.

Who do you drive for?

We do not mention who I drive with or contract for since the company name really isn’t part of the website purpose. It also is an agreement made between BigRigTravels and my company so there is no assumption or expectation of one brand representing the other.

I noticed that there are some states and areas that you do not visit often. Why?

Well, basically, I go where the most freight happens to take me which is along the major freight lanes of Interstate 80, 70, 55, etc. The far Northeast is usually covered by more regional drivers and I mostly just deliver to the area hubs. Same with Texas, etc. We do get to all 48 states eventually, just depends on where the most used customers are located.

What are you hauling today?

I cannot mention what I am hauling while the trip is currently underway. This is for security reasons. You CAN find out what was hauled along with more details about any previous trips by going to the TRIP BLOG

How long have you been driving as a commercial driver?

I started driving in 2006.

Why does your broadcast buffer or cut out completely?

We broadcast directly from one of our dedicated phones which means we are dependent on getting our data from the truck to YouTube by using the cell phone data towers. Remember, we are in a moving vehicle which means we have to daisy chain and bounce from one tower to the next one as we drive along the highways. Some of the reasons we buffer, skip, or cut out would be due to the lack of any towers available (such as remote areas of the country), or in the bigger cities, the towers are overloaded with other people using them for voice calls, or internet usage. Uploading streams on a cell network is the very lowest priority of a tower, or the terrain is mountainous or we are driving through canyons.

What areas do you drive through?

I drive all of the lower 48 states. I do not go into Canada, Alaska, or Mexico, although, I have picked up and delivered cross border freight at the US customs lots

How does the website change information if you are not touching it while driving?

Our website has alot of dynamic information that gets fed to it directly from the truck. A dedicated phone in our truck sends our location data to our servers automatically where it then gets parsed and is used in customized scripting that translates it to usable information on our website such as the speedometer, altimeter, map data, weather, trip distances, etc. Like our broadcast, we rely on stable cell tower connections to get our information to our servers. At times, we may lose some of our GPS data for various reasons such as remote areas, canyons, overloaded towers, etc.

Does the ELog device transmit data directly to any DOT office?

No, it does not. However, when an inspection takes place, the inspector does have a special screen that allows him to THEN automatically send any data to their email or office portal, but it has to be manually initiated by an inspector.

I hear you talk to your viewers. Do you read chat while driving?

Absolutely not! My full attention is dedicated to what is in front of me at all times. I do know and realize that we have a high number of viewers watching at any given time, so I just automatically treat each as though they are riding along in the front seat – which in reality, they are! So, yes, I mention cities, road signs, and other general conversation throughout our day and I can do so without actually knowing who is in chat or watching. I do at times, pull up the chat and talk directly with folks while we wait in line for fuel, or during breaks, or at the end of the day.

What is the song played at the end of our broadcasts?

That song is called “On My Way Home” from the 126ers available free and licensed for content and can be found in the YouTube creator audio section.