Published: March 13, 2008 01:58 pm            

All aboard! Take a ride with a wet mash trucker

Originally published in the March 7, 2008, print edition.

I climbed aboard the Revier Feedlots 1994 International Eagle hitched to a 40-foot Trail King live bottom trailer at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 13.

Forty-four miles later Jim Schweinfurter piloted this big rig into the “trucks only” entrance to the Bushmills Ethanol plant in Atwater. On the scale at 8:06 a.m. we were 32,700 pounds empty weight. About 20 minutes later back on the scale, after taking on 14 dumps of modified wet mash (50 to 52 percent moisture), the scale read 89,860 pounds. Over weight!

During the winter months, 88,900 pounds is legal for these 18-wheel rigs. They get a 10 percent gross weight bonus. But we were 1,000 pounds too much so Schweinfurter cranked the big Eagle back to the wet mash dock at Bushmills. The guy running the JCB loader rig already knew we were returning (apparently the scale guy let him know he had overloaded our rig.)

Two small scoops off the top of the Trail King and we returned again to the scale. This time the scale read 88,200. We were street legal and ready to get this 27.7 tons of wet mash delivered to Revier Feedlots, 7 miles south of Olivia.

At 9:30, Schweinfurter pulled the 18-wheeler into the yard, backed up to the bunker silo, parked the semi, pulled a couple of hydraulic levers at the rear of the trailer and about 6 minutes later, all the wet mash was deposited on the floor of the bunker silo.

After a quick stop for coffee, Schweinfurter was on his way to Bushmills for another load.

The journey begins

This was a fun experience for me. I’ve written much about the booming ethanol industry over the years, but have never had an “on-board” ride with 27.7 tons of modified wet mash en route to a Minnesota feedlot. Here’s my journal of that day.

This International Eagle equipped with air ride suspension is comfortable. It sports a Cummins diesel engine; at 1,500 revolutions per minute we’re cruising down the highway about 62 miles per hours — about 2 mph over the limit but Jim said that seems standard these days. The morning sun sparkled off the aluminum Trail King live-bottom trailer as we left Olivia. It takes about $60,000 to get a Trail King but what a rig, especially for fast unloading bulk products, wet mash in particular.

Schweinfurter drives the county blacktops when empty to Bushmills. He goes the U.S. highways — 12, 23 beltline around Willmar, then 71 south to Olivia — when his rig is loaded. “Fewer turns on the big highways and if the traffic is flowing right, sometimes only one stop once we leave,” he said. Over-the-road drivers get specific on how to get “maximum efficiency” out of their rigs.

Open roads

This morning the roads were clear, traffic was light and the sun was just breaking over the eastern horizon as we headed north on County 14 out of Olivia. Having turned east on County 11, we stopped for the blinking lights of a school bus. (A mom was speeding her car down their half-mile-long driveway to deliver her late kids.)

“First time I’ve had to stop for a school bus since we started hauling last October,” said Schweinfurter, who also told me that frost heaves were beginning on some of those county blacktops. Truckers seem to know exactly where each bump is located. But those air-ride seats sucked out the bumps wonderfully well.

The Reviers had been feeding seven loads of this modified wet mash until quite a few fat cattle departed the feedlot just recently; Schweinfurter is down to four trips per week now. Passing Lake Lillian and the Old Country Winery at 7:48 am, we had only seen four pheasants so far. “Earlier this winter I’d count 20 to 30 birds just in a two-mile stretch along the Lake Lillian roadway.”

The fields are bare so pheasants aren’t having any problem finding salvage corn. With the heavy harvests last fall, virtually no fall rain and little snow this winter, we both comment that some heavy spring rains are needed or 2008 could be a starting out droughty.

Over weight

It’s 8 a.m. and we turn east onto Highway 12. About two miles away, steam clouds from the Bushmills plant are filling the eastern skies. At 8:06 Jim wheels the 18-wheeler into the facility. A quick empty scale reading (32,700 pounds) and we’re at the wet mash dock. Fourteen dumps later, he’s loaded and heading for the scales again. Bingo. The scale reads 89,860 pounds. Schweinfurter mutters, “We’re about 1,000 pounds too heavy.” We turn around and head back to the wet mash dock. He hadn’t yet turned on the electric tarp roller; he doesn’t do that until he’s legal and heading for the highway.

Running with 27 to 28 tons of wet mash gets the turbo chargers blowing. Schweinfurter nursed the loaded truck through the five gears of the lower range, then triggered the transmission into high range. In just a few minutes, this 88,000-pound load was cruising in gear 10 at 1,500 rpm and 62 mph. We slowed to 50 mph through quiet, little Kandiyohi, then a few minutes later slowed to 40 mph coming into the east side of Willmar. Next was a left turn leaving Highway 12, and dropping down on bypass Highway 23.

Back up to speed

About 3 miles later Jim down-shifted and departed Highway 23 for a circular turn up on to Highway 71. There was no traffic so we were soon again rolling 62 mph heading south to Olivia. As a matter of fact, on a couple of slight downhill runs, that big rig nudged right up to 65 mph. “With this much weight, just a little downhill and she’ll get rolling on you,” Schweinfurter said. His biggest highway concern: drivers jabbering away on their cell phones and not always paying strict attention to their driving.

Coming up Harry’s Corner at the intersection of Highways 7 and 71, an 18-wheeler was coming from the East so Jim slowed because he figured that westbound 18-wheeler would trigger the green to red. And it did; so finally, the first stop since leaving Bushmill 20 minutes earlier. The next stop was at the Highways 71 and 212 intersection, 1 mile west of Olivia. At 9:32 we pulled into the yard at Revier Feedlots; a 2-hour turnaround time from farm to ethanol plant and back to farm, an 88-mile round-trip run.

There are two CB radios on the truck; one for talk back to the feedlot; the second for Channel 56 talk with the scale man at Bushmills. There’s a good AM/FM radio in this Eagle, and air seats with armrests. Power steering of course. Schweinfurter said he quit smoking about 25 years ago, but I noticed Grizzly Mint chewing tobacco in the cup holder just alongside his right knee. “Still doing some of this stuff and I really don’t know why.”

        

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