In the early days of trucking, there was an etiquette, a camaraderie amongst drivers that all looked after each other, offering help when needed. In today’s trucking industry it often feels as though that loyalty and courtesy to your fellow drivers has been lost, or at a minimum, placed a distant second to the nearly inescapable oversight of the companies, the DOT, and the electronic monitoring systems. Although such devices have their uses, improving compliance and safety, reducing distracted driving and the like, there is an inevitable question to be asked of the value-versus-loss if such measures have discouraged the harmony within the trucking community.
There are, however, sectors of the trucking industry, as well as geographic locations, where that bond amongst drivers still serves as the principle by which trucking gets done. Amongst those places and portions of the trucking industry where etiquette and aid reign above all else is the Haul Road to the oilfields of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The Dalton Highway, spanning from the Minto Turnoff some 70 miles north of Fairbanks, is the beginning of a little over 400-miles of largely unpaved and, in the winter, frozen and snow-packed road supplying Deadhorse, Alaska, and the related oil exploration and drilling activity on the North Slope of Alaska.
With a little over a million miles of trucking behind me and having crossed well over one hundred different mountain grades and passes, from Loveland Pass to the Cumberland Gap, Wolf Creek to Cajon, at times weighing nearly 300,000 pounds, I’m no stranger to mountain trucking, but the Dalton is truly unique. Although I can name a mountain pass or grade in the Lower Forty-Eight that has a twin on the Dalton, what I cannot equate is any road with all the various grades that the Dalton has, almost endlessly, one-after-another. But what makes the Dalton unique is that it is relentless.
Until you reach the “62 Flats” – the last 60 or so miles into Deadhorse – the Haul Road and its terrain do not let up, they do not give up. Even making the Flats is no guarantee of safety. “Blows” and winter storms can make the last few miles into Prudhoe as dangerous as the previous 350 miles. On a road like the Dalton Highway, with incessant, steep grades, blind corners, constantly changing weather and traction situations, etiquette (not just how you carry yourself but how you interact and drive around others) is absolutely critical.
And with a road as severe as the Dalton, even in the best circumstances, bad things can happen. Wrecks happen, burning out, sliding off the road, even deaths. They are all a constant reality of trucking on the Dalton. This highway requires (and attracts) a certain type of driver. Independence and self-reliance are virtual prerequisites to go trucking on the Haul Road. During major storms and on many stretches, if a breakdown occurs, it may be just you who will have to make the choices about repairs, about chaining up, or about whether it’s best to proceed or just park for a while.
For a driver like Brian Vellas of Truck-N-Up, these realities are his daily job description. But that doesn’t mean he can’t do it in style, too. Truck-N-Up of Fairbanks, Alaska is a small, family owned and family oriented trucking outfit led by Bobby and Nora Flowers. Originally from the Carolinas, Bobby and Nora, and their operation, move freight up and down the Dalton in some of the cleanest and nicest rides you’ll see out on the Haul Road.
Brian, one of their company drivers, pushes the 389X Peterbilt seen on these pages, transporting whatever freight is necessary or needed, to the North Slope. Trucking since 1998, Brian Vellas (56) is originally from Rancho Cucamonga, California, and his driving career has included pulling flatbed, refrigerated, RGN, and about everything in between, and he has trucked much of the Lower Forty-Eight, as well. Bobby and Nora originally intended to pass on buying the 2024 Peterbilt 389X seen here, but when Brian agreed to go trucking on the Dalton, they signed on the truck, and Brian has piloted it since day one.
Featuring a high torque 605-hp X15 Cummins, backed by an 18-speed, turning 3.42 cogs, the truck has plenty of power, but tall gears, too (especially for the Haul Road). The truck sits on a 305-inch wheelbase (300-inches and longer is common in Alaska), and it has standard Dalton outfitting like dual 150-gallon fuel tanks, along with a 100-gallon “pony tank” for extra fuel.
Maximizer fenders out back help protect the paint and Protech headache rack, while custom features like an 18-inch boxed-end bumper (yes, it is creased, as the Haul Road isn’t easy on trucks, and especially not chrome), an extended visor, and bullet cab lights, along with the retro-inspired 389X grille and polished fenders, this Peterbilt is about as show-ready as it gets on the Dalton. Other features include a full gauge package (or as full as you can get with the new digital dash), and standard Haul Road radios – both a CB and VHF “Big Radio” are onboard.
And, like any of us who have run on the Dalton, Brian has had good days and bad days. But, also like anyone who has run the Haul Road, even on the bad days, Brian is ready to get back into the saddle and go trucking. Truck-N-Up may not have the fleet size of companies like Alaska West, Lynden, Carlile or STR, but like many of the smaller carriers and lease-operators found on the Dalton, Truck-N-Up also has the service you’d anticipate with a smaller operation. Truck-N-Up, Bobby and Nora Flowers, along with their drivers, mechanics, and personnel aim for a quality of service that matches the quality of their rides.
From bed sheets to groceries, from propane to toilet paper, Deadhorse, Alaska needs all the goods and services any town or city does. But, unlike most others, the highway that services those transports is singular, remote, dangerous and challenging. However, for drivers such as Brian Vellas, Bobby Flowers and many others, that is the draw.
I’d like to thank Bobby and Nora, as well as Brian, and the entire crew at Truck-N-Up for taking the time to get the 389X ready for its photo shoot, especially after recently finishing a major rebuild from the ground-up. It takes money to go trucking, and it takes more to go trucking on the Dalton, so any downtime is major.
Above all else, Bobby and Nora would like to thank and acknowledge their drivers, mechanics and every employee at Truck-N-Up for making their company one of the best small fleets on the Dalton. Brian would like to thank Bobby and Nora for everything Truck-N-Up has given him – namely a clean Haul Road ride from day one! The Dalton may be relentless, but the drivers who run it regularly are up to the task, and possibly even more relentless!