Lease Roads

[msommers]

I didn't know where to put this...

Anyways, I was wondering what the condition of lease roads are. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'm using the right terminology. The road I'm referring to is the road that goes off the highway to where the rig would be set up.

In the winter, are these generally packed down pretty well since the semi trucks need to get in there with all the rig pieces and what not? In the summer, they're probably bumpy dirty roads?

Reason I ask is because I wonder if there is actually a need for an SUV/Truck to access these and if it has to be 4x4 or if a car that isn't lowered will do.

[heavyfuel]

Yes it is the right terminology. You don't want to be anywhere near a lease road without a serious 4x4 this time of year! Most rigs fire back up late May early June, depending on whether they can get the trucks and equipment in and out.

[SKR]

» Click image for larger version

If you're going to go in with a car, it better not be one you like.

For the most part lease roads are passable with a car or two wheel drive truck. But all it takes is a few tenths of rain and some trucks bringing in casing, or barite, or cementers, and it can be fucked. Then you'll either have to walk out, hitch a ride, get your car dragged out with a Cat, or wait until it dries up.

If I had to take my own vehicle in there it would be a 4x4. If I didn't have one, I'd buy one. It doesn't have to be pretty but it should be able to survive being dragged for half a mile or more.

[rojhero]

Not to sound all smart, but it really depends where you go. Are you talking about shallow wells on farm land within a few hundred kms of Calgary? I'll assume so. If you go anywhere further or on a lot of dirt roads, the answer is pretty obvious.

Generally, I'd say you can probably use a car. However, in the summer the roads can be extremely rutted and you won't be able to drive without enough clearance. If it gets wet, 4x4 and good mud tires are necessary. Even then you might get stuck.

In the winter, the roads are again generally passable, but with all the freeze/thaw cycles we have, you'll have to deal with ground clearance and traction issues again.

In my opinion, you're better off with a truck. It's not so much the traction you need, but the ground clearance.

[kaput]

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[J-hop]

I wouldn't use a car at all. Even if the road is well kept, generally with a lot of heavy traffic you'll get washboard developing which isn't a lot of fun even in a truck and will definitely take a toll on your car. A lot of lease roads aren't really maintained that well (by city slicker standards) and all it takes is one low spot with water collecting for you to have to walk to work.

All that aside though, you are probably going to get verballed hard by the rig hands if you show up in your g35

[msommers]

DEFINITELY would not show up in a G35. I was thinking about a Subaru but that idea is now getting tossed out the window lol. Just hoping for something economical to drive out to site. The drive is about 950km, one way...Work wouldn't start until Sept and would go until late March.

[Unknown303]

Rent a truck. Always the best option. get all the insurance and you're good to go. Did this for a few years while working O&G and really it's the best option, you can use your own vehicle but the wear and tear is definitely accelerated.

[Rat Fink]

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[J-hop]

where abouts are you going? northern alberta/sask? I was out in northern sask a couple summers ago and the soil there is very sandy so the roads had to be watered every day or else you could barely drive on them even with the big diesel truck we were using. Maybe see what some of the other guys drive but I have a feeling you will want a truck.

might want to look into a late 90s f150 or something? the 4.6 is ok on gas, bullet proof and they can be had for around 2-5k. just an idea.

[msommers]

Peace River. Shift rotation of 3 on, 1 off.

I thought about leasing actually but I can quickly see myself going over Km's and getting nailed by the dealer. Renting could be pretty expensive too, no? I mean I could write all that off as it's a business expense but still it seems like a lot of money. How much were you racking up, Unknown?

Truth be told, I'd love to be able to keep my car so leasing or renting would be very ideal if the cost isn't insane.

Edit: I just checked National for their preium truck (which is cheaper than their standard for some reason) and for that time frame with insurance, it's 16,500. Km given wouldn't be an issue. Still, that's a lot of cash that is quasi being tossed out. Even if I could buy a 15,000 vehicle, at least I could get say half that back and still write off the initial...

[Sdeibert]

My brother in law just sold his 2006 f350 for 20,000. So you should be able to get a decent used truck instead of throwing away your money on a rental. Lots of rig guys selling this time of year, either getting a new model or broke lol.

[Supa Dexta]

Meh most of the ones I go to over the yrs a car could get to.. Only a handful have needed 4x4 and of those nothing that serious.

I do a lot of pad work tho..

Would I take a car? No way.

[johnboy27]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
Meh most of the ones I go to over the yrs a car could get to.. Only a handful have needed 4x4 and of those nothing that serious.

I do a lot of pad work tho..

Would I take a car? No way.

I agree, we use a 2 wheel drive crew van to gwet our guys in and out of all locations and I have only ever seen it stuck twice. once was in deep snow on location because they were burying lease to slow melting and once was last spring on a flooded lease road. Other than that there really hasn't been too many places that cars couldn't go.
Last week we were in Swan hills and one of the engineers from the oil comapny came out in a rental Ford Edge to our sink hole of a location with no issues what so ever.

[chathamf]

I used an old Integra all winter as my rig vehicle, and I did okay actually no problems at all. It would have been a different story if I was still doing it when things got muddy though. If you are accessing these sites, you must be making okay dough, just buy a beater 4x4.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by msommers
Peace River. Shift rotation of 3 on, 1 off.

I thought about leasing actually but I can quickly see myself going over Km's and getting nailed by the dealer. Renting could be pretty expensive too, no? I mean I could write all that off as it's a business expense but still it seems like a lot of money. How much were you racking up, Unknown?

Truth be told, I'd love to be able to keep my car so leasing or renting would be very ideal if the cost isn't insane.

Edit: I just checked National for their preium truck (which is cheaper than their standard for some reason) and for that time frame with insurance, it's 16,500. Km given wouldn't be an issue. Still, that's a lot of cash that is quasi being tossed out. Even if I could buy a 15,000 vehicle, at least I could get say half that back and still write off the initial...

I know the peace area and actually haven't seen to many bad roads in that neck of the woods for some reason.. Even if you got a cheap ranger with 4x4 and decent tires it would at least give you a more expendable vehicle for use out there. The major roads to sites north or Peace River are pretty good well tracked roads. The majority of the time I worked up there is would only be for a few days at a time so I would fly and get a rental from the airport, however through my work they always covered the cost of rentals so the expense was never out of my pocket.

If your company requires that you get out there on your own time and budget then I'd probably look for a smaller 4x4 that you could outfit for that reason. Like the Ranger suggestion above, then at least you have something a little more capable offroad or at least on poor roads. I always had a pretty standard half tonne pickup with regular tires and didn't have a hard time up there.

[realazy]

It depends if they're gas wells or oil wells. If it's an oil battery, the oil probably gets trucked out so the roads have to be decent for the truckers to drive in everyday.

You're a geologist though right? So you would most likely be there during drilling. If the drilling rig can get in, the roads have got to be quite decent. However, I would still recommend a truck just for ground clearance.

[ExtraSlow]

I'm a drilling engineer, and the company pays for my rental and fuel, so I always try to get the biggest thing they can find me. Yukon or Expedition is my preferred choice. I rented a KIA SUV once, and I wasn't happy with it. The larger vehicle handles those bad roads much better.

If I had to take my own vehcile, it would be a half ton pickup. Buy something used, there are lots out there for 10-20k that are pretty reasonable. Make sure you have good tires.
In the end, the repairs and frustration of a low clearance vehcile aren't worth the few bucks you'll save in fuel.

[Feruk]

I visit my field (oil & gas) once a week. Should've taken a pic when I was out yesterday. I'm around Innisfail, and a truck ain't getting into the lease, much less anything else.

I remember a few years ago I was working in Saskatchewan (in June following some rain storms) and the stupid company rented me a car instead of a truck. Blew the transmission apart getting into the lease.

[winson2001]

if u can tell me the exact location of the site like lsd-sec-twp-rge-WXM or coords of any system (even a LOC # or plan # of the site), I can prolly tell you what to expect (if my company had work close by). I'm a newbie draftmen in a survey company, n a lot fo time I draft up access methods of sites.