How many of you have trucking in your blood?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by SodaDriver, Nov 23, 2014.

  1. SodaDriver

    SodaDriver Light Load Member

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    Sep 13, 2014
    Michigan
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    I was cleaning out a drawer the other day and found a couple of pics from my childhood. I am a third generation truck driver and have been around trucks since I was old enough to walk. My grandpa(dad's dad) drove his whole career for Blue Arrow Trucking(long out of business now). My dad drove tanker part-time for almost 20 years hauling raw milk from a transfer site for local farm pick up guys to a dairy. For almost my entire childhood my dad worked his normal 40+ hour work week job Mon-Fri then drove truck every Saturday. Due to the fact that his normal job was always a second shift job we never got much time together, so Saturdays were our time and I always looked forward to riding "shotgun" with him every Saturday. This was our routine from the time I was 4 years old until my teenage years. From my first ride in that "big truck" I was hooked and knew that is what I wanted to do in life. I didn't realize it at the time, but I know now that my dad drove probably one of the most difficult trucks(tanker/doubles without baffles) there was to drive out there on the road. Especially up here during the Michigan winters. I will always respect and admire him for that and his very strong work ethic. Just thought I would share my story and a couple of pics.

    My grandpas truck

    Granpa_truck[1].jpg

    Me as a young whipper
    Jeff[1].jpg

    Me couple years later
    Scan[1].jpg

    Even later
    Scan3[1].jpg
     

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  3. Giggles the Original

    Giggles the Original Road Train Member

    i wanted to drive since i was a little girl...and in 1991 began doing just that.....sadly my health forced me to retire last year. i miss it tho. but yes it is still in my blood., guess it always will be...but i got to do it for 22 years accident free first.... :)
     
  4. Dr_Fandango44

    Dr_Fandango44 Road Train Member

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    Aug 27, 2012
    Austin, TX
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    I never did know that truck driving was in my blood til I got behind the wheel.
    No way I thought I would end up trucking down the highway.
    But to me driving a truck is a privilege not just a skill.
    Its part science.......part art form.
    My truck is part of me, a symbiotic relationship which keeps safe and sane.
    I love it all.
    But stop bugging me, just let me drive.
    2 million plus miles is the reward.

    Love those old trucks....thanks
     
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  5. wore out

    wore out Numbered Classic

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    Jun 5, 2013
    CHASIN THE DEVIL'S HERD
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    I guess you could say its in my blood. My Dad was a coal bucket Outlaw, had his own shop as well that he kept others running out of. His brother was my other hero a Bullhauler/Chickenhauler. My Moms brother was a Chickenhauler. I thought those three men walked on water. I really had no choice.
     
  6. scottied67

    scottied67 Road Train Member

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    Mar 14, 2010
    california norte
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    My dad owned his own welding shop when I was a kid. The shop was basically separated in half, in the back was a truck repair shop. I was in the 3rd and 4th grade, used to go out and play in between all the trucks and sometimes crawled up and sat in them. I remember in high school most of the kids were starting to get their cars to drive to school, I wanted a Peterbilt to drive to school lol. Little did I know til I got my CDL about truck routes and road weight limits etc. I drive by the old school sometimes and have a little laugh at myself now.
     
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  7. joseph1135

    joseph1135 Papa Murphy

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    Nov 8, 2009
    The Highway To Hell.
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    I love trucking. Love it love it love it. Diesel running through my veins. Tempered with DEF.
     
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  8. Giggles the Original

    Giggles the Original Road Train Member

    new breed....LMAO... with your DEF.....




    :biggrin_25522: KIDDING>..i know you can handle it
     
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  9. lostcauz

    lostcauz Bobtail Member

    27
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    Nov 10, 2014
    TN
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    Yeah, trucking is in my blood. I'm also a third generation trucker.


    The summer before my senior year in high school, my dad asked if I wanted to ride with him for the summer where he would teach me to drive. I enthusiastically agreed and off we went. Those three months were an interesting adventure and heavily influenced my future as a trucker. The truck was a '79 Kenworth with a 5x4 transmission. This two gearshift contraption was mind-blowing for a seventeen year old with barely any experience with a car and none with a big truck. I eventually got the hang of the two sticks, although dad would only allow me to drive in 5th and 2nd. I had lots of fun imagining how cool I must look sitting behind the wheel.


    At some point during the summer my dad woke me to show me something. I assumed it was a nice mountainous terrain with a view or a vast desert expanse. I crawled to the front and he simply said, "Check out this Corvette!" About that time a beautiful car with a gorgeous NAKED lady in the passenger seat slowly passed by us. I won't detail the scenario anymore than that here, but let's just say, as a seventeen year old, I was impressed!


    There were many other fun and exciting days. Such as the time we were at a truck stop in Cali and I swore this guy was David Lee Roth, the lead singer for Van Halen at the time. He was on a tough looking Harley with a blonde on the back. As he left he pointed at me and gave a thumbs up. I pestered dad for two or three days afterward, recanting that moment back to him, perhaps trying to verify what had happened in both our minds.


    I drove for twelve years over the road and have been away from trucking for about fifteen now. I owned two otr trucks during that time and one dump. Lately I still feel the pull to get back on the open road. Buy another truck and trailer, get my own authority, haul some short freight for decent rates... Trust me, it's an ongoing internal battle. My wife isn't on board with the idea just yet, but you never know what the future holds.


    Keep yer knees in the breeze and yer chin in the wind, get on o'er yonder so you can do it again.
     
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  10. canadianredneck

    canadianredneck Light Load Member

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    Jul 26, 2012
    Western Arkansas
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    Looks like a couplea 306 trailers. I ran them in Utah a few years ago, as far as the cabovers, Hell yeah, I still run one to this day. 85 FLT 3406B 13 speed (best motor ever) nothin rolls coal like a B model.
    Thanks for the vintage pics
     
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