Physical strength?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by sadears, Jan 31, 2010.

  1. sadears

    sadears Bobtail Member

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    Jan 24, 2010
    Colorado Springs, CO
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    Big Don,

    When I said I just want to drive, I was including the other stuff included in driving. I don't want to load/unload, but know I will.

    Oh, and I am SA Dears, though many ask 'what does sad ears mean?'

    And..."A house without a dog is not a home!" is sooooo true, which is why I want a company with a pet policy! :yes2557:

    Steph
     
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  3. sadears

    sadears Bobtail Member

    18
    1
    Jan 24, 2010
    Colorado Springs, CO
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    Lavender.

    Well, though I may not look it, I'm in decent shape. In 08 I went on a month and a half long road trip all over (just me and my dog) camping, from Colorado to Union, IL, to Santa Monica, to WA. Set up and broke down my camp every 2-3 days. I hadn't camped since I was a girl scout and NEVER in a tent. As for working in the snow, I live in CO, and shovel my own snow. Hell, I take Josie to the dog park in 9 degree weather! :biggrin_25526: I've camped in freezing weather and lived to tell about it. Not worried about that aspect of the job.
     
  4. sadears

    sadears Bobtail Member

    18
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    Jan 24, 2010
    Colorado Springs, CO
    0
    Well, looks like I may have to put my plans on hold. Con-Way is only hiring student husband/wife teams. May go back to other companies and see what disqualified me.
     
  5. Lil'Devil

    Lil'Devil Heavy Load Member

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    Jan 1, 2007
    Great White North
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    how come everyone is so short:biggrin_25523:, i am 5,8 and have bigger biceps than some men:biggrin_25523:

    these new trucks today are so easy to drive that anyone can drive them, when i started out i had an old cabover with no power steering, I had some really strong arms from pulling myself into it and trying to manouver it,

    i have also done flatbed work too, most of the time you don`t have to lift the tarps, but it does require physical work, it does help to be strong, but hauling vans reqires almost no effort at all
     
  6. phroziac

    phroziac Road Train Member

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    Jun 16, 2009
    Gary, IN
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    EVEN if you had 100% no touch freight, if you go to canada, you're at the mercy of us customs/us border patrol/canada customs/canada border services...they can force you to unload your entire trailer, and open every single box in it....and guess who does all the work? you.

    happened to my grandpa once. but honestly he smarted off to customs.
     
  7. Lil'Devil

    Lil'Devil Heavy Load Member

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    Great White North
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    yeah no shame in asking for help, I have had to ask for help in the past and have also lent a hand, but just don`t go around expecting a man to always be around to help you, learn to do it on your own, I have seen my share of fellow females drivers who don`t care to learn to do things, they just expect a nice man to always come to their rescue, and one day there won`t be a nice man around to help
     
  8. Lil'Devil

    Lil'Devil Heavy Load Member

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    Jan 1, 2007
    Great White North
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    Yes there are those kinds of jobs that require this, my first job required us to be able to lift at least 75 lbs as we had to hand bomb trailers, and a lot of that stuff was really heavy, 75 to 150 lbs
     
  9. phroziac

    phroziac Road Train Member

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    Gary, IN
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    you hauled bombs?
     
  10. Big Don

    Big Don "Old Fart"

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    Sep 8, 2007
    Utah's DIXIE!
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    Of course not. She BLEW UP trailers!:biggrin_2559:
     
  11. Trucked Up

    Trucked Up Light Load Member

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    Oct 18, 2008
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    No argument there. What I said was a bit tongue-in-cheek, though I think it is true that the majority of the problems you're going to have in a standard dry-van OTR job will involve the trailer tandems.

    And if you're having problems getting the tandems to slide, then presumably you're either already at or on your way to a truck stop, because that's where the scale's going to be, most of the time.

    There will be times that you're alone and face a problem you can't fix -- but I don't think that you'll often face a problem that brute strength would otherwise solve. Landing gear can occasionally be difficult, but I can count on one set of fingers the number of times I couldn't wind the thing in low gear, and almost all of my loads were 40k+ lbs, which was unusual at least at my company.

    As for unloading, well, that's just life. I've seen truckers who are far older and seemingly out of shape than the OP sounds have to grumble their way through an unload. And again, while unloading can be very sweaty work, it isn't always a matter of strength. When it is, even the most dispassionate union guy would probably rather help than watch a 50-year-old woman struggle through it by herself.

    Or maybe my relatively scant experience is misleading.

    Depending on the job, unloading can be a rare event, anyway. You're definitely right that a woman driver shouldn't play the damsel-in-distress card all the time; she should make an effort to know what she's doing -- but like it or not, there is a gender gap in the industry that, I think, plays largely in the OP's favor (at least as far as her concerns here relate).

    Sorry for rambling. I wish the OP luck, and it's always nice to see more women on the road. :)
     
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