Home ec...the horror of it all! LOL At least you had a family that went camping! You got to see a tree now and then. We did have really big park in Newark with a real pretty cherry blossom display,and Sacred Heart Cathedral in it. You can see the cathedral's spires in the opening shots of 'The Sopranos'. That show ain't making nuttin' up about Italian life back there...and it was the same when I was growing up...you tawkin ta me?? hahaha

I sat here & read every post on this thread... I wanted to see what others had to say about your question before I replied to.

Why am I a truck driver? Why do I continue to be a truck driver? Because honestly.... What the hell else am I going to do?

#1) I'm a high school drop out. I know, bad choice on my end.

#2) I have 2 little kids at home that depend on me to make sure they are fed, clothed, & sheltered.


So what other choices do I have? Work at McDonald's for minimum wage? That ain't going to pay the bills & I'm to damn proud to go on welfare to support my children.

Do I hate trucking? YES

Do I love trucking? YES

I love trucking because I've always wanted to drive a truck since I was a young boy... I think around 5 years old. So you can say that I'm living my dream. It's my job... It's really the only thing I know how to do & do well. I love to drive... I also love to tell stories of the places I've been & things I've seen.

I hate trucking only because of the lack of the social life & family life. It ruined my marriage.... It ruined friendships... And to be honest with you... I wonder sometimes of what my children think of me.

I have quit trucking twice... The first rime in Sept. of 03. Sold my truck & drove for a local construction company until Nov. of 04. It wasn't paying the bills, So back into a truck I went running regional. I also just quit this past May... That time it was over a Woman... She refused to marry me. I thought it was the truck. So I quit so I can be with her. It didn't take me long to realize that it wasn't the truck, it was actually me & my lack of social skills (I'm guessing that comes from being confined in a truck practically 24/7). Depression set in... So I refused to go back into a truck. Condemned trucking all together... Trucking is for losers. I am not a loser... So I was going to find a real job & be with my kids.

Well.... When I found myself driving an ice cream truck thru neighborhoods for a commission that totaled about $25 to $30 a day.... I started to rethink my trucking career. Of course.... I'm back in a damn truck. But I refused to go back to a company truck. I didn't want to drive a 62 mph & be stuck in that crowd of stupid 4 wheelers who want to do nothing but torment the truck driver... I didn't want to waste a day in a company terminal to have my oil changed... I didn't want to be told where to go... I didn't want to be told where I can & can't fuel... I didn't want to be dispatched on a 800 mile run with a scheduled delivery appointment set for 7 a.m., and you don't get loaded until midnight. I didn't want to be forced into doing something that I didn't want to do.

I wanted freedom again... The freedom of choice that I had when I owned my truck earlier this decade. So, I made an even tougher decision & bought my own truck.

each day is different for me... One day I love it... Then next I hate it... There are many times that I feel both emotions in the same day. Today has definatly been dificult for me... Only because I realized that I haven't seen my kids for 3 weeks... The longest I've been away from them if 6 years. It's tough... It really is. No respect among drivers... No respect among the general public... No courtesy at all... Nothing but trash on the radio...

Yep, I have a extremely secluded life. I don't socialize because of all the trash & negative people I meet... I get depressed enough knowing that I'm away from my kids & hoping that they understand why... I don't need others to drag me down with their ###### attitude as well. Trucking ain't for everyone... I don't even think it is for me. But sometimes a person has to make sacraficed for the ones he loves... Trucking is my sacrafice... I've been in the industry for 10 years now... Haven't ran completely away yet... So I'm guessing I'm here till death do us part... Or until I win the lottery... Which ever comes first.


I know this post has become rather long with worthless words.... I just started typing & couldn't quit...

So to answer your question.... I do it so my kids can have a home, food, clothes, bikes, all the stuff I really couldn't have when I was a child.

Thanks, Redd, for replying. Please don't apologize for "worthless words". There were none. Each word was necessary to convey how you feel about your career.

One comment, though: About your lack of a high school diploma, did you ever consider studying for your GED while on the road? I had a co-worker who could not advance in the workplace due to some learning disabilities and lack of high school education... so another woman and I spent our lunch breaks for the better part of a year working with him and his study guide. And this guy had nowhere near the written and comprehension skills that you have.

I gotta tell you, though. (You'll laugh at the irony.) What did he do? He became a trucker and although we don't keep in touch much anymore, I'm still proud as hell of him. He's doing better than he ever dreamed.

As for all the b/s you drivers put up with, I appreciate it and thank you. Without you folks, this nation would be in a crisis never before experienced.

__________________

Definitely got that one right, Ducks. People forget, or are never given the chance to realize, that this nation's economy rides solely on the tires of it's professional truck drivers. Without us, nothing gets delivered, manufacturing fails, no food in the grocery stores, no fuel in the gas stations. Whenever I encounter an individual who badmouths truckers, I make an effort to educate him/her as to just how important we are to everyone else's quality of life. If you got it, a truck brought it, after all.

No dont join the dark side of the force.......lol

the dark side pays much better and i'd like to use that as a way to get my foot in the door for a sworn position at some point in the future. ^º¿º^

Come to the dark side...We have cookies!

I personally don't know of anything else that will pay a grand a week without a college degree, and from what i have heard from others(im 25, btw) there ain't too many GOOD college jobs out there that pay much more than this anyway.

I just took an OTR job again, after trying to make do with a local job in ny. No money in local, unless you can get on with one of HARD to get on with companies. In this economy, forget it. Where else can you go and make 750-850 a week, take home?

I know if you divide the hours by pay, it still sucks, but last i knew, the steel plants and car factories were not hiring, if they already aren't closed down. So at this point in my life, with bills to pay, and nothing that much better on the marketplace, why not?

I don't think its just drivers unhappy with their jobs, i think its EVERYONE. 14 bucks an hour is the new pay for EVERYTHING. how do you get by on that? OTR, even a regional run with weekends home, definetly sucks, but what else will put that kind of money in your hand at this point? I know of a dog food place that pays 22 an hour, but GOOOOOD luck trying to get in, as the seniority list has people on there that started in the early 70's. And even then, if you work 40 hours a week, what is that, 880 gross, mb a little more if you get a little extra for working nights? Not very much when you consider transportation to work, along with all of the little expenses that add up when you go home every day.


What makes it hard for me, however, is that im 25, and ALL i hear from the older truckers (the EXPERIENCED older truckers) is that they made just as much if not more money, 20 years ago, because the rates have stayed the same.All i hear from drivers at every company that i have been employed at, was how that job USED to be the BEST job, and now it was just another job until something better came along, or until the company went belly up. I have had 3 jobs like this, and it sucks knowing it probably wont ever be as good as it used to, because we have to compete with some mega carrier that wants to slash rates and hire people who dont yet know that it sucks to live in a truck.

So, that is the biggest thing that makes me unhappy about this job. What was a GREAT job some time ago, is just an ok job now, and if everything stays the same, and rates still dont go up, then it will(as it probably already is) turn into a crappy job in the future.

But maybe Good jobs are just a thing of the past anyways.....

Dang, I'm moving to YOUR area. Down here in the NW Keystone, you're LUCKY to pull $8/hr. to start anywhere. Fast food, pumping gas, working factory, all the same. $8/hr. MAYBE $8.50/hr. if you have experience at whatever you're doing.

I thought about doing that... But honestly don't have the time. A couple hours to unload... Drive to my reload.... couple hours to reload.... Drive whatever I have left legally to drive.... Possibly drive some more.... Fuel sometime during the day.... Eat... Shower.... little boys room.... paperwork.... polish my wheels & tanks.....

Then get as much sleep as I possibly can. There isn't much time left to study.


Yesterday was a very emotional day for me... I haven't felt that depressed in a LONG LONG time. I had my kids on my mind & miss them dearly. I was even crying at several different times during the day. Kind of ironic really. You see, my 11 year old daughter was given a tracfone by her grandmother (against my better judgment). Anyhow, I let it slide & thought it would possibly teach her some responsibility with cell phones & the minute associated. At my lowest moment I got a text message from her that simply said HI DADDY! Her & I have been texting each other continuously since. I refuse to buy minutes for that phone... But if she is going to use it to comunicate with me... I'm going to give her as many minutes as she wants.