Talking to truckers at truck stops. Have you done it?

I'd get a whole lot of negativity at the local truck stop, so I just figured I'd better go try it for myself. Some of what I'd been told was true, and other drivers just like to blow smoke out their tailpipe. I had noticed that the biggest complainers were the truck stop heroes, who 'needed' faster trucks just to make up for lost time from all their stops.

 

I went to the truck stops and talked to truckers. I did find it very informative and helpful. Also, it was a good way to see who was or was not moving, how the trucks looked, ow the drivers looked. Somtimes it wasn't so much what the truckers said, but what you saw, what you took in. You look on a companies website and the trucks look great. You go to a truck stop a see a different picture.

 

Yeah, if you're good at reading between the lines, it can be really educational. Personally, I'm terrible with people (probably why I gravitated toward trucking in the first place), so my play was to just go out and start working.

You can easy tell a B.S.er, and if you know what to listen for, you can still get the straight scoop even while they're shoveling ####.

 

It censors out "krap"? WOw... puritanical software.

 

All depends who you talk too,that what it comes too.It can be helpful but not always.It is a start but I think this site should be the best place to do your homework.I always look at it this way,try it for your self,someone's bad experience with a company may not happen to you.Like for me,I drove for werner,read a lot of bad things about them before I started,heck I even cancel orientation 2 times with them.Them I figur what the heck ill give them a try,so I did.It wasnt all that bad,wasnt the greatest experience but it was a job.After all I left due to other reasons not becouse of the company.So it all depends on you and your experience with the company.

 

nahhhhhhh I had two older brothers and 3 friends who've done it. I talked to them.

Besides we're old and grumpy we do what we want no matter what others say. LOL

 

I was never, not even once, approached by any curious wannabe/outsider asking me about trucking, but maybe that's because I worked for Swift lol. Never in the restaurants, in line or even when sitting in the seat at the ts on a break or waiting for a load.

Probably wouldn't do you much good to talk to truckers out there anyways as they will likely either #####, praise or lie lol. Of course, I have asked advice and given advice to fellow truckers and that occurs often. You have to experience it yourself to really know.

If I had to describe an average day, it would probably go something like this. Drop a load off somewhere and go to a ts (hopefully or at least near a shopping center) and get a bite to eat with maybe a pre-plan all ready to go for the next day (if not, hope one comes in the morning) and get a shower if needed and maybe fuel up that night depending on the trip and circumstances (you learn when it's best to fuel and it's not always best to do so first thing in the morning like many will tell you, although more often than not it's good to do because you can get your pre-trip in at the same time, saving you at least 15 min on line 4 but honestly, I never had issues where 15 minutes woulda killed me). Then go back to the truck and play around on the puter or CB for a couple hours and hit the bunk.

Then, wake up, and hopefully accept a load that's gravy and start planning my trip (if I already had a load I would have planned it b4 I played on the puter lol). Then, after figuring out where to stop on the way, or after the drop (whichever is required), I'd take off to go get the load. Then I'd drive whatever the trip required that day and do it all over again.

When freight is running good and you stay moving, it's really sweet. Sitting can be cumbersome, depending on where you're stuck. Sometimes you wanna sit after running hard and that's the best thing about the HOS, the almighty 34.

I've done both, the running hard and managing the hours well so I don't run out and ran over 3,000 legally without a reset ( I personally don't like having days limited though, I'd rather get the reset after a good week). I think it's best, when you can, to run your 3k or so and then reset and hopefully, you'll be able to repeat. It's great when it works out like that but it's not all that often that it does. Don't plan on 3k weeks too often as they just don't happen frequently (especially in Obama's economy). Most weeks were probably around 2,000 give or take a few.

It really sucks when you've only ran say, 20 hours off your 70 and you get stuck somewhere and get an unintended reset. Those really bite. I had a couple weeks there where I'd get 2 in a week lol.

In my experience, usually takes somewhere around 20 hours per thousand miles both line 3 and 4. That includes fueling, pti etc. I can say I never had to touch anything in the trailer, not even once. I did unload once voluntarily, but it was hardly worth it. If you're going to lump loads, drive by the hour, not OTR.

Trucking is a love/hate relationship. Some days you love it and some days you hate it. The big companies tend to swarm drivers into areas that have a lot of freight coming out. Sometimes, they get too many there and you have to sit because there's dozens ahead of you and your 30th in line lol.

OTR companies do everything FIFO (first in, first out) so those that are next in line with available hours will get whatever load that falls in on the computer (your hometime also affects this so the longer you stay out, the better off you are).

I can say I've never had too many issues with Swift as a company. I was treated fairly for the most part, I just got tired of having to go north almost every time I left the house getting stuck up in PA and NJ frequently. That wasn't really a Swift issue though, more of a geographical one (not to mention most long trips going midwest and west are going on the rails because of the shippers choosing to do so I know so because I had to drop several off at railyards) and it occured way more often after Obama took office. I went west several times with Dubyah at the helm but not ONE TIME after Obama got elected. NOT ONCE! That sucks for this driver. But hey, I told everyone this would happen with Obama and I'll be ###### if I'm going to sacrifice for the stupidity of politicians.

I'd recommend Swift to anyone starting out though. The only things that really pissed me off were they started becoming nazi's about sticking to fuel stops and idling. Those were my only real issues with them. In my experience, they don't deserve the rep they get. Maybe in the past they were horrible, I dunno. They didn't lie on my DAC either so that's a plus.

Note: Technically I quit, without notice while under dispatch (long story was leaving house and there was a miscommunication from the weekend dispatcher that basically lied but I'm not going to get into that). I accepted a load under false pretenses by phone and then I found out the real deal and the planners weren't willing to work with me on a t-call, so I cleaned the truck out and drove it to the terminal (The inside was CLEANED VERY WELL btw) and had the discharge papers filled out and truck inspection sheet signed by the night dispatch.

They had plenty of time to get another driver on that load no doubt. So I didn't leave them in a situation where they couldn't take care of their customer but sometimes, enough is enough. They probably could've slapped me with abandonment but they didn't (probably because I really didn't abandon it anyways I just refused it lol).