What makes you feel like a bad ### in trucking?

Epic.

 

Handing out Plan-B like skittles to Lot Lizards has to be the highlight of my career...

 

Oh, that was $1000 permit easy

 

Every time I pull on those finger-less driving gloves.

 

I just did a run. Final customer was shut down because they didn’t have this pallet(four barrels) of chemicals. Boss agreed to push it for them. Bypass the distributor. Deliver directly to customer. He wrote out estimates of time. Gave shipper a link she could track me. I pushed for three days. Told boss he was slipping on estimates first day. He was off by one minute on my arrival first day. Third day had to start driving 2am. I arrived in Manassas Virginia at 8:33 am. 3 minutes behind bosses estimate. Guys were hanging out the dock door. Waving at me. Back in here.
Everyone, even an hour later at the distributor. They treated me like a hero.

 

What makes me feel like a bad ### in trucking? Hmmmmm.....

1. Being able to pick up and deliver loads in snowstorms.

2. Delivering a 700 to 900 mile the next day after pickup.

3. Knowing how to use my clock to keep availability.

4. Having polished rims and a clean truck after going to the truck wash.

5. A willingness to run a load anytime, any place, anywhere, any weather condition.

6. Being able to back into places with ease where others may struggle.

7. Having a career that allows me to take care of my wife and kids, sometimes a mistress or 2. Lol

8. Feeling fulfilled in an industry full of racists and drivers that complain about every little thing. I see the good in trucking. Many do not.

None of those are in any particular order, but I'm glad I have many ways in which I cam be a self-proclaimed bad ### in trucking. I could think of more, but I don't want to get to egotistical lol. I'm just glad that I've developed enough experience and trucking wisdom to pass on to the less experienced, to give back.

 

Yea, yea, that's what you're doing, listening to audiobooks. Sure.

 

I think for me the best part of trucking is first thing in the morning pulling out. I’ve been driving for around 8 years and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad morning.

I love the little things. I drive New England always and I love the old family farms of Vermont, seeing the ladies with their old fashioned hats while they have tea in the town common, having a car pass me and the kids pumping their fist out the window for me to honk, stopping to check my straps by a rushing river and taking a few minutes to walk down to it and just enjoy it, riding through the quaint little towns with my windows down, having pedestrians wave at me when I stop for them at a crosswalk, jaking down a long winding hill, trying to be courteous to all the bicyclists in the area when I pass them, (I admit sometimes they frustrate me though) and finally just the satisfaction of knowing I did my little part for the day safely, and returned my equipment with no damage.

 

My first blind side back into a dock took me a total of 45 seconds from setup to the dock no pullup. (Pure feeling and mirrors, I was NOT taught how to do this). Normally Id goal but I was so nervous, I forgot, and it went perfect.

Meanwhile, my driver side backs still took 3/4 minutes somehow back then . Id have to say I was not trained in a way that was right (for me)

To this day Im STILL way faster and accurate at blind side backs, makes no sense to me