First Employer After Obtaining CDL

That was an awesome post, and on Halloween too

 

You could have at least waited until the one year anniversary to post this!

 

You've probably noticed that there are many people in truck that are unhappy, or too lazy to do manual labor, or trying to escape being homeless. Some of us actually enjoy the job. Some of us are actually doing exactly what we want to do. Just letting you know that, because some "drivers" would have you believe that we are all losers. I assure you, this is not the case.

Forget about your first employer...what is it that you want to do? I started out local. Local is a job. I made money at it, but I wanted to truck. I used to pick up cooking oil in a single screw daycab for the Foodservice outfit I drove for. Had all of these large cars backed in, and the drivers pulling the freight across country. I wanted to hit the road, I wanted to be gone, I wanted life on the bigroad. So I went.
What is it that you want? Just a job? Go drive local. Start off local. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to start out OTR if your goal is to be local. Only the people with no ambition and drive have to do that.

You mentioned big shines trucks. I like big shines trucks too. When I got back on the road, I was a company driver for 1 year, pulling flatbed. The goal was to by my dream rig ASAP. I saw it in Wisconsin. I had only been back for 6 months. Tried to get financing, but the economy was hell in 07. Lost it. Fine. Plan B: Run hard, bank the money, screw the financial institutions and pay cash for a truck.

Stayed in Canada for most of 2008, dismal in the winters, but it lined the bank account enough for me to buy a truck outright. That was an education. The drivers in northern Canada and the territories are about as rugged a people that you can find. The trucks, the loads, the steep grades, the freakin blizzards. You hear these guys in the States whine and whimper every time the get a listening ear. I remember seeing that Flying J in Grassland,AB after dropping a superload in Conklin. The snow blowing so hard that it's dark outside at noon. Trucks sitting outside idling with marker lights on so that other drivers attempting to park can see you. Temps around -50. Brutal is an understatement. Walk inside to get hot food with a fork. Everyone's in a good mood. No whining. Even had a cute waitress. When is the last time you were happy to eat with a fork at a FlyingJ?

I pull big loads. It's what I want to do. But that means that I go to places that don't have a name, just a map coordinate. Nearest town can be 100 miles away. It's a funny thing...every time I go sit in a restaurant, I meet a heavyhauler. No, not one of those BS guys that brags about grossing 150000lbs on a 5 axle flatbed and running around the scales, a real heavyhauler. I now know why they are always in the restaurant sitting and eating...poor guys been waiting a week to load in some dirt field for days and is tired of eating in his truck.

So, what is it that you want to do, hand? I stay out for months at a time, but I go home a month at a time. Normally, I work 8 months a year. But it's what I want to do. What's your goal? I drive the truck I want, I pull the freight I want, I make the money I want, I do the tourist thing (rent cars and motorcycles) when I want, I go home when I want. But what about you...what do you want?

I'll meet new drivers all the time, and they see my truck, ask me how long I'd been with the company, and how to make money here. I tell drivers that the most valuable thing you have is your name. No matter what you want in life, you're not going to get it unless you make a good name for yourself. That fat guy walking around in public with sweat pants, stained wifebeater and flip flops, smelling like an unwashed arse...you know what his name is. They call him Stank. Everyone in the office knows him. You say "Jack Spratt", they say,"Who?" You say, "Stank." And everyone says , "Oh yeah. The residual effects of his last visit lingered for days." Doesn't matter how well he does his job, he has a bad name. He's bad for business, but they keep him around because he shows up to work every day, which seems to be a rarity nowadays.

There are so many crappy drivers nowadays that of you do apply yourself to being good at the job that it's actually easy to elevate yourself and stand out. If you have a good name, everyone in the office knows who you are. Your dispatcher goes on vacation, the substitute was given instructions to keep you happy.

Most people, however seem to be predisposed to be slackers. Had a driver that got a good paying load, first thing he does is start slacking. As soon as the money hits the bank,.....slacker mode initiated. Knocking down fences, running over cars, hitting stuff...sure signs of slacking. Those altercations on the fuel island, caused by a slacker who was trained by a slacker who was trained by an idiot. Slackers can only see today, it takes too much effort to plan for tomorrow. That's why the abandon their trucks, park for hours on fuel islands, run out of fuel, steal, close down a bar stupid drunk at 3am and have to get up and drive at 6.

1 year goes by quickly if you're diligent and busy. It drags on if you're a slacker. If you see yourself encampedn all side by slackers, you need to relocate.

 

.........

 

This is probably the best reply to a question I have ever read on here. You nailed it

 

What's actually most important is choosing a company that lets you stay with a trainer for the longest period of time. New drivers should stay far away from companies that say two with a trainer and then 30000 with an untrained guy just like them. That's really what's going on out here.

 

I currently work retail. I have helped unload trucks that were both LTL and OTR. These drivers were NOT lazy or slackers in any shape, manner, or form whatsoever.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

Oh YPB! BTDT and did NOT like it.