Does anyone still enjoy being a trucker?

Beats getting a real job where I might have to work. Setting the cruise and listening to music for 8 hours on remote highway at night is generally relaxing

 

I think it is more the "young punk" drivers. That think it is all about the money. I'm in my 50s and a new driver. But I drive with respect. Had a driver yesterday on I-80, female, that was in a huge hurry. Holding up traffic to go that 1 MPH more than the next truck. Also had a fool that was always rolling the hills to as fast as they could go to pass trucks. Only to end up being passed by us all on the flats and up hills. Was a serious moron.

That being said. I've also ran into some young kids that are polite and wanting to learn. I helped a new Stevens driver about a month back. He kept accidentally sliding his fifth wheel when he was sliding his tandems. Because when he was watching his trainer he thought he saw him hitting that fifth wheel switch each time. So I was able to help him get it back in place and not use it again. He seemed to have a good work ethic and was respectful.

So really I don't think it is a "now vs then" driver. I think we've got a crap ton of drivers and sadly that means there are going to be a crap ton of both good and bad drivers. Hopefully in time the crap ones will get tired of the gig and move on to something else.

 

Love driving, don't mind getting loaded or unloaded in less than two hours.
Hate waiting five or six hours to get eight pallets off the truck.

 

Driving is fine. The disrespect for the drivers time at the load and unload points really irks me. I always call ahead well before arriving to ensure everyone is ready. Some care, most don’t.
Every truck should have a radio and turned on. It is vital for communication on upcoming road hazards, etc. Yes there can be times where there is a lot of chirping on the radio, I just turn it down for 5mins until I get out of range.

 

I always loved trucks.

I literally flop back and forth, Mega Carrier company? Hated it. Medium Company Co Driver/ Leased O/O Loved it. Contractor 50/50 Love/Hate. Now Turnpike LCV/City, I have arrived.

Like @upnorthwpg , I'm gonna be able to do this 25 years, because of LCV and Hourly Pay. I'm not out on the road long enough to care about truck stops or parking. I have no dispatch, because I'm on a dedicated run. I never hear from anyone, all my paperwork is submitted via an App. Mileage + Hourly and Safety Bonus.

On the downside, I would prob kill myself, before ever going back OTR/Regional by the mile. Or ever had to work a normal 9-5 again, no way I could ever do that now; not with this much freedom.

 

I've been doing it on and off since 2013. The most I've ever done it was 6 months straight and then I had to get away from it, but I always come back to it. I'm overseas right now and am planning on a comeback for the summer driving season as soon as I get some immigration stuff taken care of in the country I'm an expat in.

In my case, I get burned out dealing with the hassles of the job, which will wear you down over time. Kind of like being cut a thousand times while being tortured. I've always said that driving the truck is the easy part.

 

What took you so long? Lol, I stopped playing "full time" 15 years ago, I made WAY more money playing in the 80's and early 90's than I ever did after 2000. I'm 58 and miss it, but I'm a road pig so this works for that.
You can make a decent living if you run fairly hard, try to specialize, get your license then figure out flat deck or car hauling if you have the body for it.
Good luck! Maybe we can start a "truckers band" lol
EDIT; I'm ki d of amazed at some of the responses on here. A lot of people are working for the wrong company. I started as a company driver and quickly bought a truck. Worked for 1 company and dispatch was a nightmare, switched and for the most part, it's great over here. MOST of our work is drop and hook, no loading, so it's easy to make miles. Traffic sucks and there are lots of idiots out here but if you run a little slower and dont spend your day freaking out about getting every last mile, you can stay in the right lane and let everybody pass you by. I run a couple mph under the posted limit most of the time and it's way less stressful at the end of the day, and my fuel bill gets smaller. Some days you dont have that luxury, those days can suck. It will all be what you make of it.

 

The young East Indians run hard and make good bucks at long haul. Return for a36 and back out. But that is slavery. I like long haul but hard to find a good carrier. They want 14 000 miles a month. No thanks. I think the worst part of one haul is finding a place to park. Stressful

 

No

 

They run so hard, they either crash, develop chronic fatigue or have a stroke/heart attack. @Canadianhauler21 mentioned he knows young guys who have had strokes/heart attacks. Just today, I heard about a kid that I was at Bison with, he just had a stroke in the sleeper in PA. 26 years old, might not make it.