What Thing(s) Improved Your Trucking Experiences

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by downplay, Feb 8, 2023.

  1. Longarm

    Longarm Road Train Member

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    I quit working for trucking companies.
     
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  3. Jenkins2020

    Jenkins2020 Light Load Member

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    -Switching from OTR to Local (more hometime. better money)
    -podcasts (thought provoking podcasts keep me awake and mentally alert)
    -fixing my own meals instead of eating fast food at truck stops (save money)
    -naps (when I was new, I thought I had to run like a machine, only stopping for the mandatory 30min break. I realized it's OK to take a 1-2hr nap if tired.)
     
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  4. downplay

    downplay Light Load Member

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    Sep 6, 2021
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    YES!!! While I am generally the creative type who will find ways around it, I feel truckers are sort of held hostage by truck stops. Other than highway rest stops and open dirt in many of the western states, the options for parking are generally not good. It is easy to get into trouble looking for creative parking in an unknown area. This funnels us into truck stops which are mostly designed for giant vehicle/trailer combos.

    And as such, most take severe advantage with various prices and charges. Just the ATMs alone are horrible. At best you might pay $4.45 for a $300 withdrawal. But, I’ve seen one machine that charged 8% and another that charged $4.45 for a measly max of $20!!! I’m sure I don’t need to provide more examples because y’all are the choir; but, I consider it terrible treatment of people providing such an important service. Obviously, this country would face an immediate disaster without our services. Yet, hardly anyone but the truck stops who want to rip us off want to support us. They all want their food, vehicles, consumer crap, etcetera; but, they don’t want to support the people who risk their lives daily to make it happen!!!!!!!
     
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  5. downplay

    downplay Light Load Member

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    Much of the food supply is different. And, so are attitudes about eating. I’m just old enough to remember when fast food restaurants were in the minority, soda wasn’t a whole aisle in the grocery, chips weren’t even half an aisle, energy drinks as such didn’t exist, food was less engineered…

    Plus, it wasn’t too many decades ago when many people taught their children to eat 3x a day and that snacking in between was not good. People often ate at a table, often together, and the only thing beside eating might be conversation about the day, etc.

    Now, people eat any time of the day and night, sometimes all day, sometimes mindlessly while performing many other activities, mostly alone, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Portion sizes at restaurants are often anywhere from 2-5x what they were in the past. Many people used to drink water too instead of high calorie drinks. The way people eat and drink now is almost incomparable to what was most common 50 years ago +/-.
     
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  6. Ex-Trucker Alex

    Ex-Trucker Alex Road Train Member

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    Sadly, this is the truth. Stay in the business just long enough to get ahead a bit financially, then make your move and leave the trucking business behind!
     
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  7. Dave_in_AZ

    Dave_in_AZ Road Train Member

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    Casey's had a pepperoni pizza right out of the oven about 1100 when we stopped for our 30.

    It was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.

    This greatly improved our trucking experience.
     
  8. downplay

    downplay Light Load Member

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    Casey’s does have surprisingly good pizza for a fuel station/convenience store! :)
     
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  9. downplay

    downplay Light Load Member

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    So, where did you go after trucking?
     
  10. rockeee

    rockeee Medium Load Member

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    Don't know about Longarm but in my case I went from a mega, J.B. Hunt, to a company that did not haul general freight but still has trucks to haul their own product. Same with the next three I worked for. So my last job working for a transportation company was in 2006. There are many companies out there that utilize their own trucks to move their own product and not general freight and they usually do not have hundreds of trucks, so things are a little more personal and your not just a number.
     
  11. Longarm

    Longarm Road Train Member

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    My response was purposefully open ended. Sorry for the confusion.

    I work for a private fleet like @rockeee. Above average pay, benefits, and, most importantly, I’m treated like a human being.

    My response could mean buying a truck and trailer and doing your own thing. Or it could mean getting the hell out also.

    I’ve only worked for a handful of trucking companies but beyond the name on the door, there wasn’t much difference between them. It wasn’t until I went private fleet, that things noticeably improved for myself.
     
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