Old School Trucking vs. New School Trucking

Stump, I see you have 9 years going, Its a great start, Keep your driving record Extremely Clean, and 11 years from now, You will have accomplished the hurdles of trucking. I do believe you can do it. I have always had the theory of 20 years, with NO wrecks, No Tickets, ECT. will put a driver at the top of the list, of BEST of the BEST. Good Luck my Friend.

 

back in the day, late 70's, truckers would actually pick up a hitch hiker.... I grabbed several rides back and fourth, I-80 Cali to NJ.... most in cab overs....scared the crap out of me , but loved every minute of it.

 

While I didn't have the "pleasure" of driving in the good old days, I've been around truck my whole life and have heard many stories of yesteryear. My grandfather (who started his trucking company on 1929. It's still going today) would tell of the days before antifreeze when he would have to drain the water every night in the winter and in the morning, literally light a fire under the oil pan in a can of fuel to warm the oil so the truck would start. Back then, bulk loads (he hauled grain and coal) were all shovelled on and shovelled off. He was one of the first to haul cattle on a truck in Alberta. Until then they were moved to market in cattle drives. My dad hauled freight from Calgary to vancouver in the early 60's with a single axle Chev with a 348 pulling I believe it was a single axle trailer. IIRC it was something like 36 hours ONE WAY. Today, super-b's do it in 10-12 hours. No maxi's back then, you lose your air, you lose your brakes. Dad tells of a time, coming through Rogers pass and losing his air. Don't recall exactly where but he said it was a hair raising ride and fortunately 2am so no traffic as he needed to whole road to keep it on it's wheels. Back then, truck drivers were truck drivers. I blame the decline in trucking on the C&W trucker tunes on the late 60's early '70's (Dave Dudley, Red Simpson, Red Sovine) and shows like "Smokey and the Bandit, Movin' on" and BJ & the Bear". While they were/are great tunes and shows, they romanticized the life of the trucker and made everybody want to be a 'supertrucker'. Take away the big power, cushy cabs, large sleepers AC and power steering and watch the exodus from the trucking industry.

 

As I am still a rookie with a few years in the business I was sitting with my Pops the other day (76 yrs young and 54 plus years as a driver) We recently started working on one of his old trucks, as my Pops came from the mentality that you do not trade something in you own, or scrap it. He has almost every truck he has ever owned, from his first truck 42 Autocar 4X4 box, Spring ride that he paid less than 5k for in 48' to the 96 Pete 379 with 312" wheel base with custom Sleeper. Pops was a man who took care of his equipment, almost all 13 of the trucks he still has are Road worthy and have tags on them today, although some say "antique" and all the trucks are "not for hire" we were joking around looking through them and comparing them to my 2010 387. My dad looked at the 63 Pete A model with its coffin Sleeper and told me I could not fit half of the worthless crap I have in my truck in that Pete. I give it to my Pops and all the "old timers" present and those who have passed on to the Great Highway in the sky. The paved a road for us and did things most could not or would not do. No Jake brakes, Spring ride, Hard mount seats, 55Mph roads, most of them 2 lanes and rough as all hell.
And to think that today driver refuse to run the "red" roads.
When I started driving I was lucky enough to drive an 84 KW cabover which was only about 9 months old, tiny sleeper, and a 48 foot cattle pot behind it with a 350 HP Cummins in it, 18 speed and reliable as any truck in the road today, (it is sitting in the shop getting repainted now with an upgraded motor, and a Fifth wheel for pulling a RV) No Power windows, and the A/C was questionable.
My First "solo" run my old man told me to hang with my Uncle and when I parked my Mirrors better be #### close to his so the next guy could get in the lot ( which was all Dirt at the Red, White and Blue outside the Circle)
So Many things have changes trucks, electronics, and roads that many trainers have forgotten to teach common courtesy to the new guys coming out on the road, that is the one thing that is greatly missed, along with Respect for those who walked before us in this industry.