Is this crazy or what?

nice answer and yes it,s very true about a truckers life! Not every one is cut to be a truck drive. They are a one of a kind breed and your either cut out for it or not it,s your choice.

 

Heck, no, you're not crazy. Keep reading, keep asking. Your chances of a ride-along are slim to none, given insurance requirements and prohibitions
(both legislative and financial) against passengers in commercial vehicles, but it never hurts to ask. Writer John McPhee rode along (see his "Uncommon Carriers"). Ha! Alaska and back! Now that would be a road
trip to remember!

 

So many people looking at trucking because of the bad economy.

When and if the economy recovers, most will leave in a heartbeat.

 

WE CAN ONLY HOPE!

 

I'll give credit where credit is due: at least you're trying to look before you leap. Many people do hardly any research at all before signing up and end up finding out the "ugly truth" when it's too late, and the insane turnover rate for this industry bears witness to that fact. Just the fact that you even found a forum like this and started asking questions already puts you a little ahead of the game compared to most seeking employment in this field.

I think one thing which helps a person in this line of work is the ability to live a sort of "transient" lifestyle for weeks (or, sometimes, even months) on end. If you were in the military (especially Navy or Marines) then you have an advantage there, for you've already spent a career living in a similar fashion (e.g. living on the ship, always moving around from duty station to duty station, etc). I've found that living in a cracker box (a.k.a. the truck sleeper) isn't much unlike living out of my seabag when I was a Sailor.

I guess what I'm getting at here is that this isn't a mere job; it's a lifestyle, mainly because of how the job forces you to live and the amount of your personal life you end up sacrificing to it. For the vast majority of people who leave this job (average new entrants don't last much past 6 months, this is not a joke) those sacrifices, the hours you put in, the crap you end up taking from just about everybody, and the lifestyle are probably the main issues which chase them out of trucking.

 

Outdoorsman --

More resources for you:

Trucking magazines (all have websites):
Truckers News
Overdrive Magazine
Landline
Today's Trucking

Books:
Marc F. Wise and Bryan Di Salvatore -- Truck Stop
Lawrence Ouellet -- Pedal to the Metal
Graham Coster -- A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

Lots of YouTube stuff. I like "Trucking Diaries" (this is by a young woman from Poland who came to the U.S., fell in love with trucks, and now makes beautiful YT clips of her travels in 18-wheelers). For trucking in Europe, theres "Easy Job" by Patrick7784.

A trucking blog: Google "Road Rage/Little Trucker." Terry hauls cars and was a flatbedder. Great writing and pics + links to other trucking blogs. She's got a great attitude toward work and the trucking life.

Let me know if you can't easily find any of these.