Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

I always thought it was funny to roll out of the WVC yard and straight ahead of me was Kelley Simons yard. He usually had a "Stop and make more money here" sign up.

 

He was a nice guy. That's one thing I liked about him, he was likeable and personable. But, he always seemed like he would have done better to go to a Frat party than work at Central. And, he was terrified of my co-driver.

He couldn't run a team well. He wouldn't look for loads until we needed them, even though I kept up on the necessary macros, and would ask him 2 days before delivering, and the day before, about a load out. If he was on top of things, he would look for a load a few hours before we delivered. If he wasn't, we'd be sitting half a day.

He finally had enough of us when we wanted to go home eveyr 2-3 weeks to take of a lot of stuff. He finally told us to find another fleet manager, so we went to WalMart. Then he went to be the training wheels dm for the new lease ops, and then to Kraft.

 

There's still a sign up like that. "Hiring drivers, make lots of money"

I wonder how many ex-Centrals they get.

 

Lance was always like that for me. Everytime he touched my truck, I lost money. I actually did a happy dance when someone told me he'd moved on to Prime.

 

Like other people have said, trucking is not a job, it's a career and a lifestyle. Sounds silly, but you have to realize what it entails:

You are giving up everything you love, people, things, hobbies, etc, to go live in a space smaller than a walk in closet for weeks or months at a time.

You're going to go places you'd never go if you lived in that area.
You will eat bad food, get sick from it, and be so tired of Denny's and buffets that Subway looks like a tasty option 8 days straight.

You're going to be dirty, covered in snow and mud, or dust. You might not get to shower that day.

You're going to chain up at night, in the dark, with the snow and wind blowing everywhere. You'll spend an hour chaining up the first time, another hour to go 20 miles, 10 minutes to unchain. Them, you're going to want to sleep for a few hours because it's draining.

If you have kids, a spouse, significant other, or any family that matters, you're going to find you can't always be there. You will miss birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, and other milestones.

You will essentially be splitting your time between your truck, and public. Public restrooms, showers, eating facilities, fuel islands. Your only privacy will be in your truck.

It can be boring. It can be stressful. Somedays you will want to throw in the towel. Somedays you will spend an hour and a half trying to blind back into a space that's too narrow. On those days you'll be ready to hit something, cry, scream, or cuss out all the drivers who've since come by and put their trailers in no problem.

The first time it snows, and your truck brakes loose, you'll be pulling the seat cushion out of your butt. You'll be stuck in white out conditions, and learn they closed the road right behind you.

You give up a lot to come out on the road, and a lot of people come out not knowing what they want, or what to expect. Some quit right away, some try and tough it out.

I went to an outside school, and one of the trainers there said something that's stayed with me, and is why I'm still driving (although not over the road anymore): If you can tough it out for a year, you'll stick with it.

He was right. A full turn of the seasons give you an idea of what's out here. You adapt to life on the road, and the patterns it brings. It gets easier. You can enjoy things more, instead of focusing on the little things.

Stick it out, and it will get better.

 

This is so very, very true!! Kllingon and I have now been out 3/4th of a year... he started before me, but it was towards the end of winter that we were able to team together. It has gotten easier, but we have been home a total of 3 (requested) times with a couple of 'drive bys'. Now when we go 'home' it feels like we are visiting, and we feel almost more comfortable in our truck - LOL! We have had to chain once - and yep it took a couple hours even though we were both instructed how to do it. The roads have been closed (2 times so far) on us and once we were able to pull off to a truck stop just as it closed - the other we were stuck on the freeway with 8 other trucks and had to wait for a snow plow to plow us a route off the freeway - then we camped out in a Wal Mart parking lot. We are actually have moments where we are really enjoying ourselves, even with the frustrations and stresses.

 

Call me crazy but,, I kinda miss the chaining. Central still might still have my tryggs.

 

Your crazy.

 

When my co-driver and I were over the road, and still living in Idaho, we would actually go out to our truck and nap in it while we were "home." It wasn't very welcoming, and it felt like a visit, so we'd go recharge for a few hours in the truck. It always helped.

Now that I have an actual home, and I'm not over the road, I can't wait to be out of my truck.

 

FTA is in Asheboro..