Thinking of trucking.

the biggest adjustment for me personally was the being away from everything. home, family, pets, real food, my own bed and shower and toilet, etc. trucking is a rough lifestyle and is not the cakewalk some people think.

while i wish you the best, it is not easy. the first 2 to 3 years are the worst. i have it made now. no OTR crap. home 4 of 5 nights a week, and off weekends. 99% of my trips are 5 hours out, 5 back. once in a blue moon i will have to do a real run of 9 or 10 hours, but that is rare. that mainly happens on short holiday weeks, hence the reason i have to do chattanooga tn to manassas va for a mon am delivery.

the biggest thing i like about the small company i work for is no qualcomm, no elogs, and no speed setting on the truck. yeah, i have a 600hp cummins largecar. and man is it nice to drive a truck that will move freight, like this industry used to do before the fed government screwed it all to pieces.

the funny thing about the truck is i think that driving a restricted truck made me a far more aggressive driver. why? it was so hard to get the speed built up and keep it there. it made for a tough time having to back all the way down to be polite to let another car get over, etc. now that i can go what ever speed i want with no power restriction, i find myself between 65 and 68 mph now. it doesnt affect me anymore because i know i will get back what i lost with no effort at all. that dawned on me today when i was going up monteagle and was in the right lane putting down the rock westbound and i was empty, on my way to manchester to pick up a load. when i was in a restricted truck, i was hellbent to get where i was going and pass who i could when i could. funny how it all sorts itself out.

 

You won't escape burnout by jumping in a truck, it will follow you. I know you have the toughest job in the shop, being pulled in all directions at once, by management above who you must educate, keep informed and answer to, mechanics on the floor who fail to take charge of their jobs and constantly migrate back to the tit (play dumb or actually are in many cases), the slick parts people you'd just love to strangle some days, the annoying salesmen that you'd love to pour a five gallon bucket of drain oil over when they walk through the door, warranty people that put you on hold forever and finally the customers who you serve as best you can in spite of all these idiots causing difficulty in you doing so. Been there and done it, toughest job in the joint.

The answer is to laugh and smile at every opportunity given. They will either love you for it or think you've gone off the deep end. Don't quit, it won't fix anything, just laugh and smile at all these idiots you must deal with and draw your pay, after all, that's what they've been doing for years.

 

Bender..Gotta give you props bud..Cute girl..

 

Thanks man! She's a really good girl too! Heart of gold. She just got out of high school and she's knock'n down $500 a week in a restaurant. I'm just a little proud.

 

Don't do it man.. You lost any hope when you said want to see the sites.. The only sites you ever really see are yellow and white lines ...I would stay where I am.. Trucking is ahard life... I would suggest trying to make your job work and think this over for about a long time..

 

That is great! Good girl! Not many nowadays who even try to work.
I would be very proud!

 

What restaurant is that? I'll apply tomorrow! Just kidding, but right now our work is slow and she's making as much if not more than I am...

Congrats to her and to you. It sounds like you have a good kid there, and you have every right to be proud!

 

I would give it some serious thought. I think your expectations of your schedule is a little off. Though its possible to get a job like that the chances are highly unlikely, especially as a new driver. If you are ok with being gone 6-8 weeks at a time then go for it. This is more of a typical driver schedule. Actually if hometime is a concern at all then you should maybe consider something else. This is the number one reason for new drivers quitting. A lot of recruiters will tell you that hometime isn't a problem but you have to keep in mind that they are just trying to get you to sign on the dotted line. Once you are locked in you won't have a choice. Either you stay out and drive or you are forced to quit.