I'm back

Food delivery. Will be driving a daycab with a reefer. I never ran reefer before so I'll have to pay attention during my ride alongs. They have it pretty simple though. Temp is set when I pickup every morning and checked right in the cab 3 times a day. Don't have to mess with the reefer itself, no need to fuel it or the truck I pick them up pre fueled. I pick up the truck loaded every morning and unload it at the customer(s). And I will currently be on paper logs, they are staying away from elogs as long as possible. I still do a pre and post trip but all I gotta do is turn the papers in and the garage handles all the maintenance.

Sheetz will always be an option but if I'm happy with Imlers it would take a handsome offer to make me leave. Good jobs are just too hard to find in this area. Took me 2 months to find this one.

Oh and for whoever mentioned it yes US express does own half of smith transport and I guess it has been all downhill for drivers from there. I guess Smith used to be a good company to drive for before they turned into a mega carrier.

 

Well one of my friend who works at concept foods and is connected with a lot of the upper management at companies happened to know the folks at Imlers. I guess she called yesterday after my interview and talked to the guy to see how it went. He said he was very impressed with the whole interview and wants to get me working asap. As soon as my background check comes through he's scheduling me for my physical and drug screening then I get to start my training.

I did forget to mention this is a uniform job, which I kind of expected. They did ask very politely about my lip piercings. I told him it would be no problem putting clear plugs in while working as long as I don't have to shave the goatee. He said they don't care either way, but "the old man" is old fashioned and still comes around the plant lol. Wouldn't want to give him a heart attack.

 

Well in my limited experience the keys to a successful lease include....

Getting the right lease. If the company you are leasing from provides all the loads you are setting yourself up for failure.

Do your learning. I spent hundreds of dollars and many many hours reading and studying how to successfully run a truck.

And the final one, the one where I failed, be prepared to make a major investment of your personal time. Unless the planets align perfectly and you have several consistent runs and live in a high freight area don't expect to spend much time at home. I did not do enough research in this respect and found it was costing me about $250 in fuel, payments, and maintenance every time I went home. I live in a bad freight area. Had I been able to stay out 3 weeks at a time things would have been different, but that was the opposite of what I wanted. I realized this and decided to cut my losses (which weren't too bad, only $1,300 considering I had to pay for a window I had to break when I locked my keys in the truck >.< ) and try something different.

I was actually so frustrated with the whole thing I was considering not taking a driving job directly, something where my CDL would be a bonus like road construction or railroad work. But once driving gets in your blood, well you know how it is. Luckily I found this local company with an opening so I still get to drive and be home every day with a family that needs me.

I do miss being OTR and someday I will go back. Probably in about 8-10 years when all the kids are grown and on their own, or maybe when I'm near retirement age and just do it for fun (I hear you laughing) rather than money...who knows by then teleportation may be perfected and all us drivers will go the way of the dinosaur.