Trucking Now vs. Back In The Day?

Ah yes, I remember the pay phone lines and the phone booths that smelled like you were inside a cigarette box.

 

Back when the military had a draft, some trucking companies would tell you to get your military requirement behind you then you had a job. They didn't want to train you then lose you to the draft. Some guys would go to the draft board and volunteer to be drafted, instead of waiting for that letter in the mail.

 

I got drafted a month and a half after I enlisted .

 

Difference is now the newbs have to suffer under elogs because the old timers couldn't keep a logbook looking legal. Other than that, every person on planet can do it(low skilled job)so not much has changed.

 

I got my start in the late '70s, went OTR in the early "80s....Most all the men I learned from & drove with then are all now gone, good men every one....

• Trucks are much more comfortable now, compared to then, few had P/S, A/C & air ride...But you could fix just about anything that went wrong out on the road.....Always carried tools and spare parts..
• Hands would stop and help you if you broke down, just about every one would...
• Many truck-stops just had gravel/dirt lots, no blacktop & no painted lines, yet every truck would line up perfectly with the one next to it...
• Communication's much easier now, I wouldn't say "better", too many big brothers & sisters micromanaging your every move now....Finding a pay phone was easy enough then, but the lines truly tested your patience, but hey, it seemed like it was always "hurry up and wait" anyway, so you just dealt with it...
• Most every hand had a CB and you had way few CB rambos then, also, of course no keyboard rambos like on here either...
• The law didn't mess with you like now...Some States had 24 hour scales, but most were just hit & miss when open, mostly miss, especially after 5 PM...They weren't the nit-picken, BS revenue generators they are now...Log book behind?, no problem, catch it up while I check your brakes, lights & tires...Nice clean rig, clean shaven driver, no problem, keep moving you're all set...
• Before Dereg, an OTR truck driver was a respected job, paid well, but was not for everyone...Everybody wanted dereg, then we got it....The industry hasn't been the same since..
• No GPS then, you better know how to read a map AND plan your trip to be on-time after being dealt an almost impossible itinerary....
• Times were hard then for sure, making ends meet and all, but people overall cared about one another, helped out each other when they could, not like now...

Well, I'll sign out now and let the keyboard rambos take over.....Take care all, drive safe, and a Merry Christmas to all.....Let's pray that 2016 is a prosperous year for all!.....

 

I came in about 9 years after dereg- 3 years before the CDL was implemented..Is it true you had to 'bid' on your outbound lane? And Nobody messed with you-If they did they never got a chance to bid again- Brokers knew their place -Teamsters and independents ran the show.. Very different now after dereg.

 

Most places that was the way it was....Seniority meant something, most senior got to "bid" their runs...Low guy got what was left over, BUT he knew that he would move up....He respected and learned from the senior guys, even if he didn't like some of them we still all stuck together....Also, the senior guys looked out for you too, as long as you weren't a smart@xx know-it-all...If you were, you didn't last long....You worked with the dispatcher, not under his feet, there was a certain amount of mutual respect, much more face-to-face time too, unlike now.... Too many driver grievances against a dispatcher could bring things to halt quick, remember the phony "fuel shortage" in the early '70's....We didn't deal with "brokers" much, didn't have too...The carrier's had their contracts with the manufacturers and provided good service....Of course, that's when most things were still made in the U.S.....

 

I joined the Navy and there were quite a few draftees on the ship. They thought they were going into the Army, but the selective service assigned them to the Navy. I worked with one in trucking; he was drafted into the Navy and assigned to the USS Santa Barbara (AE-28) an ammo ship.

 

Back in the day trucker music was much better. Merle Haggard vs that CR England rap troupe. Also much more trucking movies and trucks on TV (BJ and the Bear, anyone?).

 

Pay is better today but dollar is worth less. Trucks were rough noisy smelt like diesel more often than not . Wind blew through doors in winter sometimes you needed a blanket it was friggin cold .. Nowadays it's set the cruise and relax due to modern high torque engines.. Ride is so good I forget how my back used to ache due to the pounding ride .. Newbies then were similar to nowadays but now we have many more is all ... I enjoyed the hard running but would never want to go back to those days 700 to 750 miles a day is plenty nowadays .. Enforcement isn't really any worse nowadays if equipment is up to snuff .. Do I miss driving a nice long nose classic YES ... Would I go back to one not likely I'm too spoiled lol