What's the Deal with these Log truck drivers?

If chains are required on the cars they are required on all vehicles.

Traction (studded) tires on cars/Pick ups are not required to chain up until DOT should just close the road.

It's a question of min chain or full chain for trucks. Reminder OR requires chains on trailers when chains are required.

 

i always include two singles caddy corner on the trailer regardless of what's on the drives.

 

They have only so much time to get the logs to the mill to replace the oxygen in the wood with nitrogen.

 

Truck boss told me....you have to be in the woods before the trees wake up.

 

There is YOUR problem. Keep right except to pass.

 

Saw 3 chip haulers somewhere in VA or WV, I can't recall. All of us were going up one of the straightest & steepest hills I've ever seen. The road was interstate quality, 2 lanes & shoulder. Chiphauler 1 was about 0.0001 mph slower than chiphauler #2. #2 was SLOWLLLLLY passing #1. #3 passed them both on the shoulder.

 

Around here there are only a couple of companies that pay $18 for log truck drivers. Most contract loggers pay percentage and that percentage is nothing like OTR percentage. It is like percentage of the contract, of the value of the logs, of the haul. Basically you get paid what the logging contractor feels your worth; hard to check up on. So $550 a week is pretty common. It is a shame, because it is probably the most dangerous job right now in the US.

It is not uncommon for contract logging companies have an out-of-service rate of 50% for their trucks. That is half the time they get pulled into the scales they get out-of-service. And let me tell you, these scales in some of these small logging towns are rarely open.

 

I don't know where you guys come up with this $550 a week figure. I hauled logs was company driver and owner operator for over 12 years. Maybe if you only work 2 days a week it'd pay $550 as a company driver. I saw lots of otr guys come and go during my time most that start out otr don't last long hauling logs. Most all #####ed they made nothing but they were the first ones to go home last to show up most days. How can you say they drive any more dangerous then a van reefer or flat guy? I never seen a log truck going down the road with his feet on the dash. Seen several van drivers doing that. Yes the log trucks don't mess around there's no time for stopping for snacks or face booking or a nap the mill opens at a certain time closes at a certain time.

 

Most loggers i run into are pretty tame, a little short on pleasantries but I've had them come on the radio going over ca89 in the snow and ice to tell me a stop sign was coming up... even though i could see the ridiculously bright warning lights 3 miles away.

 

I'm not defending them. There's bad apples in every group no matter what you haul. Sure there's some bad log truck drivers but there's also bad van drivers, bad rgn drivers, bad reefer, bad tanker and bad flatbed. It's just a completely different aspect of the industry.