Current thoughts on your trucking career?

I agree with Part of this statement....

It Certainly is TOO EASY for anyone to obtain Authority and a CDL,Way too Easy,

As For ELD's.... They May be Here to stay, But Not at the Current HOS rules ....And I Believe more exemptions will follow ........ Look at the Current Flow and Market rates, On Time Deliveries have Plummeted Since jan 1st, my Wife Told me a day ago grocery Store Prices Have Gone up 20% on Some Fresh Items.

Unless a Uniform HOURLY PAY structure is Put into Play- The Current Elog/HOS Will Not Work and the Turnover ratio Will be Higher than ever.

 

The fresh items are gone, now it is a crapshoot at the market, many of the oranges are so bruised and rotten it is getting disgusting. Everything is being done to extract the most from the sheep, we have to live with what we have allowed. Want to point fingers,, walk over to that mirror and we have another movement starting I hope, one where we all start taking responsibility. so the real #me to should begin because we are all guilty.

 

I can honestly say that I now hate nearly every part of trucking. After being out here nearly 25 years I hate leaving the house, I hate slow shippers and recievers(currently sitting at us food okc going on 4 hours), I hate the way people drive in general. But the the thing that really gets under my skin Is the way my fellow drivers act. Parking in the truckstop driveway, parking in the fuel island for an hour, crapping in plastic bags and throwing it in the parking lot, racing every truck that goes to pass because you have 2mph more on the throttle than your cruise, etc . This it my last truck. Can not wait to be done with this job.

 

Driving is what I've wanted to do since I was probably 8 year's old or so. My uncle had a K100 Kenworth that he used to deliver farm machinery with. He was hauling a combine one day, i was about 8 years old I guess, and he had to flatten the tires to fit under the power lines. When we got to the customer, and had to air the tires back up, using the air from the truck, he had me hold the throttle to build air pressure faster. From that moment I was hooked.

My dad drove dump truck for 30 years as well, so it was kind of a natural thing for me to start driving.

That said, the current laws forced upon us are ridiculous in every way. I've worked for a company that ran ELD's, and I can't say it was all horrible. I actually grew to liking it for the most part. Where I'm at now, running local, they're not needed. But if that changes, I'd be ok with it.

I think the thing that might possibly drive me away from the industry would be speed limiters. Not because I drive like a maniac, or even want to. It's going to create unnecessary congestion on the highway. Just like a NASCAR race at Talladega, you'll have a whole pack of trucks running nose to tail. Sooner or later somebody will screw up and wipe out the pack. I won't be in the pack, I'm smarter than that. But then the road gets shut down, and pandemonium ensues. I hope I'm proven wrong on this.

Trucking has been good to me over the last 17 years. I've seen a few changes In that time, and I've adapted with each change. And I'll continue to adapt as needed. Because that's what you do when your career depends on it.

 

I was driving for an O/O before (and shortly after) Dec 18. I had told him prior to the mandate date that ELD's would not work with his operation and I got, "Yes they will. It's all about time management blah, blah, blah"....Yet 3 times in the first 2 weeks he booked me back hauls that were grossly outside of my 14. I made it work, albeit illegally (getting to the shipper and loading under PC). So, I gave and fulfilled my 2 week notice and quit, with nothing lined up.

Then I pretty much stumbled upon a job and have realized I may have finally found my niche in this world of tractor - trailering....Milk hauling.

Local dairy farm took a huge leap of faith and decided to start hauling their own milk to market and bought 2 brand new tractors and are renting 3 tanker trailers while 3 brand new ones are being built. Super nice family, nice new equipment, home every day, and probably the easiest money I've ever made. Added bonus of having farm plates, so we're exempt from much of the BS involved with this field, including log books. More added bonus for just boogy on home when empty. No lumpers, no brokers, no waiting for a back haul, no sitting at a door for hour upon hour....I head out at the same time every day, go the the same destination every day, and am back home at roughly the same time every day. Paid a set amount per load and it works out to be a very respectable "per hour" rate for what little work I do other than hold the steering wheel for 8-10 hours.

 

Pretty much, but not exactly.

It is my understanding that the 5-mph deal ensures nobody is moving the truck while off-duty (like doing a drop/hook on their lunch break, or pulling into a truckstop and going off-duty while they spend a half hour looking for parking); it doesn't necessarily put you on the driving line if you set things up right when you stop somewhere.

There is supposed to be an extra option for on-duty/yard moves, where you can go over 5 mph, and it doesn't eat up your driving time when you are at, say, a giant distribution center and have to go to door 1527. But no more doing that kind of stuff on break. It would be pointless to try doing so at 4 mph.

So basically the 5-mph rule is bad for your 30 or 10, but won't necessarily affect your 11. The problem is it certainly will mess up your 11 if you forget to put the ELD on on-duty/yard moves.

 

Still love trucks but hate the industry..

If our eld exemption ever goes away I will be right behind it..

The new breed and megas that have helped run this industry into the ground can have it..

 

Good dispatcher makes life super easy.
Had 2 3600 mile weeks,back to back,running the southwest.
Planning on retiring here.
Life is good.

 

We went to ELDs about three years ago. I'm glad we did it back then because now we have all our learning done and we've made the changes necessary . It wasn't an easy transition.
We always ran speedo-graphs...see avatar...and we run mostly local or regional but there's enough of a mix that just following the ELD/HOS guidelines make things easier. Not better...just easier.
I've been involved in trucking since the mid-sixties and every year there are more rules, more restricitons, and not nearly enough money to make it worthwhile. I don't see that changing. Ever. It will get a little worse every year as time passes
I like what I do but if I had to do it all over again I'd do something else for a career.

 

I didn't run around the clock. The reason i don't like em is because i don't need a machine to tell me WHEN to do my job and WHEN i need to sleep.

We're human. Not machines. Not all of us can get up before the roosters and driver all day without getting tired. And not all of us sleep a full 10. Specially in a truckstop full of noise. On a 4 inch thick mattress.

I loved going to bed. And being wide awake after 4 - 6 hours. And watching tv because i can't drive.

I"m a local boy now. I run the first load. Come back for second load and take a nap while loading. I also sleep better now. Roughly 8 - 9 hours. In a nice and quiet atmosphere on a real bed with a real mattress.

When i was OTR. I liked naps. And HATED driving hour after hour. Putting all that aside. I don't see how anyone can go day after day of long stretches of nothing but sleep, drive, sleep, drive, sleep, drive.

I drove outlaw but i also slept. In short. I did my job MY WAY, not the gooberment way.