I successfully made my goal for 2019

$130k driving truck? I didn't think that was possible. I've got two kids at home I take care of when my wife's at work so I make as much as I can hauling milk.

 

maybe i might do fuel someday in the future but for now im content and not making bad money ( i have to work almost everyday though). if i ever do leave the diary industry, having time pulling smooth bore tankers will likely look great on a resume.

admittedly.... this might even sound weird, i would miss the dairy industry. its familiar turf for me, comfortable. before i got my CDL i was a plant reciever. i would take the driver's paperwork, sample the milk, unload, and CIP tanker. i had other responsibilities as a plant reciever as well, i would CIP silos, lines, and seperation equipment. i started at stueben foods as a plant worker in 2009. after getting my CDL going to use it to haul milk was almost a natural step for me, almost like a continuation of my career working in the diary industry..... i have had much greater earning potential as a driver then i ever did working in the plant. it's weird because i go to the plant sometimes and see people i knew from my past job.... drivers i have known for years and used to take care of them as a reciever.

 

my wife's cousin moved to western ny from alaska with a CDL a little of year ago. he told me he was considering driving over the road. i suggested there is a ton of work for him hauling milk if he wanted it. i attempted to get my own boss to hire him, but my boss said he lived outside the area he wished to hire. my wife's cousin lives in dansville NY. i suggested he apply to work for bugman milk hauling...... i am probably kind of like the chinatown of milk hauling. i have a pretty good idea of who is who and who you absolutely do not want to work for. he has been with bugman over a year. my wife's cousin was driving garbage truck, he does much better with bugman. he's home everyday with his wife and child, and is pretty happy doing it.

 

I realize that one of the huge advantages with my job is I don't have big brother in my truck aka an ELD. I sleep when I'm tired typically and work when I'm not. It's also short haul work so if I am on the tired side I'm much less likely to doze off then I would be driving hundreds of miles on an interstate. I drive for 30 or 40 minutes at a time usually... And then make a stop at the yard, plant, or farms