Advice? Don't become a trucker.

So what? You think you're the only one that ever did any of that #### out here?
If you hate it so much....Leave!
Writin' letters and makin' videos and runnin' to the DOT with a sob story is not very impressive to me and I'm a stickler for running legal.

But I'm not a snitch nor can I abide a snitch.

I hear guys tellin' stories like this all the time on the radio and I just shake my head and wonder why anyone would continue to do something that they obviously hate doing!

Seriously....A man with a little self respect would just find another way to make a living.

 

All progress is made because of an unreasonable man. I like unreasonable men like Jimmy Hoffa, and Ralph Nader.

Umm. You don't impress me either.

 

I hate to have to start this rant or rave (depends on the side of the fence you're on) with "back in the day" but... I've been doing this truck-driving thing since 1975. In all those years for all that has changed, not much has changed. Rates suck, wages are down, the boss's and dispatch are idiots , yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. There might not be crying in baseball but for the most part it IS allowed in trucking. Complaining is ( and has been) as second nature to a truck driver as a small child and a mud puddle.

So much is written and discussed about the "good ole days" of trucking. Ya know, white knights in shiny trucks, living the good life and helping out every single other trucker who happened to have a misfortune along the way. Yea right ! How about
Cab-over trucks that beat you to death, 10 cents a mile, drive all night, deliver all day, away so long that the dog don't even know you when you get back home days? Not much has changed. But...

If, when you're behind the wheel, when you start to pull away and shift through the gears, you feel it way down deep inside. That feeling of this is what I was meant to do, this is where I'm suppose to be. Then none of the million of reasons to not do this thing called trucking will matter. If you're new and trying to get that start, KEEP TRYING. Understand that there are dues only YOU can pay, for the most part like anything else, it takes TIME. I ( WE ) the older dogs on the block don't know everything. I ( WE ) still pay dues and learn every day. Will I share what I know, You bet-ya, if I'm asked.

This ( trucking) can be you're blessing or your demon, depends on what you do with it.

 

Sorry, but as soon as I read that, I thought of George St.Pierre, from the UFC, with his "Your performance does not impress me." hahaha

 

trucking is not the worst job in the world by a long shot you just have to learn the ropes.
Ive framed houses and dug ditches both i would drive a truck before i ever did any of that bs again.for the most part your on your own long as you get the load on time etc.
And as the posted stated above if your new into this you going to have to learn the ropes and pay your dues noone is going to start you at the top and put you on the best loads without knowing if your going to make it or not.
Lets see you do any job and start out at the top are without learning
When I was in framing you know where I started? toting lumber that really bites lmao
But after a few years i was on the roof raggin the knew guy it doesnt matter what job you do you will exp this.
IF this is not something you like GET OUT.I love trucks and trucking and make decent money doing it I know I will never be rich unless I luck out and own the next swift or somthing but it pays the bills and gets my wife off my back :O to each there own i guess

 

To: rich t, Chompi, BoostedTeg, dieseldon, rustycage and CA Medicine Woman -

Thank you. I read your post's dated 7-7 thru about 7-9-10 in this thread and you helped me see that what my soon-to-be instructor told me is true... Many negative types will post thier own dissappointments on these threads and doing such is only a tool for them to vent thier own self-disappointments. You six people, and others unmentioned here, are proof that this industry isn't all bad, all negative or that this industry and all companies are BS. For that I thank you, all six of you and others as well.

Be safe out there and hope wherever you are is where you wanta be.

 

yah know call me crazy, but i remember a time when a trucker would stop to help another trucker, or buy a trucker down on his luck some lunch, exstend a helping hand to a motorist in distress, the used to be a code to live by, one with pride, and honesty, trucking aint easy! theres always something to battle, broker, repairs,makeing your truck payment ,handleing the home front from 1000 miles away, but heres the bottom line, wheather,your a stock broker, a construction worker, a waitress,or the guy the cleans the sewer, you have a job to do, there is good and bad in everything, if you constantly look at the bad, and have a negative attitude you will fail!!!! it's about being positive, haveing a good attitude getting past that hump!!!!! If it was easy, everyone would be doing it! theres alot of first time truckers out here due to the economy and the lack of knowledge, and there finding its not what its cracked up to be and they will return to there normal day to day activeitys, then there will be the people that truley enjoy what they do, and the will strive to be the best they can, and every once in a while there will be the exception to the rule ,that they dreamed of doing this all their life and are hungry for help, to learn the way it should be,,,,,,,,,,,,,,trucking is like any trade,each person will act and do things the way they were taught or instructed, the question their is just how well and what were they taught,,,,,,,,,,and do they care about what they are doing,,,,,,,,,just my opinion

 

Actually, it's gotten better. But it still can use improvement. The improvement I want to see is that: We ain't runnin' NASCAR out there..but share the road with many other drivers, weather, and type of vehicle.

This job should be far easier than it is. I do not like the 11 hour extension. Why? Because when ya give an inch, the planners and dispatchers will take a mile.

This job you should be like a relaxed old cow chewin' it's cud..not a wired out hot rod, driving with your pants glued to the seat o' the tractor.

 

A change in mindset, and a willingness to make a plan and stick to it, can make people who only earn $40k/yr rich, given time. Live below your means, don't use credit or have debt, and always put away 15% of your gross pay into your retirement fund, whether it be a matched 401k, Roth IRA, or SEPP(for those self employed). Of course, there are a few things more to consider, but those are the basics of it.

 

Your agenda is "health of the driver". Bingo. This industry could use a lot of change. Most of the companies are "drive all night" sleep all day. I drove the past 14 months mostly at night.

The APU does not beat the heat when it gets this hot. You need to idle the truck. But what happens then? You get flagged and get a nasty call from the company, at least that last company, Averitt.

My local job at OX was a far different story. They were the most laid back people to deal with. It was great, too bad the company changed hands and they eliminated that job.

They also eliminated old Jim down here, who kept the freight poppin and kept all the O/O extremely happy. Eliminated him, in favor of this ..baloney. All the O/O quit, almost at once. Corporate types are always coming up with a new plan. A new plan, that does not work.

Averitt was the most anxious bureaucracy. Now that hernia bulging out ..when I press it I feel that "squish". They completely ignored my medical condition, in favor of their freight.

What gets me is their baloney. Averitt "Our Driving force is People".

But that is what this thread is about. Do not become a truck driver at all. Work for the post office of something, or the IRS, or whatever. The government jobs are better, and more humane.