For those who regret going into trucking...

That's why I am posting here. The only thing that has happened for the better, OVERALL, in trucking is that the trucks themselves are MUCH nicer to drive then the old POS rigs we had starting out. Here is what your average company driver, not an Owner-Op, had to work with in 1973:

1. Probably a Cab-Over-Engine Tractor. C-O-E for short.

These things would beat you to death like you were hitting every bump in the road, the heaters sucked, and the heat coming off that motor housing would fry you in the hot weather. You dont even want to know what a ##### it was to get some of these cabs tilted over. Suffice it to say it wasn't much fun.

2. Low HP motors. You had to wind these things out like there was no tomorrow to get any power out of them. They didn't call them "Screaming Jimmy's" for nothing (The GMC "Detroit" two-cycle motor). The Cummins engines were more quiet but most trucks had less then 300 HP. Pray you had a six cylinder unit and didn't drive the awful V8 Cummin's motor. Those rattling POS's needed the rack run every month or so. They made good boat anchors, and that's about all. The Cats were a little better, IMO, but they still sucked down fuel like they do now. Lots of it, anytime you punch it, hard. Pretty reliable, however.

3. The Air systems. Most rigs had to be drained of water at every stop cause they didn't use air-dryers in lots of rigs. The windshield wipers ran off the air so when you lost air pressure, your wipers would quit working. If you were lucky enough to have an air-assist steering system, it quit working as well, so you were back to ape-gripping the steering wheel when you were going in a slow turn. No speed to speak of ? Keep on yanking that HUGE non-tilt, non-telescoping steering wheel real hard.

4. The Transmissions. These were not much different then now, but most OTR rigs ran a 13 or 15 speeds, not 18 or 21 speeds. Then you still had all those twin-stick trannies. Some people loved em'. Some people hated them. They were not so bad once you got used to them, but I wouldn't want to go back to them after running an air-shift unit for so long. Most people didn't either.

Automatics? Yeah, in your dreams! I hate them things with a passion anyhow. Automatics belong in cars, not a class 8 tractor, IMO.

5. Sleepers. Most all coffin-box sleepers. Only a few Condo-type units and they were still a new idea so you didn't see them much until the 1980's.

6. Air conditioning: Yeah,maybe in an OTR rig. Most local units you could forget about it. And once they broke, most companies would take all year to fix them, if they ever did. Most of us used the roll-down "Window" AC system.

That's why my left ear has hearing loss in it, which is common in drivers who drive for years with the windows down to keep from overheating in the #### things.

7. Power steering. Most rigs, you were lucky to have air-power assist. It worked OK, but not like the hydraulic power steering units in most rigs now. Lots of us didn't have power steering much. We had arms that looked like Popeye's arms from yanking on that freaking steering wheel all day in town/city driving.

8. Suspension/Tires. Most rigs didn't have air-bag suspensions, except some of the moving companies, as I recall. Yeah, those old trucks rode pretty hard with leaf springs all the way around. Then you had those split- rim, tube tires. If you want to change tires yourself that was a good way to go but we got lots more flats then nowadays. Radial tires were not much used either by most companies.

I could go on lots more, but I will leave that for another time. Suffice it to say that us old timers DO like these nice new rigs, no matter what some people say.

BTW, owner-Operators had _MUCH_ nicer units then the average joe-blow company driver, so lots of this stuff wouldn't apply to them, back then.

 

Same with truckling in a way. Newbies will work for peanuts to get started. Also; holidays,weekends, 10 + hours a day is common. The only difference in your comparison is the money. Your looking at the same problems. Just lower pay.

Funny how the actual log and times applied vary. People think this pays good. Unless they do the math on 70 hours and don't realize the additional time not factored in.

 

Truer words were never written.

 

Naw I like the male stripper one funny as heck,beat me to it,thumbs up for rerun !

 

You would be starving as an auto tech too! If you ain't turning a wrench you ain't getting paid. And if there is no work in the shop you can't go home just in case something comes in. It's not much different. Your paid by book hours, NOT actual hours. And with almost all Car makers going to 100k mile warranties it's hard.

 

Oh yeh, I forgot, If they come back and say "It's doing the same thing" or " It worked before you changed the oil" you are now WORKING FOR FREE!

 

you obviously don't know where my cubicle is. i work everyday in a place much like those.

 

I've been in the trucking a industry just a short time and already can see all the turbulance in it and by what I see here. know their's pros and cons to it, it's just how much you're willing to sacrifice for a paycheck or lifestyle. I spent 25yrs. on the water and it was in my blood bad ,but my body just cant the beating anymore and their's no future in it,sure I like driving a rig and the opem road but I do'nt want to do it for nickle and dimes,that's why I'm now filling my paperwork to get my Merchant Marine credentials,have something to fall back on just in case. Sure I know one has to pay their dues and keep moving forward supposebly to greener pastures and it takes time,I knew before I even got in that trucking is not just a job it's a way of life just like commercial fishing,when I'm at a truck stop and walkby and see all those shiny and well kept trucks for me it's like I'm looking at a Hooters Girls calender, so maybe I need to get some professional help for my growing addiction to huh? tyou all take care and be safe,later

 

That's the sign of a bad mechanic. A friend of mine didn't tell me he had a problem with his car misfiring. He drove it down to San Francisco to see his girlfriend, and the problem turned even worse(not with his girl, lol).

Mechanic there throws a crankshaft sensor on it, parts and labor: $266 bucks. He drives it back here, still messing up, takes it to a reputable mechanic and it's fixed, no problems.

Problem: simple intake manifold gasket leak. Hell, I could have Dx' ed that in a few minutes if I knew he had a problem.

Point is that some mechanics are rip-offs. I would drive back to SF and get my money back if I had to beat it out of this jerk myself, had this happened to me.

90 percent of Auto tech is diagnosis, 10 percent is fixing it.

Good techs ALWAYS have work, cause word gets around and that's where smart people take their cars. There are always old cars to fix, even now.