How do you keep going on?

Trucking might not be the gig for you.
Your at a defining period , usually from about 1yr to 1.5 people figure it out. That is to say decide if it for them or not.
I would suggest a job change it could be a combination of a bad customer base combined with lousy office staff at your current company.
I've moved on from a couple companies for these very reasons and felt rejuvenated each time.
It could be about life on the road doesn't agree with you. Maybe your more suted for a local gig or maybe line haul would be better for you.

 

I agree.

Pulled a load, grossing 100k up over hills and whatnot up and down hills. Pull into weigh stations and the scalemasters are really nice. Had a highway patrol at one scale trying to look tough, but he saw that I did my homework and he was nice. Got to my receiver and they had 5 guys and a crane waiting for me. Headed back to the big road, found a truck stop with a restaurant. Another truck pulls in besides me, and there’s this big ol hound dog riding shotgun. I say to the driver, “LETS EAT!” He says,”That’s why I am here!” Went inside and got the special, smoked chicken, 3 vegetables, beverage, and banana banana banana pudding for $10. Even had a cute waitress.

Today was a good day.

I don’t see how many of you guys do the whole, ‘stay in the truck, live in the truck, eat in the truck, die in the truck’ thing. Yeah, it saves money, yeah you can stock up your fridge at Walmart (I hate Walmart’s) and you can just sit in your truck all day, get real fat and play with your privates. There’s only 2 things I do in a truck 1.DRIVE 2. SLEEP. I don’t want or need a big sleeper. I don’t live in a truck, I drive and I sleep. If I am not driving or sleeping, I am out of the truck.

Is there something else I’d rather be doing? Absolutely. I’d rather be on my motorcycle. But I can’t make the money that I can in the truck.

I enjoy the hell out of what I do. Yeah, the money is there, but that’s besides the point. The shipper was slow on this load. Took 2 full days to load it. The shipper apologized and thanked me for not getting pissed. No worries friend...detention is being added as we speak,

If you don’t like your circumstances, change it. Period. Go do what you like to do. Money is secondary.

 

Ray has been doing this for like 25 years.Back then there wasn't as many rules, regs and policies like there is now.You do need to get out of the negative mode otherwise it'll never get better.

 

Set goals or one major goal and look at trucking as simply a step to help you get there.
When some low IQ grocery warehouse worker would say something idiotic to me, I would laugh inside and think, "You'll still be here in this warehouse acting like the idiot that you are, when I'm living the good life somewhere."
For example; you dream of someday living in a condo on the beach and fishing every day. That's an achievable goal you can reach, so make every day count toward reaching that goal. Put that first and foremost in your mind and everything else is just a minor bump in the road on your way there.

 

I sometimes mention I used to haul this stuff. And mark off where this box came from etc in his stack while he is stocking shelf. The faces I get in return indicate that they havent been outside of the town in their life time.

Trucking as PattyJ indicated back in the day had a little bit of law and rules for different things. Nothing like the micromanaging and what I see as tyranny today. The equiptment was the most important and not casterated or denutted as they are today in many thousands of cuts. There were things that became possible in the old day. Example. She gets a little hot because it's 120 out, loses a bit of fluid, you back off the pyro to about 800 or so and lightly shift applying just enough power to keep her moving until you found a stream. Put some water in and repeat until you get to a 76 and have them dump the entire coolant which is now contaminated and flush and refill. No computer shutting anything then unlike today. You managed to make it 70 miles where otherwise in a modern truck today the computer would have it stranded for a tow.

Most of the 76's are gone, but that is ok. There were a few that featured pretty good memories from those years. You actually had to think about what the truck is doing, and adjust to it. No computers telling you a code like today. One of our cars threw a restricted engine power last week, and it potentially either was a failed gas pedal chip all the way to a throttle body replacement etc. Potentially a thousand dollar job. But this morning it was revealed due to road construction the air filter was buried in dirt which made it into the engine throttle body and messed it up. God only knows what is inside the pistons, I plan to take her out for a run on the freeway, burn that out of the cylinders.

 

It depends on what you like doing as far as driving. I always like going west and seeing new things. Driving thru ND and MT and NE and WY and NV was fun I thought.

If you driving just for the money work your way up to more specialized trucking. I did car hauling for a year or two. Great pay and it was fun driving a $180,000 cars and even the cheaper ones at $50,000. I was delivering BMW Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. It was lots of work and cold in winter and hot in the summer and a small crappy truck. Nothing like having the keys to $180,000 Porsche. You get what you pay for them Porsche GT turbo cars can haul ###.

I always like long haul better the short runs because you don't have to deal the crazy wearhouse people. You just drive for 3 or 4 days and see different places. North Dakota vs Los Angeles is a big difference.

 

If you're in it strictly for the money do yourself a favor, find a different career. This is a lifestyle and it is not for everyone. I apologize if it sounds like I am putting you down, that is not my intention at all. You cannot be soft out here, not a jerk, but not let the world run roughshot over you. I am assuming that you work for Swift, JB, or some other big box outfit. If your problem is being treated like meat in the seat, then leave those who treat you that way.
Many companies are very jaded towards the drivers. This is primarily due to a lot of drama queens (some draq queens) and steering wheel holders with barely a 4th grade education.
It takes time to earn respect out here. Become the driver that is 100% on time, courteous, and safe.

 

I was happy enough in the eastern mountains. I miss the sea. CBBT from Norfolk across the sea to the eastern shore is a joy to me, but not necessarily so with 30 foot rollers and 50 mph winds while loaded. I hear the new span is finished so... it should be better.

It took me years, Ive learned that trucking is best when you are not at the dock all night or day or both. Work your way to where you are strictly drop and hook or even better a team running coast to coast.

I hate to pick on the docks so much, when I started trucking, we had trucking companies like the Blue Diamond on US 40, that one is a tower built on about 100 docks, all of them lumped by teenagers working towards full time employment as drivers and so forth once they age enough. This would be back in the 60's

Today's docks have slowed down quite a bit and it's disgusting to me. One day it will be filled with truckers unable to leave with ELD and filled down the street with truckers unable to deliver the next day's store goods. When the shelves drain or get short I will know that is what is happening.

 

It doesn't get any better, only gets worse. Ive been driving just short of 15years now, and I believe that it will get worse even quicker now. Good companies are few and far between, and they are getting worse themselves. Driving a truck sucks more and more every day. You've really have to like driving, or be homeless and need somewhere to live to enjoy all the crap we have to put up with. Pay isn't everything, and you can only take so much crap before you get burnt out an say enough is enough.

 

We're doomed,,,DOOMED, I tells ya'.